South Korea's trade mediation agency said Sunday it resolved 120.7 billion won ($108.4 million) worth of unfair contracts through arbitration last year. The Korea Fair Trade Mediation Agency said it mediated 1,308 cases of unfair trade, subcontract work, franchise operation and retail business last year. Through the agency's dispute settlement, smaller firms received compensation of 109.1 billion won last year. When taking saved litigation costs into account, the value topped 120 billion won,

South Korea's air passenger traffic plunged 68 percent last year in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, the transport ministry said Sunday. In 2020, the number of passengers on domestic and international routes fell to 39.4 million from 123.3 million a year earlier as countries strengthened entry restrictions to stem the spread of COVID-19, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a statement. In particular, the number of passengers on international routes plummeted 84 perc

Spotify Technology SA, which opened its service in South Korea early this month, is expected to face fierce competition in the music streaming market currently dominated by local players. While the Swedish company is one of the top audio streaming services in the world, with 345 million users across 93 markets, it is up against established homegrown services in South Korea -- the sixth-largest music market in the world -- such as tech giant Kakao Corp.'s Melon, Genie Music under telecom operato

South Korea's steel production fell below 70 million metric tons for the first time in four years in 2020 as demand from carmakers, shipbuilders and construction firms plunged amid the COVID-19 pandemic, industry data showed Sunday. The country produced a total of 60.71 million metric tons of steel in 2020, ranking sixth in terms of steel output, following China, India, Japan, Russia and the United States, according to data from the Korea Iron & Steel Association. It was the first time for

Energy-to-telecom conglomerate SK Group has the largest number of affiliated companies, data showed Sunday. SK Group, the country's 4th largest business group, had 144 affiliates as of Jan. 31, the most among 64 conglomerates subject to tighter curbs, such as limited inter-affiliate trading. Kakao Corp., the country's top mobile messenger and platform operator, came next in line with a total of 105 affiliates, including 99 non-financials and six financials. Private equity fund IMM Investment

The foreign ministry said Sunday there were no reports of South Koreans suffering damage from the 7.3-magnitude earthquake that struck off northeastern Japan the previous night. The quake, which occurred at around 11 p.m. off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture, left over 100 people injured, according to Japanese media. "No damage from our nationals has been reported so far," the ministry said, adding that its consulate general will provide necessary assistance to South Koreans living

Earnings of brokerage houses in South Korea soared to a record-high last year amid a stock rush, chasing closely after those of first-tier banks, data showed Sunday. The combined operating profit of the top 20 brokerages by capital base stood at 7.85 trillion won ($7.09 billion) in 2020, soaring 36.7 percent from the previous year, according to the Financial Supervisory Service's regulatory filing. The brokerages' yearly net profit jumped 25.1 percent on-year to 5.96 trillion won. Their total

'일부 개인 방송 진행자들은 지나친 경제적 욕심으로 점점 더 자극적으로 콘텐츠를 제작하고 아예 허위 정보를 담고 있다.' 최근 한 재판부가 선거를 앞두고 허위사실을 유포한 혐의로 기소된 유튜버에게 징역형을 선고하며 판결문에 이같이 적시했다. 일부 개인 방송 진행자들의 소위 '가짜 뉴스' 유포를 사회 현상을 보고 폐해를 경고하면서도 '정치적 표현의 자유'가 위축되는 것을 우려, 보호 범위를 부연했다. 14일 법원에 따르면 유튜버 A씨는 2019년 7월부터 개인 방송을 진행했다. 처음에는 자영업자 권익을 주제로 방송했으나 지난해 4·15 총선에 맞춰 정치 관련 내용을 다뤘다. A씨는 지난해 2월 승용차를 타고 이낙연 당시 예비후보의 선거사무실 앞까지 간 뒤, 차 안에서 유튜브 채널을 통해 실시간으로 개인 방송을 진행했다. 시청자 수는 2만7천명에 달했다. 방송 도중 A씨는 제보를 받았다며 이 후보가 국무총리 시절 작성한 방명록 사진을 화면에 띄웠다. '주석님의

Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea's biggest carrier, has joined other airlines to offer "flights to nowhere" as a way to ride out the coronavirus crisis, the transport ministry said Sunday. Korean Air plans to use the A380 passenger jet on the route from Incheon to the East Sea, Busan, Jeju Island, the Straits of Korea and back to Incheon on Feb. 27, a ministry official said. The entertainment-packed flight to nowhere will take two hours and 20 minutes. It is priced at 219,000 won-70

Hyundai Motor Co. and affiliate Kia Corp. aim for a 13 percent increase in US sales this year by selling more SUV and high-end models. Hyundai and Kia are targeting to sell a combined 1,360,000 vehicles in the US market in 2021, up from 1,208,374 units they sold a year earlier, the companies said. Their US sales stood at 1,304,109 units in 2019. The two South Korean carmakers expect to achieve the sales target despite the COVID-19 pandemic as demand for Hyundai's Palisade, Kona and Venue SUVs

South Korea and the United States are preparing to hold their annual springtime combined military exercise next month, sources said Sunday. The planned exercise has drawn keen attention amid concern that North Korea could use the exercise as a pretext for provocations in the early months of the administration of US President Joe Biden. Pyongyang has long denounced such drills as a rehearsal for invasion. Despite complaints from the North, the computer-simulated command post training will likel

South Korea logged a $24.82 billion trade surplus with the United States last year, up 18.5 percent from the previous year, according to data compiled by the US Department of Commerce on Sunday. The country's shipments to the world's largest economy fell 1.9 percent on-year to $76.01 billion, while its imports dropped 9.4 percent to $51.21 billion over the cited period, the data showed. South Korea was the US's 7th largest trading partner last year in terms of both exports and imports, the dat

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases stayed in the 300s for a second straight day on Sunday on fewer tests on the Lunar New Year holiday, with eased social distancing measures in store this week. The country reported 326 more COVID-19 cases, including 304 local infections, raising the total caseload to 83,525, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Daily infections fell from 362 cases the previous day, 403 on Friday, 504 on Thursday when the number of new cases surge

South Korean companies are accelerating their shift toward renewable energy to meet tighter emission goals and get ahead in the clean technology development. Major companies have committed to use 100 percent renewable energy by 2050 to join the global clean energy RE 100 initiative led by the international nonprofit organization Climate Group to reduce carbon emissions. The Ministry of Industry, Energy and Trade has launched a domestic campaign of RE 100 to encourage more industry players to e

South Korea's government is pushing for a program in which foreign nationals subject to deportation due to minor offenses could extend their stay legally in return for a donation, the justice ministry said Saturday.    According to a research paper commissioned by the ministry on the subject, convicted foreign nationals who are given even minor punishments, such as a fine or suspended sentence, could face deportation under the current Immigration Act.    The government is

Three homegrown treatments for the novel coronavirus are expected to receive approval as early as the first half of this year as the country speeds up the approval process amid the pandemic.    Last week, the country's drug safety agency approved pharmaceutical giant Celltrion Inc.'s CT-P59, an anti-COVID-19 monoclonal antibody treatment, marking the country's first homegrown treatment. The treatment will be provided to medical institutions starting in mid-February. It can only be ad

Naver and Kakao -- the two major South Korean tech companies -- have recently provided "bonuses," such as stock options and shares, to their employees amid record-breaking performances    Annual sales of Naver -- South Korea's top internet portal operator -- and Kakao -- the operator of the country's top mobile messenger, KakaoTalk -- both jumped to all-time highs of 5.3 trillion won ($4.8 billion) and 4.15 trillion won, respectively, in 2020. The two tech firms have been c

The government decided Saturday to lower social distancing levels by one notch each for the greater Seoul area and the other regions next week, but kept tight vigilance to curb COVID-19 by retaining a ban on gatherings of five people or more.    Health authorities said that starting Monday, they plan to lower social distancing guidelines to Level 2 -- the third highest in a five-tier system -- for the greater Seoul area and Level 1.5 for other regions until Feb. 28.    The

Public transport usage in Seoul plummeted last year due to passengers' coronavirus fears, throwing their operators into management difficulties, official data showed Saturday.    According to the data from the metropolitan government, Seoul's subway and bus passenger numbers plunged 27 percent and 24 percent, respectively, last year. Notably, airport bus ridership dived by as much as 85 percent.    Seoul Metro, the operator of the city's vast subway system, saw its annual d

A group of animal activists called Saturday for South Korea to free captive dolphins in line with the upcoming policy banning newly established aquariums from displaying marine mammals.    Earlier this year, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said it plans to ban newly established aquariums from displaying whales and dolphins, although existing facilities will be allowed to continue keeping them.    The decision -- with details yet to be worked out -- came as a total of