South Korea's electricity consumption nearly rebounded to the pre-pandemic level in April amid the recovery of industrial and business activities, data showed Friday. Asia's fourth-largest economy used 41,900 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of power in April, up 3.5 percent from a year ago, according to the data from the Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO). South Korea's power consumption earlier dropped 4.6 percent on-year in April 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a harsh blow to the economy. The

The Democratic Party will push to stamp out fake news by legislating a new law that obliges media to pay punitive damages for the spread of malicious disinformation and misinformation, officials said Friday. The new law the ruling party aims to pass through the National Assembly by the end of this month calls for the payment of compensation three to five times the calculated amount of damage caused by false information in news, they said. The imposition of extraordinary financial penalties was

At 41, the South Korean Olympic shooting legend Jin Jong-oh knows his time as a competitive athlete may be reaching its end. But he insisted this week he doesn't want to get pushed to that point and that he will call his own shots. Jin will be competing at his fifth Olympics in Tokyo this summer. Over his four appearances, Jin captured four gold medals and two silver medals. He's tied with former archer Kim Soo-nyung for most Olympic medals by a South Korean athlete. To even qualify for the T

Samsung Electronics Co. is considering holding its technology conference this year despite the novel coronavirus pandemic, industry insiders said Friday. The South Korean tech giant is reviewing a plan to hold the Samsung Developer Conference (SDC) in October or November as vaccinations pick up pace around the globe. Samsung, the world's largest memory chip and smartphone vendor, is reportedly looking to hold an in-person conference this year but is also considering online options for the even

WASHINGTON -- The new US special representative for North Korea, Sung Kim, will travel to Seoul later this week for trilateral talks with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts, the State Department said Thursday. During his trip from Saturday through Wednesday, Kim will join the three-way session with Noh Kyu-duk, Seoul's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, and Takehiro Funakoshi, Tokyo's director-general for Asian and Oceanian affairs, it said. "S

The remains of a soldier killed in the 1950-53 Korean War have been identified through DNA analysis, a decade after they were recovered from a former battle site, the defense ministry said Friday. The identification of the remains of Ssg. Ko Byung-soo was possible as his family members registered their DNA samples with the government last year, according to ministry. Ko's remains were excavated at Mount Baekseok in Yanggu, some 175 kilometers northeast of Seoul, in 2011. The mountain was one

Two American service members stationed in South Korea have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the US military said Friday. One of them, based at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, was found to have contracted COVID-19 on Tuesday after developing symptoms, according to US Forces Korea (USFK). The other service member at Camp Casey in Dongducheon, 40 km north of the capital, was found to be infected the next day in a virus test required to return to the United Stat

The Texas Rangers have designated their South Korean pitcher Yang Hyeon-jong for assignment, putting the left-hander's future in the majors in further doubt. The Rangers announced the move Thursday (US local time), one day after optioning Yang to their Triple-A affiliate, Round Rock Express. When a player is designated for assignment, he is immediately removed from the 40-man roster and from the 25-man active roster if on it. The player must be traded, released or placed on irrevocable waivers

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said the country should be ready for both dialogue and, more importantly, confrontation with the United States, while calling for efforts to stably control the situation on the Korean Peninsula, state media reported Friday. During a key Workers' Party meeting, Kim "made detailed analysis of the policy tendency of the newly emerged US administration toward our Republic and clarified appropriate strategic and tactical counteraction and the direction of activit

A fire at a Coupang Inc. distribution center continued to burn Friday, more than a day after it broke out, with one firefighter trapped inside, officials said. The fire began in the basement of the e-commerce giant's four-story building in Icheon, about 80 kilometers south of Seoul, around 5:20 a.m. Thursday. Authorities said it appeared to have been caused by a spark from a power outlet. A 52-year-old firefighter who entered the basement Thursday morning to look for people left behind has yet

South Korea's new coronavirus cases remained in the 500s for the third consecutive day Friday as health authorities are set to finalize revamped social distancing rules set to be in place from next month amid an accelerating vaccination campaign. The country reported 507 more virus cases, including 484 local infections, raising the total caseload to 150,238, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The latest tally is slightly down from 545 cases Wednesday and 540 on Thursd

South Korean stocks opened higher Friday on overnight tech gains on Wall Street, with investors digesting the impact of the Fed's faster-than-expected timeline for policy tightening. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) increased 7.75 points, or 0.24 percent, to 3,272.71 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks opened with mild gains after the key stock index snapped its five-session winning streak the previous session. The rebound came amid the ongoing tussle between a

Hyundai Motor and affiliate Kia said Thursday their combined sales in Europe more than doubled last month from a year earlier on robust demand and lower base effect. Hyundai and Kia sold a total of 88,171 vehicles in Europe in May, sharply up from 42,492 units in the same month a year ago, the companies' sales data showed.  The monthly result got a boost from strong sales of Hyundai's Tucson and Kona sport utility vehicles and Kia's Sportage SUV and Cee'd crossover utility vehicle, a

President Moon Jae-in on Thursday expressed hope for South Korean and Spain to form closer and more active ties in the tourism sector going forward, with the countries having decided to extend a bilateral travel exchange campaign that was canceled due to the pandemic. Moon, travelled to Spain for a three-day state visit, attended a South Korea-Spain tourism industry roundtable event held at the mountain-side monastery of Montserrat in Catalonia, north of Barcelona. At the event, the two govern

South Korean President Moon Jae-in headed back to Seoul on Thursday after a weeklong trip to Europe, during which he focused on making clear Seoul's commitment to playing a bigger role in global issues and improving strategic ties with Austria and Spain. He joined a Group of Seven summit in Cornwall, Britain, last weekend as a guest. Moon received an invitation to take part in last year's G-7 summit, scheduled to be hosted by the U.S., as well but it was called off due to the pandemic. Cheong

A state corruption probe agency has not fully started an investigation into Yoon Seok-youl, a former prosecutor general and a leading presidential hopeful, over abuse of power allegations, the agency's chief said Thursday. Kim Jin-wook, the head of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), said at a press conference that while the CIO has started working on the case, it has yet to launch a full-fledged investigation because of various circumstances. Over concerns th

South Korea's global competitiveness ranking remained unchanged this year after rising by five notches in the previous year on the back of its efforts to contain the pandemic, a report showed Thursday. The country ranked 23rd in terms of global competitiveness among 64 countries surveyed, according to the 2021 report by the International Institute for Management Development. IMD, a Swiss-based international institution, has been releasing the report every year since 1989 based on a country's e

South Korean stocks ended a five-session winning streak Thursday as investor sentiment for risky assets weakened over the Federal Reserve's comments about an earlier-than-expected timeline for a rate hike. The Korean won steeply fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 13.72 points, or 0.42 percent, to close at 3,264.96 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.8 billion shares worth some 14.4 trillion won ($12.7 billion), with losers outnum

Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong will visit Vietnam, Singapore and Indonesia next week for talks with his counterparts over public health, economic recovery from COVID-19 and other regional issues, the foreign ministry said Thursday. It will mark Chung's first trip to Southeast Asia since his inauguration in February. The trip, set to begin Monday, comes amid Seoul's efforts to cement its New Southern Policy aimed at deepening cooperation with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations

Former Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on Thursday announced his intention to run for president next year, promising to become a leader to build a strong economy and stamp out inequality. Chung launched his bid for the nomination of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) under the slogan of "Strong Korea, Economic President." "I will be an economic president of a strong Republic of Korea, who fights all inequalities," he said during an event in Seoul to kick off his candidacy. &qu