Samsung Electronics Co.'s research and development (R&D) spending last year hit a record high, its report showed Wednesday, amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. Samsung invested 21.2 trillion won ($18.6 billion) in R&D last year, up 1 trillion won from a year earlier, to mark its largest spending ever, according to its 2020 business report. Samsung's R&D investment was equivalent to 9 percent of its sales, up from 7.7 percent in 2018 and 8.8 percent in 2019. The South Korean tech

The Bank of Korea (BOK) on Tuesday purchased 2 trillion won ($1.76 billion) worth of government bonds as part of its market-stabilizing efforts amid the coronavirus crisis.    According to an announcement posted on its website, an auction of the first batch of BOK's 7 trillion won bond purchase program within the first half was closed after attracting bids of more than 4.2 trillion won.    The bank bought three-year government bonds at 1.17 trillion won, five-year Treasury

Police said Tuesday they questioned TVXQ's U-Know Yunho for allegedly violating the nighttime curfew designed to stop the spread of the coronavirus.    The singer, whose legal name is Jung Yun-ho, is suspected of staying at a restaurant in southern Seoul after 10 p.m., according to the Seoul Metropolitan Police.    Under the current social distancing rule that took effect on Feb. 15, all restaurants and coffee shops in the greater Seoul area must close at 10 p.m.  &nb

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on Tuesday revised up its 2021 growth outlook for the South Korean economy as the country's exports remain robust amid the pandemic.    The OECD expected Asia's fourth-largest economy to grow 3.3 percent this year, up from its December estimate of 2.8 percent. Still, the Paris-based organization revised down its 2022 growth forecast for South Korea to 3.1 percent from 3.4 percent.    The upward revision for

A local government on Tuesday confirmed 13 more coronavirus cases linked to a livestock product market south of Seoul, raising the total caseload at the facility to 90. The city government of Anseong, about 80 kilometers south of Seoul, said the newly confirmed patients were four employees and nine others who have come into contact with patients. The total tally tied to the cluster was 77 as of midnight Monday, 69 of whom were employees there. The city's health authorities conducted mass test

Samsung SDI Co., South Korea's No. 2 battery maker, said Tuesday it spent a record high of 808.3 billion won ($703.2 million) in research and development activities last year to develop advanced battery technologies. Samsung SDI's R&D spending accounted for 7.2 percent of its 2020 sales, according to its annual report. The company has been working on rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles (EV) that cost less, last longer and charge faster to meet growing demand from global automake

Even if he ends up acquiring Chinese nationality in hopes of competing at the Beijing Winter Olympics, South Korean-born short track speed skater Lim Hyo-jun is unlikely to accomplish that goal because of international rules. Lim, the 2018 Olympic champion in the men's 1,500 meters, announced Saturday he was undergoing a special naturalization process to acquire a Chinese passport. He had been going through a protracted legal battle over sexual harassment charges and decided he wouldn't be able

Six people were confirmed to have been infected with COVID-19 after getting their first doses of vaccines, which have been administered to health care workers and patients at long-term nursing facilities since late last month, the health authority said Tuesday. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said three more tested positive for the coronavirus after their first vaccine shots, in addition to three cases confirmed Monday. Two nurses and a medical employee working at the Na

Rep. Lee Nak-yon, chief of the ruling Democratic Party (DP), stepped down from his post in the party Tuesday, in his bid to run for presidency next year. The five-term lawmaker officially announced his resignation during a press conference in Seoul. Lee's departure comes more than six months after he was elected as the DP chairman in late August and exactly one year before the next presidential election slated for March 9, 2022. The resignation is in compliance with the DP's internal constitu

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's largest smartphone vendor, was the dominant player in the global foldable smartphone market last year, a report showed Tuesday, with its leading status expected to continue through 2021. For the whole of 2020, Samsung logged an 87 percent share on a unit basis in the global foldable smartphone market that was estimated at 2.2 million units, according to market tracker Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC). "The Z Flip was the No. 1 model with nearl

Samsung Electronics Co. is expected to recapture the top spot in global smartphone production in the first quarter of the year, a report showed Tuesday, with the release of its new flagship smartphone. The South Korean tech giant is estimated to produce 62 million smartphones in the January-March period and account for 18.1 percent of global smartphone production, according to market researcher TrendForce. "Moving to the first quarter of 2021, Samsung has released the new lineup of its

President Moon Jae-in stressed the need Tuesday for the government to go ahead with plans to expand the housing supply in spite of alleged speculative land purchases by employees of the state housing corporation, Cheong Wa Dae said. Moon called for a two-track approach of looking thoroughly into relevant suspicions and pushing speedily for public-led construction of apartments aimed at stabilizing the housing market, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kang Min-seok. "(Public) trust in

South Korea plans to hold a ceremony to break ground for the construction of a memorial wall in Washington later this year to honor US veterans who fought in the 1950-53 Korean War, the veterans affairs ministry here said Tuesday. Seoul has been working on the project to construct the "Memorial Wall of Remembrance" in Washington by 2022 to convey its appreciation to the American veterans' sacrifice and commitment during the war. The wall is to be built in West Potomac Park, where the

K-pop girl group BLACKPINK member Rose's upcoming solo album has sold 400,000 units in global preorders, the singer's management agency said Tuesday. The number comes in just four days since the company started taking preorders, according to YG Entertainment. It claimed that the figure is a record for a K-pop solo female act. Rose, known as the four-piece act's main vocalist, is set to release her first-ever solo material on Friday. The album is titled "R," after the singer's initial

Bond issuance in South Korea rose by more than 11 trillion won in February from the previous month due mainly to increased state and corporate debt sales, industry data showed Tuesday. The value of bonds sold in Asia's fourth-largest economy stood at 75.2 trillion won ($65.9 billion) last month, up 11.3 trillion won from a month earlier, according to the data from the Korea Financial Investment Association. Sales of government bonds increased by 5.5 trillion won, and the issuance of corporate

South Korea and the United States are supposed to stage combined outdoor military drills throughout the year, not during specific periods of time, Seoul's defense ministry said Tuesday. Ministry spokesperson Boo Seung-chan made the remarks in an answer to a reporter's question about when and how the two sides would stage joint real maneuvers this year as their ongoing springtime exercise does not include such outdoor programs. "After the summit between the US and North Korea in Singapore

The unification ministry on Tuesday announced finalized guidelines on a legislated ban on sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets into North Korea in an effort to ensure better interpretation of the law. The amendment to the Development of Inter-Korean Relations Act, set to take effect later this month, has raised concerns that it could hurt freedom of expression and undercut efforts to send information into the reclusive North. Concerns have also been raised that the law could prohibit the sending of

South Korea's economic activity remains stagnant as the country has continued to suffer heavy job losses despite improving consumption and robust exports, a state-run think tank said Tuesday. Revived consumption of durable goods and solid exports have provided some defense against the economic slowdown, according to a monthly economic assessment report by the Korea Development Institute (KDI). "The Korean economy continues to be sluggish with rapidly contracting employment due to COVID-19

Spending on private education for children declined nearly 12 percent last year amid the fallout of the pandemic, data showed Tuesday. Total expenditures on private education for primary, middle and high school students amounted to 9.3 trillion won ($8.1 billion) last year, down 11.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. The average monthly spending on private education per student reached 289,000 won last year, down 10.1 percent from a year earlier

South Korea said Tuesday it plans to lift a set of regulations in the agricultural sector to harness more state-of-the-art technologies and foster new growth engines for the industry. Under the blueprint, South Korea will establish new smart farming clusters for a wider scope of areas covering livestock, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The country previously focused on adopting the solution for greenhouses. The concept of smart farming centers on the applicat