President Moon Jae-in said Friday his government won't spare support for a project to create the world's biggest offshore wind power generation complex in southwestern South Korea, declaring a vision for turning the nation into one of the top five powerhouses in the field. He was attending the signing ceremony of a relevant investment deal, worth 48 trillion won ($43 billion), in Sinan, South Jeolla Province, about 400 kilometers south of Seoul, where the facilities with a maximum capacity of 8

Angelina Jolie pleaded with the world Friday to come together and stop acting selfishly amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The Academy Award winning actress spoke virtually in her capacity as a special envoy for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) during an international forum hosted by Yonsei University, a school in Seoul attended by her eldest son, Maddox. She said the virus had exposed the world's vulnerabilities and areas where more work needed to be done, including climate

Financially troubled carmaker SsangYong Motor Co. said Friday it will extend the suspension of its local plant due to a lack of parts supplies from contractors. SsangYong Motor already halted its plant in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, on Dec. 24, Dec. 28, and Feb. 3-5 as its subcontractors refused to deliver parts due to outstanding payments. The SUV-focused carmaker filed for court receivership on Dec. 21 after it failed to obtain approval for the rollover of existing loans from i

The foreign ministry has restored the expression "closest neighbor" to refer to Japan in its latest white paper published this week, as Seoul pushes to improve ties with Tokyo frayed over wartime issues. "Japan is South Korea's closest neighboring country that we should work with not only for bilateral relations but also for the peace and prosperity in Northeast Asia and the world," according to the 2020 white paper released Friday. In the 2019 version, Japan was described

"Soul," the latest animated film by Disney-Pixar, has become the first movie to top 1 million admissions here this year amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, box office data showed Friday. The fantasy comedy drama attracted over 30,000 viewers Thursday, surpassing the 1 million mark 15 days after its release on Jan. 20, according to the data compiled by the Korean Film Council. The movie has stayed at the top spot on the South Korean box office for more than two weeks except for two d

South Korea's drug safety agency said Friday it has approved pharmaceutical giant Celltrion Inc.'s COVID-19 treatment candidate on several conditions. The conditional marketing authorization of CT-P59, an anti-COVID-19 monoclonal antibody treatment candidate, marks the country's first homegrown COVID-19 treatment. The Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said CT-P59 can be administered to COVID-19 patients at higher risk, referring to people aged 60 or older, or with health conditions like

Samsung Electronics Co. has asked Texas state officials to give tax breaks for its potential new chip plant, news reports showed Friday, raising speculation that the South Korean tech titan could make a big investment in the United States. The world's largest memory chipmaker has requested authorities in Texas to grant tax abatements over 20 years, which would be worth a total of $805.5 million, for its new $17 billion chip facility in Austin, Texas, according to the Austin American-Statesman n

South Korea and the United States agreed to pursue an early conclusion of their defense cost-sharing talks to help strengthen their alliance and defense posture during their video talks Friday, the foreign ministry said. Seoul's top negotiator, Jeong Eun-bo, and his US counterpart, Donna Welton, led their first such meeting since last month's launch of the Joe Biden administration to advance their negotiations to determine Seoul's share of the cost for stationing the 28,500-strong US Forces Ko

K-pop girl group TWICE will hold a digital concert that will be broadcast live in Japan next month, the act's management agency said Friday. "TWICE in Wonderland" will air at 7 p.m. on March 6 in collaboration with Japan's biggest mobile operator NTT DoCoMo, according to JYP Entertainment. The gig will be powered by state-of-the-art technology like augmented reality and mixed reality, allowing fans to enjoy a more lively concert experience, the agency explained. TWICE -- consisting

North Korea's official newspaper on Friday called on officials to strictly follow central leadership to realize a self-reliant economy and carry out key policy goals unveiled in a rare party meeting last month. At the eighth congress of the ruling Workers' Party in January, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un admitted the failure to achieve his previous five-year development goals and unveiled a new scheme focusing on self-reliance in the face of the global pandemic and sanctions on his regime. &q

Foreign Minister nominee Chung Eui-yong said Friday that inter-Korean ties and the COVID-19 pandemic should be taken into account in planning this year's military exercises between South Korea and the United States, though he noted the need for a "proper" level of the drills. During a parliamentary confirmation hearing, Chung stressed "various implications" of large-scale exercises between the allies, in an apparent show of concern that such military maneuvers could provoke

JEONJU -- An appellate court on Friday upheld an earlier prison sentence of a face mask importer convicted for bringing over Chinese mask products and selling them as South Korean-made products during the height of the pandemic last year to make unfair profits. The Jeonju District Court's appellate division sentenced the person, 49, to 18 months in prison for importing some 1.08 million units of face masks made in China and retailing some 11,000 of the items online after falsely labeling them

South Korea's two largest home appliance makers -- Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc. -- are set to begin their duel in the vacuum cleaner market, industry observers said Friday, as they released new products boasting upgraded charging stations. LG began to sell its new CodeZero ThinQ A9S stick vacuum cleaner in South Korea that comes with a charging station, which automatically cleans out the dustbin. When the vacuum cleaner is docked in the stand, which LG calls it "all-in-

South Korea plans to inject 50,000 tons of tariff-free imported egg products through June to help stabilize the price. Meanwhile, no additional confirmed cases of the H5N8 strain of avian influenza were reported Friday, with the total caseload standing at 85. Authorities said they are currently investigating a suspected infection from a duck farm that is raising 8,000 ducks in Yeongam, 384 kilometers south of Seoul. Of the confirmed cases from farms, Gyeonggi Province that surrounds Seoul acc

An Army officer has tested positive for the new coronavirus, raising the total caseload among the military population to 554, the defense ministry said Friday. The officer, based in Pyeongtaek, some 70 kilometers south of Seoul, was confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 after an infection was reported at the base, according to the ministry. The soldier was in quarantine and confirmed to be infected in a virus test conducted prior to release. Nationwide, South Korea's total COVID-19 caseload b

The drama film "Minari," about a Korean immigrant family, has earned three nominations, including best supporting actress for South Korean actress Youn Yuh-hung, from the US Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards. SAG on Friday (Korean time) unveiled its final list of nominations for its 27th edition of the award ceremony slated for April 4. Directed and written by Korean American Lee Isaac Chung, "Minari" is up for outstanding performances by a cast in a motion picture, by a mal

South Korea and Georgia have signed an air services agreement that would lay the foundation for operations of direct flights traveling between the two countries, the foreign ministry said Friday. Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and Georgian Ambassador to South Korea Otar Berdzenishvili formally inked the agreement Thursday, after the two countries reached the agreement through aviation talks in July 2019. The agreement is to take effect on the 30th day from the two countries' mutual notificati

TV조선 간판 프로그램이자 트로트 경연 예능인 '미스트롯' 시즌2가 방송 8회 만에 마의 시청률 30%를 달성했다. 5일 시청률 조사회사 닐슨코리아에 따르면 전날 오후 10시 방송한 '미스트롯2' 시청률은 27.653%-29.985%(유료가구)를 기록했다. 지난 시즌인 '미스터트롯' 역시 방송 8회에 30.4%를 기록한 바 있다. 전날 방송에서는 대망의 '에이스전' 진(眞) 발표와 함께, 준결승전으로 진출한 최종 14인이 가려졌다. '배 띄워라'로 첫 소절부터 기선을 제압한 '녹용 시스터즈'의 홍지윤이 1천194점으로 진에 올랐다. 학교 폭력 논란으로 자진 하차한 진달래 자리에는 양지은이 합류했다. 제작진은 스마트폰 공식 투표 모바일 애플리케이션을 통해 8회 방송이 끝난 직후부터 '나만의 트롯여제'를 뽑기 위한 '제6차 대국민 응원 투표'를 진행하고 있다. 응원 투표는 탈락자를 제외하고 추후 결선 점수에 반영된다. '미스트롯2'는 최근 공정성과 아동 출연자 보호 미비 등 논란

South Korea surpassed a grim milestone in its battle against the coronavirus pandemic as its total COVID-19 caseload broke the 80,000 mark Friday. The country added 370 more COVID-19 cases, including 351 local infections, raising the total caseload to 80,131, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Daily infections fell from 467 on Wednesday and 451 on Tuesday after staying under 400 the three previous days. The KDCA said it will decide on whether to adjust the c

North Korea has replaced heads of key groups of farmers and laborers, state media said Friday, in an apparent move to rev up its recently unveiled economic development drive. During the eighth congress of the ruling Workers' Party last month, the North put forth a new five-year economic development plan centering on self-reliance in the face of the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic and global sanctions. The Union of Agricultural Workers of Korea (UAWK) on Thursday held a plenary meeting to d