South Korea's science ministry said Tuesday it will create a space policy-oriented think tank in a move to bolster its space development ambitions. The country has recently ramped up its space program, with its first homegrown space rocket set for a launch in October and a lunar orbiter program scheduled for next year. The Ministry of Science and ICT said the new think tank, tentatively named the Korea Space Policy Research Center, will conduct space-related research and analysis to offer guid

A scorching heat wave is to hit the Korean Peninsula beginning this week, the state weather agency said Tuesday, without ruling out the possibility of extremely hot weather due to stagnant high-pressure air masses. The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said that the seasonal monsoon period is to virtually end on the peninsula after some scattered rain showers nationwide in the day and full-scale sweltering heat will take over. Daytime highs will rise by up to 3 C to above 35 C in many

South Korea will gradually lift or lower tariffs on more than 95 percent of its imported products from Indonesia and Israel as it has clinched trade deals with the two nations, the finance ministry said Tuesday. The Cabinet approved a revised enforcement ordinance in preparation for implementing trade deals with Indonesia and Israel. In December last year, South Korea and Indonesia inked the comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA), which is equivalent to a free trade deal but cente

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Tuesday sharply revised up its growth outlook for the South Korean economy this year, citing robust exports and an expansion in facility investment. The Manila-based bank expected Asia's fourth-largest economy to grow 4 percent this year, up from its earlier estimate in April of 3.5 percent. The ADB maintained its 2022 growth forecast for Korea at 3.1 percent. The ADB joined other organizations that have jacked up their growth estimates for the South Korean

Kakao Bank, South Korea's largest internet-only bank, will seek to expand into new business areas and become the country's No. 1 financial platform, the company's CEO said Tuesday. "Kakao Bank will strive to emerge as the top financial platform and break into such areas as insurance, fund and asset management," CEO Daniel Yun said at a news conference to mark the lender's planned initial public offering (IPO). To that end, Kakao Bank will continue to seek the digital innovation of it

Kia Corp., South Korea's second-biggest carmaker, launched the all-new Sportage SUV in the domestic market Tuesday to meet rising demand for the vehicle type. The new Sportage comes with a 1.6-liter turbocharged gasoline hybrid engine, a 1.6 turbocharged gasoline engine or a 2.0 diesel engine, the company said in a statement. The model is equipped with a set of safety features, such as front collision avoidance, blind-spot collision-avoidance assist and rear cross-traffic collision-avoidance a

JEONJU -- Four teenagers were killed and one injured in a car accident in the southwestern city of Jeonju on Tuesday, local authorities said. According to Deokjin Police Station and Jeonbuk Fire Safety Headquarters, a car driven by a 19-year-old crashed into a 14-ton truck that was making an illegal left turn around 4:05 a.m. on a road in Jeonju, about 240 kilometers south of Seoul. The truck was found to have made the left turn on the third lane of the road where such an act is prohibited.

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum apologized Tuesday for the government's failure to prevent a mass COVID-19 outbreak among sailors of South Korea's Cheonghae unit on an anti-piracy mission in waters off Africa. A total of 247 sailors of the 301-strong Cheonghae unit have tested positive for the coronavirus, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Monday, confirming a widely feared mass infection. The military sent two KC-330 multirole aerial tankers to Africa to bring back all the members. "The governm

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases stayed in the 1,200s for the second consecutive day Tuesday due to fewer tests amid scorching hot weather, as authorities are tightening their guard against the fast spread of the highly contagious delta variant across the nation. The country added 1,278 COVID-19 cases, including 1,242 local infections, raising the total caseload to 180,481, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The latest figure was up from 1,252 on Mon

South Korean stocks opened steeply lower Tuesday, tracking a US stock plunge that stemmed from concerns that the resurgence in the new coronavirus and its variants may hamper the ailing global economy. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) slumped 18.44 points, or 0.57 percent, to 3,225.6 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Virus worries continued to pull down the Kospi after the key stock index's 1 percent retreat the previous session. Overnight, the big-three US sto

South Korea is making concerted efforts to ensure a stable supply of electricity as the country's power reserves are feared to plumb their lowest level this week amid a heat wave, officials said Tuesday. The country remains gripped by the scorching heat wave in the wake of the annual rainy season, stoking concerns that a surge in electricity consumption could result in a power shortage. To fend off such a scenario, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said it will likely resume operation

Twenty-three people affiliated with US Forces Korea (USFK), including 18 service members, have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the US military has said, amid the fourth wave of the pandemic across the country. Of them, 11 service members were from Kunsan Air Base in the western city of Gunsan. They were confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 after showing symptoms or coming into contact with the infected individuals, according to USFK in a release Monday. At Camp Casey in Dongducheon,

South Korea's corporate direct financing rose 34.2 percent in the first half from a year ago due to a robust rise in sales of bonds and stocks, data showed Tuesday. Local companies raised a combined 122 trillion won ($107 billion) by selling stocks and bonds in the January-June period, up 31.2 trillion won from a month ago, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Corporate stock sales soared 486.9 percent to 10.4 trillion won, with the value of initial public offeri

WASHINGTON -- The United States maintains and continues to advance its capabilities to counter any cyber attacks from countries such as China and North Korea, a Pentagon spokesman said Monday. John Kirby made the remarks as the US, along with a long list of its allies including the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, called out China as a state sponsor of malicious cyber activities. accusing China's Ministry of State Security of hiring contract criminal hackers to carry o

South Korean superband BTS has added another feat to its copious list of accomplishments: replacing one of the group's own songs at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and scoring back-to-back debuts atop the list. The septet's third English number, "Permission to Dance," debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard's main singles chart, becoming the group's fifth song to top the chart. 'Permission To Dance' officially debuts at No. 1 on this week's Hot 100. It earns the group its fifth career No. 1

A South Korean aerial tanker carrying members of the virus-hit Cheonghae unit departed Africa on Monday to bring the troops home from an overseas anti-piracy mission, the defense ministry said, after 247 of them tested positive for the new coronavirus in the worst-ever mass infection among service members. The military sent two KC-330 multirole aerial tankers to Africa the previous day to bring back all the members of the 301-strong unit under an operation codenamed "Mission Oasis,"

NARITA -- South Korean Olympic chief Lee Kee-heung insisted on Monday the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has promised in writing that it would ban the display of a Japanese imperialist flag during the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, a pledge made when South Korea was asked to remove banners the IOC believed to be political. Upon arriving in Japan on Monday, Lee, president of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee and also an IOC member, said the IOC is hoping both South Korea and the host cou

President Moon Jae-in reaffirmed Monday that the government will expand substantive support for small businesses hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. To that end, he said the government will try to modify a proposed supplementary budget bill in the process of discussions at the National Assembly. "It is the most regrettable and apologetic thing that the self-employed and micro and small merchants are suffering increasing damage due to the resurgence of the coronavirus and strengthening of a

The Seoul city government has decided to ban all rallies planned to take place around the upcoming Aug. 15 Liberation Day due to concerns over the rapid spread of the coronavirus, sources said Monday. According to the sources, the city government recently notified civic organizations that they are not allowed to hold rallies from Aug. 14-16. Some groups have already reported to police that they will hold such events during the period. The notice has been sent to liberal groups, such as the Sou

GANGNEUNG -- Gangneung, one of South Korea's most popular destinations for summer vacationers, mulls over the nighttime closure of beaches and other unprecedented quarantine measures against COVID-19, officials said Monday, following an earlier decision to lift its social distancing rules to the toughest restrictions of Level 4. Gangneung, an east coast city 240 kilometers from Seoul, has said that Level 4, the highest in the nation's four-tier social distancing system, will be enforced for sev