Debris from a Chinese space rocket fell into the Indian Ocean on Sunday, the science ministry said. Remnants of the Long March 5B rocket landed in waters southeast of India around 11:30 a.m., the ministry said, citing data from the US-based Combined Space Operations Center. The rocket was launched last week carrying a module of China's first permanent space station into orbit. But a large piece of debris plunged back in an uncontrolled reentry. (Yonhap)

Samsung Electronics Co. is mulling multiple new smartphone launches in August, industry sources said Sunday, as the South Korean tech giant eyes to expand its leadership in the mobile market. Samsung, the world's largest smartphone vendor, is in talks with local mobile carriers over releasing its new smartphone models, including the Galaxy S21 FE, the Galaxy Z Fold3 and the Galaxy Z Flip2, in late August, according to the sources. If confirmed, the new smartphones will be launched earlier th

From K-pop dynamo BTS to boy band brand NCT's subunit NCT Dream, some of the scene's biggest acts as well as rookie groups are getting ready to come back with new music this month. At the forefront is BTS. The seven-piece group, which released Japanese single "Film Out" in April, is set to drop new song "Butter" on May 21. The English single, which the group's agency Big Hit Music described as a "fun and upbeat summer song," will first be released globally in a d

A third plane carrying South Koreans arrived from India on Sunday, transporting 164 business officials out of the virus-ravaged country. The special flight operated by Asiana Airlines arrived at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, from New Delhi, mostly carrying officials who had been sent to oversee the construction of a new Samsung Display plant. South Korea has flown two special flights out of India in recent days -- one from Chennai carrying 172 Korean residents and another from

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases fell back below 600 on Sunday mainly due to fewer tests as health authorities try to boost the nationwide vaccination drive to contain the spread. The country reported 564 more COVID-19 cases, including 522 local infections, raising the total caseload to 127,309, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Sunday's figure was sharply down from 701 from the previous day. The daily caseload usually spikes after weekends as more people g

South Korea said Sunday it will strengthen its monitoring system against cryptocurrency-related phishing websites by working with the National Police Agency amid recent surges in prices of virtual money. The ICT ministry said there have recently been increasing reports of phishing attempts via text messages that lead cryptocurrency users to enter their exchange IDs and passwords on fake websites to steal them and access their accounts. The ministry said it found and blocked 32 such phishing we

Presidential hopefuls of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) are competing to woo support from young voters in the run-up to next year's election, as the party tries to recover lost confidence from 20- and 30-something voters as seen in its crushing defeat in last month's by-elections. Rep. Lee Nak-yon, former prime minister and the DP's previous chairman, on Thursday proposed funneling state tax money procured from owners of high-priced homes, commonly referred to as the comprehensive real estate

Former Prime Minister Lee Han-dong died of a chronic disease Saturday at the age of 87, his close aide said. "The former prime minister died at his home at around noon," the aide told Yonhap News Agency. Lee served six terms as a lawmaker from 1981-2000 and as the prime minister from 2000-2002 under then President Kim Dae-jung. In 2002, he made an unsuccessful presidential bid with a pledge to eradicate regionalism and corruption. In 2004, he was indicted without detention on charg

Youn Yuh-jung made a triumphant return to South Korea on Saturday, nearly two weeks after winning an Oscar for her role in the immigrant film "Minari." The South Korean actress, wearing a green bomber jacket, jeans and a white mask, waved to reporters as she arrived at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, from the United States earlier in the day. She did not hold a news conference at the airport -- something that celebrities usually do as part of a hero's welcome -- due to

Two prominent biological scientists in South Korea have been named as foreign members of the Royal Society of Britain, the scientific academy said. Professors Kim V. Narry of Seoul National University and Lee Sang-yup of KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) became first South Koreans to join the Royal Society, according to its announcement Thursday (local time). Founded in 1660, the society is one of the most prestigious and oldest institutes in the field of science. It h

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases rose back to the 700s for the first time in 10 days Saturday as the country remains on alert for a potential upsurge in variant cases. The country reported 701 more COVID-19 cases, including 672 local infections, raising the total caseload to 126,745, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said in a statement. The daily caseload reached 488 on Monday on fewer tests over the weekend and stayed under 700 from Tuesday to Friday. There wer

South Korea's oil refining industry is expected to rebound in the first quarter thanks to surging global oil prices and a recovery in refining margins after hemorrhaging from the pandemic-driven slump last year, analysts said Saturday. Four refiners -- SK Innovation Co., GS Caltex Corp., S-Oil Corp. and Hyundai Oil Bank Corp. -- registered their worst performances ever last year, stung by slumping crude prices, weak refining margins and tumbling demand due to the coronavirus pandemic. The fou

A yellow dust storm that originated in the Gobi Desert in northern China and Mongolia on Friday blanketed most of South Korea, including the greater Seoul area, the state weather agency said. A fine dust advisory, issued for Seoul at 1 p.m., was upgraded to a fine dust warning one hour later, as the average hourly concentration of fine dust particles smaller than 10 micrometers in diameter, known as PM 10, surged to 610 micrograms per cubic meter in the capital Friday afternoon. A fine dust wa

Samsung Securities Co. on Friday reported its first-quarter net income of 289 billion won ($257.8 million), up 1776.4 percent from a year earlier. The company said in a regulatory filing that it posted 399.3 billion won in operating profit for the quarter, compared with 22 billion won a year ago. Revenue fell 43.5 percent to 3.29 trillion won. The operating profit was in line with the average estimate, according to the survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency. Th

A presidential secretary on Friday offered to resign over allegations that he awarded public projects worth millions to his private firm while serving as a senior official at the Seoul city government. The resignation offer by Jun Hyo-kwan, a presidential secretary for cultural affairs, came amid the allegations, raised by an opposition lawmaker, that his private company received a total of 12 orders worth 5.1 billion won ($4.5 million) from the Seoul city government from 2014-2018. During the

The evolving US-led Quad forum is neither a security alliance nor an Asian version of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a US White House official said Friday, stressing it is an open framework designed to tackle shared challenges. Edgard Kagan, senior director for East Asia and Oceania at the National Security Council, made the remarks in a virtual seminar, amid a sense that the Quad, which consists of the United States, Australia, India and Japan, aims to counter the rise of Chin

South Korea's housing market sentiment slightly exceeded par for the first time in 47 months in May on rising hopes of business improvements, a poll showed Friday. The Korea Housing Institute said that its housing business sentiment index (HBSI), based on a survey of about 500 construction companies, amounted to 101.2 for this month. It represents the first time for the HBSI to surpass the 100 level since it stood at 121.8 in June 2017. A reading above 100 means the number of companies foreca

A former senior prosecutor was sentenced to three years in prison Friday for taking bribes in connection with a financial fraud scandal involving Lime Asset Management. The Seoul Southern District Court convicted Yun Gap-geun, former chief of the Daegu High Prosecutors Office, of accepting bribes through good offices. He was indicted for accepting about 220 million won ($196,250) in kickbacks from Lee Jong-pil, former vice president of the hedge fund, and the chairman of Metropolitan Group, a

Uncharacteristically wobbly with his command, Toronto Blue Jays' left-hander Ryu Hyun-jin labored through five innings for a road victory against the Oakland Athletics in his first outing back from the injured list (IL). But more importantly, the South Korean pitcher reported zero pain afterward. Ryu allowed four runs on six hits, including a home run, in five innings at Oakland Coliseum in Oakland on Thursday (local time) and watched his teammates tacking on late runs for a 10-4 victory. Ryu

More than a year into the coronavirus pandemic, the country's university students are fighting not only against the virus but also with their schools over tuition refunds. And that fight entered a new phase Thursday, as the Seoul Central District Court held a first hearing on a class action suit filed in July by nearly 3,000 students. A student association demanding tuition refunds called on the court to make a "rightful" ruling on the case, and criticized the schools for dragging th