The South Korean economy is likely to expand 3.2 percent on-year in 2022 on the back of a recovery in private consumption and brisk exports, a local think tank said Wednesday. The Korea Capital Market Institute (KCMI) also forecast the gross domestic product of Asia's fourth-largest economy to increase 4 percent this year from a year earlier. "Private consumption is expected to show a marked upturn in the first half of next year thanks to a shift in anti-coronavirus measures and improving

Sales of imported commercial vehicles in South Korea fell 26 percent in October from a year earlier amid the extended COVID-19 pandemic, an industry association said Wednesday. The number of newly registered imported commercial vehicles declined to 336 units last month from 452 a year ago, the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association (KAIDA) said in a statement. Decreased sales of Mercedes-Benz, Volvo and Scania trucks weighed on the monthly result, KAIDA said. From January to

A massive search operation resumed Wednesday to find an Asiatic black bear that remained on the loose for a third day after escaping from a bear farm just south of Seoul, officials said Wednesday. The escape occurred at the farm in Yongin, 50 kilometers south of Seoul, at 10:30 a.m. Monday, when five Asiatic black bears left their cage. Three of the bears were soon discovered by officials of the Han River Basin Environmental Office, who captured two of them and killed a third that ran to attac

Main opposition People Power Party presidential candidate Yoon Seok-youl is leading his ruling Democratic Party rival, Lee Jae-myung, by a smaller margin than before in a hypothetical multicandidate race, a survey showed Wednesday. Yoon garnered 44.1 percent support against Lee's 37 percent in the survey of 1,011 adults conducted Monday and Tuesday, according to Realmeter. The difference was down to 7.1 percentage points from 9.8 points two weeks ago after Yoon lost 0.3 point and Lee gained 2.

The top trade officials of South Korea and Costa Rica met in Seoul on Wednesday and discussed ways to further boost bilateral trade and investment, Seoul's industry ministry said. During the meeting, Seoul's Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo and Costa Rica's foreign trade minister, Andres Valenciano Yamuni, checked the implementation of the South Korea-Central America Free Trade Agreement and agreed to work more closely to further facilitate bilateral trade and investment, according to the Ministry of

South Korea's new coronavirus cases and critical cases soared to all-time highs Wednesday, prompting the government to consider imposing an emergency COVID-19 response plan just weeks after easing social distancing rules under the "living with COVID-19" scheme. Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum urged health authorities to beef up containment measures, saying the country is facing the first hurdle in its move back toward normalcy and the Seoul metropolitan area, home to half of the country's

South Korea's imports of golf equipment rose to a record high in the first 10 months of this year on the back of strong demand amid the pandemic, customs data showed Wednesday. The imports of golf clubs and other related equipment reached $601 million in the January-October period, up 29.3 percent from the previous year, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. The reading hit an all-time high for any first 10 month period of the year. It was also higher than the yearly imports of

  지난 주에 이어 우리 일상의 대화를 좀 더 세련되게 만들 수 있는 표현들을 보겠습니다. 저희 책 『나는 더 영어답게 말하고 싶다 일상회화 편 2』에서 뽑은 표현들입니다.   <판단, 판단의 근거를 말할 때> 1 A What’s the common denominator of the group? How are you so united? B We faced adversity together while volunteering in Africa and shared difficult moments. A 이 그룹이 공유하는 점이 뭐예요? 어떻게 그렇게 단결할 수 있죠? B 아프리카에서 봉사 활동을 하면서 역경을 함께 했고 힘든 시간을 같이 보냈습니다. SITUATION 공유하는 점을 말할 때 평범하게 What brought them together was their love for music. 영어답게 The common de

　South Korea’s top steelmaker Posco said it was named the world’s most competitive steelmaker in a global industry report for the 12th consecutive year. 　In an annual assessment of 35 steelmakers worldwide, global steel information service provider World Steel Dynamics gave Posco the top mark of 8.54 points out of 10, according to the South Korean company. 　The WSD report, which ranks the steelmakers based on 23 categories, gave top scores for Posco in eight segments, including te

Part of the remains of St. Andrew Kim Tae-gon, the first native Korean Catholic priest, will be enshrined in an African country, the Catholic church here said Wednesday. Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung, the archbishop of Seoul, handed over the relic to Monsignor Julien Kabore, charge d'affaires of the Apostolic Nunciature in Manila, in a meeting held in Seoul the previous day, according to the Catholic Archdiocese of Seoul. The remains will be enshrined in the Cathedral of St. Joseph of the Arch

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday on advances in tech and financial shares. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) added 16.47 points, or 0.55 percent, to 3,013.8 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Bank and insurance shares went up amid expectations the Bank of Korea might raise the key interest rate Thursday. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics gained 0.53 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix increased 0.84 percent. Internet portal operator Naver slippe

Large South Korean companies' social contributions plunged nearly 37 percent in the first nine months of the year amid the coronavirus pandemic, a corporate tracker said Wednesday. CEO Score, which tracks corporate management, said 255 out of the country's top 500 firms by sales donated a combined 1.01 trillion won ($850 million) to charities during the January-September period, down 37.1 percent from a year ago. CEO Score said the tumble came amid the new coronavirus pandemic, though those co

South Korean tech giant’s new fab in US set to start operation in 2024

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Wednesday the country's virus situation is worse than expected, especially in the capital area, urging health authorities to beef up containment measures. Kim pointed out that the Seoul metropolitan area, home to half of the country's population, is in an urgent situation and needs to consider imposing an emergency COVID-19 response plan based on health authorities' virus risk assessment. As of 9 p.m. Tuesday, health authorities and local governments had repo