Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Corp. said Friday their combined sales jumped 44 percent in the United States last month from a year earlier on strong demand for their SUVs. Hyundai and Kia sold 140,951 vehicles in the US in June, up from 98,005 units in the same month of last year, the companies said in separate statements. Hyundai's sales rose 45 percent to 72,465 units last month from 50,135 a year ago, while Kia's also advanced 43 percent to 68,486 from 47,870 during the cited per

WASHINGTON -- The United States hopes for a constructive response from North Korea as it remains willing to engage with the reclusive nation anytime and anywhere, a State Department spokesman said Thursday. The remarks from spokesman Ned Price come after the US special envoy for North Korea, Sung Kim, said his country is ready to meet with the North "anytime, anywhere without preconditions." "Ambassador Kim, our special envoy for the DPRK, has recently been in the Republic of Ko

South Korean stocks opened slightly higher Friday, taking a cue from Wall Street gains that stemmed from positive economic data. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 4.38 points, or 0.13 percent, to trade at 3,286.44 points as of 9:15 a.m. Stocks advanced despite rising concerns over the new coronavirus outbreaks, backed by hopes of a fast global economic rebound. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.38 percent on improving manufacturing and jobless da

Tottenham Hotspur's South Korean star Son Heung-min wasn't selected for his country's Olympic football team despite getting permission from his English Premier League club, an informed source said Thursday. Son, 28, was not picked as an overage player for South Korea's under-24 football team for the Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday. The Olympic football tournament is typically reserved for players under 23, and the age limit has been raised to 24 for Tokyo because the competition was postponed by o

The agriculture ministry on Thursday reached a decision to recommend the dismissal of Kim Woo-nam, head of the Korea Racing Authority (KRA), after wrapping up an audit into alleged verbal abuse. Kim, a former three-term lawmaker of the ruling Democratic Party, is accused of having verbally abused an employee for refusing to hire one of his former National Assembly aides. KRA is a state-run corporation tasked with promoting the country's racehorse industry. According to government sources famil

A top financial regulator called Thursday for banks to minimize "unnecessary" household loans as policymakers warn of growing financial imbalances amid a surge in home prices. Eun Sung-soo, chairman of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), made the remarks at a meeting with chief executives of 13 banks earlier in the day. Eun's remarks also came as the Bank of Korea has hinted that it could conduct its first post-pandemic rate hike later this year as the nation's economic recovery

The current ban on outdoor rallies of 10 or more people in Seoul will remain in place until next week, the metropolitan government said Thursday, scrapping its earlier plan to ease the restrictions at the beginning of this month. Earlier this week, the Seoul city government announced a decision to lift its ban on rallies of 10 or more and allow rallies of fewer than 50 people throughout the capital, effective Thursday, in line with the central government's eased social distancing rules against

While preparing his players for the Tokyo Summer Games kicking off this month, Kim Hak-bum, head coach of the South Korean men's Olympic team, ran some grueling conditioning drills across two training camps over the past month or so. Kim wanted to ensure his players would be ready to battle in notoriously scorching and humid summer conditions in Japan. Now that he has finalized his 18-man squad -- many of them having been whipped into shape by the coach -- Kim's focus will shift to more tangibl

The state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea (Eximbank) said Thursday it will provide 180 trillion won (US$159 billion) worth of loans related to environmental, social and governance (ESG) by 2030. The state lender made the pledge while announcing its ESG management road map to mark the 45th anniversary of its foundation at its headquarters in Seoul. The road map also includes the issuance of ESG bonds worth $20 billion by that year to extend loans to the ESG sector, Eximbank said. ESG bonds ref

South Korean mobile users on 5G networks reached nearly 16 million in May, data showed Thursday, as telecom operators seek to expand applications of the next generation networks. As of the end of May, 5G subscriptions stood at 15.84 million, accounting for 22 percent of the total 71.45 million mobile subscriptions in the country, according to the data from the Ministry of Science and ICT. South Korea has a population of around 51 million. Top mobile carrier SK Telecom Co. had the most 5G subsc

Yoon Seok-youl, a former top prosecutor and leading presidential hopeful, has said he may join the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) if it is deemed necessary for the opposition block's win in next year's presidential election. "It is possible (for me) to ally with the PPP, and even enter the party if necessary for a change of government," Yoon said during a TV interview Wednesday. Lacking powerful presidential contenders, the conservative party has urged the former prosecutor

The men's football roster at this year's Tokyo Olympics will be expanded from 18 players to 22, the sport's national governing body said Thursday. The Korea Football Association (KFA) said it received a notification from FIFA late Wednesday announcing the expansion of the squad for the July 23-Aug. 8 Olympics. Teams were originally limited to 18 players, with up to four alternates allowed in case of injuries. Under the change, the four alternates will be part of the full squad, but teams can o

South Korea's largest labor group said Thursday it will push ahead with a large-scale rally in Seoul this weekend in disregard of a ban issued by police and the metropolitan government. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), a militant labor umbrella group with about 1 million members, said it will organize the National Workers Rally in Yeouido on Saturday as scheduled, despite objections raised by police and the Seoul city government due to fears over the spread of COVID-19. The KCT

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un appears to have carried out a reshuffle of top officials at a recent politburo meeting of the ruling Workers' Party, a unification ministry official said Thursday. State media earlier reported that Kim discussed "an organizational issue," including the election of new politburo members and a secretary of the party's Central Committee, at the extended politburo meeting of the party on Tuesday. It did not provide details on those newly elected. "The

SK Inc., the holding firm of South Korean conglomerate SK Group, said Thursday it has struck a 140 billion-won ($123.5 million) deal to buy a 10 percent stake in TBM, a Japanese maker of eco-friendly materials. SK's Japanese investment arm made the investment in the Tokyo-based startup known for LIMEX, a recyclable material derived from limestone and used in products from bags to business cards. In May, SK and three other chemical subsidiaries invested 408 billion won to establish the Japanese

Energy demand here is expected to rise over the summer in sync with the recovery of industrial activities and hotter-than-usual weather conditions, the industry ministry said Thursday. The country's maximum electricity demand is estimated to range from 90.9 to 94.4 gigawatts (GW) during the peak of this summer, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The ceiling is based on the assumption that the average temperature hits 30.2 C during the peak. The estimated peak summer ene

K-Bank, South Korea's first internet-only bank, said Thursday its customers and deposits grew sharply in the second quarter of the year amid the coronavirus outbreak. The number of customers stood at 6.19 million as of the end of June, 2.28 million more than three months earlier, the lender said, which is led by telecom giant KT Corp. The online lender's outstanding loans totaled 5.09 trillion won ($4.5 billion), up 1.29 trillion won from the first quarter, which marks the largest quarterly in

South Korea proposed an extra budget of 33 trillion won ($29.2 billion) Thursday to fund another round of COVID-19 relief aid packages for people in the bottom 80 percent income bracket and smaller merchants hit by the pandemic. This year's second extra budget will be used to finance the 36 trillion-won virus relief packages, the fifth of its kind, designed to support the self-employed and vulnerable people hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Th

A fully vaccinated Navy officer has tested positive for the new coronavirus, marking the first breakthrough infection reported in the military, officials said Thursday. The officer, based in the southeastern city of Busan, was confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 after developing symptoms despite having received two doses of AstraZeneca's vaccine in April and early June, according to the officials. A breakthrough case refers to when a person is diagnosed with the virus two weeks after being a

The Army plans to test-run a prototype of the newly developed Redback armored vehicle next year to check its performance for a possible deployment in the future, officials said Thursday. The new model, developed by Hanwha Defense Co., a South Korean defense manufacturer, is now under review by Australia after being shortlisted for Canberra's $4.6 billion project to buy new infantry fighting vehicles. Australia will select the successful bidder by next year. According to Hanwha, it plans to len