The United Nations Command (UNC) said Monday that it has been exploring ways to resume tours to the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom, as South Korea eased antivirus social distancing rules. Tours to Panmunjom, or the Joint Security Area (JSA), were suspended in December amid the COVID-19 pandemic, just a month after the program resumed following a yearlong suspension over concerns about African swine fever. "With the ROK government relaxing social distancing measures to Level 2.0,

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases stayed in the 300s for the third consecutive day Monday on fewer tests during the Lunar New Year holiday, with social distancing measures eased to help small businesses whose operations have been in limbo over tougher regulations. The country reported 344 more COVID-19 cases, including 323 local infections, raising the total caseload to 83,869, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The country added five more deaths, raising the

Hyundai Motor Co. on Monday unveiled the interior design of the IONIQ 5, the first all-electric model with its own electric vehicle platform, ahead of its global unveiling next week. The IONIQ 5 midsize crossover vehicle comfortably accommodates both passengers and cargo as the electric-global modular platform allows for an elongated wheelbase and flat floor unlike other midsize crossovers with internal combustion engines and conventional steer-by-wire systems, Hyundai said in a statement. &qu

South Korea will invest 4.3 trillion won ($3.9 billion) in research and development in the defense sector this year to secure cutting-edge technologies and boost the industry's competitiveness, the arms procurement agency said Monday. The amount is up 10 percent from 3.9 trillion won earmarked last year and includes 631.8 billion won for the research and development of core weapon technologies, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration. Under its 2021 plan, the agency said it

South Korean stocks opened higher Monday on strong advances by tech stocks. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 35.91 points, or 1.16 percent, to 3,136.49 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The KOSPI came to a strong start on foreign and institutional buying. Improved exports and eased social distancing measures against the new coronavirus also boosted hopes for a quick economic rebound. Top cap Samsung Electronics gained 2.45 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix ad

영국 왕실을 떠나 미국에 거주 중인 해리(36) 왕자와 메건 마클(39) 왕자비가 둘째 자녀 임신 사실을 공개했다. 14일(현지시간) 로이터 통신에 따르면 해리 왕자 부부의 대변인은 "(첫째 아들인) 아치가 동생을 갖게 될 것"이라며 "서식스 공작과 공작부인(해리 왕자 부부의 공식 명칭)은 둘째 아이를 갖게 돼 매우 기뻐하고 있다"고 전했다. 이날 둘째 임신 사실과 함께 마클 왕자비가 풀밭에서 해리 왕자의 다리를 베고 누워 한 손으로 배를 만지고 있는 모습을 담은 흑백 사진도 공개됐다. 사진은 부부의 오랜 친구이자 사진작가인 미산 해리먼이 촬영했다. 영국 엘리자베스 2세 여왕, 찰스 왕세자를 포함해 왕실 구성원들은 마클 왕자비의 임신 사실에 매우 기뻐하면서 부부의 행복을 빌어줬다고 버킹엄궁 대변인은 밝혔다. 엘리자베스 2세 여왕의 손자이자 찰스 왕세자의 둘째 아들인 해리 왕자는 지난 2018년 5월 할리우드 출신 여배우 메건 마클과 결혼했

DAEJEON -- Police on Monday raided the headquarters of a local Christian missionary group over suspected violations of antivirus protocols that led to a large outbreak of the coronavirus. Investigators have been seizing computer hard drives and documents from the International Mission headquarters in Daejeon, 164 kilometers south of Seoul, according to the police. IM has been blamed for more than 400 cases of the coronavirus at its facilities, including at the IEM School in Daejeon. The city

South Korea's exports jumped 69.1 percent on-year in the first 10 days of February on strong shipments of chips and autos amid the pandemic, customs data showed Monday. The country's outbound shipments stood at $18 billion in the Feb. 1-10 period, compared with $10.6 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Imports soared 71.9 percent on-year to $20.4 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $2.46 billion, the data showed. By sector, outbound shipments of

The number of discouraged female workers in South Korea hit an all-time high in January due to a tough employment situation amid the coronavirus pandemic, government data showed Monday. The country had 359,000 discouraged female workers in January, up 65.5 percent, or 142,000, from a year earlier and setting a new record, according to the data from the Korean Statistical Information Service (KOSIS). Last month, the overall number of discouraged workers in Asia's fourth-largest economy came to

South Korean restaurants' business sentiment sank to an all-time low in the fourth quarter of 2020 amid a surge in COVID-19 infections in the country, a state food distribution firm said Monday. The business survey index for the country's restaurant industry came to 59.33 for the October-December period, according to the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp. It was the lowest quarterly tally since the state-run company began compiling the index in 2011. The fourth-quarter number was low

Paek Ki-wan, who devoted his life to the reunification of the two Koreas and labor and social issues, died in hospital Monday, hospital officials said. He was 88. According to Seoul National University Hospital and his aides, Paek had been in the hospital since January of last year with symptoms of pneumonia. Born in 1932 in what is now Unnyul in North Korea's South Hwanghae Province, he came to the South in 1946 after graduating from elementary school there. Suffering emotional distress du

South Korea's consumer prices grew at the fastest pace in 10 years in 2021 due to surging energy costs and high prices of farm products, data showed Friday, indicating a build-up in inflationary pressure for Asia's fourth-largest economy. Consumer prices rose 2.5 percent this year from a year earlier, accelerating from a 0.5 percent on-year gain in 2020, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It marked the steepest on-year rise since 2011, when consumer inflation spiked 4 percent.

South Korea reported two additional cases of avian influenza at egg farms on Sunday, bringing the number of cases of the H5N8 strain of avian influenza from local poultry farms to 95. The two cases of the highly pathogenic avian influenza of the H5N8 strain were confirmed at two egg farms in Icheon, 80 kilometers southeast of Seoul, according to the government's avian influenza response headquarters. Quarantine authorities kept people from moving in and out of the poultry farms in the affec

The ruling Democratic Party (DP) started discussing the extra budget with the government to selectively provide the fourth round of emergency handouts to people and businesses hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic by the end of next month, the party leader said Sunday. DP Chairman Rep. Lee Nak-yon made the remarks in a press conference, adding both sides will wrap up the discussion within February.  Earlier, DP floor leader Rep. Kim Tae-nyeon said in another press conference that the pa

South Korea's job market is expected to recover modestly from the coronavirus pandemic as it will take more time for the number of people employed to recover to a pre-crisis level than to decline, according to a recent report by the Bank of Korea (BOK). South Korea has rolled out about 280 trillion won ($251 billion) worth of stimulus measures to cushion the impact of the pandemic, but companies have hired fewer workers than expected amid persistent uncertainties over the global health crisis.

A non-commissioned officer on a peacekeeping mission in South Sudan has tested positive for the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said Sunday. The member of the Hanbit Unit in the African nation was confirmed to have contracted the virus upon return from off-installation duty, according to the ministry. It is the fourth COVID-19 case reported among troops dispatched abroad following three infections reported in Lebanon and Bahrain earlier this month. South Korea began sending troops to So

South Korean mobile carriers are aiming for mass user migration to 5G networks this year after failing to meet their subscriber targets in 2020 amid the pandemic. The country ended last year with a total 11.85 million 5G subscribers, with SK Telecom Co., the country's largest wireless carrier, leading the pack with 5.48 million users, followed by KT Corp. at 3.62 million and LG Uplus Corp. at 2.75 million, according to ICT ministry data. The total figure fell short of initial forecasts of arou

More than half of South Koreans are in favor of raising taxes for high income earners to mitigate the polarization that has deepened during the pandemic, a poll showed Sunday. In the survey of 1,000 South Koreans aged 18 or older conducted last week, 57.4 percent of respondents agreed to a tax hike on high earners in the face of a widening income gap, while 39.3 percent disagreed, according to Realmeter. Nearly 83 percent of the respondents said the polarization has worsened during the COVID-1

Convenience stores outperformed major department stores for the first time in terms of offline sales last year amid the country's yearlong social distancing scheme, data showed Sunday. The combined sales of the top three convenience store chains -- GS25, CU and 7-Eleven -- took up 31 percent of the total offline sales in local retail industry, up from 29.2 percent a year ago, according to the data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. On the other hand, the combined percentage of bi

South Korea's household saving rate is likely to rise if a pandemic-hit economic crisis persists, in a potential move that could delay a recovery in consumption, a research note from the Bank of Korea (BOK) showed. The yearlong coronavirus pandemic has prompted consumers in South Korea to curb spending, mainly due to stricter social distancing measures, and stockpile cash. "It is true that the higher domestic household saving rate this year is mainly attributable to a contraction in spend