LG Chem Ltd., South Korea's largest chemical firm, said Monday it will issue corporate bonds worth 1.2 trillion won ($1.1 billion) to fund its new growth drivers, including renewable energy and battery businesses. LG Chem said it will issue 820 billion worth ESG (environmental, social and governance) bond and corporate bond worth 380 billion won, the largest amount to be raised by a local company. The parent of LG Energy Solution Ltd., which supplies electric vehicle batteries to Tesla and a n

The environment ministry said Monday it has revised a set of laws to limit the use of plastic and other disposable items as the country grapples with soaring waste amid the coronavirus pandemic. The revisions, which will be subject to a public review from Tuesday until March 29, include a ban on the use of paper cups, plastic straws and stirrers inside cafes and other eateries. The use of plastic bags will now be prohibited at retailers and bakeries, expanding a ban that currently applies to l

President Moon Jae-in said Monday his government will introduce new social distancing rules next month as South Korea is gearing up for full-fledged COVID-19 vaccine shots. The focus will be on minimizing compulsory measures and encouraging voluntary ones, he said during a weekly meeting with his senior Cheong Wa Dae aides. "It will be changed to disease control and prevention based on autonomy and responsibility from a one-size-fits-all compulsory way," Moon said. He cited "ac

South Korea on Monday extended its special advisory against overseas travel for another month amid the continued spread of the new coronavirus, the foreign ministry said. The measure, which calls for citizens to cancel or postpone their planned trips abroad, will remain in effect until March 17. The current advisory, which was issued in December, was initially set to expire on Monday. The extension came as many countries around the world continue to restrict entries of people arriving from ove

South Korea will temporarily ease rules on the employment of foreign seasonal workers in the agriculture and fisheries sectors to cope with the labor shortage aggravated by the prolonged coronavirus pandemic, the Ministry of Justice said Monday. Under the temporary deregulatory measure, foreigners who are staying here without a work visa or overstayers unable to return home due to COVID-19 will be permitted to work at local farming and fishing villages for up to 13 months, the ministry said. I

A cat living with a family infected with COVID-19 has tested positive for the coronavirus in Seoul's first case involving a pet, the city government said Monday. The female, 4-to-5-year-old cat was tested Saturday after she showed symptoms, including vomiting and lethargy. The result came back positive Sunday, and the cat was sent to a city-run animal welfare center to quarantine, according to the local government. "The cat is being taken care of at the animal welfare center because its

"Mr. Queen," a historical comedic drama series that drew both popularity and controversy, has wrapped up on a strong note, with the final episode becoming the fifth most-watched drama on cable channel tvN. The series' 20th episode aired Sunday and recorded 17.4 percent in viewership, according to data by Nielson Korea. The figure marks the fifth-highest rating among tvN's drama series, following 21.7 percent by the romantic comedy "Crash Landing On You" (2019), 20.5 percent

A cold wave advisory will be issued in Seoul and almost all other parts of the nation Monday night, as a cold snap is forecast to grip the nation for three days or longer this week, the weather agency said. The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said the cold wave advisory will take effect at 9 p.m. in Seoul and many other major cities and regions, including Busan, Daegu, Gwangju and Daejeon. The advisory is issued when the morning low is below minus 12 C for more than two consecutive d

The military on Monday lifted a vacation ban for enlisted service members that has been in place for over two months in accordance with the government's easing of social distancing guidelines against the new coronavirus. Since late November, the military restricted rank-and-file troops from vacations and off-base activities under Level 2.5 social distancing rules, the second highest in its five-tier alert system, following a surge in COVID-19 cases across the nation. Starting Monday, the guida

South Korea provided an additional 2 million face masks to international veterans of the 1950-53 Korean War recently in an expression of gratitude for their sacrifice, the veterans affairs ministry has said. Under the second such project, a total of 1 million masks were sent to the veterans in the United States, and the remainder to 21 other participating nations, including Canada, Britain, Columbia and South Africa, according to the ministry. Their shipments began in mid-December and were com

North Korea held a video conference to discuss better methods of flood control and water management in an effort to prevent the recurrence of heavy damage to the country's farming areas wrought by heavy rains last summer, state media reported Monday. The conference on Sunday was joined by North Korean Premier Kim Tok-hun, Defense Minister Kim Jong-gwan and O Su-yong, who was recently elected director of the ruling party's Department of Economic Affairs, according to the Rodong Sinmun and the Ko

South Korea's auto exports jumped 29.5 percent on year in January, as global demand showed signs of modest recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Monday. The nation's auto production and domestic sales rose 24.9 percent and 18.4 percent on year in January, respectively, according to the data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. It was the first time since September last year that auto exports, output and domestic sales all gained. By region, exports to North America j

South Korea is closely monitoring North Korea's military moves ahead of the birthday of late leader Kim Jong-il, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Monday. Tuesday marks the birthday of the late leader, who is the father of current leader Kim Jong-un. The day, called the Day of the Shining Star, is one of the North's biggest national holidays, and Pyongyang has held commemorative events. "We are closely monitoring related movements, and there are no unusual things to be noted for furthe

South Korea and the United States have yet to work out the schedule and other details of a planned joint springtime exercise, the defense ministry said Monday. The computer-simulated command post training is likely to kick off in mid-March, according to sources, but the ministry declined to confirm when it's going to happen, saying that discussions are still under way to finalize the plan. "South Korea and the US are closely coordinating how to stage the exercise in consideration of the C

The ruling Democratic Party (DP) has switched its strategy in giving out the nation's fourth round of emergency coronavirus relief handouts, opting to first prioritize a selective program as opposed to seeking both selective and universal stimulus packages in the same time window. On Sunday, DP Chairman Rep. Lee Nak-yon announced that the party and the government will engage in full-fledged talks on the country's new round of emergency relief handouts under a plan to submit an extra budget draf

South Korea said Monday it plans to temporarily ease precautionary measures against bird flu as the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza has slowed. The country plans to destroy the same kind of poultry within a 1-kilometer radius of infected farms for the next two weeks, when bird flu cases are reported, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The country has so far culled 26 million poultry under its policy of destroying all birds within a 3-km radius of infe

Professional volleyball's growing popularity in South Korea came crashing down over the Lunar New Year long weekend, as the league's star players got embroiled in a scandal over their checkered pasts as bullies. The V-League, run by the Korean Volleyball Federation (KOVO), saw cable TV ratings for some big matches rival or even surpass those of baseball, the nation's No. 1 sport, in recent years. It is now reeling from allegations, since acknowledged by the implicated individuals, that some of

Lingering concerns over COVID-19 kept South Korean people from going to cinemas during the Lunar New Year holiday, but recently eased social distancing is expected to brighten prospects for the virus-hit film industry, box office data showed Monday. The number of moviegoers reached a total of 707,000 during the four-day lunar New Year holiday weekend that began on Thursday, according to the data from the Korean Film Council (KOFIC). It is just one seventh of more than 4.9 million attendees tal

Samsung Heavy Industries said Monday that it has signed a 781 billion won ($707 million) deal to build five liquefied natural gas (LNG)-fired container carriers. Under the deal with an Asian company, the 15,000-foot equivalent unit (TEU) container carriers will be delivered by July 2023, Samsung Heavy Industries said in an emailed statement. The shipbuilder did not reveal the name of the buyer. "This year is expected to see a rise in new orders for eco-friendly container carriers thanks

South Korea's internet-of-things (IoT) device subscriptions hit over 10 million last year on the back of growing use of connected cars and remote control services. As of the end of last year, the number of mobile connections to such devices stood at 10.05 million, up around 2 million from the previous year, according to data from the Ministry of Science and ICT. IoT devices range from connected vehicles to home appliances that exchange data with other devices over the internet, and they can pr