Defense minister Suh Wook on Friday met with the elder brother of a South Korean fisheries official killed by North Korea near the western sea border as the bereaved family raised doubts about the government's finding that the slain official attempted to defect to the North. On Sept. 22, North Korea fatally shot the 47-year-old official, who was adrift on its side of the Yellow Sea, and burned his body, according to the South Korean military. He went missing the previous day while on duty near

South Korea said Friday that it is looking into four suspected cases of avian influenza found from wild bird droppings. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said it could take about five days to determine whether the virus is a highly pathogenic strain of bird flu. In October, South Korea reported two outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N8 avian flu in Yongin, just south of Seoul, and the neighboring city of Cheonan, marking the first outbreak in 32 months. South Korea later found

South Korean movie theaters are rolling up their sleeves to receive more film buffs as the 2-meter distancing rule in theaters is set to be lifted under the new five-tier scheme next week. Last week, the South Korean government announced a detailed set of social distancing and stay-in-place mandates to improve antivirus measures and clarify business restrictions in a tailored fashion. It came as the country has reported around 100 cases of COVID-19 per day for more than a month, having success

In their march toward a second straight South Korean baseball championship, the Doosan Bears will be running into the Cinderella team of the season in the penultimate stage of the postseason. The KT Wiz, first-time participants in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason after joining the league in 2015, earned a bye into the best-of-five second round. They put up the second-best record in the regular season. The Bears, as No. 3 seed, had to play an extra round, and knocked off the LG T

대구에서 음주 운전자가 몰던 승용차가 음식물 쓰레기 수거차를 들이받아 환경미화원 1명이 숨지고 2명이 다쳤다. 6일 오전 3시 43분께 대구 수성구 수성구민운동장역 인근 도로에서 30대 운전자가 몰던 BMW 승용차가 음식물 쓰레기 수거차를 추돌했다. 이 사고로 쓰레기 수거차 뒤쪽에 타고 있던 수성구청 소속 50대 환경미화원 1명이 크게 다쳐 병원으로 옮겨졌으나 숨졌다. 또 쓰레기 수거차 운전자와 승용차 동승자 1명이 경상을 입었다. 조사 결과 사고 차량 운전자는 혈중알코올농도가 면허 취소 수준인 것으로 나타났다. 경찰 관계자는 "사고차 운전자와 동승자를 상대로 사고 경위 등을 조사하고 있다"고 말했다. (연합뉴스)

South Korea will maintain Level 1 social distancing regulations under a revised five-tier scheme as the number of new cases remains below 100 this week, the health authority said Friday. The new five-tier scheme, which takes effect Saturday, breaks the current three levels into five -- 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5 and 3 -- based on the average number of daily infections per week, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The new system divides the nation into seven zones to allow

South Korean shares opened higher Friday, as investor sentiment was boosted by an overnight rally on Wall Street caused by eased uncertainties over the US presidential election. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 14.34 points, or 0.59 percent, to 2,428.13 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks continued to fare strong after a four-session winning streak, as investors pinned hopes that stocks will advance after the US election. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq com

KT Corp., a major South Korean telecom operator, said Friday its net income rose 7.9 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier due to cost reduction. Net income reached 230.1 billion won ($204 million) in the July-September period on a consolidated basis, compared with a profit of 213.3 billion won the same quarter a year earlier, according to a regulatory filing. KT said it saved some costs involving its hardware infrastructure for wireless services in the third quarter, which boosted

Major foreign investment banks (IBs) have upgraded their forecasts for South Korea's economic growth for 2020 on growing expectations for an economic recovery, a report showed Friday. As of end-October, nine major global IBs, including Barclays and Goldman Sachs, projected Asia's fourth-largest economy to shrink 1.2 percent this year, compared with their median outlook of a 1.4 percent contraction offered a month earlier, according to the report by the Korea Center for International Finance. T

WASHINGTON,  -- The United States -- and the rest of the world -- continued to wait Thursday for the outcome of the presidential election as vote counting progressed at a snail's pace two days after the polls closed, with Democratic candidate Joe Biden holding razor-thin leads in key states. Both Biden and President Donald Trump still had a chance to win, but the former vice president was nearing a surprise victory in at least three of the six key battleground states that were all won by T

South Korea on Thursday appointed new ambassadors to 11 nations, including Germany and Switzerland, in a regular reshuffle, the foreign ministry said. Roh Tae-kang, former vice culture minister under President Moon Jae-in from 2017-2019, was appointed ambassador to Switzerland, the ministry said. The ministry said Roh "has the experience that will enable him to seek a higher level of cooperation with the host nation, which is ahead in the cultural and tourism sectors." Cho Hyun-

Popular comedian and TV host Jung Hyung-don will take a break from broadcasting to focus on dealing with his anxiety disorder, his agency said Thursday. "Jung Hyung-don has recently felt his long-time anxiety disorder get worse," FNC Entertainment said. "He has decided to halt broadcasting activities for now." The agency said Jung was determined to continue working but decided to prioritize his health and take a break after talks with the agency. "Jung Hyung-don plans

Jeju Air, South Korea's top low-cost carrier, is expected to receive some 190 billion won ($169 million) in state financial support, as the company seeks to overcome a pandemic-caused cash crunch, sources said Thursday. The main creditor, the Export-Import Bank of Korea, has conducted due diligence on Jeju Air and estimated it needs a capital injection of about 198 billion won, according to the sources. In May, South Korea launched a 40 trillion-won fund to provide financial aid to the count

Korean Air Lines, South Korea's biggest carrier, said Thursday its net losses widened in the third quarter from a year earlier amid the pandemic. Net losses widened to 385.93 billion won ($343 million) in the three months that ended in September from 211.85 billion won in the same period of last year, the company said in a statement. Korean Air has suspended most of its flights on international routes since March as travel demand dried up amid virus fears. Flights to Tokyo, Frankfurt, Paris

South Korea's foreign ministry denied a news report Thursday that Seoul's Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee will soon drop out of the race for the new director-general at the World Trade Organization. The Chosun Ilbo reported earlier in the day that the government had made the decision to have Yoo withdraw her candidacy and that she will be making an official announcement in due course. Yoo fell behind her Nigerian rival, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, in the final round of consultations among the 164 memb

The foreign ministry will soon announce highly tightened rules against sexual misconduct committed by foreign service officials posted overseas, a vice foreign minister said Thursday. "(The foreign ministry) has decided to unveil sexual misconduct-related rules that are highly tightened from the existing ones," First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun said during a plenary meeting of the parliamentary Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee. He was responding to Rep. Lee Tae-kyu

Organizations using thermal imaging cameras to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are banned from storing face images under a new government rule to protect privacy, effective as of Thursday. The Personal Information Protection Commission has set the new regulation after its recent inspection found thermal scanners in some offices in Seoul stored footage without the consent of people who were filmed, the government agency said. Under the rule, saving and transmission functions must be turned off

CHEONAN -- As many as 21 workers from a financial company call center in Cheonan have tested positive for the coronavirus, officials said Thursday, prompting the central South Korean city to toughen its social distancing measures in response to the new cluster of infections. According to the municipality of Cheonan, 90 kilometers south of Seoul, a call center run jointly by Shinhan Life Insurance Co. and Shinhan Card Co. reported 20 of its workers were confirmed to be infected with COVID-19 on

K-pop soloist BoA is set to drop an album celebrating her 20th anniversary in the music industry next month, her agency said Thursday. BoA will release her 10th full-length album titled "Better" on Dec. 1, SM Entertainment said in a press release, without elaborating on the album's 11 tracks. The 34-year-old, who debuted in 2000, is one of the first K-pop artists who rose to overseas fame and is often credited for helping "hallyu," or the global popularity of Korean pop mus

South Korea's public health agency said Thursday that a total of 94 people, most of whom were elderly, died after receiving seasonal flu vaccines. The deaths have stoked public anxiety over the safety of such vaccines, but the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said 87 of those deaths have very limited relation with the flu shots. Another seven cases are under investigation. Of the total, 40 people were in their 70s, followed by 38 people aged 80 or older, eight under 60 and e