The Military Manpower Administration on Thursday disclosed the personal information of 256 people accused of dodging the mandatory military service. The move is in accordance with the 2015 revision of the Military Service Act as part of efforts to ensure fairness in the implementation of the compulsory system, according to the manpower agency. The list of dodgers has been disclosed once a year on its website since 2016. Of the total, 118 had been supposed to serve as active-duty soldiers and

  One Air Force officer and an Army officer tested positive for the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said Thursday.  The Air Force officer, stationed in the central city of Cheongju, was confirmed to have been infected upon arrival from Japan after participating in job-related education programs there, according to the ministry. The other officer from a unit directly under the wing of the defense ministry in the city of Anyang, just south of Seoul, tested positive after coming

LG Electronics Inc. on Thursday unveiled its theme for the upcoming media event at the world's largest tech expo next year as the South Korean tech giant vowed to introduce products and solutions that could be useful in the new normal era of the pandemic. LG will hold a 30-minute virtual press conference at 8 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on Jan. 11 under the theme of "Life is ON -- Make yourself @ Home" at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2021 and will explain its latest innova

The foreign ministry on Thursday extended the special advisory recommending against traveling overseas for another month amid the prolonged coronavirus pandemic. The advisory calls for South Koreans not to go abroad unless the trip is essential and for those staying outside of the country to take extra precaution. The measure will be effective until Jan. 16 and can be extended again. The extension came as foreign countries maintain their entry restrictions and the majority of international f

The government's ongoing random testing has identified nearly 70 cases of COVID-19 in the greater Seoul area in a span of two days this week, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said Thursday, calling on citizens to voluntarily visit testing centers to stem the spread of the disease. In a bid to preemptively find "hidden infected people" through random testing, the government installed temporary coronavirus testing facilities at about 150 locations in the capital area, including Seoul Stat

South Korea's agricultural ministry said Thursday it is investigating two suspected cases of highly pathogenic bird flu from farms amid looming concerns over a nationwide spread of the virus due to migratory birds. After reporting this year's first farm-related bird flu case in late November, the country has so far reported 16 cases of highly pathogenic influenza, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. With the country culling poultry within a 3-kilometer radius of

South Korea's chief prosecutor will file for an injunction in a Seoul court Thursday to halt the two-month suspension of his duty, his lawyer said. Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl is protesting against the justice ministry's disciplinary measure, sanctioned by President Moon Jae-in, in connection with multiple accounts of "ethical and legal misdeeds." Yoon plans to lodge a suit with the Seoul Administrative Court "within today," calling for the withdrawal of the punishmen

The number of new daily coronavirus patients in Seoul rose by an all-time high of 423 on Wednesday, its deputy mayor said Thursday. Kim Woo-young disclosed the capital's latest data on a CBS Radio talk show, saying the nation's daily caseload also reached 1,014 the same day. Seoul's previous record for new daily COVID-19 cases was set on Dec. 12, when 399 more people tested positive. As the spread of the coronavirus accelerated from early this month, the capital's top 15 daily caseload recor

LG Electronics Inc. on Thursday introduced a new 16-inch laptop that boasts better performance and portability. The South Korean tech giant said the LG Gram 16 will be added to its premium Gram laptop series, which has 14-, 15.6- and 17-inch models. The LG Gram 16 weighs only 1,190 grams and was certified by Guinness World Records as the world's lightest 16-inch laptop, according to the company. The latest product uses Wide Quad Extended Graphics Array high-resolution IPS display with a 16:10

일본 내 3차 한류를 점화했다는 평가를 받는 tvN 드라마 '사랑의 불시착' 전시회가 현지에서 열린다. 16일 '사랑의 불시착' 전시회 일본 공식 홈페이지(ainofujichakuten.com/index.html#point)에 따르면 다음 달 8일부터 도쿄, 오사카, 후쿠오카, 나고야에서 관련 전시회가 열린다. 행사에서는 북한 장교 리정혁(현빈 분)과 대한민국 재벌 상속녀 윤세리(손예진)가 만난 패러글라이더가 매달린 나무, 정혁의 집, 이별의 국경, 운명의 만남이 이뤄진 스위스 피아노 등 드라마 속 세트를 재현한 공간을 만나볼 수 있다. 또 미공개 사진을 포함해 450점 이상의 사진과 영상, 의상·소도구·포토 스폿 등도 마련된다. '굿즈 천국' 일본답게 관련 상품도 화려하다. 아크릴 스탠드, 클리어 파일, 머그잔, 티셔츠, 포스터 등 다양한 상품이 한류 팬들을 기다리고 있다. 신종 코로나바이러스 감염증(코로나19) 시국에도 이런 행사가 대대적으로 열

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases surpassed the 1,000 mark Thursday for the second day in a row as an alarming increase in cluster infections across the country continued, prompting health authorities to seriously consider adopting the toughest virus curbs. The country added 1,014 more COVID-19 cases, including 993 local infections, raising the total caseload to 46,453, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The KDCA said the country reported another daily

Samsung Electronics Co. said Thursday it will collaborate with International Business Machines (IBM) Corp. to develop enterprise solutions with cutting-edge technologies. With its US partner, Samsung said it aims to provide enterprises with new 5G, edge computing and hybrid cloud solutions so that businesses can better manage their operations and embrace the fourth industrial revolution. "This planned collaboration will combine Samsung's industry-leading Galaxy 5G mobile devices and advan

South Korean stocks opened lower Thursday as the country is mulling implementing the strongest COVID-19 restrictions amid a recent surge in virus cases. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 6.73 points, or 0.24 percent, to 2,765.06 in the first 15 minutes of trading. On Wednesday, South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases hit a new high of 1,078, prompting authorities to consider adopting the highest level of social distancing measures, which would ban gatherings of 10

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has visited a mausoleum for his late father and leader Kim Jong-il to mark the anniversary of his death, state media reported Thursday.Kim paid tribute at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where Kim Jong-il's body lies in state, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The visit was to mark the ninth anniversary of the death of Kim Jong-il, who passed away in 2011. It is not known when the visit was made, but the KCNA usually reports the leader's activity a day

South Korea's domestic demand for steel is forecast to hit the lowest level in 11 years in 2020 due to the fallout from the coronavirus outbreak, a trade body said Thursday. The Korea Iron & Steel Association said domestic steel demand is likely to reach the 48 million-ton range this year, down around 8 percent from 53.2 million tons a year earlier, as manufacturing, construction and other key industries were stung by the COVID-19 pandemic. The figure is projected to be the lowest since th

WASHINGTON -- The United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday adopted a resolution calling for improvements to human rights conditions in North Korea. The resolution marks the 16th of its kind since 2005. The UN again condemned "in the strongest terms, the systematic, widespread and gross violations" of human rights by North Korean authorities.It also expressed "very serious concern" about what it called "persistent reports of torture and sexual and gender-based viole

A US trade panel has upheld its preliminary ruling by siding with South Korean drugmaker Medytox Inc. in a trade dispute, saying its local rival Daewoong Pharmaceutical Co. copied the manufacturing process of a botulinum toxin strain, industry officials here said Thursday. In a final decision, the US International Trade Commission (ITC) ordered a 21-month ban on imports of Daewoong Pharmaceutical's botulinum products into the United States. The ruling, however, reduces an initial 10-year ban p

WASHINGTON/SEOUL -- South Korea and the United States have agreed to extend a $60 billion bilateral currency swap agreement by another six months in an effort to help ease market uncertainties amid a global resurgence of coronavirus infections, the US Federal Reserve Board (FRB) said Wednesday. In late March, the Bank of Korea and the US Federal Reserve signed the bilateral currency swap facility to help ease financial market jitters caused by the pandemic. The swap agreement, which is se

South Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have agreed to launch a working-level dialogue to strengthen cooperation in protecting the environment and tackling climate change, the foreign ministry said Wednesday.  The two sides have wrapped up weeks of discussions to establish the "South Korea-ASEAN Dialogue on Environment and Climate Change" and plan to hold the first meeting next year, the ministry said.  South Korea is the third partner after Japan

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) plans to invest 300 billion won ($275 million) into BHC Co., a fried chicken franchise operator in South Korea, an industry source said Wednesday.  CPPIB, Canada's biggest pension fund, is scheduled to sign a contract with BHC to become one of the new investors for the Korean firm, according to the source.  BHC saw sales grow 34 percent on-year to 318.6 billion won in 2019, and its operating profit jumped 62 percent on-year to 97 billion w