Some conservative groups went ahead with small street rallies in Seoul on Monday to denounce the Moon Jae-in administration amid concerns about the spread of COVID-19. On the rainy day, the 102nd anniversary of the March 1 Independence Movement against Japan's colonization of Korea, more than 10 members of a group staged a rally at around 11 a.m. in front of Gwanghwamun in the city center. The group, which calls itself Freedom Korea National Defense Corps, had applied for approval of the gathe

Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the minor opposition People's Party, cleared the first hurdle Monday in his bid to become a single candidate of South Korea's opposition bloc, critical of the Moon Jae-in administration, for the April 7 Seoul mayoral by-election. He won a primary with Keum Tae-sup, a former lawmaker who left the ruling Democratic Party (DP), the outcome of which was decided by a public opinion poll. The two had two rounds of formal debates ahead of the two-day survey last week on their

Global streaming giant Spotify Technology SA on Monday suspended the streaming service of K-pop tracks licensed by Kakao M on its global platform as their license deal has expired, officials said. The move has prevented global K-pop fans from listening to songs of major South Korean artists, including IU and Apink, through Spotify. The Swedish company said it has failed to reach an agreement on a new license deal with Kakao M, South Korea's top music distributor, despite efforts to clinch a co

Global superstar BTS' EP album "BE" has reentered the top 10 of the Billboard 200 chart, boosted by the release of the album's new edition last month, the magazine has said. On Sunday (US local time), it said in an article on the preview of the upcoming chart that "BE" jumped to seventh on the Billboard main albums chart for this week from last week's 74th. The surge follows the recent release of the album's new edition called the "Essential Edition." The "B

South Korea will showcase a prototype of the country's first indigenous fighter jet in April, the arms procurement agency has said. Jung Kwang-sun, heading the KF-X program at the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, said the planned rollout event will be a "landmark moment" for the country and the aerospace industry. "After working only with the blueprint so far, we will now have something we can actually see and test whether what we have been studying actually works,&q

President Moon Jae-in stated Monday that South Korea is ready to talk with Japan anytime for stronger cooperation, separate from longstanding disputes over shared history, as it would also be helpful to the trilateral partnership with the United States. "The South Korean government is always ready to sit down and have talks with the Japanese government. I am confident that if we put our heads together in the spirit of trying to understand each other's perspectives, we will also be able to

미국의 한 의사가 수술 도중 화상으로 실시된 법정에 출석해 의료 당국의 조사를 받게 됐다. 28일(현지시간) AP 통신, 미국 캘리포니아주(州) 매체 '새크라멘토 비' 등에 따르면 성형외과 의사 스콧 그린이 지난 25일 새크라멘토 고등법원에서 열린 교통 법규 위반에 관한 재판에 출석했다. 이날 재판은 신종 코로나바이러스 감염증(코로나19) 사태 탓에 실제 법정이 아니라 화상회의 프로그램인 '줌'을 통해 온라인으로 열렸는데 법원 관계자들은 외과용 수술복을 입은 그린을 보고 크게 놀랐다. 화면에서 환자들은 보이지 않았지만, 의료기계가 작동하는 소리가 들렸다. 당황한 법원 서기는 그린을 향해 "재판을 받을 수 있나요?"라며 "지금 수술실에 계신 것 아닙니까?"라고 물었다. 이에 그린은 "그래요. 나는 지금 수술실에 있습니다"고 인정한 뒤 "나는 재판을 받을 수 있어요. 그렇게 합시다"라고 답했다. 법원 서기

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases stayed below 400 for the second straight day Monday, but health authorities remained alert over a continued rise in cluster infections ahead of the start of the spring school semester. The country reported 355 more COVID-19 cases, including 338 local infections, raising the total caseload to 90,029, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The tally was lower than the 356 recorded Sunday and 415 on Saturday. The fall in new cases l

South Korea's exports rose 9.5 percent in February from a year earlier to extend their gains for the fourth consecutive month on robust shipments of chips, autos and other key products, data showed Monday. Exports came to $44.8 billion last month, compared with $40.9 billion a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Imports rose 13.9 percent to $42.1 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $2.71 billion. It marked the 10th consecutive month

South Korea and Switzerland have agreed to extend their bilateral currency swap deal that helps expand financial exchanges between the two countries, Seoul's central bank said Monday. The 11.2 trillion-won ($10.1 billion) currency swap, which had been scheduled to expire today, will be put in place for another 5 years, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said in a statement. The swap agreement enables Korean won and Swiss francs to be purchased and repurchased between the two central banks under a limit

South Koreans commemorated the 102nd anniversary of the March 1 Independence Movement with smaller, subdued commemorations Monday as the nation is battling the coronavirus pandemic. The national holiday is usually observed with large ceremonies, processions and performances remembering the months of popular uprisings against Japan's colonial rule (1910-45), which started in Seoul on March 1, 1919. About 2 million people participated in the protests across the county and more than 7,500 were

Global sensation BTS, alternative pop band Leenalchi and folk singer-songwriter Jeongmilla scooped up multiple awards, including top prizes, at the Korean Music Awards held late Sunday. The Korean Music Awards, now in its 18th year, is an annual music award ceremony that awards musicians on the basis of artistic achievement rather than popularity or commercial success. The ceremony was held without an audience for the second straight year due to the pandemic. BTS received two trophies -- Best

The ruling Democratic Party and the government agreed Sunday to allot 19.5 trillion won ($17.3 billion) for the country's fourth round of COVID-19 relief assistance. The agreement was made during a tripartite meeting of the DP, the government and Cheong Wa Dae, attended by DP Chairman Rep. Lee Nak-yon, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun and Kim Sang-jo, the presidential chief of staff for policy. The upcoming aid package will be funded by an extra budget bill worth 15 trillion won, with the remaini

Cardinal Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk, former Catholic archbishop of Seoul, has been hospitalized due to deteriorating health conditions, according to Catholic insiders Sunday. Cheong, 90, was recently admitted to a hospital and was receiving treatment, according to the sources familiar with the cardinal's situation. He has reportedly managed to overcome critical, life-threatening situations on multiple occasions. Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung, the current archbishop of Seoul, has reportedly noti

The veterans affairs ministry said Sunday it plans to prioritize selling 148 land lots confiscated from former pro-Japanese collaborators to better compensate the sacrifices made by Korean independent activists and their families. The ministry said it has selected the pool of land with relative high practical utilization from among the 855 total land lots it controls that were previously owned by Japanese collaborators. When combined, the land designated for priority sales covers some 3.29 mil

The defense ministry said Sunday it transported a batch of COVID-19 vaccines to Ulleung Island in the East Sea to help inoculate local residents, where access through commercial transportation is relatively time consuming and difficult. The ministry said a batch of AstraZeneca's vaccine from the government's vaccine storage warehouse left Icheon, some 80 kilometers southeast of Seoul, and arrived at a Navy base on Ulleung via a CH-47D military transportation helicopter. After its landing, the

The US State Department assessed that North Korea's stringent measures against COVID-19 have significantly impeded efforts of outside organizations to deliver humanitarian aid to the impoverished nation, according to a news report Sunday. Radio Free Asia quoted a State Department spokesperson as saying that Pyongyang's "extremely stringent COVID-19 response" has "significantly hindered the efforts of humanitarian organizations, UN agencies and other countries to deliver aid to th

최근 학교폭력 논란이 불거진 보이그룹 스트레이키즈 현진이 결국 활동을 중단한다. 소속사 JYP엔터테인먼트는 27일 팬 커뮤니티를 통해 "현진은 연예인 활동 일체를 중단하고 자숙할 예정"이라고 밝혔다. 소속사는 "이미 약속이 되어 있던 일정과 관계된 모든 분께 연락을 취해 최대한 피해가 가지 않는 선에서 활동을 취소할 방법을 조율하느라 다소 시간이 소요됐다"고 설명했다. 이어 "중학교 시절 거칠고 부적절했던 말로 여러 사람에게 상처를 입혔던 것에 대해 진심으로 뉘우치고 되돌아볼 것"이라고 덧붙였다. 앞서 현진은 중학생 때 동급생에게 과거 언어폭력과 성희롱 등을 가했다는 주장이 온라인상에서 제기돼 논란에 휩싸였다. 이에 현진은 피해를 당했다는 글을 올린 게시자를 직접 만나 사과하고, 소셜미디어에도 자필 사과문을 올린 바 있다. (연합뉴스)

South Korea's financial regulator will unveil a plan next month to further slow the growth of household debt, an official said Sunday. Household credit had reached a record high of 1,726.1 trillion won ($1.55 trillion) as of December last year, up 44.2 trillion won from three months earlier. Banks have been required to implement stricter screening rules for mortgage loans to better manage growing household debt. The debt service ratio (DSR), a barometer of risky household loans, measures ho

Hyundai Motor Co.'s preorders of its IONIQ 5 all-electric model in Europe showed a solid start, with the carmaker selling 3,000 units in advance orders. According to Hyundai's affiliates in Europe, about 10,000 people applied to buy the electric car in preorders for the IONIQ 5, the first model embedded with Hyundai's own EV-only electric-global modular platform (E-GMP). The move is likely to help Hyundai and its affiliate Kia Motors increase sales of electric cars in Europe. Last week, Hyund