South Korea-based former major leaguer Choo Shin-soo will spend the next two weeks in the United States to receive treatment and spend time with his family, his club announced Thursday. The SSG Landers of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) said Choo will depart for America on Saturday. He will have his left elbow and shoulder looked at by Dr. Keith Meister, the head physician for Choo's former major league club, Texas Rangers. After 16 seasons in the bigs, Choo signed with the Landers in Fe

Baseball July 15, 2021

D.O., member of K-pop boy band EXO, on Thursday released the details of his debut solo EP ahead of the album's scheduled release later this month. SM Entertainment earlier announced the singer will drop his first-ever solo release, titled "Empathy" in Korean, on July 26. The eight-track album, which includes six new tracks in addition to two bonus tracks, will be fronted by the main track "Rose," the agency said Thursday. D.O. wrote the lyrics for "Rose," it added

K-pop July 15, 2021

South Korea opened an online hospitality house for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics amid on-site restrictions stemming from the new coronavirus pandemic, sports authorities said Thursday. The online Team Korea House (www.teamkoreahouse.com) will welcome visitors from Thursday to Aug. 8, to share news on Korean athletes' performances as well as information about Seoul during the Summer Olympics, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee. &q

Culture July 15, 2021

Defending Olympic baseball champion South Korea added a left-handed pitcher to its roster Thursday, a day after an infielder took himself off the squad after breaching coronavirus safety protocols. The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) announced that Lotte Giants' 19-year-old lefty Kim Jin-uk will be the 11th pitcher on the Olympic team. Kim, the first overall pick at last year's draft, has gone 2-5 with an 8.07 ERA in 29 innings so far in his rookie campaign. He has struck out 26 but walked 2

Olympic Games July 15, 2021

The support rating for former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, the front-running presidential contender, dived below the 30 percent level for the first time in four months over a series of allegations raised against his wife and mother-in-law, the latest poll on major hopefuls showed Thursday. The fall diminished Yoon's opinion poll lead over runner-up Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung to within the poll's margin of error of 2.2 percentage points. According to the poll by Realmeter, the support ra

Politics July 15, 2021

South Korea's ICT ministry said Thursday the country plans to invest nearly 30 billion won ($26.2 million) over the next three years to research digital treatment for depression in a move to find new ways to help the growing number of people suffering from the mental disorder. The number of depression patients in South Korea reached 790,000 in 2019, up 5.9 percent on-year, and the number is expected to rise as the pandemic restricts social activities and triggers economic uncertainty. Digital

Technology July 15, 2021

South Korea's exports of automobiles advanced 28 percent in the first half of 2021 on the back of the global economic recovery and rising demand for premium models, data showed Thursday. Outbound shipments of automobiles reached 1,049,658 units in the January-June period, rising from 820,873 units tallied a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. In terms of value, exports also shot up 50 percent to hit $23.6 billion. It marked the first tim

Mobility July 15, 2021

South Korea's air passenger traffic fell 29 percent in the first half from a year earlier amid the prolonged coronavirus pandemic, the transport ministry said Thursday. From January to June, the number of passengers on domestic and international routes fell to 16.67 million from 23.58 million in the year-ago period, as governments imposed entry restrictions due to the pandemic, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a statement. The number of passengers on international rou

Economy July 15, 2021

A former head of the state audit agency joined the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) on Thursday in a move widely seen as a step toward running for the presidency. Choe Jae-hyeong, the former chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI), expressed his intention to join the biggest conservative party during his meeting with party Chairman Lee Jun-seok earlier in the day and officially became a member in a following ceremony. The move came less than one month after Choe stepped dow

Politics July 15, 2021

With South Korea set to take on France in their final Olympic men's football tuneup Friday, head coach Kim Hak-bum sees the match as another opportunity for his players to build confidence. As far as the coach is concerned, it doesn't necessarily have to be a victory. It can be a collection of small moments within the match, such as connecting on long-distance passes, foiling the opposition's counterattack opportunities or creating dangerous chances from set pieces. The kickoff between the two

Olympic Games July 15, 2021

KT Corp., a South Korean telecom giant, said Thursday it has commercialized standalone 5G, becoming the first mobile carrier in the country to deploy the network technology. Although South Korean carriers first commercialized 5G networks in April 2019, they have been available on non-standalone mode, requiring support from 4G LTE. Standalone 5G offers network services by solely using 5G frequencies, leading to lower latency and better battery life, according to KT. The telecom operator said b

Technology July 15, 2021

More than 750 small business owners held a drive-through rally late Wednesday night to protest the government's strengthened COVID-19 restrictions in light of a recent flare-up of infections, organizers said. The merchants, who united under the banner of a national emergency committee for small business owners, drove around 11 kilometers from Yeouido Park in western Seoul to Daehangno near the city center flashing their hazard lights as a sign of protest. Police stood at checkpoints along the

Social Affairs July 15, 2021

South Korea's major convenience store chain CU said Thursday it has launched two stores in a new international airport in Mongolia as part of efforts to boost its presence in the country. CU said the company has become the first South Korean convenience store chain that has established outlets in the New Ulaanbaatar International Airport. The sole international airport in Mongolia, which opened on July 1 and is also known as Chinggis Khaan International Airport, is about 50 kilometers from the

Consumer July 15, 2021

South Korea's central bank on Thursday held its benchmark policy rate unchanged at a record low of 0.5 percent amid a recent spike in COVID-19 infections but strongly hinted it may conduct its first post-pandemic rate hike by the end of this year. Bank of Korea (BOK) Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said the central bank will review whether a policy adjustment is needed at next month's rate-setting meeting, maintaining his hawkish stance on inflation and financial imbalances. The BOK "could raise its key

Economy July 15, 2021

Drug smuggling caught by South Korea's customs agency more than doubled in the first half of the year as trafficking via non-contact delivery means rose amid the pandemic, data showed Thursday. A total of 214.2 kilograms of drugs were confiscated in the January-June period, up 153 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Drug smuggling via international mail and cargo sharply increased amid the protracted pandemic, according to the customs office. By

Social Affairs July 15, 2021