BERLIN -- Hundreds of people staged a rally in Berlin on Tuesday to protest a district office's order to remove a statue in the German capital symbolizing victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery. Some 300 activists and citizens gathered near the statue, formally called "The Statue of Peace," in Berlin's Mitte district and marched to the Mitte district office, demanding the German city authorities revoke the removal decision. Korea Verband, a Berlin-based civic group with South Ko

  The International Monetary Fund said Tuesday that South Korea's economy will shrink 1.9 percent this year as the coronavirus pandemic ravaged exports and consumption. The IMF's latest forecast represented a slight upgrade from its previous prediction of 2.1 percent contraction in June. The IMF also painted a somewhat brighter picture of the global economy as advanced nations reopened their economies, although the pandemic has showed no signs of weakening. The global economy is expect

Chung Un-chan, commissioner of the Korea Baseball Organization, has decided not to seek a second term. Following its board of directors meeting, the KBO announced Tuesday that Chung, whose three-year term ends in December, will not pursue another term at the helm of the country's professional baseball. The board, made up of presidents from 10 KBO clubs, decided to nominate former Doosan Bears interim owner Chung Ji-taik as the new commissioner. The KBO's board of governors, comprising owners o

Over 100 South Korean lawmakers have signed a joint letter protesting the city of Berlin's order to remove a statue symbolizing victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery from the streets of the German capital, according to political parties Tuesday. The letter, signed by 113 members of the ruling Democratic Party (DP), the minor progressive Justice Party, Basic Income Party, Transition Korea party and independent legislators, was delivered to the German embassy in South Korea on Tuesday. Korea

More than 40 percent of retired athletes in South Korea remained jobless as of last year, a lawmaker said Tuesday, calling for state help for them to build "a second life." As of 2019, 41.9 percent of the 8,251 retired athletes surveyed by the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee remained unemployed, Rep. Kim Yea-ji of the main opposition People Power Party said, citing data by the committee. Of those employed, only 29.8 percent answered they had jobs related to sports, such as refe

First Lady Kim Jung-sook of South Korea said Tuesday that the role and mission of the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) has become more significant than ever amid the new coronavirus outbreak. She was speaking in a video message for the Seoul-based organization's annual forum of partner nations, which was held online. Kim serves as honorary president of South Korea's IVI support committee. "As the whole world battles against the COVID-19 pandemic, the mission of the IVI, which is to d

South Korea's military is expected to run short of troops from around 2032 due to a shrinking population amid low birthrates, the military recruitment agency chief said Tuesday. The Military Manpower Administration chief, Mo Jong-hwa, made the remark during a parliamentary audit session, saying detailed discussions should begin to come up with measures to cope with the expected shortage. From 2032, Mo said, the country will have only about 180,000 people joining the military a year when at le

South Korean shipbuilders are expected to win orders later this year to build liquefied national gas (LNG) ships in Africa, analysts said Tuesday. In the January-September period, local shipbuilders fell far short of achieving their annual order targets as the new coronavirus pandemic continued to affect the shipbuilding industry, according to their order data. Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering received $4.5 billion worth of orders in the first nine months, achieving 29 percent o

Fans of K-pop superstar BTS on Tuesday voiced frustration over the social media storm in China that has erupted over member RM's recent remarks honoring those sacrificed during the Korean War. In an Oct. 7 ceremony hosted by the US-based nonprofit organization The Korea Society, RM, who spoke on behalf of the group that received an award for its contributions to Seoul-Washington ties, referred to the 1950-53 war where the two countries fought together. "We will always remember the history

South Korean stocks turned lower late Tuesday morning, as investors went risk-averse over the local resurgence of the new coronavirus. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 14.43 points, or 0.6 percent, to 2,389.3 as of 11:20 a.m. The KOSPI fell back into negative terrain after opening a tad higher following the overnight Wall Street rally. Investor sentiment worsened as the country's new COVID-19 infections bounced back to the triple digits, stoking fears that the p

Twenty-two American service members have tested positive for the new coronavirus upon arrival in South Korea from the United States, the US Forces Korea (USFK) said Tuesday. Of them, 18 arrived at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, on US government chartered flights from the US, and the remaining four arrived at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, on commercial flights from their home country between Sept. 25 and Oct. 9, according to the US military. Half of them tested pos

K-pop superstar BTS will open online pop-up stores inspired by its latest studio album, "Map of the Soul: 7," next week amid the prolonged novel coronavirus pandemic, the band's management agency said Tuesday. "BTS Pop-up: Map of the Soul" will first open on the septet's online fan community BTS Weverse for fans in South Korea and the United States on Oct. 23 and run until Jan. 24, 2021, according to Big Hit Entertainment. From Nov. 14, separate online stores will be availa

South Korean stocks ended their eight-session winning streak Tuesday, as investors went risk-averse over a resurgence of the new coronavirus. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 0.58 point, or 0.02 percent, to close at 2,403.15. Trading volume was moderate at about 715 million shares worth some 10 trillion won ($8.7 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 504 to 322. Foreigners bought a net 209 billion won, while instituti

Tens of trillions of won are floating around stock markets after last week's fierce competition for the subscription of Big Hit Entertainment, the management agency of K-pop superstar BTS, data showed Tuesday. Retail investors, including BTS fans, chipped in 58.4 trillion won ($50.8 billion) in the agency's two-day subscription from Oct. 5-6. Of that amount, about 26 trillion won stayed floating in cash management accounts (CMA) and investor deposits, according to the data from the Korea Finan

Steve Yoo, a once successful Korean American singer banned from entering South Korea for 18 years for dodging the draft, should not be allowed into the country because his entry could be dispiriting to others carrying out the duty, the military manpower agency chief said Tuesday. In 2002, the singer, better known as Yoo Seung-jun, renounced his Korean citizenship to allegedly dodge military service, even though he had repeatedly pledged to carry out the duty. The move sparked a public uproar, a

South Korea's military can "immediately respond to and incapacitate" North Korean artillery and missiles if they are used to attack the South, the defense ministry said Tuesday, after the North unveiled new weapons during a parade last week. On Saturday, North Korea held a massive military parade in Pyongyang to mark the 75th founding anniversary of its ruling Workers' Party, unveiling a new intercontinental missile (ICBM) and submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), along with re

South Korean banks' household loans continued to grow at a fast pace in September largely due to accelerated home-backed lending amid soaring home prices, central bank data showed Tuesday. Outstanding bank loans to local households came to 957.9 trillion won ($832.5 billion) as of end-September, up 9.6 trillion won from the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). It slowed from an all-time high of an 11.7 trillion-won gain in August but still marked the second-large

The number of illegal exemptions from mandatory military service detected by local authorities has surged nearly 60 percent over the past five years, a ruling party lawmaker said Tuesday, calling for tougher punishments for draft dodgers. Rep. Ahn Gyu-back of the Democratic Party, citing the Military Manpower Administration's data, said the number of people booked by police on charges of illegally receiving an exemption from military duty increased 59.6 percent from 47 in 2015 to 75 in 2019. T

South Koreans' card payments to Netflix reached a fresh high of 46.2 billion won ($40.2 million) last month, data showed Tuesday, a nearly twofold jump from a year earlier. An estimated 3.36 million people here spent the record amount in September on the popular video streaming platform, according to app tracker WiseApp's data based on local payments made through credit and debit cards on Netflix. Last month's figure marks a jump from the 24.1 billion won spent in September last year by an est

T'way Air, a South Korean low-cost carrier, said Tuesday it will deploy two passenger jets as cargo planes as it strives to survive the coronavirus crisis. T'way Air will begin using two of its 27 B737-800 passenger jets to carry cargo on the Incheon-Ho Chi Minh City route in early November as the COVID-19 pandemic has driven down travel demand and its earnings, the company said in a statement. The company will place the cargo, such as textiles and electronic parts, on the seats of the two B7