Yoon Suk-yeol loses young voters as Ahn Cheol-soo rises as new variable

President hopes for election of unity rather hostility, hatred and division

K-pop powerhouse S.M. Entertainment has launched the Music Nation SMTown Meta-passport, a digital passport membership for fans, the company said Monday. The digital passport membership is a new version of identification issued by the entertainment firm to the “citizens” of SMTown Virtual Nation in August 2012. The new digital passport membership can be used to identify as a virtual Music Nation citizen. Music Nation SMTown was established nearly a decade ago to integrate the agenc

North Korea remains unresponsive after South Korea sent it a message about an unidentified person having crossed the eastern inter-Korean border over the weekend, Seoul's defense ministry said Monday. On Sunday, South Korea sent the message through a western military communication line "in light of protecting our citizen," though it has yet to verify details about the person who crossed the heavily fortified border on Saturday night. The fate of the person was not immediately confirm

Seoul's daily COVID-19 cases on Monday fell below 1,000 for the first time since mid-November, as the country has extended the enforcement of tighter social distancing measures for two more weeks, officials said. The number of cases in the capital was recorded at 993, 190 fewer compared than the 1,183 tally on Sunday and down 503 compared with a week ago, according to city health officials. Of the total, 964 were local infections and 29 were from overseas. It marked the first time Seoul's dail

South Korea's top military officer has called for troops to stick to "basics and principles" in a New Year's message, his aide said Monday, a directive eclipsed by a botched effort to stop an unidentified person from crossing the inter-Korean border over the weekend. For delivery on the first week of the new year, Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Chairman Gen. Won In-choul had the message ready on Friday, the day before the person crossed the heavily fortified border in what is decried as

Samsung TVs more advanced, LG seems to hold innovative edge in customer experience

The local performing arts scene saw its revenue soar nearly 80 percent in 2021 from a year earlier, thanks to eased social distancing rules and a rising vaccination rate, data showed Monday. The combined revenue of 12,000 theatrical plays, musicals, classical concerts and other performances reached 307.1 billion won ($258.1 million) last year, according to the data by the Korea Performing Arts Box Office Information System (KOPIS). The 2021 amount marked a 78.4 percent on-year surge from 172.1

South Korea's military on Monday reported eight additional COVID-19 cases, including seven breakthrough infections, raising the total caseload among its personnel to 3,311. Of the new cases, five are from the Army, one from the Navy, one from the Air Force and one from a unit under the direct control of the defense ministry. Currently, 240 military personnel are under treatment. Of the total military caseload, 1,507 are breakthrough cases. (Yonhap)

Indonesia's recent ban on coal exports is expected to have a limited impact on South Korea, the industry ministry said Monday, but the Seoul government set up a task force to closely manage the situation as a precaution. Last week, Indonesia announced it has banned exports of coal in January, citing concerns over widespread blackouts due to low supplies at its domestic power plants. Jakarta is one of the world's major exporters of thermal coal, and around 20 percent of South Korea's coal impor

Prime Minister Kim Boo-Kyum on Monday called on public servants to keep political neutrality and discipline as the country prepares for the presidential and local elections this year. "Please restrain from any activity that can be misinterpreted ahead of elections," Kim said at the government's new year kick-off ceremony in Seoul. "We will strictly deal with activities regarding producing or providing government policy data in an unofficial way." South Korea is scheduled

The number of smartphone users on 5G mobile networks had topped 20 million as of November for the first time since the service was commercialized in 2019, data showed Monday. The total number of 5G users reached 20.19 million in November last year, accounting for around 28 percent of the total 72.57 million mobile subscriptions in the country, according to the data from the Ministry of Science and ICT. South Korea, which has a population of 52 million, first commercialized 5G networks in April