BTS, on extended break, will not join the annual event

Seoul will continue its ongoing efforts to enhance counter-terrorism capabilities

South Korea on Wednesday opened a new state cemetery for fallen national heroes, including independence fighters and Korean War troops, on the southern island of Jeju, the veterans affairs ministry said. The ministry held a ceremony opening the Jeju National Cemetery, the first such facility on the island, with the attendance of some 100 people, including Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum, Veterans Affairs Minister Hwang Ki-chul and bereaved families. The bereaved families had called for the establ

I remember the moment when I became a full-fledged Army: I saw screenshots of the “On” kinetic manifesto film on Twitter and was drawn in by the intensity of the visuals and choreography. So, I watched the music video and listened to the song, which was much different from the few BTS songs I’d heard of. As soon as Jungkook hit that high note during the bridge and they went into the dance break, I was a goner. Over the next year and a half, I went from listening (and crying) t

SK Gas Co., a key energy unit of South Korea's No. 3 conglomerate SK Group, said Wednesday it has invested in a US startup that has the original decarbonizing technology to produce clean hydrogen, as part of efforts to advance its transition to clean energy. SK Gas did not disclose the value of the investment in C-Zero, a California-based tech company, citing the terms of the contract. C-Zero is known for its methane pyrolysis technology that uses high temperatures to break methane in natural

South Korea's antitrust regulator said Wednesday it has decided to impose a combined 20.7 billion won ($17.6 million) in fines on eight makers of aluminum alloy products for colluding to fix bidding prices. Altechno Metal and seven other firms colluded to fix their quotations between 2011 and 2021 for bids on aluminum alloy products by the country's largest carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Corp., according to the Fair Trade Commission (FTC). Prior to the bidding, the companies

South Korean banks' loans to households grew at a slower pace in November amid the government's stepped-up control on home-backed loans and other lending, central bank data showed Wednesday. According to the data from the Bank of Korea, banks' household loans stood at 1,060.9 trillion won ($901.2 billion) as of end-November, up 3 trillion won from a month earlier. The on-month growth decelerated from a 5.2 trillion won growth in October. Of household loans, mortgage loans grew 2.4 trillion wo

Nearly one in three households in South Korea consists of one person last year, data showed Wednesday, as the number of single-member families has risen amid a delay in marriage and rapid aging. One-person families accounted for 31.7 percent of the total last year, up from 30.2 percent the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea. Households consisting of a single member totaled 6.64 million in 2020, up from 6.15 million a year earlier, the statistics agency said. The propor

A 77-year-old man was rescued after being locked in a bathroom for 15 days at his home in Iksan, North Jeolla Province, local police said Wednesday. He lives alone in an apartment unit there. According to local media reports and the Iksan police, the man was found lying on the floor of the bathroom by a rescue team sent to check on him, following a police report field by an acquaintance that the man had been out of contact for nearly three weeks. When found, the man could barely move or t

Civic groups opposing the government's plan to expand the COVID-19 vaccine pass program to adolescents filed a petition with the state human rights commission on Wednesday, arguing that the scheme would violate the learning rights of students. The decision to require teens aged 12 to 18 to present vaccine certificates at multiuse facilities, most notably public study rooms and cram schools, starting February has been met with wide opposition among parents, arguing the measure amounts to forcing

President Moon Jae-in pledged Wednesday to provide a variety of support for an initiative to create jobs through joint cooperative projects between local governments, businesses and residents. The government has pushed for the initiative to create "mutually beneficial local jobs" in an attempt to build an economy in which workers and businesses can grow together by creating new jobs with labor and management cooperating and upholding the value of people and labor. In congratulatory

Construction machinery manufacturer Hyundai Doosan Infracore Co. said Wednesday that it has won preorders for 100 excavators from North America. Under the deals with dealers in North America, Hyundai Doosan Infracore will deliver the 10-ton excavators during the third quarter of next year, the company said. The South Korea's top construction equipment maker, however, did not reveal the value of the deals. Hyundai Doosan Infracore released its 10-ton excavators for the first time at a meeting

South Korea's top economic policymaker said Wednesday the 2022 economic policy will be focused on supporting pandemic-hit small merchants and helping the country's economy pull off a full recovery. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki made the remarks at a meeting with heads of major economic institutes and experts from investment banks over the government's economic policy for next year. "Next year, we should make efforts to help the Korean economy pull off a complete recovery and put it on an u