Big Hit Entertainment, the management agency of K-pop superstar BTS, is set to close a two-day subscription Tuesday for its initial public offering (IPO) next week in what could be the biggest stock sale in South Korea. Since Monday, the company has allowed retail investors to subscribe to around 1.43 million shares, or 20 percent of its 7.13 million new stocks to be issued under the IPO scheduled for Oct. 15. The IPO price is 135,000 won ($116). Reflecting the global popularity of the K-pop b

A son of the fishery official killed by North Korea at sea last month doubted the South Korean government's announcement that his father sought defection and pleaded with the president to find the truth about his father's death. In a letter released late Monday by Lee Rae-jin, the official's older brother, the son asked President Moon Jae-in, "Do you think it really makes sense that my father, who never learned how to swim and weighed only 68 kg for his height of 180 cm, swam 38 km against

Samsung Electronics Co. said Tuesday it will hold an artificial intelligence (AI) forum online next month to share experts' insights on future technologies related to human-like algorithms amid the pandemic. The South Korean tech giant said the Samsung AI Forum 2020 will take place online via its YouTube channel on Nov. 2 and 3. Entering its fourth anniversary this year, the annual forum has been a platform for AI researchers to discuss their findings and ideas on the future of AI. Samsung

South Korean shares opened higher Tuesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street amid investor optimism on the improved condition of US President Donald Trump. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 15.88 points, or 0.67 percent, to 2,373.88 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The main index tracked overnight gains on Wall Street. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.7 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index gained 2.3 percent. US stocks jumped as Trump,

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will not visit South Korea this month due to conflicting schedules, a diplomatic source said Monday. According to the source, Seoul and Beijing have been in talks to have Wang travel to Seoul sometime next week, but the potential trip has been pushed back indefinitely. There was speculation that US State Secretary Mike Pompeo's cancellation of his visit to Seoul could have affected Wang's decision to put the Seoul trip on hold.    But the sourc

South Korean banks' credit loans to individuals grew at a slower pace in September than a month earlier amid financial authorities' tougher restrictions, industry data showed Tuesday. Outstanding unsecured loans to individuals by five major lenders -- KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori and NH Nonghyup -- totaled 126.4 trillion won ($109 billion) as of end-September, up 2.1 trillion won from August. The on-month increase was down sharply from the 4.1 trillion won gain in August from the prior mon

President Moon Jae-in requested Monday that Brazil throw its weight behind South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee's bid to become the head of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Cheong Wa Dae said, in the latest diplomatic push in pursuit of the top post. Moon delivered the message during his 20-minute phone conversation with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kang Min-seok. Moon took note of Brazil's contributions to the development of the WTO, as Robe

뉴욕발 인천행 항공기에서 술을 주지 않는다는 이유로 승무원에게 침을 뱉는 등 난동을 피운 50대 미국인 남성이 경찰에 붙잡혔다. 인천국제공항경찰단은 항공보안법 위반 혐의로 50대 미국인 남성 A씨를 불구속 입건했다고 6일 밝혔다. A씨는 지난 1일 미국 뉴욕에서 출발해 2일 오전 11시 40분께 인천국제공항에 도착할 예정인 항공기 내에서 승무원 B씨를 밀치고 옷에 침을 뱉는 등 난동을 피운 혐의를 받고 있다. 그는 항공기가 인천국제공항에 착륙한 뒤 신고를 받고 출동한 경찰에 현행범으로 인계됐다. A씨는 경찰 조사에서 "승무원이 술을 주지 않아서 그랬다"고 진술했다. A씨는 이후 신종 코로나바이러스 감염증(코로나19) 관련 증상이 없고 국내에 단기 체류하는 외국인 입국자가 2주 동안 머무는 국내 임시생활시설에 자가격리된 상태다. 경찰 관계자는 "A씨가 뱉은 침이 신체에 직접 닿지는 않아 승무원들이 따로 코로나19 검사를 받지는 않았다"며

WASHINGTON -- South Korean boy group BTS' latest hit "Dynamite" spends the sixth week of release at the No. 2 spot on Billboard's main singles chart this week, a week after it made a surprise return to the top spot, Billboard reported Monday. "BTS' 'Dynamite' dipped to No. 2 on the Hot 100 after three nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1," it said. The Billboard Hot 100 chart, which measures all-genre streaming, radio airplay and sales data in the United States, is set to be refre

WASHINGTON -- North Korea will likely be one of the last in the world to reopen its borders since an outbreak of the new coronavirus would spell an "absolute disaster" for the impoverished nation, experts said Monday. The communist state was one of the first to close its border following the outbreak of the new coronavirus in neighboring China and South Korea. "As we know that North Korea was the first country to totally close its borders and I think it will be probably the last

SEJONG -- South Korea's consumer prices rose 1 percent on-year in September due to a rise in prices of agricultural goods, marking the sharpest gain in six months amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Tuesday. The September tally accelerated from a 0.7 percent on-year gain in August, according to the data released by Statistics Korea. The nation's inflation also climbed 0.7 percent on-month in September, the data showed. Core inflation, which excludes agricultural and petroleum produc

New Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) chairman Gen. Won In-choul held phone talks with his US counterpart Mark Milley on Tuesday and vowed to strengthen the combined defense posture based on the ironclad alliance, the military said. The phone call marked the first talks between the two since Won took office about two weeks ago. "The JCS chairmen of the two countries evaluated that a close cooperative relationship is maintained between the military authorities of South Korea and the US, and agr

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held a politburo meeting of the ruling Workers' Party and launched an "80-day campaign" to make a last-ditch push to achieve the country's economic and other objectives by year-end, state media reported Tuesday. In August, Kim acknowledged that his five-year economic development plan failed to achieve intended goals in the face of unexpected internal and external challenges, and pledged to unveil a new scheme at the party congress in January. "The

South Korea on Monday reported one more case of an injection with a potentially defective flu vaccine. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said as of Sunday, 2,296 people had received the vaccines that were exposed to room temperature, up one from the previous day. The number of people who have reported abnormal reactions, such as a fever and chills, has stayed at 12 since last Wednesday. In September, the public health agency temporarily halted its plan to offer free seasonal flu

South Korean carmakers' vehicle sales rose 3.4 percent last month from a year earlier as robust domestic demand offset weak overseas sales amid the new coronavirus outbreak, industry data showed Monday. The five carmakers in South Korea -- Hyundai Motor Co., Kia Motors Corp., GM Korea Co., Renault Samsung Motors Corp. and SsangYong Motor Co. -- sold a combined 678,549 vehicles in September, up from 655,968 units a year ago, according to data from the companies. Strong sales of Hyundai and Kia

The combined revenue for South Korean movie theaters declined by over 70 percent as the new coronavirus pandemic has continued for months, according to a lawmaker Monday. Cinemas across the country posted revenue of 415.1 billion won ($356.9 million) in the first nine months of this year, more than a 70 percent fall from 1.448 trillion won a year ago, Rep. Park Jeung of the ruling Democratic Party said. The number of moviegoers also fell by some 70 percent, from 170 million to 48 million, over

PAJU -- It has been nine months since the South Korean men's under-23 national football team played a match, and for head coach Kim Hak-bum, the pair of exhibitions against the senior national team couldn't have come a day sooner. "I feel alive again," Kim said Monday after arriving at the National Football Center (NFC) in Paju, just north of Seoul, to open mini-training camp for his squad. The U-23 team will face the senior side on Friday and next Monday. "I think the players a

Defense Minister Suh Wook and US Ambassador Harry Harris agreed Monday to work together to strengthen the alliance between the two countries, calling it a "linchpin" of regional security, the defense ministry said. Their meeting marked the first time since Suh took office as defense minister about two weeks ago. "Minister Suh and Ambassador Harris agreed that the ironclad South Korea-US alliance is the linchpin of Northeast Asia's security, peace and prosperity and vowed to clo

Kia Motors Corp. said Monday its sales rose 10.3 percent last month from a year earlier on robust domestic sales. Kia Motors sold 260,023 vehicles in September, up from 235,810 units a year ago, helped by strong sales of the Sportage SUV, the company said in a statement. Domestic sales jumped 21.9 percent on-year to 51,211 units last month from 42,005. Overseas sales climbed 7.7 percent to 208,812 from 193,805 during the same period, it said. Its sales fell 8.8 percent to 1,863,966 autos from

SsangYong Motor Co. said Monday its sales fell 4.4 percent last month from a year earlier due mainly to an extended slump in overseas sales. SsangYong Motor sold 9,834 vehicles in September, down from 10,285 units a year ago due to weak demand for its models amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the company said in a statement. Domestic sales rose 13.4 percent to 8,208 units from 7,235 during the same period, while exports plunged 46.7 percent to 1,626 from 3,050, the statement said. The carmaker said