Sixty-five percent of South Koreans support an independent counsel investigation into a corruption-laden urban development scandal engulfing South Korean politics while 25 percent are against it, a survey showed Friday. The Gallup Korea poll of 1,000 adults conducted between Tuesday and Thursday also showed 55 percent suspect that Lee Jae-myung, the presidential nominee of the ruling Democratic Party (DP), played a part in the development project in Seongnam, south of Seoul, with a purpose to g

Pope Francis appointed Bishop Peter Chung Soon-taek as the new Catholic archbishop for Seoul on Thursday. Chung, 60, was also appointed as apostolic administrator of Pyongyang. “God is truly ‘beyond.’ He acts far beyond our human thoughts, so we cannot predict or estimate his plans or thoughts in advance,” Chung said. “I ask for many people to pray for me so that I can follow the path of the wonderful former archbishops and spread pastoral care.” He was

A teenager riding an e-scooter without a helmet has died after ramming into a utility pole while racing downhill in Seoul, police said Friday. The 17-year-old high-school student crashed into the telephone pole at 8:26 p.m. Thursday on a road in Seoul's northern district of Nowon, police said. After sustaining injuries to the head, he was given cardiopulmonary resuscitation and rushed to a nearby hospital but died, according to the police. A police probe found he lost control of the personal

Hyundai Oilbank is capturing carbon emissions and transforming them into raw materials used for cement and concrete at construction sites, as part of its carbon neutrality commitments. According to Hyundai Oilbank Friday, it will collect byproducts generated from its petrochemical facilities such as desulfurized gypsum and carbon dioxide and turn those waste products into construction materials such as plaster and calcium carbonate. Next year, Hyundai Oilbank will break ground on a productio

South Korean stocks ended lower for a third straight day Friday as tech shares declined following the release of weaker-than-expected earnings by major US tech firms. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 38.87 points, or 1.29 percent, to close at 2,970.68 points. Trading volume was moderate at 535.48 million shares worth 10.789 trillion won ($9.2 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 663 to 210. Foreigners and institution

Hybe, the K-pop corporation behind BTS, released a statement Friday that it has nothing to do with a cryptocurrency called Army Coin and warned it take legal action against the crypto exchange for violating portrait rights. “We have received information that Army Coin has been listed on Bitget, a crypto exchange located in Singapore. However, we have nothing to do with the crypto whatsoever,” Hybe said in a statement. Hybe stressed that the crypto agency has used BTS photos to prom

Global credit rating agency Moody’s said Friday it has placed the credit rating of Citibank Korea on review for a downgrade citing the bank’s decision to close its retail banking business. The agency had kept the bank’s credit rating at A1, the same as estimates from February 2019. It signaled Citibank Korea’s current a3 Baseline Credit Assessment would be on review for a downgrade as well. “The review for a downgrade is triggered by the bank’s plan to exit

SK hynix said Friday the chipmaker inked a deal to acquire a 100 percent stake in domestic foundry firm Key Foundry for 575.8 billion won ($492.55 million). Key Foundry, based in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, is a foundry-specialized firm producing chips for its customers using 8-inch wafers. It can produce non-memory products such as power management ICs, display driver ICs and microcontroller units.  Key Foundry was formerly LG Semiconductor, which was established in 1979.&n

Highlighting the latest government data reflecting a recovery in industrial output and retail sales in September, the nation’s top economic policymaker on Friday expressed anticipation of a rebound in private spending for the remaining months of the year. “Despite the obstacles cast by the fourth wave of the COVID-19 virus, the nation’s industrial output in September rose over 1 percent and the overall economy activity has shown improvement compared with August,” Deputy

Hanwha Aerospace Co. on Friday reported its third-quarter net profit of 74.7 billion won ($63.9 million), up 33.4 percent from a year earlier. The company said in a regulatory filing that operating profit for the July-September period rose 9.5 percent on-year to 103.3 billion won. Revenue increased 12 percent to 1.54 trillion won. The operating profit was 30.3 percent higher than the average estimate, according to the survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency. The

Pyongyang says S. Korea, US should at least suspend military drills

The state watchdog on personal information protection on Friday recommended the operator of Facebook to pay 300,000 won ($256.70) in compensation to each of 181 users demanding damages for the provision of their personal information to third parties without consent. The recommendation to Meta Platforms, Inc. was made by the Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC)'s dispute mediation panel in charge of settling a dispute between the operator and Korean users of Facebook over the platfo

ANYANG -- An elementary school principal in Anyang was placed under emergency arrest Friday for allegedly installing a hidden camera inside a bathroom of the school's female faculty. The Anyang Dongan Police Station said it was questioning the 57-year-old principal, who is alleged to have placed a 2-4 centimeter-long camera near a toilet inside the women's bathroom at his school in the city 23 kilometers south of Seoul. A teacher reportedly discovered the camera and reported it to school autho

As South Korea tries to take baby steps back to normal life during the coronavirus pandemic, fan experience in baseball and football, two of the country's biggest sports, is about to change for the better, too. For one, you can now have the ballpark staple of chicken and beer, colloquially called "chimaek," starting next week, if you're fully vaccinated. The government on Friday unveiled plans for a phased return to normalcy amid the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Those measur

Hyundai Wia on Friday reported its third-quarter net profit of 16.7 billion won ($14.3 million), down 76.2 percent from a year earlier. The company said in a regulatory filing that it posted 31.2 billion won in operating profit for the quarter, compared with 13.2 billion won a year ago. Sales fell 3.8 percent to 1.77 trillion won. The operating profit was 10.1 percent lower than the average estimate, according to the survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency. The