Universities sign support letters for Chungcheong region in efforts to host 2027 World University Games

A slowdown in China's economy will have a negative impact on South Korea's exports but its fallout could be eased thanks to strong demand for Korean-made chips, a central bank report showed Wednesday. China's economy is showing signs of slowing down, with its growth rate falling to 4.9 percent on-year in the third quarter from 18.3 percent and 7.9 percent in the first and second quarters. A recent debt crisis of a major Chinese property developer has also clouded the outlook for China's econom

Online shopping in South Korea hit a record high in September, led by solid demand for food delivery services and electronics goods amid the resurgence in COVID-19 cases, data showed Wednesday. The value of online shopping transactions stood at 16.2 trillion won ($13.7 billion) in September, up 17 percent from the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea. The September reading marked an all-time high since the agency began to compile related data in 2001. The value of online

South Korea's military reported six additional COVID-19 cases Wednesday, bringing the total caseload among its personnel to 2,050, the defense ministry said. Among the new cases is a Navy officer who tested positive while in quarantine following a vacation. A civilian employee of the Army also contracted the virus after a family member tested positive. The other cases are an officer of a military unit attached to the defense ministry, a Navy officer and two Army soldiers. Of the cumulative c

An appellate court has upheld a 700,000 won ($595) fine for a man charged with illegally filmed a woman in leggings in a retrial of the case after the Supreme Court overturned a not-guilty verdict for him. The case drew media attention as a district court and an appeals court were divided over whether secretly filming women in leggings constitutes a sexual crime, and the Supreme Court ruled it does because footage could be maliciously edited and shared online. The man, whose identity was withh

A Seoul court questioned the owner of an asset management firm at the center of an urban development corruption scandal Wednesday to determine whether to issue an arrest warrant for him on bribery and other charges. Kim Man-bae, owner of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management, is facing charges of breach of trust and bribery in connection with a 2015 project to develop the Daejang-dong district in Seongnam, south of Seoul, into apartment complexes. Prosecutors have been looking into suspicions over h

The Seoul city government said Wednesday it will offer a new concept public service through online virtual worlds by building its own metaverse platform for the first time among local governments nationwide. The city's own high-performance platform, tentatively named Metaverse Seoul, will be established by the end of next year, according to its five-year "Metaverse Seoul Basic Plan." The city government will then begin implementing the metaverse ecosystem for administrative services

Music director Osmo Vanska shares plans for next year

UIJEONGBU -- Gyeonggi Province is considering building a new bridge connecting Goyang and Gimpo, two western satellite cities of Seoul separated by the Han River, officials said Wednesday. The city of Gimpo on Friday proposed the construction of a 1.4-kilometer bridge, named Yangchon Bridge, to meet growing transport demand between the two cities and disperse traffic concentrated on existing Ilsan Bridge, they said. If constructed, it will be the 30th bridge over the Han River. Gimpo and Go

"My Universe," a collaborative song between K-pop superstars BTS and British rock band Coldplay, ranked No. 20 on the Billboard main albums chart for this week. According to the latest chart that became available Tuesday (US time), the song was down seven notches from the previous week's No. 13 on the Hot 100 chart, which ranks the most popular songs of the week in the United States by blending streaming, airplay and sales data. The tune debuted atop the chart in the first week of it

President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday offered incentives to attract foreign investors as South Korea kicked off its largest foreign investment forum meant to create new opportunities amid economic recovery during the pandemic. Invest Korea Week 2021, which runs through Friday, is expected to bring together 3,000 officials from major domestic and international companies, governments and related organizations for investor relations sessions and other events, according to the Ministry of Trade, Indus

South Korean technology conglomerates are making last-minute preparations ahead of submitting their semiconductor-related data to the US as the deadline approaches, industry insiders said Wednesday. The move is in line with the US Department of Commerce’s request on Sep. 24 for global semiconductor firms to hand over internal data on clients, inventory levels and chipmaking equipment by Nov. 8, so the department can “review” supply-side issues. Shortages of key parts, includin

The number of South Korean companies affiliated with large business groups under tight supervision rose by 52 in the August-October period as conglomerates expanded new businesses, the antitrust regulator said Wednesday. The total number of affiliates on the Korea Fair Trade Commission's (KFTC) watch list reached 2,704, as of end-October, compared with 2,652 three months earlier, according to the commission. Major business groups newly launched or acquired 106 units, while offloading 54 others