Ven. Wolju, a former chief of South Korea's largest Buddhist sect who devoted himself to social movements, passed away Thursday. He was 87. The former chief executive of the Jogye Order died at 9:45 a.m. at Geumsan Temple in Gimje, some 200 kilometers south of Seoul, after suffering from pneumonia, according to the order. Born in 1935, he entered the Buddhist priesthood in the 1950s. He took the initiative in leading a nationwide purification campaign of Korean Buddhism in 1961 and worked in t

Major South Korean lender Nonghyup Bank said Thursday it has issued $600 million in social bonds to overseas investors to help support the vulnerable. The bank said it has floated $300 million worth of three-year bonds with an annual interest rate of 0.926 percent, with the remaining $300 million maturing in five years and carrying an interest of 1.325 percent. Nonghyup Bank said the lender has been able to reduce the spread by 0.25-0.3 percentage point as it has attracted bids worth $2.2 bill

SEJONG -- Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Thursday the government will provide financial and taxation support for key technologies in semiconductors, batteries and vaccines. Unveiling a list of 65 technologies in the three industrial sectors, Hong said the government will funnel 2 trillion won ($1.7 billion) in funds by 2023 to help companies develop such technologies. The government will hike taxation support if companies spend money to build facilities for such technologies, Hong said. Ea

An additional sailor of the virus-stricken Cheonghae anti-piracy unit and three Army members have tested positive for the coronavirus, the defense ministry said Thursday. The sailor has been in isolation since returning home Tuesday from Africa due to the mass outbreak in the unit. He previously tested negative but developed symptoms consistent with COVID-19 on Wednesday and underwent another round of tests, which found him to be infected, according to the ministry. As of Thursday, the total c

Unrelenting heat continued in most parts of the country Thursday, with temperatures reaching the upper 30s in some of the hottest areas, the weather agency said. Heat warnings remained in effect for most of the country, where the average temperature was recorded in the range of 28 C-36 C nationwide, with some southwestern inland cities reaching as high as 38 C, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). The scorching warm weather eased only slightly during the night. And the s

The defense ministry on Thursday began an inspection into the mass coronavirus outbreak at the country's anti-piracy Cheonghae unit that infected 90 percent of its 301 members, forcing them to cut short their mission in waters off Africa and return home, officials said. A 10-member team from the ministry's inspector office will look into whether the military -- including the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Navy, the Armed Forces Medical Command, the Cheonghae unit and related ministry bureaus -- pro

After missing almost a full year with shoulder problems, LG Twins' left-hander Cha Woo-chan returned with a bang, with a 2-0 record and a 1.13 ERA in 16 innings over his first three starts. That impressive comeback, plus Cha's championship experience, helped him get picked as one of only two left-handers for the South Korean Olympic baseball team. But the 34-year-old struggled mightily over the next two outings, as he was shelled for 12 runs -- one unearned -- on nine hits in 6 1/3 innings comb

CHIBA, Japan -- From time to time, South Korean fencer Jeon Hee-sook is reunited with her late father in her dreams. Whenever that happened, she always did well in following competitions. Jeon's father passed away in June 2008 and is buried not too far from his daughter's main practice facility, the Jincheon National Training Center in Jincheon, 90 kilometers south of Seoul. She paid him one last visit before leaving for Japan earlier this month and saw him in her dream that same night. "

Marvel's latest blockbuster "Black Widow" has become the most-viewed film in South Korea this year to date, its distributer said Thursday. The film posted 2.3 million attendees as of Thursday morning on the 16th day of its release, according to Walt Disney Company Korea. It outnumbered the previous No. 1, "F9," released in May, which garnered 2.28 million moviegoers. "Black Widow," which was originally scheduled to be released in May last year, is the first Phase

Shilla Duty Free, South Korea's leading duty-free operator, said Thursday it will make inroads into China through a partnership with a Chinese industry player. Shilla Duty Free said it has signed a memorandum of understanding on a strategic partnership with Hainan Tourism Duty Free City based in the southern Chinese island of Hainan. Established as a subsidiary of Hainan Tourism Investment Development Co. last year, the 95,000-square-meter Hainan Tourism Duty Free City is deemed as a must-go s

South Korea's antitrust regulator said Thursday it extended the deadline for the sale of Delivery Hero's food delivery affiliate here, Yogiyo, until Jan. 2 next year, as the German company is facing difficulty in finding a potential investor. In December last year, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) ordered Delivery Hero to sell Yogiyo, South Korea's No. 2 food delivery app, if it wants to buy the country's top food delivery app operator, Woowa Brothers. Delivery Hero had been required to

Hankook Tire & Technology Co., the world's sixth-largest tiremaker by sales, said Thursday it recently began supplying tires for Volkswagen's all-electric ID.4 SUV this year. Hankook Tire has provided the high-performance Ventus S1 evo3 ev tires for the ID.4 model since the second quarter of the year, the company said in a statement. To enhance its global brand image, the tiremaker has provided its OE tire products for 320 kinds of vehicles of nearly 50 foreign carmakers, including Audi, B

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases hit a fresh high of over 1,800 on Thursday with mass infections from a virus-hit Naval unit, while authorities are increasingly inclined to extend the toughest virus restrictions in the wider Seoul area amid no signs of letup. The country added 1,842 COVID-19 cases, including 1,533 local infections, raising the total caseload to 184,103, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The latest figure was the highest ever since th

Global credit appraiser Fitch Ratings said Thursday it has maintained South Korea's credit rating at "AA-" with a stable outlook. Fitch's rating for South Korea has been AA-, the fourth-highest level of the agency's sovereign ratings, since 2012. "Korea's rating balances robust external finances, resilient macroeconomic performance and modest fiscal headroom against geopolitical risks related to North Korea and medium-term structural challenges from an ageing population. The str

TOKYO -- Five years ago at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, South Korea pulled off an unprecedented sweep of four archery gold medals. The national anthem, "Aegukga," was played at every medal ceremony, covering the men's and women's individual and team events. For this year's Tokyo Olympics, a fifth event, the mixed team, has been added. It can only mean one thing: a chance for South Korea, the most dominant archery power in the Olympics, to make even more history. Since the modern arch

TOKYO -- South Korea's objective at this year's Tokyo Olympics is to win six to seven gold medals. And more than half of that total could come on the first full day of the competition following Friday's opening ceremony. Barring major upsets, South Korean athletes should contend for medals in archery, shooting, fencing and taekwondo Saturday. The most optimistic prognosticator predicts five gold medals. Jin Jong-oh, one of the most accomplished pistol shooters in Olympic history, could be the

South Korean stocks opened higher Thursday as hopes for robust corporate earnings in the second quarter boosted investor sentiment. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 26.74 points, or 0.83 percent, to 3,242.65 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks rebounded after the Kospi retreated 2.14 percent in the past four sessions amid the fourth wave of the new coronavirus in the country. Tech, financial and auto gains led the KOSPI's hike, while bio slumped. Market

US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman was set to meet Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and other Seoul officials on Thursday for talks on stalled diplomacy with North Korea and other shared challenges, officials said. Sherman arrived here on Wednesday for a three-day visit, after she and her South Korean and Japanese counterparts, Choi Jong-kun and Takeo Mori, held three-way talks in Tokyo to highlight trilateral cooperation against a recalcitrant North Korea and an assertive China. Her As

WASHINGTON -- South Korea offers a safe and stable environment for US investors that is also equipped with a highly skilled workforce, but may be failing to attract as much foreign investment as possible due to its complicated regulations, the US State Department said in an annual report released Wednesday. In its 2021 Investment Climate Statements, the State Department noted the country offers political stability and public safety, as well as world-class infrastructure and a highly skilled wor

South Korea's top internet portal operator Naver Corp. said Thursday its net profit jumped nearly six times in the second quarter from a year earlier largely due to a stellar performance of its fintech and commerce businesses amid the new coronavirus pandemic. Net profit reached 540.6 billion won ($468.5 million) in the April-June period, compared with a profit of 90.7 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a press release. Operating income reached a quarterly high of 335.6 billion wo