The government and opponents of vaccine pass measures both appealed the court ruling that suspended some parts of the vaccine measures, each claiming the ruling is insufficient.　 “In consideration that we are in a crisis now due to COVID-19 pandemic, the minister has directed an immediate appeal against the case for the Seoul Metropolitan Government,” the Ministry of Justice said Wednesday. “As a ministry of judicial affairs, we will actively respond to lawsuits related to

Govt. to nurture 40,000 professionals, 220 companies specialized in metaverse

Young ‘pro-anorexia’ followers share images of dangerously thin bodies, tips for fasting

A two-day music festival will bring together K-pop musicians like modern rock band Monni, Broccoli, You Too and indie singer-songwriter Yun DDan DDan next month to provide comfort to music fans who are exhausted from COVID-19, according to the festival’s organizer Thursday. “2022 Camping Music Festival” will take place at Nodeul Live House on Nodeul Island, central Seoul, on Feb. 26-27, according to ModernBoy Entertainment. Under the theme of “Musical Journey in Do

DAEGU -- Two underage brothers were sentenced to prison terms of up to 12 years Thursday for killing their caretaker grandmother and assisting in the murder out of rage over her scolding. The Daegu District Court sentenced the 19-year-old elder brother to a prison term of minimum 7 years to maximum 12 years for murdering his grandmother at their home in Daegu in late August last year. He was also ordered to wear a GPS tracker for 10 years. Under the Juvenile Act, courts can give an unfixed ter

Over 34 percent of South Koreans were paid subscribers to over-the-top (OTT) media, or video streaming services, a survey showed Thursday. Paid subscribers to OTTs stood at 34.8 percent last year, up 20.4 percentage points from the previous year, according to a survey of 6,834 people over the age of 13 by the country's media regulator, the Korea Communications Commission (KCC). South Korea's OTT usage rate rose to 69.5 percent, compared with 66.3 percent from the previous year, amid the stay-a

The head of South Korea's financial regulator said Thursday he is seeking to ease restrictions on financial companies' investment in fintech firms as part of efforts to expand support for the fast-growing industry. Jeong Eun-bo, chief of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), made the remarks in a meeting with leading officials of the fintech industry, saying his agency will push for the enactment of a relevant law on the matter. "We will push for the enactment of the so-called fintech

French wine, spirit seller eyes fast growing demand for high-end liquor, at-home occasions here

South Korea’s KB Kookmin Bank opened a branch in Singapore, which will work as its gateway into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and global markets, the firm said Thursday. The launch of the branch came eight months after KB Kookmin was granted a license to operate a wholesale bank from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, according to the firm. The new branch’s key focuses are retail, corporate and investment banking and will partially deal with brokerage services. Wi

US Rep. Gregory Meeks, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, expressed support for South Korea’s proposal to declare a formal end to the Korean War, but stressed that the declaration on its own is “meaningless” if Pyongyang is reluctant to talk or makes no progress toward denuclearization. 　 “I commend the Biden and Moon administrations for taking steps to engage North Korea and urge North Korea to return to the negotiating table,” Meeks said in a statemen

Hyundai Glovis, Hyundai Motor Group’s logistics arm, said Thursday that it has launched Autobell, an online platform for used car sales and purchase, to diversify its business portfolio.  Hyundai Glovis has been operating a used car business since 2001, mostly focused on B2B sales of secondhand cars through auctions. Its parent company Hyundai Motor sought to enter the certified used car market lately, but it seems blurry whether the automaker can launch B2C business as planned this

Foreign currency deposits at banks in South Korea declined in December as companies reduced foreign currency holdings for investment, central bank data showed Thursday. According to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK), outstanding foreign currency-denominated deposits held by residents came to $97.27 billion as of end-December, down $5.75 billion from a month earlier. Residents include local citizens, foreigners staying here for more than six months and foreign companies. The data excludes i

South Korea has more room for improving productivity with a wider use of working from home, given its high internet connectivity and long commuting time caused by chronic traffic jams, a central bank report showed Thursday. According to the report by the Bank of Korea (BOK), the number of people using the working-from-home system soared to 1.14 million, 4.2 percent of those employed, last year, from about 95,000 people, or a mere 0.3 percent, tallied in 2019 before the coronavirus pandemic brok