A South Korean sex offender, who was indicted in the United States in 2018 for operating one of the world's biggest child sex exploitation sites but avoided extradition to Washington by a court ruling earlier this year, attended a court hearing in Seoul on Monday to be additionally questioned about money laundering allegations. Son Jong-woo, released from a Seoul prison in July after completing an 18-month prison term on child sex exploitation charges, showed up in his detention warrant hearing

South Korea's ruling Democratic Party stressed the need Monday for early talks between President Moon Jae-in and his incoming US counterpart Joe Biden. "It's necessary to hold a South Korea-US summit at an early date following President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration," the party's floor leader Rep. Kim Tae-nyeon said during a meeting of the top party council. He added, "It's important for (South Korea) to have close diplomatic communications (with the US) so that the South Kore

Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. said Monday that it has signed a 200 billion won ($179 million) deal with a European shipping firm to build two very large crude-oil carriers (VLCCs). The 300,000-ton vessels to be built by Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., a unit of Korea Shipbuilding, will be delivered from June 2022, the company said in an e-mailed statement. So far this year, Korea Shipbuilding has won orders to build 11 VLCCs, accounting for 55 percent of the global VLCC marke

K-pop megastar BTS has clinched four trophies at this year's MTV Europe Music Awards (EMA), including the coveted Best Song prize. The seven-member act took home four prizes in total, winning the Best Song category with its latest hit "Dynamite" and Best Virtual Live for its concert that was held online amid the new coronavirus pandemic. The ceremony was streamed live earlier Monday. Other nominees who competed for Best Song included DaBaby with "Rockstar," featuring Roddy

A Marine Corps officer has tested positive for the new coronavirus after returning from a recent trip to Thailand, the defense ministry said Monday. The officer was confirmed to have been infected with COVID-19 on Sunday upon arrival at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, following a work-related trip to the Southeast Asian nation, according to the ministry. The latest case raised the total number of infections reported among the military population to 166. Currently, 120 service

South Korea's won currency surged to a 22-month high against the US dollar on Monday, after the election of Joe Biden as the next US president. The won was quoted at 1,113.9 won per US dollar at Monday's closing, up 6.5 won from the previous session, touching its strongest level since Jan. 31, 2019. It was the first time in some 22 months that the currency breached the key support level of 1,120 won to the greenback. Analysts said the won is expected to further strengthen for the time bein

Nearly half of South Koreans believe that there will be no major impact on inter-Korean relations when US President-elect Joe Biden takes office early next year, a poll showed Monday. In the Realmeter survey of 500 people nationwide, aged 18 or older, conducted last Friday on prospects for Seoul-Pyongyang relations during Biden's term, 48.8 percent said there would be "little difference." Only 16.4 percent betted on an improvement in relations, while 26.5 percent said relations are l

Hyundai Rotem Co., a South Korean railway system and plant equipment maker, said Monday it has received a $76 billion order to supply conveyer systems to Ford Motor Co.'s plants by 2022. Hyundai Rotem will provide the conveyer systems to the US carmaker's plants in Argentina, South Africa and Thailand in the next two years, the company said in a statement. Hyundai Rotem has received orders for an accumulated 280 billion won ($250 million) worth of production facilities for Ford's assembly li

The arms procurement agency said Monday it completed the delivery of new medical helicopters to the Army last week to improve the military's capabilities to carry out evacuations of troops and citizens in emergency situations. The chopper was developed from 2014 to 2016 by adding emergency medical service equipment on South Korea's indigenous multi-role helicopter Surion, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration. It is capable of transporting six patients, including two in

South Korean shares opened higher Monday on tech and battery gains, following Joe Biden's victory in the US presidential election. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 21.21 points, or 0.88 percent, to 2,437.71 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The market got off to a strong start after a five-session winning streak, as investors pinned hopes that a Biden presidency and Republican-controlled Senate would benefit the local chip and battery suppliers. Most large caps

미국의 대표적인 TV퀴즈쇼 '제퍼디' 진행자 알렉스 트레벡이 8일(현지시간) 80세를 일기로 눈을 감았다. 블룸버그통신에 따르면 제퍼디 측은 공식 트위터 계정을 통해 트레벡이 이날 자택에서 숨졌다고 밝혔다. 트레벡은 지난해 3월 췌장암 말기 진단을 받았다가 회복해 같은 해 9월에 방송에 복귀했으나, 곧 증상이 악화해 항암치료를 재개했다. 캐나다 태생인 트레벡은 1984년부터 제퍼디 진행을 맡아 최근까지 약 8천 회에 출연하며 해당 프로그램의 '마스코트'가 됐다. 1998년에는 귀화해 미국 시민이 됐다. 그는 제퍼디 진행 관련 공로를 인정받아 오전·오후 시간대 프로그램을 대상으로 시상하는 데이타임 에미상을 7차례 수상하기도 했다. 1964년 첫 방영을 한 제퍼디는 미국을 대표하는 퀴즈 프로그램 중 하나다. 2011년에는 IBM의 인공지능 컴퓨터 왓슨이 출연해 인간 퀴즈왕들을 꺾으면서 화제가 된 바 있다. (연합뉴스)

South Korean health authorities on Monday began conducting more novel coronavirus tests on patients and people working at nursing facilities across the country. The measure comes as the country has experienced upticks in daily new cases that were mostly traced to senior nursing homes, hospitals and other facilities, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The KDCA has been conducting COVID-19 tests on all patients and people working at a combined 7,977 nursing fac

WASHINGTON -- South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha arrived in Washington on Sunday for talks with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo about pending bilateral and regional issues. Kang's visit came shortly after US Democratic candidate Joe Biden won the presidential election in a move sure to bring sweeping changes to how the United States deals with South Korea and other allies and how it will approach the daunting issue of North Korea. The top South Korean diplomat noted the US' approach t

Foreign investors remained net buyers of South Korean stocks in October, extending their buying spree for a second consecutive month, partly thanks to the weak US dollar, data showed Monday. Foreigners bought a net 1.35 trillion won ($1.2 billion) worth of local stocks in October, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). British investors net purchased 1.3 trillion won worth of stocks, while American investors sold a net 800 billion won worth of stocks last month, ac

South Korean companies need to diversify their Southeast Asian exports and investments into Malaysia in a departure from their focus on Vietnam, a report said Monday. "Malaysia has been drawing attention as a promising destination for exports and investment as well as a supply source as the United States has opened the possibility of imposing tariffs on Vietnamese goods through a foreign exchange investigation," said the report from the Korea International Trade Association (KITA).&nb

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors captured their second major football title of 2020 by winning the FA Cup tournament Sunday. Jeonbuk defeated their K League rivals Ulsan Hyundai FC 2-1 in the second leg of the championship final at the FA Cup, organized annually by the Korea Football Association. Midfielder Lee Seung-gi scored both of Jeonbuk's goals in the second half at Jeonju World Cup Stadium in Jeonju, 240 kilometers south of Seoul. The two teams played to a 1-1 draw in the opening leg Wednesday, a

Joe Biden's election as US president is likely to keep the South Korean currency strong against the US greenback for a while, which will work to trigger foreign capital inflow to the local stock markets, Yonhap quoted analysts as saying Sunday. The local currency closed at 1,120.4 won against the US dollar Monday, up 7.8 won from the previous session's close and the strongest in 21 months. Analysts said Biden's election victory could further push up the Korean won down the road, as the presid

South Korea budget air carriers are anticipated to post grim earnings for the third quarter of 2020, as the virus pandemic has continued to virtually suspend air travel, with the resurgence of infections around the globe set to further delay the recovery. Last week, Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea‘s biggest carrier, said its net losses widened in the third quarter to 385.93 billion won ($343 million) from a year earlier amid the pandemic. However, it managed to post an operating profi

South Korean exporters are expected to suffer from sky-high freight rates throughout next year, as global trade is set to rise down the road amid the pandemic, industry watchers said Sunday. The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index, a barometer of global freight rates, came to a new high of 1,664.56 on Friday, according to industry sources. The previous record was 1,583.18 posted in July 2010. Industry watchers say exporters are anticipated to face heavy shipping costs throughout next year, as

대선 승리로 미국 역사상 첫 여성 부통령이자 흑인 부통령에 오르게 된 카멀라 해리스 후보는 7일(현지시간) 조 바이든 민주당 대선후보와의 통화에서 "우리가 해냈다"며 감격해했다. 바이든 후보의 러닝메이트인 해리스 후보는 이날 승리 확정 보도 후 자신의 트위터에 바이든 후보와 통화하는 짧은 영상을 올렸다. 트레이닝복 차림으로 공원에 있던 해리스 후보는 통화에서 "우리가 해냈다. 조, 우리가 해냈다"라고 거듭 말한 뒤 "당신이 이제 미국의 다음 대통령이 될 것"이라며 웃음을 터뜨렸다. 이 휴대전화 영상은 해리스 후보의 남편인 더그 엠호프가 직접 촬영한 것이라고 한 보좌관이 CNN방송에 전했다. 이와 별도로 엠호프는 아내와 포옹하는 사진과 함께 "당신이 너무 자랑스럽다"는 트윗을 올리기도 했다. 앞서 해리스 후보는 미 언론이 일제히 바이든 후보의 승리를 확정한 직후 트위터를 통해 "이번 대선은 바이든