An autonomous police system went into effect nationwide Thursday in what appears to be the biggest organizational change since the inauguration of the country's police 76 years ago. The system was designed to disperse power within the police after President Moon Jae-in's reform of the prosecution service led to more investigative authority for the police. It is also aimed at providing people with more community-oriented policing services. It came into being in accordance with the new act intro

South Korea said Thursday it plans to offer more tax incentives and lift more regulations for chipmakers in line with its vision to become a global powerhouse in both memory and non-memory chips. The country is seeking to have major research and development (R&D) projects and facility investment in the chip sector receive incentives through a law revision, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The proposed bill on expanded tax incentives and eased regulations, a follow-u

Small businesses with five to 49 employees began to implement a 52-hour workweek Thursday as mandated by law. Under a revision to the Labor Standards Act, the government began enforcing the 52-hour workweek system in 2018, starting with firms with 300 or more employees in July of that year. In January 2020, the system began to be applied to firms with 50 to 299 employees, and on Thursday, to smaller businesses. South Korea has among the longest working hours among the member states of the Org

WASHINGTON -- The United States is aware of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's remarks about a serious incident with regard to the North's fight against the new coronavirus, a State Department spokesperson said Wednesday. Jalina Porter, principal deputy spokesperson for the department, however, offered no immediate US plans to provide humanitarian assistance, including COVID-19 vaccine, to the impoverished North. "We are certainly aware of the report -- what Kim Jong-un has said -- but we

South Korea's daily new virus cases remained in the 700s for the second day Thursday as the greater Seoul area is facing a potential resurgence in new infections, which led authorities to push back eased virus restrictions. The country reported 762 more COVID-19 cases, including 712 local infections, raising the total caseload to 157,723, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The daily caseload soared to an over two-month high Wednesday due to a series of cluster infecti

South Korea-based Canadian slugger Jamie Romak will be honored Thursday as the top baseball player from his country for the 2020 season. Romak, first baseman for the SSG Landers in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), will receive the 2020 Tip O'Neill Award before a home game against the Samsung Lions at Incheon SSG Landers Field in Incheon, 40 kilometers west of Seoul. The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame presents the award annually to the Canadian player "judged to have excelled in indi

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un vowed to elevate relations with China to a new strategic point as he sent a congratulatory message to Chinese President Xi Jinping to mark the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party of China, state media said Thursday. In an apparent reference to the deepening Sino-US rivalry, Kim also said in the message that "hostile forces" are engaged in "vicious slander and all-round pressure" upon China, but they can "never check the on-going adva

LG Uplus Corp., one of three mobile carriers in South Korea, is aiming to boost its profile by expanding media and business-focused services beyond its established focus in telecommunications, its chief has said. Hwang Hyeon-sik, CEO of LG Uplus, said in a press conference Wednesday that he aims to raise the company's share of sales from non-telecom services to 30 percent of the total by 2025 from the current 20 percent. "The future B2B market will transition from a focus on infrastructur

It wasn't the kind of personal record he wanted to break, but Kim Kwang-hyun, the South Korean left-hander for the St. Louis Cardinals, went a career-high 10 starts between victories this year. Kim earned his first win of 2021 on April 23 in his second start of the campaign. Then win No. 2 came against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on Wednesday (local time), his 13th start of 2021. Kim held the Diamondbacks to a run on three hits -- all singles -- and three walks in fi

Samsung Electronics Co. said Thursday its latest flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G, has won the best smartphone award at the world's largest mobile telecommunications expo. The high-end model of the Galaxy S21 series was honored at the Global Mobile Awards at Mobile World Congress 2021 in Barcelona on Wednesday (local time), the South Korean tech giant said. The Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G, which was launched in January, competed for the award with the Galaxy S20 FE 5G, Apple iPhone 12 Pr

South Korea's top economic policymaker said Thursday the country will push for large-scale research and development (R&D) projects to foster the next-generation rechargeable battery industry. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said the government will soon unveil the detailed plan to nurture the rechargeable battery sector with the goal of the country taking the lead in the segment. The government plans to help companies secure the stable supply chains of materials for such batteries and to fost

Nine American service members and a dependent have tested positive for the new coronavirus in the latest in a series of infections reported at US military bases here, US Forces Korea (USFK) said Thursday. Six of the infections were reported from Camp Casey in Dongducheon, 40 kilometers north of Seoul; two from K-16 Air Base in Seongnam, just south of the capital; and one each from Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, 70 km south of Seoul, and Camp Carroll in the southeastern county of Chilgok, accordi

South Korea and the UN disarmament office held a joint forum this week involving young people from around the world to discuss and raise awareness about disarmament and nonproliferation, the foreign ministry said Thursday. The two-day forum, which ended Wednesday, marked the first of its kind that South Korea and the UN office has co-hosted on the disarmament and nonproliferation issues for younger generations. Seoul has been championing the agenda, with last year's adoption by a UN committee

The amount of short selling in South Korea plunged nearly 30 percent in June from a month earlier on a bullish stock market, data showed Thursday. The daily turnover of short selling on the country's main and minor stock markets averaged 506 billion won ($448 million) last month, down 28.3 percent from May, according to the data from the Korea Exchange. The main market posted a 31.6 percent tumble, with the tech-heavy KOSDAQ market registering a 13.2 percent decline. Short selling is an inves

Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung officially launched his high-profile presidential campaign Thursday, pledging to alleviate inequality between the powerful and the weak. The front-runner by a wide margin among the nine contenders of the ruling Democratic Party (DP), Lee announced his bid to run in the March 9 presidential election through a prerecorded video, released on YouTube and other online platforms, in consideration of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. "Through the politics of moderating t

South Korea's Kwon Soon-woo has been knocked out in the second round of Wimbledon. Kwon, ranked 71st, lost a five-set, four-hour battle against Dominik Koepfer at the All England Club in London on Wednesday (local time). The 62nd-ranked German prevailed 6-3, 6-7 (8-10), 7-6 (7-2), 5-7, 6-3. Kwon earned his first career victory at Wimbledon on Tuesday with a four-set victory against Daniel Masur, also from Germany. Kwon walked away with 45 ranking points and should crack the top 70 after the c

South Korea is off to a losing start in its bid to qualify for the Olympic men's basketball tournament for the first time in a quarter century. South Korea fell to Venezuela 94-80 in its first game of the FIBA Olympic qualifying tournament at Zalgirio Arena in Kaunas, Lithuania, on Wednesday (local time), as its spirited second-half comeback attempt fell short. Davidson forward Lee Hyun-jung led South Korea with a game-high 18 points on a 7-of-14 shooting, and naturalized starting center Ra Gu

South Korea's exports jumped 39.7 percent on-year in June to extend their gains to an eighth consecutive month on the back of a recovery in global business activities, which led to stronger demand for chips and automobiles, data showed Thursday. Outbound shipments came to $54.8 billion last month, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Imports climbed 40.7 percent to $50.3 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $4.44 billion. It marked the 14th consecut

Prosecutors indicted a former industry minister and a former presidential secretary Wednesday for their alleged abuse of authority and interference with business in the process of the government's decision to close a decades-old nuclear power plant.    The Daejeon District Prosecutors Office has been looking into suspicions former minister Paik Un-gyu and former presidential aide Chae Hee-bong abused their power in the viability assessment of Wolsong-1, the nation's second-oldest nu

The government will allow commercial breaks for terrestrial broadcasters beginning this week as part of efforts to buttress the industry suffering from falling ad revenues, officials said Wednesday.    The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) said a revised enforcement ordinance of the Broadcasting Act, aiming to allow all networks to broadcast commercials during programs, will take effect Thursday.    Terrestrial broadcasters have been prohibited from such advertising si