People Party leader Ahn Cheol-soo promised Friday to push for the signing of a Korea-US nuclear arms sharing agreement in response to the threat of North Korea’s nuclear weaponss if he is elected. “We will defend Korea’s security and peace, the people’s lives and safety against such provocations in collaboration with the international community, and not shy away from resorting to military countermeasures,” Ahn said at the press conference held in the Seoul Foreign

The Busan International Film Festival decided to renew Lee Yong-kwan’s term as chairman in an extraordinary general meeting held Thursday at the Busan Cinema Center‘s BIFF Hill. Lee will lead the annual film festival for the next four years. As one of the founding members of the BIFF in 1996, Lee has held several posts at the organization, including programmer-in-chief, vice-director and director of the board before being appointed as chair of the board in 2018. “Not only has

Police have launched an investigation Friday to nab a suspect who secretly stuck a needle into a chair in a study room in Seoul, resulting in injury to the next user of the seat. According to local reports, the victim was stabbed by a sewing needle hidden under the cushion when they sat down at a reading room in Shinlim-dong, Gwanak-gu, on Jan. 2. The victim suffered a minor thigh injury. The reading room is mainly used by college students preparing for the civil service exam. “Assau

South Korean chipmaker SK hynix announced Friday that its annual revenue surged 35 percent to 42.9 trillion won ($35.6 billion) on-year, a record figure for the company. Operating profit spiked 148 percent to 12.4 trillion won. The record performance was propelled by the robust demand in IT gadgets amid a non-face-to-face trend despite uncertainties posed by supply chain risks, the company explained. The previous record was 40.4 trillion won of revenue in 2018, when the firm benefited from a

South Korea's consumer prices could be further under upward pressure as oil prices have spiked amid increased geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine, a senior government official said Friday. The government will step up its monitoring of prices of petroleum products and consider whether to extend fuel tax cuts, depending on oil price movements, according to Vice First Finance Minister Lee Eog-weon. "A spike in oil prices, caused by Russia-Ukraine tensions and risks from oil prod

Prosecutors have indicted a vocal North Korean defector and activist known for anti-Pyongyang leafleting on charges of attempting to send propaganda leaflets and other items aboard balloons to the North last year, sources said Friday. Park Sang-hak, the head of Fighters for a Free North Korea, a North Korean defectors' group, is accused of having sent a total of 10 balloons carrying propaganda leaflets and booklets as well as $1 bills toward the North from the border provinces of Gyeonggi and G

Samsung Card Co., a major South Korean card issuer, on Friday reported a 169.1 percent rise in its fourth-quarter earnings as consumption rebounded from a pandemic-caused slowdown. Net income in the October-December quarter came to 129.4 billion won ($107.4 million) on a consolidated basis, up from 48.1 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. Fourth-quarter operating profit also surged 179.6 percent to 175.8 billion won, while sales declined 3.1 percent to 886.4 bi

SK Innovation Co., the energy and chemical affiliate of South Korean conglomerate SK Group, said Friday it swung to the black in the fourth quarter from a year earlier on strong petrochemical demand and electric vehicle (EV) battery sales. Net income came to 163.4 billion won ($135.7 million) in the October-December period, a turnaround from a loss of 232.6 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. It continued to post an operating loss of 47.3 billion won but far le

Americans read an average of 12.6 books during the past year, according to a new Gallup poll released. That represents the lowest number of books read compared to any previous survey dating back to 1990, Gallup said. In three polls conducted between 2002 and 2016, Gallup surveys showed that Americans read an average of 15.2 books per year.The results are based on a Dec. 1-16 poll of a random sample of 811 adults living in all 50 US states and the District of Columbia. The participants were aske

The percentage of Americans who identify as Christian dropped 15 percentage points over the past 14 years, while those who consider themselves religiously unaffiliated increased by 14 percentage points, a Pew study released indicates.Pew's National Public Opinion Reference Survey found that the majority of Americans - 63 percent - consider themselves Christian, down from 78 percent in 2007. Meanwhile, 29 percent of adults list their religion as “none,” meaning they consider themsel

Enrollment of foreign students in US colleges and universities plunged 15 percent in the 2020-21 school year even though American institutions remain in high esteem, research showed. Fewer than 1 million foreign students enrolled for either online or in-person classes at US universities in the 2020-21 school year, marking a 15 percent year-over-year decrease from the previous school year, according to data from the Institute of International Education analyzed by the Pew Research Center. It als

South Korea's military on Friday reported 95 additional COVID-19 cases, including 90 breakthrough infections, raising the total caseload among its personnel to 4,378. Of the new military cases, 72 are from the Army, 12 from the Air Force, five from units under the direct control of the ministry, two from the Navy, and two from the Marine Corps. There were also cases from the Defense Acquisition Program Administration and the Defense Media Agency. Currently, 658 military personnel are under tr

Shareholders of Posco, South Korea's top steelmaker, approved the company's plan to transform into a holding company by splitting it into two business entities, the steelmaker said Friday. After the breakup, the steelmaking group's holding company, tentatively named Posco Holdings, will focus on charting out future business, research and development, and investment. The steelmaking business will be dubbed Posco, which will be wholly owned by Posco Holdings and remain unlisted. The steelmaker'