Boy band Seventeen now has two million-selling albums after its latest EP, "Semicolon," breached the one-million sales mark, its agency said Thursday. "Semicolon" has sold more than 1.06 million copies since its release on Oct. 19, Pledis Entertainment said, citing data from Gaon music chart run by the Korea Music Content Association. "Semicolon," released four months after the album "Heng:garae," features six songs, fronted by the retro-swing lead track

Local journalists, citizens and professionals on Thursday launched a joint fact-checking platform to systematically fight disinformation and misinformation in Korean society. The online platform "Fact-Check Net" (https://www.factchecker.or.kr) was established as a consortium among three media organizations -- the Korea Broadcasting Journalist Association (KBJA), the Journalists Association of Korea and the Korean Producers and Directors Association -- and Parti, a social cooperative t

Five American service members and a dependent have tested positive for the new coronavirus upon their arrival in South Korea, US Forces Korea (USFK) said Thursday. They arrived at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, on US government chartered flights between Nov. 3-10, according to the US military. Five of them tested positive on their first mandatory COVID-19 test prior to entering quarantine, while the other was confirmed with the virus on a second test conducted before release. Al

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has not made any public appearances for the past 23 days, but his absence is nothing unusual, a unification ministry official said Thursday. Kim was last seen in public on Oct. 21 when he visited a cemetery in the North's South Pyongyang Province for fallen Chinese soldiers that participated in the 1950-53 Korean War. "We do not attach any special meaning to it as he has gone absent from public view for more than 20 days several times based on past records,

SUWON -- A court on Thursday granted bail to the leader of a minor religious sect at the center of the early coronavirus outbreak in South Korea. The Suwon District Court, south of Seoul, allowed the bail request of Lee Man-hee, the founder of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, citing a low risk of destroying evidence and his deteriorating health. The court set the bail bond at 100 million won ($89,700) and ordered him to stay at his residence and wear an electric device to trace his movement.

The new dates for the Asian qualifying matches for the 2022 FIFA World Cup have been set, with South Korea scheduled to complete the halted second round by June next year. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) announced Thursday that the second round matches will be completed by June 15, 2021, and the final round will commence in September 2021. Asian countries are currently in the second round of the World Cup qualifying campaign, which began in September last year. Following the winter bre

The Seoul city government said Thursday it will launch a 24-hour response system to handle all queries about potential violations of rules on the wearing of masks in public places. The decision comes as all those not wearing a mask in public will face a 100,000 won ($90) fine starting Friday. The city government said each ward office will assign workers the same day to field phone calls on the mask rules and respond to the scene if necessary. The system will be in place for two weeks. "

President Moon Jae-in on Thursday conferred a posthumous state medal on Chun Tae-il, one of the most important figures in South Korea's labor history, in recognition of his service to the country. Moon awarded the Mugunghwa Medal of the Order of Civil Merit to Chun during a ceremony at Cheong Wa Dae attended by his family members and friends. The ceremony came on the eve of the country's annual commemoration of Chun's tragic death five decades earlier. Chun, who was a 22-year-old tailor at tha

Transactions among affiliates of South Korea's large business groups slightly fell in 2019 from a year earlier on tough regulations, the corporate watchdog said Thursday. The value of inter-affiliate transactions by 1,955 units of 64 large business groups amounted to 196.7 trillion won ($176.9 billion) last year, down 1.1 trillion won from 197.8 trillion won a year earlier, according to the Fair Trade Commission (FTC). But such deals accounted for 12.2 percent of all business contracts clinche

Foreign investors turned net buyers of South Korean equities in October, driven by hopes of a global economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, the central bank said Thursday. Foreigners bought a net $1.38 billion worth of local stocks last month, compared with a net sale of $2.09 billion in September, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). Offshore investors became net sellers of Korean bonds worth $230 million last month, it said. Meanwhile, volatility in South Korea's currency edged d

South Korea's rice output fell to the lowest level in 52 years in 2020 as a record-long rainy season and typhoons in the summer hampered production, data showed Thursday. The country's rice production came to 3.51 million tons this year, down 6.4 percent from 3.74 million tons last year, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It marked the lowest level since 1968, when South Korea produced 3.2 million tons of rice. It also marked the fourth straight year of the country's yearly r

South Korea's vice finance minister said Thursday that recovery momentum in the job market appears to be losing steam amid the protracted new coronavirus outbreak, after the country reported the largest job loss in six months in October. The number of employed people reached 27.09 million last month, 421,000 fewer than a year earlier and marking the sharpest on-year decline since April, according to data from the statistics agency. "The country has seen the labor market recover somewhat s

In memory of an iconic labor rights activist who burned himself to death 50 years ago in the heart of Seoul to fight for better working conditions, an international academic forum is under way here this week for discussions on the future of the labor movement, the metropolitan government said Thursday. The forum, which kicked off at Seoul City Hall and other locations on Tuesday for a three-day run, has been organized as part of efforts to reflect on the legacy of the late Chun Tae-il, a garmen

A Seoul court on Thursday ruled that a North Korean defector and his family should be compensated for suffering sustained by having been falsely accused of being a spy. The Seoul Central District Court ordered the government to pay 120 million won ($107,900), 80 million won and 30 million won, respectively, to Yoo Woo-seong, his sister, Ga-ryeo, and his father, in compensation. Yoo, an ethnic Chinese who defected to the South in 2004, was indicted in February 2013 on the charge of espionage, l

South Korean R&B singer-songwriter Crush has joined the army to fulfill his mandatory military service, his agency said Thursday. The 28-year-old, whose real name is Shin Hyo-seob, has entered an army boot camp for basic military training, according to P Nation, the management agency led by K-pop star Psy. Crush is set to serve as a public service worker for roughly two years. In October, Crush released the star-studded EP "with HER," featuring K-pop artists, like Lee So-ra, Yoon

South Korea is in talks with the United States to continue close coordination on pending alliance issues following the appointment of Christopher Miller as the US acting defense secretary, Seoul's defense ministry said Thursday. On Monday, US President Donald Trump fired his defense chief, Mark Esper, just days after his election defeat to former Vice President Joe Biden. Esper was sworn in as secretary of defense in June last year. "We consider it a natural matter to communicate with t

WASHINGTON -- US President-elect Joe Biden said Wednesday he looks forward to working closely with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on various challenges facing their countries, such as the North Korean nuclear issue and climate change. In his first phone call with Moon, Biden also expressed "his desire to strengthen the US-ROK alliance as the linchpin of security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region," according to a statement from his transition team. ROK stands for South Kore

Video game giants Microsoft Corp. and Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. are eyeing an unclaimed territory in their latest battle for global console supremacy: South Korea. South Korea is among the major markets for the launches this week of their new devices -- Microsoft's Xbox Series S and Series X and Sony's PlayStation 5 -- a departure from previous global rollouts when South Korean gamers had to wait months for new consoles. While the e-sports powerhouse is one of the largest video game

As the latest Netflix original film, "Hillbilly Elegy," has hit screens of South Korea's two biggest multiplex chains of CJ CGV and Lotte Cinema, the yearslong conflict between major theaters and the global streaming giant has apparently come to an end amid the COVID-19 pandemic. CGV and Lotte Cinema decided to screen the Netflix-made film from Wednesday for two weeks before Oscar-winning director Ron Howard's drama is released on Netflix on Nov. 24. It is the first time that a Netfl

Hyundai Motor Co. on Thursday launched the Sonata N Line model in the domestic market to diversify its lineup. The Sonata N Line sedan comes with a 2.5-liter turbocharged gasoline engine and an eight-speed dual clutch transmission, the company said in a statement. It can reach 100 kilometers per hour in 6.5 seconds and is equipped with safety features, such as the lane keeping assist and front collision avoidance systems, it said. The model is priced at 30 million won-36 million won ($27,00