The government said Saturday it will allow businesses outside the greater Seoul area to operate until 10 p.m. starting next week, relaxing the distancing rules amid growing discontent over the prolonged virus curbs. The revised measure will permit businesses like restaurants and fitness clubs to extend their operating hours by one hour under Level 2 distancing currently imposed on the provincial regions, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said in a government response meeting. "After careful d

SK Chemicals on Friday reported its 2020 net profit of 258.3 billion won ($229.9 million), up 5,043.7 percent from a year earlier. The company said in a regulatory filing that operating income for the year rose 18.5 percent on-year to 95.2 billion won. Annual revenue decreased 15.7 percent to 1.2 trillion won. (Yonhap)

Eight members of the US Space Force are currently serving at an American air base in South Korea, US military officers have said. CM Sgt. Philip Hudson, 7th Air Force command chief, made the revelation during a webinar held on Tuesday, saying "now we have eight guardians on the peninsula." Earlier, the US military said an enlistment ceremony was held at the Kunsan Air Base in the western city of Gunsan on Monday to mark the transition of three airmen from the 8th Communications Squad

NCSoft Corp., a major South Korean online and mobile game developer, said Friday its net profit soared 63.3 percent in 2020 from a year earlier thanks to the continued popularity of its major mobile titles. Net profit stood at 586.6 billion won ($522 million) last year, compared with 359.3 billion won a year earlier, NCSoft said in a regulatory filing. Operating profit came to 824.8 billion won for the year, compared with 479 billion won the previous year. Annual sales rose 42 percent on-year

Lotte Chemical Corp., a major South Korean petrochemical company, said Friday its fourth-quarter net profit more doubled from a year earlier on strong demand for its petrochemical products. The petrochemical unit of Lotte Group posted a net profit of 97.2 billion won ($86.5 million) in the October-December period, up 104.1 percent from a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. Its operating profit jumped 49.4 percent on-year to 212.5 billion won, while sales fell 12.5 percent to

The United Nations has granted a sanctions waiver for a South Korean organization working on a project to provide safe drinking water to North Korea, a UN website showed Friday. This marks this year's first UN sanctions exemption to North Korea. The organization was given an exemption for nine months until Oct. 22, 2021, according to the website. The website did not identify the name of the organization, nor did it specify the size of the assistance and other details. In November, a UN Securi

The ruling Democratic Party (DP) on Friday pressed Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki to make a "bold decision" in providing a new round of COVID-19 relief payments amid an ongoing policy disagreement between the party and the ministry. "(The government) should further intensify its fiscal role so that it safeguards the lives of the people and the economy with a desperate attitude that befits a crisis situation," DP floor leader Rep. Kim Tae-nyeon said in a party leadership meetin

Hankook Tire & Technology Co., the world's seventh-biggest tiremaker by sales, said Friday its net profit fell 12 percent in 2020 from a year earlier on foreign exchange losses. For the whole of 2020, net profit fell to 379.2 billion won ($337 million) from 429.6 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a statement. "The won's weakness against the dollar drove up the company's dollar-denominated debts and weighed on the annual bottom line," a company spokesman said over th

South Korea's power plant builder Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co. said Friday that its board of directors has decided to sell the company's 35 percent stake in Doosan Infracore Co. for 850 billion won ($757 million) to global shipbuilding holding company Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings Co. (HHIH). Cash-strapped Doosan Heavy disposed of 76 million shares of its construction equipment unit Doosan Infracore to improve business efficiency and management structure, the company said

South Korean stocks rebounded Friday in line with rallies in global stock markets, as signs of recovery from the pandemic boosted foreign buying of local stocks. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 33.08 points, or 1.07 percent, to close at 3,120.63 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.2 billion shares worth some 19.4 trillion won ($17.3 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 504 to 339. Foreigners bought a net

A group of Korean students at Harvard Law School has decried a professor's recent controversial claims that victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery were willing prostitutes as "factually incorrect and misleading." On Thursday, the Korean Association of Harvard Law School issued a statement criticizing a recent article by J. Mark Ramseyer, Mitsubishi professor of Japanese Legal Studies at the Harvard school, which is titled "Contracting for sex in the Pacific War." The art

President Moon Jae-in said Friday his government won't spare support for a project to create the world's biggest offshore wind power generation complex in southwestern South Korea, declaring a vision for turning the nation into one of the top five powerhouses in the field. He was attending the signing ceremony of a relevant investment deal, worth 48 trillion won ($43 billion), in Sinan, South Jeolla Province, about 400 kilometers south of Seoul, where the facilities with a maximum capacity of 8

Angelina Jolie pleaded with the world Friday to come together and stop acting selfishly amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The Academy Award winning actress spoke virtually in her capacity as a special envoy for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) during an international forum hosted by Yonsei University, a school in Seoul attended by her eldest son, Maddox. She said the virus had exposed the world's vulnerabilities and areas where more work needed to be done, including climate

Financially troubled carmaker SsangYong Motor Co. said Friday it will extend the suspension of its local plant due to a lack of parts supplies from contractors. SsangYong Motor already halted its plant in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, on Dec. 24, Dec. 28, and Feb. 3-5 as its subcontractors refused to deliver parts due to outstanding payments. The SUV-focused carmaker filed for court receivership on Dec. 21 after it failed to obtain approval for the rollover of existing loans from i

The foreign ministry has restored the expression "closest neighbor" to refer to Japan in its latest white paper published this week, as Seoul pushes to improve ties with Tokyo frayed over wartime issues. "Japan is South Korea's closest neighboring country that we should work with not only for bilateral relations but also for the peace and prosperity in Northeast Asia and the world," according to the 2020 white paper released Friday. In the 2019 version, Japan was described

"Soul," the latest animated film by Disney-Pixar, has become the first movie to top 1 million admissions here this year amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, box office data showed Friday. The fantasy comedy drama attracted over 30,000 viewers Thursday, surpassing the 1 million mark 15 days after its release on Jan. 20, according to the data compiled by the Korean Film Council. The movie has stayed at the top spot on the South Korean box office for more than two weeks except for two d

South Korea's drug safety agency said Friday it has approved pharmaceutical giant Celltrion Inc.'s COVID-19 treatment candidate on several conditions. The conditional marketing authorization of CT-P59, an anti-COVID-19 monoclonal antibody treatment candidate, marks the country's first homegrown COVID-19 treatment. The Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said CT-P59 can be administered to COVID-19 patients at higher risk, referring to people aged 60 or older, or with health conditions like

Samsung Electronics Co. has asked Texas state officials to give tax breaks for its potential new chip plant, news reports showed Friday, raising speculation that the South Korean tech titan could make a big investment in the United States. The world's largest memory chipmaker has requested authorities in Texas to grant tax abatements over 20 years, which would be worth a total of $805.5 million, for its new $17 billion chip facility in Austin, Texas, according to the Austin American-Statesman n

South Korea and the United States agreed to pursue an early conclusion of their defense cost-sharing talks to help strengthen their alliance and defense posture during their video talks Friday, the foreign ministry said. Seoul's top negotiator, Jeong Eun-bo, and his US counterpart, Donna Welton, led their first such meeting since last month's launch of the Joe Biden administration to advance their negotiations to determine Seoul's share of the cost for stationing the 28,500-strong US Forces Ko

K-pop girl group TWICE will hold a digital concert that will be broadcast live in Japan next month, the act's management agency said Friday. "TWICE in Wonderland" will air at 7 p.m. on March 6 in collaboration with Japan's biggest mobile operator NTT DoCoMo, according to JYP Entertainment. The gig will be powered by state-of-the-art technology like augmented reality and mixed reality, allowing fans to enjoy a more lively concert experience, the agency explained. TWICE -- consisting