South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday as investors are wary of COVID-19 that is spreading at home and abroad. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 8.24 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,770.41 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks got off to a weak start after the benchmark index closed at an all-time high the previous session. Global recovery hopes weakened over the new strain of the coronavirus in Britain, reportedly up to 70 percent more transmissible than the or

Kia Motors Corp.'s union has agreed on a tentative wage deal for the year as the coronavirus pandemic continues, the company said Tuesday. Kia's 30,000-strong union tentatively accepted the company's proposals, including 1 1/2 months of merit-based remuneration, 1.2 million won ($1,080) in special COVID-19 allowance and 1.5 million won in gift certificates per person, instead of freezing wages for the year, the company said in a statement. The company also agreed to restore the 25-minute extra

Loans extended by South Korean insurance companies rose 2 percent in the third quarter from a quarter earlier, the financial regulator said Tuesday. Insurers' outstanding loans totaled 245.8 trillion won ($222 billion) as of the end of September, up 4.9 trillion won from the end of June, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said in a statement. Their loans to households increased by 1.5 trillion won to 121.6 trillion won in the third quarter from a quarter earlier, while lending to companie

South Korea will ban five or more people from gathering at restaurants during the upcoming holiday season to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, officials said Tuesday. Restaurants will be fined up to 3 million won ($2,709) in case of a violation, while customers will be fined up to 100,000 won, according to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters. The new restriction will be part of the government's special antivirus measures in effect from Thursday until Jan. 3. Excep

North Korea has conducted coronavirus tests on more than 10,000 people but no outbreak has been reported in the country yet, a World Health Organization report showed Tuesday. The North has conducted tests on a total of 10,960 people as of Dec. 10 and claims that no cases have been reported, according to the agency's latest weekly situation report on COVID-19. From Nov. 27 to Dec. 3 alone, 791 people were tested while another 766 tested negative from Dec. 3 to 10, the agency said. A total of

WASHINGTON -- US President-elect Joe Biden received a dose of COVID-19 vaccine Monday, setting an example for others to follow while many Americans say they are unwilling to get the shot. Biden is one of the first high-ranking US officials to have publicly received a COVID-19 vaccine after the sitting vice president, Mike Pence, got his first dose on Friday. "I am doing this to demonstrate that people should be prepared, when it's available, to take the vaccine," the president-e

President Moon Jae-in said Monday the government will spend a part of South Korea's record amount of science-related budget next year for the development of a COVID-19 vaccine and treatment. He was chairing the third plenary meeting of the Presidential Advisory Council on Science and Technology at Cheong Wa Dae. He noted that 2021 will be a "very meaningful year" for the nation's science and technology field, with a combined research and development (R&D) investment by the govern

South Korean stocks closed at a record high Monday as pharmaceutical heavyweights posted strong gains amid the surging new coronavirus cases. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 6.47 points, or 0.23 percent, to close at 2,778.65. Trading volume was high at about 1.1 billion shares worth some 18.7 trillion won ($17 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 428 to 415. Foreigners sold a net 8 billion won, while institutions pu

South Korea has the fastest 5G download speed in the world, reaching over 350 megabits per second (Mbps), a report showed Monday. The country's 5G download speed stood at an average 351.2 Mbps, followed by Saudi Arabia at 272.8 Mbps and Taiwan at 247.7 Mbps, industry tracker Opensignal said in a report, citing data collected between Sept. 1 and Nov. 29 in 15 global markets with 5G networks. The result marks an improvement for South Korea from a previous report by Opensignal in October, which h

The defense chiefs of South Korea and Australia held telephone talks Monday and discussed ways to boost exchanges and cooperation in defense and related industry fields, Seoul's defense ministry said. During the dialogue with Australian Defense Minister Linda Reynolds, South Korea's Defense Minister Suh Wook expressed gratitude to Australian veterans who fought in the 1950-53 Korean War. He also voiced hope for the further development of the bilateral ties, as next year marks the 60th annivers

President Moon Jae-in's approval rating has rebounded this week from a record low registered a week earlier, amid progress on his prosecution reform plan and other key issues, an opinion poll showed Monday. In the Realmeter survey conducted on 2,514 voters nationwide for five days through last Friday, the support rating for Moon stood at 39.5 percent, up 2.8 percentage points from a week earlier. Last week, Moon saw his approval rating dive to a record low of 36.7 percent, as the public remain

South Korea's video game market was the fifth largest in the world in 2019, falling one position from the previous year, a report showed Monday. The country's video game market reached sales of 15.6 trillion won ($14.2 billion) last year, up 9 percent from the previous year, according to an annual report by the Korea Creative Content Agency. The country ranked behind the United States, China, Japan and the United Kingdom in the global video market worth a total $186.5 billion last year. South

A military hospital in Goyang, northwest of Seoul, began receiving coronavirus patients on Monday, the defense ministry said, amid a shortage of hospital beds due to a spike in the number of new infections. The hospital can provide up to 80 beds for COVID-19 patients, according to the ministry. Two other military hospitals in the southeastern city of Daegu and the central city of Daejeon also opened to civilians last week as part of the military's efforts to help the government's handling of t

North Korea has completed the construction of a factory manufacturing indigenous musical instruments as instructed by its late former leader Kim Jong-il nine years ago, state media reported Monday. The factory specializing in producing traditional instruments, including zither-like string instruments "ongnyugeum" and "gayageum," recently began operations in Pyongyang, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). "The construction of a comprehensive prod

여자 골프 세계 랭킹 1위 고진영(25)이 불과 1주일 사이에 17억원이 넘는 상금을 벌어들이며 미국여자프로골프(LPGA) 투어 통산 상금 500만 달러를 돌파했다. 고진영은 21일(한국시간) 미국 플로리다주 네이플스의 티뷰론 골프클럽(파72·6천556야드)에서 끝난 LPGA 투어 CME그룹 투어 챔피언십(총상금 300만 달러)에서 최종합계 18언더파 270타로 우승했다. 우승 상금 110만 달러(약 12억원)를 받은 고진영은 15일에 끝난 US여자오픈 공동 2위 상금 48만 7천286 달러를 더해 약 1주일 만에 총 158만 7천286달러의 상금 수입을 올렸다. 이는 우리나라 돈으로 환산하면 17억 4천만원 정도다. 올해 열린 LPGA 투어 18개 대회 가운데 우승 상금 규모가 가장 큰 대회 1, 2위가 바로 CME 그룹 투어 챔피언십과 US여자오픈이다. 특히 US여자오픈 올해 공동 2위 상금 48만7천 달러는 9월에 끝난 ANA 인스피레이션 우승 상금 46만5

South Korea said Monday that it has expanded disinfection operations at major wild bird habitats and poultry farms to cope with the rising number of highly pathogenic bird flu cases. "Due to the influx of migratory birds into the country, contaminants can get into local farms at anytime," the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said in a statement. "As we are facing a grave situation, there will be zero tolerance of any violation of the quarantine guidelines," i

South Korea's total COVID-19 caseload broke the 50,000 mark on Monday as new cases have been rising at their fastest pace ever, hampering authorities' antivirus efforts. New cases stood at 926 earlier in the day to push up the total to 50,591, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The daily death toll hit a record high of 24, raising the total to 698. The caseload surpassed the 50,000 mark in the 11 months since the nation reported its first case on Jan. 20. The

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said Monday that elevating the nation's social distancing rules to the highest Level 3 should be a last resort for the government in dealing with the new coronavirus crisis, stressing the importance for the public to properly follow state-mandated distancing rules. "Adjusting the social distancing level needs to be prepared thoroughly, but it should remain as the final card," Chung said during a government meeting of top officials in charge of dealing wit

Former US Defense Secretary James Mattis was chosen as the recipient of a South Korean government award for his contribution to the security of the Korean Peninsula and the bilateral alliance, the defense ministry said Monday. Mattis, who served as the top US defense official between 2017 and 2019, will receive this year's Paik Sun-yup Award, which was named after the best-known South Korean hero of the 1950-53 Korean War. He is the eighth recipient. "He played a pivotal role in managing

Gatherings of five or more people will be banned in the greater Seoul area, beginning Wednesday, in a new hard-line measure to combat the spread of the coronavirus, local governments said Monday. The governments of Seoul and neighboring Gyeonggi Province and Incheon announced the strident assembly restriction measure in time for the upcoming peak season for year-end gatherings and events. The new administrative order for the restrictions on freedom of assembly will take effect at midnight Tues