A Seoul court will this week begin trials for Yang Hyun-suk, former CEO of K-pop powerhouse YG Entertainment, on charges of attempting to cover up a drug scandal involving a singer-rapper, judicial officials said Sunday. According to the officials, the Seoul Central District Court is to hold its first hearing Friday for Yang, who was indicted last month for having threatened and coerced an informant who testified to police about drug suspicions surrounding B.I, the former songwriting leader of

The South Korean club Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors have extended their undefeated streak to six matches at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League, while also helping another team from the country join them in the knockout stage. Jeonbuk defeated Gamba Osaka 2-1 in their final Group H match played at Bunyodkor Stadium in Tashkent on Saturday (local time). Gustavo and Mo Barrow had a goal apiece for Jeonbuk, which won their group with 16 points from five wins and a draw. And Gamba Os

The South Korean passport was found to be the third most effective one for travelers around the world, allowing its bearers to travel to 191 countries visa-free, data showed Sunday. Asia's fourth-largest economy and Germany tied for third, only after Japan and Singapore, in the latest edition of the Henley Passport Index. The Japanese passport provides visa-free travel to 193 countries and Singapore to 192 countries. The index released by immigration consulting firm Henley & Partners Co

The South Korean professional baseball league held an emergency meeting with club executives Sunday to discuss a possible suspension of the ongoing season, with another round of talks with higher-ranking officials set for Monday, in light of multiple coronavirus cases involving two clubs. The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) said Sunday it met with general managers of the 10 clubs earlier in the day to go over COVID-19 protocols and league operations. Then on Monday, the designated off day acr

South Korea's daily new COVID-19 cases rose above 1,300 for the third straight day Sunday, as health authorities were set to impose the toughest virus curbs in the greater Seoul area to bring the fourth wave of the outbreak under control. The country recorded 1,324 more COVID-19 cases, including 1,280 local infections, raising the total caseload to 168,046, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. It is the first time that the nation's daily infections have risen above 1,30

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Chinese President Xi Jinping highlighted their commitment to further strengthen relations between the two countries as they exchanged messages to mark the 60th anniversary of signing a friendship treaty, state media reported Sunday. In the messages to celebrate the 1961 signing of the "DPRK-China Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance," Kim also said the international situation has been "unprecedentedly complicated" in rec

SsangYong Motor, a debt-ridden automaker, decided to sell the site of its plant in Pyeongtaek as part of self-rescue efforts, the local government said Saturday.    The company has been under court receivership since April, as its Indian parent, Mahindra & Mahindra, failed to secure a buyer for its 75 percent stake in the automaker.    The city government of Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, said it has signed a memorandum of understanding with the court-appoin

Three South Korean baseball games scheduled for Saturday were canceled, following three additional cases of the novel coronavirus on two clubs.    The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) said Saturday two members of the Doosan Bears and one player from the NC Dinos have tested positive for COVID-19. The Bears' home game against the LG Twins at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul has been canceled, along with the Dinos' road game against the Kiwoom Heroes at Gocheok Sky Dome in the nation'

The military will enhance its own measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in line with government plans to impose tougher controls on the greater Seoul area to fight a new wave of infections, officials said Saturday.    The defense ministry issued new social distancing guidelines to military units Friday, under which vacations, off-installation activities and outsiders' visits will be further restricted Monday for two weeks.    Under the new measures, only 10 percent o

Early this week, two young bears escaped from their cramped cages at a breeding farm in Yongin, south of Seoul. One was shot to death hours after the escape, and the other is still on the loose.    Similar incidents have occurred in the past in a country where bears -- mostly moon bears, or Asiatic Black Bears, on the endangered species list -- are kept captive for life for their bile and other body parts that are used in alternative medicinal treatments.    The owner of t

Supergroup BTS has swept more than 90 regional iTunes charts with its new release "Permission to Dance," the act's agency said Saturday.    The upbeat number, released at 1 p.m. the previous day, debuted at No. 1 on iTunes top songs charts in 92 regions, including the United States, Canada, Germany, Italy and Japan, according to Big Hit Music.    The music video for the song, also released at 1 p.m. on Friday, has proven to be a hit, breaking 10 million views on

Top economic policymakers of South Korea and the United States have held talks over bilateral economic cooperation and global issues, the finance ministry said Saturday.    Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen held the meeting in Venice, Italy, on Friday (local time) on the sidelines of the Group of 20 (G-20) meeting of top finance and economic officials, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance.    They shared the need for efforts to sw

South Korea on Saturday posted the highest-ever daily COVID-19 cases for the third straight day, as the country is set to impose the highest level of virus curbs on the greater Seoul area next week. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said 1,378 COVID-19 cases were confirmed the previous day, including 1,320 local infections, raising the total caseload to 166,722. It marked the highest figure since the country reported its first confirmed infection on Jan. 20 last year. It

South Korean stocks are likely to face increased volatility next week as hopes for strong corporate earnings square off against escalating virus woes.    The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 3,217.95 points on Friday, down 1.94 percent from a week ago.    The key stock index started this week with gains, thanks to upbeat outlook for corporate earnings in the April-June period.    But stock prices plunged in the last three sessions,

The watchdog's review looked into an array of safety issues, including the plant's passive autocatalytic recombiner (PAR), which is designed to prevent hydrogen explosions by reducing hydrogen concentration levels from the reactor's containment building during natural disasters. South Korea has required the system to strengthen safety after multiple hydrogen explosions during Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster in 2011. The Shin-Hanul plant's PAR system received intense scrutiny aft

Belgian Ambassador to South Korea Peter Lescouhier and his wife returned home Friday, a foreign ministry official said, amid public criticism over the wife's involvement in two alleged assault cases. The wife, Xiang Xueqiu, was questioned by police for allegedly assaulting two employees at a clothing store in Seoul in early April. Police dropped the case on grounds of diplomatic immunity and because that victims did not want her punished. The wife also got into an altercation with a street swe

Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong spoke by phone with his Czech counterpart on Friday and discussed bilateral issues, including ways to boost cooperation in the nuclear power plant business, his office said.  In the phone talks with Jakub Kulhanek, Chung stressed that South Korea is the best partner for the Czech Republic's new nuclear power plant project under way in the southern region of Dukovany, citing the technologies and price competitiveness proven through various projects Korean com

South Korea's spy agency has told lawmakers that North Korea could return to nuclear dialogue with the United States as it is intent on ending hostile relations with the country, a source said Friday.  The National Intelligence Service made the comment Thursday while debriefing the National Assembly's intelligence committee on the recent remarks from Pyongyang, the source with knowledge of the matter said.  "North Korea's consistent position is to end its hostile relations with

Following several days of downpours in the southern South Korean regions over the past week, a heat wave advisory was issued for many parts of the country Friday, the state weather agency said. The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said it issued the heat wave advisory for almost all parts of the southern provinces of Gyeongsang and Jeolla, the central provinces of Chungcheong, and parts of the Gyeonggi and Gangwon provinces as of 10 a.m. Seoul was excluded from the advisory, which is

South Korean stocks slumped for the third day in a row Friday as the country decided to impose a semi-lockdown in the greater Seoul area, a hotbed for the recent spike in the new coronavirus, to rein in the fast spreading COVID-19. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) slumped 34.73 points, or 1.07 percent, to close at 3,217.95 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.3 billion shares worth some 16.2 trillion won ($14.1 billion