Samsung Electronics Co. is expected to remain the world's leading TV vendor for the 15th straight year in 2020 on brisk demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic, a report said Wednesday. The South Korean tech behemoth is forecast to sell 49.02 million TVs this year after shipping 33.92 million units in the first three quarters of the year, according to the report from market researcher Omdia. The estimate is up 11.2 percent from the previous year and marks the largest annual sales number sinc

US President-elect Joe Biden reiterated the importance of people taking necessary steps to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus on Tuesday, saying the "darkest times" have yet to come. He also highlighted the need for people to get vaccinated as quickly as possible, but insisted they must continue wearing masks and socially distance. "One thing I promise you about my leadership during this crisis, I'm going to tell it to you straight. I'm going to tell you the truth,"

A consortium led by construction company Dongbu Corp. was picked Tuesday as the preferred bidder for the controlling stake of Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction Co., the troubled shipbuilder said. A group of Hanjin's creditors, led by the Korea Development Bank, reached the decision during a meeting earlier in the day, Hanjin said in a regulatory filing. The Dongbu consortium beat two competitors, including a group led by SM Line Corp, to acquire a 83.45 percent stake in Hanjin Heavy

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's biggest carmaker, said Tuesday it will suspend one of its domestic plants for two weeks to control inventories amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Hyundai Motor plans to suspend the Asan plant, which produces the Sonata and Grandeur sedans, from Wednesday through Jan. 6 due mainly to weak sales of the Sonata model, a company spokesman said. The sale of the Sonata sedan plunged 31 percent to 63,078 units from January to November compared with the same period of last yea

One in four new daily COVID-19 cases in Seoul was confirmed through random street testing this week, the city government said Tuesday. The number of new daily coronavirus infections in the capital rose by 317 on Monday, staying over the 300 mark for the seventh consecutive day. Of Monday's daily caseload, 78 infections, or 24.6 percent, were confirmed by temporary testing centers that began three weeks of operation throughout the greater Seoul area on Dec. 14. In a bid to preemptively find &q

South Korean stocks dipped more than 1.5 percent Tuesday after the benchmark index closed at an all-time high in the previous session, largely on concerns of the spreading COVID-19 cases at home and abroad. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 44.97 points, or 1.62 percent, to close at 2,733.68. Trading volume was high at about 1.2 billion shares worth some 19.6 trillion won ($17.7 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 783

The unification ministry has put together an English-language fact sheet about a recently legislated ban on sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets into North Korea and distributed it to foreign diplomatic missions here, an official said Tuesday. The fact sheet was sent to the missions of over 50 countries, including member countries of the "Peace Club," a consultative channel between Seoul's foreign ministry and envoys from countries that have diplomatic missions in the North. Other countri

President Moon Jae-in said Tuesday that efforts are well under way to ensure that coronavirus vaccinations for the South Korean people won't be too late. Moon made the remarks while meeting with the leaders of the five major constitutional organizations to discuss measures to overcome the COVID-19 crisis and other pending national issues. "There are a lot of worries about the vaccine these days, but it may be inevitable for vaccine producing countries to get vaccines first because they ex

South Korea‘s producer prices were unchanged in November as a rise in prices of livestock and fishery goods was offset by falling prices of farm goods, central bank data showed Tuesday. The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, stood at 103.06 in November, according to the Bank of Korea. The flat reading marked a fresh indication of lackluster demand in South Korea. Compared with a year earlier, the index fell 0.3 percent, the BOK data showed. In October, So

CHUNCHEON -- Former World Cup star Lee Young-pyo will embark on a new career as an administrator. Gangwon FC of the K League 1 announced Tuesday that Lee, 43, will be their new CEO. He was nominated for the position on Dec. 8, and his candidacy was approved at a board meeting on Tuesday in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, 85 kilometers east of Seoul. Lee, a Gangwon native, was an integral member of the South Korean team that made a stunning run to the semifinals at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. The for

Sales of South Korea's service industry grew at the slowest pace in six years in 2019 due to weaker oil prices and consumer sentiment, government data showed Tuesday. Service sector sales came to 2,188 trillion won ($1.98 trillion) last year, up 2.2 percent from the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea. It was the lowest growth rate since the 0.8 percent increase in 2013 and hovered well below the average annualized increase of 7.2 percent between 2009 and 2019 "In

Fraudulent insurance claims rose 9.5 percent in terms of payments in the first half of this year, partly due to a rise in minor fraud by jobless people as the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged the economy, the financial regulator said Tuesday. According to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), insurance scammers took a record 452.6 billion won ($409.4 million) through wrongful filings during the January-June period, up from 39.2 billion won a year earlier. The regulator detected 47,417 suspects in

South Korea said Tuesday it will invest 520 billion won ($468.7 million) in biotechnology next year as part of efforts to develop treatment and vaccines for COVID-19. The Ministry of Science and ICT said the figure represents a 24.9 percent hike from 2020. The ministry said it will spend 31.7 billion won on COVID-19 treatment and vaccine development next year and 10.2 billion won to acquire technology to respond to new infectious diseases. For research into new core biotech industries, the mi

South Korea's technology trade reached an all-time high of $31.6 billion last year, up 10.1 percent from 2018, government data showed Tuesday. Technology trade refers to the country's international technology transactions, such as the use of patents, licenses and technical services, as opposed to tech products, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT. The ICT ministry said outbound technology transfers amounted to $13.8 billion last year, compared with imports of $17.9 billion, leading to

Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co., the world's leading shipbuilding group, said Tuesday it has received a 607.2 billion-won ($549 million) liquefied natural gas (LNG) ship order in Panama. Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries Co., one of three shipbuilding affiliates of the holding company, will build the three LNG carriers for an unidentified shipper in Panama by September 2024, the company said in a regulatory filing. Two other shipbuilding affiliates are Hyundai Heavy Industries C

South Korea's agricultural ministry said Tuesday it is currently investigating two suspected cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza from local farms, amid growing concerns over the bird flu spreading across the nation. Authorities have identified yet another suspected case of highly pathogenic bird flu from a duck farm located in Yongin, just south of Seoul, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The farm was raising 6,000 ducks and 90,000 quails. On Monday, ano

K-pop superstar BTS' megahit song "Dynamite" has resurged to the top 10 on Billboard's main singles chart this week. "Dynamite" ranked No. 9 on the Hot 100 chart to be refreshed Tuesday (US local time), up 15 notches from No. 24 last week, Billboard said Monday. The rebound came following the release of the song's holiday remix on Dec. 11. The song's sales jumped 227 percent to 40,000, while streams were up 7 percent to 8.5 million, it added. The holiday remix of the song

Four service members and an civilian worker for the military tested positive for the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said Tuesday. One Navy officer stationed in the eastern city of Donghae was confirmed to have been infected following an infection of his family member, and one of his colleagues at the same unit also contracted the virus, according to the ministry. One Army officer in the border city of Paju tested positive after undergoing a test upon returning from vacation. Contact tra

Two South Korean workers for the US Forces Korea have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the US military said Tuesday. One contractor who works on Camp Casey in the northern city of Dongducheon was confirmed to have been infected on Saturday after coming into contact with a person who earlier tested positive, according to USFK. He last visited the camp on Dec. 13 and has been in isolation at his residence since the following day, it added. The other COVID-19 patient is a civilian employ

K-pop band BTOB's rapper Jung Il-hoon was apprehended by the police earlier this year for allegedly smoking marijuana on multiple occasions, according to law enforcement authorities. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said Monday they referred the 26-year-old rapper, together with accomplices, to the prosecution in July, with recommendations to indict him for violating the Narcotics Control Act. Jung is accused of repeatedly using marijuana he bought secondhand through his acquaintance. He w