North Korean leader Kim Jong-un appears to have carried out a reshuffle of top officials at a recent politburo meeting of the ruling Workers' Party, a unification ministry official said Thursday. State media earlier reported that Kim discussed "an organizational issue," including the election of new politburo members and a secretary of the party's Central Committee, at the extended politburo meeting of the party on Tuesday. It did not provide details on those newly elected. "The

North Korea July 1, 2021

SK Inc., the holding firm of South Korean conglomerate SK Group, said Thursday it has struck a 140 billion-won ($123.5 million) deal to buy a 10 percent stake in TBM, a Japanese maker of eco-friendly materials. SK's Japanese investment arm made the investment in the Tokyo-based startup known for LIMEX, a recyclable material derived from limestone and used in products from bags to business cards. In May, SK and three other chemical subsidiaries invested 408 billion won to establish the Japanese

Industry July 1, 2021

Energy demand here is expected to rise over the summer in sync with the recovery of industrial activities and hotter-than-usual weather conditions, the industry ministry said Thursday. The country's maximum electricity demand is estimated to range from 90.9 to 94.4 gigawatts (GW) during the peak of this summer, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The ceiling is based on the assumption that the average temperature hits 30.2 C during the peak. The estimated peak summer ene

Economy July 1, 2021

K-Bank, South Korea's first internet-only bank, said Thursday its customers and deposits grew sharply in the second quarter of the year amid the coronavirus outbreak. The number of customers stood at 6.19 million as of the end of June, 2.28 million more than three months earlier, the lender said, which is led by telecom giant KT Corp. The online lender's outstanding loans totaled 5.09 trillion won ($4.5 billion), up 1.29 trillion won from the first quarter, which marks the largest quarterly in

Economy July 1, 2021

South Korea proposed an extra budget of 33 trillion won ($29.2 billion) Thursday to fund another round of COVID-19 relief aid packages for people in the bottom 80 percent income bracket and smaller merchants hit by the pandemic. This year's second extra budget will be used to finance the 36 trillion-won virus relief packages, the fifth of its kind, designed to support the self-employed and vulnerable people hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Th

Economy July 1, 2021

A fully vaccinated Navy officer has tested positive for the new coronavirus, marking the first breakthrough infection reported in the military, officials said Thursday. The officer, based in the southeastern city of Busan, was confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 after developing symptoms despite having received two doses of AstraZeneca's vaccine in April and early June, according to the officials. A breakthrough case refers to when a person is diagnosed with the virus two weeks after being a

Social Affairs July 1, 2021

The Army plans to test-run a prototype of the newly developed Redback armored vehicle next year to check its performance for a possible deployment in the future, officials said Thursday. The new model, developed by Hanwha Defense Co., a South Korean defense manufacturer, is now under review by Australia after being shortlisted for Canberra's $4.6 billion project to buy new infantry fighting vehicles. Australia will select the successful bidder by next year. According to Hanwha, it plans to len

Defense July 1, 2021

An autonomous police system went into effect nationwide Thursday in what appears to be the biggest organizational change since the inauguration of the country's police 76 years ago. The system was designed to disperse power within the police after President Moon Jae-in's reform of the prosecution service led to more investigative authority for the police. It is also aimed at providing people with more community-oriented policing services. It came into being in accordance with the new act intro

Politics July 1, 2021

South Korea said Thursday it plans to offer more tax incentives and lift more regulations for chipmakers in line with its vision to become a global powerhouse in both memory and non-memory chips. The country is seeking to have major research and development (R&D) projects and facility investment in the chip sector receive incentives through a law revision, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The proposed bill on expanded tax incentives and eased regulations, a follow-u

Industry July 1, 2021

Small businesses with five to 49 employees began to implement a 52-hour workweek Thursday as mandated by law. Under a revision to the Labor Standards Act, the government began enforcing the 52-hour workweek system in 2018, starting with firms with 300 or more employees in July of that year. In January 2020, the system began to be applied to firms with 50 to 299 employees, and on Thursday, to smaller businesses. South Korea has among the longest working hours among the member states of the Org

Social Affairs July 1, 2021

WASHINGTON -- The United States is aware of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's remarks about a serious incident with regard to the North's fight against the new coronavirus, a State Department spokesperson said Wednesday. Jalina Porter, principal deputy spokesperson for the department, however, offered no immediate US plans to provide humanitarian assistance, including COVID-19 vaccine, to the impoverished North. "We are certainly aware of the report -- what Kim Jong-un has said -- but we

North Korea July 1, 2021

South Korea's daily new virus cases remained in the 700s for the second day Thursday as the greater Seoul area is facing a potential resurgence in new infections, which led authorities to push back eased virus restrictions. The country reported 762 more COVID-19 cases, including 712 local infections, raising the total caseload to 157,723, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The daily caseload soared to an over two-month high Wednesday due to a series of cluster infecti

Social Affairs July 1, 2021

South Korea-based Canadian slugger Jamie Romak will be honored Thursday as the top baseball player from his country for the 2020 season. Romak, first baseman for the SSG Landers in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), will receive the 2020 Tip O'Neill Award before a home game against the Samsung Lions at Incheon SSG Landers Field in Incheon, 40 kilometers west of Seoul. The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame presents the award annually to the Canadian player "judged to have excelled in indi

Baseball July 1, 2021

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un vowed to elevate relations with China to a new strategic point as he sent a congratulatory message to Chinese President Xi Jinping to mark the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party of China, state media said Thursday. In an apparent reference to the deepening Sino-US rivalry, Kim also said in the message that "hostile forces" are engaged in "vicious slander and all-round pressure" upon China, but they can "never check the on-going adva

North Korea July 1, 2021

LG Uplus Corp., one of three mobile carriers in South Korea, is aiming to boost its profile by expanding media and business-focused services beyond its established focus in telecommunications, its chief has said. Hwang Hyeon-sik, CEO of LG Uplus, said in a press conference Wednesday that he aims to raise the company's share of sales from non-telecom services to 30 percent of the total by 2025 from the current 20 percent. "The future B2B market will transition from a focus on infrastructur

Technology July 1, 2021