Popular areas in the South Korean capital were bustling with crowds celebrating Halloween on Saturday despite continued warnings by authorities against potential new coronavirus transmissions. While most major clubs in the popular areas of Hongdae, Itaewon and Gangnam were closed as part of precautionary measures, people instead flocked to bars in the areas to enjoy the weekend. Itaewon in the central Seoul ward of Yongsan was crowded with people wearing Halloween costumes. The lines to sign d

South Korea's outbound shipments dipped 3.6 percent in October from a year earlier on fewer working days and virus resurgence, snapping the previous month's brief rebound, data showed Sunday. Outbound shipments came to $44.9 billion last month, compared to $46.6 billion a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Imports moved down 5.8 percent to $39 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $5.9 billion. The latest figure roughly falls in line

The interim manager for the South Korean baseball club SK Wyverns has resigned, leaving a leadership vacuum for a team coming off its worst season in 20 years. The Wyverns of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) announced Saturday bench coach Park Kyung-oan, who served as interim skipper in the absence of ailing Youm Kyoung-youb, expressed his intent to resign following their season finale from the previous night. The club accepted his resignation Saturday. Youm fell ill and briefly lost con

South Korea's public health agency said Saturday that a total of 83 people, most of whom are elderly, died after being administered with a seasonal flu vaccine. The deaths have stoked public anxiety over the safety of flu vaccines, but the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said the deaths of 72 people have very limited relation with the flu shots. Another 11 cases are currently under investigation. Of the total, 37 people are in their 70s, followed by 34 people aged 80 or old

The SK Wyverns wasted no time filling up their foreign player quota for next season, as they retained a veteran Canadian infielder and newly acquired two pitchers less than 24 hours after finishing up a disappointing 2020 campaign. The Wyverns announced Saturday, one day after their final Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) regular season game, that they have re-signed first baseman Jamie Romak for his fifth season. Then they added right-handers Wilmer Font and Artie Lewicki to their staff. The

An additional case of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) has been confirmed in South Korea, bringing the total caseload to three, health authorities said Saturday. The 14-year-old girl was admitted to a hospital and recovered from the disease earlier this year, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). KDCA has conducted an investigation into eight suspected MIS-C cases and confirmed that a total of three children had the syndrome that affects seve

BORYEONG/TAEAN -- Three South Koreans were killed and 19 others were injured after their fishing boat collided with a bridge pier on the country's west coast earlier Saturday, the Korea Coast Guard said. The accident occurred at around 5:41 a.m. when the 9.77-ton boat carrying 21 recreational fishermen and a skipper collided with one of the piers of a bridge connecting Anmyeon Island and Wonsan Island. Three out of the four men found unconscious by the Coast Guard were pronounced dead at hospi

The al-Shabab Islamic extremist group used what appears to be a North Korean mortar in an apparent attack against the United Nations compound in Somalia earlier this year, a UN panel has said, in a sign of possible arms deals between the two sides. The al-Qaida-linked group carried out six separate mortar attacks on the international airport in the Somalian capital, Mogadishu, between February and May. One of the attacks involved four 60-mm mortar rounds that were fired in the direction of th

K-pop megastar BTS will debut its highly anticipated new single, called "Life Goes On," at a US music award show next month, the band's agency said Saturday. The seven-member boy band will hold a live performance at this year's American Music Awards scheduled for Nov. 22 (local time), according to Big Hit Entertainment. The upcoming new album, "BE (Deluxe Edition)," will be released next month, following February's "Map Of The Soul: 7." Other details of the lea

He gave it a good run, but Mel Rojas Jr. of the KT Wiz has ultimately come up short of winning a South Korean baseball batting Triple Crown. The 30-year-old outfielder led the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) in the regular season with 47 home runs and 135 RBIs. He built such substantial leads in those two categories down the stretch that the only suspense was whether he would also win the batting title and take home the Triple Crown. The best Rojas Jr. can hope for now is to finish second i

South Korean shares are likely to face high volatility in the coming week, with key political developments, including the US presidential election and new coronavirus outbreaks, expected to roil global financial markets, analysts said Saturday. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 2,267.15 points on Friday, down 3.97 percent from a week ago. Local analysts said the KOSPI could receive an upward push in the coming week from hopes for third-quarter earnings hikes a

South Korea's new coronavirus cases rose by triple digits for the fourth straight day Saturday as cluster infections across the country continued to pile up amid eased social distancing measures. The country added 127 more COVID-19 cases, including 96 domestic infections, raising the total caseload to 26,511, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). It marked a rise from 103 new cases reported Wednesday, 125 on Thursday and 114 on Friday, it said. The latest uptic

Starter Raul Alcantara tossed eight shutout innings for his league-leading 20th win, as the Doosan Bears blanked the Kiwoom Heroes 2-0 at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul to close out their Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) regular season on Friday. Alcantara lost his perfect game bid with two outs in the sixth inning, while allowing just two hits and striking out five to finish the season at 20-2 with a 2.54 ERA. The Bears scored a run in each of the first two innings, and Alcantara made tha

The prosecution on Friday raided two brokerage houses in connection with a snowballing financial fraud scandal involving a hedge fund, officials said. Investigators from the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors Office raided the headquarters of Shinhan Investment Corp. and Korea Investment & Securities Co. in western Seoul to secure materials related to Lime Asset Management. Shinhan faces disciplinary action from the Financial Supervisory Service for misselling Lime funds. Lime is under

South Korea on Friday banned imports of poultry from the Netherlands after a highly pathogenic strain of bird flu was found in the country. The Dutch government announced on Thursday that chickens on a farm in the central province of Gelderland were infected with a highly contagious variant of avian influenza (AI). South Korea's agriculture ministry said it imposed an import ban on all poultry and poultry products from the country. The ministry added it would enhance monitoring of fowl at

South Korea's telecommunications regulator on Friday ordered a six-month suspension of services for cable TV channel MBN for accounting fraud in an unprecedented heavy punishment of a broadcaster in the country. The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) said MBN manipulated its balance sheet in 2011 to conceal a portion of the capital raised under borrowed names of its employees. MBN's move was part of its plans to raise 300 billion won, the minimum requirement to acquire a license to operate

The annual Seoul Lantern Festival kicked off Friday for a 78-day run across four special tourism zones hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, the city government said. The venue was moved from Cheonggye Stream in central Seoul to four neighborhoods -- Jamsil, Itaewon, Dongdaemun and Myeongdong -- that saw a sharp decline in tourism this year, the government said in a press release. "We hope that through this event, our citizens who are exhausted from COVID-19 will receive comfort and that

A North Korean propaganda outlet said Friday that the Korean War was the result of invasion by US imperialists, calling it a shameless distortion of history to claim that the North started the war. Uriminzokkiri renewed the North's long-held claim after Chinese President Xi Jinping recently caused a stir by saying that the 1950-53 conflict was the fight against US "imperialist invaders." The Korean War broke out after North Korean troops invaded the South on June 25, 1950, with backi

LG Electronics Inc. said Friday its net profit nearly doubled in the third quarter from a year earlier on the back of strong global demand for its TVs and home appliances amid the coronavirus pandemic. The South Korean tech giant said its net income reached 649.2 billion won ($573.6 million) in the July-September period, up 87.8 percent from 345.7 billion won the previous year. Its third-quarter operating income stood at 959 billion won, up 22.7 percent on-year, while sales reached 16.9 trilli

South Korean shares plunged more than 2.5 percent Friday, as major tech giants suffered a slump from massive foreign sell-offs. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) plunged 59.52 points, or 2.56 percent, to close at 2,267.15. Trading volume was high at about 775 million shares worth some 11.5 trillion won ($10.1 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 753 to 123. Stocks widened losses following a weak start, led by a retreat in