Samsung Heavy Industries Co. said Monday that it has raised 1.28 trillion won ($1.1 billion) through the sale of its new shares. The shipbuilder's 250 million new shares were oversubscribed by existing shareholders and its workers, Samsung Heavy said in an emailed statement. The subscription rate was 103.3 percent, while the common shares oversubscribed by the existing shareholders and the workers numbered 17.82 million shares, Samsung Heavy said. Samsung Heavy will offer to the public 73,317

The number of registered vehicles in South Korea grew nearly 2 percent this year to near 25 million, with that of eco-friendly cars topping 1 million units, government data showed Monday. Car registrations came to 24.78 million units as of end-September, up 1.7 percent from the end of last year, according to the data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The figure is also up 0.5 percent from three months earlier, with the number expected to exceed 25 million during the firs

When Paulo Bento, head coach of the South Korean men's national football team, scouts strikers, he doesn't just look at their goal totals. After making a surprising choice at the forward position Monday ahead of two World Cup qualifiers this month, Bento said a player's adaptability and tactical fit are just as important as goals. That's how he explained his call-up of Kim Gun-hee, a 26-year-old striker for Suwon Samsung Bluewings in the K League 1. Kim has scored six goals in 20 matches for

The unification ministry said Monday it will begin discussions with the US-led United Nations Command (UNC) to resume tours to the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom as South Korea began its "living with COVID-19" scheme meant to phase out coronavirus restrictions amid a rising vaccination rate. Tours to Panmunjom, or the Joint Security Area (JSA), were suspended in July after health authorities imposed the toughest virus curbs in the greater Seoul area, home to half of the coun

The music video for K-pop girl group BLACKPINK's "Boombaya" has surpassed 1.3 billion YouTube views. The video, released in August 2016, hit the milestone at 9:34 a.m. Monday, 146 days after passing the 1.2 billion mark, according to the group's management agency, YG Entertainment. "Even though four years have passed since the release of the music video, (the number of its YouTube views) has been on the steady rise," the agency said. "BLACKPINK now has its third music

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Kwon Young-soo, previously the vice chairman of LG Corp., was appointed Monday as the new CEO of LG Energy Solution Ltd. after getting the nod from its shareholders, the company said. Last week, LG Energy's board tapped Kwon as its new CEO, a decision largely seen as a replacement in the wake of the battery recalls in General Motors Co.'s Bolt electric vehicles (EV). LG Energy and LG Electronics have set aside 1.4 trillion won ($1.2 billion) to repay GM for the recalls of Bolt EVs caused by ba

SK Telecom Co. on Monday named the former head of its mobile network operations division Ryu Young-sang as its new CEO following the launch of its non-telecom spinoff SK Square. Ryu has been working for SK Telecom since 2000 and is known for his expertise in mergers and acquisitions, as well as finding new business sectors, the company said. On Monday, South Korea's largest mobile carrier split into two, spinning off the new investment company SK Square, in the latest move to make aggressive i

South Korea and the United States kicked off a combined annual air exercise Monday, a source said, in a low-key manner apparently to back ongoing diplomacy to resume dialogue with North Korea. For the five-day exercise, the allies mobilized some 100 air assets each, including F-15K and KF-16 jets from South Korea and F-16s from the US, the source said, noting no military assets were deployed from the US mainland this time. The allies have regularly held the air exercise in a scaled-down, low-k

The South Korean government on Monday urged North Korea to respond positively to a suggestion that the pope visit there, expressing hope for progress in efforts to promote regional peace. The unification ministry's statement came after Pope Francis reaffirmed his willingness to visit the North during his meeting with President Moon Jae-in at the Vatican last week. Moon and the pope met Friday on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Rome, during which Moon said a papal visit to North Kor

The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) kicked off the final week of its presidential primary Monday as the two front-runners appeared to be locked in a tight race for the nomination. The party's standard-bearer is scheduled to be determined and announced at a national convention Friday after four days of polling party members and the general public on their most favored candidate. The four candidates are former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, PPP Rep. Hong Joon-pyo, former Rep. Yoo Se

SKC Co., a chemical unit of South Korea's No. 3 conglomerate SK Group, said Monday it will invest $33 million in a British battery materials maker with two private equity funds and other investors in a bid to tap into the fast-growing sector. SKC will form a consortium with BNW Investment and SJL Partners to invest a combined 80 million won in Nexeon Ltd, with the rest to be invested by SJL Partners and a pool of other investors, the company said in a statement released after the board's approv

Big-name K-pop companies saw their revenues from overseas rise sharply in the first half of the year, financial data showed Monday, as the number and influence of overseas-based fans grew to a point where they can determine the rankings of local music charts. According to data available on the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system as of Monday, Hybe, which manages BTS, Seventeen and Enhypen, saw domestic sales account for only 24.96 percent out of 456.9 billion won ($390