Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, the de facto leader of South Korea's top conglomerate, plans to visit Vietnam this week, his second overseas business trip this year after returning from Europe last week, industry sources said Sunday. According to the sources, Lee will depart for Vietnam on Monday and probably meet Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc during his trip to the Southeast Asian nation to discuss possible investment plans. Lee's planned visit to Vietnam marks t

South Korean students will take in-person classes more often starting this week, as attendance cap restrictions in schools have been eased amid a recent drop in new coronavirus cases. The Ministry of Education raised the attendance cap, currently at one-third in elementary and middle schools, and two-thirds in high schools, to two-thirds for all schools last Sunday, in line with the government's relaxed social distancing rules nationwide. The new measure goes into effect on Monday. The minis

South Korea's reliance on trade reached the lowest in three years last year due to a slump in overseas sales, data showed on Sunday. According to the data compiled by Statistics Korea, the reliance on trade, measured by dividing the country's total trade by gross domestic product, stood at 63.51 percent last year, down 2.57 percentage points from a year earlier. The 2019 tally marks the lowest since 2016, when the comparable figure was 60.11 percent, the data showed. The country's reliance on

"학교폭력 가해자가 현재 중앙경찰학교에서 교육받고 있습니다. 학우들을 괴롭힌 범죄자가 경찰이 되면 국민에게 피해가 돌아갈 것입니다." 이달 8일 청와대 국민청원 게시판에 '학교폭력 범죄자가 경찰이 되는 것을 막아주세요!'라는 제목의 글이 올라왔다. 신원을 밝히지 않은 글 작성자 A씨는 중·고등학생 시절 현재 중앙경찰학교 교육생 B씨로부터 학교폭력을 당했다며 ▲ 남자 급소 발로 차고 웃음 ▲ 라이터를 몸 가까이 대며 위협 ▲ 생일선물 주지 않는다고 폭행 ▲ 라면을 일부러 바닥에 쏟은 뒤 치우라고 함 등 구체적인 피해 사실을 열거했다. 그러면서 "피해 사실을 다시 생각하며 이 글을 작성하는 것 자체가 고통"이라며 "학교폭력 범죄자가 과거를 숨기고 국민의 안전을 책임지는 경찰이 되는 것이 걱정된다"고 덧붙였다. 당초 A씨는 B씨의 실명을 적었지만, 청와대 게시판 관리자가 익명으로 바꾼 것으로 전해졌다. 중앙경찰학교

Prosecutor-General Yoon Seok-youl ordered the launch of an investigation into allegations that at least three former and sitting prosecutors were lobbied in connection with a hedge fund scandal, his office said Saturday.  Yoon's order comes after Kim Bong-hyun, a key suspect in a financial fraud case involving Lime Asset Management Co., revealed on Friday that he spent 10 million won ($8,726) to throw a drinking party for former and incumbent prosecutors last year, and one of them took pa

North Korea has discovered another ancient tomb, with mural paintings, believed to be from the sixth century Koguryo era (37B.C.-A.D.668), state media said Saturday. A research group from its cultural heritage agency found the tomb on a hillside in Undok area of Ryonggang County in the western city of Nampo, South Pyongan Province, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. The tomb consists of a burial chamber and passage, with a stone gate of about 125 centimeters tall and 60 meters w

SEJONG--The Sejong National Arboretum, the nation's first urban arboretum located in the center of the central administrative city, was opened to the public on Saturday after eight years of project preparation and construction. The 65-hectare arboretum in Sejong, about 120 kilometers south of Seoul, is South Korea's third national arboretum after ones in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, and Bonghwa, North Gyeongsang Province. The Sejong arboretum, the size of 90 football fields, is also the first n

South Korea voiced "deep regrets" on Saturday 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. Earlier in the day, Suga sent a "masakaki" tree to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo in line with an annual autumn festival. It marked the first time that Suga sent such an offering to the war shrine since he took office in September. He succeeded his predecessor Shinzo Abe, who resigne

Choi Ji-man of the Tampa Bay Rays struck out in his only plate appearance as his club suffered its third straight loss in the American League Champions Series (ALCS). With the South Korean first baseman benched, the Rays fell to the Houston Astros 7-4 in Game 6 of the ALCS at Petco Park in San Diego on Friday (local time). After winning the first three games of the best-of-seven series, the Rays have dropped three in a row to be pushed into the do-or-die Game 7. The series-deciding game will b

South Korean shares are likely to move in a tight range in the coming week amid rising uncertainties from the presidential election and stimulus talks in the United States, analysts said on Saturday. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 2,341.53 points on Friday, dropping 2.11 percent from the previous Thursday, the last session before the holiday weekend. Local analysts attributed the KOSPI's weekly decline to the resurgence in COVID-19 outbreaks at home. South K

South Korea's new coronavirus cases rebounded above 50 on Saturday on cluster infections, putting health authorities on alert over a potential uptick in daily infections amid eased virus curbs. The country added 73 more COVID-19 cases, including 62 domestic infections, raising the total caseload to 25,108, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). It marked a rise from 47 daily cases Friday but a decline from 110 cases Thursday, when more than 50 reported cases were

Two South Korean fishermen kidnapped in waters off Ghana in August have been released, their company said Saturday. The two were abducted on Aug. 28 when their Ghanaian-flagged fishing vessel was attacked by a group of armed militants in waters 200 kilometers southeast of Ghana. The boat had a total of 50 crew members, but the militants had only taken the two South Koreans hostage, Seoul officials said earlier.  "The crew members were released just now," an official from their

Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae on Friday ordered immediate inspections of prosecutors whom a jailed businessman allegedly lobbied in connection with a hedge fund scandal. Kim Bong-hyun, a key suspect in a financial fraud case involving Lime Asset Management Co., claimed earlier in the day that he lobbied prosecutors and politicians in both the ruling and opposition camps before the investigation was launched early this year. In a statement issued from prison, Kim claimed that he had his lawyer t

The prosecution said Friday it raided a few businesses and a state agency in connection with its investigation into a financial fraud scandal at a private equity investment company. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office raided a regional branch of the Korea Communications Agency (KCA) in Incheon, the headquarters of Daishin Securities in central Seoul and Gangnam N Tower in southern Seoul to secure materials related to the allegations that the state agency was lobbied by Optimus Asset

   South Korea's top automaker Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp. may see their combined share in the European market surpass 7 percent for the first time this year, industry watchers said Friday. Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors sold 101,322 vehicles in Europe in September, down 0.8 percent from a year earlier and representing a 7.8 percent market share, according to the two companies. Hyundai's sales declined 4.6 percent on-year to 49,439 units in Europe last month, w

The top economic policymakers of Korea and China held talks for the first time in nearly three years Friday, focused on ways to boost tourism battered by the new coronavirus outbreak. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki had the virtual meeting with his Chinese counterpart He Lifeng, chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, according to Seoul's finance ministry. The high-level economic talks were last held in February 2018. They discussed ways to bolster exchanges in the tourism an

    Prosecutors are seeking a 20-year prison term for Cho Jae-beom, a former national short track speed skating coach, for his alleged sexual assault of Olympic champion Shim Suk-hee. Prosecutors in Suwon, 45 kilometers south of Seoul in Gyeonggi Province, also asked the local court Friday to restrict Cho's employment for 10 years and place him on probation for five years. Cho is accused of having sexually abused and assaulted Shim on multiple occasions from 2014 to 2017. He ha

US Forces Korea (USFK) said Friday that it will ease anti-coronavirus restrictions for its personnel in the greater Seoul area in step with the South Korean government's recent lowering of its social distancing level following drops in new cases.  Last month, the US military lowered the Health Protection Condition (HPCON) level by one notch to the second-lowest level of "Bravo" from "Charlie," except for Area II defined as the greater Seoul area, including the western c

Another delivery worker died recently while on duty, an advocacy group said Friday, after dealing with a heavy workload due to the new coronavirus outbreak. A temporary worker in his 20s, affiliated with leading ecommerce operator Coupang, died Monday, according to a committee supporting Coupang workers damaged by the new coronavirus outbreak. At a distribution center in Chilgok, about 210 kilometers southeast of Seoul, the man worked for eight hours per day, five days per week, like regular w

South Korea's government has been acknowledged as having the most advanced digital capabilities among Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, the Ministry of Interior and Safety said Friday, citing an OECD report. The country ranked No. 1 among 33 countries surveyed for "Digital Government Index(DGI): 2019," the first-ever report published by the OECD that measures the level of digitalization, efficiency and transparency of public sectors of 29 member c