ASEAN Week 2021, organized last week by the presidential committee on New Southern Policy, presented a variety of trade opportunities, potential and cultural visuals of ASEAN member countries. In congratulatory remarks at the Oct. 5-6 event, KITA chairman Christopher Ko said the New Southern region was a young and dynamic market of 2 billion people, and was developing faster than any other in the world. “New Southern region is now transforming into a new business place for global compan

President Moon Jae-in, clad in traditional Korean attire hanbok, presided over a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, in a move to raise awareness among the public over the traditional outfit. The move came as the culture ministry designated Oct. 11-17 as the "Week of Autumn Hanbok Culture" to promote the traditional Korean dress, which features large sleeves and wide trousers. Moon said hanbok has gained international attention due to its unique beauty and styles. Oxford English Dictionary has

National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug has met with the leaders of Egypt's parliament and requested their support for Seoul's push for an end-of-war declaration with North Korea, his office said Tuesday. Park, who is on an official visit to Italy and Egypt, met separately with Egypt's President of the Senate Abdel-Wahab Abdel-Razeq and Speaker of the House of Representatives Hanafy Ali El Gebali in Cairo on Monday. In the meetings, Park explained Seoul's wish to build peace and co-prosperity

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum on Tuesday called on foreign residents to actively participate in the country's vaccination program amid virus resurgence concerns. Kim stressed that South Korea does not discriminate against foreigners when it comes to the virus fight and that health authorities are willing to help foreigners get vaccinated. "Although cases from foreign residents in South Korea have been rising recently, their vaccination rate is relatively low," Kim said during a Central D

North Korean defector-turned-lawmaker said Monday that South Korea should step up efforts to improve the human rights situation in North Korea, along with its proposal to declare the formal end to the Korean War. Rep. Tae Young-ho of the main opposition People Power Party made the remark during an interview with Yonhap News Agency while in New York for a parliamentary audit of the South Korean Embassy to the United Nations. "We shouldn't lean toward the left or the right for the North Korea

The chief of the ruling Democratic Party said Tuesday there will be no change in the party's nomination of Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung as its presidential candidate, despite an appeal from the runner-up over whether votes cast for dropouts from the primary should be counted. On Sunday, Gov. Lee Jae-myung was named the DP's standard-bearer for the March presidential election after he won 50.29 percent of the vote in a primary, followed by former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon with 39.14 percent. Lee

NEW DELHI -- Strong political leadership and earnest implementation of policies by a committed bureaucracy have been two key factors in India’s relative success in containing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, a senior health official said. The two key factors, along with the strategy of regular testing for COVID-19 and vaccination, are the weapons that India and other countries can use to stave off a possible third wave, said Pratyaya Amrit, additional chief secretary at the Health Dep

South Korea's tax revenue rose for the eighth straight month in August amid an economic recovery and a boom in asset markets, the finance ministry said Tuesday. The country collected 24.6 trillion won in taxes in August, up 600 billion won from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The government said tax revenue has increased so far this year as corporate tax income has risen in line with the economic recovery, while a boom in the stock and property markets jacked

　South Korea has clinched the top spot in Asia in a United Nations agency’s global innovation rankings, coming in fifth globally. 　In the World Intellectual Property Organization’s Global Innovation Index 2021, Korea was ahead of Singapore, Japan and China. It was behind Switzerland, Sweden, the United States and the United Kingdom. 　Korea, Asia’s fourth-biggest economy, was in 10th place last year. (Yonhap)

South Korea's daily new COVID-19 cases hovered around the 1,000s for a fourth straight day on Tuesday due to fewer tests over an extended weekend. The country added 1,347 more COVID-19 cases, including 1,334 local infections, raising the total caseload to 334,163, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The daily number of COVID-19 cases has stayed in the quadruple digits since July 7. Health authorities are worried about a possible surge in confirmed cases as more c

South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street, with tech shares weighing on the main index. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 29.89 points, or 1.01 percent, to 2,926.41 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated 0.7 percent to 34,496 as a global energy crunch increased concerns about inflation. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite declined 0.6 percent to 14,486. The Korean stock market closed Monda