South Korean banks' household loans grew at a slower clip in March, while the growth of mortgage loans remained at a high level, central bank data showed Wednesday. The value of outstanding bank loans to local households came to 1,009.5 trillion won ($898.8 billion) as of end-March, up 6.5 trillion won from the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The February reading compares to a 6.7 trillion-won gain in February. The BOK said the rise in lending was mainly at

South Korea continues to have the lowest birthrate in the world this year amid fast growth of its elderly population, a United Nations report showed Tuesday. The country's total fertility rate per woman amounted to 1.1 in 2021, unchanged from a year earlier, according to the report from the UN Population Fund (UNFPA). The fertility rate refers to the average number of children each woman is expected to give birth to over her lifetime. South Korea's rate is the lowest among all 198 countries s

President Moon Jae-in instructed Cheong Wa Dae on Wednesday to look immediately and thoroughly into allegations of corruption involving his secretary for culture. The move came after a news report that a local company established in 2004 by the secretary, Jun Hyo-gwan, won a dozen contracts, worth a total of 5.1 billion won ($4.5 million), with the Seoul metropolitan government on culture-related projects while he was serving as a senior official in charge of innovation planning affairs at City

Hyundai Electric & Energy Systems Co.(HE) said Wednesday that it has signed initial deals with local operators of charging stations for electric vehicles (EV) to provide electricity. Under the deals, HE will provide electricity collected from operators of renewable energies, such as solar energy, to EV charging station operators, including Mooving, Pumpkin and Charzin. HE is an energy solution unit of global shipbuilding giant Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings Co. (HHIH). HHIH's oil refin

Three starts into the 2021 season, Ryu Hyun-jin finally has a win for the Toronto Blue Jays. The South Korean left-hander limited the New York Yankees to a run on four hits in 6 2/3 strong innings, helping the Jays to a 7-3 victory at TD Ballpark in Dunedin, Florida, on Tuesday (local time). He struck out seven and walked one. The lone Yankees run off Ryu was unearned, as it came following a throwing error by third baseman Cavan Biggio in the seventh inning. Ryu is now 1-1 for the season and

South Korea's two major electronics firms -- Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc. -- said Wednesday they have won dozens of honors at renowned international design competitions with their products. Samsung, the world's largest smartphone and TV vendor, said it has received a record 71 accolades at the International Forum (iF) Design Award 2021. The company said it won 36 prizes for product design, which include two Gold Award honors for its BESPOKE AX9000N air purifier and BESPOKE C

Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co., a major builder in South Korea, said Wednesday it has won a $150 million order to build a underground substation in Singapore. Under a letter of award from Singapore's SP Group, Hyundai E&C said it will handle earth retaining stabilizing structure and piling works of a 34-story office tower and the construction of the underground substation along with the operation support center in Pasir Panjang, the southwest region of Singapore. The constructi

The system, named S-REGAS, is the world's first LNG regasification system for LNG floating storage regasification unit (LNG-FSRU) combined with cold power generation technologies, the shipbuilder said. Cold power generation refers to electric power generation using energy produced during the vaporization process of LNG, which is transported in a liquid state by cooling it to minus 162 C, without emitting carbon dioxide. The S-REGAS can generate 16-megawatt electricity, the company said. A LNG

St. Louis Cardinals' South Korean pitcher Kim Kwang-hyun will make his long-awaited 2021 season debut on the weekend. The left-hander will face the Philadelphia Phillies on the road on Saturday (local time), St. Louis manager Mike Shildt announced prior to Tuesday's home game against the Washington Nationals. The first pitch will be 4:05 p.m. Saturday in Philadelphia, and 5:05 a.m. Sunday in South Korea. Kim missed a couple of weeks in March with back tightness, after some rough starts to his

K-pop girl group ITZY is ready to come back with its fourth EP, "Guess Who," later this month, its agency said Wednesday. The album, due out on April 30, includes main track "In the Morning" produced by their label founder and K-pop guru Park Jin-young, according to JYP Entertainment. The six-track EP also includes songs by songwriters who have collaborated with top-notch K-pop acts BTS, TWICE and IU like KASS, danke and earattack, it added. ITZY, consisting of Yeji, Ryuji

South Korea, home to major memory chip suppliers like Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix Inc., ranked second in global chip sales last year, a report showed Wednesday, although it had extremely weak presence in the fabless segment. Total integrated circuit (IC) sales from South Korea-based firms represented 21 percent of the global market in 2020, according to the latest McClean Report published by market researcher IC Insights. The United States topped the ranking with a share of 55 percent

Samsung Engineering Co., a plant construction unit of Samsung Group, said Wednesday it has clinched a $650 million deal to build a petrochemical plant in Saudi Arabia. Under the deal with Advanced Global Investment Co., a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia's Advanced Petrochemical Co., Samsung Engineering will build a propane dehydrogenation plant and utilities and offsites at Jubail Industrial City II on Saudi Arabia's eastern coast. The plant, which is set to be completed in 2024, will produce 840,0

South Korean chipmakers' spending on equipment soared 61 percent last year from a year earlier, the largest growth among major chip producing countries, industry data showed Wednesday. South Korea, home to major memory chip producers Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix Inc., spent For the first time, China topped the ranking after its chip manufacturing equipment spending grew 39 percent on-year to $18.72 billion. Taiwan, led by the world's No. 1 foundry maker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufactur

A Navy officer and three Army soldiers have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said Wednesday. The Navy officer in Incheon, west of Seoul, was found to have contracted COVID-19 while in quarantine after a family member was confirmed infected, according to the ministry. The Army soldiers -- one each in the central city of Nonsan; Goyang, just north of Seoul; and Namyangju, northeast of the capital -- were infected with the virus after vacation. The latest cases rais

Samsung Electronics Co. is expected to introduce new Galaxy laptops later this month as the South Korean tech giant eyes to expand sales of notebooks amid the pandemic-induced stay-at-home trend. Samsung on Wednesday sent media invitations to its Galaxy Unpacked online event scheduled to take place on April 28, saying "Discover the most powerful Galaxy yet." Samsung, the world's largest smartphone producer, did not reveal which products will be unveiled at the event, but industry obs

A North Korean propaganda outlet on Wednesday criticized South Korea's recent mayoral elections as an example of "backward" politics, saying the races were marred by mudslinging and negative campaigning. Last week's mayoral by-elections in Seoul and the southeastern city of Busan ended with the ruling Democratic Party's crushing defeat after the campaigns were dominated by alleged real estate speculation and criticism of the Moon Jae-in administration's real estate policy. Tongil Voi

Sales of South Korea's major fried chicken franchises jumped in 2020 as people resorted more to food delivery amid the coronavirus outbreak, industry data showed Wednesday. Kyochon, the biggest franchise, saw its top line surging 17.8 percent on-year to 447.6 billion won ($398 million) last year, and sales of No. 2 BHC shot up 25.7 percent to 400.4 billion won. It marks the first time that sales of local chicken franchises have exceed the 400 billion-won mark. Kyochon's operating income climb

A North Korean propaganda outlet on Wednesday denounced South Korea's recent decision to deploy new attack helicopters and destroyers as part of preparations for a long-sought invasion of the North. Last month, South Korea announced that it will import around 36 large combat choppers by 2028 and build next-generation Aegis-equipped destroyers as part of efforts to beef up its national defense capability. "The South Korean military is focused recklessly on strengthening its armed forces no

Transactions on mobile games in South Korea reached a record high in the first quarter of this year, data showed Wednesday, amid the pandemic-driven online gaming trend. Mobile game transactions stood at 1.66 trillion won ($1.48 billion) in the January-March period this year, compared with 1.48 trillion won the previous year, according to local mobile app tracker IGAWorks, which reviewed data from 40 million mobile devices running on Apple's iOS and Google's Android. IGAWorks said the endless

Liquor companies in South Korea performed poorly in 2020 as people consumed less alcohol due to the coronavirus outbreak, data showed Wednesday. Lotte Chilsung Beverage Co., a major maker of beer and soju, a Korean distilled liquor, saw its sales shrink 7.7 percent on-year to 2.16 trillion won ($1.92 billion) last year, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. Lotte Chilsung, also the country's leading beverage manufacturer, reported an operating income of 97.2 billion won