Excess funds held by South Korean households and nonprofit agencies rose in the third quarter of last year due mainly to an increase in stock investments, the central bank said Thursday. Net financial funds -- the value of financial assets minus financial liabilities -- held by local households and nonprofit organizations serving households amounted to 30.7 trillion won ($28.2 billion) in the July-September period, up from 16.6 trillion won a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the

Amid the monthslong battle against the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of Korean TV series are lined up to catch the eye of viewers across the world with big-name stars and writers for the new year. Cable channel tvN, run by the entertainment giant CJ ENM, is ready with the most splendid 2021 lineup, as more than 10 dramas are planned to be aired. The legal drama "Vincenzo" will start the 2021 season in February. Featuring the story of a Korea-born lawyer at an Italian mafia who comes ba

South Korea's agriculture ministry said Thursday that it has so far culled 14.9 million poultry since identifying its first farm-linked, highly pathogenic bird flu case in late November, further sparking concerns over a long-term battle against the contagious animal disease. The country has reported a total of 47 highly pathogenic bird flu cases, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Birds within a 3-kilometer radius of infected farms are destroyed. The latest case

South Korea's exports of fishery products moved down 7.4 percent on-year in 2020, data showed Thursday, as people around the globe refrained from dining out amid the new coronavirus pandemic, leading to weaker demand for tuna and other popular goods. Outbound shipments of fishery goods reached $2.3 billion last year, down from $2.5 billion posted in 2019, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. The decrease was largely attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic, whic

The sale of South Korea's three midsized shipbuilders is in the final stage despite concerns that they may have trouble in finding viable investors due to a slump in the shipbuilding industry and the COVID-19 outbreak. The midsized shipbuilders -- Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction Co., STX Offshore & Shipbuilding Co. and Daesun Shipbuilding Engineering Co. -- were put up for sale last year due to their financial trouble since the 2008 global financial crisis. Creditors of Daesun S

미국 워싱턴DC 연방 의사당 내에서 총격을 받고 부상한 여성이 숨졌다고 미국의 NBC방송, AP통신 등이 경찰을 인용해 보도했다. 총격 당시 상황에 관한 구체적인 내용은 아직 알려지지 않았으나 이 여성은 도널드 트럼프 대통령 지지자들의 의사당 난입사태 와중에 의사당 건물 안에서 누군가가 쏜 총탄에 가슴 부위를 맞은 것으로 전해졌다. 미 공영라디오(NPR) 방송은 경찰 소식통을 인용, 누가 이 여성에게 총을 쐈는지는 아직 분명하지 않다고 보도했다. 앞서 NBC방송은 의사당 안에서 한 여성이 법 집행관의 총에 맞았다고 보도한 바 있다. (연합뉴스)

Bitcoin topped 40 million won ($36,800) per unit for the first time in South Korea on Thursday, a local cryptocurrency exchange said. Bitcoin was trading at 40.9 million won as of 8:58 a.m., up 6.94 percent from the previous day, according to local cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb. It just took 11 days for the cryptocurrency to top the 40 million-won mark after it broke the 30 million-won threshold on Dec. 27, 2020. The bitcoin price jumped 380 percent compared with a year earlier. The bull ru

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases stayed below 1,000 for the third consecutive day on Thursday amid signs of a slowdown, and the government eased virus curbs on indoor sports facilities in response to growing complaints from small business owners. The country added 870 more COVID-19 cases, including 833 local infections, raising the total caseload to 66,688, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Wednesday's daily caseload was up from 840 on Tuesday and 71

South Korean stocks opened higher Thursday, tracking overnight Wall Street gains that were largely generated by the Democrats' control of the US Senate. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 44.46 points, or 1.5 percent, to 3,012.67 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks gained ground amid expectations that the US political paradigm shift would help increase spending to stimulate the world's largest economy and benefit its export-driven trade partners. Market bellwe

A cold wave combined with heavy snowfall overnight created a rush among morning commuters Thursday. The temperature in Seoul dropped to minus 16.1 C at 7 a.m. but with a wind chill of minus 25.3 C, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration. As of 9 p.m. Wednesday, the city had received 3.8 centimeters of snow. The suburbs of Gwacheon and Hanam also received 11.6 cm and 9 cm of snow, respectively. Subways were packed well before 7 a.m., and buses crawled on icy roads. "I left h

South Korea's vice finance minister vowed Thursday to strengthen financial stability this year amid concerns that idle money is excessively flowing into asset markets. Vice Finance Minister Kim Yong-beom made the remarks amid mounting worries that only asset markets, such as property and stock markets, are booming even as economic slumps caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have continued. "Authorities are facing the task of closely managing liquidity that has sharply increased in the process

Samsung Electronics Co. on Thursday unveiled a new vision for its TV business as the world's largest TV vendor vows to improve accessibility and sustainability with its latest products and services. Under the vision of "Screens everywhere, Screens for all," the South Korean tech giant said the company will go environmentally friendly with its TV business operations and allow more people to comfortably enjoy their viewing experience as it introduced the 2021 portfolio. "During th

Samsung Electronics Co. on Thursday unveiled its 2021 TV lineup, including a new Neo QLED TV using mini LED technology, as the South Korean tech giant looks to defend its status as the world's leading TV vendor. Samsung's Neo QLED TV made its debut at the First Look event ahead of Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2021, along with new models of Micro LED and Lifestyle TVs. Samsung said the Neo QLED TV takes its flagship QLED TV to "the next level," as it uses new light source, Quantum

South Korean steelmakers are expected to see their earnings bounce back in the first quarter of the year on a recovery in demand and rising prices, analysts said Thursday. The rosy outlook represents a stark turnaround from their dismal performances last year in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic that has sent global demand for steel products sinking. According to a Yonhap News analysis of securities firms' forecasts, leading steelmaker Posco is projected to register an operating profit of 9

A US Department of Defense (DoD) employee working in Seoul and two of his family members have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the US Forces Korea (USFK) said Thursday. The employee, his spouse and their dependent were confirmed to have contracted the virus Wednesday following their contact with another DoD official who previously tested positive, according to the US military. The civilian employee and his spouse work at US Army Garrison Yongsan in central Seoul, and they last visited

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha has called for steadfast international support for South Korea's efforts to foster lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula, her office said Thursday. Kang made the remarks during Wednesday's virtual session of the Ministerial Meeting of the Stockholm Initiative on Nuclear Disarmament and the Non-Proliferation Treaty, a multilateral forum on nuclear arms control issues. "Minister Kang explained our government's efforts for the Korean Peninsula peace process fo

Major foreign investment banks (IBs) have slightly raised their forecasts for South Korea's economic growth for 2021 despite the coronavirus pandemic, a report showed Thursday. As of end-December, nine major global IBs, including Barclays and Goldman Sachs, forecast the South Korean economy to grow 3.4 percent this year, up 0.1 percentage point from their median outlook offered a month earlier, according to the report by the Korea Center for International Finance. Seven IBs -- Barclays, BoA-Me

A government delegation left for Iran on Thursday to negotiate an early release of the South Korean oil tanker and its crew seized by Iranian authorities earlier this week. The delegation, led by Koh Kyung-sok, director-general of the foreign ministry's Africa and Middle Eastern affairs, boarded a plane early Thursday and is set to arrive in Iran via Qatar, foreign ministry officials said. On Monday, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) seized the MT Hankuk Chemi carrying 20 crewme

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has vowed to strengthen his country's military capabilities to protect its people at a rare party congress, state media said Thursday, amid an impasse in its nuclear negotiations with the United States. Kim, however, did not use such provocative words as nuclear weapons or war deterrent, which some experts saw as intended to avoid increasing tensions, as he reported to the second-day session of the eighth congress of the ruling Workers' Party on Wednesday. He &q

Defense Minister Suh Wook held phone talks with his British counterpart Ben Wallace on Wednesday to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation and exchanges, the defense ministry said. Suh congratulated Britain on its recent agreement with the European Union for cooperation in future relations, the ministry said in a press release. Suh added that Seoul hopes to continue bilateral cooperation even after Brexit, pointing out that Britain participated in the 1950-53 Korean War and maintain