South Korean stocks opened higher Monday, helped by robust economic data that fueled optimism for a quick economic rebound from the pandemic. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 21.6 points, or 0.73 percent, to 2,992.62 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks got off to a bullish start as South Korea's exports jumped 27.6 percent on-year in the first 20 days of November on high demand for chips, autos and petroleum goods. Tech gains led the KOSPI's hike. To

Asiana Airlines Inc., South Korea's second-biggest carrier, said Monday it will resume flights to Guam late next month to preemptively respond to pent-up travel demand amid rising vaccinations and eased virus curbs. Asiana plans to run a 188-seat A321NEO plane and operate two flights a week on the Incheon-Guam route from Dec. 23, the company said in a statement. "The company decided to reopen the Guam route after 18 years, as it has a couple of destinations to fly at the moment due to a

South Korea's exports grew 27.6 percent on-year in the first 20 days of November on the back of robust demand for chips, ships and petroleum products, customs data showed Monday. The country's outbound shipments stood at $39.9 billion in the Nov. 1-20 period, compared with $31.2 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Imports jumped 41.9 percent on-year to $39.8 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $73 million during the cited period, the data showed.

North Korea has called for praising the era of leader Kim Jong-un as a large-scale conference on carrying out a mass movement for the country's development wrapped up, its state media said Monday. The 5th Conference of the Frontrunners in the Three Revolutions, which kicked off in Pyongyang on Thursday, closed with the adoption of an appeal that calls for the glorification of "the great era of Kim Jong-un," according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). The three-revolution move

The South Korean fantasy horror "Hellbound" has topped the world's popular TV show rankings on the day after its release. According to data by streaming analytics firm FlixPatrol, the Korean-language Netflix original became the most-watched TV program on the streaming platform Saturday (US time), a day after its global premier. The show placed No. 1 on the most-watched show list in 24 nations, including South Korea, Belgium and Mexico, while it finished third in several countries lik

Third-quarter operating margins of South Korea's top 100 companies topped the 10 percent mark for the first time in three years amid the local economy's recovery from the coronavirus pandemic fallout, data showed Monday. Their average operating margin of the leading companies by sales, excluding financial and state corporations, stood at 10.74 percent in the July-September period, up 1.98 points from the prior quarter, according to the data compiled by Yonhap News and the Federation of Korean I

South Korea's imports of whisky soared more than 70 percent in the first 10 months of the year as more people drank at home amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Monday. The value of whisky imports came to $93.21 million in the January-October period, up 73.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service and the local liquor industry. It represents the first on-year increase in the country's whisky imports since 2014. Industry sources attributed the su

In early 2021, the consensus forecast for Chinese GDP growth this year among 25 major global banks and other professional forecasters was 8.3 percent. In contrast, the Chinese government’s own growth target was around 6 percent, lower than the best guesses of 24 out of the 25 institutional forecasters. Did the government know something that outsiders had missed? Did it plan to do something that it regards as desirable even though it might compromise growth? More recently, international b

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida survived the general election on Oct. 31, which came just weeks after his arrival in office as the new leader of the nation. Losing only 15 seats, the Liberal Democratic Party performed better than expected and will maintain a comfortable majority in the House of Representatives, with 261 of 465 seats. The relative loser was the largest opposition party, the Constitutional Democratic Party, which lost 13 seats, leaving it with 96. It performed worse than p

Universal disaster subsidy unlikely

President Moon Jae-in said Sunday that he is worried about a recent jump in new COVID-19 cases as the nation eased some social-distancing rules and urged people to strictly comply with containment rules despite higher vaccination rates. "The number of confirmed patients is on the increase as vaccination rates rise. Containment rules, including mask wearing, must be followed," Moon told a nationally televised town hall meeting. The nation's new coronavirus cases stayed above 3,000 fo

Police chief Kim Chang-yong apologized Sunday for the police's bungled response to a violent dispute between neighbors that left one person unconscious. "I offer my deep apology to the victims, their family and the nation over the recent case of the Incheon Nonhyeon Police Station having failed to protect people in danger even though it is the most important mission and the calling of the police to protect the lives and safety of the people," Kim, commissioner-general of the Nationa

So far in November at least six people have died before they could be admitted