South Korean stocks snapped their seven-day winning streak to plunge 1.5 percent on Wednesday, as investors attempted to cash in recent gains. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 49.04 points, or 1.52 percent, to close at 3,171.66. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.7 billion shares worth some 16.7 trillion won ($14.9 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 597 to 277. Foreigners sold a net 1.43 trillion won, while ret

South Korea said Wednesday it will invest 105 billion won ($94 million) this year to support budding companies in promising tech sectors, such as 5G networks and artificial intelligence, as part of the country's digital New Deal initiative. Last year, South Korea unveiled the digital New Deal program, which aims to invest 58.2 trillion won to develop key future technologies from smart factories to big data solutions and create 900,000 jobs by 2025. The Ministry of Science and ICT said it signe

South Korea has been reelected to the executive board of the World Food Programme (WFP) for the 2022-24 period, the foreign ministry said Wednesday. The decision was made at a UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) meeting on Tuesday. South Korea has been on the 36-member governing body of the WEF since 2019. The executive board is in charge of instructing the UN food assistance body with policy directions and the supervision of its overall activities. "The government will actively t

South Korea's small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) saw their exports touch a fresh high in the first quarter on brisk overseas demand for medical products and chips, government data showed Wednesday. SMEs' overseas shipments totaled $27 billion in the January-March period, up 12.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. It was the highest-ever amount for the first quarter and exceeded the previous first-quarter record of $25.2 billion in

The number of employees in the food service segment declined by the most in the May-October period of last year due to the fallout of the pandemic, data showed Wednesday. The number of people employed at restaurants and eateries reached 1.54 million in the cited period, 179,000 fewer than the previous year, according to Statistics Korea. It marked the largest on-year decline since 2013, when the statistics agency began compiling related data. Workers in the food service segment accounted for

South Korea's antitrust regulator said Wednesday it will speed up its review of SK hynix Inc.'s deal to acquire US chipmaker Intel Corp.'s NAND business. Last October, SK hynix, the country's No. 2 chipmaker, signed a deal to buy Intel's non-volatile memory unit for $9 billion, and it submitted an application for approval to the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) in January. "We will proceed with the review as swiftly as possible in a way that does not hamper an industry realignment in th

A local court has determined that Japan cannot be forced to pay the legal fees of former South Korean sex slaves in a recent landmark case due to a potential conflict with international law, judicial sources said Wednesday. The Seoul Central District Court made the determination on March 29, almost three months after it ordered the Japanese government to pay reparations of 100 million won ($89,600) each to 12 South Korean "comfort women" who were forced to provide sex for Japanese tro

Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong expressed hopes Wednesday that the United States will help South Korea address coronavirus vaccine shortages, just as Seoul helped the US last year by providing test kits and face masks when it was struggling with the pandemic. Chung made the comment in a forum with local journalists, a day after he revealed in a parliamentary session that Seoul is seriously discussing a "vaccine swap" arrangement with Washington. He did not elaborate on what that swap

The Ministry of Education on Wednesday declared a three-week intensive period for checking COVID-19 rules for all schools, universities and private educational facilities nationwide, responding to a recent spike in in-school transmissions of the coronavirus. The declaration came as the number of COVID-19 infections among students and teachers has recently exceeded 2,000 in one and a half months after the spring semester began in early March. During the special period, students, teachers and sc

South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co. on Wednesday denied rumors that it is considering the sale of its loss-making railway affiliate, Hyundai Rotem. Hyundai Motor said in a regulatory filing that it is not pushing to sell its 33.8 percent stake in Hyundai Rotem. Hyundai Rotem runs businesses in three main areas -- railway vehicles, defense products and industrial plants. Its railway business accounts for nearly half of its sales but has been in the red for the last three years, having pos

South Korean screen veteran Youn Yuh-jung has risen to become a safe front-runner in the race for the 2021 Oscars' best supporting actress for her role in the immigration film "Minari," a poll by an American awards prediction website showed Wednesday. As of 10 a.m., the 74-year-old actress garnered 4,583 votes from experts, editors and internet users to rank No. 1 in Gold Derby's Oscars race poll, greatly outpacing four other nominees in the category. Maria Bakalova from "Borat

South Korean victims of wartime sexual slavery lost their second lawsuit against the Japanese government Wednesday, suffering a setback in their efforts to hold Tokyo accountable for war crimes. The Seoul Central District Court dismissed the case brought by 20 plaintiffs, including surviving victims forced to work in front-line brothels for Japanese soldiers during World War II, citing sovereign immunity, a legal doctrine that allows a state to be immune from a civil suit in foreign courts. &q

South Korean listed firms' dividend payouts reached the highest in five years last year as their earnings were better than expected and they sought to improve shareholder value, the bourse operator said Wednesday. Combined dividend payments by 529 out of 769 companies on the main bourse, which close their books in December, came to 33.2 trillion won ($29.7 billion) last year, up 60.3 percent from the previous year, according to the Korea Exchange (KRX). But their average payout ratio, the perc

South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co. said Wednesday it has resumed production at a domestic plant for Grandeur and Sonata sedans after two days of suspension following eased chip supply shortages. Hyundai Motor said in a regulatory briefing it reopened the Asan plant, about 100 kilometers south of Seoul, which went offline between Monday and Tuesday following a two-day suspension last week. The company estimated production losses of about 4,100 production units this month due to the suspen

Doosan Mobility Innovation (DMI), a South Korean drone maker, said Wednesday that it has teamed up with a Dutch government agency to utilize its drones for an offshore energy project in the European country. DMI has joined hands with the Development Agency Noord-Holland Noord (NHN) to take part in the offshore technology innovation program named Maritime Emerging Technologies Innovation Park (METIP), the company said. DMI's hydrogen fuel cell-propelled drones that can fly for more than two hou

Kumho Mitsui Chemicals Inc. said Wednesday it will invest about 400 billion won ($358.1 million) to expand its chemical manufacturing factory in South Korea's southwestern region. The joint venture between Korean synthetic rubber maker Kumho Petrochemical and Mitsui Chemicals of Japan said its shareholders approved the investment plan to scale up a methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) factory in Yeosu, 455 kilometers southwest of Seoul. MDI is a core material of polyurethane, which is used

Four service members and a civilian worker for the military have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the latest in a series of infections across the nation, the defense ministry said Wednesday. One Marine in the city of Hwaseong, south of Seoul, and one soldier in the county of Hongcheon, east of Seoul, were confirmed to have been infected following their recent vacations, according to the ministry. One Army officer in the central city of Icheon contracted the virus after coming into cl

Hanwha Q Cells, a solar solutions unit of South Korean conglomerate Hanwha Group, said Wednesday it will provide solar modules for a 370-megawatt solar farm project in Angola. Hanwha Q Cells said it will supply photovoltaic modules for the project that plans to build seven solar farms in the South African nation, without elaborating on the amount of the contract. The solar project aims to provide electricity to 2.4 million residents in Angola, and will cut 940,000 tons of carbon emissions a ye

Acting Prime Minister Hong Nam-ki on Wednesday asked the public to have faith in the government's overall COVID-19 response amid a steadfast growth of new virus patients and concerns over South Korea's vaccine procurement capacity. "We ask that each individual remain alert and attentive in the current situation but also have faith in our test and medical capabilities, and trust our vaccine administration plan," Hong said during a daily interagency meeting on the coronavirus response.

The chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said he "certainly" hopes South Korean experts will participate in the UN nuclear watchdog's monitoring of Japan's ocean release of radioactive Fukushima water.  IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi made the remark during an interview with Yonhap News Agency via video link Tuesday, as Seoul is seeking to take part in the IAEA-led verification efforts amid growing health risk concerns over Tokyo's plans to discharg