South Korea's new coronavirus cases stayed below 3,000 for the second straight day Tuesday, but the number of critically ill patients hit an all-time high, raising concerns over a shortage of hospital beds for treatment. The country reported 2,699 new COVID-19 cases, including 2,685 local infections, raising the total caseload to 420,950, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). This marked the second straight day that the daily infections remained below 3,000. The

South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday as investors attempted to lock in gains from the recent tech rally. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 6.54 points, or 0.22 percent, to 3.006.71 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The KOSPI got off to a lackluster start amid losses in most large caps. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite lost 1.26 percent amid lingering inflation concerns. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.05 percent Top cap Samsung

South Korea plans to chart out around 12.7 trillion won ($10.7 billion) worth of support measures for pandemic-hit small merchants and vulnerable people with excess tax revenue and the state budget, the country's finance minister said Tuesday. The government will unveil a package of measures to support small merchants, including low interest rate loans and cuts in electricity bills, according to Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki. The measures will also include ways to stabilize inflation and back qu

Large South Korean companies have cut their combined workforce by more than 1 percent over the past two years amid the coronavirus pandemic, a corporate tracker said Tuesday. The number of workers hired by 313 out of the country's top 500 firms by sales came to 1.24 million as of end-September this year, down 1.02 percent, or around 12,800, from two years earlier, according to the Leaders Index. These companies removed some 18,200 regular jobs over the cited period, while increasing the number

The European Union antitrust regulator said Tuesday it has resumed its investigation into the proposed combination of two major South Korean shipbuilders 16 months after it suspended the probe. The European Commission plans to finalize the probe by Jan. 20, it said on its website. "The probe was able to be resumed as we fully answered questions by the EU antitrust regulator," said an official at Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. (KSOE). KSOE is the subholding compan

South Korea's business sentiment deteriorated for December due to raw materials and parts supply disruptions from China in the manufacturing sector, a local think tank said Tuesday. The business survey index (BSI) of the country's top 600 companies by sales fell to 100.3 for next month, down from 100.6 for November, the Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI) said in a statement. The business outlook stayed above 100 for a fourth straight month. The actual BSI stood at 102.2 in November, up

South Korea's corporate direct financing shrank in October from a month earlier due to a reduction in bond sales, data showed Tuesday. Local companies raised a combined 19.15 trillion won ($16.2 billion) by selling stocks and bonds last month, down 473.6 billion won from the previous month, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. Direct financing refers to raising funds directly from the stock and bond markets without borrowing from banks and other financial institutions.

WASHINGTON -- The press secretary for the US Department of State reiterated the importance of trilateral cooperation between the US, South Korea and Japan on Monday, saying the countries will be more successful when working together. The remarks from Ned Price came after Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Takeo Mori boycotted a joint press event with his South Korean and US counterparts -- Choi Jong-kun and Wendy Sherman -- following their three-way talks in Washington last week. "When it com

Every news media outlet around the world has been focusing on COVID-19. Some may wonder if there is any other news besides the virus. As you may have heard, electing the next president of South Korea is less than 150 days away. The election is the most important event in the country politically and socially. Those who are not usually interested in politics start paying attention to election-related news. I think they have a tendency to pay more attention this time around because they want to c

Poland’s ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party knew well what to expect from Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko before he started funneling refugees from the Middle East to the Polish border. Belarusian authorities had already done it to Lithuania and Latvia. And in a clear sign of what was to come, Belarus terminated its readmission agreement with the EU in October. Poland had time to pursue preventive measures in the refugees’ countries of origin. It didn’t, and now thous