Lee's Wednesday rally filled with denunciations, mockery of his rival

South Korea's central bank is expected to raise its benchmark interest to 2 percent by the end of this year to tackle rising inflation and a brisk economic recovery, a local brokerage house said Thursday. Hana Financial Investment Co. said its latest forecast is 0.25 percentage point higher than its earlier projection of 1.75 percent for the end of this year. "The key rate outlook has been raised in light of high inflation at home and abroad, and South Korea's economic growth outpacing its

Science and ICT Minister Lim Hye-sook on Thursday met with the heads of three major South Korean telecom operators to discuss a dispute over additional 5G network frequency bands and urged cooperation in providing better network service to consumers. In December, the ministry agreed to open bidding for additional 5G networks in the 3.4- to 3.42-gigahertz spectrum, as requested by LG Uplus, the smallest mobile carrier. Lim earlier hinted at a possible delay in the auction -- initially planned for

South Korea's military will reinforce the Air Force's missile defense unit by deploying additional equipment, including advanced radars, and broadening its missions, the defense ministry said Thursday, in response to evolving threats from North Korea highlighted by its various types of missile tests of late. The ministry issued a public notice on its push for legislation to restructure the existing Air Defense Missile Command as part of efforts to enhance the military's anti-missile capabilities

South Korea's fiscal deficit is estimated to be sharply smaller than its previous estimate last year on the back of larger-than-expected tax revenue, the finance ministry said Thursday. The consolidated fiscal balance, a key gauge of fiscal soundness, logged a deficit of 30 trillion won ($25 billion) in 2021, smaller than the government's earlier projection of 90.3 trillion won, according to preliminary data from the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The improved fiscal health was attributable ma

　Drug smuggling caught by South Korea‘s customs agency hit a record high last year as trafficking via non-contact delivery means shot up amid the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed. 　The Korea Customs Service said it confiscated a total of 1,272 kilograms of drugs in 2021, up 757 percent from the previous year. 　Drug smuggling via international mail and cargo sharply increased as drug delivery by international travelers declined due to the pandemic, according to the customs agency. 　The co

1) 단어+예문 10개 더 많은 토익빈출 단어 '해커스 토익 기출 보카'에서 확인 ▶   2. 파트 5 3문제 1. The luxury car service is -------- to very important persons, but the hotel provides other guests with suitable means of transportation for a fee. (A) exclusive (B) habitual (C) feasible (D) absolute 해석 -- 고급 대형 승용차 서비스는 귀빈들 전용이지만, 그 호텔은 요금을 받고 다른 투숙객들에게 적절한 교통수단을 제공한다. 해설 -- 형용사 어휘 문제 ‘고급 대형 승용차 서비스는 귀빈들 전용이다’라는 문맥이 되어야 하므로 ‘전용의, 독점적인’이라는 뜻의 형용사 (A) exclusive가 정답이다. 참고로 (B) habitual은 ‘습

Temperatures in Seoul fell to below minus 10 degrees Celsius Thursday as a cold snap continued to grip the country, the state weather agency said. The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) has issued cold wave alerts in the central inland area, most parts of the eastern Gangwon Province and the southeastern North Gyeongsang Province. As of 8 a.m, temperatures were minus 10.7 C in Seoul, minus 9.7 C in Incheon, minus 10.1 C in Daejeon, minus 7 C in Gwangju and minus 6.6 C in Busan, due to col

South Korea's daily COVID-19 cases hit another high Thursday, exceeding 90,000 for the second consecutive day, amid few signs that the spread of the highly contagious omicron variant will subside. The country reported 93,135 new COVID-19 infections, including 93,045 local cases, raising the total caseload to 1,645,978, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The number of daily cases rose sharply Wednesday to surpass the 90,000 level for the first time ever, coming

President Moon Jae-in on Thursday congratulated Choi Min-jeong on winning a gold medal in the women's 1,500m short track speed skating race in Beijing. Moon sent a message to Choi after she successfully defended her gold medal in the women's 1,500m at the Beijing Games, praising her as a "living legend," the presidential office said in a statement. "I give loud applause to Choi Min-jeong, who gave it her all up to the last race," Moon said. Choi had earlier won silver medals

BEIJING -- After helping South Korea to the silver medal in the women's 3,000m relay in short track speed skating at Beijing 2022 last Friday, Choi Min-jeong spoke about how she and her teammates "did the best we could under the circumstances." She didn't elaborate, but for those who have been following short track or the Beijing Winter Olympics, she didn't have to. And despite those challenges, South Korea still led all countries with five medals in short track here, with two golds an

BEIJING -- A pair of South Korean speed skating medalists will be back at the oval for a chance to win their second medal in Beijing on Friday. Kim Min-seok, the men's 1,500m bronze medalist from Feb. 8, and Cha Min-kyu, who won silver in the men's 500m four days later, will both compete in the 1,000m at the National Speed Skating Oval on Friday. In this past International Skating Union (ISU) World Cup season, Cha ranked 10th overall in the 1,000m standings, and Kim was 17th. But those ranking p

LG Energy Solution Ltd. (LGES) said Thursday it has acquired a US-based energy storage system (ESS) solutions provider as part of efforts to expand its portfolio into all-round energy management services LGES took over a 100 percent stake in NEC Energy Solutions Inc. from NEC Corp., its Japanese parent company, the South Korean battery maker said in a release. It did not provide details on the amount or terms of the transaction. ESS refers to a technology that stores excess energy to be used for

South Korean stocks opened higher Thursday, as the US Federal Reserve's January minutes largely remained within the market expectations. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) climbed 14.44 points, or 0.53 percent, to 2,744.12 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. According to the Fed's minute, the officials reiterated their stance that they would soon start raising the key interest rates to rein in price pressure. The January document did not include the impacts from the U