South Korea on Monday began implementing the lowest level of its social distancing guidelines following a slowdown in new cases in recent weeks, but the country remains vigilant over a possible resurgence of COVID-19. Under the decision, the country eased the previous Level 2 social distancing measures to Level 1 in the three-tier system across the country. The measure comes as the number of daily new infections has mostly increased by double digits over the past two weeks, sharply down from t

South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee, who has recently made it to the final round of the selection process for a new leader at the World Trade Organization (WTO), plans to head to Europe later this week to win more support from its members. Yoo will visit Switzerland and other European nations starting Tuesday, to meet representatives from member countries of the WTO, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Last week, the trade official made it onto the shortlist of two f

"Pawn," a South Korean human drama about a debt collector and his new family, has topped 1 million admissions here, data showed Monday. The family movie attracted 1.07 million viewers Friday, passing the 1 million milestone in 11 days since its release on Sept. 29, according to the data compiled by the Korean Film Council. After debuting at No. 2 on its opening day, the film moved up to the top spot the next day and has since dominated the local box office. Its total viewers stood at

South Korean shares opened higher Monday, as the country loosened its antivirus curbs. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 7.51 points, or 0.31 percent, to 2,399.47 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The local stock market got off to a strong start, as the country lowered the COVID-19 social distancing guidelines to the lowest level Sunday, raising hopes that the eased virus curbs will boost the economic recovery. Large caps traded mixed. Market bellwether Samsung

Major foreign investment banks (IBs) have downgraded their forecasts for South Korea's economic growth following the resurgence of the coronavirus here, a report showed Monday. As of end-September, nine major global IBs, including Barclays and Goldman Sachs, forecast Asia's fourth-largest economy to shrink 1.4 percent this year, compared with their median outlook of a 0.9 percent contraction offered a month earlier, according to the report by the Korea Center for International Finance. The out

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un watched a mass gymnastics performance held to celebrate the 75th founding anniversary of the ruling Workers' Party, state media said Monday, despite the country's nationwide antivirus campaign. Kim attended the grand mass games and artistic performance entitled "Great Guidance" at the May Day Stadium in Pyongyang on Sunday, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The performances, in which tens of thousands of people join massive, synchron

With a ruthlessly dominant performance, South Korean LPGA star Kim Sei-young has finally broken through with her maiden major title. Kim captured the KPMG Women's PGA Championship by five strokes Sunday (local time) at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, for her 11th career title and first at one of LPGA's five major tournaments. Kim, world No. 7, carded a bogey-free round of seven-under 63 in the final round at the par-70, 6,577-yard track, for a four-round total of 14-under

South Korea's coal consumption for electricity generation decreased 7 percent in 2019 from a year earlier due to its efforts to cut carbon emissions, a report said Monday. Asia's fourth-largest economy consumed 94 million tons of coal to generate electricity, compared with 101 million tons a year earlier, according to the report by the Korea Energy Economics Institute. It marks the second consecutive year of decline. South Korea's coal consumption for power generation rose from 101 million ton

SEJONG -- South Korea's exports dropped 28.8 percent on-year in the first 10 days of October amid the fallout from the new coronavirus outbreak, customs data showed Monday. The nation's outbound shipments stood at $9.3 billion in the Oct. 1-10 period, compared with $13 billion a year ago, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Per-day exports, however, rose 2.8 percent on-year in the Oct. 1-10 period, the Korea Customs Service said. The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted trad

With social distancing rules during the coronavirus pandemic eased across the nation, the top baseball league here will reopen stadium gates on Tuesday. The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) made the announcement on Sunday, hours after the government decided to lower the level of social distancing restrictions from Level 2 to Level 1, the lowest in the three-tier system. The government said teams could admit crowds of up to 30 percent of their stadium capacity. But to maintain sufficient dist

South Korea's education ministry on Sunday said it will ease attendance caps for schools after health authorities decided to enforce the lowest level of social distancing measures. Schools around the nation are required to operate with antivirus limits amid the coronavirus pandemic. Currently, attendance is capped at one-third in elementary and middle schools, and two-thirds in high schools. But starting Oct. 19, the attendance cap for all schools will be set at two-thirds, Seoul's education

Hyundai Motor Co. has decided to voluntarily recall its Kona all-electric models sold overseas, industry insiders said Sunday, after the automaker vowed to take the same step on the home turf over potential battery fire risks. Hyundai will globally recall some 77,000 Kona Electric models manufactured between September 2017 and March, 2020, industry insiders said. The recall comes after 13 fires in the model have been reported since 2018. The South Korean automaker already decided to recal

YouTube content creators who work alone earned an average monthly income of 1.78 million won ($1,540) last year, a ruling party lawmaker said Sunday. Fifty eight "one-person" YouTubers reported a combined annual income of 1.24 billion won ($1.07 million) to the tax authority in 2019, according to Rep. Yang Hyang-ja of the Democratic Party, citing data from National Tax Service. The figure translates to a monthly income of 1.78 million won per person on average. Yang said a total of

Cheong Wa Dae on Sunday analyzed North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's message in his speech during a military parade the day earlier and stressed that existing inter-Korean agreements should be honored to prevent the recurrence of an armed conflict on the peninsula. The presidential office convened an emergency session of the National Security Council (NSC) standing committee to discuss the issue. Suh Hoon, director of national security at Cheong Wa Dae, presided over the meeting that was joined b

Another delivery worker recently died while working, an umbrella union said Sunday, demanding safety measures for workers in the rigorous industry. A 48-year-old delivery worker, associated with CJ Logistics Corp., was sent to the hospital after reporting breathing difficulty Thursday evening but passed away, according to the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions. The veteran worker with 20 years of experience had delivered around 400 parcels on average each day, working from 6:30 a.m. to aroun

A rare nighttime military parade was held at Kim Il-sung Square in the center of Pyongyang on Saturday to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers’ Party, according to the Korean Central News Agency.  During the massive parade, North Korea showed off a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and other weapons. At a speech made at midnight on Friday before the parade started, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un vowed to continue to strengthen the country&

K-pop girl group TWICE's upcoming full-length album includes collaborations with popular musicians, such as Dua Lipa and Heize, its agency said Sunday. The nine-member group's second full-length album "Eyes Wide Open" features 13 songs, including "Behind the Mask" that was co-composed by British pop diva Dua Lipa. The lyrics for the track were written by South Korean singer-songwriter Heize, according to JYP Entertainment. The upcoming album also included "I Can't Sto

South Korea has reported two additional cases of African swine fever (ASF) in a northeastern county where the country's first case of the year was reported, the provincial government said Sunday. Following the report of the first case last week, two samples from a neighboring pig farm in Hwacheon tested positive for the disease, according to the Gangwon provincial government. The country reported its first ASF case since October 2019 on Friday at a farm in Hwacheon, 120 kilometers east of Seou

조 바이든 민주당 대선후보 캠프 외교정책 고문인 브라이언 매키언 전 국방부 수석부차관은 도널드 트럼프 대통령이 동맹을 갈취하듯 대해왔다면서 바이든 후보는 "다르게 접근할 것"이라고 말했다. 특히 한국은 최고의 동맹이라며 주한미군 문제에 대해 철수나 중대한 감축은 없을 것이라고 밝혔다. 방위비 분담금 협상과 관련해선 대폭 증액을 요구한 트럼프 행정부를 비판했다. 이는 '미국 우선주의'를 앞세워 동맹을 경시한 트럼프 대통령과 달리 한국 등 동맹과의 공조 강화를 통해 미국의 리더십을 복원하겠다는 것으로 주한미군과 방위비 분담금 등 한미간 현안에서 긴밀한 조율을 통한 해결 노력을 강조한 것으로 받아들여진다. 매키언 고문은 바이든 후보가 부통령이던 시절 부통령실 국가안보부보좌관을 지낸 최측근으로 현재 캠프에서 국무장관 등에 거론되는 토니 블링컨 전 국무부 부장관 등과 팀을 이뤄 외교정책을 담당하고 있다. 매키언 고문은 8일(현지시간) 연합뉴스와의 단독 전화 인터뷰에서

WASHINGTON -- The election of US Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden would mean a stronger alliance with South Korea and other allies, but tensions with North Korea could escalate because Pyongyang could try to test his administration, experts said Saturday. "I think if Biden is elected, most American allies, including South Korea, will breathe a sigh of relief. He is likely to work much harder to strengthen our alliances," said Gregg Brazinsky, professor of history and inter