DAEJEON -- The prosecution has sought arrest warrants for three government officials suspected of deleting documents related to the controversial closure of the Wolsong-1 nuclear reactor. The Daejeon District Prosecutors Office on Wednesday requested that the court grant the warrants against three officials from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, whose names were withheld, on charges of disturbing the state auditors' examination. They allegedly destroyed 444 materials and files about

Major banks in South Korea saw their "jeonse" home rental loans increase at a record pace this year amid soaring jeonse rates, industry data showed Thursday. Outstanding jeonse loans extended by the country's five major lenders -- KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori and NH Nonghyup -- came to 103.3 trillion won ($94 billion) as of end-November, up nearly 23 trillion won from last year. It marks the first time that the amount of yearly jeonse loans has exceeded the 20 trillion-won level.

국내 신종 코로나바이러스 감염증(코로나19) 방역 대응을 진두지휘해 온 정은경 질병관리청장이 2일 충북지역의 한 종합병원에 입원했다. 지역 의료계 등에 따르면 정 청장은 어깨 골절로 2∼3일 입원 치료가 필요한 상황인 것으로 전해졌다. 질병관리청도 정 청장이 이번 주까지 연차 휴가를 냈다고 확인했다. 질병청 관계자는 "정 청장이 현재 병가 중이지만 구체적인 신상 정보는 확인해 주기 어렵다"고 밝혔다. 정 청장은 집안에서 낙상에 따른 골절상을 입었으나 중상은 아닌 것으로 알려졌다. 정 청장이 입원함에 따라 당분간 질병청과 코로나19 방역 관련 업무는 나성웅 질병청 차장이 대신할 것으로 보인다. 정 청장은 지난 1월 국내 코로나19 사태가 터진 직후부터 중앙방역대책본부(방대본) 본부장을 맡아 최일선에서 코로나19에 대응해 왔다. 매일같이 국민들에게 코로나19 상황을 알리는 정례 브리핑 마이크를 잡으면서 '방역 사령탑'으로도 불려왔으며, 지난 9월 질병

Hundreds of thousands of students took the annual national college entrance exam Thursday while taking extra precautions to guard against the continued surge of the coronavirus. Students arrived at their designated test facilities accompanied by their family members, but there was little of the cheer typical of the scene outside schools on exam day due to restrictions caused by the pandemic. Around 490,000 high school seniors, graduates and others signed up for the College Scholastic Ability T

South Korea's foreign reserves rose for the eighth straight month in November, thanks to an increase in investment returns, central bank data showed Thursday. The nation's foreign reserves came to a record high of $436.3 billion as of end-November, up $9.87 billion from a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). Foreign reserves consist of securities and deposits denominated in overseas currencies, International Monetary Fund reserve positions, special drawing rights and gold bull

SEJONG -- Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Wednesday that next year's budget will help South Korea's economy recover from the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. Hong made the remarks shortly after the National Assembly passed a 558 trillion-won ($506 billion) budget for 2021, a net increase of 2.2 trillion won to help virus-hit small merchants and secure vaccines. "Next year, (the government) will surely achieve our economy's recovery and rebound," Hong said in a Facebook post.

South Korea's defense budget for next year rose 5.4 percent on-year as the country strives to boost its self-defense capabilities amid growing security uncertainties and nontraditional challenges, such as infectious diseases, the defense ministry said Wednesday.    According to the budget plan approved by the National Assembly, military spending for 2021 was set at 52.8 trillion won ($48 billion), up from this year's 50.15 trillion won.    The approved amount is slightly l

The National Assembly on Wednesday passed a 558 trillion-won ($506 billion) national budget for 2021 that includes nearly 4 trillion won allotted for additional COVID-19 relief funds and coronavirus vaccine purchases.    The assembly's plenary session overwhelmingly approved the 2021 budget bill in a 249-26 vote. Twelve lawmakers abstained.    It marks the first national budget approved by the National Assembly within the legal deadline since 2014, as fierce partisan wran

A Seoul court sentenced a fund manager to two years in prison Wednesday for fraudulently selling financial products of a hedge fund implicated in a massive fraud and lobbying scandal.    The former chief of a branch office of Daishin Securities Co. in southern Seoul was indicted in June for misinforming his clients while selling some 248 billion won ($225 million) worth of funds of Lime Asset Management Co. Lime Asset has been under probe since July last year over its alleged cover

Samsung Electronics Co. was the top global smartphone manufacturer in the third quarter of the year, a report showed Wednesday, as demand for its mobile devices increased in advanced markets amid the pandemic. Samsung led the industry in terms of smartphone production with 78 million units in the July-September period, up 42 percent from a quarter earlier, and accounted for 23.2 percent of the total share, according to market researcher TrendForce. "This result reflects Samsung's continu

South Korea on Wednesday denounced the assassination of a leading Iranian nuclear scientist as a criminal act that does not help bring stability and peace in the region. The foreign ministry's comment came after Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a nuclear weapons expert, was killed in a bomb and gun attack on a road outside Tehran last week, amplifying tensions between Iran and neighboring nations. "We stress that this kind of violent criminal act is not conducive to stability and peace in the Middle E

Samsung Electronics Co. was the second-largest smartphone vendor in the African smartphone market in the third quarter of the year, a report showed Wednesday, as the South Korean tech giant tries to expand its presence against Chinese competitors. Samsung accounted for 20 percent of the African smartphone market in the July-September period in terms of units, down from a 24 percent share a year ago, according to market researcher International Data Corp. (IDC). China's Transsion continued its

The government on Wednesday announced a set of countermeasures to deal with flooding and other natural disasters anticipated due to global climate change, vowing to drastically strengthen anti-flood design standards for dams and rivers. Under the new measures, local dams and rivers will be designed to withstand the heaviest daily rainfall over a span of 500 years in anticipation of steady increases in precipitation caused by climate change, according to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.

South Korean stocks hit another all-time high Wednesday for the second consecutive session on the back of optimism surrounding COVID-19 vaccines and US stimulus. The Korean won sharply rose to an over 29-month high against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 41.65 points, or 1.58 percent, to close at 2,675.9. Trading volume was high at 1.05 billion shares worth around 16.9 trillion won ($15.3 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 475 to 353. Forei

Rolls-Royce said Wednesday it has won a deal to supply marine gas turbines to South Korea's new 3,500-ton frigates to be built by Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. by 2024. The MT30, tapped for the Ulsan-class FFX Batch III frigates, has already been in service with several navies around the world, including in South Korea's Daegu-class FFX Batch II frigates, according to the company. "The use of the MT30 across the Batch II and Batch III frigates will deliver commonality benefits to the custo

South Korea on Wednesday officially expressed its intention to host its first World Expo in the southeastern port city of Busan in 2030. South Korea made the announcement in a virtual meeting held by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), which oversees the event, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. South Korea will hand in its application to the BIE next year. “This will become an opportunity for us to show the world that we can set examples in not only s

An accelerator for tech startups operated by Naver Inc., South Korea's largest internet portal operator, said Wednesday it has made new investments in two promising tech startups. Naver's D2 Startup Factory, also known as D2SF, said it has selected the two startups -- Techtaka Co. and Medibloc Co. -- that provide innovative technology in the logistics and health care sectors, respectively. "Logistics and medical sectors require expertise and a meaningful change is impossible without under

The unification ministry on Wednesday welcomed a parliamentary committee's passage of a proposal to ban the flying of propaganda leaflets into North Korea, saying the measure will help protect residents in border regions and ease cross-border tensions. The government and the ruling Democratic Party have been seeking to legislate a ban on the sending of anti-Pyongyang leaflets after North Korea bristled at such activity and even blew up an inter-Korean liaison office in June in anger. Pyongyang

President Moon Jae-in sent a special "warm" message Wednesday to nearly half a million people in South Korea gearing up for the nationwide college entrance exam this week in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. "It's hard to prepare for the CSAT itself, and it will be even more difficult and worrisome to take the exam in the coronavirus situation," he wrote on his social messaging accounts. "I feel sorry (as the president). I'd like to put warm scarves around your necks.

Concerns over spread of the new coronavirus in the local music industry are rising after some K-pop group members tested positive for the infectious virus earlier this week. Two members of girl group EVERGLOW -- Yiren and Si-hyeon -- have tested positive for the virus, their management agency Yue Hua Entertainment said Tuesday. Yiren first tested positive after she voluntarily got checked following news that one of her acquaintances had contracted COVID-19. Other members of the six-piece girl