South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases bounced back to over 400 after four days on Wednesday as cluster infections continue to rise despite extended virus curbs. The country added 467 more COVID-19 cases, including 433 local infections, raising the total caseload to 79,311, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The daily caseload rebounded after staying under 400 for the past three days. The rebound comes after health authorities extended tough social distanci

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday on strong advances by auto-related shares. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 21.65 points, or 0.7 percent, to 3,118.46 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The KOSPI continued its bullish run after gaining over 4 percent in total in the past two sessions, backed by investor optimism over a fast economic recovery, particularly in exports. Top automaker Hyundai Motor hiked 3.33 percent, with its smaller affiliates Kia Motors and Hyun

Only about $1.3 million has been pledged as humanitarian assistance to North Korea so far this year, an over 80 percent plunge from the same period last year amid the coronavirus pandemic, UN data showed Wednesday. According to the data from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Switzerland has promised to donate $1.21 million in humanitarian aid to the North since the start of this year. Of the total, $1.16 million has been assigned to help provide nutrition to No

South Korea's major companies reduced their hiring of new employees in 2020 in an effort to cut costs amid the coronavirus pandemic, a corporate tracker said Wednesday. According to CEO Score, 497 out of the country's top 500 firms by sales newly hired 264,901 workers last year, down 5,902 from the previous year. The decline compares with an on-year increase of some 17,200 in 2019. Out of the 22 business sectors, 12 recorded on-year decreases, with the construction and construction materials

South Korea and Japan are the most important allies to the United States in the region and cooperation between the three countries is a key to regional peace and security, a Pentagon official said Tuesday. John Supple, a spokesperson for the Department of Defense, also said the US will continue to seek to expand cooperation between the three countries. "Trilateral cooperation among the United States, the Republic of Korea, and Japan is vital to the maintenance of regional peace, prosperit

LG Uplus Corp., a major South Korean telecom operator, said Wednesday its net income last year rose 8.9 percent from the previous year amid the pandemic. Net income reached 478.06 billion won ($428.5 million) last year, compared with a profit of 438.8 billion won the previous year. Operating income stood at 886.1 billion won, up 29.1 percent, while sales rose 8.4 percent to 13.4 trillion won over the cited period. (Yonhap)

US alliances need to be understood from the strategic value they serve, instead of just how much it costs to maintain them, US Deputy Secretary of Defense nominee Kathleen Hicks said Tuesday. The former deputy undersecretary of defense also said she expects President Joe Biden to place strategy at the center of US alliances. "We should always be focused on burden sharing and assuring that allies fulfill their commitments," Hicks said in her confirmation hearing before the Senate Arme

South Korea's foreign reserves edged down in January due to the US dollar's strength, which trimmed the value of non-US dollar foreign reserves, central bank data showed Wednesday. The nation's foreign reserves came to $442.7 billion as of end-January, down $370 million from a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). It marked the first monthly decline since last March, with the nation's foreign reserves having risen for the ninth consecutive month in December. Foreign reserves co

The United States' missile defense system provides deterrence against "limited" nuclear attacks from countries such as North Korea, Deputy Defense Secretary nominee Kathleen Hicks said Tuesday. Hicks said if confirmed, she would work to further improve the missile defense system. "As currently constructed, the relationship between US missile defense and the US nuclear arsenal is complementary," she said in written response to her pre-confirmation-hearing questions from the

Unionized workers at Renault Samsung Motors Corp. on Tuesday voted to go on strike for a wage increase after the company offered a voluntary retirement program last month. In a vote held from Monday to Tuesday, Renault Samsung workers voted for an industrial action to demand a revised wage offer from the company and defend against the restructuring plan, a union spokesman said. The union has demanded a 70,000 won increase in basic pay. The company did not accept it and announced the voluntary

Iran said Tuesday it has allowed the crew of a South Korean oil tanker it seized last month to leave the country, according to news reports. The MT Hankuk Chemi had 20 sailors, including five Koreans, aboard when it was seized by Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps for alleged oil pollution on Jan. 4. The release comes in a "humanitarian move" by Tehran following a request from the South Korean government, Reuters quoted a spokesman for Iran's foreign ministry as telling state med

South Korean health authorities have stepped up efforts to speed up the approval process for COVID-19 vaccines and treatments amid a third wave of coronavirus outbreaks. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said Tuesday it would apply for a special import procedure for Pfizer's vaccines. The nation seeks to bring in 117,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine, enough to inoculate 60,000 people, this month through the COVAX Facility, the World Health Organization's global vaccine provisi

Nine inmates at a Seoul prison have tested positive for the coronavirus, all of whom worked in the kitchen, the justice ministry said Tuesday. The Nambu Correctional Institution in southwestern Seoul conducted COVID-19 tests on dozens of inmates and staff after one prisoner who worked in the kitchen recently showed signs of fever and subsequently tested positive. The ministry said a total of nine inmates who worked in the kitchen were found to have contracted the virus, leading officials to is

South Korea's final Olympic women's football qualifiers against China have been pushed back from later this month to April due to effects of the coronavirus pandemic. The Korea Football Association (KFA) said Tuesday the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) informed it of the postponement earlier in the day. The two Asian countries had been scheduled to meet on Feb. 19 in South Korea and again on Feb. 24 in China, with a spot at the Tokyo Olympics at stake. The two-legged series will now be

Foreign Minister nominee Chung Eui-yong on Tuesday rejected allegations that the Moon Jae-in administration had pushed to help build a nuclear power plant in North Korea, stressing the government has never discussed the idea with Pyongyang. During a press availability, Chung also said the conditions for the construction of such a plant in the North were "impossible," given that the idea can be reviewed only after the conclusion of denuclearization negotiations with the North, the lif

South Korean shipbuilders, led by top player Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., are expected to undergo a temporary shortage of order backlogs in the second half of the year due to a decline in new orders last year, an industry watcher said Tuesday. "A temporary shortage of work is predicted to take place in the second half of the year, as new orders of ships last year, which are slated to be delivered by 2022, were very deficient, " Yang Jong-seo, a researcher at the Korea Eximbank Overse

Most members of the Bank of Korea's (BOK) monetary policy board voiced concerns about risks from a rally in the nation's stock and housing markets, citing financial imbalances caused by a flood of liquidity and cheap loans, minutes from their latest meeting showed Tuesday. In the last rate-setting meeting on Jan. 15, the seven-member board unanimously voted to keep the policy rate at a record low of 0.5 percent to support an economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Holding fire on the

China hopes South Korea will respect its position on Taiwan and Hong Kong, Ambassador Xing Haiming was quoted Tuesday as saying amid simmering Sino-US tensions over Beijing's policies toward them. Xing made the remark during a meeting Monday with Kwon Ki-sik, head of the Korea-China City Friendship Association, as the administration of US President Joe Biden reaffirms support for Taiwan, which China regards as part of its territory, and remains concerned about crackdowns on pro-democracy moveme

South Korean stocks advanced for the second straight day Tuesday to finish just short of the 3,100-point mark in tandem with global stock rallies and eased concerns over China's liquidity squeeze. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 40.28 points, or 1.32 percent, to close at 3,096.81 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 874 million shares worth around 18.9 trillion won ($16.9 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers

Over half of South Koreans want eased virus curbs for family gatherings of more than four people during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, a survey showed Tuesday. The country has banned gatherings of five or more people across the country to further slow down the COVID-19 pandemic since last month. On Sunday, health authorities decided to extend tough social distancing guidelines for another two weeks until Feb. 14. The Lunar New Year holiday falls on Feb. 11-13. According to a survey on 1,