A group of some 170 fans of BTS member V, together with an environmental group, on Wednesday dedicated a grove they built alongside Seoul's Han River to the K-pop star. The Korean Federation for Environmental Movement said the grove of four zelkova and some 1,200 bridal-wreath trees, named Forest V No. 1, was formed on the Han River Park near the southern end of Jamsil Bridge a day earlier in a joint project to honor V, or Kim Tae-hyung. It is the latest urban forest-building collaboration bet

Social Affairs Oct. 20, 2021

South Korea's Army on Wednesday hosted a forum on military logistics cooperation with Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and other countries, the armed service said, in an effort to help support Seoul's policy toward Southeast Asia. The Korea-ASEAN+India Forum on Logistics took place on the margins of a biennial defense exhibition at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, south of Seoul. The forum brought together six partner countries of Seoul's signature New Southern Policy, as well as Australia and the Mald

Defense Oct. 20, 2021

The number of overseas stock accounts held by South Korean retail investors jumped 74 percent in the first half of the year from six months earlier amid their brisk investment in foreign shares, data showed Wednesday. Local individual investors held about 3.31 million overseas stock accounts as of end-June, up from some 1.89 million at the end of last year, according to the data submitted to the National Assembly for an annual parliamentary audit by the Financial Supervisory Service. The numbe

Market Oct. 20, 2021

South Korea is considering temporarily lowering fuel taxes to ease consumer burden from surging gasoline prices, the country's top economic policymaker said Wednesday. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said the government will unveil relevant actions, including a fuel tax cut, as early as next week. "As the international oil prices are on the rise, driving up gasoline prices and putting upward pressure on consumer prices, we are considering such preemptive measures as a fuel tax cut," Hon

Economy Oct. 20, 2021

More than 1,200 teenagers have fallen victim to online sex crimes so far this year, an elevenfold jump from 2018, government data showed Wednesday. The number of teenage victims rose sharply from 111 in 2018 to 1,268 this year, according to the gender ministry data released by Rep. Yang Kum-hee of the main opposition People Power Party. The ministry tallied the number based on data from the state-run Women's Human Rights Institute of Korea. Digital sex crime victims totaled 14,070 between A

Social Affairs Oct. 20, 2021

North Korean security threats won't change even if a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean War is declared, a former US Forces Korea (USFK) chief said Wednesday, as Seoul pushes for the political declaration to help revive nuclear diplomacy with Pyongyang. During a meeting with security experts in Seoul, Curtis Scaparrotti, who led the USFK from 2013-2016, stressed the "complex" issue of the declaration should be discussed in a "careful" way, as tensions flared anew with the Nort

Defense Oct. 20, 2021

Ensuring peace is the reason for South Korea to build strong defense capabilities, President Moon Jae-in said Wednesday, as the country seeks to build a military based on cutting-edge science and technology amid North Korea's missile and nuclear development. Moon made the remarks at the opening ceremony of a biennial defense exhibition that offers an in-depth look at state-of-the-art military hardware like stealth jets, advanced missile interceptors and hydrogen-powered drones, hours after the

Politics Oct. 20, 2021

South Korea's military reported eight additional COVID-19 cases Wednesday, bringing the total caseload among its personnel to 1,981, the defense ministry said. Six Army soldiers, an Air Force member, and a civilian worker tested positive for the virus, according to military data. Of the cumulative cases in the military, 1,904, or 96 percent, have been fully cured, with 77 still under treatment. (Yonhap)

Defense Oct. 20, 2021

South Korea saw its new coronavirus cases rise by nearly 500 cases Wednesday, but the caseload stayed below 2,000 for the 12th straight day, as the country continued its vaccine campaign aimed at returning to normalcy. The country reported 1,571 new cases, including 1,556 local infections, raising the total caseload to 346,088, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Wednesday's tally is up by 498 from the 1,073 counted the previous day. The death toll came to 2,698, up

Social Affairs Oct. 20, 2021

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 5.66 points, or 0.19 percent, to 3,034.7 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite added 0.71 percent to 15,129 points on hopes of strong corporate earnings, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.56 percent to 35,457 points. South Korea's new virus cases stayed below 2,000 for the 12th consecutive day Wedn

Market Oct. 20, 2021

Thirty-two people affiliated with the US Forces Korea (USFK) have tested positive for COVID-19, the US military's infection tally showed Wednesday. Among the new cases counted from Oct. 9 to 16 were 18 American troops, including those working at Camp Humphreys and Osan Air Base, both in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul. The remaining individuals were four Department of Defense civilian employees, five contract workers, and five family members. The latest cases raised the total number

Defense Oct. 20, 2021

Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung, the presidential nominee of the ruling Democratic Party (DP), appeared at a parliamentary audit Wednesday, the second time this week he will be asked about his possible involvement in a massive development corruption scandal. Lee said in his opening remarks that he will not address questions unrelated to provincial administration and that an audit is not the same as a confirmation hearing. "Today I plan to limit my answers, if possible, to questions related to

Politics Oct. 20, 2021

Prosecutors released a key partner involved in a corruption-laden urban development scandal early Wednesday after questioning him for two days, belying widespread expectations they would seek an arrest warrant for him. Nam Wook, a lawyer, was freed shortly after midnight from emergency arrest he had been under since his arrival at Incheon International Airport from the United States early Monday for questioning over bribery and other allegations. Prosecutors had widely been expected to seek a

Politics Oct. 20, 2021

South Korea's trade investment promotion agency has received an award from a United Nations body in recognition of best practices in promoting investment in healthcare sectors amid the COVID-19 pandemic, officials said Wednesday. Invest Korea, the country's investment promotion unit under the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), was chosen as the winner of the 2021 Investment Promotion Awards by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), along with Costa Rica a

Foreign Affairs Oct. 20, 2021

South Korean brokerage houses have sharply lowered their third-quarter earnings outlook for major listed firms amid rising inflation and other negatives, a market tracker said Wednesday. The combined net profit forecast for 168 major listed firms came to 29.7 trillion won ($25.2 billion) for the July-September period as of Tuesday, up 4.3 percent from a year earlier, according to financial information provider FnGuide. Yet, it represents a 34 percent plunge from their estimate of 44.9 trillion

Economy Oct. 20, 2021