BORYEONG -- This year's Boryeong Mud Festival, one of the nation's most celebrated summer events, will scale down in-person programs due to recent spikes in COVID-19 cases, organizers said Thursday. The 24th annual mud extravaganza is scheduled to be held from July 23 to Aug. 1 on Daecheon Beach in the central city of Boryeong, 190 kilometers south of Seoul. It will take place in a hybrid format with 11 online and eight offline programs. The organizing committee under the municipal government

Local governments in charge of antivirus measures at popular summer vacation destinations are on high alert for a massive influx of vacationers from the greater Seoul area and other regions hit by a surge of COVID-19 cases. South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases have been in excess of 1,500 in recent days, with the capital area accounting for approximately three-fourths of the total. Fearing that increased tourist arrivals at famous beaches and mountains nationwide will further fuel the spr

A local official handling contact tracing during the coronavirus pandemic is accusing professional baseball players of covering up an illegal gathering in violation of social distancing rules. The official from the Gangnam Ward office in southern Seoul told Yonhap News Agency on Thursday that players from the NC Dinos in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) and their two outside guests initially didn't report their drinking session at an NC team hotel room in Seoul last week. In all, four Din

Seongnam FC said Thursday four additional players have been infected with the novel coronavirus, raising the total on the K League 1 football team to 15. Nine players and six staff members for Seongnam are now on the COVID-19 list. The first positive case for the K League 1 club was reported Sunday. The rest of the team, 46 players, coaches and staffers, immediately received polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests. Two players and five staffers received positive results Monday, followed by one

President Moon Jae-in on Thursday ordered the mobilization of an aerial refueling and transport aircraft to provide swift medical support for the South Korean troop members abroad infected with COVID-19, his office said. The president issued the message in connection with the report that six crew members in a mission aboard the country's naval destroyer operating off the coast of Africa have tested positive for the virus. They belong to the anti-piracy and counterterrorism Cheonghae Unit, of wh

A South Korean business lobby said Thursday it will file a complaint with the government against next year's minimum wage, which it says is too high. The move comes days after a national commission composed of nine members each from labor, business and the general public set the new minimum wage at 9,160 won ($7.99) for 2022, up 5.1 percent from this year. "A formal objection will be lodged with the labor ministry," said the Korea Enterprises Federation, which speaks for the business

South Korea's science ministry said Thursday the country's nuclear research institute has won a deal worth $3.88 million to export nuclear reactor technology to Bangladesh. The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute has signed a deal with the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission to deliver digital instrumentation and control systems for the South Asian country's research nuclear reactor by January 2023, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT. The South Korean nuclear institute will provid

The trading volume of South Korea's gold market soared in the first half this year, largely as pandemic-incurred uncertainties boosted individuals' demand for safe assets, the local exchange said Thursday. The average daily trading volume of gold in the Korea Exchange (KRX) jumped 19.4 percent on-year to 126.2 kilograms in the January-June period, according to the bourse operator's data. Its cumulated gold trading volume in the six-month period stood at 15.5 tons. The average daily turnover in

Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. (KSOE) said Thursday that it has attained its annual order target by winning a 457.1 billion-won ($398.4 million) order for two LNG carriers. With the deal with an Asian company, KSOE has clinched orders valued at $15.2 billion in total so far this year, surpassing its annual order target of $14.9 billion ifor the year, the company said.       Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., a unit of KSOE, will build and deliver t

The number of South Korean and foreign migrants declined at the sharpest-ever pace last year as the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted people's cross-border movements, data showed Thursday. The number of international migrants, referring to those who stay for more than 90 days here, declined 15.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It marked the fastest on-year decline since the statistics agency began compiling related data in 2000. The data is calculate

South Korea-based former major leaguer Choo Shin-soo will spend the next two weeks in the United States to receive treatment and spend time with his family, his club announced Thursday. The SSG Landers of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) said Choo will depart for America on Saturday. He will have his left elbow and shoulder looked at by Dr. Keith Meister, the head physician for Choo's former major league club, Texas Rangers. After 16 seasons in the bigs, Choo signed with the Landers in Fe

D.O., member of K-pop boy band EXO, on Thursday released the details of his debut solo EP ahead of the album's scheduled release later this month. SM Entertainment earlier announced the singer will drop his first-ever solo release, titled "Empathy" in Korean, on July 26. The eight-track album, which includes six new tracks in addition to two bonus tracks, will be fronted by the main track "Rose," the agency said Thursday. D.O. wrote the lyrics for "Rose," it added

South Korea opened an online hospitality house for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics amid on-site restrictions stemming from the new coronavirus pandemic, sports authorities said Thursday. The online Team Korea House (www.teamkoreahouse.com) will welcome visitors from Thursday to Aug. 8, to share news on Korean athletes' performances as well as information about Seoul during the Summer Olympics, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee. &q

Defending Olympic baseball champion South Korea added a left-handed pitcher to its roster Thursday, a day after an infielder took himself off the squad after breaching coronavirus safety protocols. The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) announced that Lotte Giants' 19-year-old lefty Kim Jin-uk will be the 11th pitcher on the Olympic team. Kim, the first overall pick at last year's draft, has gone 2-5 with an 8.07 ERA in 29 innings so far in his rookie campaign. He has struck out 26 but walked 2

The support rating for former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, the front-running presidential contender, dived below the 30 percent level for the first time in four months over a series of allegations raised against his wife and mother-in-law, the latest poll on major hopefuls showed Thursday. The fall diminished Yoon's opinion poll lead over runner-up Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung to within the poll's margin of error of 2.2 percentage points. According to the poll by Realmeter, the support ra

South Korea's ICT ministry said Thursday the country plans to invest nearly 30 billion won ($26.2 million) over the next three years to research digital treatment for depression in a move to find new ways to help the growing number of people suffering from the mental disorder. The number of depression patients in South Korea reached 790,000 in 2019, up 5.9 percent on-year, and the number is expected to rise as the pandemic restricts social activities and triggers economic uncertainty. Digital

South Korea's exports of automobiles advanced 28 percent in the first half of 2021 on the back of the global economic recovery and rising demand for premium models, data showed Thursday. Outbound shipments of automobiles reached 1,049,658 units in the January-June period, rising from 820,873 units tallied a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. In terms of value, exports also shot up 50 percent to hit $23.6 billion. It marked the first tim

South Korea's air passenger traffic fell 29 percent in the first half from a year earlier amid the prolonged coronavirus pandemic, the transport ministry said Thursday. From January to June, the number of passengers on domestic and international routes fell to 16.67 million from 23.58 million in the year-ago period, as governments imposed entry restrictions due to the pandemic, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a statement. The number of passengers on international rou

A former head of the state audit agency joined the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) on Thursday in a move widely seen as a step toward running for the presidency. Choe Jae-hyeong, the former chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI), expressed his intention to join the biggest conservative party during his meeting with party Chairman Lee Jun-seok earlier in the day and officially became a member in a following ceremony. The move came less than one month after Choe stepped dow

With South Korea set to take on France in their final Olympic men's football tuneup Friday, head coach Kim Hak-bum sees the match as another opportunity for his players to build confidence. As far as the coach is concerned, it doesn't necessarily have to be a victory. It can be a collection of small moments within the match, such as connecting on long-distance passes, foiling the opposition's counterattack opportunities or creating dangerous chances from set pieces. The kickoff between the two