Police and labor ministry officials raided the on-site office of a petrochemical factory in the southern city of Yeosu on Monday to see if the company violated safety regulations in the wake of a deadly explosion that killed four workers and injured four others. The explosion took place at the Yeochun NCC Co. factory in Yeosu, about 320 kilometers south of Seoul, on Friday while workers were conducting a test on a heat exchanger. Four people -- one employee of the petrochemical company and three

TOKYO -- The Japanese government has effectively excluded its 20th century wartime atrocity against Koreans in a letter of formal recommendation for its former gold and silver mine, according to informed sources Monday. Tokyo has launched a campaign to get the Sado mine designated as UNESCO world heritage next year despite Seoul's strong protest. As many as 2,000 Koreans were forced into hard labor at the mine during World War II, as their country was under brutal colonial rule by Japan. "(

　South Korean exports of red pepper paste soared nearly 63 percent in the past four years thanks to the global popularity of Korean pop culture, data showed. 　Overseas shipments of red pepper paste, called “gochujang” in Korean, came to $50.93 million in 2020, up 62.6 percent compared with 2016 and 35.2 percent from 2019, according to the data from Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp. and the Agriculture Ministry. 　Exports of red pepper paste seem to have soared in recent y

South Korea's daily COVID-19 cases exceeded 50,000 for the fifth day in a row Monday as health authorities brace for a further spike amid the fast spread of the highly transmissible omicron variant across the nation. On Monday, the country began administering a fourth dose, or second booster shot, of COVID-19 vaccines, starting with those with weak immune systems, according to health authorities. Patients at nursing facilities will also begin receiving the fourth shots from early next month. T

South Korea's zombie apocalypse drama "All of Us Are Dead" has dropped to second place on Netflix's popular TV show rankings after 15 days on the throne. According to data released by streaming analytics firm FlixPatrol, "All of Us Are Dead" lost one notch from the top position on its daily chart for the most-watched Netflix TV shows on Sunday, replaced by the American drama "Inventing Anna." The Korean-language Netflix original had remained at No. 1 for 15 days in

Foreign investors turned net sellers of South Korean stocks in January, but their net investment in local bonds continued to expand, data showed Monday. Foreigners sold a net 1.68 trillion won ($1.4 billion) worth of local stocks last month, compared with their net purchase of 4.36 trillion won in December, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). It represented offshore investors' first net selling of South Korean stocks in three months. Investors from the United Stat

BEIJING -- The women's singles figure skating of Beijing 2022 will begin Tuesday at Capital Indoor Stadium, where You Young and Kim Ye-lim will represent South Korea. Both are competing in their first Olympics. Kim won bronze at her last event before Beijing, the International Skating Union Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in Estonia in late January. You finished sixth at the same competition. Based on all skaters' season-best scores, You is seventh in the field in Beijing with 216.9

Four financial holding firms in South Korea saw their interest income surge nearly 15 percent in 2021 thanks to rising lending rates, industry data showed Monday. The combined interest income of the four holding companies -- KB Financial Group Inc., Shinhan Financial Group Co., Hana Financial Group Inc. and Woori Financial Group Inc. -- came to some 32.3 trillion won ($26.9 billion) last year, up 14.9 percent from a year earlier. KB Financial led the pack with an interest income of slightly over

Sales of the biosimilar Remsima by Celltrion Inc. reached an all-time high last year in the United States, the company said Monday. Sales of the biosimilar drug to treat autoimmune diseases jumped 13 percent on-year to $385 million in 2021, Celltrion Healthcare said, citing industry data. Remsima references Janssen Biotech Inc.'s Remicade and is effective in treating various diseases, from rheumatoid arthritis to Crohn's disease. Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. is responsible for sales of the b

North Korea plans to convene a conference of the ruling party's primary committee officials this month to push ahead with decisions made at a major party congress last year, according to Pyongyang's state media Monday. The 2nd Conference of Secretaries of Primary Committees of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) will be held in Pyongyang "during the last ten days of February," the North's official Korean Central News Agency said. "The WPK Central Committee decided to convene the con

We talked to a plastic surgery specialist, a North Korea expert, and a North Korean defector in search of the secret behind Kim Jong Un’s weight loss.  By Team Konnect Kim Min-jung (minjung.kim@heraldcorp.com) Jung Ji-eun (jungje@heraldcorp.com) Choi Jeong-yoon (jychoi@heraldcorp.com) Kim Jeong-ryul (ryul@heraldcorp.com)