Kim Beom-su, the founder of South Korea's top mobile messenger operator Kakao Corp., said Thursday that his role model is Bill Gates and that he wants to further benchmark the steps of the US business magnate following his donation pledge. In an online conference with employees, Kim, who recently pledged to donate more than half of his assets worth over 10 trillion won ($9 billion), shared his ideas of donation and the company's future. "My role model for solving social problems is Bill G

Former Texas Rangers All-Star Choo Shin-soo brings impressive major league credentials to his new South Korean club, but he left his ego back in the United States before arriving in his homeland on Thursday. Choo on Tuesday signed a one-year deal worth 2.7 billion won (US$2.4 million) with the SK Wyverns, a club soon to be renamed after recently being sold to Shinsegae Group. Choo is expected to bat near the top of the order and play a corner outfield position, as he did for most of his 16-year

  Mercedes-Benz Korea, Hyundai Motor and seven other companies will voluntarily recall over 470,000 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 nine companies, including Honda Motor, Audi-Volkswagen Korea and Kia, are recalling a combined 478,371 units due to faulty components in 171 models, the Ministry of Land,

The National Assembly is pushing for a law revision to strengthen the punishment of homicide by child abuse in the wake of a series of recent fatal abuse cases that shocked the nation. The Legislation and Judiciary Committee on Thursday passed a revision bill on child abuse crimes, under which those convicted of child abuse murder will be punished with at least seven years in prison, life imprisonment or the death penalty. The bill is expected to advance to a full floor vote on Friday. Current

Police are investigating a video that warns of an attack at Incheon International Airport on the March 1st Independence Movement Day. According to the Incheon International Airport Police Corps, they were tipped off by a citizen on Tuesday about a suspicious YouTube video threatening to attack the airport at 11 a.m. on the national holiday. The video, uploaded on Sunday, has since changed its content to a message that Osama Bin Laden, the late leader of Al Qaeda and the mastermind of the Septe

T'way Air, a South Korean low-cost carrier, on Thursday reported widened losses last year due to the coronavirus' impact on the airline industry. Net losses deepened to 137.87 billion won ($124 million) in 2020 from 43.21 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. Operating losses also widened to 174.31 billion won last year from 19.24 billion won the previous year. Sales fell 66 percent to 269.22 billion won from 810.45 billion won over the cited period, it said.

A migrant worker who died at home in Yangju, north of Seoul, posthumously tested positive for the coronavirus Thursday, health officials said. The 49-year-old Nigerian national was found dead on Wednesday by an acquaintance, who visited the home at the request of the worker's family member. Health authorities conducted coronavirus testing after the family told them the deceased person recently had cold symptoms. The result came back positive Thursday. officials said. Health officials took inf

South Korea should put off or suspend its combined springtime military exercise with the United States as part of efforts to improve inter-Korean relations, a researcher at a state-run think tank said Thursday. Kim Sang-ki, a researcher at the state-run Korea Institute for National Unification (KINU), made the point in a report amid concern that the joint exercise, expected to take place next month, could provide North Korea with a pretext for provocations. "It is necessary to postpone th

Kim Jin-wook, the head of the new powerful investigative agency, on Thursday vowed to remain politically neutral and not to give in to political pressure when it comes to investigations. In his first public debate since taking office last month, Kim, the inaugural chief of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), said he will try his best to listen to different opinions on contentious and divisive issues. "I will be impartial towards everyone with different op

South Korean stocks sharply rebounded to surge more than 3 percent Thursday as the US Federal Reserve chairman's comments soothed inflation worries. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) jumped 104.71 points, or 3.5 percent, to close at 3,099.69 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.3 billion shares worth some 16.9 trillion won ($15.3 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 807 to 80. Foreigners bought a net 968 billion

Global superstar BTS has earned another "million point" song on Japan's Oricon music chart with its upbeat pop-disco hit "Dynamite," the band's agency said Thursday. "Dynamite," the all-English summer number released in August, has accumulated more than 1 million points on the Japanese music chart's weekly single rankings, according to Big Hit Entertainment. Oricon ranks singles based on digital downloads and streaming plays. In the latest weekly chart tallied bet

The National Assembly is pushing for a law revision to strengthen the punishment of homicide by child abuse in the wake of a series of recent fatal abuse cases that shocked the nation. A subcommittee of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee on Wednesday passed a revision bill on child abuse crimes, under which those convicted of child abuse murder will be punished with at least seven years in prison, life imprisonment or the death penalty. Currently, those who commit child abuse that results

South Korean football star Ki Sung-yueng took to social media on Thursday to once again deny allegations of sexual and physical assault on elementary school teammates. Ki, midfielder for FC Seoul in the K League 1, posted an Instagram message in response to claims put forward on Wednesday by two alleged victims of Ki's misconduct. In a press release by their attorney, the two charged that Ki forced them to perform sexual acts on him between January and June in 2000 and beat them up when they di

South Korea said Thursday it plans to suspend the operations of more coal-powered plants during spring time in line with its efforts to cut the emissions of fine dust. Under the plan, the country plans to halt the operation of 19 to 28 coal plants in March depending on the electricity demand, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. It will mark a sharp rise from nine to 17 plants suspended over the December-January period. The country's fine dust emissions from coal-powered pl

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki plans to attend a meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors of the Group of 20 major economies this week to discuss ways to tackle the pandemic, the finance ministry said Thursday. The meeting, to be chaired by Italy, will be held virtually Friday due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. G-20 financial chiefs and leaders of international organizations will discuss ways to strengthen policy coordination to cope wi

Police raided SK Innovation Co. on Thursday in connection with the allegations that it stole electric vehicle (EV) battery technologies from its local competitor. According to the police, the national security investigation division of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency launched a search operation at the company in central Seoul earlier in the day. The police have been investigating the case after they received a complaint in May 2019 from LG Chem Ltd. that SK Innovation poached talent from

South Korea's upcoming fourth round of COVID-19 relief handouts may amount to more than 19.5 trillion won ($17.6 billion), the ruling Democratic Party (DP) said Thursday. The scale of the government's proposal for the new batch of pandemic relief fund has been tentatively set at around 19.5 trillion won, but the final amount could rise further during the National Assembly's review of the related bill, Rep. Yoo Dong-soo, a deputy chief of the DP's policy committee, indicated. "(The size of

Leading experts on North Korea underscored the need Thursday to address Pyongyang's human rights issues should Washington engage in talks on the normalization of relations between the two countries. Speaking at a virtual forum on peace efforts on the Korean Peninsula, Robert Gallucci, former US nuclear negotiator, and Victor Cha, Korea chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, made the point, as the administration of US President Joe Biden is intent on reasserting America's r

Twelve American service members and two of their family members have tested positive for the coronavirus upon arrival here from the United States recently, US Forces Korea (USFK) said Thursday. Seven service members and two dependents arrived on international commercial flights at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, between Feb. 5 and Feb. 21, according to USFK. The remaining five service members arrived at Osan Air Base on US government chartered flights from the US on Feb. 3 and 22

Unification Minister Lee In-young said Thursday the government will push to resume long-suspended tours to North Korea on an individual basis as soon as the pandemic eases, saying it is "the best way to break the boundaries" between South and North Koreans. "There are still many South Koreans who wish to visit Mount Kumgang though it has been over 10 years since its suspension," he said, pointing out that such exchanges can help restore "national homogeneity." &qu