SEJONG -- South Korea's exports of agricultural products shot up to set a new record in the first six months of 2021, data showed Tuesday, on the back of stronger global demand for healthier foodstuffs amid the new coronavirus pandemic. Outbound shipments of such goods in the January-June period came to $4.15 billion, up 15.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs. Exports of fresh products advanced 11.4 percent over

Four Army soldiers and an Air Force officer have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said Tuesday. Two soldiers in Dongducheon, 40 kilometers north of Seoul, were confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 after one of them first developed symptoms, while another soldier and an officer in Paju, some 35 km northwest of the capital, were found to be infected, also after one of them first tested positive, according to the ministry. The officer received the second dose of Pfi

LG Electronics Inc. said Tuesday it will expand cloud-based call centers to offer better customer care services and protect its workers from the novel coronavirus outbreak. With its recently launch of cloud-based call centers in the United States, LG said they will be also available in 10 more countries, including Brazil, France, Vietnam and South Korea, by the end of this year. Cloud-based call centers allow employees to work wherever internet is connected, which will promote a work-from-home

Heavy rains that hit the southern parts of the country overnight flooded houses and farmland, and disrupted the power supply and train services, leaving two dead and forcing 120 people to evacuate, authorities said Tuesday. The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters said the downpour swept away a woman, in her 60s, in the southwestern county of Haenam early in the morning. The authorities said she was found dead from drowning. In the nearby counties of Gangjin and Jindo, 47 p

INCHEON -- More than 20 students of an elementary school here have been infected with the new coronavirus, authorities said Tuesday, ordering emergency COVID-19 tests for all its students and teachers and their families. According to the municipality of Incheon, 40 kilometers west of Seoul, 23 sixth graders of Inju Elementary School in the city's central ward of Michuhol have been diagnosed with COVID-19 this week. The municipality plans to install a walk-through screening station at the schoo

Hyundai Motor Co. said Tuesday its independent brand Genesis' domestic vehicle sales jumped 33 percent in the first half compared to a year earlier amid tougher competition with imported brands and the COVID-19 pandemic. Hyundai sold 72,710 Genesis vehicles from January to June, up from 48,886 units a year earlier, the company's sales data showed. Genesis models accounted for 19 percent of Hyundai's domestic sales of 386,095 units in the first six months of this year. On the overseas front, t

South Korea's daily new virus cases stayed in the 700s for the fourth day in a row Tuesday, as health authorities struggle to prevent infections from spreading further amid concerns about a spike in cases of the contagious delta COVID-19 variant. The country reported 746 more COVID-19 cases, including 690 local infections, raising the total caseload to 161,541, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The latest figure is compared with 826 on Friday, which marked a nearly s

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday amid strong advances by large tech and auto caps. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 11.06 points, or 0.34 percent, to trade at 3,304.22 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks got off to a solid start on expectations of improved corporate earnings. Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics are scheduled to report their quarterly earnings guidance Wednesday. Market kingpin Samsung Electronics rose 0.5 percent, and LG Electro

Restaurants, cafes and other businesses will face a strengthened penalty of a 10-day closure for just a one-time violation of new social distancing rules, the prime minister said Tuesday. The new enforcement regulation set to go into effect Thursday is "a strong law that warrants a shutdown of 10 days for even a single violation of distancing rules," Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said during an interagency meeting to review the greater Seoul region's virus situation. The statement came

The upcoming superhero film "Black Widow" is expected to smash the virus-hit South Korean box office, with its presale tickets reaching a fresh yearly high, data showed Tuesday. Marvel Studios' latest film recorded 218,000 presold tickets as of 9:00 a.m. a day before its local release, according to the data by the Korean Film Council. It accounted for 84.2 percent of all tickets reserved at that time, overwhelming Disney's live-action film "Cruella" with 3.4 percent and Kor

LG Group, South Korea's fourth-largest conglomerate, is apparently looking to beef up its business relationship with Apple Inc., industry insiders said Tuesday, amid rumors that its electronics affiliate may sell the US tech titan's products at its retail shops. LG recently held a special promotion for iPhones, iPads and other Apple products on Lifecare, its online shopping mall for group employees, according to the sources. This was reportedly the first time that the group offered mobile devic

A majority of South Korean retailers expect their business conditions to improve further in the third quarter of 2021 than three months earlier as more people get vaccinated against the new coronavirus, a poll showed Tuesday. The Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry said its retail business survey index (RBSI) stood at 106 for the July-September period, up from 103 three months earlier. It marks the second consecutive quarter that the country's RBSI has remained above par. In the second qua

North Korea's Premier Kim Tok-hun made field inspection visits to economic sites, state media said Tuesday, confirming that he has been spared from a recent reshuffle carried out to fire officials responsible for causing a "crucial case" in the country's fight against the coronavirus. Kim, also a member of the Presidium of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party, "inspected several units concerning the national economy" and saw preparations to pre

Second Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-moon called for continued international support for South Korea's efforts for lasting peace on the divided Korean Peninsula during a global forum on nuclear disarmament, the foreign ministry said Tuesday. Choi made the call at the virtual Ministerial Meeting of the Stockholm Initiative for Nuclear Disarmament, a multilateral forum on nuclear arms control issues, Monday amid Seoul's efforts to revive nuclear diplomacy with Pyongyang. "Choi explained t

Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl maintained his lead over Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung in two polls on presidential hopefuls released Monday. In a Realmeter survey conducted over the weekend, Yoon came out on top with 33.9 percent of support, with Lee trailing at 26.3 percent. Former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon was a distant third at 12.5 percent, with others who have thrown their hats into the ring only garnering single digits of support. Realmeter polled 1,015 South Koreans ag

The wife of the Belgian ambassador to South Korea, who faced assault charges in Seoul earlier this year, was involved in an altercation with a street sweeper in the city Monday morning, police said. Police said Xiang Xueqiu, the spouse of Ambassador Peter Lescouhier, got into a fight with the cleaner in a park in central Seoul after the cleaner's broom touched Xiang. Police said the two apparently traded blows, but when officers arrived on the scene, neither wanted the other punished. Xiang w

The labor union of Samsung Display has reached a wage agreement with management and will end its two-week partial strike soon, union officials said Monday. Six union representatives went on strike on June 21, demanding a 6.8 percent hike in base pay, in the first-ever walkout at the world's largest mobile display maker. In the latest negotiation, the union withdrew its demand and accepted the company's proposal of a 4.5 percent raise, and the agreement was approved by 83 percent of its members

With a 36-year-old leader in charge, the main opposition People Power Party selected a pair of 27-year-olds as its new co-spokespeople. The party will continue to serve the youth, with Lim Seung-ho and Yang Jun-woo having finished first and second in the final round of the open audition for the PPP spokespeople positions. Lim is a former deputy youth spokesman for the central-right Bareun Party. Yang was previously unemployed and, in his own words, "was playing video games at home and tak

South Korea and Israel said Monday they plan to speed up joint research and development projects to cope with the changing business environment amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The announcement came after the two countries announced earlier this year that they will increase contributions to the Korea-Israel Industrial R&D Foundation. The foundation kicked off in 2001 to promote bilateral technology exchanges. In May, South Korea and Israel vowed to each disburse $4 million annually for the foun

On South Korea's 22-man Olympic football roster headed to Tokyo this month, Kwon Chang-hoon is the only player with prior Summer Games experience. And it wasn't a particularly memorable one, as South Korea got knocked out of the quarterfinals at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. Kwon did more than his part, notching three goals and one assist in four matches, but it wasn't enough to send South Korea deeper into the tournament. Now 27, Kwon is back in the Olympic mix, this time as one of three