South Korean restaurants' business sentiment sank to an all-time low in the fourth quarter of 2020 amid a surge in COVID-19 infections in the country, a state food distribution firm said Monday. The business survey index for the country's restaurant industry came to 59.33 for the October-December period, according to the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp. It was the lowest quarterly tally since the state-run company began compiling the index in 2011. The fourth-quarter number was low

Paek Ki-wan, who devoted his life to the reunification of the two Koreas and labor and social issues, died in hospital Monday, hospital officials said. He was 88. According to Seoul National University Hospital and his aides, Paek had been in the hospital since January of last year with symptoms of pneumonia. Born in 1932 in what is now Unnyul in North Korea's South Hwanghae Province, he came to the South in 1946 after graduating from elementary school there. Suffering emotional distress du

South Korea's consumer prices grew at the fastest pace in 10 years in 2021 due to surging energy costs and high prices of farm products, data showed Friday, indicating a build-up in inflationary pressure for Asia's fourth-largest economy. Consumer prices rose 2.5 percent this year from a year earlier, accelerating from a 0.5 percent on-year gain in 2020, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It marked the steepest on-year rise since 2011, when consumer inflation spiked 4 percent.

South Korea reported two additional cases of avian influenza at egg farms on Sunday, bringing the number of cases of the H5N8 strain of avian influenza from local poultry farms to 95. The two cases of the highly pathogenic avian influenza of the H5N8 strain were confirmed at two egg farms in Icheon, 80 kilometers southeast of Seoul, according to the government's avian influenza response headquarters. Quarantine authorities kept people from moving in and out of the poultry farms in the affec

The ruling Democratic Party (DP) started discussing the extra budget with the government to selectively provide the fourth round of emergency handouts to people and businesses hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic by the end of next month, the party leader said Sunday. DP Chairman Rep. Lee Nak-yon made the remarks in a press conference, adding both sides will wrap up the discussion within February.  Earlier, DP floor leader Rep. Kim Tae-nyeon said in another press conference that the pa

South Korea's job market is expected to recover modestly from the coronavirus pandemic as it will take more time for the number of people employed to recover to a pre-crisis level than to decline, according to a recent report by the Bank of Korea (BOK). South Korea has rolled out about 280 trillion won ($251 billion) worth of stimulus measures to cushion the impact of the pandemic, but companies have hired fewer workers than expected amid persistent uncertainties over the global health crisis.

A non-commissioned officer on a peacekeeping mission in South Sudan has tested positive for the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said Sunday. The member of the Hanbit Unit in the African nation was confirmed to have contracted the virus upon return from off-installation duty, according to the ministry. It is the fourth COVID-19 case reported among troops dispatched abroad following three infections reported in Lebanon and Bahrain earlier this month. South Korea began sending troops to So

South Korean mobile carriers are aiming for mass user migration to 5G networks this year after failing to meet their subscriber targets in 2020 amid the pandemic. The country ended last year with a total 11.85 million 5G subscribers, with SK Telecom Co., the country's largest wireless carrier, leading the pack with 5.48 million users, followed by KT Corp. at 3.62 million and LG Uplus Corp. at 2.75 million, according to ICT ministry data. The total figure fell short of initial forecasts of arou

More than half of South Koreans are in favor of raising taxes for high income earners to mitigate the polarization that has deepened during the pandemic, a poll showed Sunday. In the survey of 1,000 South Koreans aged 18 or older conducted last week, 57.4 percent of respondents agreed to a tax hike on high earners in the face of a widening income gap, while 39.3 percent disagreed, according to Realmeter. Nearly 83 percent of the respondents said the polarization has worsened during the COVID-1

Convenience stores outperformed major department stores for the first time in terms of offline sales last year amid the country's yearlong social distancing scheme, data showed Sunday. The combined sales of the top three convenience store chains -- GS25, CU and 7-Eleven -- took up 31 percent of the total offline sales in local retail industry, up from 29.2 percent a year ago, according to the data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. On the other hand, the combined percentage of bi

South Korea's household saving rate is likely to rise if a pandemic-hit economic crisis persists, in a potential move that could delay a recovery in consumption, a research note from the Bank of Korea (BOK) showed. The yearlong coronavirus pandemic has prompted consumers in South Korea to curb spending, mainly due to stricter social distancing measures, and stockpile cash. "It is true that the higher domestic household saving rate this year is mainly attributable to a contraction in spend

South Korea's trade mediation agency said Sunday it resolved 120.7 billion won ($108.4 million) worth of unfair contracts through arbitration last year. The Korea Fair Trade Mediation Agency said it mediated 1,308 cases of unfair trade, subcontract work, franchise operation and retail business last year. Through the agency's dispute settlement, smaller firms received compensation of 109.1 billion won last year. When taking saved litigation costs into account, the value topped 120 billion won,

South Korea's air passenger traffic plunged 68 percent last year in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, the transport ministry said Sunday. In 2020, the number of passengers on domestic and international routes fell to 39.4 million from 123.3 million a year earlier as countries strengthened entry restrictions to stem the spread of COVID-19, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a statement. In particular, the number of passengers on international routes plummeted 84 perc

Spotify Technology SA, which opened its service in South Korea early this month, is expected to face fierce competition in the music streaming market currently dominated by local players. While the Swedish company is one of the top audio streaming services in the world, with 345 million users across 93 markets, it is up against established homegrown services in South Korea -- the sixth-largest music market in the world -- such as tech giant Kakao Corp.'s Melon, Genie Music under telecom operato

South Korea's steel production fell below 70 million metric tons for the first time in four years in 2020 as demand from carmakers, shipbuilders and construction firms plunged amid the COVID-19 pandemic, industry data showed Sunday. The country produced a total of 60.71 million metric tons of steel in 2020, ranking sixth in terms of steel output, following China, India, Japan, Russia and the United States, according to data from the Korea Iron & Steel Association. It was the first time for

Energy-to-telecom conglomerate SK Group has the largest number of affiliated companies, data showed Sunday. SK Group, the country's 4th largest business group, had 144 affiliates as of Jan. 31, the most among 64 conglomerates subject to tighter curbs, such as limited inter-affiliate trading. Kakao Corp., the country's top mobile messenger and platform operator, came next in line with a total of 105 affiliates, including 99 non-financials and six financials. Private equity fund IMM Investment

The foreign ministry said Sunday there were no reports of South Koreans suffering damage from the 7.3-magnitude earthquake that struck off northeastern Japan the previous night. The quake, which occurred at around 11 p.m. off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture, left over 100 people injured, according to Japanese media. "No damage from our nationals has been reported so far," the ministry said, adding that its consulate general will provide necessary assistance to South Koreans living

Earnings of brokerage houses in South Korea soared to a record-high last year amid a stock rush, chasing closely after those of first-tier banks, data showed Sunday. The combined operating profit of the top 20 brokerages by capital base stood at 7.85 trillion won ($7.09 billion) in 2020, soaring 36.7 percent from the previous year, according to the Financial Supervisory Service's regulatory filing. The brokerages' yearly net profit jumped 25.1 percent on-year to 5.96 trillion won. Their total

'일부 개인 방송 진행자들은 지나친 경제적 욕심으로 점점 더 자극적으로 콘텐츠를 제작하고 아예 허위 정보를 담고 있다.' 최근 한 재판부가 선거를 앞두고 허위사실을 유포한 혐의로 기소된 유튜버에게 징역형을 선고하며 판결문에 이같이 적시했다. 일부 개인 방송 진행자들의 소위 '가짜 뉴스' 유포를 사회 현상을 보고 폐해를 경고하면서도 '정치적 표현의 자유'가 위축되는 것을 우려, 보호 범위를 부연했다. 14일 법원에 따르면 유튜버 A씨는 2019년 7월부터 개인 방송을 진행했다. 처음에는 자영업자 권익을 주제로 방송했으나 지난해 4·15 총선에 맞춰 정치 관련 내용을 다뤘다. A씨는 지난해 2월 승용차를 타고 이낙연 당시 예비후보의 선거사무실 앞까지 간 뒤, 차 안에서 유튜브 채널을 통해 실시간으로 개인 방송을 진행했다. 시청자 수는 2만7천명에 달했다. 방송 도중 A씨는 제보를 받았다며 이 후보가 국무총리 시절 작성한 방명록 사진을 화면에 띄웠다. '주석님의

Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea's biggest carrier, has joined other airlines to offer "flights to nowhere" as a way to ride out the coronavirus crisis, the transport ministry said Sunday. Korean Air plans to use the A380 passenger jet on the route from Incheon to the East Sea, Busan, Jeju Island, the Straits of Korea and back to Incheon on Feb. 27, a ministry official said. The entertainment-packed flight to nowhere will take two hours and 20 minutes. It is priced at 219,000 won-70