Unionized workers at GM Korea Co., the South Korean unit of General Motors Co., entered a partial strike Wednesday for higher wages amid the extended COVID-19 pandemic. GM Korea workers put down their tools in three plants -- two in Bupyeong, just west of Seoul, and one in Changwon, 400 kilometers south of the capital city, a company spokesman said over the phone. GM Korea and its union have had 13 rounds of negotiations over wages since May, but they failed to bridge their differences. The

Industry July 21, 2021

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases hit a fresh high of over 1,700 on Wednesday as cluster infections continued to spread across the nation amid a fast rise of highly contagious delta variant cases. The country added 1,784 COVID-19 cases, including 1,726 local infections, raising the total caseload to 182,265, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The latest figure was the highest ever since the country confirmed the first case in January 2020. The daily

Social Affairs July 21, 2021

Sales of major high-growth unlisted companies in South Korea have risen more than four times over the past three years with online distributors and bio firms posting explosive growth, a corporate tracker said Wednesday. The combined top line of the country's top 100 unlisted companies came to 20.4 trillion won ($17.8 billion) last year, up a whopping 323 percent from three years earlier, according to CEO Score. The companies, chosen from more than 11,500 businesses nationwide, don't belong to

Market July 21, 2021

TOKYO -- When the opening ceremony for the Tokyo Olympics takes place Friday night, South Korea will only have a modest-size delegation representing the country. Citing COVID-19 infection concerns, South Korea will have six officials and around 50 athletes marching in at Olympic Stadium in the Japanese capital, an official from the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) said Wednesday. South Korea is sending 232 athletes and 122 officials to the competition. Volleyball star Kim Yeon-koun

Sports July 21, 2021

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday as bargain hunters sought to buy oversold stocks after the benchmark index took a breather for the past three sessions. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 10.67 points, or 0.33 percent, to 3,243.37 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks came to a strong start after the KOSPI retreated nearly 2 percent in the past three sessions amid rising concerns over the fourth wave of the pandemic in the country. Hopes of e

Market July 21, 2021

TOKYO -- Tokyo remains under a state of emergency due to a rising number of novel coronavirus cases. At this rate, the Olympic Games the Japanese capital is hosting this summer may be under a similar state before the competition even starts. The list of Olympic officials quitting in disgrace grew Monday, when Keigo Oyamada, the composer for the opening ceremony, resigned over the bullying of disabled children in the past. The departure came only four days before the opening festivities. Oyamad

Olympic Games July 21, 2021

South Korea's producer prices gained 0.4 percent on-month in June due to a modest rise in prices of industrial goods, extending their monthly gains for the eighth straight month, central bank data showed Wednesday. The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, stood at 109.06 in June, compared with 108.65 a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The May index advanced 6.4 percent from the previous year, the BOK data showed. The prices of agricultural goo

Economy July 21, 2021

SEOUL/WASHINGTON -- US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman renewed calls Wednesday for North Korea to return to dialogue, stressing Washington's willingness to take "some patience" and holding out prospects of a "brighter future" for Pyongyang. Sherman made the remarks following trilateral talks with her South Korean and Japanese counterparts, Choi Jong-kun and Takeo Mori, respectively, in Tokyo after North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Son-gwon rejected US' overtures for d

Foreign Affairs July 21, 2021

BMW, Porsche, Kia Corp. and Nissan Motor Corp. will voluntarily recall nearly 49,000 vehicles to fix faulty components, the transport ministry said Wednesday. This is the latest in a series of recalls by carmakers in South Korea and vehicle importers due to problems with vehicle components. The companies are recalling a combined 48,939 units in 15 kinds of models, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a statement. The problems include a faulty fuel hose in BMW's MINI Coo

Economy July 21, 2021

　 　South Korea and Japan agreed Tuesday to continue efforts to resolve pending issues rooted largely in wartime history, the foreign ministry said Tuesday, despite the flare-up of tension over a Japanese diplomat‘s disparaging remarks on President Moon Jae-in’s approach to Tokyo. 　 　First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun shared the understanding with his Japanese counterpart, Takeo Mori, during their bilateral talks in Tokyo on Tuesday, the ministry said. 　 　“The two vice m

Politics July 20, 2021

 Members of South Korea‘s virus-hit Cheonghae naval unit returned home from Africa on Tuesday, the defense ministry said, after cutting short their anti-piracy mission following an unprecedented mass outbreak that infected 247, or 82 percent, of the 301-member unit. 　One of two KC-330 Cygnus multirole aircraft dispatched to airlift all of the troops returned to an air base south of Seoul at 5:30 p.m., carrying 160 infected members, including 16 who had been treated at local hospi

Defense July 20, 2021

South Korea's top power plant builder Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co. said Tuesday that it has decided to invest $60 million to expand its stake in NuScale Power LLC., a US small modular reactor (SMR) maker. Doosan Heavy already invested $44 million in the unlisted SMR maker in 2019, along with other local investors, and signed a deal to provide core parts to be used for the construction of SMRs, a new type of light water reactor for nuclear power plants. Doosan Heavy, however,

Industry July 20, 2021

South Korean stocks extended their losing streak to a third consecutive session Tuesday, following a US stock plunge that stemmed from concerns that the resurgence in the new coronavirus and its variants may deter economic recovery. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) retreated 11.34 points, or 0.35 percent, to close at 3,232.7 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 963 million shares worth some 15.1 trillion won ($13.1 billi

Market July 20, 2021

South Korea has confirmed 1,252 more cases of four major contagious variants of the new coronavirus over the past week, with the portion of the highly transmissible delta variant spiking, health authorities said Tuesday. The country's total cases of four major variants stood at 4,605 as of Saturday, and of the variant cases newly identified between July 11 and 17, the delta variant accounted for 76 percent, or 951 cases, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The

Social Affairs July 20, 2021

South Korean artistic gymnast Yeo Seo-jeong will try to match in Tokyo this summer what her father did 25 years ago in Atlanta: win an Olympic medal. The 19-year-old Yeo won an Asian Games gold medal in the women's vault in 2018, adding it to the two Asian Games gold medals that her father, Yeo Hong-chul, won in 1994 and 1998. Her mother, Kim Yoon-ji, was also a gymnast, and she won bronze in the women's team event at the 1994 Asian Games. In that gymnast family, the senior Yeo is the only one

Olympic Games July 20, 2021