South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases stayed in the 600s for the third consecutive day Sunday amid looming concerns over the fourth wave of the pandemic, with authorities struggling to contain sporadic cluster infections nationwide. The country reported 614 more COVID-19 cases, including 594 local infections, raising the total caseload to 109,559, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. South Korea reported 677 new cases Saturday, which marked a slight rise from 671 ta

A man has been sentenced to six years in prison for selling marijuana he smuggled in from the United States using an unmanned parcel locker, judicial sources said Sunday. According to the sources, the Seoul Central District Court recently handed down the prison term to a 29-year-old man, whose identity has been withheld, on charges of violating the Narcotics Act. He is accused of buying marijuana from US-based drug dealers he met on the dark web, an area of the internet that is not accessible

South Korean wireless carriers are estimated to have logged robust earnings in the first quarter on the back of sharp growth in 5G users and their non-telecom businesses, a poll showed Sunday. The combined operating profits of the country's three major mobile carriers -- SK Telecom Co., KT Corp. and LG Uplus Corp. -- are expected to have reached 966.5 billion won ($863.3 million) in the January-March period, up 6.8 percent from the previous year, according to the poll on six local brokerage hou

A world-famous sea-parting festival hosted annually by the southwestern South Korean island county of Jindo will be held only as an online event this year, officials said Sunday. The 42nd edition of the Jindo Miracle Sea Road Festival, described worldwide as the "Korean version of Moses' miracle," will be held only online from April 27-29, the officials said, in accordance with authorities' campaign for non-face-to-face events to combat the coronavirus pandemic. Around this time of y

The countdown to the Tokyo Olympic Summer Games will reach 100 days Wednesday, if the competition opens as scheduled, that is. The 32nd edition of the Summer Olympics already got postponed by one year due to the global coronavirus pandemic, and the normally quadrennial event, now scheduled for July 23-Aug. 8 in the Japanese capital, will open in an odd-numbered year for the first time. Even as the clock ticks down to the opening ceremony, the cloud of uncertainty still hangs over Tokyo. The CO

SK Innovation Co. agreed to pay 2 trillion won ($1.78 billion) to settle an electric vehicle battery dispute with LG Energy Solution Ltd. and withdraw all their other pending litigations to end their two-year legal battle, the two companies said Sunday. The two Korean battery makers announced the results of their agreement, hours before a deadline for an import ban on SK. The US International Trade Commission (ITC) in February sided with LG in a trade secret case and issued a 10-year import ba

The South Korean military added two more novel coronavirus infections, the defense ministry said Saturday, amid growing concerns of another big wave of the pandemic in the country. An Army official in Icheon, 80 kilometers southeast of Seoul, and a soldier in the capital tested positive for COVID-19, according to the ministry. Some 190 people who had contact with the official have all tested negative, it said. The soldier was confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 through his family members.

The South Korean government has issued revised guidelines on handwritten entry logs required at small businesses like restaurants for contact tracing purposes, as part of efforts to boost the use of encrypted personal numbers. In February, the government rolled out the encrypted data service to better protect privacy, but it has been slow to take off, in part due to lack of public awareness campaigns. The revised guidelines, released earlier this week, strongly recommend that people use their

President Moon Jae-in is to preside over a string of emergency meetings on pending quarantine and economic issues next week, officials said Saturday, in accordance with his earlier pledge to concentrate on improving people's livelihoods following the ruling party's crushing by-election defeat. Moon will attend a special meeting of COVID-19-related ministers and top officials at Cheong Wa Dae on Monday to inspect vaccine supply plans and government quarantine measures, according to presidential

The US Forces Korea (USFK) has completed vaccinating nearly half of its population against the novel coronavirus as it also decided to lower its health protection condition (HPCON) level in other regions in the country. "USFK has currently vaccinated more than 47 percent of its affiliated community," USFK said in a press release issued Friday. USFK began the vaccination campaign with the Moderna vaccine in December, starting with health care workers, and received Johnson & John

An annual lantern parade celebrating Buddha's birthday will be canceled for a second straight year amid the new coronavirus pandemic, the South Korean Buddhist community said Saturday. The Buddhist community here usually holds a three-day lantern lighting festival, called "Yeondeunghoe" in Korean, ahead of Buddha's birthday. A parade across downtown Seoul is a key event of the festival. But this year, the parade has been canceled along with some other events due to concerns over a re

South Korean stocks are likely to continue upward movement next week as expected solid earnings reports for the first quarter are anticipated to boost foreign buying, analysts said Saturday. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 3,131.88 points Friday, up 0.61 percent from 3,112.8 points a week ago. The index fluctuated in the narrow 3,100-3,260-point band during the week. The KOSPI rose for the sixth consecutive session Thursday, backed by strong foreign buying, bu

One in four Seoul citizens turned to "revenge spending" to make up for missed shopping during the coronavirus pandemic, a study has shown. According to a Wednesday report by the Seoul Institute, a think tank for the Seoul metropolitan government, 24.3 percent of those surveyed in the first quarter said they had spent more than usual on certain goods due to pent-up demand during COVID-19 isolation. About a third, or 30.2 percent, said their revenge spending happened in the fourth quar

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases stayed in the high 600s for the second straight day Saturday as health authorities warn that the country may be at the start of a fourth wave of infections. The country reported 677 more COVID-19 cases, including 662 local infections, raising the total caseload to 108,945, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The tally is slightly larger than 671 on Friday but marked a fall from a three-month high of 700 new cases Thursday. Th

Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and his German counterpart, Heiko Maas, held phone talks Friday to discuss bilateral ties and Seoul's efforts to foster lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula, the foreign ministry said. During the talks, Chung said that South Korea will contribute actively to international discussions on addressing climate change and public health issues when it attends the Group of Seven (G7) summit slated to take place in Britain in June. Chung also explained Seoul's conti

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun will visit Iran next week for talks on bilateral ties and other issues, his office said Friday, amid lingering tension over Tehran's call to unlock its funds frozen here under US sanctions. Chung's visit to Iran from Sunday to Tuesday -- the first such trip by a South Korean premier in 44 years -- follows Tehran's release this week of a Korean oil tanker and its captain about three months after its seizure over alleged oil pollution. "Through this visit, Prim

Hyundai Motor Co. said Friday it will temporarily suspend another domestic plant next week due to an electronic parts shortage. Hyundai will halt the operation of the Asan plant, 100 kilometers south of Seoul, which produces the Grandeur and Sonata sedans, from Monday to Tuesday, a company spokesman said over the phone. Previously, the country's biggest carmaker said it would suspend the No. 1 plant in Ulsan, 414 km southeast of Seoul, which produces the IONIQ 5 all-electric car and the Kona s

South Korean stocks snapped their weeklong winning streak Friday as foreigners and institutions took a breather amid increased valuation pressure. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 1.38 points, or 0.36 percent, to close at 3,131.88 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.8 billion shares worth some 14.6 trillion won ($13 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 537 to 305. Foreigners sold a net 325 billion won, whi

JEONJU -- The prosecution on Friday sought an arrest warrant for the founder of cash-strapped budget carrier Eastar Jet on charges of embezzlement and breach of trust. Lee Sang-jik, an independent lawmaker, is suspected of colluding with a senior company official, who was indicted in February for causing about 43 billion won ($38.47 million) in financial damage to the airline by paying off long-term loans early and underselling company shares to a specific subsidiary. The prosecution in Jeonju

The new mayor of Seoul ordered his administration on Friday to review the city's response to COVID-19 thus far, saying the current virus restrictions have failed to address the people's needs. Oh Se-hoon made the remark during a COVID-19 response meeting attended by senior city officials on his second day of work following his landslide win in Wednesday's mayoral by-election. "We've been dealing with COVID-19 for almost a year and four months, but to tell you the truth, I think it's time