South Korean tech firms are joining the race for the growing remote work market, industry officials said Friday, as businesses brace for a drawn-out fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The country's workplaces have been reshaped this year as many companies opt to keep their workers out of offices to avoid infection risks. A July survey by the Korea Economic Research Institute found that 75 percent of the country's largest companies have introduced flexible working systems, reflecting

Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's No. 2 carmaker, said Friday it will suspend two plants near Seoul until this weekend following the confirmation of COVID-19 cases there days earlier. A total of 13 coronavirus cases have been traced to the plants in Gwangmyeong, just south of Seoul, including four family members of the workers. The plants with a combined workforce of 6,000 remained shuttered Friday for the third consecutive day after the automaker halted their operations late Wednesday in the w

New defense chief vows efforts for firm readiness posture for peace, OPCON transfer New Defense Minister Suh Wook was sworn in Friday, vowing to maintain a staunch readiness posture and fully implement an inter-Korean military tension reduction agreement in order to buttress the government's efforts for a lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula. In his inauguration speech, Suh also vowed to strive for expediting the envisioned transfer of the wartime operational control (OPCON) of South Korean

A Seoul court on Friday acquitted a former chief judge accused of leaking confidential information about a criminal investigation to cover up alleged corruption of bailiffs. The Seoul Central District Court found Lee Tae-jong, former chief judge of the Seoul Western District Court, not guilty on charges of abuse of authority and leaking investigative secrets. Lee was indicted in March 2019 for allegedly acquiring information about a criminal investigation of bailiffs at Seoul Western District

President Moon Jae-in said Friday that South Korea will be able to reach the path of peace and unification unless it gives up hope for dialogue with North Korea. Speaking at a meeting with a group of Buddhist community leaders at Cheong Wa Dae, Moon noted the two Koreas will mark the second anniversary on Saturday of his Pyongyang summit deal with the North's leader Kim Jong-un. "If (we) don't give up hope for meetings and dialogue, we will surely move on to the path of peace and unifica

The unification ministry on Friday reiterated calls for North Korea to implement agreements the leaders of the two Koreas reached during their summit in 2018. The appeal came on the eve of the second anniversary of a summit agreement signed between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang on Sept. 19, 2018, to reduce tensions and bolster cooperation. On the sidelines of the summit, the two sides also signed a military tension deal. "The two Ko

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said Friday there is no truth to allegations that the government is manipulating coronavirus test results to create a false sense of fear. Conservative activists critical of the Moon Jae-in administration have questioned the reliability of the official coronavirus tallies, alleging the numbers are being exaggerated to discourage people from participating in anti-government rallies during the upcoming October holidays. On Monday, Rep. Yun Hee-suk of the main oppos

Former Girls' Generation singer Jessica will release an autobiographical novel this month that is based on her experience in South Korea's entertainment industry, the book's publisher said Friday. The Korean version of the book "Shine," a "hyper realism" story that follows the fictional K-pop star Rachel Kim, will be released Sept. 29, RH Korea said. The book was originally written in English. The novel revolves around Kim who signs up with major management agency DB Ente

LG Uplus Corp., a major South Korean mobile carrier, said Friday it plans to roll out its 5G-powered autonomous robot next year.The robot -- which is being developed in partnership with autonomous mobility firm Unmanned Solution -- has recently demonstrated its abilities at local refiner Hyundai Oilbank Co.'s facility in Seosan, 150 kilometers south of Seoul, LG Uplus said. The robot was able to roam around the compound on its own with a margin of error of 10 centimeters and carry out safety p

신종 코로나바이러스 감염증(코로나19) 확산 우려로 한강공원 일부가 통제되고 식당가 방역수칙 등이 엄격해지자 밤에 대학 캠퍼스에서 음식을 먹거나 술판을 벌이는 사람들이 늘어나 대학 당국이 고심하고 있다. 18일 대학가에 따르면 최근 학생이나 외부인이 밤낮을 가리지 않고 캠퍼스 광장이나 잔디밭 등에 몰려들면서 코로나19 확산 우려를 낳고 있다. 이들은 마스크를 쓰지 않고 학내 휴게공간에서 대화하거나 밤에 술판을 벌이는 등 추태를 부려 학교 구성원들이 직접 순찰까지 나서고 있다. 최근 고려대는 캠퍼스 폴리스 순찰을 강화해 마스크 미착용 행위, 학내 취식 행위 등을 24시간 모니터링하고 있다. 지난 3일 학교 측은 순찰 중 10명 이상의 학교 방문자들이 마스크를 쓰지 않은 채 모여 있는 것을 발견하고 마스크 착용을 요구했으나 거부당하자 경찰에 협조를 구해 이들을 계도 조치했다. 고려대 온라인 커뮤니티에서도 늦은 밤 학교 광장에서 술을 마시면서 '술 게임'을 하거나 마스크를 쓰지

The Seoul city government said Friday it plans to file a 4.6 billion-won ($3.9 million) compensation suit against a pastor blamed for worsening the new coronavirus outbreak here by holding mass rallies in central Seoul. Despite warnings against holding mass rallies, Jun Kwang-hoon, who pastors Sarang Jeil Church in northern Seoul, is suspected of leading anti-government protests in central Seoul in mid-August that thousands of people attended. Jun, himself, later tested positive. "Even l

SEJONG -- The coronavirus pandemic is accelerating digital transformation and the world needs to prepare for this structural change in a post-pandemic era, South Korea's finance minister has said. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki made the remarks at an online meeting of the Group of 20 Finance and Health Ministers on Thursday, the ministry said in a statement. Hong said the pandemic has accelerated digital transformation and contactless solutions in businesses and society, while increasing the

South Korea's trade minister returned home Friday after a four-day trip to the United States meant to secure Washington's support for her campaign to become the next leader of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee met with US government and business officials and discussed a wide array of bilateral issues, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. During her stay, Yoo especially focused on winning Washington's support for her bid to become the next he

By Sunday evening, there could be a new team at the top of South Korean football for the first time in two months. Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors will try to overtake Ulsan Hyundai FC for first place in the K League 1 when they both take the field Sunday. By beating Ulsan 2-1 on Tuesday, Jeonbuk closed the gap to two points, 47-45. The win also snapped Jeonbuk's season-high winless skid at three. In a winnable match on Sunday, Jeonbuk will host Busan IPark, who are stuck in 10th place with 21 point

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump on Thursday acknowledged that he had considered sending former Chicago Bulls basketball player Dennis Rodman to North Korea to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. "He really does like Dennis Rodman, I will tell you. It's sort of great. I always said Dennis would be better than some of these staffs that they used to send over to get to know him (Kim)," Trump said in an interview with Fox Sports Radio. The sudden revelation came after the

South Korean stocks opened higher Friday, led by a rebound in battery and bio heavyweights.  The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 6.03 points, or 0.25 percent, to 2,412.2 in the first 15 minutes of trading.  The KOSPI rebounded after the index lost 1.22 percent in the previous session.  Battery and biopharmaceutical large caps fared strong, while auto-related shares dipped.Leading chemical company LG Chem jumped 2.33 percent, a day after it announced its decisi

K-pop giant BTS plans to release four additional remix tracks of its smash hit single "Dynamite" on Friday, according to its label-management agency Big Hit Entertainment. BTS will drop the "Slow Jam," "Midnight," "Retro" and "Bedroom" remixes of the song digitally at 1 p.m. (Korea time) on major streaming services, Big Hit announced on Weverse, a fan community-mobile commerce platform for the company's artists. Rearrangements of the latest re

South Korea's new coronavirus cases stayed below 200 for the 16th straight day on Friday, but local infections remained in the triple digits on rises in sporadic cluster infections and untraceable cases. The country added 126 more COVID-19 cases, including 109 local infections, raising the total caseload to 22,783, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Five more patients died, raising the death toll to 377. It marked a fall from 153 new cases reported Thursday,

WASHINGTON -- The United States is not currently discussing the possibility of withdrawing troops from South Korea, a senior US diplomat said Thursday, a move he said would require consultation with the Asian ally. "Of course, these issues all require cooperation. So we will consult (with South Korea), but there is no discussion of that in the State Department," David Stilwell, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committe

WASHINGTON -- North Korea has a "small number" of nuclear weapons, the vice chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff said Thursday, although that number was not defined. Air Force Gen. John Hyten told a virtual forum that the specific numbers were "classified" and in many ways hard to understand. "But a small number is a confident characterization of nuclear capabilities that can threaten their neighbors or the United States," he said in a symposium hosted by the