South Korea's exports jumped 39.7 percent on-year in June to extend their gains to an eighth consecutive month on the back of a recovery in global business activities, which led to stronger demand for chips and automobiles, data showed Thursday. Outbound shipments came to $54.8 billion last month, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Imports climbed 40.7 percent to $50.3 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $4.44 billion. It marked the 14th consecut

Prosecutors indicted a former industry minister and a former presidential secretary Wednesday for their alleged abuse of authority and interference with business in the process of the government's decision to close a decades-old nuclear power plant.    The Daejeon District Prosecutors Office has been looking into suspicions former minister Paik Un-gyu and former presidential aide Chae Hee-bong abused their power in the viability assessment of Wolsong-1, the nation's second-oldest nu

The government will allow commercial breaks for terrestrial broadcasters beginning this week as part of efforts to buttress the industry suffering from falling ad revenues, officials said Wednesday.    The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) said a revised enforcement ordinance of the Broadcasting Act, aiming to allow all networks to broadcast commercials during programs, will take effect Thursday.    Terrestrial broadcasters have been prohibited from such advertising si

South Korea and Saudi Arabia vowed Wednesday to expand ties in the clean energy sector under their joint vision to seek sustainable development through 2030. Industry Minister Moon Sung-wook met his Saudi counterpart, Khalid Al-Falih, virtually to discuss ways to strengthen the bilateral ties under the Korea-Saudi Vision 2030 Committee platform, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The two countries launched the committee in 2017 in line with efforts to broaden their strate

The Seoul metropolitan government said Wednesday it is keeping a four-person cap on private gatherings amid a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases in the city, just hours before the rule was set to be relaxed. The decision was reached at an emergency virtual meeting between Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and the heads of all 25 local ward offices. The city of Seoul registered 375 new cases Tuesday, its biggest daily increase this year, two days before it was set to raise the cap on private gatherings from

President Moon Jae-in assessed Wednesday that South Korea's relationship with the United States has evolved from a traditional military-and-security-based alliance to that of a comprehensive and global partnership. Moon shared his views on the state of the Seoul-Washington alliance in a lunch meeting with the heads of constitutional institutions -- the National Assembly speaker, the Supreme Court chief justice, the Constitutional Court chief and the prime minister -- at Cheong Wa Dae. The pres

Hundreds of 5G mobile users filed a joint lawsuit Wednesday against the country's three major mobile carriers -- SK Telecom Co., KT Corp. and LG Uplus Corp. -- over disappointing quality of the latest generation networks, according to their legal representative. Around 520 people are taking part in the joint lawsuit, which argues that carriers have offered incomplete 5G services, leading to poor network quality, Kim Jin-wook, an attorney at law firm Joowon, said. "The action seeks compens

South Korea's top two retailers -- Shinsegae Group and Lotte Group -- have not joined the race to take over Yogiyo, the country's second-largest food delivery app, industry sources said Wednesday. The rivaling retail giants had been considered the two most viable potential bidders for Yogiyo, run by Germany's Delivery Hero (DH), in a deal that could change the landscape of the country's food delivery industry. "After considering the potential synergy effect in combining the retail and the

The Bank of Korea (BOK) said Wednesday it sold a net $103 million in the first quarter to help ease fluctuations in the local currency market. The BOK began releasing such data in March 2019 to help boost the transparency of its market stabilization steps. A BOK official said market smoothing operations in the first quarter came as the Korean currency weakened against the US dollar. The Korean currency closed at 1,131.8 won against the US dollar on March 31, compared with 1,086.3 won at the e

Nine out of 10 people who have been vaccinated said they would recommend that their families and friends receive shots, a government survey showed Wednesday. The poll, jointly conducted by the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters and the culture ministry, showed that 95.6 percent were favorable toward receiving COVID-19 vaccines. The share was up 10.4 percentage points from the same survey conducted last month. Some 1,000 adults aged 18 and older took part in the latest su

The city of Seoul on Wednesday reported this year's biggest daily increase in new coronavirus cases, one day before the nation loosens social distancing rules. The metropolitan government said 375 new cases were registered Tuesday, up 170 from the previous day. The previous highest number of daily cases this year was 329, set on Jan. 3. Coronavirus infections in the capital soared late last year, reporting a record 552 daily cases on Dec. 24. The number was reduced to 100-200 levels this spri

The top court on Wednesday confirmed a four-year prison sentence for a nephew of former Justice Minister Cho Kuk for embezzlement and other financial crimes. The Supreme Court upheld the verdict handed down to Cho Beom-dong by an appellate court, in which he was sentenced to four years in prison and a fine of 50 million won ($41,570) on charges including embezzlement, breach of trust and a violation of capital market law. The court also maintained the lower court's decision to clear him of mos

South Korean stocks rebounded Wednesday after a two-day retreat, following a US drugmaker's announcement that its vaccine turned out to be effective against COVID-19 variants. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) added 10 points, or 0.3 percent, to close at 3,296.68 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.6 billion shares worth some 15.3 trillion won ($13.6 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 436 to 380. Foreigners so

Fifty-seven newly arrived North Korean defectors were admitted to the government-run resettlement education center in the first half of the year, an 85 percent drop from a year earlier amid the North's anti-coronavirus border closure, an official said Wednesday. During the same period last year, 380 North Korean defectors entered the Hanawon resettlement center. "The number of people entering Hanawon fell sharply as countries took antivirus measures, including blocking arrivals and restri

The Seoul Bankruptcy Court said Wednesday it has accepted SsangYong Motor Corp.'s request to extend the deadline for its rehabilitation plan by two months until Sept. 1 considering its ongoing sales process. The bankruptcy court in April put the debt-laden automaker under court receivership, a step short of bankruptcy, and ordered it to submit its rehabilitation plan by July 1. On Monday, SsangYong opened an auction for its majority stake after its Indian parent Mahindra & Mahindra faile