South Korea's money supply continued to expand in July on increased corporate fund-raising and household loans amid the COVID-19 pandemic, central bank data showed Tuesday. The country's M2 stood at 3,443.9 trillion won ($2.94 trillion) as of end-July, up 0.9 percent from a month earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). From a year earlier, M2 soared 20.5 percent, the central bank said. A key economic indicator closely monitored by authorities, M2 is a measure of

Industry Sept. 14, 2021

North Korea called on officials to finish recovery efforts at a flood-hit eastern province before the founding anniversary of the Workers' Party next month as it held an enlarged meeting of the provincial military commission, state media reported Tuesday. The South Hamgyong Provincial Military Commission of the Workers' Party met on Sunday to inspect the progress of recovery efforts and discussed measures to "ensure the high quality and speed of construction," the Rodong Sinmun, the or

North Korea Sept. 14, 2021

Samsung Electronics Co. on Tuesday released a new monitor suitable for video meetings as the tech giant aims to expand its presence amid the pandemic-driven stay-at-home trend. Samsung's new monitor, S40VA, comes with a pop-up webcam and microphone on the top of its display. It allows consumers to use it only when needed, offering an enhanced design look and security. The 24-inch monitor, which comes with an IPS display panel with a viewing angle of 178 degrees, is also installed with a buil

Industry Sept. 14, 2021

South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries Co. said Tuesday it will close one of its Chinese plants due to decreased productivity caused by its superannuated facilities. Samsung Heavy has been in talks with the Chinese government to hand over the land and other assets by Samsung Heavy Industries Ningbo Co. early next year, the company said in an emailed statement. Samsung Heavy has two plants in China -- Samsung Heavy Industries Ningbo with 150,000 ton production capacity and Samsung

Industry Sept. 14, 2021

South Korea said Tuesday it plans to implement or launch negotiations for a set of new free trade agreements (FTAs) with trading counterparts from Southeast Asia and Latin America this year, as part of efforts to reduce its reliance on major economies. The country plans to officially sign the pending FTA with Cambodia in October, seven months after completing related negotiations, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The ministry said the deal is set to help South Korean fi

Economy Sept. 14, 2021

Typhoon Chanthu is dumping heavy rain and bringing strong winds on the southern island of Jeju, a weather agency said Tuesday, causing safety concerns and disruptions in transportation. The season's 14th typhoon, packing wind gust of up to 39 meters per second, passed 210 kilometers east of Shanghai, China, as of 9 a.m. Tuesday and is expected to come the nearest to the island on Friday, the Korea Meteorological Administration said. The typhoon is expected to affect the island throughout the wee

Social Affairs Sept. 14, 2021

South Korea and the United States have agreed to maintain close ties in the goal supply chain and continue to make joint efforts to speed up the delivery of vaccines around the globe, the trade ministry said Tuesday. South Korean Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo met his US counterpart, Katherine Tai, in Washington on Monday (US time) and shared ideas on ways to cope with the changing business environment amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. During the

Industry Sept. 14, 2021

Hyundai Motor Co. said it began accepting preorders on Tuesday for the upcoming mini SUV Casper ahead of its launch in South Korea later this month. Hyundai said it is accepting early orders only through its official online channel, the first such attempt by a Korean automaker, to reflect growing demand for contactless car purchases amid the pandemic. In time for its official launch on Sept. 29, Hyundai said it will host a digital showcase event and reach out to customers through various digi

Industry Sept. 14, 2021

Rev. Cho Yong-gi, the founder of Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul, died Tuesday. He was 85. The pastor emeritus of the world's largest congregation passed away at 7:13 a.m. at a Seoul hospital. He had been under medical treatment suffering a cerebral hemorrhage since last year. In 1936 in the southeastern rural county of Ulju, he was born to a family with Buddhist belief. His family moved to the southern port city of Busan after the 1950-53 Korean War broke out. He is known to have come to beli

Social Affairs Sept. 14, 2021

South Korea's daily coronavirus cases stayed under 1,500 for the second straight day Tuesday as health authorities worry about a potential virus flare-up during a major holiday that starts later this week. The country added 1,497 COVID-19 cases, including 1,463 local infections, raising the total caseload to 275,910, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The latest caseload was up 64 from 1,433 cases the previous day. Virus cases usually begin spiking Wednesday whe

Social Affairs Sept. 14, 2021

South Korea and Australia have urged North Korea to return to talks "without preconditions," stressing that diplomacy and dialogue are essential to bringing peace on the Korean Peninsula. The two countries made the call in a joint statement adopted following the biennial "two plus two" talks of foreign and defense ministers that took place in Seoul on Monday. The talks came amid renewed concerns after the North test-fired a new type of long-range cruise missiles over the week

North Korea Sept. 14, 2021

The top nuclear envoys of South Korea, the United States and Japan were set to hold trilateral talks in Tokyo on Tuesday about efforts to resume dialogue with North Korea, amid renewed tensions over the recalcitrant regime's recent missile launches. The talks between Seoul's nuclear negotiator, Noh Kyu-duk and his US and Japanese counterparts, Sung Kim and Takehiro Funakoshi, respectively, come after the North test-fired a new type of long-range cruise missile over the weekend amid signs of its

Defense Sept. 14, 2021

The unionized workers of Seoul Metro, operator of the Seoul subway system, called off a planned walkout that was set to take place Tuesday as they reached a last-minute deal with the management. The deal was reached shortly before midnight following a marathon negotiation that began at 3 p.m. Under the agreement, Seoul Metro withdrew its earlier plan to lay off 1,539 workers, or 10 percent of its workforce. The parties also agreed to establish a consultation body between the management and the u

Social Affairs Sept. 14, 2021

South Korean stocks opened steeply higher Tuesday as investors await the release of US consumer price data, seeking more clues about the Federal Reserve's timeline for tapering its stimulus. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 15.92 points, or 0.51 percent, to trade at 3,143.78 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.76 percent, largely on expectations that the Fed would not hurry to roll back its accommodativ

Market Sept. 14, 2021

A 2.2 magnitude earthquake struck South Korea's southeastern region early Tuesday, the state weather agency said. The quake occurred 11 kilometers southeast of Miryang, a city about 390 km southeast of Seoul, at 3:36 a.m., according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). The epicenter was at 35.41 degrees north latitude and 128.78 degrees east longitude at a depth of 16 km. The KMA asked people to be mindful of their safety, as the tremor could be felt in regions close to the epicente

Social Affairs Sept. 14, 2021