SsangYong Motor Co. said Monday its sales plunged 53 percent last month from a year earlier on weaker demand for its models and a prolonged chip shortage. SsangYong Motor sold 4,749 vehicles in October, down from 10,197 units a year earlier, the company said in a statement. Domestic sales dropped 57 percent to 3,279 units last month from 7,612 a year ago, while exports declined 42 percent to 1,500 units from 2,585 during the same period, it said. From January to October, sales fell 22 percent

Industry Nov. 1, 2021

The upcoming superhero film "Eternals" is expected to smash the pandemic-hit South Korean box office, with its presale tickets outpacing those of its Marvel predecessor "Black Widow," data showed Monday. Marvel Studios' latest film to be released Wednesday had recorded 200,000 presold tickets as of 2:30 p.m., two days before its local release, according to the data by the Korean Film Council. The movie accounted for 78.8 percent of all tickets reserved at that time, overwhe

Film Nov. 1, 2021

South Korea's Defense Minister Suh Wook held talks with the visiting Australian Army chief in Seoul on Monday to discuss defense industry cooperation and regional security, his office said. During the talks with Australian Chief of Army Lt. Gen. Rick Burr, Suh noted that a South Korean company has been chosen as the preferred bidder to supply self-propelled howitzers to the Australian military, and called for deeper bilateral cooperation in the artillery sector. The two sides also agreed to de

Defense Nov. 1, 2021

Prosecutors sought arrest warrants Monday for three key figures in an urban development scandal on charges of breach of trust and bribery in connection with a lucrative project in Seongnam, south of Seoul. Prosecutors have been looking into suspicions over how a previously unheard-of asset management company, Hwacheon Daeyu, and its seven affiliates reaped astronomical profits from a 2015 project to develop the Daejang-dong district in Seongnam into an apartment complex. The Seoul Central Dist

Politics Nov. 1, 2021

Korea Aerospace Industries Co. (KAI), South Korea's sole aircraft manufacturer, said Monday it has been selected as the preferred bidder in the government's 877.5 billion won ($747 million) reconnaissance plane bid. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration is expected to sign the deal with KAI next month to push ahead with the project, a KAI spokesman said by phone. Under the deal, KAI will bring four Falcon 2000LXS business jets from French aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation and de

Industry Nov. 1, 2021

City centers in Seoul welcomed back the return of rush hour crowds Monday morning as office workers and students resumed their in-person lives under the government's "living with COVID-19" scheme aimed at bringing the nation gradually back to pre-pandemic normalcy. South Korea activated on Monday the first of the three-stage scheme to gradually phase out coronavirus restrictions as more than 70 percent of the population have been fully vaccinated. Under the latest measure effective

Social Affairs Nov. 1, 2021

Samsung Heavy Industries Co. said Monday that it has raised 1.28 trillion won ($1.1 billion) through the sale of its new shares. The shipbuilder's 250 million new shares were oversubscribed by existing shareholders and its workers, Samsung Heavy said in an emailed statement. The subscription rate was 103.3 percent, while the common shares oversubscribed by the existing shareholders and the workers numbered 17.82 million shares, Samsung Heavy said. Samsung Heavy will offer to the public 73,317

Industry Nov. 1, 2021

The number of registered vehicles in South Korea grew nearly 2 percent this year to near 25 million, with that of eco-friendly cars topping 1 million units, government data showed Monday. Car registrations came to 24.78 million units as of end-September, up 1.7 percent from the end of last year, according to the data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The figure is also up 0.5 percent from three months earlier, with the number expected to exceed 25 million during the firs

Economy Nov. 1, 2021

When Paulo Bento, head coach of the South Korean men's national football team, scouts strikers, he doesn't just look at their goal totals. After making a surprising choice at the forward position Monday ahead of two World Cup qualifiers this month, Bento said a player's adaptability and tactical fit are just as important as goals. That's how he explained his call-up of Kim Gun-hee, a 26-year-old striker for Suwon Samsung Bluewings in the K League 1. Kim has scored six goals in 20 matches for

Soccer Nov. 1, 2021

The unification ministry said Monday it will begin discussions with the US-led United Nations Command (UNC) to resume tours to the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom as South Korea began its "living with COVID-19" scheme meant to phase out coronavirus restrictions amid a rising vaccination rate. Tours to Panmunjom, or the Joint Security Area (JSA), were suspended in July after health authorities imposed the toughest virus curbs in the greater Seoul area, home to half of the coun

North Korea Nov. 1, 2021

The music video for K-pop girl group BLACKPINK's "Boombaya" has surpassed 1.3 billion YouTube views. The video, released in August 2016, hit the milestone at 9:34 a.m. Monday, 146 days after passing the 1.2 billion mark, according to the group's management agency, YG Entertainment. "Even though four years have passed since the release of the music video, (the number of its YouTube views) has been on the steady rise," the agency said. "BLACKPINK now has its third music

K-pop Nov. 1, 2021

Kwon Young-soo, previously the vice chairman of LG Corp., was appointed Monday as the new CEO of LG Energy Solution Ltd. after getting the nod from its shareholders, the company said. Last week, LG Energy's board tapped Kwon as its new CEO, a decision largely seen as a replacement in the wake of the battery recalls in General Motors Co.'s Bolt electric vehicles (EV). LG Energy and LG Electronics have set aside 1.4 trillion won ($1.2 billion) to repay GM for the recalls of Bolt EVs caused by ba

Industry Nov. 1, 2021

SK Telecom Co. on Monday named the former head of its mobile network operations division Ryu Young-sang as its new CEO following the launch of its non-telecom spinoff SK Square. Ryu has been working for SK Telecom since 2000 and is known for his expertise in mergers and acquisitions, as well as finding new business sectors, the company said. On Monday, South Korea's largest mobile carrier split into two, spinning off the new investment company SK Square, in the latest move to make aggressive i

Industry Nov. 1, 2021

South Korea and the United States kicked off a combined annual air exercise Monday, a source said, in a low-key manner apparently to back ongoing diplomacy to resume dialogue with North Korea. For the five-day exercise, the allies mobilized some 100 air assets each, including F-15K and KF-16 jets from South Korea and F-16s from the US, the source said, noting no military assets were deployed from the US mainland this time. The allies have regularly held the air exercise in a scaled-down, low-k

Defense Nov. 1, 2021

The South Korean government on Monday urged North Korea to respond positively to a suggestion that the pope visit there, expressing hope for progress in efforts to promote regional peace. The unification ministry's statement came after Pope Francis reaffirmed his willingness to visit the North during his meeting with President Moon Jae-in at the Vatican last week. Moon and the pope met Friday on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Rome, during which Moon said a papal visit to North Kor

North Korea Nov. 1, 2021