South Korea announced Wednesday it will elevate the social distancing scheme in regions outside the greater Seoul up one notch, as concerns of a fourth wave of new COVID-19 outbreaks over the summer grow stronger. The decision to implement Level 2 guidelines in regions outside Seoul, the western port city of Incheon and Gyeonggi Province on Thursday was announced in an interagency COVID-19 response meeting chaired by Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum. Kim explained the decision was reached as the nu

Social Affairs July 14, 2021

All schools in the greater Seoul area switched to online classes full-time Wednesday as the country has seen record-breaking coronavirus infections. The measure will remain effective until July 25 in Seoul, Incheon, 40 kilometers west of the capital, and Gyeonggi Province. By then, most schools will be closed for summer vacation. According to the Ministry of Education, 93.7 percent of elementary schools, 98.8 percent of middle schools and 99.1 percent of high schools will begin a one-month hol

Social Affairs July 14, 2021

WASHINGTON -- The US State Department expressed hope Tuesday for a peaceful resolution of a row between South Korea and Japan over Tokyo's claims to the South's easternmost islets of Dokdo in the East Sea. "The United States does not take a position regarding the sovereignty of the Liancourt Rocks," the State Department official said, referring to Dokdo islets, called Takeshima in Japan. "The question of the sovereignty of these islands is for the ROK and Japan to resolve peacefu

Foreign Affairs July 14, 2021

South Korea's daily virus cases hit yet another fresh high Wednesday as the country battles the fourth wave of the pandemic amid woes over rising delta variant cases and a slow vaccination process.    The country added 1,615 new COVID-19 cases, including 1,568 local infections, raising the total caseload to 171,911, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).    The daily figures have stayed above 1,000 for eight consecutive days.    Conc

Social Affairs July 14, 2021

SK Telecom Co., South Korea's largest wireless carrier, said Wednesday it has launched a new metaverse platform in a move to capture growing demand for the technology as more users shift their daily activities to digital spaces amid the pandemic. The metaverse refers to a shared virtual space where users interact with each other through digital avatars. The technology has gained popularity over the past year as the pandemic limits in-person contact. SK Telecom said the mobile app-based platfor

Technology July 14, 2021

South Korea had the second-largest monthly capacity of 200-millimeter-equivalent wafers last year behind Taiwan, a report showed Wednesday. The country, home to major chipmakers like Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix Inc., had a capacity of 4.25 million wafers per month, accounting for 20.4 percent of global wafer capacity as of December 2020, according to market researcher IC Insights. Taiwan was the capacity leader at 200mm or 8-inch wafers, taking 21.4 percent of the global capacity. The

Industry July 14, 2021

South Korea reported job additions for the fourth straight month in June, data showed Wednesday, in the latest sign the job market has improved amid an economic recovery. The number of employed people reached 27.6 million last month, 582,000 more than a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. The June additions were lower than an on-year increase of 619,000 the previous month. The country has reported job additions since March when 314,000 jobs were added on-year, th

Economy July 14, 2021

Former US President Donald Trump had indicated to his close aides that he would "blow up" the US-South Korea alliance in his second term as president, excerpts from an upcoming book showed Tuesday. The book, "I Alone Can Fix It: Donald J. Trump's Catastrophic Final Year," alleges that Trump also wanted to withdraw the United States from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). "In fact, Trump had privately indicated that he would seek to withdraw from NATO and to

Foreign Affairs July 14, 2021

South Korean stocks opened lower Wednesday, tracking US stock losses from increasing price pressure that fueled concerns of faster-than-expected inflation. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 16.5 points, or 0.5 percent, to 3,254.88 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks got off to a weak start as an estimate-beating 0.9 percent on-year increase in US consumer prices in June fanned market worries that the world's largest economy may hasten the timeframe for

Market July 14, 2021

No South Korean casualties have been reported so far in riots that erupted in South Africa, the foreign ministry said Tuesday, following reports of damage to an LG Electronics Inc. factory. At least 10 people have been killed and around 500 arrested since recent protests triggered by the imprisonment of former President Jacob Zuma turned into violent rioting as mobs and others began to ransack shops and buildings. An LG TV factory located in Durban has been destroyed after multiple looting and

Foreign Affairs July 13, 2021

The South Korean baseball club Kiwoom Heroes announced Tuesday they've signed former major leaguer Will Craig. Craig will make $371,000 for the rest of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) season as a replacement for David Freitas, who was released on June 23, in the Heroes' lineup. Craig, 26, was a first round draft choice by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2016 out of Wake Forest University. He appeared in just 20 major league games over the past two years, including 18 this year. He batted .203/

Baseball July 13, 2021

Former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon, who was a distant third in recent polls on presidential hopefuls, surprisingly topped conservative front-runner Yoon Seok-youl in a hypothetical two-way matchup, a survey showed Tuesday. Lee, who also served as the chief of the ruling Democratic Party (DP), scored 43.7 percent compared to former Prosecutor General Yoon's 41.2 percent in the poll conducted by WinGKorea Consulting. The result came as Yoon, a leading conservative candidate, is facing growing att

Politics July 13, 2021

The leadership of the country's youngest-ever main opposition chief is being brought into question over a string of controversial political steps, one month after he rose to the party's top seat with a big media splash. Lee Jun-seok, chairman of the People Power Party (PPP), drew a major backlash not only from the ruling bloc but also inside his own party over a misguided agreement with his ruling party counterpart a day earlier to provide COVID-19 relief funds to all citizens. Lee and Rep. So

Politics July 13, 2021

SEJONG -- South Korean archbishop Lazzaro You Heung-sik said Tuesday he will make "cultivating Catholic priests the era calls for" his top priority as the new prefect of Congregation for the Clergy of the Holy See. Last month, You was named to the post responsible for overseeing education and other matters regarding about 500,000 priests and deacons across the globe. The 69-year-old Catholic priest is the first South Korean appointed to a secretary position at the Vatican. "I w

Social Affairs July 13, 2021

South Korean stocks advanced for a second consecutive session Tuesday, backed by strong foreign and institutional buying that stemmed from optimism for strong corporate earnings and economic indicators for the second quarter. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 24.91 points, or 0.77 percent, to close at 3,217.38 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.1 billion shares worth around 13.2 trillion won ($11.5 billion), wit

Market July 13, 2021