Samsung Electronics Co. took the No. 1 position in the global foldable smartphone market this year with the launch of new devices, a report showed Tuesday, as it tries to further solidify its status in the burgeoning sector. Samsung is estimated to take up an 88 percent share in this year's foldable smartphone market in terms of shipments, according to the latest report from industry tracker Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC). Samsung unveiled the vertically folding Galaxy Z Flip in Febr

A high-profile North Korean defector activist is considering filing a constitutional complaint against the recently legislated ban on the sending of anti-Pyongyang leaflets into the communist nation, his lawyer said Tuesday. On Monday night, the National Assembly, controlled by the ruling Democratic Party, passed the bill penalizing the sending of anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets into the North despite strong objection by opposition party lawmakers. Critics, including Park Sang-hak, a defect

North Koreans are consistently trying to break into US servers for classified information, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday, adding North Korea and China pose greater threats than Russia to the US. "It's an ongoing battle, an ongoing struggle to keep our systems safe," the top US diplomat said in an interview with US radio network Breitbart News. Pompeo said the United States faces similar threats from Russian and Chinese actors. "I can't say much other than it's b

"다른 백신을 맞는 것과 전혀 다르지 않은 느낌이에요. 모두가 백신을 맞기를 권장합니다." 세계에서 신종 코로나바이러스 감염증(코로나19) 피해가 가장 큰 미국의 첫 코로나19 백신 접종자는 흑인 여성 간호사였다. 미 뉴욕시 퀸스의 롱아일랜드 주이시병원에서 일하는 간호사 샌드라 린지(52)는 14일(현지시간) 오전 9시30분께 화이자-바이오엔테크의 코로나19 백신을 팔에 맞았다. 뉴욕주와 미 언론들은 린지가 임상시험 참가자를 제외하면 코로나19 백신을 최초로 맞은 접종자라고 밝혔다. 미 식품의약국(FDA)의 지난 11일 긴급사용 승인에 따른 첫 접종 사례라는 것이다. 린지는 자메이카에서 태어나 조부모 손에서 자란 이민자 출신이다. 성인이 돼 미국으로 온 그는 간호학을 공부한 뒤 평생 간호사의 길을 걸었다. 오빠인 가필드 린지는 워싱턴포스트(WP)와의 인터뷰에서 다른 사람들을 돕는 게 동생의 6살 때부터 꿈이었다고 전하면서 "제3세계에서 자란 동생은

South Korea said Tuesday its outbound shipments to New Zealand will be completely tariff-free starting in 2021, a move that could help local exporters penetrate deeper into the Oceania nation. The two countries agreed to abolish tariffs on all South Korean exports within seven years after launching a free trade agreement, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The Seoul-Wellington free trade pact went into effect in December 2015. In 2020, around 96.2 percent of South Korean

President Moon Jae-in will deliver a video message to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) convention and reaffirm South Korea's resolve to help develop multilateralism, Cheong Wa Dae said Monday. Joining the official event to be held online later in the day in celebration of the occasion, Moon is to note the OECD's role so far as a signature body in the global economic field, it said. The OECD was founded in 1961

South Korea has established free Wi-Fi networks on around 35,000 city buses operating across the nation, allowing citizens aboard to access the internet free of charge and reduce their mobile phone bills, the ICT ministry said Monday. The Ministry of Science and ICT said it marks the first time in the world that free Wi-Fi services will be provided on all of the 35,006 city buses in operation. The ministry and 16 provincial governments began setting up free Wi-Fi networks on buses in 2018 an

South Korean stocks finished lower Monday as investors remained wary of the country's spiking new coronavirus outbreaks. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) retreated 7.86 points, or 0.28 percent, to close at 2,762.2 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.1 billion shares worth some 16.8 trillion won ($15.4 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 577 to 276. Foreigners sold a net 360 billion won, while retail investors

President Moon Jae-in stressed the urgency Monday of supporting owners of small businesses and self-employed people hit hard by the drawn-out COVID-19 pandemic. He also called for the speedy use of next year's budgets earmarked for the creation of more than 1 million "emergency jobs" for the vulnerable. "Protecting people who suffer difficulties, first and foremost," would be the "starting point" of the government's related efforts, he said, speaking at the outset

Around 90,000 home care workers and after-school tutors will receive 500,000 won ($458) in coronavirus relief funds from the government in the first half of next year, the labor minister said Monday. The payment is part of a government plan to support essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, Labor Minister Lee Jae-kap said during a virtual briefing from the administrative city of Sejong. The essential workforce also includes health care workers, delivery workers and sanitation workers.

South Korean drug firm Chong Kun Dang Pharmaceutical Corp. said Monday that it has won approval from Australia's drug authorities to begin a phase three clinical trial for coronavirus treatment with its acute pancreatitis drug. The drug, Nafabeltan, will be administered to patients as part of the Australian government-led clinical study to find a COVID-19 treatment. The drug is currently used as a blood anticoagulant and acute pancreatitis treatment. The Australian COVID-19 Trial, also known a

The first batch of a coronavirus vaccine for US Forces Korea (USFK) is expected to be shipped to South Korea as soon as it is approved for emergency use, Gen. Robert Abrams said Monday. The USFK commander made the remark in an interview with the American Forces Network radio station, saying the vaccine to be used for overseas US personnel is likely to be Moderna's, though the US has begun distributing Pfizer's vaccine across the country. "We expect that to happen anytime soon ... probably

Civic and labor groups on Monday urged the government to mobilize more beds and medical personnel from large private hospitals to cope with the worsening hospital bed shortage caused by a recent surge in coronavirus infections. Public hospitals have received most local COVID-19 patients but have now reached the saturation point, as the number of newly confirmed cases hovers around 1,000 per day. Indeed, the number of available hospital beds in the greater Seoul area dedicated to severely ill co

Sixteen American service members have tested positive for the new coronavirus upon arrival in South Korea over the past few weeks, the US Forces Korea (USFK) said Monday. Three service members and a family member arrived at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, some 70 kilometers south of Seoul, on US government-chartered flights, while 11 service personnel and one dependent arrived here on commercial flights via Incheon International Airport, west of the capital, between Nov. 28 and Dec. 11, according

South Korean companies saw their combined sales inch up in 2019 but their operating profits tumble amid a trade spat between the United States and China, as well as weak demand for semiconductors, government data showed Monday. The combined sales of 752,675 companies reached 4,987 trillion won ($4.52 trillion) last year, up 1.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. Their operating profit slipped 22.7 percent on-year to 220 trillion won in 2019, the da

South Korea's top financial regulator said Monday that his agency will take more emergency steps, if necessary, as health authorities struggle to contain a winter wave of coronavirus infections. Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Eun Sung-soo made the remarks a day after the nation reported its highest one-day increase of 1,030 infections. In the span of the past 10 days, the nation recorded about 7,500 confirmed infections, bringing the total caseload to 43,484 on Monday. "As

Eighteen more residential treatment centers will open in Seoul this week to cope with surging numbers of coronavirus cases in the capital, the city government said Monday. The centers will be run by the city's wards and house 1,577 additional beds for COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms, Park Yoo-mi, a disease control official at the city government, said at a regular press briefing. Five centers with a total of 569 beds opened Sunday. The remaining 13 centers are scheduled to open by the wee

South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co. topped the global hydrogen vehicle sales in the first nine months of the year on rising demand for the Nexo model, data showed Monday. In the first nine months, Hyundai Motor sold a total of 4,917 hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles, accounting for 74 percent of the global hydrogen car market, according to data from local market research firm SNE Research. Toyota Motors Corp. ranked second with a share of 11.5 percent, or 767 vehicles, while Honda Motor Co. ran

The delinquency rate for South Korean banks' won-denominated loans edged up in October from the previous month, but remained stable, the financial regulator said Monday. The rate for bank loans more than 30 days overdue stood at 0.34 percent at the end of October, up 0.04 percentage point from September, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Compared with a year earlier, the bank loan delinquency rate was down 0.12 percentage point. The delinquency rate for corporate loans ros

South Korea was the 10th-largest arms exporter in the 2015-2019 period, accounting for 2.1 percent of the world's total defense exports, an annual government report showed Monday. According to the Global Defense Market Yearbook 2020 published by the Defense Agency for Technology and Quality, Britain, Iraq and Indonesia were the main buyers of South Korea's defense products during the period. South Korea ranked 11th in last year's report. The United States remained the top arms exporter, foll