South Korea is extending COVID-19 home recovery to elderly patients amid critical shortages of hospital beds, after ordering hospitals to free up beds twice in the past month. In Seoul, which has long dealt with the largest surge of cases, patients aged 70 and older can now be prescribed home recovery if they are vaccinated and have other household members taking care of them. The city said as demand for hospital beds soar, more patients were being offered at-home care as an alternative. As

Ruling Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung on Tuesday pledged to create more than 2 million jobs through the country’s “digital transition.” Lee, a former Gyeonggi Province governor, announced his plans for the digital transition at the party’s headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul. Although Lee had shared election pledges on social media on multiple occasions, it was his first official announcement through his election campaign committee. “As technolo

SEJONG -- The Finance Ministry has unveiled its plan to support microbusiness owners, including the self-employed, in use of tax revenue surplus and the national budget. This is regarded as a sort of bailout for small businesses, which were severely hit by the pandemic in terms of sales and financial conditions. While they will have the opportunity of taking out state-led loans on low rates, the government’s support package does not include cash grants. “The support scale would rea

Gwangju massacre and military coup overshadow Chun’s achievements

Whether or not the members of K-pop sensation BTS will soon be off to the military could be decided this week. Fresh off of their triple win at the American Music Awards on Monday, when the singers took home the artist of the year award, the future of the boy band depends on Thursday’s National Assembly defense committee subcommittee meeting. Changes to the Military Service Act are to be discussed there, and the lawmakers could decide to grant service exemptions to pop artists who have he

South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics is looking to add a second site for its foundry semiconductor chip manufacturing plant in Texas, according to reports Tuesday. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is scheduled to make an “economic announcement” concerning Samsung Electronics’ plan to build a new chip plant in Williamson County, near the city of Taylor, Texas, which will involve $17 billion of capital expenditure, Wall Street Journal reported. A Samsung Electronics spokesperson s

Transporting hydrogen in liquid state has key drawbacks, but local shipbuilder has an idea

Kwon Bong-seok, the CEO of LG Electronics, is likely to be promoted as the new vice chairman of LG Corp., the holdings firm of South Korean conglomerate LG Group. According to LG Group on Tuesday, LG Electronics and LG Corp. are scheduled to hold their respective board meetings Thursday and finalize the executive reshuffle. Kwon Bong-seok is expected to fill in the shoes of Kwon Young-soo, who was appointed in October as the new CEO of LG Energy Solution, the battery unit of LG Group. The

LG Chem Vice Chairman Shin Hak-cheol on Tuesday emphasized five inclusive growth strategies to bolster the transparency and competitiveness of its suppliers. According to South Korea’s leading chemical company, the five principles are creating a fair trade culture; providing financial support and improving payment conditions; pursuing mutual growth through safe environments and eco-friendly business; building the capacity of suppliers; and sharing information and exchanging ideas. To

Two leaders agree to boost partnerships in economy, environment, technology

In a move to expand its footprint in the health care sector, CJ CheilJedang will spin off its health and wellness business, the Korean food maker said Tuesday. Set to be launched on Jan. 1, the new subsidiary CJ Wellcare will be entirely controlled by CJ CheilJedang. The move comes after CJ Group Chairman Lee Jay-hyun in early November pledged to invest 10 trillion won ($8.41 billion) over the next three years to boost four growth engines -- one of which is the health and wellness sector.

Biden administration’s selective incentives for US makers, battery procurement issue hamper Korean automaker’s planned EV production there

South Korea's defense chief vowed Tuesday to never forget the "noble" sacrifices of two Marines killed in a 2010 North Korean artillery attack on a western border island, stressing they laid the groundwork for peace. Defense Minister Suh Wook made the remarks during an annual ceremony marking the 11th anniversary of the attack on Yeonpyeong Island near the western inter-Korean sea border, which killed two Marines and two civilians. "I think that based on their noble sacrifices,

GWANGJU -- A libel trial against former President Chun Doo-hwan is expected to come to an end with his death Tuesday. Chun has been on trial for allegedly defaming a late priest, Cho Pius, who claimed he witnessed Chun's troops shooting from helicopters at pro-democracy demonstrators in the southwestern city of Gwangju in 1980. Chun called the priest a "shameless liar" in his controversial memoir published in 2017. In November last year, the Gwangju District Court sentenced Chun to e

Emro, a supply chain management software company in Korea, said Monday its third-quarter net profit rose 21 percent from a year ago on expansion of clients and business. According to the company’s regulatory filing, its net profit stood at 3.98 billion won ($3.3 million) in the July-September period. Its operating income jumped 42 percent on-year to 4.04 billion won, and revenue expanded 11 percent to 11.2 billion won in the cited period. Emro said its net profit grew thanks to the incr