Pirate attacks on South Korean ships dropped nearly 30 percent this year mostly due to a decline in cases in waters off the piracy-prone western Africa, the maritime ministry said Sunday. The number of pirate attacks targeting South Korean ships came to 97 during the January-September period, down 27 percent from the previous year's 132 cases, according to the ministry. The decline stemmed mostly from a fall in attacks in waters off western Africa, apparently thanks to recently beefed-up anti-

Social Affairs Nov. 7, 2021

At the 2017 rookie draft in South Korean baseball, Moon Sung-ju was selected 97th overall by the LG Twins, with only three players coming after him. Few would have given Moon any chance of even making it to the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), let alone thriving in the league. But here he is in November 2021, wielding a hot bat for the Twins in a postseason series against their Seoul rivals, Doosan Bears. In two games in the first round, all tied at one game apiece, Moon has batted 3-for-7 w

Baseball Nov. 7, 2021

Managers of the two South Korean baseball clubs set up for a win-or-go-home postseason game Sunday said they will take an all-hands-on-deck approach to the final showdown. The LG Twins and the Doosan Bears are knotted at 1-1 in the best-of-three opening round in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason. Game 3 is at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul, where LG manager Ryu Ji-hyun will have usual starter Andrew Suarez ready to come in at any moment. "Suarez will be in the bullpen, an

Baseball Nov. 7, 2021

About 90 percent of firms in South Korea are undecided on their investment plans for next year amid lingering uncertainty despite the country's move back to normalcy under the "living with COVID-19" scheme, a poll showed Sunday. According to the poll conducted on 316 firms by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), 56.2 percent said they have not drawn up investment plans for next year. Of those surveyed, 32.1 percent said they are currently reviewing such plans. Only 11.7

Industry Nov. 7, 2021

South Korea's antitrust regulator said Sunday it has decided to impose a combined fine of 4.9 billion won ($4.1 million) on three transport companies for colluding to fix bidding prices. Sejoong Co. and two other companies colluded to fix their quotations to win  shipping engine transport and other bids that were put forward by Doosan Engine, the predecessor of HSD Engine, between 2008 and 2016, according to the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC). They colluded to set Sejoong as the prosp

Industry Nov. 7, 2021

South Korea's economic recovery momentum has weakened due to the slowdown in the manufacturing sector amid a global supply chain shortage and energy crisis, a state-run think tank said Sunday. "The recovery in manufacturing weakens as global supply chains remain clogged, since an improvement of external conditions lost steam," the Korea Development Institute (KDI) said in a monthly economic assessment report. The manufacturing firms' shipments have fallen, while the inventory-to-ship

Economy Nov. 7, 2021

President Moon Jae-in instructed aides to make greater efforts to strengthen exchanges with Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia, known collectively as the Visegrad Group, noting their economies are growing dynamically compared with Western European nations, a senior presidential official said Sunday. Moon issued the instruction after returning from a three-nation European trip that included a summit in Hungary with the four Visegrad Group countries, senior presidential secretary fo

Politics Nov. 7, 2021

South Korea's exports of fishery products grew 20.5 percent on-year in the first 10 months of this year, data showed Sunday. Outbound shipments of fishery products reached $2.24 billion during the January-October period, compared to $1.86 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the data by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. Exports to China rose 48.1 percent to reach $540 million, and those to the United States and the European Union surged 24.2 percent and 39.4 percent, respectively.

Economy Nov. 7, 2021

North Korea's top envoy to Beijing met with China's assistant foreign minister last week to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral ties and issues of mutual concern, Pyongyang's foreign ministry said Sunday. During the talks on Friday, Ambassador Ri Ryong-nam and Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Wu Jianghao "exchanged in-depth opinions about issues of mutual interest, and agreed to continue enhancing strategic and tactical cooperation down the road," the ministry said. The meeting wa

North Korea Nov. 7, 2021

Nearly 94 percent of South Koreans consider the climate crisis "serious," but only half believe the issue is connected to human rights, a survey showed Sunday. According to the survey of 1,500 people commissioned by the National Human Rights Commission, 80.4 percent responded that they are interested in the climate crisis issue. Asked how serious the crisis is, 93.7 percent said "serious," while 79.8 percent said climate change seriously affects people's lives, according to

Social Affairs Nov. 7, 2021

The inspection department of the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office (SPPO) has seized a mobile phone that former and incumbent SPPO spokespersons had used, as part of an investigation into cases allegedly involving opposition presidential nominee Yoon Seok-youl. The official phone, which had been used by current SPPO spokesperson Suh In-sun and her two predecessors, was seized on Oct. 29, as the inspection office pressured Suh to turn the device in voluntarily or face an inspection for noncooper

Politics Nov. 7, 2021

South Korea's new coronavirus cases stayed above 2,000 for the fifth consecutive day Sunday amid worries over a resurgence of infections after the country relaxed virus curbs to gradually return to normalcy under its "living with COVID-19" scheme. The country reported 2,224 new COVID-19 cases, including 2,204 local infections, raising the total caseload to 379,935, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The figure is slightly down from 2,248 cases but m

Social Affairs Nov. 7, 2021

North Korea has conducted an artillery fire competition to boost the country's defense capabilities as set forth by the "militant policy" of the ruling Workers' Party, state media reported Sunday. The competition was held Saturday to inspect "how the mechanized troops of the KPA have conducted drills in order to increase their mobile artillery combat capabilities," according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). KPA stands for the Korean People's Army. Pak Jong-chon, a

North Korea Nov. 7, 2021

A memorial stone for thousands of Korean victims of a US atomic bombing of Nagasaki in 1945 was erected in the Japanese city on Saturday, its promoters said. The monument was unveiled at a ceremony in Nagasaki Peace Park, which commemorates the atomic bombing of the city on Aug. 9, 1945, with some 100 people, including South Korean Ambassador to Japan Kang Chang-il, Nagasaki city council members and a peace delegation of Japanese high school students, attending the event despite the rainy weath

Diplomatic Circuit Nov. 6, 2021

Before ex-major leaguer Choo Shin-soo signed with the SSG Landers this year and became an instant star in South Korean baseball, left-hander Kim Kwang-hyun had been the icon for the franchise once called the SK Wyverns. The lanky left-hander has spent the past two seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, while Choo played in the Korea Baseball Organization for the first time in 2021. With Kim now a free agent, the two could potentially become teammates in 2022. Choo said Saturday he would love t

Baseball Nov. 6, 2021