South Korea's benchmark stock index opened sharply higher Friday, as optimism over new coronavirus vaccinations gained ground in the financial markets. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 25.87 points, or 0.94 percent, to 2,772.33 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Local stocks traded bullish, as vaccine hopes offset concerns over increasing COVID-19 cases at home and disappointing jobless data in the United States. Investor sentiment was boosted following a US government advisory p

South Korea's exports rose 26.9 percent on-year in the first 10 days of December on the back of robust shipments of chips and autos amid the new coronavirus outbreak, customs data showed Friday. The country's outbound shipments stood at $16.3 billion in the Dec. 1-10 period, compared with $12.9 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Per-day exports gained 11.9 percent on-year during the cited period. Imports increased 7.9 percent on-year to $15.4 billion

GM Korea Co. and its union have reached a second tentative wage deal after union members rejected the first deal early this month, the company said Friday. In a vote held from Nov. 30 to Dec. 1, GM Korea workers turned down the first tentative wage agreement as they were not satisfied with the company's proposals on wages and collective agreement terms. Under the initial agreement, GM Korea offered to provide 4 million won ($3,600) per worker in performance-based pay and bonuses for the year

South Korea remained on alert over a further rise in highly pathogenic bird flu cases Friday as the number of highly pathogenic cases in farms approached 10 in less than two months. The country reported this year's ninth case of highly pathogenic bird flu from a duck farm in Jangseong, about 250 kilometers south of Seoul, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. It was also the fourth case from South Jeolla Province. Local authorities are investigating another suspecte

A court issued an arrest warrant on Thursday for former high-ranking prosecutor Yun Gap-geun in a financial fraud scandal involving Lime Asset Management. The Seoul Southern District Court granted the warrant for Yun, who served as the chief prosecutor of the Daegu High Prosecutors Office and now leads the main opposition People Power Party's North Chungcheong Province office, citing, "fear of fleeing or destroying evidence." The prosecutor-turned-politician is accused of having rece

K-pop megastar BTS has been named the Time magazine "entertainer of the year," the US weekly said Thursday. BTS "isn't just the biggest K-pop act on the charts. They've become the biggest band in the world -- full stop," the influential magazine said in a Twitter post. "Between releasing multiple albums and breaking every type of record in 2020, BTS ascended to the zenith of pop stardom," it added. BTS had a record year with two of its songs -- "Dynamite&quo

US Ambassador to Seoul Harry Harris on Thursday described South Korea as the "original home" of kimchi, amid a controversy over Chinese media's claim that Beijing led the development of a global standard for the staple Korean dish. Harris made the remarks in a tweet, unveiling his plan to learn how to make the fermented cabbage dish, which has long been one of the most popular Korean traditional side dishes. "So great to be here in the original home of #Kimchi -- South Korea!&q

South Korea's power plant builder Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction said Thursday that it has tapped a consortium led by Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings (HHIH) as the preferred bidder for the sale of its 35.4 percent stake in Doosan Infracore. Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction said in an emailed statement it will conclude the deal with the consortium led by HHIH to sell its entire stake in Doosan Infracore. It did not provide a specific time frame. "We will do our bes

The Seoul city government on Thursday unveiled a set of special measures to eradicate sexual misconduct in municipal offices, five months after former Mayor Park Won-soon was found dead after being accused of sexual harassment at work. The special measures include the elimination of a sleeping room within the mayor's office, prohibition in principle of private labor instructions for secretaries, implementing the principle of gender equality in manpower arrangement and regular field surveys and

Ten American service members have tested positive for the new coronavirus upon arrival in South Korea over the past few weeks, the US Forces Korea (USFK) said Thursday. Four service members arrived at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, some 70 kilometers south of Seoul, on US government-chartered flights earlier this month, while the six others arrived here on commercial flights via Incheon International Airport, west of the capital, between Nov. 26 and Tuesday, according to the USFK. Eight of them

South Korea will inject 32.1 billion won (US$29 million) into the virus-hit budget carrier Jeju Air Co. to help it stay afloat amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, a state lender said Thursday. The Key Industry Stabilization Fund will extend 25.7 billion won in loans to Jeju Air and invest 6.4 billion won in the carrier's convertible bonds, the state-run Korea Development Bank, which operates the fund, said in a statement. Jeju Air, the country's biggest low-cost carrier, is required to tak

The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered a lower court to reconsider its not guilty verdict for two former presidential officials accused of destroying a transcript of the 2007 inter-Korean summit to cover up the then-South Korean president's alleged offer to surrender the de facto western sea border. The top court remanded the case to the Seoul High Court, ordering a retrial of Baek Jong-chun and Cho Myoung-gyon, who served in the administration of President Roh Moo-hyun. The court ruled that th

The number of coronavirus patients standing by at home due to a hospital bed shortage has topped 500 in the greater Seoul area, government officials said Thursday. As of Wednesday, a total of 506 residents of Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province were waiting at home despite testing positive for COVID-19 because they were not assigned a bed at hospitals or residential treatment centers for mild coronavirus cases, according to a government agency in charge of fighting the pandemic. Some of them,

South Korean stocks closed lower Thursday, roiled by an overnight Wall Street tech plunge and vaccine concerns amid uncertainties over the quadruple expiration of key stock derivatives. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. After choppy trading, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 9.01 points, or 0.33 percent, to close at 2,746.46. Trading volume was high at about 1.2 billion shares worth some 20.3 trillion won ($18.6 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 65

President Moon Jae-in welcomed the passage of a bill Thursday on facilitating the launch of a non-prosecution body tasked with investigating corruption among senior government officials. He said it's "fortunate" that the way has been opened for the speedy establishment of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kang Min-seok. The president expressed expectation that the CIO will be formally set up at the start of 2021

The CEO of LG Electronics Inc. vowed Thursday to improve the company's mobile communications business next year amid the pandemic. Kwon Bong-seok said South Korea's No. 2 tech firm is "working hard" to create a turnaround in its struggling mobile business. "We are improving by reinforcing our cost competitiveness, and we plan to make quality improvements next year with growth in the premium sector," Kwon told reporters after the 15th Electronics and IT Day event in Seoul.

The National Assembly passed a contentious bill Thursday that would expedite the launch of a new investigative body handling high-profile corruption cases amid fierce protest from conservative opposition lawmakers. The revision bill on the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) law passed a plenary session in a 187-99 vote. One lawmaker abstained. The proposal was tabled at the last plenary meeting of the regular parliamentary session Wednesday, but the main oppositio

US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun said Thursday that diplomacy remains the "best" and "only" course to address the North Korean nuclear quandary, calling for Pyongyang to return to dialogue. Biegun, who doubles as Washington's top nuclear envoy, made the remarks during a lecture in Seoul recapping his yearslong, unfinished negotiations with the North, which he cast as being marked by "setbacks, disappointments and missed opportunities." "As we look

South Korean major league pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin has been picked for an All-MLB Team for the second straight season. The Toronto Blue Jays' left-hander was one of five starting pitchers for the All-MLB Second Team, unveiled by Major League Baseball (MLB) on Wednesday (US time). On the strength of a third-place finish in the American League (AL) Cy Young Award voting, Ryu made the Second Team again, after doing so as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2019. He was the National League (NL) Cy

South Korea's total virus caseload topped 40,000 on Thursday, about 11 months after reporting its first confirmed case in late January, as health authorities warned that the tally is expected to rise further amid the third wave of the virus infections. The country reported 682 new COVID-19 cases Thursday, raising the total to 40,098, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). South Korea confirmed its first novel coronavirus case on Jan. 20. Health authorities are con