South Korea on Monday eased regulations to allow for environment friendly ways to utilize used batteries from electric vehicles. The approval came as the number of scrapped EV batteries is anticipated to increase sharply down the road with the country's green energy drive, which centers on promoting EVs and hydrogen fuel-cell cars. "While the used EV batteries can have adverse impacts on the environment, they can create new business opportunities when recycled," the Ministry of Trade

Combined sales by South Korea's retail giants are estimated to have declined more than 2 trillion won ($1.75 billion) on-year in the first nine months of this year on the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, a poll showed Monday. Industry leader Lotte Shopping and its rivals Shinsegae and Hyundai Department Store are projected to have posted a combined 17.3 trillion won in sales in the January-September period, down 2.2 trillion won from the previous year, according to the survey by Yonhap Infomax

지난해 홍콩 민주화 시위 당시 사라졌던 64세의 여성이 14개월만에 나타나 지난 1년간 중국에 구금됐었다고 밝혔다. 19일 홍콩 매체 등에 따르면 홍콩 민주화 운동가 알렉산드라 웡은 지난 17일 홍콩에서 기자회견을 열고 지난해 8월 14일 중국 광둥(廣東)성 선전(深천<土+川>)시 접경지대 검문소에서 체포된 후 1년 이상 선전시에 있는 자신의 집에서 갇혀지냈다고 말했다. 홍콩인으로 14년째 선전에 거주하는 그는 홍콩 민주화 운동에 적극 참여하면서 '그랜마 웡'(웡 할머니)이라는 별칭을 얻기도 했다. 그는 시위 현장에서 종종 영국 국기를 흔들고 있는 모습이 사진에 포착되기도 했다. 웡은 "검문소에서 경찰들이 나를 큰 방으로 데려가 수색한 후 푸톈구 경찰서로 이송해 심문하고, 시위활동에 참여한 행동을 후회한다는 내용의 조서에 서명하라고 했다"고 밝혔다. 그는 푸톈 구금시설에 15일간 갇혀있었고 이후 다른 곳으로 옮겨져 30일간 형사 구금됐었다고 설명했

LG Electronics Inc. said Monday it has signed a partnership with Italian luxury furniture maker Molteni&C SPA to better promote its high-end brand LG Signature. Under the deal, the two sides will collaborate in marketing, promotion and product development related with LG Signature home appliances, Molteni&C residential furniture and Dada kitchen furniture for the next three years. The South Korean tech firm said the collaboration will create synergy between their premium brands and d

The Ministry of Education's expansion of in-person classes at schools went into effect Monday amid a growing concern over a widening learning gap and a recent drop in new coronavirus cases. The ministry raised the attendance cap, previously at one-third for elementary and middle schools, and two-thirds at high schools, to two-thirds for all schools on Oct. 11, in line with the government's decision to relax social distancing guidelines nationwide. The ministry said schools in the greater Seoul

South Korean stocks opened higher Monday on investors' bargain hunting rush following a drop for four straight days. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) advanced 15.37 points, or 0.66 percent, to 2,356.9 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks came to a strong start, led by gains in tech and bio firms. Most large caps traded higher, with top market cap Samsung Electronics adding 1.18 percent and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix gaining 1.88 percent. Giant pharmaceutical firm

LG Display Co., a major display maker in South Korea, is expected to return to the black in the third quarter of the year, analysts here said Monday, on the back of a price increase in LCD panels and solid demand for displays used in IT gadgets amid the pandemic-driven stay-at-home economy. LG Display was projected to log 6.8 trillion won ($5.9 billion) in sales in the July-September period, up 17 percent from a year earlier, while its operating profit was estimated at 106 billion won, shiftin

South Korea may set an annual ceiling on duty-free direct purchases from foreign countries by its citizens starting in 2022, officials said Monday. The Korea Customs Service (KCS) has recently broached the idea of setting a cap on the duty-free amount of South Koreans' overseas direct purchases in an effort to enliven domestic consumption. Currently, South Koreans are exempt from duties or value-added taxes if the price of an item bought directly from overseas is $150 or lower. There is no up

Son Heung-min has found the back of the net again for Tottenham Hotspur to stay tied for the Premier League scoring lead, though his latest effort was overshadowed by the club's dismal second-half effort. Fresh off an international break, the South Korean star picked up a goal and an assist within the first eight minutes of the Premier League match against West Ham United at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Sunday (local time). Son helped the Spurs open up a 3-0 lead at halftime, but the

South Korea's national debt is expected to soar over the next four years, which may have a negative impact on the country's creditworthiness, a report said Monday. In particular, Seoul's interest-bearing state debt is likely to rocket nearly 78 percent over the period based on the government's 2020-24 fiscal management plan, the report from the Korea Institute of Public Finance (KIPF) said. According to the government plan, South Korea's debt that has to be repaid with tax revenues is forecast

A 47-year-old Korean-born woman adopted by an American family 44 years ago has reunited with her biological family after conducting a DNA test through a South Korean mission in the United States, the foreign ministry said Friday. On Thursday, Yoon Sang-ae, now an American citizen, had a tearful video call with her 78-year-old biological mother, Lee Eung-soon, her twin sister, Yoon Sang-hee, and brother, Yoon Sang-myung. Yoon Sang-ae was three years old when she went missing while at a market

The head of ruling Democratic Party, Lee Nak-yon, met with a senior Japanese politician, Takeo Kawamura, on Sunday and discussed ways to improve bilateral ties, Lee said. During the 40-minute closed-door meeting in Seoul, Lee expressed regrets over Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's sending of a ritual offering to a war shrine seen as a symbol of Japan's past militarism the previous day. It was Suga's first offering to the war shrine since he took office in September. He succeeded Shinz

US National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien will visit Seoul next month, probably after the US presidential election, Cheong Wa Dae said Sunday. Presidential spokesman Kang Min-seok said during a briefing that Suh Hoon, director of South Korea's National Security Office, asked his counterpart to visit Seoul during their meeting at the White House last week. Kang expected O'Brien's visit to take place after the US presidential election on Nov. 3. During his visit, "Suh met with other seni

South Korea's top full service carrier Korean Air Lines Co. is seeking to raise an additional 1.5 trillion won ($1.3 billion) in cash to overcome a prolonged, industrywide slump amid the pandemic, industry sources said Sunday. Korean Air plans to sell a lot of land in downtown Seoul to the Seoul city government for at least 500 billion won and get a subsidy of 1 trillion won from the government within this year. Korean Air has been in negotiations with the city government to sell its land in

A number of South Korean companies are in the process of going public in the fourth quarter this year, in a bid to ride on the latest successful initial public offering (IPO) rush, data showed Sunday. After suffering a pandemic-caused market crash in the first half, the local stock market rebounded to the pre-pandemic level, wooing more firms to tap the IPO market during the remainder of the year. Some mega-scale deals, such as Kakao Games and Big Hit Entertainment, raised some tens of trilli

South Korean shippers, led by industry leader HMM Co., are forecast to post strong earnings in the third quarter of the year on the back of increased fare and a drop in fuel costs, industry sources said Sunday. "A gradual recovery in global maritime cargo volume pushed up global freight rates as the supply of cargo service fell short of rising demand," Jung Yeon-sung, an analyst at NH Investment & Securities Co., said in his recent report. The Shanghai Containerized Freight Ind

CGV, the country's largest movie chain, said Sunday it will raise ticket prices starting Oct. 26, as the prolonged pandemic has dealt a serious blow to its bottom line. The chain said ticket prices will rise to 12,000 won ($10) and 13,000 won for films on show after 1 p.m on weekdays and on weekends (Friday to Sunday), respectively. It will also remove the current seat grade system in which pricing depends on the distance from the screen -- economy, standard and prime -- and in which seats in

The Tampa Bay Rays and their South Korean first baseman Choi Ji-man are World Series bound. Choi went 2-for-3 with a walk and scored a late insurance run, helping the Rays beat the Houston Astros 4-2 in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series (ALCS) at Petco Park in San Diego on Saturday (local time). Choi is now poised to become the first South Korean batter to play in the World Series. Three South Koreans who have been there before Choi have all been pitchers: Kim Byung-hyun (2001

A North Korean propaganda outlet on Sunday slammed South Korea over a media report that Seoul approached Washington to purchase nuclear fuel for a nuclear-powered submarine. Meari, one of the North's propaganda websites, called a visit by Kim Hyun-chong, South Korea's deputy national security adviser, and his alleged talks with Washington, an "extremely dangerous" act that "destroys the peace of the Korean Peninsula, heightens tension and triggers an arms race." Early this

A trial will begin this week for Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong in a high-profile succession case, less than two months after he was formally charged with violation of capital market laws. The Seoul Central District Court will hold a session on Thursday, calling both parties -- the prosecution and Lee, the vice chairman of Samsung Electronics -- to present their opinions and key arguments, a process aimed at enhancing the efficiency of an upcoming trial. On Sept. 1, Lee was charged with unfair trad