South Korea's semiconductor export prices sank to a new record low in October due to a strong local currency and slowing demand stemming from the coronavirus pandemic, central bank data showed Tuesday. The won-based export price index for chips came to 69.61 for October, the lowest level since the Bank of Korea began tracking related data in January 1985. The figure is also off more than 30 percent from the index's base year of 2015. The index reached 104.32 in December 2018. Since January 20

South Korea and the United States held defense cost talks for the first time since the US presidential election and reaffirmed their principle to seek a fair and mutually acceptable deal, the foreign ministry said Tuesday. During the video talks held Monday night (Korea time), South Korea's chief negotiator Jeong Eun-bo and his US counterpart Donna Welton agreed to "closely work together to swiftly reach an agreement that is fair and mutually acceptable," the ministry said. The nego

South Korea's exports rebounded by rising 4 percent in November on-year on the back of strong sales of chips, data showed Tuesday, though a resurgence in new virus cases still poses risks of delaying a full-fledged recovery. Outbound shipments came to $45.8 billion last month, compared with $44 billion a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Imports fell 2.1 percent to $39.8 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $5.93 billion. It marked

South Korea's economy expanded at a faster-than-estimated pace in the third quarter on the back of a modest recovery in exports amid the coronavirus pandemic, central bank data showed Tuesday. The country's real gross domestic product (GDP) grew 2.1 percent in the July-September period from the previous quarter, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The reading marks a slight increase from an earlier estimate of a 1.9 percent on-quarter expansion estimated in October and compares

One of South Korea's premier sluggers will be knocking on the big league doors this winter. The Korea Baseball Organization announced Monday it has asked Major League Baseball to post NC Dinos outfielder Na Sung-bum for MLB's 30 clubs. The decision came after the Dinos requested the Korean league take that administrative step and give Na a chance to reach the big leagues. Under the posting system, any interested big league team will be able to negotiate with Na during a 30-day period. It will

A Seoul court said that it will not make a decision on Monday on a crucial injunction case that could affect the fate of South Korea's top prosecutor amid an escalating standoff with the justice minister. Last week, Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae suspended Prosecutor General Yoon Seoul-youl from duty as she sought a disciplinary measure against him over six counts of alleged misdeeds, including collecting personal information of justices in charge of cases related to a former justice minister and

A court on Monday found former President Chun Doo-hwan guilty of defaming a late activist who testified to having witnessed Chun's troops shooting from helicopters on pro-democracy demonstrators in Gwangju. The Gwangju District Court endorsed the claims of late priest Cho Pius that there were shootings at civilians from helicopters during the 1980 Gwangju Uprising. With the conviction, the court sentenced Chun to eight months in prison, suspended for two years. The former president was also

The government announced Monday that it will launch a national winter season fine dust management program next month centered around reducing the amount of air pollutants during the season. The environment ministry said the program will run from December to March of next year and will center around the reduction of vehicle traffic in and around Seoul, cuts in industrial emissions and suspensions of power generation by coal plants. The government first adopted the program last year to lower th

ENHYPEN, the seven-piece new boy band consisting of reality audition program "I-Land" winners, said they want to build a legacy as a "global, fan-made group." "It would be an honor to be always remembered as a global, fan-made group since we are a group made together by global fans," member Jay said in the act's first-ever media showcase held Monday. "We feel happy and responsible when we are called a global, fan-made group since it was thanks to the love of

Unionized workers at Kia Motors Corp. will extend their partial strike for several days to demand higher wages and bonuses amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the union said Monday. Daytime and night-duty workers will hold a four-hour strike at Kia's three domestic plants in Gwangmyeong and Hwaseong, both near Seoul, and Gwangju, 330 kilometers south of Seoul, on Dec. 1-2 and 4, union spokesman Hwang Hyo-dong said over the phone. "The company didn't contact the union to narrow differences over

Eleven American service members and two dependents have tested positive for the new coronavirus upon their arrival in South Korea this month, US Forces Korea (USFK) said Monday. Four service members arrived at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, on US government-chartered flights, while the others arrived here on commercial flights via Incheon International Airport, west of the capital, according to the US military. Seven of them tested positive on their first mandatory COVID-19 test

The government announced Monday that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that are currently exempt from the country's 52-hour workweek system will be subject to the rule starting next year as scheduled. In a press briefing at the government complex in Seoul, Labor Minster Lee Jae-kap said that the government won't extend the grace period that exempts SMEs with payroll sizes ranging from 50 to 299 from the 52-hour workweek scheme until the end of the year. Introduced in 2018, the 52-hour

President Moon Jae-in issued an unusual message Monday in public for South Korea's civil servants, saying they need to break away from what is obsolete and put the interests of the whole community above those of their own organizations or groups. The president reaffirmed his administration's "firm determination" to reform "power institutions" as one of his key policy agenda items, which also include the Korean-version New Deal, a carbon neutrality campaign and regulatory ref

South Korean shares dropped more than 1.5 percent Monday after hitting an all-time high the previous session as investors attempted to cash in gains. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 42.11 points, or 1.6 percent, to close at 2,591.34. Trading volume was high at about 1.28 billion shares worth some 20.4 trillion won ($18.4 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 511 to 331. Foreigners sold a net 2.4 trillion won, while

The ruling party will push for the distribution of an additional third round of COVID-19 relief funds before Lunar New Year's Day, a senior party official said Monday. Following the recent resurgence of new coronavirus infections, rival parties are currently discussing ways to source the third emergency relief funds worth about 4 trillion won ($3.6 billion), expected to be added to the 2021 state budget now under deliberation at the National Assembly. "In order to hand out the tailored

The ICT ministry said Monday the redistribution price for past generation network frequency bands used by the country's major mobile carriers should be at least 3.17 trillion won ($2.9 billion). The ministry and the three telecom operators -- SK Telecom Co., KT Corp. and LG Uplus Corp. -- had been locked in a fierce debate in recent months over the redistribution price of 2G, 3G and 4G frequency bands that are set to expire next year. The Ministry of Science and ICT's final price offer, howeve

K-pop act IZ*ONE will release a new album next month, its management agency said Monday, amid a lingering controversy over vote-rigging in the audition program that it debuted through. The band will drop its fourth EP, "One-reeler/Act Ⅳ" on Dec. 7, Off the Record said. The album, the first from the group in six months, carries six songs, including the main track "Panorama," "Mise-en-Scene" and "Island," focusing on the 12 members' youth and growth. IZ*O

South Korean curling officials and coaches who abused the national women's team members for years have been slapped with lifetime bans. The Korean Curling Federation (KCF) announced Monday that its former Vice President Kim Kyung-doo, his daughter Kim Min-jung and her husband Jang Ban-seok will no longer be allowed to set foot in the sport. The Kims were once considered the royal family in South Korean curling. Kim Kyung-doo was a founding member of the KCF in 1994. Kim Min-jung was the head

South Korea will maintain the current social distancing level in the greater Seoul area but will raise antivirus curbs, including restricting additional gatherings and activities, starting Tuesday, health authorities said Monday. Seoul, the surrounding Gyeonggi Province and the western port city of Incheon will be under the current Level 2 of the country's five-tier social distancing system for a week, according to the authorities. However, antivirus curbs in all other areas will be elevated t

South Korea's number of 5G users reached nearly 10 million as of end-October, ministry data showed Monday. The number of 5G subscribers stood at 9.98 million as of the end of October, up 735,113 from the previous month, according to data from the Ministry of Science and ICT. The 5G subscribers accounted for 14.2 percent of the country's mobile subscriptions totaling 70.4 million. South Korea commercially rolled out 5G in April 2019 for the first time in the world. The latest figure comes as