Lee Jae-myung, the presidential nominee of the ruling Democratic Party, will meet with the top US diplomat for East Asia in Seoul this week, his party said Monday. Lee is scheduled to meet Thursday with US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink, Rep. Kim Han-jung, chief of the DP international committee, told reporters. Kritenbrink is set to arrive in Seoul on Wednesday on his first visit to the country since taking office in September. He is expecte

In Korea, wage goes sharply up between the 10th year to the 20th year in employment, due to a widespread seniority-based salary system, a report said Monday. According to an analysis by professor Lee Sang-hee of Korea Polytechnic University, South Korea saw the sharpest hike in one’s salary of 15.1 percent in the 10-year period, compared to other members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.  The OECD average was a 5.9 percent increase.  Professor Lee

The automotive semiconductor shortage is expected to continue until 2023, and the government and related industries should be prepared to handle rising demand, an automotive think tank said Monday. According to the Korea Automotive Technology Institute, or Katech, the global shortage of automotive semiconductors that started around the end of 2020 will continue to affect the global car industry for the first half of 2022. Even after 2023, some companies may still feel its effects. This year

A senior US diplomat for East Asia is scheduled to visit South Korea on Wednesday, during which he is expected to meet the South Korean presidential candidates of the two major parties. 　 Daniel Kritenbrink, the US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, is on his first Asia trip since taking office in September. He will arrive here on Wednesday after a four-day stay in Japan, according to the State Department. 　 In Seoul, Kritenbrink is expected to meet officials, in

President Moon Jae-in’s approval rating slipped to a six-month low of 34.2 percent, hit hard by the snowballing development scandal involving Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, a recent poll found Monday. According to Realmeter, his approval rating in the first week of November was 34.2 percent, down 4.5 percent from the previous week, while his disapproval rating increased 5.3 percent to 62.9 percent during the same period. The approval

Indoor sports workers question ambiguous standards on what counts as high-risk

The number of marriages between South Koreans and foreign spouses fell to a record low last year as the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted people's cross-border movements, data showed Monday. The number of multicultural marriages came to 16,177 last year, down 34.6 percent, or 8,544, from a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea. It marked the lowest reading since 2008 when the statistics agency started to compile related data. The number of international marriages sharply fell la

Yoon Seok-youl, the presidential nominee of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), has been booked on additional charges connected to the prosecution's documenting of judges' traits in the past, an activist group said Monday. The group of self-claimed "judicial justice" activists said it received notification from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) on Oct. 22 that Yoon has been booked by the office in connection with its complaint. The group f

President Moon Jae-in on Monday instructed aides to mobilize all possible measures to stabilize a supply of urea water solution amid growing public concerns about a worsening shortage of the key material used in diesel vehicles to reduce emissions due to tightened imports. Moon also ordered aides to "make utmost diplomatic efforts to secure" urea water solution from foreign countries, presidential spokesperson Park Kyung-mee told reporters. The government will take stern actions agai

Police will minimize the use of diesel vehicles to prepare for the prolonged shortage of urea water solution across the country, the National Police Agency (NPA) said Monday. The NPA said it has instructed all police organizations nationwide to deprioritize the use of diesel vehicles to cope with the worsening urea water crisis. South Korea has been grappling with a shortage of urea water solution, a key material used in diesel vehicles to reduce emissions, after China tightened exports of the

Major South Korean brokerage house Meritz Securities Co. said Monday its third-quarter earnings rose nearly 18 percent from a year ago on increased fee income. Net profit stood at 191.2 billion won ($161.3 million) in the July-September period, up 17.7 percent from a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. Its operating income expanded 15.4 percent on-year to 240.2 billion won in the quarter, and revenue soared 81.4 percent to 6.14 trillion won. Meritz Securities said its third

Seoul Foreign School is celebrating the 40th anniversary of its International Baccalaureate (IB) program this year.  The school introduced the IB program in 1981, recognizing the program’s potential as the premiere international curriculum and one that would provide opportunities for graduates as they transitioned to university and beyond.  After several decades of success with the IB Diploma Program (IBDP) for High School students, SFS adopted the Primary Years and Middle Year

South Korea has invited 19 foreign Korean War veterans ahead of the upcoming annual ceremony commemorating the sacrifices of UN troops in the 1950-53 conflict, the veterans affairs ministry said Monday. The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs said that the veterans from seven countries, including the United States, Britain and Canada, and their family members are set to arrive here on Monday for a six-day visit. The veterans are scheduled to attend the "Turn Toward Busan" event

Yoon Seok-youl, the presidential nominee of the main opposition People Power Party, is leading his opponent Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party by nearly 12 percentage points in a hypothetical multicandidate race, a survey showed Monday. Yoon garnered 43 percent support against Lee's 31.2 percent in the survey conducted on 1,009 adults nationwide on Friday and Saturday, according to the Korea Society Opinion Institute (KSOI). Yoon's rating jumped 10.6 percentage points from the previo

Korea Aerospace Industries Co. (KAI), South Korea's sole aircraft manufacturer, said Monday it has received a US$360 million repair and maintenance deal for trainer jets in Iraq. In the three-year deal signed with the Iraqi defense ministry, KAI will provide repair and maintenance services for the T-50IQ advanced trainer jets operated by the Iraqi air force as well as training programs for pilots and engineers, the company said in a statement. KAI exported 24 T-50IQ trainer jets to Iraq in 201