South Korea's automobile and semiconductor business groups on Wednesday said they will join forces in developing key automotive chips domestically, as the global supply shortages of key automotive chips are anticipated to disturb the production of cars. The Korea Semiconductor Industry Association and the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association inked a memorandum of understanding to roll out joint research projects and seek ways to produce automotive chips domestically. South Korea is the w

South Korea on Wednesday extended its special advisory against overseas travel for another month amid the continued spread of the new coronavirus, the foreign ministry said. The measure, which calls for citizens to cancel or postpone their planned trips abroad, will remain in effect until April 16. The current advisory, which was issued in December, was set to expire on Wednesday. The extension came as many countries around the world continue to restrict the entry of people arriving from overs

South Korea said Wednesday it plans to expand monitoring on the safety of pet food products as the size of the market has been growing sharply in sync with the rising number of pet owners. Under the plan, South Korea plans to carry out an investigation of 650 pet food products available in the market and ban sales of those with high residue of 73 designated hazardous elements, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The country also plans to revamp its check list of c

Director Lee Isaac Chung of "Minari" said his six Oscar nominations, including best picture, are a blessing of his grandmother's minari, the watery plant that gives the film its title. "I couldn't imagine this happening as we struggled on the journey to make this film, and now I understand why Oscar moments are filled with endless thank yous," he said through Pancinema, the South Korean distributor of "Minari," on Wednesday. "I feel incredibly grateful to th

South Korea kicked off a virtual trade exhibition for health care businesses Wednesday to beef up the exports of biohealth products amid the new coronavirus pandemic. Around 500 overseas buyers plan to participate in the Global Medical Equipment Plaza Online (GMEP) 2021, which doubled from the previous year's event, according to the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA). The virtual trade meeting will run through March 26. Some 200 South Korean health care companies will join the eve

Police conducted raids on Wednesday into multiple places, including the land ministry, in a widening investigation into alleged land speculation by employees of a state housing developer. Gyeonggi Nambu Police Agency has sent investigators, 33 in total, to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in the administrative capital of Sejong, some 120 kilometers south of Seoul. The raid is said to be aimed at corroborating allegations that employees at the Korea Land and Housing Corp. (LH)

Hyundai Motor Co. and affiliate Kia Corp. said Wednesday their combined global plant utilization rate stayed below 80 percent due to an extended coronavirus pandemic. Hyundai Motor's overall plant utilization rate stood at 84.1 percent and Kia's stood at 74.5 percent in 2020 as the pandemic affected vehicle production and sales, according to their 2020 business reports. Hyundai's and Kia's rates fell from 99.7 percent and 89.2 percent, respectively, in 2019, the annual data showed. In particu

Three Army soldiers and a Navy civilian worker have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said Wednesday. The Navy employee in the southeastern port city of Pohang and an Army officer in Seoul were confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 after their respective family members were found infected, according to the ministry. Another officer in Namyangju, northeast of Seoul, tested positive after coming into contact with a civilian who tested positive earlier, while a soldier

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on Wednesday stressed the importance of maintaining strict adherence to government measures against the new coronavirus pandemic, amid no clear signs of a letup in new cases and fears of an infection resurgence. "If we lose our sense of attentiveness and allow a fourth pandemic wave to break out, it will be a painful misstep," Chung said during a daily interagency meeting on the coronavirus response. South Korean health authorities have struggled to brin

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases bounced back to over 400 Wednesday on increased virus tests and a continued rise in cluster infections, stoking woes over a resurgence down the road. The country reported 469 more COVID-19 cases, including 452 local infections, raising the total caseload to 96,849, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The daily caseload was sharply up from 363 on Tuesday. During the first two days of this week, the daily virus cases stayed in t

South Korean health authorities said Wednesday that the rollout of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine will continue despite major European countries' decision to pause vaccinations to investigate reported side effects. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said in a press release that there is no evidence suggesting correlation between vaccines manufactured by British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca and Oxford University and reports of blood clots in some recipients. A

K-pop female soloist Chungha will release a full Spanish language version of the song "Demente" on Wednesday, the singer's management agency said. The new version of "Demente," a track from the singer's latest album, is set to drop at 1 p.m. on major global music streaming platforms, according to MNH Entertainment. The Latin-pop number, featuring popular Reggaeton rapper Guaynaa, was included in "Querencia," the singer's first studio album released last month. Th

Samsung Electronics Co. may suffer around 400 billion won ($353 million) in production losses due to a monthlong shutdown of its chip plant in the United States, analysts said Wednesday, amid growing concerns that the production halt could also undermine global smartphone production. Samsung's plant in Austin, Texas, has not been fully operating since Feb. 16 after a severe winter storm caused power outage in the region. The facility reportedly recovered power and water supply, but due to inspe

South Korean stocks opened lower Wednesday amid rising uncertainties ahead of the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 10.09 points, or 0.33 percent, to 3,057.08 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks fell as investors continued to wonder if the Federal Reserve would step up to sooth market concerns of the earlier-than-expected post-pandemic inflation. Top cap Samsung Electronics lost 0.24 percent, and No. 2 c

'최장수 아이돌' 신화의 에릭과 김동완이 팀 활동을 둘러싼 갈등을 봉합했다. 에릭은 17일 SNS에 "서로의 이미지, 자존심 모두 신화를 위해 내려놓고 대화에 나서준 동완이 고맙고, 멤버들도 고맙다"며 김동완과 화해했음을 알렸다. 그는 "앞으로는 우리끼리 비교하고 잘잘못 따지며 싸우지 말고, 이 에너지로 신화와 신화창조(팬클럽)를 지키기 위해 싸우자"며 팬들에게도 감사를 전했다. 김동완도 SNS에서 에릭과 대화를 통해 오해를 풀었다고 전하고 신화의 활동과 무대를 잘 이어가겠다고 밝혔다. 23년간 팀을 이어온 신화의 리더 에릭과 멤버 김동완은 팀 활동 과정에서 서로에게 갖게 된 불만을 최근 각자의 SNS에서 표출하며 설전을 벌였다. 1998년 데뷔한 신화는 멤버 교체나 해체 없이 팀을 유지하며 꾸준히 활동해와 후배 아이돌의 '롤모델'로도 꼽히기 때문에 두 사람의 갈등 노출은 이례적으로 받아들여졌다. 그러나 이들은 갈등이 불거진 지 하루 만

A pro-North Korea newspaper on Wednesday stressed the importance of the Cabinet's role as a control tower for economic policy as Pyongyang is pushing to implement various development goals put forth during January's party congress. At the eighth congress of the ruling Workers' Party in January, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un admitted to a failure in its previous five-year economic plans and disclosed a new development scheme focusing on "self-reliance." "The power of socialist

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in South Korea on Wednesday for talks with Seoul officials on diplomacy with North Korea, joint efforts to revitalize the alliance and other issues, officials said. Blinken came here after he and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited Japan as part of their first overseas trip since the Jan. 20 launch of the Joe Biden administration. Austin flew in hours earlier. Their visit meant to underscore the US' focus on rebuilding regional alliances came jus

Sales of electric vehicles in South Korea nose-dived more than 45 percent in the first two months of the year amid a lack of subsidy policies and customer expectations for rollouts of new models, data showed Wednesday. A total of 2,444 EVs were sold in Asia's fourth-largest economy in the January-February period, down 45.3 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the industry ministry and carmakers. Sales of Hyundai Motor Co.'s Kona EV sank more than 29 percent on-year to 175 un

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin arrived in South Korea on Wednesday to discuss a range of bilateral and global issues, such as North Korea and the wartime operational control transfer, officials said. Austin arrived at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, from Japan on the day for a three-day stay as part of his first Asia swing since taking office in January. He is the first Cabinet-level US official of the Biden administration to visit the country. US Secretary of State Antony

The Biden administration is using "toned-down" rhetoric against North Korea to help prevent any unnecessary escalation of tensions before its ongoing review of how to deal with the North concludes, a news report suggested Tuesday. Citing unidentified senior administration officials, NBC News reported that "senior officials" of the administration have agreed to use "toned-down" rhetoric when speaking publicly about North Korea. The report also said officials at the