Nonperforming loans at South Korean banks edged down in the third quarter from three months earlier due to a decline in overdue corporate loans, data showed Thursday. Nonperforming loans came to 14.1 trillion won ($12.7 billion) at the end of September, down 900 billion won from the end of June, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Overdue corporate loans reached 12 trillion won at the end of September, compared with 12.8 trillion won from a quarter earlier, the

South Korea's exports are expected to rebound by rising 6.6 percent on-year in November following a brief fall in the previous month, on the back of stronger demand for chips and automobiles, a poll showed Thursday. The country's outbound shipments are estimated to reach $46.9 billion this month, according to the poll by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency. The survey was conducted on eight local brokerage houses. Imports were estimated at $40.3 billion this month, res

South Korea's trade deficit with Japan edged up in the first 10 months of the year, data showed Thursday, as a local boycott of Japanese consumer goods shows signs of losing steam. Seoul posted a trade deficit of $16.56 billion in the January-October period, compared with $16.42 billion during the same period a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea International Trade Association (KITA). Exports to the neighboring country fell 13 percent on-year to $20.63 billion over the cited pe

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday touted the "robustness" and "vitality" of his country's relations with South Korea, stressing his trip here, despite COVID-19, illustrates how much Beijing values the bilateral partnership. Wang made the remarks at the start of his talks with Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, amid speculation that Beijing will use his trip to try to bring Seoul to its side as US President-elect Joe Biden envisions tightening America's alliance netw

WASHINGTON -- The recent signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) by South Korea and 14 other countries in Asia reinforces the need for the United States to sign a similar deal in the region, a report suggested Wednesday. The report from the Congressional Research Service also suggested the US may have to consider reentering the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement to protect its interests in the region. "Some Members of Congress and analysts saw TPP as an op

Gyeongnam FC advanced to South Korean football‘s final promotion playoff with a 1-1 draw against rivals Daejeon Hana Citizen on Wednesday. Ko Kyung-min scored a 70th minute equalizer for Gyeongnam, 10 minutes after Edinho put Daejeon on the board in the first stage of the promotion playoffs in the second-tier K League 2 at Changwon Football Center in Changwon, 400 kilometers southeast of Seoul. As the higher seed, Gyeongnam only needed a draw, with no extra time or penalty shootout in p

The foreign ministers of South Korea and Ecuador on Wednesday discussed efforts to boost economic relations and coronavirus cooperation between the two countries, the foreign ministry said. Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha held talks with her Ecuadorian counterpart Luis Gallegos, who is visiting Seoul this week to attend a forum hosted by South Korea to promote its cooperation with Latin American and Caribbean countries. Kang expressed hope that Korea‘s sharing of its experience in tack

Two-time Olympic speed skating gold medalist Lee Seung-hoon returned to the ice on Wednesday, hoping to enjoy being on the ice again after serving his one-year suspension over allegations of physically assaulting teammates. Lee skated in the men's 5,000m race at the Korea Skating Union (KSU) President's Cup National Speed Skating Championship at Taeneung International Rink in Seoul. It was his first race since the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. He finished fourth at 6:53.28, well off his com

South Korea decided Wednesday to mass produce a new type of tactical ground-based missiles designed to destroy underground artillery bases in North Korea, officials said. During the defense project promotion committee presided over by Defense Minister Suh Wook, the government approved the plan to produce more than 200 units of the Korean Tactical Surface to Surface Missile (KTSSM) by 2025, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA). Under the 450 billion won ($406.14 m

A Seoul appellate court on Wednesday overturned a lower court's prison sentence for the chief of South Korean textile and chemical conglomerate Hyosung Group, indicted for embezzlement and breach of trust, and granted a suspended prison sentence after acquitting him of certain charges. The Seoul High Court sentenced Hyosung Group Chairman Cho Hyun-joon to imprisonment of two years, suspended for three years, after convicting him only on the charge of embezzling 1.6 billion won (US$1.44 million)

South Korea's information watchdog on Wednesday fined Facebook Inc. 6.7 billion won ($6 million) for passing information of at least 3.3 million South Koreans to other companies in its first crackdown on the US tech giant. The Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) said Facebook violated the country's personal information law by providing personal information of at least 3.3 million of the country's total 18 million local users from May 2012 to June 2018 to other companies without th

South Korean stocks ended a five-session winning streak Wednesday after hitting an all-time high the previous session, as investors dumped local stocks to lock in gains. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 16.22 points, or 0.62 percent, to close at 2,601.54. Trading volume was high at about 1.4 billion shares worth some 21.3 trillion won ($19.2 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 653 to 210. Foreigners sold a net 135

President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday reviewed South Korea's campaign for the past year to develop its artificial intelligence (AI) sector and reaffirmed the government's commitment to supporting relevant industries. "First, (the government) will accelerate AI technology innovation," he said during an event, joined by representatives from some local firms engaging in AI businesses, held at the KINTEX exhibition center in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. They included Naver, Kakao, KT, SK Telec

SK Telecom Co., South Korea's leading wireless carrier, unveiled Wednesday a new artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductor for data center operations, expanding its business to the semiconductor market. The new SAPEON X220 is the first AI chip developed by the mobile carrier and also the country's first AI chip for data centers. SK Telecom said its new semiconductor will target the global AI chip market set to grow to 50 trillion won ($45 billion) by 2024, citing data from market researcher

The overall number of traffic accident deaths in South Korea dwindled this year, but two-wheeler crash deaths increased, police data showed Wednesday, apparently reflecting the growing demand for delivery services amid the spread of the coronavirus. According to the National Police Agency (NPA) and the transport ministry, the number of deaths from all traffic accidents reached2,587 in the first 10 months of this year, marking a fall of 5.5 percent from 2,739 deaths in the same period of last ye

An American soldier recently reported to have contracted the new coronavirus is in fact free of the disease, the US Forces Korea (USFK) said Wednesday, citing an "administrative error" for its inaccurate announcement. On Tuesday, the US military said the soldier at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, has tested positive for COVID-19 in the first case reported at the USFK headquarters since early last month. "USFK's established quality control measures identified an ad

Samsung Electronics Co. was the top vendor in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) smartphone market in the third quarter of the year, a report showed Wednesday, despite sales decline. Samsung shipped 29.6 million smartphones in the EMEA market in the July-September period for a 31.8 percent market share, according to industry researcher International Data Corp. (IDC). The figures were slightly down from a year ago when the company shipped 31.6 million smartphones for a 34.7 percent mar

Samsung Electronics Co. remained the second-largest smartphone vendor in Canada in the third quarter of the year but narrowed its market share gap with Apple Inc., a report showed Wednesday. The South Korean tech giant took a 33 percent market share in the July-September in Canada, up from 32 percent a year ago, according to industry tracker Counterpoint Research. Apple kept its top status in Canada, accounting for a 53 percent share in the third quarter of the year, down from 56 percent a ye

South Korea joined the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Initiative (CEPI) and pledged to donate $3 million this year to help develop vaccines for COVID-19 and other emerging epidemics, the foreign ministry said Wednesday. The CEPI is a global partnership joined by public, private and civil society organizations to fund research projects to develop vaccines for emerging diseases like the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and COVID-19. Sou

Four more workers at Samsung Electronics Co.'s mobile research lab have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the company said Wednesday, stoking concerns of group transmissions at the facility. The South Korean tech giant said an additional four virus cases were confirmed at its R5 lab in Suwon, south of Seoul, after it came out earlier this week that three workers were infected with the virus. They all worked on the same floor with an employee who tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday