A professor from Sejong University has been picked to serve on the editorial board of an international research journal, the Seoul-based higher education institution announced Monday. Lee Jae-hong, a professor of architectural engineering at Sejong University, will serve as a member of the editorial board for Engineering Structures, a globally prestigious research journal in the field of structural engineering and structural mechanics communities. The biweekly journal, run by Netherlands-based

The office of President Moon Jae-in said Monday North Korea needs to put its hotlines with South Korea back in operation first for consultations on ways to improve bilateral ties, including the possibility of another summit between their leaders. Park Soo-hyun, senior Cheong Wa Dae secretary for public communication, described it as a method to confirm Pyongyang's "will" to hold dialogue. He was referring to a statement by Kim Yo-jong, sister of North Korea leader Kim Jong-un, that her

North Korea remained unresponsive to South Korea's calls via liaison and military hotlines Monday despite cautious optimism created after the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said the two Koreas could discuss improvements in long-strained relations. "North Korea did not answer our opening call through the South-North joint liaison office at 9 a.m.," a unification ministry official said. A military official also said a call via the military hotline went unanswered. Kim Yo-jong,

South Korea said Monday it will start a cash-back reward program for card spending next month in an effort to boost private spending amid the fourth wave of the pandemic. The two-month scheme will allow people to receive up to 100,000 won ($85) per month if their card spending exceeds 3 percent of their monthly average use in the second quarter, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The government earmarked 700 billion won in its budget to fund the scheme, with an aim of boosting p

North Korea's recent missile launches show the "seriousness of threat" posed to the United States and South Korea, a Pentagon official said Monday, amid a conciliatory gesture from Pyongyang after a series of weapons tests. Siddharth Mohandas, US deputy assistant secretary of defense for East Asia, made the remark at the start of the biannual 20th Korea-US Integrated Defense Dialogue (KIDD) in Seoul to discuss regional security situations and pending alliance issues. "North Korea'

South Korea plans to unveil additional measures next month to curb household debts, the head of the financial regulator said Monday. Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Koh Seung-beom said such measures will focus on improving ways of calculating a household's ability to repay debts. Koh said the government will continue to take stricter measures to rein in household debts, calling such debts the "biggest potential risk" on the nation's economy. Since July, the FSC has a

North Korea is set to convene a session of its rubber-stamp legislature this week, drawing attention to whether any message to South Korea would come out of the meeting after the sister of leader Kim Jong-un expressed a willingness to improve inter-Korean relations. State media earlier reported a session of the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) will be held Tuesday to discuss adopting laws on youth education and modifications to the national economic plan, as well as adopting the law on developing

Men have taken up more than 20 percent of admissions for nursing universities in South Korea for the first time this year, data showed Monday. According to Jongro Academy, one of the country's leading educational institutions for college admissions, 2,249 male students entered nursing universities in 2021, accounting for 20.5 percent of the total 10,993. The tally was up by 161, or 7.7 percent, compared to 2,088 enrollments last year. This marked the first time the proportion of male admissions

South Korea's daily coronavirus cases remained in the 2000s for a second day Monday amid concerns the daily caseload may sharply increase as more people get tested after the extended holiday. The country reported 2,383 new COVID-19 cases, including 2,356 local infections, bringing the total caseload to 303,553, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The daily caseload touched a fresh high of 3,272 on Saturday before slightly falling to 2,771 on Sunday. But health au

　Animal farming accounts for twice as many greenhouse gas emissions as plants grown for consumption, according to a study published that mapped agricultural activities worldwide. 　What humans eat accounts for a major chunk of the emissions behind climate-change - transportation, deforestation, cold-storage and the digestive systems of cattle all send polluting gases into the atmosphere. 　Researchers looked at carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide released by food production and consum

Hyundai Motor Co. said Monday it has restarted production at a local plant on the resumed supply of electronic components. Hyundai Motor halted the Asan plant from Sept. 15-17 due to a lack of chip parts, resulting in production losses of 3,000 vehicles, the company said in a regulatory filing. The 300,000-unit-a-year Asan plant produces the Sonata sedan and the Santa Fe SUV. Previously, the Asan plant suspended operations on Sept. 9 and 10 due to the parts problems and from July 13 to Aug.

South Korean stocks opened nearly flat Monday as investors took a wait-and-see mode amid the country's spiking new coronavirus cases and concerns over China Evergrande Group's debt crisis. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) slipped 0.23 points, or 0.01 percent, to 3,125.01 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks got off to a muted start amid spikes in South Korea's daily COVID-19 cases. On Monday, South Korea reported 2,383 new COVID-19 cases. Daily cases have

Veteran Choi Kyoung-ju has won a PGA Tour Champions tournament, becoming the first Korean golfer to win a men's professional senior golf tour event. Choi, affectionately known as K.J. Choi, shot a final round of 68, with five birdies and one bogey, for a total of 13-under 203 at the PGA TOUR Champions PURE Insurance Championship held at Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, California, on Sunday (US time). It is the first victory for a Korean golfer at the PGA Tour Champions, formerly known a