Middle schools in the greater Seoul area are set to increase the portion of students attending in-person classes starting Monday ahead of the government's plan to fully resume classes from the fall semester, according to educational officials. Under the plan, the cap on in-person attendance will increase from one-third of registered students to two-thirds under the Level 2 social distancing guidelines, enabling more students to take part in in-person classes, the education ministry and local ed

Budget carrier Eastar Jet Co. may pick a preferred bidder next week after reviewing plans from several investors to take over the financially troubled company, industry sources said Sunday. Easter Jet, currently under a court-led rehabilitation scheme, has received letters of intent from several companies, including a consortium led by Kanglim, a local equipment maker under underwear company Ssang Bang Wool, and other private equity funds, according to industry sources. Several companies have

The top diplomats of South Korea and the United States have reaffirmed the goal of the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and agreed to deepen cooperation on vaccine distribution and Myanmar, the foreign ministry said Sunday. Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and his US counterpart, Antony Blinken, held talks on the margins of the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Britain on Saturday to discuss an array of issues, including follow-up measures to last month' summit between Presidents Mo

South Korea's daily new virus cases dropped below 500 Sunday for the first time in four days due to fewer tests over the weekend, and health authorities plan to exempt people who were fully vaccinated overseas from mandatory two-week isolation from July. The country reported 452 more COVID-19 cases, including 419 local infections, raising the total caseload to 147,874, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Sunday's tally marked a sharp decrease from Saturday's 565 cases

The European Union's (EU) antitrust regulator has not yet resumed its review of the proposed merger between South Korea's two leading shipbuilders, putting its decision on hold for nearly a year. The EU Competition Commission has stopped the clock in its in-depth investigation into the $1.8 billion acquisition of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. (DSME) by Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings Co. (HHIH) since July 3, 2020. "The clock is still stopped," Maria Tsoni, a spo

South Korea is joining a trilateral air drill involving the United States and Japan that is now in full swing in Alaska after the annual exercise was scaled down last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the US Indo-Pacific Command said Saturday. The Red Flag exercise hosted by the US Pacific Air Forces runs from June 10-25 in Alaska to improve the three countries' interoperability and support security in the Indo-Pacific Region, the US command said. "A series of commander-directed field t

President Moon Jae-in sent a congratulatory telegram to South Korean archbishop Lazzaro You Heung-sik, who has become the first Korean appointed to a secretary position at the Vatican, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Saturday. Pope Francis appointed You, chief of the diocese of Daejeon in central South Korea, as the new prefect of the Vatican's Congregation for the Clergy earlier this week. It is the first time that a South Korean has been appointed to a secretary position at the

South Korea's daily new virus cases remained under 600 for the second straight day Saturday, as health authorities have decided to extend the current social distancing rules for another three weeks to stem cluster infections. The country reported 565 more COVID-19 cases, including 525 local infections, raising the total caseload to 147,422, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. The daily tally marked an increase of nine from Friday's 556 cases but stayed in the mid-500s for the

South Korea will offer $200,000 in humanitarian aid to Madagascar to help combat food shortages caused by a recent drought, the foreign ministry said Friday. Southern Madagascar is suffering its worst drought in about 40 years, and more than 1.3 million people, almost half of the population, are facing acute food insecurity, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). OCHA also warned that around 130,000 children aged five and younger are acutely

Pope Francis appointed the South Korean bishop Lazzaro You Heung-sik as the new prefect of the Vatican's Congregation for the Clergy, the Vatican said Friday. You, 69, who currently heads the diocese of Daejeon in central South Korea, became the first South Korean to be appointed to a secretary position. The congregation is responsible for overseeing matters regarding priests and deacons not belonging to religious orders. It is known for overseeing more than 400,000 Catholic priests around

  South Korea and China agreed to boost cooperation in curbing illegal fishing by Chinese boats in the East Sea, the oceans ministry said Friday. Under an agreement reached during a three-day working-level meeting that ended on Thursday, South Korea will inform China of suspected illegal fishing in the North Korean waters in the East Sea starting July, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. Chinese authorities will crack down on those boats after verifying the information, th

South Korean stocks advanced for the second straight session Friday despite the steep hike in the US price gauge, as investors believed the price pressure is still short of triggering talks of tapering by the Federal Reserve. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) increased 24.68 points, or 0.77 percent, to close at 3,249.32 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.6 billion shares worth some 17.6 trillion won ($15.8 billion), w

Police on Friday sent a man to the prosecution on charges of filming and distributing nude photos and videos of more than 1,300 boys and men. Kim Young-jun, whose identity was disclosed by the police earlier this week, is accused of filming about 27,000 nude videos of the victims, including 39 minors, and sharing them online from 2013 until recently. On Friday morning, the 29-year-old appeared in front of reporters for the first time as police officers took him from Jongno Police Station in ce

President Moon Jae-in on Friday congratulated Lee Jun-seok of the main opposition party on being elected as the youngest person ever to lead a major political party in modern Korean history, praising his win as a sign of transformation for the country. Lee, 36, was elected chairman of the People Power Party (PPP) earlier in the day, taking the helm of the main opposition party as the youngest-ever leader of a mainstream party in modern South Korean politics. Following the announcement of Lee's

North Korea remains silent about a key Workers' Party meeting that it said it would hold early this month, raising questions about whether the meeting was held at all and if not, why it is being delayed. Last week, North Korea announced that it will hold a plenary meeting of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party in "early June" to take "additional state measures for solving pending problems urgent for the economic work and people's living." The session has been drawin

BTS, the seven-piece act that has emerged as the world's biggest boy band, is set to hold a two-day fan event in line with its eighth debut anniversary, the group's agency said Friday. BTS 2021 Muster Sowoozoo, now in its fifth round, will take place through online streaming on Sunday and Monday, according to Hybe. It marks the first mass fan event of its kind since one held in 2019. To make up for the online streaming, Hybe said the event will take place at an outdoor stage so that fans can f

Hundreds of residents on islands off the country's south coast will receive coronavirus vaccines aboard a Navy vessel this month, the military said Friday. The Navy conducted a mock drill with government authorities in the southwestern city of Mokpo ahead of the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine inoculation for 638 islanders aged 30 and older slated to kick off Monday. According to the military, the Navy's 4,500-ton Hansando training ship and inflatable boats will be mobilized for the operation. Five

South Korea's domestic demand is extending an improving trend as retail sales and consumer sentiment gained ground amid an economic recovery, the finance ministry said Friday. In its monthly economic assessment report, the ministry presented a positive assessment of private consumption for the second straight month. Last month, the government said domestic demand is "gradually" improving. "Exports and investment have continued to maintain solid recovery momentum, and domestic de

Hyundai Motor Co. said Friday it has resumed operations at its four domestic plants following a half-day suspension due to the disruption of parts supply caused by the COVID-19 pandemic at a key parts supplier. The carmaker restarted vehicle production at four out of its five plants in Ulsan, 414 kilometers southeast of Seoul, as health authorities completed quarantine measures at a plant of Hyundai Mobis Co., a company spokesman said. Hyundai Motor suspended the four Ulsan plants on Thursday

South Korea's exports jumped 40.9 percent on-year in the first 10 days of June on the back of robust shipments of chips and autos, customs data showed Friday. The country's outbound shipments stood at $17.3 billion in the June 1-10 period, compared with $12.3 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Imports rose 31 percent on-year to $17.9 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $612 million during the cited period, the data showed. By sector, outbound sh