WASHINGTON -- Richard Haass, head of a US think tank, was awarded a South Korean medal Tuesday for his contributions to the strengthening of the US-South Korea alliance. The chief of the New York-based Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) received the Gwanghwa Medal of the Order of Diplomatic Service Merit from South Korean Ambassador Lee Soo-hyuck in a ceremony in Washington. The Gwanghwa Medal is the highest honor in the Order of Diplomatic Service Merit that is given to those "who have r

WASHINGTON -- A man suspected of killing eight people in a shooting at three Atlanta-area spas was indicted on Tuesday on murder charges while the prosecution says it will also seek hate crime charges, a report said. The 22-year-old suspect, Robert Aaron Long, was charged with killing the eight people, six of them women of Asian descent, in the March 16 attack. A grand jury in Fulton County indicted the suspect on charges of murder that took place at two day spas in Atalanta, according to an A

WASHINGTON -- A US State Department spokesman rebutted a Chinese diplomat's warning for countries to stay away from the US-led regional forum, Quad, on Tuesday, saying the Quad is an informal but essential mechanism to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific. Ned Price made the remark after the Chinese ambassador in Bangladesh, Li Jing, said in a statement that the South Asian country should not join the Quad or its relations with China will "substantially be damaged." "We have tak

Samsung Electronics Co. on Tuesday introduced its expanded lineup of customizable home appliances to global audiences as the South Korean tech giant aims to boost sales amid the pandemic-driven stay-at-home trend.  The company said its BESPOKE Home solutions will be available in more countries this year with more products.  BESPOKE is a brand promoted by Samsung that allows consumers to tailor their own configurations by material, color and modules to meet user preferences in home ap

The United States may consider sharing COVID-19 vaccines with North Korea if requested by the impoverished nation, if the vaccines will reach the intended beneficiaries, a US news outlet reported Tuesday. CNN noted the sharing of vaccines may help resume diplomatic dialogue with the North but that no request for assistance has been made. "While we are open to considering DPRK requests for humanitarian assistance, these would need to be accompanied by effective monitoring to ensure that it

Biotech company GC Pharma failed Tuesday to get conditional approval for its experimental plasma treatment against the new coronavirus.  The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety rejected GC Pharma's application for the drug, GC5131A, submitted late last month, after an advisory panel of experts found its second-phase clinical trial involving 63 patients failed to prove its remedy effect. The agency concluded that there were no meaningful differences between the control group and experimental

Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and his New Zealand counterpart Nanaia Mahuta held telephone talks on Tuesday and shared concerns about Japan's planned release of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant, the ministry said. Last month, Tokyo approved a plan to dump more than 1 million tons of radioactive water from the wrecked nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean, sparking strong criticism from its local fishing industry and neighboring countries. During the talks, Chung exp

LG Uplus Corp., a major South Korean telecom operator, said Tuesday it will invest more than 300 billion won ($267.9 million) to build a new internet data center amid growing user demand. The company said in a regulatory filing that it will invest 318.1 billion won for a new internet data center from June 1 until Dec. 31, 2023. The move comes after LG Uplus CEO Hwang Hyeon-sik vowed earlier this year to focus on new businesses aimed at corporate customers. LG Uplus currently operates four in

South Korean stocks tumbled Tuesday, led by technology stock sell-offs, as investors' sentiment worsened over inflation woes. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 39.87 points, or 1.23 percent, to close at 3,209.43 points. Trading volume was high at about 1.1 billion shares worth some 21.2 trillion won ($18.9 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 447 to 419. Foreigners sold a net 2.2 trillion won, and retail investors pur

South Korea's industry ministry said Tuesday it is examining its cybersecurity readiness of its energy-related infrastructure, as the United States grapples with a major ransomware attack that has disrupted its pipeline system. Industry Minister Moon Sung-wook held a virtual meeting with officials from state-run energy firms to thoroughly prepare for potential cyberattacks, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Last week, US-based Colonial Pipeline, a major pipeline system o

Samsung Electronics Co. lost its top spot in four major smartphone markets in Southeast Asia in the first quarter of the year, a report showed Tuesday, as it faced intensified competition with Chinese brands in the region. The South Korean tech giant logged a 19 percent market share in Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam in the January-March period, down from 22 percent a year earlier and slipped to the runner-up spot, according to the latest report from market researcher Counterpo

KT Corp., a South Korean telecom giant, said Tuesday its first-quarter net profit rose 43.7 percent from a year earlier on the back of growth in 5G users and new tech businesses. Net income for the January-March period stood at 326.5 billion won ($292 million) on a consolidated basis, compared with 227.2 billion won from a year earlier, according to a company regulatory filing. Operating profit reached 444.2 billion won, up 15.4 percent over the cited period, while sales increased 3.4 percent

The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) plans to send a delegation to the United States this week to discuss bilateral cooperation related to COVID-19 vaccines, party officials said Tuesday. PPP Rep. Park Jin and Rep. Choi Hyung-du will travel to the US on Wednesday to meet with Washington officials, legislature representatives and think tank figures to explore means of cooperation regarding coronavirus vaccines, including the possibility of a South Korea-US vaccine swap arrangement, accor

Combined service output rose in eight provinces and major cities in South Korea in the first quarter, led by production gains in Seoul, as the economy is on a recovery track, data showed Tuesday. Seoul, three other cities and four provinces posted an on-year increase in service output in the January-March period, according to the data from Statistics Korea. Among them, service output in Seoul -- home to about one-fifth of the country's 52 million population -- rose at the fastest rate of 6.3 p

South Korean shipbuilders lost their No. 1 ranking to Chinese rivals in terms of new orders in April, nine months after taking the top spot since July, industry data showed Tuesday. South Korean shipbuilders led by Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. obtained new orders of 34 ships, or 1.19 million compensated gross tons (CGTs), falling behind their Chinese rivals with 53 ships, or 1.64 million CGTs, according to the data provided by global market researcher Clarkson Research Service. South Korean sh

South Korea's oceans ministry on Tuesday rolled out tougher regulations on sales of whales in line with its efforts to curb illegal whaling activities in local waters. Under the new rule, all whales captured illegally will be destroyed, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. Previously, hunted whales were seized by local authorities and were later put up for public sale. "The revisions came in line with the global trend to bolster regulations to protect whales and ban trade of

Korean Air Lines Co. and Asiana Airlines Inc., South Korea's two biggest carriers, said Tuesday they will expand non-scheduled flights to India this month to bring home Koreans residing there amid the spreading COVID-19 pandemic. Korean Air and Asiana said they plan to provide two and seven flights, respectively, in May to the virus-hit South Asian country. It is up from one and four flights that Korean Air and Asiana originally planned for this month. Asiana already flew two flights on route

SK Telecom Co., South Korea's largest mobile carrier, said Tuesday its first-quarter net income nearly doubled on the back of increased equity gains and growth in its 5G subscriber base. Net profit stood at 572 billion won ($510.8 million), up 86.95 percent from a year earlier, while operating profit rose 29.04 percent to 388.8 billion won over the cited period, according to a company regulatory filing. Sales in the January-March period increased 7.41 percent on-year to 4.78 trillion won. The

South Korea's trade ministry said Tuesday it has settled 53 cases of non-tariff trade barriers that had direct impacts on local exporters in 2020. Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) operated 3,354 technical barriers to trade (TBT) in 2020, up 30 percent from 2016, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Of them, 131 cases had adverse impacts on local exports. TBTs, which include consumer safety standards, energy and environmental requirements, a

Sri Lanka has decided to adopt the Korean language as a subject for the country's college entrance exams, a South Korean embassy there said Tuesday. According to the embassy, the Sri Lankan government recently added Korean to the list of foreign languages taught in the Advanced Level curriculum, as part of efforts to expand Korean education at schools. Under the policy, students entering 12th and 13th grade can choose Korean as their foreign language subject starting in the second half of this