President Moon Jae-in apologized publicly Monday for "confusion" from his administration's push for the reform of powerful institutions, especially the state prosecution service. He expressed his wish that it would be the "last pang" in efforts for the democratic reform process. The president was apparently responding to a conflict between Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae and Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl. "I am very sorry as the president for the confusing political s

Rival parties agreed Monday to seek last-minute negotiations on the contentious issue of picking the inaugural chief of a new investigative unit specializing in corruption by high-ranking government officials. The agreement between the ruling Democratic Party (DP) and the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) came during a meeting between their floor leaders, Reps. Kim Tae-nyeon and Joo Ho-young, respectively, mediated by National Assembly Speaker Rep. Park Byeong-seug. The DP is aiming to

Hundreds of Go stones and jewel beetle ornaments were some of the unusual relics found alongside a guilt-bronze crown and gold accessories at an ancient tomb presumed to belong to a woman from a royal family in the Silla era, cultural heritage authorities said Monday. The relics were found at an ancient tomb -- Tomb No. 44 -- in Jjoksaem in the southern city of Gyeongju last month, where the Gyeongju National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage (GNRICH) has been running an excavation projec

A new access control system utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) face recognition and quick response (QR) code technologies will be introduced to government buildings to enhance their security and improve the convenience of visitors, as well as civil servants, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety said Monday. The new entry log system will be test-operated in parts of the government complex in the central administrative city of Sejong and later expanded to other government buildings in Seou

Japan has provided South Korea with insufficient information so far about its plan to release radioactive water into the sea from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant, a foreign ministry official said Monday. Tokyo appears close to announcing the plan to gradually release into the Pacific Ocean more than 1.2 million tons of radioactive water stored in tanks since the 2011 meltdowns following an earthquake and tsunami. Japan argues that it is the most realistic and relatively harmless disp

The average annual labor income peaked at the age of 45 for South Korean workers in 2017, while those aged 59 began spending more than they earned, data showed Monday. People aged 45 saw their annual average labor income hit 33.54 million won ($31,000) per person in 2017 during their life cycle, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. People aged between 0 and 27 posted a life cycle deficit, a gauge of the gap between consumption and labor income, due largely to education fees. Suc

South Korean brokerage firms saw their combined net profit rise 19.3 percent in the third quarter from three months earlier due mainly to a robust gain in commission fees, data showed Monday. The combined net profit of 56 brokerages stood at 2.16 trillion won ($1.9 billion) in the July-September period, compared with 1.81 trillion won, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. The combined brokerage fees stood at 3.7 trillion won in the third quarter, compared with 3.2 tri

South Korea's economic recovery momentum is slowing down due largely to a resurgence in new coronavirus cases, despite improving exports, a state-run think tank said Monday. The country's manufacturing sector sustained a moderate recovery on improving exports, but the service sector remained sluggish due to a flare-up in COVID-19 cases, according to a monthly economic assessment report by the Korea Development Institute (KDI). "Despite a recovery in the manufacturing industry owed to impr

South Korea and the Netherlands agreed to expedite efforts to discover and identify Dutch troops who went missing during the 1950-53 Korean War, the defense ministry said Monday. Defense Minister Suh Wook and the Dutch Ambassador to South Korea Joanne Doornewaard signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that calls on Seoul to establish a system designed to excavate the remains of service personnel missing in action and identify them in a swifter manner, according to the ministry. The Netherl

Korean Air Lines Co. said Monday it will begin charging additional fees on emergency exit row seats when booking international flights next year. South Korea's biggest carrier said on its website that optional fees will be charged on exit row seats with extra legroom, which are located in the front row of each section of the economy class, starting Jan. 14. Emergency exit row seats will be limited to passengers that satisfy the official safety requirements, and those who book the seats will b

Foreign investment banks (IBs) have slightly upgraded their forecasts for South Korea's economic growth for this year on growing hopes of a recovery, a report showed Monday. However, economic uncertainties are high over a third wave of coronavirus infections, with the country reporting more than 600 daily new cases for the second straight day. As of end-November, nine major global IBs, including Barclays and Goldman Sachs, projected Asia's fourth-largest economy to shrink 1.1 percent this ye

The military will maintain a toughened social distancing scheme until the end of the year, banning troops from vacationing and taking off-installation trips, the defense ministry said Monday, as South Korea struggles to stem the spread of the new coronavirus. The military began enforcing Level 2.5 social distancing guidance late last month following a series of cluster COVID-19 infections at barracks across the country. The greater Seoul was placed under Level 2 distancing rules at that time.

South Korea's movie theaters have been opening their doors to television series as part of efforts to survive the protracted novel coronavirus pandemic. CGV, a multiplex chain run by entertainment giant CJ Group, will start screening the fantasy romance "Breakup Suspension" on Wednesday before the series hits the small screen later this month. "Breakup Suspension," starring Yuri of K-pop girl band Girls' Generation and Hyun Woo, is a story about a woman who has to leave her

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. said Monday it has signed an initial deal with a European company to build 10 very large crude carriers (VLCC). The deal is expected to be concluded by the first quarter of next year, Daewoo Shipbuilding said in an emailed statement. The 300,000-ton crude carriers will be propelled by both liquefied natural gas (LNG) and fuel oil, the shipbuilder said. Daewoo Shipbuilding will have a chance to build vessels to be fueled by the two energy sou

President Moon Jae-in instructed the government Monday to mobilize "every available" workforce for thorough tracing of COVID-19 infections, Cheong Wa Dae said. He called for measures to enhance the capabilities of tracking and tracing coronavirus-related contacts in response to continued surges in infections especially in and around Seoul, according to Chung Man-ho, senior presidential secretary for public communication. Health authorities here have been suffering increased difficult

South Korea said Monday it will launch a new set of rules next year to improve the working environment of foreign crews on local fishing boats, which centers on providing a standardized contract and guaranteeing enough break time. The latest measures came amid growing concerns that the country has been lacking clear guidelines to protect the rights of foreign fishermen, which account for roughly a fifth of the total workforce in the segment. With younger South Koreans avoiding physically stren

LG Uplus Corp., a major South Korean telecom operator, has the fastest 5G download speed among South Korean mobile carriers, a report showed Monday. The mobile carrier's median 5G download speed in Seoul stood at 476.5 megabits per second (Mbps), followed by the country's largest mobile carrier SK Telecom Co. at 436.2 Mbps and telecom giant KT Corp. at 425.8 Mbps, according to a report by market researcher RootMetrics, RootMetrics added that LG Uplus had greater accessibility to 5G in the cap

More than one out of four instructors at private institutes lost their jobs during the course of the new coronavirus pandemic, predominantly without unemployment benefits, a survey showed Monday. In an online survey on the effect of COVID-19 on 500 instructors released by Gabjil 119, a workers' advocacy group, 27 percent of the respondents said they experienced unemployment in the past 10 months since the virus outbreak. Commissioned by Gabjil 119, the survey was conducted from Nov. 20-24 on

South Korea's health authorities warned on Monday that the country's daily virus cases may top 900 next week as a string of cluster infections from private gatherings and infection-prone facilities continued amid a surge in untraceable infection cases. They will streamline test procedures for quick results to rein in fast spread of the new coronavirus. The country added 615 more COVID-19 cases, including 580 local infections, raising the total caseload to 38,161, according to the Korea Disease

Naver Corp., the operator of South Korea's dominant internet portal, said Monday that more than 45 million accumulated views have been made at its live-streaming shopping platform in the four months since its launch. More than 45 million accumulated views were recorded and 400,000 purchases made at Shopping Live since the platform was launched on July 30, Naver said. Live commerce, or TV home shopping-style mobile shopping, has recently emerged as a potential game changer for the country's ret