Seoul shares retreated Thursday led by tech stocks over concerns that the United States may tighten chip sales to China. The local currency fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) shed 18.67 points, or 0.67 percent, to close at 2,824.35. Trade volume was slightly heavy at 632.9 million shares worth 15.1 trillion won ($10.9 billion), with losers outnumbering winners 602 to 275. Foreign investors dumped local shares worth 381 billion won, while retail in

South Korean Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun said Thursday that the country's recent winning of a nuclear power project in the Czech Republic will pave the way for its active advance into the broader European nuclear energy market. On Wednesday, the state-run Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power was selected as a preferred bidder to build two reactors at the Dukovany power plant by beating France's EDF. "We were able to secure a bridgehead to export nuclear reactors to Europe, which is

A prominent North Korean defector was named as the new head of the presidential advisory council on unification, the presidential office said Thursday. President Yoon Suk Yeol has tapped Tae Yong-ho, a former North Korean deputy ambassador to Britain, as the secretary general for the Peaceful Unification Advisory Council, chief of staff Chung Jin-suk said during a press briefing. Tae is the first North Korean defector to serve in the deputy ministerial post since the council was established in 1

North Korea appears to have started discharging water from the upstream of a dam near the inter-Korean border in the early hours of Thursday without giving prior notice to South Korea, the environment ministry said. Satellite imagery taken at 3 a.m. showed the downstream of the North's Hwanggang Dam on the Imjin River had broadened in width, a change not visible from photos taken at 10 p.m. Wednesday, according to the environment ministry. However, the amount of water released is not presum

K-pop albums have accounted for six of the 10 most-sold CD albums in the United States in the first half of this year The six albums were from boy groups Tomorrow X Together, Ateez, Stray Kids, Enhypen, and Seventeen, plus girl group TWICE, according to the 2024 Midyear Music Report released Tuesday by Luminate, an American music and entertainment industry data research firm. Tomorrow X Together's sixth EP, "minisode 3: Tomorrow," was the second most-sold CD album, with 190,000 un

Seoul shares opened lower Thursday as most blue chips retreated following weak overnight trading on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 2.17 points, or 0.08 percent, to 2,863.92 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, Wall Street underwent stagnant trading over concerns of potentially worsening trade tensions between the United States and China, with chip shares taking heavy beatings. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite dropped 1.3 percent and 2.6 percent, r

Heavy downpours pelted the broader Seoul area and adjacent regions on Thursday, leading to the evacuation of hundreds of residents due to safety concerns and the cancellation of dozens of flights. Northern areas of Gyeonggi Province surrounding Seoul were among the hardest hit, including Paju near the inter-Korean border, which received hourly precipitation of 75.1 millimeters at one point early Thursday morning. The accumulated rain in the Paju areas from midnight to 6 a.m. reached as much as 1

A Korean American congresswoman on Wednesday highlighted Republicans' "high expectations" for former President Donald Trump's victory in the November general election as she touched on the atmosphere of an ongoing GOP national convention in Wisconsin. In a phone interview with Yonhap News Agency, Rep. Michelle Park Steel (R-CA) noted a palpable sense of unity among party members at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where Trump was formally nominated as the GOP

A renowned Korean American foreign policy expert was arrested this week on allegations of acting as an unregistered agent for the South Korean government, the US attorney's office in New York said Wednesday. Sue Mi Terry, who formerly worked for the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Council and US think tanks, was arrested in New York on Tuesday, the office in the Southern District of New York said in a release, as she was accused of offenses under the Foreign Agents Regi

Defending champions Pohang Steelers advanced to the last four at the top national football tournament Wednesday. Pohang defeated FC Seoul 5-1 in the quarterfinals of the Korea Cup at Pohang Steel Yard in the southeastern city of Pohang, moving closer to a record sixth Korea Cup title. Two other clubs with five titles apiece, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors and Suwon Samsung Bluewings, were both eliminated earlier in this year's tournament. Jeong Jae-hee netted two goals, while Oberdan, Lee Ho-jae

GN Food, the operator of Goobne Chicken, South Korea's leading roast chicken franchise, said Wednesday it has opened its first outlet in the Philippines as part of its expansion strategy. The first Goobne outlet in the Southeast Asian country is located in Bonifacio Global City, a central business district in Taguig, Metro Manila, the company said in a statement. GN Food has increased its overseas outlets to 40 in 11 countries, including Japan, China and the United States, since 2014, when

Seoul shares finished lower Wednesday as foreign investors locked in profits following a two-session winning streak despite overnight Wall Street gains. The local currency rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 22.80 points, or 0.8 percent, to close at 2,843.29. Trade volume was slightly heavy at 534.4 million shares worth 13.6 trillion won ($9.85 billion), with losers outnumbering winners 460 to 409. Foreign investors dumped local shares worth 261.4 bil

President Yoon Suk Yeol postponed his planned trip to the southern region Wednesday due to heavy rain, sources said. Yoon was scheduled to attend a meeting on regional cooperation in South Chungcheong Province, but the presidential office, mayors and governors agreed to delay the schedule to focus on measures against the heavy downpour, sources said. "The president is receiving real-time reports on damage across the nation and has urged the heads of each local government to concentrate reco

A heavy rain watch was issued across parts of northern Gyeonggi Province on Wednesday, with 100 millimeters of rain per hour pouring in the border city of Paju, the state weather agency said. As of 7 a.m., heavy downpours of 100.9 mm per hour had been pounding Munsan, a town in Paju, 37 kilometers northwest of Seoul, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration. The accumulated precipitation was recorded at 342.5 mm in the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom, 202 mm in Namyangju, 18

SK Innovation Co. and SK E&S Co., two major energy affiliates of SK Group, are set to hold separate board meetings Wednesday to discuss a proposed merger of the two companies, industry sources said. If the merger is approved, it will create the biggest energy company in South Korea, with combined assets of 106 trillion won ($76.5 billion). The merger of SK Innovation, SK Group's energy subholding company, and SK E&S, a privately owned recycled energy firm, is part of the group'

South Korea's industry ministry said Wednesday it held a fresh round of trade talks with Indian officials to improve a bilateral partnership agreement. Director General of FTA Negotiations Ryu Peob-min and his Indian counterpart, Anant Swarup, started the three-day session in Seoul to discuss the agenda, including goods, services and investment, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. South Korea and India implemented the CEPA in 2010 and have been carrying out negotiations

Seoul shares opened lower Wednesday as investors locked in profits following a two-session winning streak despite overnight Wall Street gains. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 2.17 points, or 0.08 percent, to 2,863.92 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, Wall Street shares rose on rising expectations for a rate cut by the Federal Reserve. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1.9 percent to hit a fresh high, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite gained 0.2 pe

The government is taking administrative action against Saudi Arabian airline Saudia for suspending its direct flights to South Korea without permission from aviation authorities, according to officials Wednesday. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport issued a prior notice of administrative measure to Saudia on Monday. Saudia has been asked to submit their reasons for the suspension and their future plans by July 30. The ministry will convene an administrative review committee to dis

A former US national security advisor said Tuesday he is looking forward to a "big" contribution by South Korea in reference to ongoing negotiations between Seoul and Washington over the cost sharing for stationing the 28,500-strong US Forces Korea. Robert O'Brien, who served as national security advisor for then President Donald Trump from 2019-2021, made the remarks as the allies have been engaging in negotiations over a new cost-sharing deal, called the Special Measures Agreeme

Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul met with Pamela Melroy, the deputy chief of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration, on Tuesday to discuss space cooperation between the two countries, according to the foreign ministry. During the meeting in Seoul, Cho expressed hope for active cooperation between the national space agency, the Korea AeroSpace Administration, or KASA, and NASA. KASA was launched in Sacheon, approximately 300 kilometers south of Seoul, on May 27. "Space cooperation