South Korean golfer An Narin has captured her LPGA Tour card with a flourish, winning the grueling qualifying tournament by shooting the best score in the field on the final day. An finished in first place at the LPGA Q-Series, an eight-round marathon that wrapped up at Highland Oaks Golf Club in Dothan, Alabama, on Sunday (local time). An, a two-time Korea LPGA (KLPGA) winner, carded a six-under 66, with seven birdies against one bogey, in the final round to finish at 33-under 541 overall. Th

President Moon Jae-in and Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Monday held summit talks expected to focus on deepening bilateral ties and securing a stable supply chain of raw materials and core minerals. Moon, who arrived in Canberra on Sunday, is the first South Korean president to pay a state visit to Australia in 12 years. He is also the first foreign leader that the country has invited since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, officials said. A senior presidential official said th

Nearly half of South Korea's large companies have yet to come up with their investment plans for next year due mainly to high economic uncertainty, a poll showed Monday. The survey of 101 big firms out of the country's top 500 companies showed 49.5 percent having no investment plans for 2022 or having not decided on their investments. The poll was commissioned by the Korea Economic Research Institute, the research arm of South Korea's conglomerate lobby Federation of Korean Industries. Nearly

The 20th anniversary of China’s accession to the World Trade Organization on Dec. 11 has once again highlighted long-standing debates about how well China has lived up to its WTO obligations, and whether any deviation from its commitments boosts or slows its economic growth. This discussion affects many countries’ views on whether the current global trading system should be built up or pulled down. Former US President Donald Trump was bent on pulling down the WTO, by rendering inope

South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong has met bilaterally with his Japanese counterpart Yoshimasa Hayashi for the first time since Hayashi's inauguration last month as they attended a Group of Seven foreign ministers' meeting in Britain, Seoul's foreign ministry said Sunday. The two top diplomats briefly held a meeting on the sidelines of the G-7 meeting in Liverpool on Saturday and shared the consensus to improve strained bilateral ties, the ministry said. Chung delivered the Seoul gov

‘Record-breaking outbreak calls for measures of corresponding intensity’

Authorities decide to improve vaccine pass system for teenagers

Despite the prolonged pandemic, Vietnam is on track to draw foreign and Korean investors, and addressing their difficulties remain the nation’s top priority, said Vuong Dinh Hue, president of the Vietnam National Assembly, on Saturday. “Vietnam has created all favorable conditions to assist foreign experts and managers, including Korean ones, in sustaining their economic operation,” Vuong said in an email interview with The Korea Herald. He arrived in Seoul on Sunday for a fo

Kia Motors, the nation’s second-biggest carmaker, has claimed the No. 2 spot in EV sales in Sweden this year, outpacing its US rival Tesla. According to market tracker EU-EVs on Sunday, Kia sold a total of 6,018 EVs in the January-November period this year, becoming the second highest-selling EV brand with a 12.7 percent market share. At the top of the list was Volkswagen, which sold 9,296 vehicles for a 19.6 percent market share. During the same period, Tesla sold 5,666 EVs, claiming

Walking through the bustling streets of Seoul and encountering a rose sprouting from a piece of charcoal, one might wonder, “Is this installation art or a personal message to someone?’ The artist who made the piece says it is both. Lee Hyo-yeol, 36, better known as Yeol, considers himself a freelance advertiser by day and a guerilla artist by night. Since 2014, when he made “Flowers Bloom Through Heat,” Lee has worked on over 20 guerilla installation projects in the c

Posco International, the trading arm of the country’s leading steelmaker, said Sunday it was accelerating its business expansion into global natural gas exploration and production by acquiring Australian natural gas producer Senex Energy. The company said it had signed a joint investment deal with Hancock Energy, an Australian partner, to acquire a 50.1 percent stake in Senex Energy. The deal is expected to be finalized sometime in March as soon as it gets approval from Senex’s shar

The announcement of fresh US sanctions against North Korea might deal a blow to Seoul’s attempts to revive diplomacy with Pyongyang, experts said Sunday. 　 The US on Friday declared extensive sanctions and visa bans on human rights grounds against officials and entities in eight countries, including China, Russia, Myanmar, Bangladesh and North Korea. The action, coinciding with international Human Rights Day and a two-day summit on democracy led by Washington, is a tool to “draw a

With LG Energy Solution about to go public in January, investors are asking two vital questions. One is, “Should I buy its stocks?” The other is, “But what if there’s another recall?” These questions are perfectly legitimate, considering the hundreds of millions or billions of dollars LG Energy Solution had to cough up to compensate automakers every time its batteries exploded. But whether LG Energy Solution is capable of containing recall risks is the wrong qu

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won himself will personally explain to South Korea’s antitrust watchdog his reasons why his 253.3 billion won ($214.4 million) stock purchase four years ago was legitimate, and not a sweetheart deal. According to the Fair Trade Commission Sunday, the head of the nation’s third-largest conglomerate is scheduled to voluntarily appear before the antitrust regulator on Wednesday. The 61-year-old tycoon is expected to deliver his defense over allegations tha