The number of babies born in South Korea declined by the fastest on-year pace in 19 years in October, data showed Wednesday, underscoring the country's chronic low birth rate. The data compiled by Statistics Korea showed that 21,934 babies were born in October, down 14.4 percent from a year earlier. It marked the sharpest on-year fall for any October since 2001, when the number of newborns fell 17.7 percent on-year. The tally also marked a record low for the month of October since 1981, when

About 73 percent of South Koreans are positive about incoming US President Joe Biden holding a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un either unconditionally or in case of real progress in nuclear negotiations, a survey showed Wednesday. According to the poll conducted by the state-run Korea Institute for National Unification (KINU), 20.1 percent said that Biden should hold talks with Kim "unconditionally," while 52.9 percent responded that they should meet if real progress is mad

South Korea said Wednesday it will suspend flights arriving from Britain until the end of this year over concerns about a new strain of the novel coronavirus. The country's diplomatic missions in Britain will suspend issuing quarantine-waiver documents so as to place all arrivals from the European nation in a 14-day quarantine, according to health authorities. The country will also conduct an additional virus test when they are released from quarantine. South Korea will beef up airport quaran

Retail sales in South Korea moved up 6.3 percent in November from a year earlier on the back of the nationwide consumption-boosting events aimed at overcoming the economic jitters from the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed Wednesday. The combined sales of 26 major offline and online retailers reached 12.41 trillion won ($11.2 billion) last month, up from 11.68 trillion won a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The annual Korea Sale FESTA kic

Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co., a major builder in South Korea, said Wednesday it has won a $455 million order to build two liquefied natural gas (LNG) production trains in Mozambique. Under the deal signed with CCS joint venture, Daewoo E&C will handle steel structures, mechanics, piping works and electronic instruments in the project at the Afungi Industrial Complex in northern Mozambique. The joint venture, a special purpose company set up for the project, is composed of US o

Over half of South Koreans think the speed at which coronavirus vaccinations are carried out is more important than verifying their safety, a public survey showed Wednesday. In the Realmeter survey conducted on 500 people aged 18 or older nationwide Tuesday, 54.9 percent of the respondents said the country should start vaccinating the public as soon as possible because the current state of the new coronavirus pandemic is dire. Another 41.1 percent, however, said inoculations could wait until t

A Navy officer and an Army soldier tested positive for the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said Wednesday. The officer stationed in the eastern city of Donghae was confirmed to have been infected after coming into close contact with one of his colleagues who earlier tested positive, according to the ministry. The Army soldier in the northeastern county of Yanggu tested positive after undergoing a test upon returning from vacation, the ministry said. The latest cases brought the total nu

This year will be a subdued holiday season for many South Koreans as winter destinations are closed and restaurants are banned from having groups of five or more people under toughened virus curbs. Authorities have repeatedly urged the public to cancel their year-end gatherings and trips to reduce risk of COVID-19 infections, but some people have found loopholes in the social distancing guidelines to go to ski resorts and have private parties in hotels and other venues. The Seoul metropolitan

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on Wednesday stressed the importance of thorough measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 especially during the upcoming Christmas and New Year's holiday season. The government on Tuesday announced more stringent antivirus measures for the period, including a nationwide ban on private gatherings of five or more people, and closures of ski slopes and other winter sports facilities, as well as popular year-end tourist attractions, from Thursday until Jan. 3. "

South Korea's agricultural ministry said Wednesday it has identified this year's 20th highly pathogenic bird flu case from farms, amid deepening concerns over the nationwide spread of the contagious disease. The latest case was reported at a duck farm in Yongin, just south of Seoul, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. South Korea has reported farm-related highly pathogenic bird flu cases across the nation since late November, including one case from a guest ranch.

Former Justice Minister Cho Kuk's wife was sentenced by a Seoul court on Wednesday to imprisonment of four years for academic fraud and other charges. The Seoul Central District Court handed down the jail sentence, together with a fine of 500 million won ($451,000) and a forfeit of 140 million won, to Chung Kyung-sim, the wife of the former presidential secretary for civil affairs and a close aide to President Moon Jae-in. The court also ordered the immediate imprisonment of Chung. Chung, 58-

South Korea has launched a second round of production for the Army's newly upgraded command and control system designed to improve commanders' real-time decision-making ability in combat situations, the arms procurement agency said Wednesday. The production for the Army's upgraded C4I -- command, control, communication, computer and intelligence -- system will by completed by October 2023 with a 150 billion-won ($135 million) investment, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administrati

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday, backed by strong advances by giant tech shares. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 14.59 points, or 0.53 percent, to 2,748.27 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The index rebounded after a 1.6 percent plunge the previous session, as optimism for a better corporate environment next year pushed up tech stocks. On Wall Street, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite advanced 0.51 percent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average close

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases rose to above 1,000 for the first time in three days Wednesday, as the nation imposed the most stringent social distancing rules so far to contain the winter wave of the virus. The country added 1,092 more COVID-19 cases, including 1,060 local infections, raising the total caseload to 52,550, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). It was the second-highest one-day tally of confirmed cases since the pandemic began. The tall

South Korea said Wednesday it plans to adopt the positive list system (PLS) to regulate the maximum residue limit of chemicals in meat and fish products in 2024. Under the measure, South Korea will set the ceiling of 0.01 milligrams per kilogram concerning the use of any types of drugs other than those from the positive list, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. "The new rule is designed to prevent the misuse or abuse of unauthorized animal drugs and to enhanc

Hyundai Motor Co. said Wednesday it has acquired General Motors Co.'s auto plant in Russia to step up its vehicle production in the nation. The South Korean automaker finalized the deal in early November to buy the American carmaker's assembly line in Saint Petersburg, a company spokesperson said, without elaborating on the amount and production schedule at the plant.The GM plant, which has an annual production capacity of around 100,000 vehicles, opened in 2008 but suspended operations in 2015

Samsung Electronics Co. is expected to remain the world's leading TV vendor for the 15th straight year in 2020 on brisk demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic, a report said Wednesday. The South Korean tech behemoth is forecast to sell 49.02 million TVs this year after shipping 33.92 million units in the first three quarters of the year, according to the report from market researcher Omdia. The estimate is up 11.2 percent from the previous year and marks the largest annual sales number sinc

US President-elect Joe Biden reiterated the importance of people taking necessary steps to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus on Tuesday, saying the "darkest times" have yet to come. He also highlighted the need for people to get vaccinated as quickly as possible, but insisted they must continue wearing masks and socially distance. "One thing I promise you about my leadership during this crisis, I'm going to tell it to you straight. I'm going to tell you the truth,"

A consortium led by construction company Dongbu Corp. was picked Tuesday as the preferred bidder for the controlling stake of Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction Co., the troubled shipbuilder said. A group of Hanjin's creditors, led by the Korea Development Bank, reached the decision during a meeting earlier in the day, Hanjin said in a regulatory filing. The Dongbu consortium beat two competitors, including a group led by SM Line Corp, to acquire a 83.45 percent stake in Hanjin Heavy

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's biggest carmaker, said Tuesday it will suspend one of its domestic plants for two weeks to control inventories amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Hyundai Motor plans to suspend the Asan plant, which produces the Sonata and Grandeur sedans, from Wednesday through Jan. 6 due mainly to weak sales of the Sonata model, a company spokesman said. The sale of the Sonata sedan plunged 31 percent to 63,078 units from January to November compared with the same period of last yea