The Korean Chamber Orchestra on Friday said it is set to resume hosting eight all-Mozart concerts next month after the project was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the Mozart Project, the KCO aims to perform all 46 symphonies by the Austrian composer. Led by Finnish-German pianist and conductor Ralf Gothoni and music director Kim Min, the KCO will take the composer’s masterpieces on stage in eight concerts from March 13 to Feb. 8, 2023. The orchestra kicked off the 10-conce

SK Bioscience, the vaccine unit of Korea’s SK Group, said Friday the Turkish health authority has renewed a certification for making and exporting vaccines for flu, chickenpox and shingles, paving the way for the company to participate in a vaccine deal bid in Turkey. The Good Manufacturing Practice certification was renewed for the firm’s vaccine manufacturing factory L House located in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, since it was first granted the certification in 2019. In the

South Korea plans to sell 4 trillion won ($3.33 billion) worth of Treasury bills this month to support its fiscal policy, the finance ministry said Friday. The bills, which have a maturity of 63 days, will be sold in three separate auctions in February, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Treasury bills are usually floated to raise money to cover short-term financial shortfalls and are generally sold with a maturity of less than a year. (Yonhap)

Absentee ballot registration only available from Feb. 9 to 13 as it stands now

Renault Samsung Motors Corp., the South Korean unit of Renault S.A., said Friday its vehicle sales more than doubled last month from a year earlier on robust sales of SUV models. Renault Samsung sold 13,314 vehicles in January, jumping from 6,152 units a year earlier, despite the extended COVID-19 pandemic, the company said in a statement. Domestic sales rose 27 percent on-year to 4,477 units from 3,534, while exports more than tripled to 8,837 units from 2,618 on strong demand for its XM3 an

Four major candidates met in a studio Thursday night for the first televised debate ahead of South Korea’s 20th presidential election. Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and his main rival Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party met their minor counterparts Ahn Cheol-soo of the minor opposition People’s Party and Sim Sang-jeung of the left-wing Justice Party. In a span of two hours until 10 p.m., the candidates clashed over topics ranging from rea

Kia Corp., South Korea's second-largest automaker, said Friday its sales fell 5.7 percent last month from a year earlier as the global chip shortage continued to affect its production. Kia sold 212,819 vehicles in January, down from 225,733 units a year ago, the company said in a statement. Domestic sales declined 11 percent on-year to 37,038 units last month from 41,481, while exports were down 4.6 percent to 175,781 from 184,252 during the cited period, it said.  Continued chip short

Main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol is leading his ruling party rival Lee Jae-myung with 46 percent public support against Lee's 38 percent, a survey showed Friday. Yoon of the People Power Party (PPP) gained 1 percentage point from a week ago, while Lee of the Democratic Party lost 1 point, according to the Research View survey conducted on 1,000 adults from Tuesday to Thursday. Yoon led Lee by 8 percentage points, which was outside the margin of error of plus or minus 3.1

South Korea's election watchdog said Friday it is looking for solutions that allow people who have contracted COVID-19 after the early voting period to cast their ballots in the upcoming presidential election as the country grapples with a surge in daily COVID-19 cases. Under current election rules, it is virtually impossible for those who are diagnosed with COVID-19 after the early voting period that falls on March 4-5 and people who go into self-isolation just before the March 9 presidential

Seoul's subway operator will introduce brand new trains equipped with free mobile phone chargers and wider seats for pregnant women starting later this month, officials said Friday. Seoul Metro, the operator of the capital's vast subway system, will put five new trains comprising 40 passenger cars into operation on Line 5 starting this month and add 20 more trains to the line by the end of this year, officials said. The new trains make less noise and offer wireless phone chargers for the firs

South Korea’s daily COVID-19 infections on Thursday hit a fresh high of 27,443 amid the omicron wave, government data showed Friday. The government also announced Friday that it has decided to extend the current social distancing restrictions for two more weeks until Feb. 20. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the daily cases went up by 4,536 from the previous day’s 22,907. The cumulative total for confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country also reached 934

BEIJING -- Still feeling effects of career-threatening injuries she suffered three years ago, South Korean luger Aileen Frisch feels the time has come for her to leave the sport for good. And she wants to make her second and final Winter Olympics here in Beijing a memorable one. "I think (Beijing 2022) will be my last big competition as an athlete. Therefore, I really want to perform my best," Frisch said after her training run Thursday at Yanqing National Sliding Centre in Yanqing D

Omicron revives talk of herd immunity

South Korean consumers are ramping up credit and debit card balances and their spending could exceed 1,000 trillion won ($832 billion) for the first time this year, data showed Friday. South Koreans spent 977 trillion won on credit and debit cards last year, up 10 percent from the previous year. The uptrend in spending has been the norm since 2018, when it totaled at 810 trillion won, according to the Credit Finance Association, a group of local card companies. “COVID-19 is accelerating