Korean Air’s 1.8 trillion won ($1.4 billion) merger with its smaller rival Asiana Airlines has secured approval from Europe’s antitrust regulator, bringing Korea’s flag carrier one step closer to becoming the largest airline in Northeast Asia. The European Commission announced on Thursday that it has decided to give the nod to the high-profile merger, 10 months after it granted conditional approval in February when it required Korean Air to further reduce overlapping routes to

The South Korean government will explore measures to bolster support for children born to unmarried parents, the presidential office said Thursday, as the issue has drawn heightened attention following the news that actor Jung Woo-sung and model Moon Ga-bi, announced that they plan to raise their child without marrying each other. "Ultimately, I believe there are aspects such as discrimination in society and issues that cannot be fully addressed by existing policies," a senior presiden

Popular K-pop girl group NewJeans has announced plans to terminate its exclusive contract with Ador, a subsidiary of Hybe, its PR agency confirmed Thursday. The group is set to hold a press conference at 8:30 p.m. Thursday to address the decision.

The opposition-led National Assembly on Thursday passed two bills that could limit the authority and the power of the current ruling bloc. The Assembly, in a 179-102 vote, passed a bill that strips the current ruling People Power Party of the right to recommend candidates for a special counsel when investigating allegations against the president or the president’s family members. The revision to the Act on the Appointment of Independent Prosecutor bans the political party that the presiden

The South Korean presidential office on Thursday unveiled the country's dedicated support plans for premature babies, aiming to strengthen financial aid and upgrade medical infrastructure to meet the critical needs of vulnerable newborns requiring specialized care. You Hye-mi, the senior presidential secretary for low birth rate issues, described the initiative as South Korea's first-ever policy aimed specifically at supporting premature infants as part of its broader efforts to tackle

Shin Yoo-yeol, the eldest son of Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin, has been promoted to executive vice president of Lotte Corp., the group's holding unit, to oversee the retail giant’s global strategy and speed up its leadership succession plans. Lotte announced a management reshuffle on Thursday, replacing 21 CEOs across its affiliates. Born in 1986, Shin currently leads the future growth division at Lotte Corp. and the global strategy division at Lotte Biologics. He previously ser

Seventeen's fourth Japanese single album headed straight to the top of Oricon’s Daily Single Ranking, said agency Pledis Entertainment Thursday citing the Japanese tally. “Shohikigen” is led by a ballad tune of the same title, which has been used as a theme song for NHK drama “Me and Future Me!?” that started airing last month. On Friday, the 13-member act will launch its dome tour in Japan, starting in Aichi before heading to Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka. The gr

Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, the nation’s top two chipmakers, are apparently in a rush to secure subsidies for their massive facility spending in recent years in the US, following a fresh threat from President-elect Donald Trump that he could cancel the promised Chips Act federal funding. On Monday, Vivek Ramaswamy, one of the leaders selected by Trump to head the proposed Department of Government Efficiency alongside Tesla founder Elon Musk, hinted at the possibility of subsidy cuts,

Record amounts of heavy snow blanketed Seoul and its surrounding areas for a second consecutive day, causing tree branches to snap and roofs to collapse in areas hit hard by the snowstorm on Thursday. In addition to the volume of snow, the Korea Meteorological Administration attributed the danger to its composition. The snow that has fallen in greater Seoul over the past two days has been predominantly wet snow, significantly heavier than dry snow. While dry snow weighs about 150 kilograms per c

South Korean stocks ended slightly higher Thursday, despite big-cap tech losses, as investors assessed the Bank of Korea's surprise back-to-back policy rate cut to spur growth. The local currency rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) added 1.61 points, or 0.06 percent, to close at 2,504.67, ending a two-day losing streak. Trade volume was a bit slim at 333.44 million shares worth 7.37 trillion won (US$5.28 billion), with winners outnumbering los

Singer-songwriter Crush is wrapping up the year by releasing a vinyl album, “Dip Cuts Vol. 1,” carrying new singles. The vinyl will be sold at three days of concerts, called “Crush Hour: O,” to be held at the KSPO Dome in Seoul Dec. 20-22. The vinyl carries seven tracks-- “intro (240321),” “may I be your may,” “life is a circle,” “Red Day,” “O,” “deep dive into dipcuts” and “far-sighted,”

An emergency rescue worker saved a truck driver from an 11-meter fall by holding onto the driver for 45 minutes with his bare hands, officials of the Gyeongbuk Fire Service Headquarters said Thursday. The accident occurred Wednesday at around 9:29 a.m. on a bridge on a section of the Joongang Expressway in Poongsang-eup, Andong, North Gyeongsang Province. A truck slid on the snow-covered road and collided with the railings, the impact of which almost threw the driver in his 60s out of his seat a

A roof collapsed at a major agricultural and fishery wholesale market in Anyang, Gyeonggi Province, Thursday afternoon, following the heavy snowfall. One person sustained minor injuries. According to the Anyang Fire Department, the ceiling of the fruit and vegetable section at the Pyeongchon Agricultural and Fishery Wholesale Market collapsed inward at 12:06 p.m. The market had suspended operations since 9 a.m. due to concerns over a potential collapse due to the major snowfall. Some merchants w

The four members of 1VERSE – Hyuk, Seok, Aito and Kenny – are about to achieve the first milestone that countless K-pop trainees dream of: an official debut with an album and showcases. This group, tirelessly honing their skills with the goal of debuting by the end of this year, has one special distinction. It is the first K-pop group featuring North Korean defectors. When 24-year-old Hyuk and Seok, who escaped North Korea and arrived in South Korea 10 years and 5 years ago, respectively, make t

Serbian Ambassador to South Korea Nemanja Grbic highlighted Serbia’s future opportunities and its growing role as a regional hub for innovation and investment during a session of the Global Business Forum on Wednesday. Addressing an audience of business leaders, Grbic emphasized Serbia's transition from an agriculture-dominated economy to a leader in information and communication technologies, with ICT exports now surpassing agricultural goods. Grbic also underscored the robust econom

South Korea's top diplomat said Thursday that Japan would "bear the cost" of tarnishing its international image and reputation if it continues to renege on its commitments to address the historical issue of forcibly mobilizing Korean workers during its colonial rule from 1910 to 1945. Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul publicly criticized Japan for failing to honor its pledge to hold a memorial ceremony to sincerely honor the sacrifices of Korean forced laborers at the Sado Gold Mine in

Innocean, a marketing agency affiliated with Hyundai Motor Group, said Thursday it has completed a campaign in the US, titled “Villains Against Evil.” A collaboration with the National Coalition Against Censorship, the campaign aims to oppose to a recent move to ban children's books on specific issues such as LGBTQ+ and racism in school libraries. In the AI-powered short-form videos, fairy tale villains voice their concerns, stating, “Banning books is the ultimate evil.&

South Korea was thrown into disarray on Thursday as unusually heavy November snowfall continued for a second day. Treacherous conditions led to widespread transportation delays and caused power outages in parts of Seoul. Heavy snowfall of over 40 centimeters blanketed the densely populated Greater Seoul area. Thursday’s snowfall was the third-highest amount ever recorded for Seoul in November, reaching up to 40.2 cm in Gwanak-gu, while Yongin and Gunpo in Gyeonggi Province saw up to 47.5 c

The delegation from Ukraine did not request that South Korea provide defensive weapons during a series of high-level meetings held Wednesday in Seoul. Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun, who spoke with his visiting Ukrainian counterpart Rustem Umerov for 30 minutes on Wednesday, said he “did not receive any proposals” from the delegation about buying the Cheongung air defense system, as some reports had speculated. The South Korean defense minister was speaking Thursday in re

KB Financial Group’s decision to name its insurance unit head as the next CEO of KB Kookmin Bank has shown its willingness to optimize synergies among pan-KB affiliates. The CEO recommendation committee of KB Financial Group recommended that KB Life Insurance CEO Lee Hwan-ju lead KB Kookmin Bank on Wednesday. “We recommended Lee as a final candidate who can stably pursue substantial growth and drive consistent improvement in corporate and shareholder value through structural improv