Two US Department of Defense officials and two dependents of a service member based in South Korea have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the US Forces Korea (USFK) said Tuesday. One of the officials, who works at US Army Garrison Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, some 70 kilometers south of Seoul, was confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 on Saturday following his direct contact with a person who tested positive earlier, according to the US military. The other department official working at the

Younger students and disabled children will get more in-person instruction this year, the Ministry of Education said Tuesday, to fill their academic and social needs exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. Announcing its work plan and goal for this year, the ministry said it will continue to ensure a safe learning environment at school despite the threat of the virus, and aim to bring more children back to school. "The ministry will prioritize to have preschoolers, lower graders of eleme

South Korean retail giant Shinsegae Group said Tuesday it will acquire a professional baseball club owned by SK Group as it seeks to boost marketing with the sports team. E-Mart Inc., the country's biggest discount store chain run by Shinsegae, has agreed to buy the SK Wyverns of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) from SK Telecom Co., the country's largest mobile carrier, for 135.2 billion won ($122 million). The deal includes acquisition of SK Telecom's 100 percent stake in the Wyverns as

South Korea posted a trade surplus of more than $60 billion with its free trade agreement (FTA) partners last year amid the pandemic, data showed Tuesday. The country's exports to FTA partners fell 3.9 percent on-year to $383.1 billion and imports declined 1.3 percent to $323 billion, according to the data compiled by the Korea Customs Service. This resulted in a trade surplus of $60.3 billion last year, down 15.7 percent from a year earlier. In contrast, South Korea posted a trade deficit of

The number of cinema closures soared to a 12-year high in 2020 in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, data showed Tuesday. A total of 81 movie theaters closed shop across the nation last year, nearly double from the 43 shutdowns a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. The number was the largest annual tally since 2008, when 88 cinemas in Asia's fourth-largest economy went out of business amid the US-originated global financial crisis. In the Seoul

NCT 127, a sub-unit of the popular K-pop boy band NCT, is set to release a new EP in Japan next month, its agency said Tuesday. The band will be releasing the Japanese EP "Loveholic," its first new Japanese album in two years, on Feb. 17, according to SM Entertainment. The six-track album features five songs themed on love -- all sung in Japanese -- in addition to "Kick It," the lead track of the act's recent full Korean album "Neo Zone." The lead track is "g

The military will take additional steps to improve the security system along the eastern section of the inter-Korean border this year following a recent unhindered border crossing case by a North Korean, officials said Tuesday. In November last year, the North Korean civilian crossed the border in the town of Goseong into the South undeterred in a suspected defection attempt. Malfunction of sensors installed at the fences and other loopholes in the military's scientific security system were bla

South Korea said Tuesday it will invest nearly 28 billion won ($25.3 million) in research and development (R&D) projects for eco-friendly automobiles and self-driving technologies in line with the country's green energy drive. The country plans to allocate 13.4 billion won for research projects for electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel cell cars, along with 14.5 billion won for self-driving systems, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The budget will be spent on a wide a

North Korea's official newspaper called Tuesday for putting together thorough and workable plans to carry out a five-year economic development goal unveiled during a recent party meeting, urging its people to break away from the practice of setting far-fetched objectives. At the eighth congress of the ruling Workers' Party earlier this month, the North put forward the new economic development plan focusing on self-reliance in the face of the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic and global sancti

South Korea's agricultural ministry said Tuesday it has confirmed the 73rd case of highly pathogenic bird flu from a poultry farm, sparking concerns over a prolonged battle with the animal disease. The latest case of the H5N8 strain of avian influenza came from a duck farm in Hampyeong, 383 kilometers south of Seoul, on the previous day, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The country reported its first farm-related case in nearly three years in November. Since th

State and local health authorities on Tuesday were cautiously tracing and monitoring the development of a mass coronavirus outbreak at an unauthorized missionary training school in Daejeon, as cases linked to the school and its operator were being reported in other regions. The IEM School in the central city, located 164 kilometers south of Seoul, experienced a cluster outbreak over the weekend, with the number of infected students and faculty members from the facility reaching 133 as of Tuesda

LG Electronics Inc., a major home appliance maker in South Korea, released a new air conditioner with upgraded design and hygiene features Tuesday as the company aims to increase sales amid the pandemic. The LG Whisen Tower comes with the company's new design for standing air conditioners that highlights minimal aesthetics after combining characteristics from its luxury brand LG SIGNATURE and its customizable home appliance line LG Objet Collection. It is LG's first standing air conditioner in

South Korea said Tuesday it will temporarily remove tariffs on imported egg products this week in an effort to ease a supply shortage caused by the outbreak of bird flu here. The Cabinet approved a revised regulation that will allow local firms to import a total of 50,000 tons of fresh eggs and seven other types of egg products without tariffs until June 30. The move will be effective starting Wednesday. Currently, duties of 8-30 percent are levied on imported egg products. The move came as t

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases fell back to below 400 on Tuesday on the back of tighter virus curbs, but authorities remain on alert over a rise in cluster infections tied to religious facilities. The country added 354 more COVID-19 cases, including 338 locally transmitted infections, raising the total caseload to 75,875, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The figure was down from 437 on Monday and 392 on Sunday. A total of 171 confirmed cases were

US negotiators under the new Joe Biden administration could face a choice between the pursuit of an incremental dismantlement of North Korea's nuclear program and a big deal calling for its complete denuclearization, a congressional report has said. The recently updated Congressional Research Service (CRS) report on diplomacy with Pyongyang comes as White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said Friday that the administration will adopt a "new strategy" in handling North Korean threats throu

South Korea has completed the deployment of K-14 sniper rifles and its observation device at infantry units to boost combat capabilities in missions involving precision attacks, the arms procurement agency said Tuesday. The K-14 rifle developed with domestic technology was first deployed for special forces in 2013 and was distributed to infantry battalions in 2017, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration. With the deployment of the observation devices used along with the we

South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday as foreign and institutional investors sought to cash in profits after the key stock index hit its all-time high the previous session. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 12.9 points, or 0.4 percent, to 3,196.09 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Samsung Electronics shed 1.01 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix retreated 2.59 percent. Leading chemical firm LG Chem fell 0.61 percent, while rechargeable battery maker Samsung SD

미국 20달러 지폐 앞면엔 앤드루 잭슨 전 대통령의 얼굴이 들어있다. 도널드 트럼프 전 대통령이 영웅으로 삼던 인물인데, 머지않아 흑인 인권에 헌신한 여성 운동가로 바뀔 가능성이 커 보인다. 젠 사키 백악관 대변인은 25일(현지시간) 브리핑에서 20달러 지폐 앞면 인물 교체와 관련해 "재무부가 해리엇 터브먼을 20달러 지폐 앞면에 넣으려 다시 조처를 하고 있다"고 말했다. 그는 "우리의 지폐, 우리의 화폐가 우리나라의 역사와 다양성을 반영하는 것이 중요하고 20달러 지폐에 터브먼이 들어가는 것은 분명히 (역사와 다양성의) 반영"이라며 "속도를 내기 위한 방안을 살펴보고 있다"고 덧붙였다. 터브먼은 19세기 노예 탈출에 헌신한 흑인 여성 운동가다. 2016년 버락 오바마 행정부에서 잭슨 대신 터브먼을 20달러 지폐 앞면에 넣는 방안이 추진됐다. 그러나 트럼프 행정부 들어 제동이 걸렸다. 스티븐 므누신 전 재무장관이 2028

The Joe Biden administration will work with US allies to deal with challenges posed by China that include threats to the United States' alliances, a senior White House official said Monday. White House press secretary Jen Psaki also highlighted the need for a new "strategy" to deal with China. "We are in serious competition with China," Psaki told a press briefing, adding China's conduct "hurts American workers, our technological edge and threatens our alliances and ou

Foreigners' building transactions in South Korea reached an all-time high in 2020, with deals soaring in the Seoul metropolitan area, data showed Tuesday. Foreigners' transactions of housing and commercial buildings in Asia's fourth-largest economy came to 21,048 last year, up 18.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Real Estate Board. It marked the first time that the number of foreign property transactions exceeded the 20,000 mark. It was also the largest annua