South Korea and the United States have not yet decided when and how to conduct an annual summertime exercise, the defense ministry said Monday, after North Korea warned the drills will cloud the future of inter-Korean ties. On Sunday, Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of the North's leader Kim Jong-un, issued a statement saying that the combined exercise could undermine efforts to improve inter-Korean relations at "such a crucial time" after the long-severed cross-border communication

Foreign Affairs Aug. 2, 2021

Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co. beat its Japanese rival Toyota to become the world's largest fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) maker in the first half of the year with the release of a facelifted model, industry data showed Monday. Hyundai Motor, the maker of the NEXO SUV, sold about 4,700 units in the January-June period, up 62.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the data by SNE Research. Hyundai slipped to second place in the FCEV market in the first quarter, but it regained the t

Mobility Aug. 2, 2021

The mayor of Yongsan Ward said he has proposed moving a US military hotel to a location outside the US Army Garrison Yongsan to make way for a new national park. In an interview with Yonhap News Agency last week, Mayor Sung Jang-hyun said he proposed the relocation of Dragon Hill Lodge from its current location inside the garrison to a site outside Yongsan but inside Seoul during a recent meeting with a central government official. The US military is in the process of returning the site of the

Politics Aug. 2, 2021

Samsung Electronics Co. said Monday it will expand overseas sales of its wind-free air conditioner after the product posted robust sales in the first half of the year amid the pandemic-induced stay-at-home trend. The tech giant said its wind-free air conditioner sales outside South Korea jumped 75 percent in the first six months of 2021 from a year earlier. Samsung's wind-free air conditioner boasts a cooling technology that disperses cool air through a maximum of 270,000 micro air holes to en

Industry Aug. 2, 2021

Football was the most-watched sport midway through the Tokyo Olympics among South Korean TV viewers, data showed Monday. The group round match of the South Korean men's football team against Romania on July 25 marked a combined 33 percent in viewership, according to Nielson Korea. It was aired simultaneously by three terrestrial TV networks -- KBS, MBC and SBS -- and labeled as the highest-rated Olympic live broadcast program over the Tokyo Olympics that kicked off July 23. The Korea-Romania

Olympic Games Aug. 2, 2021

TOKYO -- South Korea found itself on the verge of qualifying for the women's handball quarterfinals at the Tokyo Olympics on Monday, following a nailbiting draw against Angola in the final group match. Kang Eun-hye scored for South Korea with 11 seconds remaining to secure a 31-31 draw in the teams' last Group A match at Yoyogi National Stadium in Tokyo. With the top four teams from each of the two groups reaching the quarterfinals, South Korea concluded the preliminary action in fourth place

Olympic Games Aug. 2, 2021

South Korea said Monday it plans to release 80,000 tons of rice into the market this month in a bid to deal with supply shortages and stabilize prices. The move will raise the amount of reserved rice released into the market since January to 370,000 tons, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The ministry earlier said it will release up to 370,000 tons of rice into the market this year. The government said the August plan is aimed at coping with a potential spike i

Economy Aug. 2, 2021

Service members affiliated with a naval unit which reported a mass COVID-19 outbreak while on anti-piracy missions in Africa will begin receiving COVID-19 vaccines starting this week, the defense ministry said Monday. A total of 272 sailors of the 301-strong Cheonghae Unit tested positive for COVID-19 last month and all of the unit members returned home weeks ahead of schedule. The government's failure to vaccinate them before their overseas deployment has been blamed for the mass infection. &

Politics Aug. 2, 2021

TOKYO -- South Korea have reached the quarterfinals of the Tokyo Olympic women's volleyball tournament as the third seed from Pool A, following a straight-set loss to Serbia in the final preliminary match Monday. Serbia handled South Korea 3-0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-15) at Ariake Arena in Tokyo. South Korea finished group play at 3-2 for seven points: three points from a 3-0 win over Kenya, and two points each from 3-2 wins over the Dominican Republic and Japan. It was the five-set thriller over Ja

Olympic Games Aug. 2, 2021

President Moon Jae-in sent a congratulatory message Monday to a South Korean gymnast for winning a medal at the Tokyo Olympics. In a message for Yeo Seo-jeong, Moon noted that she won bronze in the women's vault via a "fantastic performance," based on her mental strength and outstanding skill, the previous day. "It is the first Olympic medal in the history of South Korea's women's gymnastics," he pointed out in the note also posted on his social media accounts. Moon also c

Olympic Games Aug. 2, 2021

South Korea's manufacturing activity reached a seven-month low in July amid the spread of the delta coronavirus variant here, a global market researcher said Monday. The purchasing managers' index (PMI) of the country's manufacturing industry came to 53 last month, down 0.9 point from the previous month, according to a survey by IHS Markit. It marks the lowest point since December, though July is the 10th straight month that the index has remained the 50-point mark that separates contraction f

Economy Aug. 2, 2021

Police have reopened an investigation into an alleged fraud case involving a former chairman of the operator of South Korea's largest cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb, informed officials said Monday. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency has been probing Lee Jung-hoon, former chairman of crypto exchange operator Bithumb Korea, after a group of 14 investors filed their second fraud complaint in mid-July, they said. Kim Byung-gun, chairman of BK Group, an entity specialized in medical and investme

Politics Aug. 2, 2021

TOKYO -- Where people saw three straight losses for the South Korean women's basketball team at the Tokyo Olympics, players and coaches saw hope. South Korea closed out its brief Olympic campaign with a 65-61 loss to Serbia in the teams' final Group A game at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, north of Tokyo. South Korea finished last in Group A, behind Spain, Serbia and Canada. Expectations were admittedly not particularly high for South Korea, who came in as the lowest-ranked team in the group

Olympic Games Aug. 2, 2021

Five-piece girl group Red Velvet will release a new EP in mid-August, the first new album in nearly two years, its management agency said Monday. The group's upcoming album "Queendom," which carries six tracks, will drop globally at 6 p.m. on Aug. 16, according to SM Entertainment. In line with the release, Red Velvet will host a virtual fan meet the following day. The physical album will hit shelves the same day, with preorders set to start this week. The upcoming album is the grou

K-pop Aug. 2, 2021

Homegrown actioner "Escape from Mogadishu" topped South Korea's weekend box office in the first week of its release, revitalizing pandemic-hit theaters, data showed Monday. The film, directed by Ryoo Seung-wan, sold more than 561,000 tickets over the Friday-Sunday period, bringing its combined total to over 788,000 since its release last Wednesday, according to data from the Korean Film Council. The big-budget tentpole starring popular actors like Kim Yun-seok and Zo In-sung is based

Film Aug. 2, 2021