South Korea should send strong message to North Korea to make it refrain from provocations, former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Friday, amid speculation Pyongyang could soon launch missiles to test the incoming Joe Biden administration. Ban made the remark in a keynote speech at a seminar in Seoul, saying the North's denuclearization issue is likely to be back "on a rollercoaster" following the inauguration of Joe Biden as the next US President. "There is a possibility

Some 13,000 people took part in a monthlong festival highlighting Korean royal palaces despite the new coronavirus pandemic, the Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) said Friday. The royal palace festival, which ran from Oct. 10 to Nov. 8 at four palaces in central Seoul -- Gyeongbok, Changdeok, Deoksu and Changgyeong -- as well as Jongmyo Shrine, offered visitors a chance to explore Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) era heritage both online and offline. Around 13,000 people attended 12 programs

South Korea has not received any formal request from the United States to join the so-called Quad, a regional strategic coalition widely viewed as aimed at containing China's assertiveness, according to a senior Cheong Wa Dae official Friday. "In connection with the Quad, there has been no formal request at all made by the US government to our government," Suh Choo-suk, deputy director of Cheong Wa Dae's national security office, said during a parliamentary session. The Quadrilatera

President Moon Jae-in on Friday named a sociology professor to head a state panel tasked with investigating past cases of human rights violations. Jung Keun-sik of Seoul National University will lead the Truth and Reconciliation Commission set to resume its operation on Dec. 10, Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kang Min-seok said in a written briefing. The 62-year-old has over 30 years of experience researching East Asian social history and the subject of unification and peace. He has been noted for h

South Korea's trade commission on Friday made a preliminary decision to extend anti-dumping tariffs on stainless steel bars from a handful of nations for another three years. Under the decision, the commission will request that the finance ministry slap tariffs of 3.51 percent to 15.39 percent on imported stainless steel bars from Japan, India and Spain, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Stainless steel bars are utilized in making auto parts, medical instruments, constru

South Korean bio company GL Rapha will produce over 150 million annual doses of Russia's COVID-19 vaccine for global distribution, Russia's sovereign wealth fund said Friday. The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said GL Rapha will begin manufacturing Sputnik V in South Korea next month, which it described "the world's first registered vaccine" based on "human adenoviral vector-based platform." "The parties intend to commence production in December 2020 and a roll

South Korean stocks closed at a nearly two-year high Friday on advances in chipmakers, backed by massive foreign buying amid the resurgence of the new coronavirus around the globe. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 18.25 points, or 0.74 percent, to close at 2,493.87 points. Trading volume was high at about 1.1 billion shares worth some 16.8 trillion won ($15.1 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 530 to 299. "Tod

The number of moviegoers in South Korea jumped 55 percent in October from a month earlier thanks to sleeper hits and eased virus fears, a report showed Friday. A total of 4.63 million went to theaters last month, up 1.64 million, or 55 percent, from 2.99 million tallied in September, according to the monthly report by the Korean Film Council (KOFIC). The on-month gain was led by the releases of mid-sized films, including the human drama "Pawn," which has attracted nearly 1.5 million

K-pop acts IZ*ONE and Monsta X are set to join game developer NCsoft's new fan platform aiming for launch early next year, the company said Friday. The platform, named Universe, will allow K-pop fans around the world to join fan communities and enjoy original content, according to KLAP, an NCsoft affiliate that is leading the project. The platform includes features like authorization of fan activities, such as buying albums and attending concerts. The company said it also plans to bring the ar

President Moon Jae-in on Friday held a summit with leaders of Southeast Asia's Mekong River nations via video links, in which he promised to contribute $10 million to help provide new coronavirus vaccines to developing nations. "We will contribute $10 million for coronavirus vaccine support to developing countries through the COVID-19 Vaccines Advance Market Commitment (COVAX)," Moon said during his second annual summit with leaders of the five Mekong River nations -- Vietnam, Cambodi

Financial authorities will tighten rules on unsecured loans from later this month, as they seek to prevent people from borrowing excessively to buy homes or invest in stocks, officials said Friday. Effective Nov. 30, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) will stiffen loan limits for a home buyer to 40 percent of a property's value if the buyer's annual income exceeds 80 million won ($71,748) and holds unsecured loans worth more than 100 million won. If a person buys a home in a regulated a

The foreign ministry said Friday that this week's cancellation of two Samsung-chartered flights to China does not mean a suspension of a bilateral "fast-track" program to ease COVID-19 entry restrictions for essential businesspeople. The ministry called the cancellation an "isolated" case, amid speculation that the cancellation of the flights, initially set to depart for the Chinese cities of Xian and Tianjin on Friday, amounted to a halt of the fast-track program. "I

South Korean shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. said Friday that it has secured a 72.26 billion won ($64.8 million) order to build six container carriers from a European company. The vessels are slated to be delivered by Jan. 31, 2023, Daewoo Shipbuilding said in a regulatory filing. The order has an option for the European company to cancel an order for a maximum of two carriers, the shipbuilder said. Daewoo Shipbuilding did not reveal the name of the European co

North Korean individuals have taken to Twitter to post about their daily lives and domestic news, in a rare move by the reclusive country presumed to be aimed at reaching a broader audience through a more approachable style. It also appears to be in line with North Korea's recent stepped-up efforts to embrace social media, including a YouTube channel, as new propaganda vehicles. Two accounts appeared in October on Twitter, including one signed up as Kim Myong-il, who claims to be a director of

South Korea's money supply continued to grow quickly in September as firms rushed to secure funds amid the coronavirus pandemic, central bank data showed Friday. The country's M2 stood at 3,115.8 trillion won ($2.8 trillion) as of end-September, up 0.5 percent from August, according to preliminary data by the Bank of Korea (BOK). From a year earlier, M2 surged 9.2 percent, the BOK said. A key economic indicator closely monitored by authorities, M2 is a measure of the money supply that count

The unification ministry on Friday renewed calls for North Korea to refrain from provocations, urging Pyongyang to act in a "discreet, wise and flexible" manner during the heightened uncertainty following the US presidential election earlier this month. The calls came amid uncertainty over what policy the incoming Joe Biden administration of the US will take on North Korea and concerns Pyongyang could carry out provocations to draw attention and set the tone for future negotiations.

Voices are growing among lawmakers of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) calling for the replacement of Minister of Gender Equality and Family Lee Jung-ok, who recently drew fire for insensitive remarks on next year's Seoul and Busan mayoral by-elections, party officials said Friday. A group of progressive DP lawmakers reportedly asked Cheong Wa Dae, the presidential office, earlier this week to replace Lee in the next Cabinet reshuffle, citing fierce criticism of Lee's remarks by women's and civ

The landscape of the South Korean streaming service market is facing seismic change as new players have been jumping into the booming sector in diversified forms. As the protracted novel coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the trend toward mobile-based binge-watching of content, e-commerce firms, like Coupang and online portal operators, including Naver, have revealed plans to break into the highly competitive market. Netflix, which launched its service in South Korea in 2016, got a head star

South Koreans taking the bus or subway to work Friday morning were greeted by public officials warning them of a 100,000 won ($90) fine should they fail to wear a mask in public. In a country that has received widespread praise for its response to the coronavirus pandemic, most people were already wearing a mask and did not need to be told to do so. But for the few who chose not to wear a mask, or did not put it on properly, the officials were there to remind them of a new law that would make

South Korea will seek to raise the value of its trade to $2 trillion by 2030 by pushing for the digitalization of its trade infrastructure, the industry ministry said Friday. South Korea, Asia's fourth-largest economy, will also push to hike the number of small and medium-sized exporting companies to 200,000 by that year. The ministry unveiled the ambitious plan during an expanded trade strategy coordination meeting chaired by Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun. "A structural innovation is ne