ENHYPEN, the seven-member band consisting of reality audition program "I-Land" winners, unveiled its first trailer on Thursday ahead of its debut next month. ENHYPEN's seven members were selected through a televised survival program co-organized by entertainment giant CJ ENM and BTS' agency Big Hit Entertainment. Big Hit's chief Bang Si-hyuk himself took part in selecting the final seven winners from a pool of 23 candidates. The trailer "Choose-Chosen," posted on the band'

Apple Inc.'s new iPhone 12 is expected to boost South Korea's number of 5G users to over 10 million by the end of this year, local analysts said Thursday, as the country looks to lead the global race to deploy the latest-generation network. The first 5G phone from Apple, set to be available for preorder Friday here, comes as a boon for telecom operators that have faced disappointing 5G user growth since the country first launched the network in April last year. South Korea's three major teleco

Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. said Thursday that it and its unit Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co. have won approval for the design of a commercial hydrogen carrier for the first time in the world. The approval in principle for the design was awarded by KR, South Korea's ship quality assurance and risk management company, and the Liberian International Ship & Corporate Registry (LISCR), the US-based manager of the Liberian Registry, Korea Shipbuilding said. The approval allow

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha spoke by phone with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo twice this week for talks that included discussions on bilateral issues and Seoul's bid for the top post at the World Trade Organization (WTO), her office said Thursday. The phone talks, which took place Wednesday and Thursday, came after Pompeo called off his visit to Seoul and cut short his East Asia trip earlier this month following US President Donald Trump's COVID-19 contraction. In this week's talks, t

South Korean police investigating the death of a Hong Kong fashion empire heiress during plastic surgery in Seoul early this year said Thursday the operating surgeon has been found at fault for the medical accident and her death. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (SMPA) said it booked the Seoul doctor, whose identity was withheld, without detention on charges of professional negligence in the death of 35-year-old Hong Kong citizen Bonnie Evita Law and violating the foreign patient attraction

Jeju Air Co., South Korea's biggest low-cost carrier, said Thursday it will carry cargo using a passenger jet to offset a sharp decline in air travel demand amid the coronavirus pandemic. Jeju Air plans to deploy a B737-800 passenger jet to deliver cargo from Incheon to Bangkok from late Thursday, the company said in a statement. "The company is considering expanding cargo delivery using passenger jets to other countries depending on market conditions," the statement said. Budget c

South Koreans' overseas stock transactions soared to a new high in the third quarter of the year on brisk investment in tech companies, data showed Thursday. Local investors' trading of overseas shares was valued at $62.02 billion in the July-September period, an all-time quarterly record and up 42.7 percent from the previous high of $43.46 billion three months earlier, according to the data from the Korea Securities Depository (KSD). The value of US stocks traded by South Korean investors to

The main opposition party, allied with outside lawmakers, on Thursday submitted a bill calling for the launch of an independent special counsel investigation into a snowballing fund scam scandal currently under investigation by prosecutors. Rep. Joo Ho-young, the floor leader of the People Power Party (PPP), submitted the legislation proposal to the National Assembly on behalf of his party earlier in the day. All 103 PPP lawmakers signed on to support the bill, while seven lawmakers from outsi

Choi Ji-man of the Tampa Bay Rays has become the first South Korean with a hit in the World Series, while also helping his team's victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers with some heads-up baserunning. Choi went 1-for-3 and scored twice as the Rays beat the Dodgers 6-4 in Game 2 at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, on Wednesday (local time). The best-of-seven series is now even at 1-1, and the teams will be back at the same stadium for Game 3 at 7:08 p.m. Friday in Arlington, or 9:08 a.m. Satu

The defense chiefs of South Korea and Canada discussed security situations on the Korean Peninsula and other issues Thursday, and vowed to continue to enhance cooperation against various security challenges, Seoul's defense ministry said. During the telephone talks, South Korea's Defense Minister Suh Wook and his Canadian counterpart, Harjit Singh Sajjan, shared the notion that non-traditional security threats, such as COVID-19, cannot be overcome by efforts by a single nation. "The two m

The defense ministry on Thursday brought non-weapon materials and construction equipment onto a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) base in central South Korea after riot police dispersed protesters opposed to the deployment of the American anti-missile defense system. The shipments transported into the base for the THAAD system in the central town of Seongju, about 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, included daily necessities for base troops and construction equipment and materials to

SEJONG -- The number of beef cattle in South Korea surged to a record high in the third quarter of the year on increased beef consumption, government data showed Thursday. There were 3.39 million beef cattle, including Korean-bread cattle known as "hanwoo," in the country as of Sept. 1, up 3.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the data by Statistics Korea. It represents the largest-ever tally since the statistical agency began tracking related data in 1983. The third-quarter

South Korea and China signed a deal to extend their bilateral currency swap agreement and expand the size, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said Thursday, a move aimed at helping ease a potential liquidity crunch amid the pandemic. The BOK and People's Bank of China clinched a won-yuan currency swap deal worth $26 billion in December 2008 in the midst of the global financial crisis. They have extended it by three years three times so far and enlarged the size to some 64 trillion won ($56.5 billion) in 2

North Korea appears to have suspended its signature mass gymnastic shows scheduled to be held until the end of this month after leader Kim Jong-un recently attended its performance, a unification ministry official said Thursday. North Korea's media earlier reported that the propaganda shows would be put on stage from early last week to the end of this month at the May Day Stadium in Pyongyang on the occasion of the ruling party's 75th founding anniversary on Oct. 10. Kim attended its performa

South Korea plans to provide $300,000 worth of humanitarian assistance to Vietnam to help the country cope with the damage from severe floods, the foreign ministry said Thursday. Flooding triggered by weekslong heavy downpours in central Vietnam has left at least 110 people dead and some 90,000 others displaced, with more than 130,000 houses inundated. "We hope that the emergency assistance will be used to provide relief to the flood victims and contribute to swift stabilization of thei

A key suspect in the Lime fund scam case has made additional claims that he identified two prosecutors he lobbied during a justice ministry probe and that he was tipped off about an ongoing investigation against him. In a second letter sent from prison to Yonhap News Agency on late Wednesday, Kim Bong-hyun, a prime suspect in the financial fraud case involving Lime Asset Management Co., reiterated that he did lobby sitting prosecutors but strongly denied his alleged relations with ruling party

Kumho Tire Co., South Korea's second-largest tiremaker by sales, said Thursday it will begin supplying tires for the Skoda Kamiq compact crossover in January. Kumho Tire also has been supplying ECSTA PS71 original equipment (OE) tires to Skoda's Czech Republic-based plant that produces the Octavia sedan since May. Scoda is a carmaker belonging to Volkswagen Group. Supplying OE tires to car manufacturers does not generate much revenue for tiremakers but securing big companies as clients helps

A political thriller depicting the intense power struggle among former President Park Chung-hee's top aides before one of them assassinated him in 1979 will represent South Korea in next year's Oscars. The Korean Film Council (KOFIC) said Thursday that it has chosen "The Man Standing Next" out of 13 films as the country's entry for the best international feature film category of the 93rd Academy Awards. The selection came after South Korean director Bong Joon-ho's "Parasite"

South Korea's small-sized construction equipment maker Doosan Bobcat Co. said Thursday that its European unit Doosan Bobcat EMEA Ltd. has held a virtual event to launch its new product line as part of efforts to expand sales in Europe. The line of 12 new products includes a compact wheel loader, a light compaction machine, a small-sized loader and a mini-sized excavator, Doosan Bobcat said. Doosan Bobcat EMEA based in the Czech Republic plans to annually sell 1,000 units of compact wheel loa

An Army officer has tested positive for the new coronavirus at a unit near Seoul, the defense ministry said Thursday. The soldier stationed in Yangju, north of Seoul, was confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 the previous day while in quarantine after virus cases were reported at his barracks, according to the ministry. "As the soldier was in self-isolation, no contact with other service members has been identified as of now," ministry deputy spokesperson Col. Moon Hong-sik said duri