The South Korean economy is on a recovery path, aided by a mild improvement in the manufacturing sector, but it faces growing downside risks amid a global resurgence in new coronavirus cases, a state-run think tank said Sunday. The country's service industry has slackened as people refrained from making in-person contact and going outside, while the manufacturing sector has undergone a limited recovery on improving demand at home and abroad, according to a monthly economic assessment report by

South Korea's foreign ministry said Sunday it will continue efforts with the incoming government of US President-elect Joe Biden to strengthen the bilateral alliance and achieve progress in efforts for lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula. The ministry's statement came as Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha left for Washington for talks with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, congressional people and academics, which observers predict could include those close to Biden. "The foreign ministry

South Korean political parties said Sunday that Joe Biden's victory in the US presidential election will help further enhance the South Korea-US alliance. Biden was declared the winner of the US presidential election on Saturday after a stunning upset victory in Pennsylvania, which gave him 20 electoral college votes to surpass the 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House. "In the era of Biden as president, I believe that the Korea-US alliance will become more solid," Rep.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in faces a daunting task of moving practically in lockstep with Joe Biden, who won the US presidential election, in the Korea peace process. Washington is expected to reset its strategy on Pyongyang under Biden's presidency scheduled to start early next year. Moon and Biden agree on the ultimate goal of denuclearizing Korea and bringing lasting peace to the region. Biden said he wants the two Koreas to be reunited. At issue is how. While Moon has favored th

President Moon Jae-in sent a congratulatory message to US President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, expressing expectations for joint efforts to develop Seoul-Washington ties. "Congratulations to @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris. Our alliance is strong and the bond between our two countries is rock-solid," Moon wrote on Twitter. "I very much look forward to working with you for our shared values," Moon added. "I have great expectations of advancing a

South Korea's new coronavirus infections again rose by triple digits Sunday on a string of cluster infections across the country, putting the country's virus fight at risk amid the approaching winter season. The country added 143 more COVID-19 cases, including 118 local infections, raising the total caseload to 27,427, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). It marked a sharp rise from 89 cases added Saturday but a slight drop from 145 reported Friday. Sunday's in

The number of South Koreans who died this fall after getting seasonal flu shots has risen close to 100, health authorities said Saturday, though any correlation has not been confirmed between nearly 99 percent of the fatalities and the flu vaccinations. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said the death toll among recipients of flu vaccinations, most of whom are elderly, rose to 97 as of midnight Friday, up three from two days earlier. The rising number of deaths has stoked

Naver Corp. and Kakao Corp., the two major South Korean tech companies, are expected to continue their upward trajectory in earnings projections amid the coronavirus pandemic, market watchers said Saturday. Quarterly sales of Naver -- South Korea's top internet portal operator -- and Kakao -- the operator of the country's top mobile messenger KakaoTalk -- both jumped twofold in just four and three years, respectively. Naver said its sales for the July-September period reached the highes

A South Korean professor has been elected as a member of the International Civil Service Commission, becoming the first South Korean to join the key United Nations commission, the foreign ministry here said Saturday. Kim Pan-suk, a global public administration professor at Yonsei University, is set to serve at the independent expert body established by the UN General Assembly from 2021-2024. Kim had served as minister of personnel management and a presidential secretary for personnel policy.

South Korea's new coronavirus cases fell below 100 on Saturday for the first time in four days as health authorities introduced a revised social distancing scheme. South Korea confirmed 89 COVID-19 cases, raising the total caseload to 27,284, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). One more patient died, raising the death toll to 477. The number of daily virus cases had stayed in the triple digits from Wednesday through Friday. Of the 89 new cases Saturday, loca

South Korea opened a consulate general in Da Nang on Friday as part of efforts to meet the growing needs of its people traveling the eastern city of Vietnam. The Consulate General of South Korea in Da Nang held a ceremony to mark the launch of the diplomatic mission at the Hilton Hotel in the Vietnamese city and went into operation. The ceremony was attended by Park Noh-wan, the South Korean ambassador to Vietnam, and other diplomats from the two countries. The opening has been needed to meet

Suga, a member of K-pop megastar BTS, will take a break from official activities, including promotion for an upcoming album, to fully recover from a recent shoulder surgery, the band's agency said Friday. "Suga underwent surgery to repair his torn shoulder labrum on November 3," Big Hit Entertainment said in an announcement posted on fan community Weverse, adding that the BTS member is resting well following the successful surgery. The agency said Suga has suffered from shoulder-rela

President Moon Jae-in on Friday expressed gratitude to the Combined Forces Command (CFC) between South Korea and the United States for helping Seoul tackle the coronavirus pandemic as he congratulated the command on its 42nd founding anniversary. In a message sent to a ceremony held in Yongsan to mark the anniversary, Moon said that South Korea's anti-COVID-19 measures could become a role model for the world as all members of the command endured inconveniences to prevent the spread of the virus

Lotte Shopping Co. said Friday it swung to a net profit in the third quarter on robust performance in its non-department store business amid the new coronavirus outbreak.   Net income reached 3 billion won ($2.7 million) in the July-September period, a turnaround from a net loss of 23.3 billion won a year earlier, the key unit of retail giant Lotte Group said in a regulatory filing. From three months earlier, it swung to the black from a net loss of 199 billion won. Operating prof

South Korean stocks extended their winning streak to a fifth day Friday, helped by massive foreign buying amid eased uncertainties over US election results. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 2.71 points, or 0.11 percent, to close at 2,416.5. Trading volume was moderate at about 812 million shares worth around 12.4 trillion won ($11.1 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 533 to 294. The KOSPI traded choppy amid profit

Diplomats of South Korea and the United States held talks in Seoul on Friday to discuss pending bilateral and regional issues, the foreign ministry said, ahead of Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha's trip to Washington next week. The meeting between Koh Yun-ju, the ministry's director general for North American affairs, and Marc Knapper, deputy US assistant secretary of state for Korea and Japan, came just days after the US presidential election. Kang plans to visit the US from Sunday through Wed

An appeals court on Friday sentenced South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo, a close confidant of President Moon Jae-in, to two years in prison for conspiring to manipulate online opinions in favor of Moon ahead of the 2017 presidential election. The Seoul High Court found Kim guilty of participating in the online opinion rigging scheme, affirming the guilty verdict handed down to him by a district court in January last year. "Forming public opinion in a fair manner is crucial in a

Ten American service members have tested positive for the new coronavirus upon arrival in South Korea from the United States in the past week, the US Forces Korea (USFK) said Friday. Nine of them arrived at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, on US government-chartered flights, while the other member arrived here on a commercial flight via Incheon International Airport, west of the capital, according to the US military. Eight of them tested positive on their first mandatory COVID-19 t

South Korea and Uzbekistan agreed Friday to announce the launch of trade talks at an opportune time in an effort to expand bilateral trade, the government said. The agreement was made between South Korean Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Sung Yun-mo and Sardor Umurzakov, Uzbekistan's deputy prime minister for investment and foreign economic relations, during a videoconference of a bilateral trade and economic committee, the trade ministry said. The meeting of the committee, the official

President Moon Jae-in on Friday reiterated his promise to upgrade the nation's disaster response system and improve the safety and welfare of firefighters during a ceremony to mark the 58th Firefighters' Day. About 200 people, including government officials, firefighters and bereaved families of those who died in the line of duty, attended the event at the National Fire Service Academy in Gongju, some 160 kilometers south of Seoul. It was the first Firefighters' Day since the government upgrad