Central bank keeps benchmark interest rate steady at 0.75 percent, warns of growing inflationary pressure due to surge in oil prices

Last social distancing rules to be announced Friday; committee for return to normal launched

President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday ordered a thorough probe into a snowballing corruption scandal involving a close aide to the ruling Democratic Party's presidential nominee. Cheong Wa Dae spokeswoman Park Kyung-mee told reporters Moon instructed the prosecution and the police to "actively cooperate and do their utmost to uncover the factual truth through a swift and thorough investigation."This is the first time Moon has commented on the scandal that centers on allegations that the a

New York-based property technology startup Market Stadium has raised 1 billion won ($834,400) in seed funding from venture capital houses in South Korea and abroad, the company said Tuesday. Taking part in the latest rounding were early-stage VC Kakao Ventures, financial backer Shinhan Capital and California-based Primer Sazze Partners. Angel investors including John Kim, co-founder of messaging-as-a-service startup Sendbird; and Scott Robinson, a clinical assistant professor at New York Unive

The number of state employment insurance subscribers in the service sector topped 10 million last month for the first time since the insurance scheme was introduced 26 years ago, government data showed Tuesday. According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, more than 10 million service sector workers were subscribed to the state insurance plan last month, up 270,000 from September 2020, the first time the service industry achieved the milestone since the country adopted the plan in 1995. By

The first phone call between President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is being delayed, with Japanese media saying the new Japanese leader has little incentive to rush ahead of a major election later this month, his first test in domestic politics. According to Japan’s Nikkei business daily on Tuesday, Kishida’s office and Japan’s foreign ministry have agreed not to prioritize South Korea for the new prime minister’s first phone calls with foreign

The Navy has steadily scaled back exercises using live ammunition since President Moon Jae-in took office in 2017, a lawmaker said, amid concerns that Moon’s North Korea policy could affect combat readiness. Live ammunition was used 96 percent of the time in 2016, but the rate has since slowly fallen and hit 87 percent in 2020, according to Rep. Shin Won-sik of the main opposition People Power Party, citing data compiled by the Navy. The data was an average of the rates that live ammuni

Retail giant Shinsegae Group is in breach of the constitution over its workplace policy that prohibits employees from partaking in political activities, lawmaker Song OK-joo’s office said on Tuesday. Supermarket chain Emart has a workplace policy banning staff from distributing handouts or putting up banners and posters as well as staging a protest without permission from the company, a review of the company’s internal rules found. Rep. Song’s office found that a similar work

Sexual violence support center chiefs’ majors include architecture, North Korean studies, video animation

President Moon Jae-in said Tuesday that the country is about to enter the "last gateway" to a return to normal following the COVID-19 pandemic. Moon made the remark during a Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae, referring to Wednesday's planned launch of a new government-civilian committee handling the transition from COVID-19 to everyday life. "We have done well until now, and if we hang on a little longer, we will be able to enter the stage of returning to normal as planned, in li

The Korea Herald and the Embassy of Uzbekistan in South Korea signed a memorandum of understanding to expand media cooperation on Thursday. A signing ceremony was held at the embassy in Hannam-dong, Seoul, Oct. 7, with Ambassador Vitali V. Fen and Korea Herald CEO Choi Jin-young in attendance. Uzbekistan offers many opportunities for joint investment projects, Fen said. He mentioned climate change, energy, establishing inclusive infrastructure, the transition to a low-carbon economy, and Kore

The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the government to pay Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. (DSME) 31 billion won ($25.8 million) in connection with a protracted legal dispute surrounding a project to build the country's first indigenous military salvage vessel. Tuesday's ruling confirmed two lower court rulings in favor of the shipbuilder, which was seeking government compensation after the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) refused to accept the 3,500-ton Navy sa

A Seoul court on Tuesday sentenced a young man to life imprisonment for brutally killing an online game mate he stalked and her family members, in a case that raised awareness about stalking crimes The Seoul Northern District Court delivered the sentence to Kim Tae-hyun, 25, indicted on five criminal charges, including murder, housebreaking and theft. Kim was arrested at the victims' home on March 25, with self-inflicted injuries, two days after killing the three women there. He had been stalk

Eastspring Asset Management Korea said Tuesday that its incumbent Chief Executive Officer Park Chun-woong would serve a fourth term and remain in office until 2024. The decision was made in a shareholders meeting Friday, according to the company, which is fully owned by London-based insurance firm Prudential. Park took the helm at Eastspring’s South Korean unit in 2012. Its assets under management came to 11.5 trillion won ($9.6 billion) as of end-September, the 20th-highest amount fo