Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on Friday called for a thorough probe into the deaths of people after being vaccinated against seasonal influenza. As of midnight Thursday, 30 people have died after inoculation, but health authorities found no direct links between the vaccine and fatalities. "I offer my deep condolences to the bereaved families," Chung said at a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters. "The authorities should thoroughly investigate t

South Korean President Moon Jae-in has exchanged congratulatory letters with his Laotian counterpart on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of reestablishing bilateral diplomatic ties, Cheong Wa Dae said Friday. In his letter to Laotian President Bounnhang Vorachith, Moon noted that the two sides have developed friendly cooperation in various fields since 1995. They forged formal diplomatic relations in 1974. South Korea severed diplomatic ties with Laos, which adopted communism, the followin

크리스티아누 호날두(유벤투스)가 신종 코로나바이러스 감염증(코로나19) 재검사에서 양성 판정을 받으면서 다음 주 유럽축구연맹(UEFA) 챔피언스리그에서 예정된 리오넬 메시(바르셀로나)와 '메호대전'이 불발될 위기에 빠졌다. AFP통신은 23일(한국시간) 스카이스포츠 이탈리아, 가제타 델로 스포르트 등 현지 언론 보도를 인용해 "호날두가 코로나19 재검사에서 양성 판정을 받았다"고 보도했다. 호날두는 포르투갈 대표팀에 소집돼 지난 11일 프랑스와 UEFA 네이션스리그 조별리그 경기를 치렀다. 하지만 호날두는 12일 양성 판정을 받아 격리를 시작했고, 13일 다시 검사를 받았지만 여전히 양성 반응이 나왔다. 감염 경로를 알 수 없는 '무증상 감염자'가 된 호날두는 이탈리아 토리노로 돌아와 자가격리에 들어갔고, 지난 21일 실시한 재검사에서도 또다시 양성 반응이 나왔다. 재검사에서도 양성 반응이 나오면서 호날두는 한국시간으로 29일 오전 5시 토리노에서 열리는

A son of the South Korean fisheries official shot dead by North Korea last month has written another letter to President Moon Jae-in, saying he was encouraged by the president's promise to get to the bottom of the incident. The 17-year-old sent the letter Monday, a week after Moon replied to his previous note, according to the late official's elder brother, Lee Rae-jin. "I believe in your words that you will demand accountability where it is warranted, that honor must be restored if (we)

South Korean retail investors' losses from investments in overseas financial derivatives nearly doubled in the first half of the year from a year earlier, data showed Friday. Local individual investors suffered a combined loss of 880 billion won ($775 million) from their exposure to exchange-traded futures, options and other derivatives in the January-June period, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. The amount is almost double their 2019 loss of some 416 billion won.

A cold wave swept across the nation on Friday, with the mercury dipping to near or below zero in Seoul and central areas, weather authorities said. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA), the morning low dropped to minus 4.7 C at Mount Seorak in the northeastern province of Gangwon and minus 3.4 C at nearby Hyangro Peak in Inje, while temperatures dived to the season's lowest in almost all other regions nationwide. The morning low fell to 1.1 C in Seoul's northwestern distr

Irene, a member of popular K-pop act Red Velvet, admitted to allegations that she verbally attacked a stylist during a recent shoot and apologized over the incident. "I sincerely apologize for hurting the stylist with my foolish attitude and careless words and action," Irene said in an Instagram post uploaded Thursday evening, with an image of a plain black square. "There were a lot of people who helped me to get where I am now, and I regret hurting them with immature behavior,&

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un sent floral baskets to China to pay tribute to fallen soldiers from the 1950-53 Korean War, state media said Friday, in an apparent effort to highlight his strong and friendly relations with the ally. This came a day after Kim visited the cemetery of fallen Chinese soldiers in the North's South Pyongan Province and paid his respects to mark the anniversary of their participation in the conflict. Kim sent floral baskets to the cemetery of "the martyrs falle

South Korean stocks opened slightly higher Friday, buoyed by optimism for improved corporate earnings in the third quarter amid the pandemic. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 1.31 points, or 0.06 percent, to 2,356.36 in the first 20 minutes of trading. Stocks started slightly higher despite lingering uncertainties over the ongoing talks for the new US virus relief package. In Seoul, most large caps traded lower. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics traded fla

South Korea will hold a massive nationwide shopping festival involving major retailers, manufacturers and traditional markets in November to attract foreign tourists and boost domestic consumption, organizers said Friday. The annual Korea Sale FESTA will kick off Nov. 1 for a 15-day run, offering items ranging from electronics and furniture to cosmetics and apparel, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and the organizing committee. A total of 1,328 companies are slated to p

WASHINGTON -- North Korea is one of a few nations that pose a threat to cyber security but stands out as an "unique" country that steals money, a senior official from the US Department of Justice said Thursday. John Demers, assistant attorney general for national security, also noted the communist state may be getting support for its illicit cyber activities from China, in terms of know-how and protection. "A lot of it is getting money, getting cash. So on the cyber side very, y

President Moon Jae-in held phone talks Thursday with the leaders of Kazakhstan and Chile in his latest round of diplomacy to secure support for South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee‘s bid for the top post of the World Trade Organization. Moon has so far spoken by phone with the leaders of 13 countries to ask for their backing for Yoo who is competing with Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of Nigeria in the final round for the selection process. The new WTO chief is expected to be announced early n

South Korea‘s health authorities reaffirmed Thursday that the state-initiated seasonal flu shot program will continue despite more suspected deaths, citing no direct link between flu shots and deaths. “There were more reported cases of death; yet, it is the experts’ opinion that there is no direct link between the deaths and the vaccination,” Jeong Eun-kyeong, director of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, said during a parliamentary hearing. As of 4 p.m

President Moon Jae-in said Thursday that the government will invest 10 trillion won ($8.8 billion) into South Korea's "smart city" project nationwide by 2025, as the country aims to become a global leader in the field under the so-called Korean version New Deal initiative. The government plans to supply a relevant data integration platform to each of a total of 108 local authorities by the end of this year that would enable 60 percent of South Koreans to feel the impact of the smart c

The head of South Korea's fair trade watchdog said Thursday her agency will review one of two ongoing probes into Google Inc.'s market competition violations. Since 2016, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) has been investigating Google over allegations that it obstructed local smartphone makers from using operating systems from other rivals. It is also investigating whether Google forced mobile game applications to be only released on its Play store. "The KFTC is currently conductin

An appeals court on Thursday reduced the prison sentence of a former defense minister convicted of political meddling by two months. The Seoul High Court sentenced Kim Kwan-jin, who served as defense minister from 2010 to 2014, to 28 months in prison on charges of ordering the military cyber command to post online comments in favor of the then-conservative government around the general and presidential elections in 2012. The commutation came after a lower court sentenced Kim to 30 months in pr

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha asked the Maldives on Thursday to support a South Korean minister's bid for the top post at the World Trade Organization (WTO), Kang's office said. She made the appeal during phone talks with her Maldivian counterpart, Abdulla Shahid, as Seoul's Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee is running for the WTO director generalship in the final round of the selection process, with the result expected to be announced early next month. In Thursday's talks, they also discussed co

The head of South Korea's ruling party met with the top Japanese envoy to Seoul on Thursday and requested that Tokyo share all information on its planned release of contaminated water from a disabled nuclear power plant in Fukushima, the party leader said. "I urged that all information regarding the disposal of the Fukushima (Daiichi) nuclear power plant's contaminated water should be disclosed transparently and the country should proceed with the plan with consent from the international c

A parcel delivery worker died while on duty this week, the latest in a series of couriers' deaths largely blamed on overwork amid an industry boom due to the coronavirus. An advocacy group said Thursday that Kang Doo-han, 39, who was contracted with CJ Logistics, collapsed at a hub terminal near Seoul at 11:50 p.m. on Tuesday. He was sent to a hospital but died at 1 a.m. on Wednesday, it said. Kang is the 13th worker in the industry who has died this year, at a time when the pandemic has led

Seven American service members have tested positive for the new coronavirus upon arrival in South Korea from the United States this month, the US Forces Korea (USFK) said Thursday. Four of them arrived at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, some 70 kilometers south of Seoul, on US government chartered flights, and the other three arrived on international commercial flights at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, earlier this month, according to the US military. Of them, four individuals tes