Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Lee Kang-in said Friday he was "proud" of his South Korean teammates at the Asian Games in China, having belatedly joined the team after the young Taegeuk Warriors handily won their first two group stage matches. Lee arrived in the Asiad host city of Hangzhou on Thursday, hours before South Korea defeated Thailand 4-0 in their second Group E match. This came on the heels of a 9-0 rout of Kuwait to open the tournament Tuesday. Lee, who had missed the two e

South Korea's foreign ministry on Friday called on Russia to "transparently explain" its recent dealings with North Korea amid growing speculation of an arms supply deal at last week's bilateral summit. "If it (Moscow) will not engage in such worrisome military cooperation with North Korea, Russia should transparently explain (its dealings with North Korea) so that the international community could find it acceptable," a ministry official said. The comments were m

Hospitals will be required to install surveillance cameras in operating rooms and record surgery procedures at the request of patients starting next week, the health ministry said Friday. The revised Medical Service Act, set to take effect Monday, also calls for storing recorded videos for at least 30 days, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare. Under the revision, medical clinics must install cameras in all operating rooms that handle surgeries where patients are anesthetized or unc

South Korean stocks closed lower for the second consecutive day Friday amid concerns the US Federal Reserve may keep its benchmark lending rate higher for longer. The local currency climbed against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index had declined 6.84 points, or 0.27 percent, to finish at 2,508.13. Trading volume was moderate at 425.5 million shares worth 6.9 trillion won ($5.2 billion), with decliners outpacing winners 595 to 285. Individuals purchased a total of 206.

South Korean swimmer Lee Ho-joon has spent the past few years in the shadow of his more famous relay teammate, Hwang Sun-woo. When the two aren't teaming up for the men's 4x200-meter freestyle relay, Lee and Hwang engage in an internal competition in the men's 200m freestyle. Hwang is the more accomplished athlete of the two, having won silver and then bronze in the 200m freestyle at the past two World Aquatics Championships. Lee, though, took a big step forward at this year'

South Korean stocks started lower Friday, tracking an overnight tumble on Wall Street, amid concerns the US Federal Reserve will keep its restrictive monetary policy in place for longer than expected. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 21.67 points, or 0.86 percent, to 2,493.30 in the first 15 minutes of trading. All three US stock indexes fell on Thursday as investors' risk appetite dwindled after the Fed hinted it may go for another rate hike later this year after a rate

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the opening ceremony of the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, later this week, an official said Friday. Han will depart for China on Saturday to attend the opening ceremony, which is set to take place later in the day. The meeting with Xi is most likely to occur before the event. "It has been confirmed that the meeting will take place, and we are currently finalizing the location and timing," the

US President Joe Biden slammed Russia on Thursday for seeking more weapons from Iran and North Korea for use in its war in Ukraine, reiterating such an arms transfer would flout UN Security Council resolutions. Biden made the remarks during a White House summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, during which he announced a $325 million military assistance package, including artillery, ammunition, and air defense capabilities. "Russia alone stands in the way of peace. He could end

President Yoon Suk Yeol held another round of back-to-back summits with world leaders in New York on Thursday as he rampped up his push to promote South Korea's bid to host the 2030 World Expo in Busan. Since his arrival in New York on Monday to attend the UN General Assembly, Yoon has held dozens of two-way summits in a last-ditch effort for the Expo bid. In a morning summit, Yoon met with Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso and said that bilateral talks on the signing of a strategic econ

The United States is closely monitoring possible arms trade between North Korea and Russia, a senior US official said Thursday, after last week's summit between their leaders raised concerns about military cooperation. During a meeting with a group of reporters in Brussels, the official also said South Korea has expressed its willingness to actively support North Atlantic Treaty Organization member countries that assist Ukraine in its war against Russia. "Obviously Russia is looking fo

The Russian Embassy in Seoul on Thursday expressed "deep regret" over President Yoon Suk Yeol's speech condemning military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow at the United Nations and accused him of joining Washington's "propaganda campaign." During his keynote address to the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday (U.S. time), Yoon warned that any arms deal between the two countries would be considered a "direct provocation" against South Korea, relaying

The National Assembly on Thursday passed a motion seeking parliamentary consent to the potential arrest of opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, while also passing another motion calling for the dismissal of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo. In a 149-136 vote during a plenary session, the Assembly passed the motion to lift arrest immunity for Lee of the main opposition Democratic Party (Democratic Party), who faces breach of trust, bribery and other charges in connection with a scandal-ridden land develop

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a 20-year prison sentence for the so-called spin kick assailant in the southeastern port city of Busan, who caused social outrage last year due to his brutal attacks on a female stranger for the purpose of rape. The defendant, whose identity has been withheld, is accused of following the victim, to whom he had no personal connection, for 10 minutes all the way to her apartment's elevator on May 22, 2022, knocking her out with a roundhouse kick to the bac

Smartphone shipments in South Korea declined more than 13 percent on-year in the second quarter, recent data showed Thursday, as demand remained sluggish over economic uncertainties. The total shipment came to approximately 2.8 million units for the April-June period, down 13.2 percent from a year ago, as "demand for smartphones continued to slow down amid economic uncertainties," the Korea branch of International Data Corporation said. But the shipments of premium smartphones, priced

South Korea's exports moved up 9.8 percent on-year in the first 20 days of September due to a higher number of working days, but shipments of chips and petroleum products remained sluggish, data showed Thursday. The country's outbound shipments reached $36 billion in the Sept. 1-20 period, compared with $32.7 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Imports fell 1.5 percent on-year to $36.4 billion during the period, resulting in a trade def

President Yoon Suk Yeol held a series of summits with world leaders in New York on Wednesday as part of his ongoing efforts to secure support for South Korea's bid to host the 2030 World Expo in Busan. Yoon, on the third day of his trip to attend the UN General Assembly, is using the annual gathering to meet with dozens of leaders on the sidelines in a last-minute push to bolster the country's campaign for the Expo bid. Yoon engaged in a series of discussions with leaders from Europe,

South Korean stocks started lower Thursday after the US Federal Reserve kept its benchmark lending rate unchanged while noting it may push for an additional rate hike later this year. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 12.91 points, or 0.5 percent, to 2,546.83 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, US stocks closed lower, with the S&P 500 dropping almost 1 percent and the Nasdaq Composite plunging 1.53 percent amid a slide in tech giants, including Apple Inc. and Te

Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho said Thursday the government will closely monitor rising global economic uncertainties, after the US central bank decided to hold its key rates overnight. The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday announced the decision to hold the rate steady between 5.25 percent and 5.50 percent. It raised the rate by a quarter percentage point to the current level in July. "As shown in the recent FOMC meeting, the possibility over the protracted high interest rates have moved up

A KF-16 fighter jet crashed during takeoff from its base in the southwestern county of Seosan on Thursday, and the lone pilot safely ejected before being taken to a hospital, the Air Force said. The jet belonging to the 20th Fighter Wing went down at the base in Seosan, some 120 kilometers southwest of Seoul, at 8:20 a.m. while taking off on an unspecified mission, the Air Force said. "The pilot has made an emergency ejection and is safe," the Air Force said in a text message to report

The National Assembly was set to vote Thursday on two separate motions seeking the arrest of opposition leader Lee Jae-myung and the dismissal of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo. The motions will be put to an anonymous vote during a plenary session in the afternoon. The motion requesting parliamentary consent to lift the arrest immunity of Lee of the main opposition Democratic Party came after the prosecution sought an arrest warrant for him over breach of trust and other charges. By law, sitting la