South Korea is monitoring the possibility of North Korea holding a major event to celebrate the 10th anniversary of leader Kim Jong-un's rise to power, Seoul's unification ministry said Friday. Kim assumed power in December 2011, following the sudden death of his late father and former leader Kim Jong-il.  "North Korea has not announced a plan for such a commemorative event as of now, but we will continue monitoring related moves as there are some needs for one to strengthen interna

K-pop girl group TWICE will release its third studio album, titled "Formula of Love: O+T=<3," on Friday, its management agency said. Presales of the album reached 700,000 units, about 200,000 more than its previous release and last EP "Taste of Love," according to JYP Entertainment. The group said the name "Formula of Love: O+T=<3" expressed the group's relationship with its fandom ONCE in the form of a simple math equation using the initials of the fandom a

Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Co., the non-life insurance arm of Samsung Group, reported a 42.2 percent rise in its third-quarter earnings amid a fall in accident-linked insurance payments amid tightened social distancing rules. Net income came to 278.15 billion won ($235.5 million) during the January-September period, compared with a net profit of 195.56 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. The improved bottom line is attributable to a fall in loss ratio

Secretly urinating on a stranger constitutes forced molestation, the Supreme Court said Friday, overturning a not guilty verdict by lower courts. The unnamed defendant in the unusual legal case was charged with secretly peeing on a girl's hair, hoody and padded jumper from behind while she was talking on a cell phone on a bench at an apartment playground in the central city of Daejeon around 11 p.m. on Nov. 25, 2019. The 33-year-old defendant, known only as a theater actor, allegedly committed

South Korea's military reported five additional COVID-19 cases Friday, bringing the total caseload among its personnel to 2,110, the defense ministry said. Among the new cases was an officer of a Marine Corps unit in Pohang, 374 kilometers southeast of Seoul. The officer tested positive after a family member was infected. A draftee at a boot camp in Nonsan, 213 km south of Seoul, also contracted the virus while in quarantine. A civilian employee of an Army unit in Goyang, just northwest of Se

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum apologized Friday for violating social distancing rules when he met with his college alumni last week. "I am deeply sorry," Kim said at the start of a state affairs coordination meeting. "I promise that I will look after myself thoroughly so that this kind of incident never happens again." Kim came under fire after media reported that a total of 11 people, including Kim himself, had a luncheon at the prime minister's residence in Seoul last Sat

A 2.1 magnitude earthquake struck the southeastern city of Pohang early Friday but is not expected to cause any damage, the state weather agency said. The quake occurred at 1:31 a.m. in a region about 12 kilometers north of the Buk ward office in Pohang, some 375 kilometers southeast of Seoul, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). The epicenter was at a depth of 8 km. The quake's tremor was recorded at Level 2 on the seismic intensity scale in North Gyeongsang Provinc

The European Union's drug agency has recommended the approval of a COVID-19 antibody treatment by Celltrion Inc., paving the way for its sales in the region, the South Korean pharmaceutical giant said Friday. The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) under the European Medicines Agency recommended the application of Rekirona in adult patients aged 18 and older. The European Commission, which is authorized to approve medicines in the region, is expected to issue its decision wit

South Korea's domestic demand is expected to gradually recover as in-person service segments will likely rebound amid the country's eased virus restrictions, the finance ministry said Friday. But Asia's fourth-largest economy still faces external economic downside risks, including global inflation risks and supply chain disruptions, the ministry said in its monthly economic assessment report, called Green Book. "The Korean economy is recovering amid robust exports and an improvement in th

South Korea said Friday the number of COVID-19 patients in critical condition hit a record high as the daily caseload stayed above 2,300 for the third consecutive day amid eased antivirus curbs. The country reported 2,368 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total caseload to 390,719, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The latest tally marked a fall from the previous day's 2,520, but the daily caseload has hovered over 2,000 for three days in a row. The daily tally

Disney+, the flagship streaming service of US media giant Walt Disney Co., landed in South Korea on Friday, heating up competition in the country's video streaming market. The streaming service is now available on its website or in Apple's App Store for iPhones and Google's Play Store for Android devices. The service distributes various films and TV series from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic and Star, showing their original content hits, like "Loki" and "T