The design of the all-new Kia Niro did it all to captivate young drivers, not to mention its fuel efficiency and comfortable driving experience. Looking very much like Kia’s concept car HabaNiro, the all-new Kia Niro infused its ‘Opposites United’ design philosophy into the environmentally friendly SUV by making the body two-toned with a bold boomerang-shaped Aero C-Pillar at the rear that completes the futuristic design of the car. During its four-day long preorder, a total

South Korea’s top financial regulator attempted to calm local investors Friday over the latest dip in the Kospi following the US Federal Reserve’s March rate hike signal. “It is true that the Kospi dip has an excessive aspect to it,” Financial Services Commission Chairman Koh Seung-beom said in a meeting on the financial market. “It would not be appropriate for investors to be overly dampened or concerned,” he added. The nation’s benchmark Kospi f

A documentary film on the Beatles featuring the group’s final performance will hit local theaters next month. “The Beatles’ Get Back: The Rooftop Concert” will be screened Feb. 11-13 at IMAX theaters, according to Walt Disney Company Korea on Friday, The one-hour movie is the edited highlights of Peter Jackson’s documentary series “The Beatles: Get Back,” which was released on Disney+ last month. Jackson completed the documentary series based on 60

Schools in Korea are to administer rapid polymerase chain reaction and antigen testing methods to prevent the spread of COVID-19 among students and faculty.  “We are working on adding rapid PCR testing and rapid antigen testing methods at schools to prepare for the start of the new semester in March,” minister Yoo Eun-hye said at a meeting held at the Korea Institute of Educational Facility Safety on Thursday. For boarding schools, students are to be required to undergo rapi

SEJONG -- The nation’s growth in industrial output marked the highest in 11 years in 2021 on the back of both economic recovery and the base effect, or rapid bounce-back from sagging performance in the pandemic-hit 2020, Statistics Korea data showed Friday But indexes unveiled by the state-run agency suggest possible slowdown in the growth of production, retail sales and facilities investment for the coming months in 2022. Korea saw industrial output grow 4.8 percent on-year in 2021, the

Buyout of Biogen’s stake expected to boost Samsung’s competitiveness in global bio industry

South Korean banks' mortgage rates hit the highest level in about 7 1/2 years in December amid rising borrowing costs, central bank data showed Friday. Banks' mortgage loan rate averaged 3.63 percent a year in December, 0.12 percentage point higher from a month earlier and the highest since May 2014, according to the data by the Bank of Korea (BOK). Mortgage rates have been on the rise as the BOK has raised the policy rate in recent months as part of efforts to tighten its long accommodative p

A local environmental group is calling for justice after three roadside trees were allegedly killed by poisoning in Seoul last July near a new drive-through outlet of Starbucks. The Korea Federation for Environmental Movements’ Seoul Branch on Thursday held a press conference at the site, decrying the state prosecution’s decision not to press charges against the person who admitted to having mistakenly poured pesticides.  “The (accused) has already admitted to spilling

LG Uplus Corp., South Korea's third-largest mobile carrier, said Friday it shifted to black in the fourth quarter from a year earlier on the back of growth in 5G network subscriptions. Net income for the October-December period stood at 101.8 billion won ($84.5 million), marking a turnaround from a loss of 224.7 billion won the previous year, the company said in a regulatory filing. The company's operating profit dipped 9.8 percent on-year to 158.2 billion won while sales rose 2.7 percent on-y

Ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung and his main opposition rival Yoon Suk-yeol are in a dead heat at 35 percent support each, a poll showed Friday. Lee of the liberal Democratic Party (DP) gained 1 percentage point from a Jan. 18-20 survey, while Yoon of the conservative People Power Party (PPP) gained 2 points, according to the Gallup Korea poll of 1,000 adults conducted from Tuesday to Thursday. Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the minor opposition People's Party,

President Moon Jae-in on Friday thanked Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev for last year's return of the remains of a revered Korean independence fighter as they exchanged letters to mark the 30th anniversary of establishing diplomatic ties. In August last year, the remains of Hong Beom-do, one of the most revered Korean independence fighters, were laid to rest at Daejeon National Cemetery, after being returned from Kazakhstan. Hong is a historic and highly symbolic figure in Korea's fight

Japan is in "final consultations" internally to press ahead with a plan to recommend a local gold and silver mine as a candidate for UNESCO world heritage despite South Korea's strong opposition, according to a news report Friday. The Japanese government is nearing a decision to recommend the Sado mine in Niigata Prefecture, where thousands of Koreans were forced into hard labor during the 1910-45 colonization of the peninsula, as a candidate for the 2023 world heritage site, just day