Presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo of the minor opposition People’s Party said Thursday he “can meet” with Yoon Suk-yeol, the nominee from the main opposition if Yoon made the request, showing a slight change in stance on uniting candidacies to win at the March presidential polls. When asked if he would meet with Yoon of the People Power Party to talk about uniting forces in a televised interview, Ahn said, “when politicians say we need to meet, we can. But whether we

South Korea on Friday sought cooperation with partner nations to overcome current global supply chain disruptions and to seek measures to ensure stable supply chains, the industry ministry said. Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo made the request during a meeting with ambassadors and charge d'affaires of 10 resource-rich nations held in Seoul in the day, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The 10 nations are Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, th

Police on Friday pressed murder charges against the owner of a children's sports center in Seoul on charges of sticking a 70-centimeter plastic stick into the anus of an employee and causing him to die with ruptured organs. The 41-year-old suspect, whose identity was withheld, was arrested Sunday for killing the 20-something employee at the facility in northwestern Seoul on Dec. 31. The Seodaemun Police Station referred the suspect to the prosecution for further investigations. Police said the

Ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung is leading his main opposition rival Yoon Suk-yeol by 10 percentage points with the election just two months away, a survey showed Friday. Lee of the ruling Democratic Party garnered 36 percent, while Yoon of the main opposition People Power Party gained 26 percent, showed the Gallup Korea survey of 1,002 adults conducted Tuesday and Thursday. Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the minor opposition People's Party, came in third with

South Korea plans to announce measures to boost the domestic reserves of key items related to economic security in the first quarter in a bid to cope with risks from strains on the global supply chain, a senior government official said Friday. In a related move, the country plans to boost the stockpile of rare metals to 100 days of use from the current 57 days and raise the reserves of some rare metals to a maximum of 180 days of use in case their supply faces instability, according to First Vi

POSCO, the world's fifth-largest steelmaker by output, said Friday that it has started the construction of a plant in China that will produce galvanized steel sheets to be used in making cars. The plant in Tangshan in northern China's Hebei Province, whose construction is to be completed by 2023, will have a production capacity of 900,000 tons, according to POSCO. In June last year, POSCO signed a deal with HBIS Group, China's second-biggest steelmaker, to set up a $600 million joint venture i

SUWON -- An appeals court upheld a 3 1/2-year prison term for a North Korean defector charged with spying for Pyongyang, court officials said Friday. The defector, whose identity was not made public, was indicted on charges of meeting with a North Korean official after traveling to a border region between China and the North in May 2018 at the request of his brother staying in the North. During the meeting, the defector allegedly accepted a request from the official to collect and deliver info

Senior diplomats of South Korea and Iran had discussions on Iranian assets frozen here under US sanctions, the foreign ministry said Friday, with the thorny bilateral issue on the table for the talks in Vienna aimed at restoring the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal. Seoul's First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun met with his Iranian counterpart, Ali Bagheri Kani, in the Austrian capital Thursday (local time), on the sidelines of the eighth round of negotiations to salvage the Joint Comprehensive Pl

South Korea's military on Friday reported 27 additional COVID-19 cases, including 25 breakthrough infections, raising the total caseload among its personnel to 3,403. Of the new cases, 19 are from the Army, four from the Air Force, two from the Navy and two from the Marine Corps. Currently, 217 military personnel are under treatment. Of the total military caseload, 1,591 are breakthrough cases. (Yonhap)

Trade volume between South Korea and Britain grew 33 percent for about one year after the implementation of a bilateral free trade deal, the industry ministry said Friday. Seoul and London clinched the bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) in August 2019, and the pact went into effect in January 2021 following Britain's departure from the European Union. During the first 11 months of last year, their trade volume came to $10.6 billion, up 33 percent from the same period a year earlier, accordin

South Korea's daily coronavirus cases fell below 4,000 for the first time in three days Friday as the country is speeding up booster vaccination shots amid persistent concerns over the potentially more transmissible omicron variant. The country added 3,717 new COVID-19 infections, including 3,529 local infections, raising the total caseload to 657,508, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The figure was down 409 from the previous day's tally and 1,158 fewer than

  필자의 인맥을 최대로 동원하여 영어 전문가들의 영어학습 꿀팁들을 모아보았다. 워낙 유명하신분들이라 공정을 기하기 위해 우리말, 영어 알파벳 순서로 정리하였다. <영어 말하기 학습 전문가 및 그웬영어연구소 소장 그웬> 영어 말하기는 운동과 같답니다. 영어 말하기를 잘하기 위해서는 입과 혀 근육이 영어 발음을 내는데 익숙해지도록 ‘Muscle memory’를 만드는 것이 중요합니다. 2022년 새해 목표 중 하나가 영어 공부라면, 자신에게 조금 쉽게 여겨지는 교재 하나를 하루 단 삼십분이라도 좋으니 매일 반복적으로 큰 소리 내어 읽는 것에 도전해보세요. 영어 발음은 한국어와 다르기 때문에 평소 한국어를 할 때 사용하는 근육과 다른 부위를 사용한답니다. 읽기를 통해 영어 발음을 입과 혀 근육에 익숙하게 만든다면 영어 말하기를 할 때도 한결 수월하게 영어 소리를 낼 수 있을거예요. 모두들 도전해보세요! <EBS 영어강사 남주철 (Jo

　The number of marriages in Seoul has dropped by almost half in the past 20 years, while births of newborns also dropped by 64 percent, the city government said. 　Marriages in the capital stood at 44,746 in 2020, down 43.2 percent compared with 78,745 in 2000, according to the city’s latest report on population trends. 　The average age of first nuptials for men and women last year were 33.61 and 31.6, respectively, 3.96 and 4.35 years older compared with those 20 years ago. 　Babies bor

GWANGJU -- For Choi Hyoung-woo, the 38-year-old outfielder for the Kia Tigers, the 2021 season wasn't any fun. But the veteran is confident that things will be far different in the new season. In 2021, the Tigers missed the postseason in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) for the third straight season. And Choi endured his least productive full season as a pro; his .233 batting average, .375 slugging percentage, 12 home runs and 55 RBIs were all Choi's worst numbers since he became an everyd

WASHINGTON -- North Korea's nuclear and missile programs pose an ongoing threat to the region and the international community, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday. The top US diplomat also highlighted the need to strengthen the US-Japan alliance to meet such threats. "Meanwhile, the DPRK's unlawful nuclear, missile programs pose an ongoing threat. And we saw that again this week with the most recent launch," Blinken said, referring to North Korea's test launch of a sel