The Seoul city government on Monday announced toughened antivirus measures until the end of the year, including reduced public transport by night and a ban on rallies involving 10 or more people. The measures will take effect Tuesday under a new campaign named "Emergency pause period for 10 million citizens" amid a spike in new COVID-19 cases in Seoul and the greater capital area. At midnight Monday, the same region will raise its social distancing rules to Level 2, the third highest

The military reported 33 new cases of the coronavirus on Monday, the highest daily total among service members, as cluster infections broke out at an Army unit in the border town of Cheorwon amid the nationwide spread of the virus. Of the total, 26 enlisted soldiers and five Army officers were from the same base in Cheorwon, Gangwon Province, while an Army officer at another unit in the town was confirmed to have been infected and the other case is an Army officer based in the northeastern coun

Resuming round-the-clock liaison communications between the two Koreas would be the starting point for a new change in the currently stalled inter-Korean relations, Unification Minister Lee In-young said Monday. Lee made the remarks during a forum arranged to discuss ways to normalize communication lines between the two Koreas that have remained severed since the North blew up the liaison office in its border town of Kaesong in June in protest of anti-Pyongyang leaflets sent from the South. &q

Nightclubs and late-night dining will be banned in the greater Seoul area under toughened distancing guidelines, as authorities are scrambling to contain the recent coronavirus flare-up ahead of a nationwide college exam. Health authorities raised the social distancing by one notch to Level 2 in the Seoul metropolitan area effective for two weeks starting Tuesday, only three days after enforcing Level 1.5 distancing in the nation's most populous region. Level 2, the third-highest in the five-

Defense Minister Suh Wook vowed Monday to safeguard peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula with strength as he marked the 10th anniversary of North Korea's deadly artillery attack on a South Korean border island. The shelling on Nov. 23, 2010, of Yeonpyeong Island, a front-line island near the Yellow Sea border, marked the North's first attack on South Korean territory since the 1950-53 Korean War. Two Marines and two civilians were killed. "True peace needs to be supported by stron

Retail sales in South Korea increased 8.4 percent in October from a year earlier on the back of the pandemic and consumption-boosting events, data showed Monday. The combined sales of 26 major offline and online retailers reached 12.01 trillion won ($10.7 billion) last month, up from 11.08 trillion won a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Online platforms led the overall growth, with their revenue advancing a whopping 17.2 percent over t

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha expressed hope Monday for South Korea and Latin American countries to strengthen cooperation in overcoming the new coronavirus and charting a path for a post-pandemic economic recovery. Kang delivered opening remarks during the 2020 Korea-LAC Future Cooperation Forum hosted by Seoul's ministries of foreign affairs and health to promote cooperation with Latin American and Caribbean countries. "We are in a situation that urgently calls for the entire world to

Samsung Heavy Industries Co. said Monday it has signed a $2.5 billion deal with a European company to provide ship blocks and other equipment. The deal, the largest order ever the shipyard has clinched, will be finalized in December 2025, Samsung Heavy Industries said in a regulatory filing. So far this year, Samsung Heavy has secured orders worth $3.8 billion, achieving 45 percent of its annual order target for the year. With the deal, Samsung Heavy's order backlogs also rose to $21.1 billio

South Korea's financial markets will start trading an hour later than usual on Dec. 3 due to the nationwide college entrance exam, the bourse operator said Monday. Trading of stocks, as well as the exchange traded fund (ETF) and bond markets, will begin at 10 a.m. and close at 4:30 p.m., the Korea Exchange (KRX) said in a statement. Trading of derivatives will run from 10 a.m. to 16:45 p.m. Among commodities, trading of gold will begin an hour late at 10 a.m. and close at the usual 3:30 p.m

South Korean all-female group BLACKPINK became the first K-pop act to  top 1.4 billion views on YouTube on Monday with its music video for "Ddu-du Ddu-du." The video hit the milestone at around 3:32 a.m., YG Entertainment said, just about a year after it became the first K-pop music video to surpass the 1 billion mark last November. "Ddu-du Ddu-du," the main track of the four-member band's first EP "Square Up," released in 2018, is one of the group's most po

The morning temperature in Seoul dropped to minus 1.5 degrees Celsius on Monday, marking the coldest weather this fall, according to the state weather agency. The Korea Meteorological Administration said cold air from the northwest caused temperatures to drop by 4-12 degrees from Sunday, leading to below-zero temperatures in the central inland region and the eastern Gyeongsang provinces. In the northwestern border city of Paju, the mercury dropped to minus 4.8 C, while the central border count

LG Electronics Inc. on Monday introduced a new cinema projector in South Korea that boasts easy screen alignment amid the pandemic-driven stay-at-home trend. The latest model of the LG CineBeam Laser 4K, the HU810PW, is equipped with a "triple image adjustment" feature that gives more installment options to users, the South Korean appliance maker said. It will be sold at 3.79 million won ($3,400) here. The new projector can create a rectangle screen even if it is positioned at the

2014년 전 세계를 달군 '아이스버킷 챌린지'의 공동 기획자로 알려진 패트릭 퀸이 별세했다. 로이터 통신은 22일(현지 시간) 아이스버킷 챌린지 공동 기획자 퀸이 7년여간의 루게릭병(근위축성 측삭경화증·ALS) 투병 끝에 37세를 일기로 숨을 거뒀다고 보도했다. ALS 협회는 트위터에서 "아이스버킷 챌린지의 공동 기획자인 퀸이 세상을 떠나 매우 슬프다"며 "그는 2013년 ALS 진단을 받았고, 캠페인의 대중화를 위해 가장 힘쓴 인물"이라고 밝혔다. 퀸의 후원자들은 페이스북을 통해 "오늘 아침 패트릭의 죽음을 함께 나누어야 한다는 것은 매우 슬픈 일"이라며 "우리는 항상 영감과 용기로 ALS와 싸운 그를 기억할 것"이라며 추모했다. '아이스버킷 챌린지'는 루게릭병 환자들을 돕는 기부 캠페인으로 세계적으로 큰 반향을 일으켰다. 얼음물을 뒤집어쓴 사람이 캠페인에 동참할 세 명을 지목하면 대상자

The number of new coronavirus cases in South Korea fell below 300 for the first time in six days on Monday due to less testing on the weekend, as the greater Seoul area is set to be under tougher virus curbs starting Tuesday to prevent another wave of the pandemic. The country added 271 more COVID-19 cases, including 255 local infections, raising the total caseload to 31,004, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The latest figure fell from

South Korean stocks opened higher Monday, backed by strong advances by tech and bio heavyweights amid the resurgent coronavirus outbreaks. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 10.42 points, or 0.41 percent, to 2,563.92 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The KOSPI got off to a mild gain on foreign buying as large caps traded higher amid signs of economic recovery, including an 11.1 percent on-year jump in South Korean export in the first 20 days of November. Bio share

South Korean brokerage houses expect the local stock market to continue its upturn to reach a new zenith in 2021 on expectations for an economic recovery, sources said Monday. Thirteen securities companies have forecast the upper-end target band for the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) to range from 2,630 to 3,000 in the coming year. The expected range surpasses the key stock index's all-time high of 2,568.54 and an intersession record of 2,607.10. Heungkuk Securities Co. h

South Korea's exports rose 11.1 percent on-year in the first 20 days of November, customs data showed Monday, raising cautious hopes of an economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. The country's outbound shipments stood at $31.3 billion in the Nov. 1-20 period, compared with $28.1 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Per-day exports also increased 7.6 percent on-year in the Nov. 1-20 period, the data showed. Imports gained 1.3 percent on-year

Shares in major units of South Korea's top conglomerate, Samsung Group, have risen at double-digit rates since the death of its chief a month ago on hopes for an economic recovery and more dividends from them, data showed Monday. Share prices of Samsung Electronics and six other major subsidiaries jumped an average 13.8 percent between Oct. 25, when Lee Kun-hee died after being bedridden following a heart attack in 2014, and Friday, according to the data from the Korea Exchange. Shares in Sams

TEHRAN -- The "crimes" committed by the United States against Iran do not prevent "carefully considered" exchanges from taking place, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman said Sunday. "The future of relations between Iran and the United States is not simple," Saeed Khatibzadeh acknowledged at a press conference in Tehran, as President Hassan Rouhani's government makes signs of apparent overtures to US president-elect Joe Biden. "The United States has committed

When the 2020 South Korean baseball championship is awarded this week, it will be done before a reduced crowd due to tighter social distancing rules in the capital region. The government decided on Sunday to enforce Level 2 distancing regulations for the greater Seoul area, the third-highest in South Korea's five-tier coronavirus alert system, effective Tuesday. The move was in response to the continued surge in COVID-19 cases in Seoul and surrounding regions, even after the distancing level wa