South Korean shares plunged to a more than one-month low on Thursday, as investors turned risk-averse following overnight Wall Street decline over withering hopes of a quick economic recovery. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 60.54 points, or 2.59 percent, to close at 2,272.7. Trading volume was moderate at about 706 million shares worth some 12.3 trillion won ($10.5 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 831 to 68. Fo

Renault Samsung Motors Corp. said Thursday it will suspend its sole plant in South Korea until mid-October to control inventories amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Renault Samsung will halt the operation of the Busan plant, 450 kilometers southeast of Seoul, from Friday through Oct. 18, a company spokesman said over the phone. "The plant will be suspended for 11 working days as the Chuseok holiday falls on Sept. 30 and lasts through Oct. 5 for carmakers," he said. The company and its l

The low-ranking South Korean fisheries official who was shot and burned by North Korea earlier this week after going missing in the Yellow Sea had financial problems, his colleagues said Thursday. The 47-year-old official, who belongs to the West Sea Fisheries Management Service, an organ under the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, once considered filing for bankruptcy because of debt, they said. The official, whose identity was withheld, divorced four months ago and had reportedly borrowed m

South Korean business lobby groups said Thursday a series of bills that they claim would hurt corporate activities should be further discussed as they will have a far-reaching impact on their business operations and the economy as well. The government is pushing to pass a package of bills to prevent power abuse by large conglomerates, help improve corporate governance structures and strengthen the financial health of financial companies. Also, the government is seeking to expand class-action

Fourth-year medical students are willing to take the state medical licensing exam after boycotting it in protest of the government's medical workforce reform plan, their representatives said Thursday. Senior students have been boycotting the state licensing exam, which took place earlier this month, urging the government to withdraw its plan to increase admission quotas at medical schools. Fourth-year students from a total of 40 medical schools across the country said they intend to take the e

Dolby Laboratories Inc., a US-based audio and imaging technology giant, said Thursday it has signed a deal to supply its advanced cinema solutions to local multiplex operator Megabox for the next five years. Under the deal, Dolby Labs will provide its auditorium package to Megabox, starting with its movie theaters in Gyeonggi Province. The value of the contract was not revealed. The auditorium package consists of Dolby Labs' speakers, integrated media servers, cinema processors, and multicha

South Korean President Moon Jae-in had phone talks with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Thursday, during which he proposed that the two countries seek an "optimum" resolution to the wartime forced labor issue at the center of soured bilateral relations. Moon noted there are different positions between the two sides on the issue of South Korean victims of Japan's World War II forced labor but expressed hope that Seoul and Tokyo will explore an "optimum" solution th

South Korea's economy is expected to deteriorate further in the second half of the year due to the prolonged coronavirus pandemic, a leading private think tank said Thursday. Asia's fourth-largest economy is likely to contract 3.8 percent on-year in the July-December period, worse than a 2.9 percent contraction projected in the second quarter, according to the Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI). After posting a negative growth rate of 0.7 percent in the first half, the economy is project

COVID-19 is weighing heavily on charities this Chuseok season, with funds drying up and volunteers slow to offer their services due to fear of the virus. Chuseok, the Korean equivalent of Thanksgiving, falls next Thursday this year at a time of heightened vigilance over the possible further spread of the coronavirus. The government has urged the nation to refrain from the Chuseok tradition of traveling to hometowns and meeting in large groups with relatives to help contain the virus. Charity

More than two in every 10 South Korean listed companies are unlikely to service their debts with earnings this year due to the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, South Korea's central bank said Thursday. The Bank of Korea estimated that 21.4 percent of the listed companies will have an interest coverage ratio below 1 this year. Last year, the proportion of marginal companies hit a record high of 14.8 percent since the central bank began compiling related data in 2010. The interest coverag

최근 며칠 사이에 세계 곳곳에서 죄수들이 교도소 땅 밑을 파고 탈옥에 잇따라 성공해 영화 '쇼생크 탈출'을 떠오르게 한다. 24일 현지 언론들에 따르면 러시아 남부 다게스탄 공화국의 한 교도소에서 살인과 마약 등 강력범죄를 저지르고 수감 중이던 6명의 죄수가 50ｍ가 넘는 땅굴을 통해 집단으로 탈옥했다. 교정 당국은 지난 22일(이하 현지시간) 저녁 정기검사에서 뒤늦게 땅굴의 정체를 파악한 후 6명이 탈옥했음을 알아차렸다. 땅굴의 길이는 정확히 공개되지 않았지만, 교도소 안에서 울타리를 넘어갔다는 점에서 50ｍ 이상 될 것으로 추정됐다. 거대한 땅굴을 무슨 장비로 팠는지에 대한 궁금증도 커지고 있다. 땅굴의 규모로 봤을 때 탈옥한 수감자들이 적어도 1년 이상 굴을 파는 데 시간을 보냈을 것으로 관측됐다. 문제는 장기형을 선고받은 강력범죄들이 집단 탈옥해 다시 또 어떤 범죄를 저지를지 주민들이 공포에 떨고 있다는 점이다. 일각에서는 외부 세력이 이들의 탈옥에 도움을 줬다는

The government will propose a bill that will make class actions available in all areas beyond the securities field, the justice ministry said Thursday, in an effort to solve collective disputes and compensate victims more efficiently. The Ministry of Justice said it will announce the legislation plan Monday to enable class actions to be applied to all cases with more than 50 victims. All the victims will be bounded by the final judgment or a settlement unless they choose to opt out of the proce

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a lower court's prison sentences for Jung Joon-young and Choi Jong-hoon, two South Korean singers convicted of rape and other crimes. In May, Jung, a disgraced singer and TV personality, and Choi, a former member of boy band FT Island, were sentenced to five years and 2 1/2 years, respectively, in prison by an appeals court on charges including sexually assaulting women in 2016. Jung and Choi received prison terms of six and five years, respectively, from

K-pop boy band SuperM presented its television debut performance of its new single "One (Monster & Infinity)" on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" in the United States on Wednesday (US time). The seven-member project group under SM Entertainment presented a pre-recorded performance of the song, the lead track off the group's upcoming inaugural studio album "Super One," on the popular American talk show. "One" was pre-released Wednesday. The full album will

LG Electronics Inc. on Thursday added three new models to its budget smartphone lineup as the South Korean tech firm targets to expand its mobile sales. The K62, the K52 and the K42 have been added to LG's K series family and will be launched next month starting in Europe. LG did not reveal prices of the new smartphones. All three models have a 6.6-inch punch-hole display with a 20:9 aspect ratio, and a quad-rear camera setup. They all pack a 4,000-mAh battery. The K42 sports a 13-megapixe

Samsung Electronics Co. on Thursday launched two new charging accessories for mobile devices in South Korea. Samsung's new Wireless Charger Trio can charge up to three mobile devices, such as smartphones, wireless earbuds and smartwatches, at the same time. The pad has six charging coils, offering better charging surface coverage. The multi-device charging station comes in two colors, white and black, and has a price tag of 99,000 won ($85). Samsung also released a power bank that boasts 2

North Korea shot a missing South Korean official to death and burned his body earlier this week, the defense ministry confirmed Thursday, condemning its "brutality" and calling for explanations and punishment for those responsible. The 47-year-old official affiliated with the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries disappeared from the 499-ton boat before noon Monday while on duty aboard an inspection boat in waters off the western border island of Yeonpyeong. "North Korea found the ma

K-pop super group BTS on Wednesday presented a special message at the 75th United Nations General Assembly, urging the world's youth to remember and seek out their dreams despite the challenges that they may face from the COVID-19 pandemic. "Now more than ever, we must remember who we are and face who we are. We must try to love ourselves and imagine the future," group leader RM said in a pre-recorded speech presented during the high-level meeting of the UN Group of Friends of Solida

North Korea's official newspaper on Thursday lauded elite party members dispatched for reconstruction work in typhoon-hit areas for speedy recovery work, claiming party members in the capital city used to assemble a house in just 14 minutes in the wake of the Korean War. The Rodong Sinmun newspaper said the elite members of the ruling Workers' Party have been speedily rebuilding typhoon-devastated areas in line with the spirit of "creating everything according to the Pyongyang Time."

The government will not permit any modified forms of mass rallies in central Seoul on a national holiday early next month, the prime minister said Thursday as the country is bracing for a potential flare-up of COVID-19 cases ahead of the extended traditional holiday. The remark is seen as directed at "drive-thru" rallies proposed by some main opposition party members as an alternative to the prohibited mass outdoor rallies at Gwanghwamun in central Seoul on the Oct. 3 National Founda