South Koreans are estimated to have spent more than 17 billion won ($14.5 million) in purchasing contents by Disney+ less than a month since its launch here, data showed Tuesday. Payments to Disney+ in the country were estimated at 17.2 billion won for November, according to industry tracker WiseApp, which analyzed credit and debit card data of those aged 20 or over. WiseApp added that the data excludes other payment methods, such as those through telecom operators. Disney+, the flagship stre

Three foreign students attending universities in Seoul have been confirmed to be infected with omicron, officials said Tuesday, signaling the highly contagious COVID-19 variant's penetration into the capital. One foreign student each from Seoul National University (SNU), Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS) and Kyunghee University has been confirmed to have contracted the omicron variant, according to the Seoul city government.All of the three were found to have visited a church in Inche

Samsung Heavy Industries Co. said Tuesday that it has bagged two orders worth a combined 734 billion won ($621 million) to construct three liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers. With the latest deals, Samsung Heavy Industries has won orders worth a cumulative $11.8 billion so far this year, exceeding 30 percent of its annual order target of $9.1 billion, the shipbuilder said in an emailed statement. By ship, Samsung Heavy Industries bagged orders for 20 LNG carriers, 44 container carriers and

A total of 1,450 students from kindergarten to high school tested positive for COVID-19 in Seoul last week, up 360 from 1,090 a week earlier, after the full resumption of in-person classes, the city's education office said Tuesday. The increase came in the second week since all kindergartens and elementary, middle and high schools returned to full-fledged in-person classes on Nov. 22 in line with the country's "living with COVID-19" scheme aimed at gradually bringing the country back

South Korea said Tuesday it has allocated 73 percent of fiscal spending for implementation in the first half of next year in a bid to help the country's economic recovery gain traction. The government plans to front-load 363.5 trillion won ($307.7 billion) of next year's budget spending of 497.7 trillion won in the January-June period, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The 2022 proposition is higher than 72.4 percent of the budget spending allocated in the first half of this ye

　South Korea ranks low among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in terms of the employment rate for university graduates due mainly to a severe mismatch between their majors and job openings, a report showed. 　The employment rate for South Koreans aged 25-34 with university diplomas came to 75.2 percent in 2020, 31st lowest among 37 comparable OECD member countries, according to the report from the Korea Economic Research Institute. 　The figure is much lower

South Korea's new coronavirus cases stayed below 5,000 for the second straight day Tuesday, but the number of critically ill patients hit a fresh high as concerns about a surge fueled by the omicron variant continued to put heath officials on edge. The country added 4,954 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total caseload to 482,310, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The number of critically ill COVID-19 patients hit a record high of 774, up 47 from a day ag

South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday, largely as the estimate-beating jobs data in the United States raised investors' concerns that the Federal Reserve could hasten its key rate hike to reign in the inflation pressure. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) decreased 8.49 points, or 0.29 percent, to 2,964.76 in the first 15 minutes of trading. In Seoul, market bellwether Samsung Electronics lost 0.66 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix traded flat. Pharmaceutical gi

The United States will diplomatically boycott the Beijing Winter Olympics over China's human rights abuses, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Monday. US athletes, however, will be allowed to take part should they choose to do so. "The (Joe) Biden administration will not send any diplomatic or official representation to the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games, given the PRC's ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang and other human rights abuses,"

South Korea's sensational survival drama "Squid Game" has been nominated in three categories, including best drama series, at the 27th Critics Choice Awards. According to the nominations announced by the Critics Choice Association Monday (US time), "Squid Game," a Netflix original, was listed in the categories best drama series, best actor in drama series and best foreign language series. In the best drama series section, "Squid Game" will compete with seven other

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has presided over a gathering of military educators and called on them to nurture people with "absolute fidelity" to the ruling Workers' Party, the country's state media reported Tuesday. The party's Central Committee and Central Military Commission convened the gathering at the April 25 House of Culture in Pyongyang on Saturday and Sunday to make a "groundbreaking" change in education projects in line with the "shifting times," acco

A virtual UN peacekeeping ministerial conference is scheduled to open Tuesday, hosted by South Korea, promising to serve as a chance to further solidify the global community's collective commitment to sustainable peace in conflict-laden parts of the world. The two-day 2021 Seoul UN Peacekeeping Ministerial comes as Seoul has steadily pushed to foster lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula and embrace a greater role in global efforts to stabilize volatile regions in the Middle East, Africa and el

South Korean pharmaceutical giant Celltrion Inc. said Tuesday its COVID-19 antibody treatment has won emergency approval from Australian authorities. The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) granted provisional approval of Rekirona for the intravenous treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in adult patients. It is the fifth COVID-19 treatment to receive regulatory approval in Australia. Rekirona is a monoclonal antibody with activity against COVID-19. A monoclonal antibody is a type of prot