South Korean forward Son Heung-min was named the country's best football player of the year for a record fifth time, the sport's governing body said Tuesday. The Korea Football Association (KFA) announced that Son, the attacking stalwart for Tottenham Hotspur, was voted the Male Player of the Year for 2020. It is the fifth time that Son has received the honor, including those in 2013, 2014, 2017 and 2019, extending his lead over three-time honoree Ki Sung-yueng of FC Seoul, who earned the awar

South Korea's money supply continued to grow quickly in October on increased loans to households and firms amid the coronavirus pandemic, central bank data showed Tuesday. The country's M2 stood at 3,150.5 trillion won ($2.87 trillion) as of end-October, up 1.1 percent, or 34.7 trillion won, from September, according to preliminary data by the Bank of Korea (BOK). October's gain marked the second-highest monthly growth since May this year, when M2 grew by 35.4 trillion won, according to the B

LG Group, South Korea's fourth-largest conglomerate, on Tuesday refuted claims that its planned spin-off of affiliates could undermine shareholder value, saying the move will actually benefit its stockholders. "We believe our shareholder value will improve since the group can focus on its key businesses, including electronics, chemicals and telecommunications," LG said. "Once the split is completed and our growth strategy gets materialized, we think this 'discount issue' will be

South Korean companies' earnings declined by the most in 11 years in 2019, as the manufacturing sector remained sluggish amid the global economic slowdown, data showed Tuesday. Their combined before-tax net profit reached 102 trillion won ($93.3 billion) in 2019, down 37.1 percent from the previous year, according to the data on 13,255 firms compiled by Statistics Korea. It marked the sharpest on-year decline since 2008, when their earnings fell 43.6 percent. In 2019, manufacturers, led by el

The entire nation came under the grip of a cold wave Tuesday, with temperatures dipping below minus 20 C in mountainous areas of Gangwon Province, east of Seoul. The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) issued a cold wave alert or advisory for most parts of South Korea, excluding coastal areas and the southern island of Jeju, as the mercury dropped to the season's record lows of minus 23.5 C in Hongcheon, 100 kilometers east of Seoul, and minus 22.7 C in PyeongChang, a mountain resort town

President Moon Jae-in said Tuesday that the envisioned launch of a powerful corruption investigation agency is very meaningful as it can serve as a systemic tool to keep the prosecution in check. "The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) is highly significant, as it can serve as a tool to democratically regulate the prosecution," Moon said during a weekly Cabinet meeting held at the government complex in Seoul. He presided over the meeting from Cheong Wa Da

South Korea on Tuesday announced a set of measures to expand perks for families and subsidies for children to try to boost the low birthrate that has plagued Asia's fourth-largest economy for more than a decade. The package, drawn up by the Presidential Committee on Aging Society and Population Policy, will be the foundation of the government's demographic policy over the next five years. First, the government will newly provide a 300,000-won ($275) bonus every month to all infants below the a

North Korea has begun regular wintertime military drills, and no unusual movements have been detected so far, the South Korean military said Tuesday. "We believe that North Korea began their regular wintertime drills," Col. Kim Jun-rak, spokesperson of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), told a regular briefing. The drills have yet to be in full swing, and there are no signs indicating any imminent provocative acts, according to another JCS officer. The communist country usually kicks

South Korea's exports of information and telecommunication products surged 15.8 percent in November from a year earlier, extending their rise for the sixth consecutive month, data showed Tuesday, on the back of robust overseas demand for memory chips and display products amid the pandemic. Outbound shipments of information communication and telecommunication (ICT) products came to $16.56 billion in November, compared with $14.3 billion posted in the previous year, according to the data compiled

Eighteen Army soldiers and officers have tested positive for the new coronavirus, including 14 from the same unit in the city of Paju, north of Seoul, the defense ministry said Tuesday. More cases could come from the Paju base as testing was still under way for all 400 unit members. The collective infections began after two soldiers first tested positive for COVID-19 upon their return from holiday. One officer and 11 other soldiers were confirmed to have been infected in subsequent virus tests

The number of overseas tourists visiting South Korea is expected to slump to the lowest level in 32 years amid the new coronavirus pandemic that has practically paralyzed the global tourism sector, data showed Tuesday. The number of foreigners who visited the country in the January-October period reached 2.39 million, down 83.6 percent from the same period last year, according to the culture ministry and the state tourism office. Roughly half of the figure -- 1.27 million -- was tallied in Jan

South Korea on Tuesday reported the most coronavirus deaths in a single day, as critically ill patients continue to pile up amid spiking cases, health authorities said. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said the country reported 13 additional deaths from COVID-19, raising the total caseload to 600. It marks the first time that the daily death toll hovered above 10. The number of seriously or critically ill COVID-19 patients came to 205, sharply up 20 from the previous day

South Korea said Tuesday it will further raise its guard against African swine fever (ASF) amid a growing number of infections among wild boars, which could potentially spread to pig farms. Since October last year, South Korea has identified a whopping 883 cases of ASF from wild boars in border areas, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs. The country earlier installed fences at border areas to prevent wild boars from reaching pig farms, but traces of the disease we

South Korean professional golfer Kim A-lim on Monday won the Women's US Open in her debut in the major. The 25-year-old shot a 4-under par 67 in the final round to win the 75th US Women's Open at the Champions Golf Club in Houston. Kim shot a four-round total of 3-under 281 to win the title by one stroke. "I'm very honored to win the 75th US Women's Open. Still can't really soak in that I'm the champion, but it feels different winning the tournament here," she said in a post-match p

Over 60 coronavirus infections have been traced to an elderly nursing home in a quiet southwestern town, officials said Tuesday, the latest in a spate of infection clusters breaking out at multiuse facilities across the nation. The number of COVID-19 patients related to Canaan Nursing Home in Gimje, a North Jeolla Province city about 260 kilometers south of Seoul, has risen to 62 and is expected to grow further, the provincial officials said. The nursing home, where 123 people -- 69 residents

Sales of excavators by Doosan Infracore Co. in China are expected to reach the highest in a decade this year on strong demand in the world's No. 2 economy, industry data showed Tuesday. According to the data by the China Construction Machinery Association, Doosan Infracore sold 1,692 units of excavators in November in China. In the January-November period, the construction equipment makers' excavator sales in China came to 17,458 units. Doosan Infracore expects its excavator sales in China

South Korean shares opened lower Tuesday tracking overnight Wall Street gains, as lockdown concerns in major economies offset optimism over the emergency launch of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccinations in the United States. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 13.22 points, or 0.48 percent, to 2,748.98 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Local large caps dipped on foreign and institutional selling, as well as on aggravating the pandemic toll in the US, Europe and Asia. So

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases bounced back to nearly 900 Tuesday after a brief fall the previous day, as the country struggles to curb the nationwide spread of the virus in winter, warning that the toughest virus curbs may be adopted. The country added 880 more COVID-19 cases, including 848 local infections, raising the total caseload to 44,363, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Tuesday's daily virus caseload marked a rise from 718 on Monday, but

South Korea's agricultural ministry said Tuesday the number of highly pathogenic bird flu cases from local poultry farms may continue to rise down the road due to seasonal migratory birds, urging farmers to beef up preventive measures against the contagious animal disease. "As migratory birds will continue to flock into the country through January, local poultry farms are currently at a critical juncture," the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said in a statement. South

The interim leader of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) offered an official apology Tuesday for two former presidents affiliated with the conservative party, who were convicted of corruption. Kim Chong-in made the public apology during a press conference at the National Assembly, holding the party accountable for failing to keep the convicted former Presidents Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak in check. "Two former presidents of South Korea are simultaneously in a state of impris