Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo has reclaimed the top spot in the list of the world’s highest-paid soccer players from Lionel Messi, according to Forbes. Forbes said Ronaldo, among the world’s most popular athletes with over 500 million followers across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, is set to make $125 million before taxes in the 2021-22 season, with $70 million coming from salary and bonuses at United. The rest will come from endorsements and partnerships with brand

Yoon Seok-youl, the presidential nominee of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), and his opponent Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) are neck and neck in a hypothetical multicandidate race, a survey showed Monday. Yoon garnered 40 percent support, while Lee trailed by only 0.5 percentage point at 39.5 percent, within the survey's margin of error, according to the survey of 1,007 adults conducted Friday and Saturday by the Korea Society Opinion Institute (KSOI). Yoon's r

Police have come under fire for their inadequate responses to violent crimes, as seen in the recent death of a stalking victim under police protection and an alleged dereliction of duty by two Incheon officers accused of sidestepping a knife attack scene. A man in his 30s was arrested Saturday for killing his ex-girlfriend with a knife at her studio apartment in central Seoul the previous day. The murder sparked public fury, as it was known that the victim was under police protection after suff

South Korea's military reported five additional COVID-19 cases Monday, bringing the total caseload among its personnel to 2,193. An Army officer stationed in Paju, 30 kilometers north of Seoul, tested positive following a vacation. Another officer based at the defense ministry's compound in Seoul tested positive after developing symptoms. Three other service members contracted the virus from their family members. Of the cumulative cases in the military, 85 patients are still under treatment.

The number of people who are subject to the so-called comprehensive real estate tax rose 42 percent this year from the previous year amid skyrocketing home prices and hikes in the tax rates, the finance ministry said Monday. A total of 947,000 people are subject to the comprehensive real estate taxes this year, compared with the 667,000 people tallied for last year, according to the ministry. The 2021 numbers accounted for 1.8 percent of the country's 52 million population. Such people are fo

　South Korea saw its foreign population shrink by 3.2 percent in November last year from the previous year, the first such decline since 2006 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Interior Ministry said. 　According to a report by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the number of foreign residents, defined as foreign nationals residing in the country for more than 90 days or naturalized Koreans and their children, stood at 2.15 million in November in 2020, compared with 2.22 million the same mo

South Korea's new coronavirus cases fell below 3,000 for the first time in six days Monday due to fewer tests over the weekend, but concerns remain high over a virus resurgence amid eased social distancing rules and this week's full-fledged reopening of schools. The country reported 2,827 new COVID-19 cases, including 2,086 local infections, raising the total caseload to 418,252, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). This marked the first time in six days that th

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