South Korean stocks closed almost unchanged Monday after paring most of its earlier heavy losses due to hopes of a summit between the United States and Russia over the Ukraine crisis. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) slipped 0.72 points, or 0.03 percent, to close at 2,743.8 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 484 million shares worth some 7.8 trillion won ($6.5 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 430 to 399. Instit

The US Forces Korea (USFK) has completed the deployment of the newest Apache attack helicopters to South Korea, its aviation unit said, as the allies have stepped up joint efforts to counter Pyongyang's evolving military threats. In a Facebook post last Friday, the 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade said that the process to deploy the latest AH-64E Version 6 helicopters to Camp Humphreys, a main USFK base in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, was completed two days earlier. It did not specify th

For Korean actor Yeon Woo-jin, director Jang Cheol-soo’s new project, “Serve the People,” caught his eye because it was full of new challenges and innovative elements. “I thought that I would be jealous to see another actor play the role. I felt this way for the first time,” Yeon said during an interview via Zoom with a group of local reporters. “If I were to choose a safer, more commercially appealing film, I would have chosen a different project, but at the

Feces controversy is only the latest in headaches related to the homeless residing at nation’s largest and busiest station

A social security agreement between South Korea and New Zealand will go into effect next month, allowing their nationals to use their employment and residences in both countries to qualify for pension benefits, Seoul's foreign ministry said Monday. The two sides signed the accord in October 2019 for those who are not eligible for the pension plan in each nation due to their shorter-than-required periods of coverage. Koreans have to make payments to the national pension scheme for at least 10 yea

Seoul needs to gear up for a ‘lobbying war’ against the listing at UNESCO

Ministry takes step back with its ‘normalcy attendance’ measure

British fashion label JW Anderson has unveiled new bags inspired by South Korean anime series “Run Hany.” The accessories, which appear to be a collaboration project as part of the brand’s new season collection, come in at least three colors -- blue, orange and white -- according to a recent post on Instagram. In another photo, one bag has a picture of the face of the series’ main character Hany, along with the JW logo in orange. “Not long till the show,” t

South Korean medalists have shown excitement at not only winning medals, but also free chicken for the rest of their lives. The so-called “chicken pension” is backed by Yoon Hong-geun, CEO of Korea’s fried chicken franchise Genesis BBQ, and also the chief of South Korea’s athletic mission at the Beijing Olympic Games. Yoon promised to give free chicken for the country’s short track speedskating medalists Hwang Dae-heon and Choi Min-jeong at their requests. &ldquo

For automakers in Korea, there is no sign the prolonged automotive semiconductor shortage will abate this year. Those who have purchased a new Genesis, for instance, have been notified that the car will take six to 12 months to be delivered –- if they are lucky. GM Korea’s second Buypeong plant in Incheon cut production volume by half earlier this month. And according to the market, this delay in car production due to the chip shortage may continue in the next year or even the year

Two former top executives of Samsung Group have been included among candidates for the upcoming independence movement day parole, sources said Monday. Choi Gee-sung, former head of Samsung's now-disbanded control tower Future Strategy Office, and Chang Choong-ki, former deputy chief of the office, are among those who may be granted parole by the Ministry of Justice in celebration of the March 1 Independence Movement Day, the sources told Yonhap News Agency. The ministry plans to discuss whether

Posco Group said Monday that it will launch a new holding firm in March with an aim to improve the sustainability of its core steelmaking business amid the global transition to a low-carbon economy. Following shareholders’ approval of the holding company structure plans, the group will be split off into two entities -- Posco Holdings, the new holding company, and Posco, the steelmaking unit wholly owned by the holding firm. The holding company will nurture new growth engine businesses a

Technology, talent, R&D capability and production infrastructure on the same level as global leaders, but lack of investment matters, expert says

The Seoul city government will provide North Korean defectors with free health checkups, online tutoring services for students and other support measures to help them better settle in their new homeland, officials said Monday. It is the first time in nine years that Seoul has put together support measures for defectors. Seoul is home to 6,759 defectors, about 21.4 percent of the total, and about 3.4 billion won ($2.85 million) has been earmarked for this year's support plan, up 1.5 billion won f

Five Korean athletes, who won the silver medal in men’s 5,000-meter short track speed skating relay at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, will appear on tvN’s talk show “You Quiz on the Block,” a CJ ENM official told The Korea Herald on Monday. Speed skaters Kwak Yoon-gy, Hwang Dae-heon, Lee June-seo, Park Jang-hyuk and Kim Dong-wook are slated to record their episode Wednesday, while the program is working on an episode featuring athletes who competed in Beijing 2022, th