South Korea faced a record number of import restrictions from trade partners in 2020 amid growing protectionism, a trade body said Thursday. The country was subject to 228 import regulations from 26 countries as of end-December, up 18 from a year earlier, according to a report from the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA). It was also the largest-ever number of import restrictions targeting Asia's fourth-largest economy. Import restrictions cover anti-dumping duties, countervailing

WASHINGTON -- The South Korean Embassy in Washington said Wednesday it will soon release a documentary on kimchi, the most well-known traditional Korean dish that is also part of the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. The first of the three-part documentary, "Kimchi Universe," will be released next Friday, Lunar New Year's Day, according to the Korean Cultural Center in Washington. It will be available for anyone to watch at the center's website at http://washingtondc.korean-cultur

The immigrant film "Minari" on Wednesday was nominated for best foreign language film at this year's Golden Globe Awards.    According to the full list of nominees for the 2021 Golden Globe Awards slated for Feb. 28 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), Korean American director Lee Isaac Chung's semi-autobiographical film will compete for best motion picture in foreign language with "Another Round" from Denmark, "La Llorona" from Guatemala,

The minor progressive Justice Party decided Wednesday not to field candidates in the April mayoral by-elections in the wake of a sexual abuse scandal that led to the expulsion of its leader. Kim Jong-cheol resigned as head of the party on Jan. 25 after admitting to sexually harassing a female lawmaker of the same party. He was expelled from the party Thursday. At a meeting of its national committee, the party decided not to nominate candidates in the by-elections as a way of "abiding by t

The government is expected to announce a plan this week to provide a total of 850,000 homes to cool down the overheated property market, government and parliamentary officials said Wednesday.    Under the plan, likely to be unveiled Thursday, about 325,000 units will be supplied in Seoul, and the rest in other major cities, including Busan, Daegu and Gwangju, where property prices have soared over the recent months, the officials said.    Public companies like Korea Land

Unification Minister Lee In-young said Wednesday that South Korea has been sufficiently communicating with the United States about a recently legislated ban on the sending of anti-Pyongyang leaflets into North Korea.  The amendment to the Development of Inter-Korean Relations Act, set to take effect next month, has raised concerns among critics that it could hurt freedom of expression and undercut efforts to send outside information into the reclusive North.  "South Korea and th

Kumho Tire Co. and its labor union said Wednesday they have reached a tentative wage deal for the year of 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The tentative wage agreement comes after the company's 2,700-strong union threatened to stage a general strike to demand a wage increase and restore the bonus system in a vote held Jan. 28. The company proposed a wage freeze and a cash bonus worth 1 million won ($900) per worker and signed a contract that guarantees job security for current workers. The uni

An explosion accident at a glass substrate plant in South Korea is likely to exacerbate the tight supply of display panels and maintain their prices at a high level, market watchers said Wednesday, burdening TV makers' procurement efforts. The explosion occurred last Friday when workers were replacing old pipes connected to a furnace at AGC Fine Techno Korea Co.'s glass substrate manufacturing plant in Gumi, some 250 kilometers south of Seoul. The accident injured nine workers, according to the

K-pop boy band Seventeen will be releasing its third single album in Japan in April, the band's management said Wednesday. The new album, titled "Hitorijianai" in Japanese, meaning "you're not alone," will be released on April 21, according to Pledis Entertainment. It comes a year after the act dropped its second Japanese single "Fallin' Flower," also in April last year. Pledis explained that the upcoming album carries three songs, including the namesake new Japan

Amorepacific Corp. on Wednesday reported its 2020 net profit of 21.9 billion won ($19.6 million), down 90.2 percent from a year earlier. The company said in a regulatory filing that operating profit for the year fell 66.6 percent on-year to 143 billion won. Annual revenue decreased 20.6 percent to 4.43 trillion won. (Yonhap)

South Korea's top cosmetics maker Amorepacific Corp. said Wednesday its fourth-quarter net loss increased 1.7 percent year-on-year largely due to the impact from the coronavirus pandemic.    The company's net loss came to 58.9 billion won ($52.8 million) in the October-December period, compared to 57.9 billion won a year ago, the company said in a regulatory filing.    Operating loss stood at 9.2 billion won, marking a steep decline from 45.9 billion won the previous year.

DAEGU -- A person was sentenced to two years in prison for defrauding people of more than 200 million won ($179,000) by promising to buy them protective face masks at a cheap price, among other things, a local court said Wednesday. The Daegu District Court, about 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, convicted the 48-year-old of fraud, saying the defendant used the money to repay personal debts and cover entertainment expenses. "Stern punishment is required as there are serious concerns the

South Korea's health authorities said Wednesday they have identified five more cases of contagious variants of COVID-19, which were all domestically transmitted, sparking concerns over the spread of the more transmissible virus here. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said four people were confirmed to have been infected with a variant from Britain and one tested positive for the South African variant, raising the total caseload to 39. Four patients with the British strain

The defense ministry said Wednesday it cannot accept Japan's "unjust complaint" over Seoul's latest white paper blaming Tokyo for straining relations between the two countries with a claim to South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo. On Tuesday, Japan's defense ministry called in South Korea's military attache in Tokyo to complain about the 2020 white paper's statement that military cooperation between the two countries has been hampered due to Japan's continued claim to Dokdo and a

North Korea is accelerating efforts to improve its irrigation system and recover from last year's flood damage ahead of the spring farming season, state media said Wednesday. Last summer, North Korea was hit hard by heavy rains and back-to-back typhoons in several regions, including the rice-producing areas in its southern parts. As part of recovery efforts, the North is repairing its reservoirs and building waterways in typhoon-hit regions, including in Gangwon and South Hamgyong provinces, a

South Korea said Wednesday it has clinched a free trade deal with Cambodia, the latest in a series of its free trade pacts to revitalize its ailing exports amid the new coronavirus pandemic. Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee and her Cambodian counterpart Pan Sorasak held a virtual meeting and declared that Seoul and Phnom Penh have completed FTA negotiations, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. "The FTA will pave the way for the two countries to overcome challenges from th

Online shopping in South Korea hit a fresh record high in December as more people purchased products via e-commerce platforms amid tougher virus curbs caused by the pandemic, data showed Wednesday. The value of online transactions stood at 15.9 trillion won ($14.2 billion) in December, up 26.1 percent from the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea. The use of online shopping sharply rose amid the pandemic as people refrained from visiting stores over concerns about infecti

A heavy snow advisory has been issued for Wednesday evening in the greater Seoul area, the state weather agency said. The advisory goes into effect at 5 p.m. in Incheon and parts of Gyeonggi Province and at 7 p.m. in Seoul and the rest of Gyeonggi, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration. The warning is given when the snowfall is expected to reach 5 centimeters or more within 24 hours. Snowfall will be heaviest between 9 p.m. Wednesday and 3 a.m. Thursday in the capital area, the

Rep. Joo Ho-young, the floor leader of the main opposition party, proposed Wednesday the ruling party and the government form a consultative body with it to coordinate COVID-19 relief measures. "I propose that concerned officials of the ruling and the main opposition parties and the government form a consultative body to enable the speedy and practical provision of assistance to victims reeling from (antivirus business restrictions)," the floor leader of the People Power Party (PPP) s

South Korea will invest 202.4 billion won ($181.8 million) this year in virtual reality (VR) technology and devices to support the growth of the country's digital content industry, according to the ICT ministry on Wednesday. The move comes after the government unveiled a broader interagency investment plan for the industry last year, setting aside over 400 billion won for this year, in line with its digital New Deal program, which aims to spend 58.2 trillion won in key tech industries to create