The unification ministry urged North Korea to take a "wise and flexible" approach toward a springtime combined military exercise that South Korea and the United States kicked off in a scaled-back manner Monday. North Korea has long demanded an end to the joint military drills between the two allies, denouncing them as a rehearsal for invasion. During a rare party congress in January, leader Kim Jong-un repeated such calls, citing it as a crucial matter to improve inter-Korean ties.

Samsung Heavy Industries Co. said Monday that it plans to appeal a British arbitration ruling that ordered the South Korean shipbuilder to return money received from Swedish company Stena for a shipbuilding deal. The London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), one of the world's leading arbitral institutions, ruled Friday that Samsung Heavy should refund prepaid money and accrued interest worth 463.2 billion ($409.7 million) to Stena, Samsung Heavy said in an emailed statement. The court

Another parcel delivery worker was found dead from apparent overwork last weekend, a labor union said Monday. The 48-year-old man, surnamed Lee, was found dead by police at his "gosiwon," a low-cost accommodation facility, in southeastern Seoul on Saturday afternoon, according to the Taekbae Union, which represents couriers here. Lee, who was employed by Coupang Corp., the country's leading e-commerce operator, is the latest delivery worker to die from apparent overwork. Last year, 1

South Korea's oceans ministry announced Monday a five-year blueprint to better manage the country's fishery resources, as climate change and overfishing have been challenging the sustainability of the local fisheries industry. Under the plan, the combined amount of fishery resources in the country's coastal lines will rise to 4 million tons by 2025, soaring 28 percent from the current estimate of 3.13 million tons, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. In detail, South Korea will

The Korea International Trade Association (KITA) said Monday it has won a new contract in Vietnam to operate a newly built convention center in Vietnam, in line with its efforts to revitalize its virus-hit exhibition business and penetrate deeper into Southeast Asia. Under the agreement, KITA and its convention business arm, the Convention & Exhibition Center (COEX), will operate Vietnam's largest convention center located in Binh Duong, just north of Ho Chi Minh City, for the next three ye

South Korea's box office hit a four-month high over the weekend on the back of upbeat performance by the award-winning US immigration film "Minari," data showed Monday. A combined 524,000 people went to theaters from Friday to Sunday, according to the data by the Korean Film Council (KOFIC). It is the largest three-day weekend figure since the second weekend of November, when the box office posted a total of 580,000 moviegoers before the third wave of the novel coronavirus pandemic s

In a bid to end a long K League 1 title drought, Ulsan Hyundai FC aren't messing around. Ulsan won their second straight match out of the gate in the 2021 season Saturday, when they beat Gwangju FC 1-0 behind rookie Kim Min-jun's first career goal in his first-ever start. With former South Korean national team boss Hong Myung-bo in charge, Ulsan have won their first two matches by a combined 6-0. Ulsan finished runners-up to Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in each of the past two seasons. No K League

Fewer than 10,000 foreign tourists visited South Korea a month last year after the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, official data showed Monday. According to the state-run Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), the average number of foreign travelers here was only 9,722 per month from April to December last year, illustrating the drastic impact COVID-19 had on the local tourism sector. The number of inbound tourists has yet to recover from the coronavirus crisis after hitting an annual low in

Two Army soldiers and a Marine have tested positive for the new coronavirus, bringing the total number of infections reported among the military population to 601, the defense ministry said Monday. The full-time reserve Marine in Ganghwa, west of Seoul, was found to have contracted COVID-19 after a family member was confirmed infected, according to the ministry. An Army enlistee in the northeastern county of Hwacheon tested positive after a vacation, while an officer in Yangpyeong, some 55 ki

Samsung Electronics Co. said Monday it will release a new 5G budget smartphone in South Korea this week to expand its dominant status on home turf. Samsung said the Galaxy A42 5G smartphone will be launched here Friday with a price tag of 449,900 won ($400), the cheapest among 5G smartphone models sold in South Korea. The A42 5G was already released in select markets in Europe and Southeast Asia last year. The latest smartphone, equipped with a 6.6-inch display, comes with a rear quad-camera

The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) is leading the ruling Democratic Party (DP) in public approval in Seoul, the latest opinion poll showed Monday, a month before a mayoral by-election in the capital. The poll conducted on 2,006 voters nationwide from Tuesday to Friday by Realmeter showed the PPP scored 34.2 percent of the support in Seoul while the DP had 29.6 percent. The PPP retook the lead after the DP was 1.8 percentage point ahead in the previous survey by the same pollster.

Public support for Yoon Seok-youl has bounced back sharply to take the lead over other potential presidential candidates in South Korea, a poll showed Monday, following his resignation from the post of prosecutor general last week. The Korea Society Opinion Institute (KSOI) said he has garnered 32.4 percent in the survey of 1,023 likely voters nationwide. Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) ranked second with 24.1 percent followed by the party's leader Lee

SK hynix Inc., South Korea's No. 2 chipmaker, said Monday it has begun mass-production of a mobile DRAM that offers the industry's largest capacity. SK hynix said 18-gigabyte low-power double data rate (LPDDR) 5 is in mass production and that the company supplied its very first products to Asus' gaming smartphone, the Republic of Gamers 5. The world's largest DRAM producer said its latest chip will be ideal for premium smartphones to support high-resolution games and videos. The company expect

K-pop sensation BTS, which earned a nomination from this year's Grammy Awards, is set to perform at music's biggest night in the United States next week, the event's organizers have said. The Recording Academy on Sunday (US time) announced the full performers lineup for the 63rd Grammys. BTS is among 22 listed musicians, including Dua Lipa, Roddy Ricch, Taylor Swift, Cardi B, Billie Eilish, Megan Thee Stallion and Post Malone, that will perform at the event this coming Sunday. It is the first

Two American soldiers based in South Korea have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the US Forces Korea (USFK) has said. The soldiers at Camp Hovey in Dongducheon, 40 kilometers north of Seoul, were confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 on Thursday and Friday through the US military's surveillance testing program, according to the USFK. USFK recently restricted its members from off-post dining in Dongducheon, and banned travel to and from the city except for approved mission essential act

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases fell back below 400 on Monday apparently due to less testing over the weekend, but health authorities remained wary of a potential resurgence as outdoor activity increases due to warmer weather. The country reported 346 more COVID-19 cases, including 335 local infections, raising the total caseload to 92,817, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Daily infections had been above 400 for two consecutive days, with 418 cases Saturda

Spring training hitting slump hasn't kept Kim Ha-seong from making an impact on defense for the San Diego Padres. The new South Korean infielder combined for two inning-ending double plays in the Padres' 4-3 loss to the Kansas City Royals at Peoria Stadium in Peoria, Arizona, on Sunday (local time). Kim got the start at shortstop, with Jake Cronenworth getting the nod at second base. With the bases loaded in the third inning, Cronenworth fielded a grounder by Adalberto Mondesi and threw to Ki

South Korean stocks opened higher Monday on improved Chinese economic data and slowing bond yield hikes in the United States. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 9.39 points, or 0.31 percent, to 3,035.65 points in the first 15 minutes. Steel, financial and tech stocks led the KOSPI's hike, while retail and insurance traded bearish. Samsung Electronics added 0.37 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix advanced 0.36 percent. Leading chemical firm LG Chem retreated 1.11 perce

LG Innotek Co., a major electronics parts maker in South Korea, said Monday it has joined hands with Microsoft Corp. to better expand its presence in the 3D sensing component market. Under the partnership, the two sides will collaborate on the development and supply of Time of Flight (ToF) modules dedicated for Microsoft's cloud platform Azure. A ToF module is a core 3D sensing camera component that can recognize three-dimensionality, spatial information and movement of an object by using the

The Texas Rangers' new South Korean pitcher Yang Hyeon-jong allowed a home run in his spring training debut, a shaky start to his pursuit of a major league job by the end of this month. Yang served up a solo home run and a single in one inning of relief work against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Arizona, on Sunday (local time). Yang was the last of five Texas pitchers to take the mound in the abbreviated, eight-inning game and was the only one to give up a long ball.