The Seoul metropolitan government opened a new tourism hub in the nation's capital Thursday, saying it will support the growth and development of the tourism industry. Seoul Tourism Plaza, located inside Samil Building in the central Jongno Ward, is spread across floors one and four to 11, with a tourism information center and souvenir shop on the first floor and the offices of various tourism organizations, associations and startups on the upper levels. The city government said the plaza aims

South Korea's terms of trade rose for the 12th consecutive month in March, as exports have shown signs of a strong recovery, central bank data showed Thursday. The nation's net terms-of-trade index for goods -- a gauge of trade terms -- increased 3.6 percent last month from a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). It marked the 12th straight month of an on-year rise since April last year, when the trade terms logged the first on-year hike in over two years on

South Korea's corporate watchdog said Thursday seven more major firms are required to disclose detailed information on their management and business activities. The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) unveiled its new updated list of large business groups with assets of 5 trillion won ($4.5 billion) or more to face tougher filing regulations. The number of such firms stood at 71, with e-commerce giant Coupang, Korea Aerospace Industries Co. (KAI), the country's sole aircraft manufacturer, and s

Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong will attend an in-person Group of Seven (G7) ministerial meeting in Britain next week to discuss access to COVID-19 vaccines, climate change and other global issues, a ministry official said Thursday. The first face-to-face gathering of G7 foreign and development ministers in over two years is set to take place in London from Monday to Wednesday. Though not party to the group, South Korea, Australia, India, South Africa and Brunei, the chair of the Association of

DAEGU -- An operator of the controversial doxing website "Digital Prison" has been sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison for violating privacy law by disclosing personal data of suspected sex offenders and other criminals. The Daegu District Court delivered the prison sentence Wednesday to the website's initial operator and ordered him to pay a forfeiture of 8.18 million won ($7,340). The accused was indicted on charges of sharing personal information of alleged and convicted sex offend

US Forces Korea (USFK) will resume the administration of the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine to its members this week, the US military has said, after a two-week suspension of its use amid concerns over blood clot cases. The decision to resume the use of J&J's Janssen vaccine Friday was based on the joint recommendation of the US Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control to end the temporary pause of the COVID-19 vaccine use for all persons aged 18 and older,

The buyers of Hyundai Motor Co.'s Ioniq 5 all-electric car could face lack of state subsidies for EV purchases as a global chip shortage affects the model's production, industry sources said Thursday. Hyundai began the delivery of the Ioniq 5 on Thursday but still lacks traction motors essential to manufacture the new model. The company has received about 40,000 preorders for the Ioniq 5 since Feb. 25 and was planning to produce 10,000 units in April to meet demand. But it cut the output targe

South Korean automaker Kia Corp. and its battery supplier SK Innovation Co. will work together for the recycling of used electric vehicle (EV) batteries to secure valuable metals and reduce waste, the companies said Thursday. SK Innovation supplies lithium-ion batteries for Kia's EV6 and other EV models, and they have been working together to make use of spent batteries after forging a partnership in March 2020. The two companies said they will work together to process and reuse spent EV batte

SK IE Technology Co. (SKIET), a battery materials subsidiary of SK Innovation Co., is set to draw a record-breaking subscription rate from retail investors for its initial public offering (IPO) on the Seoul bourse, the company's IPO managers said Thursday. SKIET, which makes lithium-ion battery separators used in electric vehicles, has allowed individual investors to subscribe to up to 5.34 million new common shares to be sold under the IPO on the main KOSPI market on May 11. The battery mater

South Korea's top internet portal operator, Naver Corp., said Thursday its net profit jumped 11,252.5 percent on-year during the first quarter due to accounting profits. Net profit reached 15.31 trillion won ($13.8 billion) during the January-April period, compared with 134.9 billion won in the previous year, the company said in a regulatory filing. The record profit in the first quarter is due to accounting profits reflected from the business integration of its messaging firm Line Corp. in Ja

South Korean stocks opened higher Thursday, backed by the US Federal Reserve's reiteration to keep its asset-buying schemes and earnings surprises from major companies that increased investors' appetite for risky assets. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 14.32 points, or 0.45 percent, to 3,195.79 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The stock index came to a strong start as the US Federal Reserve said Wednesday (local time) it would not roll back its asset-buying progr

South Korean restaurants' business sentiment rebounded in the first quarter of the year on eased social distancing rules, but it was still below pre-pandemic levels, a state food distribution firm said Thursday. The business survey index (BSI) for the country's restaurant industry stood at a post-pandemic high of 67.26 for the January-March period, up 7.5 points from a year earlier, according to the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp. The first-quarter reading was also 7.93 points high

SK Telecom Co., South Korea's largest mobile carrier, said Thursday it has launched an alliance with global tech giants, including Microsoft Corp. and SAP, to support local startups in the environmental, social and governance (ESG) sectors. The alliance, named ESG Korea 2021, will offer information and communication technology-based solutions for startups that seek to solve social problems and help them measure their progress in the field, according to a statement from SK Telecom. It aims to s

Mercedes-Benz Korea, BMW Korea and five other companies will voluntarily recall nearly 14,000 vehicles to fix faulty components, the transport ministry said Thursday. This is the latest in a series of recalls by carmakers operating in South Korea and vehicle importers due to problems with vehicle components. The seven companies -- which include Honda Korea Co., Tesla Korea, MAN Truck & Bus Korea Ltd. and Hanbul Motors, which imports vehicles of France's PSA Group -- are recalling a combine

South Korean manufacturers' business sentiment rose for the fourth straight month for May, despite lingering concerns about sluggish consumption amid the COVID-19 pandemic, central bank data showed Thursday. The business sentiment index (BSI) for local manufacturers came to 98 for May, up from 91 for April, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The index measures manufacturers' outlook on business conditions in the following month. A reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber o

Samsung Electronics Co. on Thursday expected its semiconductor business to rebound in the current quarter following mediocre performance, although its mobile unit is projected to suffer a profit decline after spearheading its strong first-quarter earnings. Samsung's net profit stood at 7.14 trillion won ($6.4 billion) in the January-March period, up 46.2 percent from a year earlier, the world's largest memory chip and smartphone vendor said in a regulatory filing. Its operating profit jumped 4

Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong spoke by phone with his Vietnamese counterpart on Wednesday and discussed bilateral relations and regional issues, including Japan‘s planned release of radioactive Fukushima water. In the phone talks with Bui Thanh Son, Chung asked for Vietnam’s close cooperation in strengthening the economic and other ties between South Korea and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the five Mekong countries -- Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, Ca

Defense Minister Suh Wook said Wednesday that the ballistic missiles North Korea test-fired last month flew about 600 kilometers, revising the military’s initial assessment. 　After the North‘s March 25 test-firing of two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea, the military said their flight range was 450 km. North Korean state media has claimed that the missiles flew 600 km. 　“We believe that they flew about 600 km,” Suh said in a parliamentary session when

South Korean stocks dipped 1 percent on Wednesday as foreign investors offloaded local stocks to cash in recent gains ahead of the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 33.95 points, or 1.06 percent, to close at 3,181.47 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.4 billion shares worth some 18 trillion won ($16.2 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 699 to 193. Foreigne

President Moon Jae-in expressed his condolences Wednesday over the death of Cardinal Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk, a former Catholic archbishop of Seoul. Moon described Cheong as a "big hill" of South Korea's Catholic community and a "guru of the nation." "The passing of Cardinal Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk, who delivered peace not only to Catholics but also to all of the people throughout his life, is deeply regrettable," Moon wrote on his social media accounts. "He