South Korean shares could recede early next year but will gradually pick up speed in robust rebound on upbeat corporate earnings and consumer sentiment, while the home price rise will slow but with room for a moderate hike, market experts here said. 　 The benchmark Kospi -- which hit a record high on July 6 this year at 3,305 amid ample liquidity and pandemic recovery hopes -- could reach as high as 3,480 next year, though it could also dive down as low as 2,710, according to analysts citi

South Korea's overseas aid agency said Tuesday it has provided $24 million worth of support to help eight developing countries fight the COVID-19 pandemic this year. The support measures were meant to help the countries diagnose, treat and prevent COVID-19, the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) said in a press release. The beneficiaries of the support program were Indonesia, Uzbekistan, Colombia, Ethiopia, Vietnam, the Philippines, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Jamaica.

Suga of BTS assured fans that he is OK.   　 He wrote “I am very much all right! Don’t worry too much” on Weverse, a platform for artist-to-fan communications for Hybe musicians, Monday.   　 The artist returned to Korea from the US on Thursday and started a 10-day self-quarantine. The test result for COVID-19 came back positive the following day. Separately, RM and Jin were also found to have contracted the virus, Saturday.   　 All three bandmates came back to K

Lee Jae-myung, the presidential nominee of the ruling Democratic Party, on Tuesday expressed opposition to granting a pardon to former President Lee Myung-bak, saying it could hamper national unity in the long term. After the government decided to pardon former President Park Geun-hye last week, some conservative supporters have been demanding that Lee, currently serving a 17-year prison term over embezzlement and bribery charges, should also be released. "We first need to think about whe

Yoon not convinced by Lee‘s calls for more debates

Most South Koreans, especially younger people, don't like China even though the administration of President Moon Jae-in has pursued pro-China policies, main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol said Tuesday. Yoon of the People Power Party (PPP) made the remarks during a discussion hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in South Korea (AMCHAM) in his answer to a question about the country's dependence on exports to China. "The current government used policies skewed toward C

South Korea will become the ninth-largest contributor to the United Nations' regular and peacekeeping budgets starting next year, the foreign ministry said Tuesday. The UN General Assembly on Friday approved the budget obligations for 193 member states, setting South Korea's share at 2.57 percent of the total funding for the 2022-24 period. The ratio was up from 2.27 percent for the 2019-21 period, moving the country's rank up two notches from the current 11th place. The ministry said South K

Polish Ambassador to Korea Piotr Ostaszewski defended his country’s actions on the Poland-Belarus border, saying the current situation was not just a migration issue but a political crisis stirred up by the Aleksandra Lukashenka regime as retaliation for European Union sanctions against Belarus. Thousands of migrants, mostly from the Middle East are stranded on the Belarusian side of the border trying to cross into Poland. The United Nations last week called on the two countries to addre

Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. (KSOE) said Tuesday it has received a 583 billion won ($490 million) order to build two patrol frigates for the Philippines. KSOE is the shipbuilding subholding company of Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, the world's biggest shipbuilder by orders. Under the deal signed with the Southeast Asian country's defense ministry, KSOE's main affiliate Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. will build two 3,100-ton patrol frigates for the country by 2025, the compa

Seoul shares closed higher on Tuesday as foreign and institutional investors scooped up market heavyweights following overnight US gains. The local currency fell against the US dollar. After a choppy session, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) went up 20.69 points, or 0.69 percent, to 3,020.24 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 593 million shares worth some 11.9 trillion won ($10.1 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 524 to 333. Individuals sold a net 1.9

GC Pharma has recently launched a new high-content multivitamin called B-max Meta B. B-max Meta B contains 30 milligrams of bisbentiamine that passes through the blood brain barrier to help the human brain’s metabolism, the company said. The product also has high amounts of vitamin B12, vitamin D, magnesium and zinc to aid people in controlling their health, it added. The new supplementary multivitamin is the latest addition to CG Pharma’s B-max series, which began rolling out in

A reading-focused English education program based in South Korea is helping students stay competitive in standardized tests and increase their chances to advance to prestigious institutions. "100 Classics," an English education brand owned by In Times In, has drawn participation from school-age children from South Korea, the US and Japan, to engage in a special program that uses English-based discussions to nurture students as globally competitive talents in today’s society. Un

Home appliances company Coway said its new induction cooktop is enjoying high demand thanks to its auto cooking function, as more consumers are choosing to cook at home rather than eat out amid the pandemic. The auto cooking function of Coway’s Noble Induction Freedom, launched in November, saves the trouble of watching and controlling the heat for pots and pans to keep the contents from burning or boiling over. When cooking rice in a pressure cooker, for example, the cooktop automatic

South Korea called Tuesday for Japan's retraction of a push to list a former mine linked to wartime forced labor as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, calling it "very deplorable." Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs has reportedly been pushing to register the Sado mine on the coveted list where Koreans were forced into hard labor during Tokyo's 1910-45 colonization of the Korean Peninsula. The move came as Seoul has repeatedly taken issue with Tokyo's failure to properly fulfill its pled