South Korean stocks closed markedly lower Monday as investors grew cautious over the impact of global credit rating agency Moody's downgrade of the United States' credit rating. The local currency weakened against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 23.45 points, or 0.89 percent, to close at 2,603.42. Trade volume was thin at 309.7 million shares worth 6.69 trillion won ($4.79 billion), with losers beating winners 642 to 240. The index opened lower and extended it

Acting President Lee Ju-ho on Monday presided over a meeting of top officials on economic security ahead of working-level trade talks with the United States this week, his office said. The meeting discussed preparations for the second round of technical talks related to US tariffs scheduled to be held in Washington from Tuesday to Thursday after the first round took place earlier this month. The gathering's participants, which included the chiefs from the industry, foreign and finance ministries

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol attended the fourth hearing of his insurrection trial Monday following the controversy over his influence on next month's presidential election. Yoon arrived at the Seoul Central District Court in a black van and entered the building without answering reporters' questions. The election to pick his successor is two weeks away on June 3 after he was impeached and removed from office over his Dec. 3 declaration of martial law. On Saturday, he left the conservative Peo

Servers at SK Telecom Co. containing personal information and universal subscriber identity module data of all subscribers have been compromised in a cyberattack, raising concerns that critical USIM data used in financial transactions may have been leaked, a joint government-private investigation team said Monday. According to the team's interim findings, the breach dates back to June 15, 2022, when unidentified attackers are believed to have planted malware on the company's servers. A total of

KATHMANDU (Reuters) — A British climber beat his own record on Sunday for the most climbs of Mount Everest by a non-Sherpa, making his 19th ascent of the world's highest mountain, a hiking official said. Britain's Kenton Cool, 51, climbed the 8,849-meter peak in the morning and was descending to lower camps, said Rajan Bhattarai of Nepali expedition organizing company Himalayan Guides. Fellow climbers hailed the record as "legendary." "His experience, charisma, and strength make him a valuable p

South Korea and the United States are scheduled to hold a second round of technical discussions in Washington this week regarding the latter's sweeping tariff scheme, as the two sides are working toward forging a "package" deal by early July, officials said Monday. A South Korean government delegation is expected to depart for Washington around Tuesday to engage in the talks, which could begin as early as Tuesday, according to officials from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The two si

South Korea should establish a detailed "win-win" strategy to seize business opportunities amid the United States' push to revitalize its shipbuilding industry, a local business lobby said Monday. The recommendation follows a recent meeting between US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and top executives from major Korean shipbuilders HD Hyundai and Hanwha Ocean Co. to discuss cooperation in shipbuilding. "The Korean government and shipbuilding companies need to present sector-specific proposal

Presidential candidates were set to woo swing voters Monday in the key battleground of Seoul, with the election just 15 days away to pick a successor to former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was ousted over his failed martial law bid. Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung, the campaign's front-runner, plans to meet with elderly voters, while People Power Party candidate Kim Moon-soo and Lee Jun-seok of the minor New Reform Party will join a forum in Seoul. Although the minor party's Lee, who ha

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, his office said Sunday. Biden was seen by doctors last week after urinary symptoms and a prostate nodule were found. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer on Friday, with the cancer cells having spread to the bone. “While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management," his office said. "The President and his family are rev

The state arms procurement agency has designated five key projects aimed at developing semiconductor technologies for defense manufacturing, officials said Monday, as South Korea seeks to bolster its independent capabilities to build chips for military systems. The projects include the development of semiconductors for small satellites as well as module platforms for Synthetic Aperture Radar on drones and Active Electronically Scanned Array radars, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Ad

South Korean stocks opened lower Monday amid concerns over the impact of the United States' sovereign credit rating downgrade on the global market and the economy. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 10.2 points, or 0.39 percent, to 2,616.67 in the first 15 minutes of trading. On Friday (US time), global credit ratings agency Moody's slashed the US' sovereign rating by one notch from Aaa to Aa1, citing concerns about the country's ballooning deficit and rising interest costs. In

South Korea's finance ministry said Monday the recent downgrade of the United States' sovereign credit rating by global rating agency Moody's could increase volatility in global markets and it will closely monitor market conditions. The assessment was made during a meeting of financial authorities, presided over by Deputy Finance Minister Yoon In-dae, which was convened after Moody's downgraded the US sovereign credit rating by one notch from Aaa to Aa1 on Friday. "Participants assessed that the

Firefighters on Monday made efforts to completely put out a fire at Kumho Tire's plant in Gwangju, officials said, with about 90 to 95 percent of the blaze believed to have been contained. The blaze first broke out Saturday morning at the factory in Gwangju, about 270 kilometers south of Seoul, and firefighters contained the main fire the next day, nearly 32 hours after it began. Firefighting efforts resumed around 7 a.m. after firefighters were unable to extinguish the remaining fires the previ

Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung was leading his People Power Party rival Kim Moon-soo with 50.2 percent support against Kim's 35.6 percent, a survey showed Monday. In a Realmeter survey conducted on 1,509 adults from Wednesday to Friday, candidate Lee Jun-seok of the minor New Reform Party came third with 8.7 percent. In a hypothetical two-way contest, the DP's Lee garnered 54.3 percent, trailed by Kim with 40.4 percent. In a similar scenario against Lee Jun-seok, Lee Jae-m

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has paid respects at the tomb of Hyon Chol-hae, who is known to have played a key role in grooming him for leadership, to mark the third anniversary of his death, the North's state media reported Monday. Kim visited the Patriotic Martyrs Cemetery in Sinmi-ri the previous day and laid a flower to mark the third anniversary of Hyon's death, the Korean Central News Agency said. Hyon, marshal of the Korean People's Army, died at 87 on May 19, 2022. He is known to have