Starting Monday afternoon, heavy rain is expected to fall on Jeju Island and the Honam region, which includes Gwangju and South and North Jeolla provinces, and later spread across the country, according to the weather agency. Rain in the southern parts of the country and Jeju Island will mostly stop by Tuesday morning, but it will continue in the central regions until later in the day. The Korea Meteorological Administration added that low-pressure troughs could turn rain into snow in the moun

Shinhan Life, the life insurance arm of Shinhan Financial Group, has partnered with US-based asset management firm Apollo Global Management. The South Korean insurer announced Monday that the two firms signed a memorandum of understanding to enhance Shinhan Life's asset management capabilities and secure diverse investment opportunities using Apollo's specialized investment platform and advisory services while bolstering Apollo's presence in Korea. The partnership will include a

By Kim Wan-ki Drivers instinctively reach for their seat belts, whether they’re off to work in the morning or heading out for a weekend picnic. According to a 2023 traffic culture index survey, seat belt usage in South Korea reached approximately 85 percent, which reflects the belief that seat belts are an essential safety device protecting drivers from potential accidents. Then, what is the equivalent of a seat belt for export enterprises? How can they safeguard their innovative technol

The national pension fund said Monday that the number of its recipients reached 7 million this month, marking the first time the milestone has been reached since its launch in 1988. "More than half of South Koreans aged 65 and above are currently receiving national pension," the National Pension Service said in a statement. "This indicates that the NPS is playing a pivotal role as a safety net for retirees." The NPS currently distributes 3.6 trillion won ($2.57 billion) month

The business presence of South Korean companies in China has withered palpably in recent years amid toughened competition from local rivals and sluggish domestic demand in the neighboring country, industry watchers said Monday. In September, LG Display Co. sold its liquid-crystal display (LCD) factory in China's Guangzhou to a local company for around 2 trillion won ($1.43 billion), effectively ending China operations of South Korean LCD manufacturers following a similar move by industry

The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, a major South Korean business lobby, held a meeting with its Japanese counterpart on Monday and agreed to strengthen ties in areas of energy, supply chains, and advanced technologies. According to the KCCI, the 13th meeting of the business chamber leaderships of South Korea and Japan was held in Osaka in collaboration with the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Their last meeting took place in Busan, South Korea, in June 2023. The South Korean sid

The trade ministry hosted a roundtable with South Korean businesses operating in Vietnam on Monday to discuss strategies for addressing potential changes in US trade policies under the incoming administration. The meeting, held in Seoul, came amid potential shifts under the second Donald Trump administration, including the implementation of blanket tariffs on all imports, which are expected to impact South Korean firms operating overseas as well, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and

President Yoon Suk Yeol's approval rating rose for the second consecutive week to 25.7 percent, a survey showed Monday. According to the survey by Realmeter and commissioned by a local news outlet, the positive assessment of Yoon's performance rose 2 percentage points from the previous week, while the negative assessment fell 2.7 percentage points. The survey was conducted on 2,508 adults from Monday to Friday last week and had a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points, wi

South Korea has designated May 27 as Aerospace Day to commemorate the launch of the Korea AeroSpace Administration and proclaim the country's commitment to becoming a global space power, the national space agency said Monday. The day will be commemorated as a national memorial day starting next year, according to KASA, which was established on May 27 this year. The designation has been made to uphold the country's goal of becoming one of the five global leaders in the aerospace industr

Three infielders were named winners of the top defensive award in South Korean baseball for the second straight year Monday. The Korea Baseball Organization announced the winners in the catcher and four infield positions for its second annual KBO Fielding Award on Monday. Three of the four infield winners were honored for the second straight season: Kiwoom Heroes second baseman Kim Hye-seong, Kia Tigers shortstop Park Chan-ho and KT Wiz third baseman Heo Kyoung-min, who spent the 2024 season wit

A group of North Korean soldiers disguised as "indigenous people" of Russia's Far East have engaged in combat with Ukrainian troops in Russia's western border region of Kursk, according to a Ukrainian news report. Citing Kyiv's top military officer, RBC Ukraine on Sunday reported that more than 11,000 North Korean soldiers are already stationed in the Kursk region and have taken part in battles against Ukrainian troops. "These are mostly general military units. They

Hyundai Motor Group's chief has mentioned the possibility of collaboration with Japan's Toyota Motor Corp. in areas involving hydrogen-powered mobility. Euisun Chung, executive chair of Hyundai Motor, said, "(Hyundai and Toyota) are discussing hydrogen and trying to collaborate well together." Chung made the remark Sunday while meeting with reporters at the 2024 World Rally Championship (WRC) at Toyota Stadium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. The remarks followed Chung's meet

A Posco factory in the southeastern city of Pohang has suffered its second fire in two weeks, officials said Monday, with no casualties reported. The fire started at the steel company's patented No. 3 Finex furnace of the plant, located about 270 kilometers southeast of Seoul, at 11:18 p.m. Sunday. Firefighters dispatched 21 fire trucks and some 50 personnel to the scene before extinguishing the fire at 1:13 a.m. Monday. The police and fire agency plan to look into the exact cause of the f

North Korea and Russia have signed a protocol on enhancing sports exchanges for next year, the North's state media said Monday, as the two nations continue to bolster cooperation in various fields. Kim Il-guk, North Korea's minister of physical culture and sports, signed the protocol with Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev in Pyongyang the previous day, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. While details of the protocol were not disclosed, the KCNA said Kim and Degty

  The South Korean government held its own ceremony in Japan on Monday to honor Korean forced labor victims from an old Japanese mine complex, after boycotting a Japan-hosted event over Tokyo's apparent insincerity in delivering on its pledge to remember the victims. Foreign ministry officials from Seoul and nine family members and relatives of the victims gathered at a site that used to be a lodging for Korean forced laborers, near the Sado gold and silver mines, on Sado Island, off Japan'

Once the dominant force on the LPGA Tour, the South Korean contingent finished the 2024 campaign with three combined victories, the lowest total since 2011. Third-year pro An Narin finished tied for fifth at the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, Florida, on Sunday at 15-under 273, the best performance by a South Korean player at the event. She ended up seven strokes behind the champion, Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand. An failed to join a trio of South Korean winners for this sea

K-pop boy group Ateez has topped Billboard's main albums chart for the second time in its career. Billboard announced Sunday that Ateez's 11th EP, Golden Hour: Part. 2, debuted atop the Billboard 200 by earning 184,000 equivalent album units in the week ending Nov. 21. The Billboard 200 ranks the most popular albums of the week in the United States, measured by equivalent album units, comprising physical album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA), and streaming equivalent albums (SEA

Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung is set to be sentenced Monday on charges of suborning a former mayoral secretary to make false court testimony in his favor, marking the second in a series of rulings that could jeopardize his potential presidential bid. Lee, the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, is accused of encouraging a secretary to former Seongnam Mayor Kim Byung-ryang to give false testimony during a 2019 trial related to his alleged election law violations. The alleged offen

South Korean stocks opened higher Monday, led by gains from top-cap Samsung Electronics and other major tech shares. The benchmark Kospi added 19.51 points, or 0.78 percent, to 2,520.75 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The increase was driven by institutional buying, which offset selling by foreigners and retail investors. On Friday, the Kospi rose above 2,500 points for the first time in 11 sessions following a sharp drop the previous week amid concerns over expected policy changes by the

This article is the fourth in a series exploring diversity in housing in South Korea. --Ed. In Korea, presale of apartments prevails, meaning home buyers base their purchases on model houses and blueprints. Apartment units of a certain size generally have similar floorplans and buyers have an idea of what they will look like when completed. Construction companies, which are also developers in most cases, sell apartment units that are considered investments as well as dwellings. The hope is that