GENEVA -- South Korea's trade minister has failed to drum up landslide support from member countries of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to head the global trade body, with her Nigerian rival standing ahead in a two-way race, the outcome of a WTO General Council meeting showed Wednesday. The WTO said Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of Nigeria has garnered more support from the WTO's 164 member states than South Korea's Yoo Myung-hee. As the process to pick the new director-general of the WTO is based on

President Moon Jae-in reaffirmed South Korea's commitment Thursday to continued cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the international community against COVID-19. He was replying to a Twitter message by WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus regarding Seoul's "effective" handling of the pandemic. Moon thanked him for speaking highly of what South Korea has done so far. "Korea's response has been relatively successful thanks to our people who have tu

WASHINGTON -- Establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula will remain the ultimate goal of the US-South Korea alliance regardless of who wins the upcoming US presidential election, South Korea's top diplomat in the United States said Wednesday. Ambassador Lee Soo-hyuck said that both the Republican and Democratic parties agree on the need to denuclearize North Korea and establish lasting peace on the peninsula. "Regardless of which government comes next, making the establishment of a peace

Duty-free sales in South Korea edged up in September on increased purchases by Chinese vendors, industry data showed Thursday. Combined sales at duty-free shops in Asia's fourth-largest economy came to 1.48 trillion won ($1.31 billion) last month, up about 40 billion won from the previous month, according to the Korea Duty Free Shops Association. It marked the fifth straight month of gains since April when sales fell below the 1 trillion-won threshold for the first time in four years. Despite

South Korea's top internet portal operator Naver Corp. said Thursday its net profit nearly tripled in the third quarter from a year earlier on the back of booming online goods transactions on its platform amid the pandemic. Net profit reached 235.3 billion won ($207.5 million) in the July-September period, up 176 percent from 85.3 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. Operating income reached 291.7 billion won in the third quarter, up 1.8 percent from the previou

South Korea urged Japan on Thursday to show more sincerity to resolve a prolonged row over wartime forced labor and swiftly remove its export curbs on Seoul, the foreign ministry said. Kim Jung-han, director general for Asia and Pacific affairs at the foreign ministry, delivered the position during a meeting in Seoul with his Japanese counterpart, Shigeki Takizaki, in their first talks since Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga took office last month. "Director General Kim again explai

Samsung Electronics Co. on Thursday expected its profitability to worsen in the fourth quarter after delivering a forecast-beating performance in the third quarter on its better-than-expected chip business and demand for its mobile and home appliance products amid the pandemic. The world's largest memory chip and smartphone vendor said its net profit amounted to 9.36 trillion won ($8.3 billion) in the third quarter, up 48.9 percent from a year earlier. Operating profit jumped 58.8 percent on-y

WASHINGTON -- North Korea's denuclearization would bring prosperity to the communist country, instead of the collapse of its regime as feared by leader Kim Jong-un, the top US security adviser said Wednesday. National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien said that was the vision President Donald Trump tried to lay out for Kim, for which he insisted the US leader deserved praise. "There is a lot of concern on the North Korean side that if the Kim family gives up their nuclear weapons, it could

Amorepacific Corp. said Wednesday its third-quarter net profit declined 93.1 percent from a year earlier as sales of its cosmetics at offline channels were hit by the new coronavirus outbreak. Net income came to 7 billion won ($6.2 million) in the July-September period, compared with 102.3 billion won a year earlier, South Korea's largest cosmetics maker said in a regulatory filing. From three months earlier, net profit rose 4.6 percent. Operating profit declined 48 percent on-year to 56 bill

A Japanese diplomat arrived in Seoul on Wednesday for talks with his South Korean counterparts amid a prolonged row between the two countries over Tokyo's wartime forced labor and export curbs. Shigeki Takizaki, director general at the Japanese foreign ministry's Asian and Oceanian affairs bureau, began his three-day visit on his first trip to South Korea since Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga took office last month. On Thursday, Takizaki is set to hold separate talks with Kim Jung-han,

Kim Ki-duk, an internationally acclaimed filmmaker, has lost a compensation suit he filed against an actress and a local broadcaster, both of whom raised allegations of his sex crimes. The Seoul Western District Court on Wednesday ruled for the defendants, dismissing Kim's claims that the actress and the broadcaster MBC falsely accused him of sexual assault, thereby defaming him. The director, who was at the center of a massive #MeToo scandal from 2017-2018, had sought 1 billion won ($885,740)

South Korea decided to donate $10 million to a multilateral platform designed to fund coronavirus vaccine distributions to developing countries, the foreign ministry said Wednesday. The money will be provided to the COVID-19 Vaccines Advance Market Commitment (COVAX AMC) to procure vaccines through pre-purchase contracts with manufacturers and distribute them to the relatively more vulnerable regions, the ministry said in a release. The COVAX AMC is run by the Gavi vaccine alliance, an inter

Lee Soo-man, the chief producer and founder of one of South Korea's biggest music agencies SM Entertainment, mentioned the potential of online concerts, robots and avatars in the future for the K-pop industry during a forum here Wednesday. The company, which manages K-pop megastars EXO, SHINee and NCT, was one of the first in the music industry to hold an online concert this year as the new coronavirus pandemic prompted governments to mandate social distancing and effectively blocked traditiona

A front-runner in the race for the helm of the World Trade Organization (WTO) is set to be revealed Wednesday, as South Koreans are holding their breath to watch the fate of their country's finalist candidate, Yoo Myung-hee, in the hard-fought contest. Wrapping up the monthslong selection process marked by intense power politics and behind-the-scenes diplomacy, the WTO is set to notify its member states of the outcome of the third and last round of consultations during which they indicated thei

Korea Post said Wednesday it has tested a self-driving mail delivery vehicle, joining the country's race to introduce unmanned delivery services. The agency said it tested the vehicle, developed by PostCube Co., a local automatic postal service developer, at the Korea University Sejong Campus in the central city of Sejong, 120 kilometers south of Seoul, delivering a package to a student on campus. The unmanned vehicle, which serves as a standalone post office, has a digital kiosk inside that a

A gathering at a golf club in Yongin, south of Seoul, has emerged as a new hotbed for cluster infections of the new coronavirus, health authorities said Wednesday. Virus cases traced to the golf gathering that took place on Oct. 17 came to 42, up 11 from a day earlier, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Of them, 16 were participants, 25 were family members and acquaintances and one was a golf club employee, it said. The gathering was organized as part of an a

South Korean shares ended their two-day losing streak Wednesday, helped by a tech rally, amid intensifying woes over the pandemic. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 14.42 points, or 0.62 percent, to close at 2,345.26. Trading volume was moderate at about 695 million shares worth some 8.8 trillion won ($7.8 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 615 to 237. Foreigners bought a net 15 billion won, with retail investors pu

Hyundai Electric & Energy Systems Co. said Wednesday it will make inroads into the renewable energy market in cooperation with Pacifico Energy Korea, a South Korean unit of US Pacifico Energy. Under the preliminary deal with renewable energy developer Pacifico Energy Korea, Hyundai Electric, a unit of global giant shipbuilding group Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, will design and build an industrial energy storage system (ESS) and large-scale renewable power plants, the company said in an

South Korea's medical care aid for people in the low-income bracket rose nearly 10 percent in 2019 to surpass the 8 trillion won mark for the first time, data showed Wednesday. Low-incomers' medical costs covered by the country's national health insurance came to 8.4 trillion won ($7.43 billion) last year, up 9.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the National Health Insurance Service. State medical aid for low-income households had been on a steady rise since reaching 5.9

Audi Volkswagen Korea Group Managing Director Rene Koneberg has been named the head of South Korea's imported vehicle association, the association said Wednesday. Koneberg has been serving as vice chairman of the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association (KAIDA) since 2018. His appointment comes months after KAIDA suspended Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (FCA) Korea President Pablo Rosso from his KAIDA chairman position over alleged sexual misconduct in July. Koneberg began his