A 2.9 magnitude earthquake struck off South Korea's southeastern coast early Wednesday, the state weather agency said. The quake occurred at 1:39 a.m. in waters about 35 kilometers off the city of Ulsan, some 415 km southeast of Seoul, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). The epicenter was at a depth of 19 km, and the quake's tremor was recorded at Level 1 on the seismic intensity scale, which means most people would not have felt it. According to the KMA, the quake w

South Korean stocks opened lower Wednesday, largely by losses in tech, auto stocks. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 9.95 points, or 0.33 percent, to 2,987.26 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics edged down 0.14 percent, No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix lost 0.45 percent, and pharmaceutical giant Samsung Biologics retreated 0.92 percent. Hyundai Motor, the country's largest carmaker, moved down 0.73 percent, with its smaller affi

South Korea have defeated the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Iraq in succession in their World Cup qualifying campaign, using identical starting lineups. But how they achieved those results couldn't have been more different, as the Taeguk Warriors proved that they can win matches in a variety of ways. Three different players scored in South Korea's 3-0 victory over Iraq at Thani bin Jassim Stadium in Doha on Tuesday (local time). It was South Korea's fourth win in six contests in Group A durin

GS Energy Corp., an energy unit of South Korean conglomerate GS Group, has secured a deal to annually bring in about 200,000 tons of blue ammonia from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from 2025, according to the company. GS Energy announced Tuesday it has joined a project led by Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) to build a production facility to co-develop the clean energy compound in a city west of Abu Dhabi. GS Energy will hold a 10 percent stake in the project. Further details on the terms o

He is still very much active, but Son Heung-min's latest goal for South Korea made it feel like his career had come full circle. Son scored his 30th international goal in a 3-0 World Cup qualifying victory over Iraq at Thani bin Jassim Stadium in Doha on Tuesday (local time). Son is now tied for sixth with three others on the all-time South Korean goal scoring list, and leads all active national team players. Son now has 96 caps, four from joining the Century Club, and his legacy as one of the

South Korea plans to pump up its efforts to stabilize the housing market as surging home prices and speculative demand have showed signs of easing, the country's top economic policymaker said Wednesday. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said the growth of housing prices and demand for home buying have slowed since September in the latest sign that people's expectations for further price gains might have changed. "As market anxiety that has driven housing price gains appears to significantly ch

Captain Son Heung-min scored his 30th international goal while young midfielder Jeong Woo-yeong netted his first, as South Korea beat Iraq 3-0 in their World Cup qualifying match in Doha on Tuesday. Midfielder Lee Jae-sung opened the scoring in the first half for the clean sheet victory at Thani bin Jassim Stadium, helping South Korea extend their undefeated streak to six matches in the final Asian qualifying round for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. With 14 points from four victories and two draws,

South Korea's large companies increased their investments by more than 7 percent in the first nine months of this year as part of efforts to find future growth engines despite the coronavirus pandemic, a corporate tracker said Wednesday. Combined capital spending by 336 out of the country's top 500 businesses came to 124.4 trillion won ($105 billion) in the January-September period, up 7.3 percent from a year earlier, according to CEO Score. Firms in information and technology, electric and el

The ruling Democratic Party (DP) has threatened to conduct a parliamentary investigation into the finance ministry for underestimating this year's surplus tax revenue, ratcheting up pressure on the government to endorse the DP presidential nominee's push to provide universal COVID-19 relief funds. DP floor leader Rep. Yun Ho-jung said during a YTN radio interview Tuesday that this year's excess tax revenue is expected to reach 50 trillion won ($42.2 billion), which is 19 trillion won more than

WASHINGTON -- South Korea's vice foreign minister held talks with his US counterpart and discussed ways to bring North Korea back to dialogue, including the possible declaration of a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean War, Seoul's foreign ministry said Wednesday. During the 60-minute talks in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday (local time), South Korea's First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun and US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman also discussed the alliance and other issues of common intere

South Korea's military plans to administer extra COVID-19 shots to its fully vaccinated personnel starting next week, officials said Wednesday, amid a surge in the country's daily virus counts. Around 3,000 military medical personnel will first get an extra jab of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine starting Wednesday next week, a defense official said. The military also plans to administer booster shots on some 500,000 troops starting January as well. The move comes amid a continued rise in the numbe

South Korea will cut the dosage interval between primary vaccination and COVID-19 vaccine booster shots for senior citizens in a move to curb breakthrough infections and serious cases amid worries over virus upticks, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Wednesday. Booster shots for people aged 60 or older and nursing hospital patients can be administered four months after they received their last dose, while those in their 50s can get extra jabs five months after their primary COVID-19 vaccination,

WASHINGTON -- North Korea is one of key areas where the United States and China can and should work together, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Tuesday. Sullivan also reiterated US commitment to dialogue with the reclusive North. "Of course, we have seen a series of tests by North Korea. The United States has indicate we are prepared to engage in good faith and diplomacy if North Korea is prepared to do the same," he said, referring to recent missile tests by the North

The race to commercialize urban air mobility services is heating up as national flag carrier Korean Air and retail giant Lotte on Tuesday announced new projects to help introduce drone airport shuttles. Korean Air said it has signed an agreement with Hyundai Motor, Incheon International Airport Corp., KT and Hyundai E&C to help build UAM infrastructure and improve social acceptance toward the new means of public transport. The airline will share its experience of operating passenger and ca

These days, the Korean people have invented a few new English words, such as “untact” or “with corona,” which means, respectively “no contact” and “living with the coronavirus.” When Koreans say a “notebook,” they refer to a “laptop.” When they say, a “hand phone,” they mean a “cellphone.” Other examples include “po-doc” for “post-doc,” and “oil” for “gasoline