Defense Minister Suh Wook is likely to visit the United States next month for his first talks with US Defense Secretary Mark Esper, officials said Wednesday. Discussions are under way with the US about the new minister traveling to Washington for annual defense ministers' talks between the two countries, known as the Security Consultative Meeting (SCM), defense ministry officials said. The visit, if realized, will also be Suh's first overseas trip since taking office last week to replace Jeo

Samsung Electronics Co. on Tuesday unveiled a new consumer solid state drive (SSD) product that boasts enhanced performance for gaming and high-performance PC applications. Samsung introduced the 980 PRO, the company's first consumer SSD based on the fourth generation of the Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) motherboard interface with Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) storage protocol. "Optimized for handling data-intensive applications, the 980 PRO is ideal for consume

Nearly 1,000 travel agencies in South Korea have gone out of business in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak that started to hit the country in late January, data showed Wednesday. The number of tour agencies came to 21,671 as of the end of June this year, down 938, or 2.7 percent, from the end of December, according to the data from the Korea Tourism Association. Compared with the end of September last year, the figure is down 4.1 percent. The number of travel companies in the country bega

K-pop super group BTS will deliver performances on NBC's "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" in the United States for a full week, the group's management agency said Wednesday. Under the show's weeklong special titled "BTS Week," the seven-member boy band will showcase different music performances each night for five days starting next Monday, Big Hit Entertainment said. The members will be featured in comedy bits and virtual interviews as well throughout the week. BTS

South Korean shares opened slightly higher Wednesday, tracking an overnight rebound on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 5.41 points, or 0.23 percent, to 2,338.0 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The index got off to a strong start after a 2.38 percent plunge the previous session. Tech shares advanced, taking a cue from an upturn in US tech heavyweights. The tech-laden Nasdaq composite rose 1.71 percent to 10,963.64 on Tuesday (New York time). The

A man, who was arrested 11 years after committing rape in the southwestern city of Gwangju, was sentenced to eight years in prison by a district court on Tuesday. The case had remained unsolved due to lack of evidence until February this year, when DNA found at the scene matched a sample from the suspect. The Gwangju District Court handed down the prison term to the perpetrator, identified only as a 39-year-old man. The man was convicted of raping the victim after breaking into her home in G

South Korea suspended its plan to offer free seasonal flu vaccines due to storage issues involving inactivated bottles, health authorities here said Tuesday. The government was to provide free flu shots to around 19 million people, or 37 percent of the country's population. Children between six months and 18 years old, pregnant women and those aged 62 years old or above were included. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said some of around 5 million doses of flu vaccines

Incheon International Airport, the country's main gateway, failed to draw enough bidders in duty-free auctions Tuesday, its operator said, underscoring an extended slump in the duty-free business sector amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Incheon International Airport Corp. (IIAC) auctioned six duty-free sections for cosmetics, perfume, liquor, tobacco, fashion and miscellaneous goods in the airport's Terminal 1. As widely expected, industry leader Lotte Hotel and No. 3 player Shinsegae took pa

K-pop girl group TWICE finished first on a Japanese weekly album chart with its latest repackaged album "#TWICE3," its management agency said Tuesday. Released last Wednesday, the compilation of the group's past Korean and Japanese hits scored 109,000 points to top the Oricon Daily Albums chart in its first week of release, according to JYP Entertainment. It is the band's seventh album to reach the top of the most coveted music chart in Japan, making the group the second foreign fema

South Korean stocks dipped more than 2 percent on Tuesday, as investor sentiment worsened over dimming hopes for recovery from the coronavirus pandemic in major economies. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) tumbled 56.8 points, or 2.38 percent, to close at 2,332.59. Trading volume was high at about 1 billion shares worth some 17.5 trillion won ($15 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 816 to 80. The KOSPI plunged after losi

South Korea's private consumption is expected to recover at a slower-than-expected clip as the new coronavirus outbreak has dealt a blow to demand for offline services and foreign travel, the central bank said Tuesday. The Bank of Korea (BOK) said the recovery of face-to-face services and overseas consumption is expected to take a considerable period of time amid lingering concerns about a flare-up in virus cases. "During an economic crisis, consumption serves as a buffer for the economy.

SEJONG -- Cancer remained the top cause of death in South Korea, a government report showed Tuesday. In 2019, a total of 295,110 deaths were reported in South Korea, down 1.2 percent from a year earlier. It marked the first annual decline since 2013. The statistics agency said 574.8 deaths were reported per 100,000 South Koreans last year. It also said 158.2 per 100,000 people died of cancer last year. Cancer has been the No. 1 cause of death in the country since 1983. Heart disease is th

South Korea's sales of derivatives-linked securities fell 32.6 percent on-year in the first half of the year due to sharp declines in stock markets in major countries amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Tuesday. The combined value of equity-linked securities (ELS) and derivatives-linked securities (DLS) issued in the January-June period came to 42.1 trillion won ($36 billion), down 20.4 trillion won from a year ago, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. The produ

In recent years, youth dramas or youth romance series have not been the pick of many South Korean TV viewers, who think such series are boring and prefer R-rated melodramas or romantic thrillers, like "The World of the Married" (2020). Now, however, the latest youth shows "Record of Youth" and "Do You Like Brahms?" are spearheading the move that veers away from the prevailing tastes on the small screen. "Record of Youth," a 16-episode series on tvN, has

Prosecutors have searched the home and office of Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae's son to investigate allegations of preferential treatment during his military service in 2017, the prosecution said Tuesday. The 27-year-old, surnamed Seo, lives in Jeonju, 243 kilometers south of Seoul. The raid took place Monday, according to the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors Office. Seo is suspected of getting a special extended leave during his mandatory military service in 2017 thanks to the influence of h

K-pop superstar BTS will deliver a special message at the 75th United Nations General Assembly this week, returning to the annual UN gathering as a speaker in two years, according to UNICEF's South Korean committee Tuesday. According to the Korean Committee for UNICEF, BTS' "message of hope" will be broadcast at 9 a.m. Wednesday (US time) during the high-level meeting of the UN Group of Friends of Solidarity for Global Health Security. The South Korean boy band will talk about the d

As the global transport sector braces for future mobility services like flying taxis, South Korean telecom operators are strengthening partnerships with both auto giants and startups alike to join the industry shift. Major local carriers have emerged as key players in the transport shake-up as network infrastructure and technology are crucial in developing future vehicles. Earlier this week, major telecom firm KT Corp. joined hands with the country's largest carmaker, Hyundai Motor Co., as wel

LG Group, South Korea's fourth-largest conglomerate, on Tuesday said it has partially closed its headquarters building in Seoul over virus infections. The West Building of LG Twin Towers in Yeouido, western Seoul, has been shuttered partially after two employees of LG Electronics Inc. tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the group said. One employee came to work until Friday before testing positive for COVID-19 on Monday, while another received a positive virus test result Tuesday, accor

SEJONG -- Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Tuesday a fourth supplementary budget would help small merchants navigate through the difficult time as they were hit by a recent resurgence of the new coronavirus. "The government has actively taken bold measures to overcome the economic crisis," Hong told Yonhap News TV. Hong said the fourth extra budget will become "welcome rain" for small merchants to overcome this crisis. Hong made the remarks as the ruling Democratic Par

Major South Korean lender Nonghyup Bank has applied for China's approval to open a branch in Beijing as part of its Asian push, industry sources said Tuesday. Nonghyup Bank, which lodged the application with the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission late last month, is expected to receive preliminary approval by February at the latest. It usually takes six months to receive preliminary approval from the Chinese financial authorities to open a branch in the world's second-largest ec