South Korean stocks advanced for the second consecutive day Wednesday as investor concerns of fast tapering was partially eased by the US Federal Reserve's comments that support its accommodative policy. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 12.31 points, or 0.38 percent, to close at 3,276.19 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1 billion shares worth some 17.4 trillion won ($15.3 billion), with losers outnumbering gaine

GWANGJU -- A Chinese diplomat stationed in Gwangju, southwestern South Korea, was caught driving under the influence of alcohol this week but has claimed diplomatic immunity, police said Wednesday. The diplomat, known as a consul at the Chinese Consulate General in Gwangju, 330 kilometers south of Seoul, was caught operating his car while drunk in an underground parking lot of an apartment in the city's western district of Poongam-dong on Sunday night. According to the Gwangju Seobu Police Stati

South Korea's manufacturing confidence fell for the third straight month in June amid the prolonged coronavirus pandemic, a poll showed Wednesday. The Korea Institute for Industrial Economics & Trade (KIET) said its professional survey index (PSI) for the manufacturing sector's business conditions came to 123 for this month, down from 127 the previous month. Yet the country's PSI remained above the benchmark 100 for 13 months running since June last year. A PSI reading above 100 means opt

The number of South Koreans who moved to different residences in the country fell for the fifth straight month in May as housing transactions shrank, data showed Wednesday. The number of people who changed their residences fell 2.2 percent on-year to 557,000 last month, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It marked the fifth consecutive month of decline after population mobility rose for the seventh month in December 2020 amid skyrocketing home prices. The decline was mainly a

The number of babies born in South Korea declined to a fresh record low in April, data showed Wednesday, underpinning the country's gloomy demographic situation with the chronically low birth rate. A total of 22,820 babies were born in April, down 2.2 percent from the previous year, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It marked the lowest for any April since 1981, when the statistics agency began compiling related data. South Korea is struggling with a sustained fall in childb

In a sign of growing demand for artworks, a major auction house based in Seoul saw sales from a recent bidding reach a fresh high since the 2008 global financial crisis. Seoul Auction sold artworks worth 24.3 billion won ($21.4 million) in the latest bidding held Tuesday, with 87 percent of the artworks finding new owners during the event, it said Wednesday. The amount is the highest since the 2008 financial crisis and is also higher than the 23 billion won in sales the auction house had estim

Gwanghwamun Square, a landmark of Seoul, will get new historical and cultural attractions by next April, the Seoul metropolitan government said Wednesday. Construction has been under way to expand the square and turn part of it into a park as part of a controversial project launched by the administration of former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon. The announcement of the new attractions comes two months after new Mayor Oh Se-hoon said he would keep the project despite opposition from some citizens du

Thanks to the growing global presence of South Korean content through online streaming platforms, the world's entertainment industry is wooing Korean professionals who are behind big-name films and TV series. Not only screenwriters and directors who have come into the spotlight for their global hits like Netflix originals "Sweet Home" (2020) and "Space Sweepers" (2021) but also experts in post-production jobs like poster designing, color grading and visual effects are also i

The average sales price of apartments in Seoul has nearly doubled under the Moon Jae-in government, a civic group said Wednesday. The Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice announced the results of its study that has tracked the prices of 115,000 units in 75 apartment complexes since President Moon took office four years ago. The average price of a 99-square-meter apartment in Seoul rose to 1.19 billion won ($1.04 million) from 620 million won from May 2017 to May 2021. The rise in apartmen

The mother-in-law of former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, one of the prospective presidential candidates for the conservative bloc, has been cleared of fraud charges, police said Wednesday. Yoon's mother-in-law, surnamed Choi, was accused of embezzling entrusted shares of a columbarium business and taking over the control of the entity from the rightful owner. The 75-year-old was also suspected of forging a balance sheet as if she had around 35 billion won ($31 million) deposited at a ban

South Korea's oceans ministry said Wednesday it plans to speed up efforts to cut the emissions of greenhouse gases from older ships in line with new environmental regulations from an international body. Last week the International Maritime Organization (IMO) announced its plans to adopt tougher environment rules on ships built before 2013, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. Previously, the restrictions on greenhouse gases from ships were applied to those built after January 201

Another extra budget under review to support the pandemic-hit people may reach some 30 trillion won ($26.5 billion), the country's chief economic policymaker said Wednesday. The government is planning to create this year's second extra budget with excess tax revenue as it seeks to underpin an economic recovery and minimize the fallout of the pandemic. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki told a parliamentary meeting that another extra budget would be below some 32 trillion won, which is roughly equal

South Korea's antitrust regulator said Wednesday it has provided a record 1.75 billion won ($1.5 million) in rewards to a person who reported seven steelmakers' alleged price fixing. The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) decided in January to fine the country's No. 2 steelmaker Hyundai Steel Co., its smaller rival Dongkuk Steel Mill Co. and five other steelmakers a combined 300 billion won for colluding to fix the purchase price of steel scrap. The commission said it was able to take stern ac

China hosted a joint symposium with North Korea to mark the anniversaries of reciprocal visits by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Chinese President Xi Jinping, state media said Wednesday. The International Liaison Department of the Chinese Communist Party hosted the joint meeting Monday to celebrate the third anniversary of Kim's visit to China and the second anniversary of Xi's visit to North Korea, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. Officials of North Korea's Embassy in Beijing

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases spiked to a two-week high of over 600 on Wednesday as virus variants are emerging as another major challenge in the country's virus fight amid the accelerating vaccine rollout. The country reported 645 new cases, including 605 local infections, raising the total caseload to 152,545, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The country added one COVID-19 death, raising the death toll to 2,007. The fatality rate came to 1.32 percent.

Park In-bee has accomplished a lot in her LPGA Hall of Fame career, but the gold medal from the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics occupies a special place in her heart. Now on the verge of qualifying for her second straight Olympics, Park can't wait to have that experience again. "I've achieved a lot in golf, won a lot of majors, won a lot of tournaments, but winning the gold medal was something really different," Park said at Atlanta Athletic Club in Johns Creek, Georgia, on Tuesday (loc

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street that stemmed from the Fed's comments that support its accommodative policy. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 10.73 points, or 0.33 percent, to 3,274.61 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks got off to a strong start, following Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's reassurance that the recent inflation rate has grown faster than expected but will likely stabilize. Overnight, the

Chipmakers worldwide will break ground on 29 new semiconductor fabrication plants (fabs) by 2022, including two in South Korea, a report showed Wednesday, as they try to meet rising demand. Semiconductor firms will start the construction on 19 new high-volume fabs by the end of this year and another 10 in 2022, according to SEMI, a global industry association representing companies in the electronics design and manufacturing supply chain. "Equipment spending for these 29 fabs is expected

South Korea said Wednesday it has agreed to additionally contribute $2 million to funds operated by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in a bid to boost cooperation with the lending body. The agreement was reached after Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki and EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso held a virtual meeting Tuesday, according to Seoul's finance ministry. Under the agreement, South Korea will additionally contribute the money to two EBRD trust funds designed to support t

E-Mart24 Inc., the convenience store arm of South Korean retail giant Shinsegae, said Wednesday it will open its first store in Malaysia this week as part of its overseas push. The 257-square-meter outlet, located in an office district in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, is slated to open Thursday, E-Mart24 said. E-Mart24 said it has signed a "master franchise" contract with local food and distribution investment firm United Frontiers Holdings (UFH) for its foray into the South