First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun met with Germany's top envoy here Thursday to discuss joint efforts to deepen bilateral ties and cooperation in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change, the foreign ministry said. During their talks, Choi and Ambassador Michael Reiffenstuel agreed to continue communication at each government level to jointly address global challenges, including the pandemic, and explore ways to cooperate in securing COVID-19 vaccines. They also agreed to work

The prosecution filed for a warrant to arrest a former industry and energy minister Thursday as part of a probe into the controversial closure of an aging nuclear reactor. The Daejeon District Prosecutors Office asked a court to issue the warrant for Paik Un-gyu on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of business. Paik has been under probe over allegations that he abused his power in the viability assessment of Wolsong-1, the nation's second-oldest nuclear reactor, before the government d

Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea's biggest carrier, said Thursday its net losses narrowed in 2020 from a year earlier, as it offset the pandemic-caused slump in passenger travel with increased cargo deliveries and enjoyed decent gains from an asset sale. Net losses narrowed to 291.45 billion won ($260 million) last year from 622.76 billion won the previous year, the company said in a regulatory filing. "The proceeds from the sale of its in-flight catering and duty-free business and forei

The mastermind of an infamous Telegram sexual exploitation ring was sentenced to an additional five years in prison on Thursday for concealing profits from the crime for which had already been given a 40-year jail term last year. The Seoul Central District Court found Cho Ju-bin guilty of hiding some 108 million won ($96,500) of criminal proceeds by receiving cryptocurrency for the sexually exploitative materials he sold on the pay-to-view chat rooms on Telegram. The 25-year-old was also convi

Associations of small merchants filed a petition on Thursday with the Constitutional Court, asking it to review whether virus-related restrictions violate their basic property rights. The petition is the third of its kind, with the first one filed by bar and internet cafe owners on Jan. 5 and the second one by gym owners and others on Jan. 29. This time, more indoor sports facilities, karaoke rooms, cafes and bakery owners participated in the legal action, supported by civic groups, including

Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings Co. (HHIH) said on Thursday that it swung to the red last year from a year earlier due to losses from equity ties with its oil refining unit and the new coronavirus pandemic. Its net loss came to 789.7 billion won ($705.8 million) in 2020, compared with a net profit of 115.3 billion won a year ago, the company said in a regulatory filing. Sales fell 29 percent on-year to 18.91 trillion won last year, while it suffered an operating loss of 597.1 billion won, sw

South Korean search giant Naver Corp. said Thursday it will shut down its online portal's real-time search chart service this month amid a yearslong controversy over whether it could be prone to advertising or be used to rig public opinion. The portal giant, which draws 30 million users everyday, said in a blog post that it will shut down the service on Feb. 25 as user searches have become more diversified and specific. The search chart first appeared in 2005 and has served as a major part of

South Korean stocks snapped their three-day winning streak Thursday, as foreign and institutional investors sought profits following a recent hike. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 42.13 points, or 1.35 percent, to close at 3,087.55 points. Trading volume was high at about 1.3 billion shares worth around 20.4 trillion won ($18.2 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 539 to 305. Foreigners sold a net 640 billion won, e

Only 55 of 17,890 people have antibodies against the novel coronavirus in South Korea, health authorities said Thursday, underscoring that the country's aggressive containment efforts might have curbed the prevalence of the virus. The antibody rate of 0.31 percent in South Korea is extremely low compared with other nations and global cities, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Data from the World Health Organization shows that the rate is less than 10 percent in

LOONA has made its first entry on the Billboard's Pop Airplay chart, becoming the first K-pop girl group to rank on the radio chart since BLACKPINK. LOONA's all-English song "Star" ranked No. 40 on the Billboard's Pop Airplay chart, set to be updated on Saturday (US time), according to the US music publication. The chart reflects weekly data from some 160 US radio stations. The Billboard cited Bill Schulz, a program director at radio station KCLA in Reno, Nevada, who was quoted as sa

An appellate court on Thursday handed down a reduced sentence to Woo Byung-woo, a former senior aide to ousted President Park Geun-hye, in a corruption scandal that led to Park's removal from office in 2017. The Seoul High Court sentenced Woo, who served as presidential secretary for civil affairs for Park from 2015-2016, to one year in prison for illegal surveillance of officials. The court cleared him of other charges, including dereliction of duty and a violation of the act on testimony befo

The ruling Democratic Party (DP) plans to swiftly draw up an extra budget that includes plans for both targeted and universal pandemic relief packages, the party's head of policy said Thursday, in spite of fiscal concerns raised by the finance ministry. "The party and the government will draw up an extra budget at the earliest date through active consultations. We intend to include a firm amount of targeted support together with a universal handout program," Rep. Hong Ik-pyo, DP's hea

Four American service members and a US Forces Korea retiree tested positive for the new coronavirus upon their arrival here last month, USFK said Thursday. The latest cases raised the total number of COVID-19 infections reported among the USFK population to 701, most of whom tested positive upon their arrival here from the United States. Of the newly reported cases, one service member arrived at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, some 70 kilometers south of Seoul, on a US government chartered flight

The state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea (Korea Eximbank) said Thursday that it has issued global bonds worth $1.5 billion to overseas investors. The three-tranche debt is comprised of three-year bonds worth $500 million and five-year bonds worth $700 million, with the remainder maturing in 10 years, the lender said. The three-year bonds carry an annual interest rate of the yield on three-year US Treasurys plus 0.23 percent, and the five-year debt has a rate of the return on five-year US Trea

South Korea's industry ministry said Thursday it plans to raise 200 billion won ($179 million) this year to nurture eco-friendly automobiles and other state-of-the-art technologies, in line with the country's New Deal drive announced last year. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said it has clinched a memorandum of understanding with a slew of industrial and financial partners, including Hyundai Motor Group. Of the fund, the government plans to chip in 50 billion won, followed by Hyund

The unification ministry said Thursday it is not appropriate to use the inter-Korean cooperation fund to help people suffering from the coronavirus given the nature of the money set aside for cross-border exchanges. Media reports earlier showed that the main opposition People Power Party is pushing to tap into the inter-Korean fund worth around 1.2 trillion won ($1.08 billion) in providing support for the virus-affected people during an interpellation session Friday. "The inter-Korean coo

The period comedy series "Mr. Queen" on tvN has become the biggest cable TV hit over the past year despite criticism over its Chinese original and some historically controversial scenes. The series' 16th episode that aired Sunday recorded 14.9 percent in viewership, according to data by Nielson Korea. It is the fifth-highest rated tvN's drama series of all time, following 21.7 percent by the romantic comedy "Crash Landing On You" (2019), 20.5 percent by the fantasy romance

A hilarious meme contrasting K-pop soloist HyunA's choreography for her new song "I'm Not Cool" with a scene from the Japanese animation "Crayon Shin-chan" has become the latest meme to hit Korea. The singer, known for her bold and powerful performances, last week released a new album, "I'm Not Cool," with a namesake title track. She worked on the song with her boyfriend and singer Dawn, as well as Psy, the "Gangnam Style" star who heads her agency P Nati

Officials at the South Korean Embassy in Iran have met with the crew members aboard a Korean oil tanker seized in the country, the foreign ministry said Thursday, a day after Tehran said it will free most of the sailors. On Tuesday (local time), Iran announced it will let the crew members detained aboard the MT Hankuk Chemi, leave, except for the captain, about a month after its military seized them along with the vessel in its waters for allegedly polluting the ocean. The 20 crew members are

South Korea and the United States are in talks over how to hold their annual springtime combined exercise in consideration of the coronavirus situation, the defense ministry said Thursday. The planned exercise has drawn keen attention amid concern that the North could use the exercise as a pretext for provocations in the early months of the administration of US President Joe Biden. Pyongyang has long denounced such drills as a rehearsal for invasion. The defense ministry has said the exercise