South Korea and Saudi Arabia vowed Wednesday to expand ties in the clean energy sector under their joint vision to seek sustainable development through 2030. Industry Minister Moon Sung-wook met his Saudi counterpart, Khalid Al-Falih, virtually to discuss ways to strengthen the bilateral ties under the Korea-Saudi Vision 2030 Committee platform, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The two countries launched the committee in 2017 in line with efforts to broaden their strate

The Seoul metropolitan government said Wednesday it is keeping a four-person cap on private gatherings amid a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases in the city, just hours before the rule was set to be relaxed. The decision was reached at an emergency virtual meeting between Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and the heads of all 25 local ward offices. The city of Seoul registered 375 new cases Tuesday, its biggest daily increase this year, two days before it was set to raise the cap on private gatherings from

President Moon Jae-in assessed Wednesday that South Korea's relationship with the United States has evolved from a traditional military-and-security-based alliance to that of a comprehensive and global partnership. Moon shared his views on the state of the Seoul-Washington alliance in a lunch meeting with the heads of constitutional institutions -- the National Assembly speaker, the Supreme Court chief justice, the Constitutional Court chief and the prime minister -- at Cheong Wa Dae. The pres

Hundreds of 5G mobile users filed a joint lawsuit Wednesday against the country's three major mobile carriers -- SK Telecom Co., KT Corp. and LG Uplus Corp. -- over disappointing quality of the latest generation networks, according to their legal representative. Around 520 people are taking part in the joint lawsuit, which argues that carriers have offered incomplete 5G services, leading to poor network quality, Kim Jin-wook, an attorney at law firm Joowon, said. "The action seeks compens

South Korea's top two retailers -- Shinsegae Group and Lotte Group -- have not joined the race to take over Yogiyo, the country's second-largest food delivery app, industry sources said Wednesday. The rivaling retail giants had been considered the two most viable potential bidders for Yogiyo, run by Germany's Delivery Hero (DH), in a deal that could change the landscape of the country's food delivery industry. "After considering the potential synergy effect in combining the retail and the

The Bank of Korea (BOK) said Wednesday it sold a net $103 million in the first quarter to help ease fluctuations in the local currency market. The BOK began releasing such data in March 2019 to help boost the transparency of its market stabilization steps. A BOK official said market smoothing operations in the first quarter came as the Korean currency weakened against the US dollar. The Korean currency closed at 1,131.8 won against the US dollar on March 31, compared with 1,086.3 won at the e

Nine out of 10 people who have been vaccinated said they would recommend that their families and friends receive shots, a government survey showed Wednesday. The poll, jointly conducted by the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters and the culture ministry, showed that 95.6 percent were favorable toward receiving COVID-19 vaccines. The share was up 10.4 percentage points from the same survey conducted last month. Some 1,000 adults aged 18 and older took part in the latest su

The city of Seoul on Wednesday reported this year's biggest daily increase in new coronavirus cases, one day before the nation loosens social distancing rules. The metropolitan government said 375 new cases were registered Tuesday, up 170 from the previous day. The previous highest number of daily cases this year was 329, set on Jan. 3. Coronavirus infections in the capital soared late last year, reporting a record 552 daily cases on Dec. 24. The number was reduced to 100-200 levels this spri

The top court on Wednesday confirmed a four-year prison sentence for a nephew of former Justice Minister Cho Kuk for embezzlement and other financial crimes. The Supreme Court upheld the verdict handed down to Cho Beom-dong by an appellate court, in which he was sentenced to four years in prison and a fine of 50 million won ($41,570) on charges including embezzlement, breach of trust and a violation of capital market law. The court also maintained the lower court's decision to clear him of mos

South Korean stocks rebounded Wednesday after a two-day retreat, following a US drugmaker's announcement that its vaccine turned out to be effective against COVID-19 variants. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) added 10 points, or 0.3 percent, to close at 3,296.68 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.6 billion shares worth some 15.3 trillion won ($13.6 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 436 to 380. Foreigners so

Fifty-seven newly arrived North Korean defectors were admitted to the government-run resettlement education center in the first half of the year, an 85 percent drop from a year earlier amid the North's anti-coronavirus border closure, an official said Wednesday. During the same period last year, 380 North Korean defectors entered the Hanawon resettlement center. "The number of people entering Hanawon fell sharply as countries took antivirus measures, including blocking arrivals and restri

The Seoul Bankruptcy Court said Wednesday it has accepted SsangYong Motor Corp.'s request to extend the deadline for its rehabilitation plan by two months until Sept. 1 considering its ongoing sales process. The bankruptcy court in April put the debt-laden automaker under court receivership, a step short of bankruptcy, and ordered it to submit its rehabilitation plan by July 1. On Monday, SsangYong opened an auction for its majority stake after its Indian parent Mahindra & Mahindra faile

Samsung Electronics Co. further expanded its dominance in the domestic smartphone market in the first quarter of the year on the back of robust sales of the Galaxy S and A series, a report showed Wednesday. Samsung had a share of 67 percent in the South Korean smartphone market in the January-March period, up 9 percentage points from a quarter earlier, according to data from market researcher Counterpoint Research. Its first-quarter market share was also 3 percentage points larger than a year

Non-standard contract employees, such as parcel delivery workers, home tutors and insurance salespersons, will be newly included among employment insurance beneficiaries, beginning in July, the Ministry of Employment and Labor said Wednesday. The ministry said a revision of the Employment Insurance Act aimed at making workers in 12 non-standard forms of employment eligible for employment insurance is to take effect Thursday. Non-standard contract employees refer to workers of special employmen

Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), South Korea's sole aircraft manufacturer, suffered hacking attempts, and many documents are believed to have been leaked, possibly including sensitive data on major projects, sources said Wednesday. KAI's system appeared to have been hacked twice this year by unidentified entities, and "a large quantity of documents" seems to have been leaked, according to the sources. Some say that the breached data might include sensitive information about major d

French league striker Hwang Ui-jo will lead South Korea's attack in their bid for an Olympic men's football medal in Japan this summer. Hwang was one of 18 players named to the South Korean men's Olympic team Wednesday. Head coach Kim Hak-bum unveiled two goalkeepers, six defenders, five midfielders and five forwards at a press conference in Seoul. The Olympic men's football tournament is typically open to players 23 and younger, but the age limit for the Tokyo Games has been raised to 24 beca

Six more bridges straddling the Han River in Seoul will be lit at night from July, adding to the 20 bridges that already have nocturnal lighting features, the city government said Wednesday.  The 26 bridges, including the newly fitted six -- Achasan Bridge, Mapo Bridge, Cheonho Bridge, Dumo Bridge, Seoho Bridge and Noryang Bridge -- will glow from 15 minutes after sunset to midnight during the next three months. There are 29 bridges across the lifeline of Seoul, but the remaining three ha

Midsized shipyard STX Offshore & Shipbuilding Co. said Wednesday that it has signed deals to build 12 ships with Oceanian companies. The vessels include two 10,000-ton petrochemical carriers (PCs), six 50,000-ton PCs and four 115,000-ton oil tankers, STX Offshore & Shipbuilding said. The deal for four oil tankers has an option to build two additional oil tankers, the company said. But the shipbuilder did not reveal the value of the deals, citing confidentiality clauses. The ships wil

The presidential race is picking up pace with one of the two front-runners declaring his bid and another set to follow suit this week, less than nine months before the election. The launch of the top two contenders -- former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl and Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung -- is expected to quicken the pace of other hopefuls who are testing the water for their potential bids. On Tuesday, Yoon, who has topped opinion polls for most favored presidential hopefuls since late last

Two Air Force warrant officers and one senior master sergeant were indicted in an investigation into the suicide death of a sexually harassed noncommissioned officer on charges of pressuring the victim to drop her complaint or sexually abusing her previously, officials said Wednesday. One of the warrant officers and the senior master sergeant, both surnamed Noh, were charged with inflicting "secondary harm" on the victim by pressuring her to forgive a colleague of the same rank accuse