South Korean builders' business sentiment hit the lowest level in one year and five months in January due to seasonal and several negative factors, a poll showed Thursday. The country's construction business survey index (CBSI) stood at 74.6 last month, down 17.9 points from the previous month, according to the survey by the Construction and Economy Research Institute of Korea. The January figure was the lowest mark in 17 months and represented the first on-month decline in three months. The i

South Korea is keeping close tabs on an upcoming session of North Korea's rubber-stamp legislature over possible messages from its leader Kim Jong-un, a Seoul official said Thursday, following Pyongyang's barrage of missile tests since the start of the year. The North's official Korean Central News Agency earlier reported the country will convene the 6th session of the 14th Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) on Sunday to discuss issues including "the work of the Cabinet" and the state bu

South Korea's air passenger traffic fell 7.7 percent in 2021 from a year earlier due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, the transport ministry said Thursday. A total of 36.36 million passengers, including 3.21 million on international routes, flew with full-service and low-cost carriers in 2021 mainly for business purposes, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The number of passengers on international routes plunged 78 percent on-year last year as countries maintai

South Korea will earmark 841 billion won ($697.4 million) for research and development of key materials and parts this year in a move to reduce dependency on foreign supplies and boost competitiveness of local industries, the industry ministry said Thursday. It is up 22 percent from last year's budget, as the country has been ramping up efforts to nurture the materials and parts industry, particularly after Japan's control on exports of key products in 2019. Of the budget, 321.8 billion won wi

Almost three out of 10 women in Seoul believe they can have babies outside marriage, a city government report showed Thursday. According to the report, 28.1 percent of women and 31.6 percent of men living in the capital said they can have children even if they are not married. About six in 10 women and men said they can live together with their partners before marriage. The report was based on various surveys conducted on Seoul residents between 2018 and 2021. There were about 9.79 million

JEJU -- Tourist arrivals on the southern resort island of Jeju surged over 30 percent from a year ago during the just-ended Lunar New Year holiday, industry data showed Thursday, amid mounting concern about the spread of the omicron variant. According to the data from Jeju's tourism association, 203,437 visitors arrived on Jeju during the extended holiday, which ran from Saturday to Wednesday, marking an increase of 32.9 percent from 153,132 visitors during last year's Lunar New Year holiday.

Nmixx, a new girl group from JYP Entertainment, will debut this month, the K-pop agency said Thursday. The seven-member group will debut on Feb. 22 with its first single "Ad Mare," which translates as "toward the sea" in English, the agency said on social media. Its seven members are Lily, Haewon, Sullyoon, Jinni, Bae, Jiwoo and Kyujin. Except Lily, who is half Korean and half Australian, all members are South Korean. Nmixx has been gaining attention from in and out of the

South Korean biopharmaceutical firm Samsung Bioepis Co. said Thursday it has won approval from Canadian authorities for the sale of its biosimilar cancer drug Ontruzant. The Health Canada has approved Ontruzant -- a biosimilar product referencing Switzerland-based Roche Holding's Herceptin, also known as Trastuzumab -- for treatment of adults with early breast cancer, metastatic breast cancer and metastatic gastric cancer. Ontruzant will be commercialized in Canada by global pharmaceutical gia

Amid lax oversight, illegal rental businesses cater to those wanting a pet experience without responsibility or commitment

South Korea's military on Thursday reported 136 additional COVID-19 cases, raising the total caseload among its domestic personnel to 5,192. The new cases included 70 from the Army, 24 from the Air Force, 20 from the Navy, eight from the Marine Corps, 11 from units under the direct control of the defense ministry and three from the ministry. Currently, 1,175 military personnel are under treatment. Meanwhile, two more sailors of the Navy's 304-strong Cheonghae unit operating in waters off Afri

A United Nations Security Council committee on North Korea sanctions has approved a sanctions exemption for a civic organization here to send anti-coronavirus equipment to the impoverished nation, according to its website Thursday. Under the decision, the first of its kind for the North this year, the Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation Research Center will be exempt from UN sanctions in place for a shipment of 20 thermal imaging cameras there as part of efforts to help Pyongyang stave off the sp

Netflix's latest South Korean drama, "All of Us Are Dead," has made a successful global debut while being hailed as a new "Squid Game." Released on Friday, the coming-of-age zombie horror topped the streamer's non-English language TV Top 10 list for the week of Jan. 24-30 with 124.79 million hours viewed, according to Netflix on Thursday. Netflix said "The Silent Sea" made the top 10 in the category in 91 countries over the one-week period and topped the list in 2

Could you survive if 'All of Us Are Dead' happened in real life? Find out how to escape from a zombie attack! 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)

The number of South Korean companies affiliated with large business groups under tight supervision rose by 34 in the three months ending Jan. 31 as conglomerates expanded new businesses, the antitrust regulator said Thursday. The total number of affiliates on the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) watch list reached 2,738 as of end-January, compared with 2,704 three months earlier, according to the commission. Major business groups newly launched or acquired 112 units, while offloading 78 others from

　South Korea’s air traffic rose nearly 11 percent last year on increased domestic flights but international travel continued to falter amid the pandemic, data showed. 　Over 465,000 domestic and international flights flew over South Korea last year, up 10.8 percent from a year earlier, according to data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. 　Air traffic in the country had gradually increased in recent years from around 739,000 in 2016 to 842,000 in 2019 before dipping