Choe Jae-hyeong, head of South Korea's state audit agency, offered to step down Monday in what is viewed as a prelude to joining the presidential election race. If President Moon Jae-in accepts his resignation, the chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) would quit the job half a year before his four-year term finishes. Choe told reporters that he had tendered his resignation earlier in the day. He added he had thought that it is "inappropriate" to carry on his duty amid

South Korean stocks opened nearly flat Monday on increased valuation pressure after the key stock index closed at an all-time high the previous session. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) edged up 1.45 points, or 0.04 percent, to trade at 3,304.29 points as of 9:15 a.m. The Kospi finished the previous session at a record high of 3,302.84 points, fueled by a massive infrastructure package in the United States. In Seoul, market bellwether Samsung Electronics inched up 0.12

South Korea's exports are forecast to soar 35.8 percent on-year in June on brisk demand for chips and automobiles from major economies, a poll showed Monday. Outbound shipments are estimated at $53.2 billion this month, according to the survey of eight brokerage houses by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency. Imports are projected to swell 34.7 percent from a year earlier to $48.2 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $5 billion. The country's exports rose 29.5 perc

Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung is expected to announce his presidential bid this week, joining the race to pick the ruling Democratic Party's standard-bearer for next year's election, a close aide said Sunday. Lee is to declare his bid for presidency on Thursday after completing the registration as a preliminary candidate with the DP, according to Rep. Park Hong-geun, one of his close aides. Lee, who is currently leading polls among potential candidates in the ruling bloc, will be the l

Unification Minister Lee In-young on Sunday vowed to act "more quickly" to resume dialogue with North Korea while calling on Pyongyang to flexibly respond to offers for talks. Lee made the remarks during an event to mark the end of the ministry-organized "Unification Walk" campaign where dozens of participants walked together for 13 days along the border in the hope of the reunification of the two Koreas. It was the first of 10 rounds of such walks planned this year, and Lee

Health authorities on Sunday announced that the greater Seoul area, home to half of the country's population, will be under Level 2 with eased virus curbs in the new four-tier social distancing system to be enforced next month. Seoul, Gyeonggi Province that surrounds the capital, and Incheon, 40 kilometers west of Seoul, will be placed under Level 2, the second-lowest in the four-tier system, from Thursday, according to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters. Virus cases f

US automakers overtook Japanese brands to take the No. 2 spot in the imported car market in South Korea last year, a report showed Sunday, taking advantage of local consumers' boycott of Japanese products over trade and wartime legacy disputes. A total of 46,000 cars from US automakers were sold in South Korea last year, accounting for 15.2 percent of the overall imported car sales, according to data by the Korean Automobile Manufacturers Association (KAMA). German brands topped the ranking w

Modetour Network Inc., South Korea's second-largest travel service provider, has offered a voluntary retirement program for the first time in the company's history after suffering from the prolonged novel coronavirus pandemic, industry insiders said Sunday. All of the travel agency's 990 employees will be eligible to apply for the program, according to the sources. High-ranking executives have already tendered their resignations for the company's worsened business conditions. Earlier this mo

The presidential secretary for anti-corruption, Kim Gi-pyo, has offered to resign, the presidential office said Sunday, following allegations of real estate speculation involving multimillion dollar loans. President Moon Jae-in also immediately accepted his resignation, according to Park Soo-hyun, Cheong Wa Dae's senior secretary for public communication. "Presidential secretary Kim Gi-pyo has expressed his views that, although he did not acquire the real estate for purposes of speculatio

North Korea's state-run television recently aired an interview of a resident expressing concerns over a slimmer looking Kim Jong-un amid speculation that he has significantly lost weight. "The people were most heartbroken to see the respected General Secretary looking thinner," a North Korean resident said during an interview with Korean Central Television on Friday. "Everyone is saying that they are moved to tears," the resident said. A news report earlier said that Kim a

The number of domestic trips taken by South Koreans dropped sharply last year due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, a research institute said Sunday. South Koreans are estimated to have taken 225.19 million domestic trips in 2020, down 34.7 percent from a year earlier, the Korea Culture & Tourism Institute said in a report based on a survey of more than 50,000 people last year. The report showed South Koreans on average took 4.95 domestic trips per person last year, down from 7.61 in 2019

Cumulative electric vehicle (EV) sales in Europe from South Korea's two largest automakers -- Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp. -- have surpassed 200,000 units, company data showed Sunday. Hyundai and Kia, both under Hyundai Motor Group, had sold a combined 227,919 EVs in the European auto market as of May since they first began selling EVs there in 2014. Hyundai's EV sales reached 131,719 units, while those of Kia totaled 96,200 units. Their cumulative EV sales in Europe topped 10,000 units i

South Korea's industry ministry said Sunday it has approved 53 projects with a budget of 85 billion won ($75 million) this year in line with efforts to develop fully automated cars by 2027. Around 373 organizations and 3,500 experts are expected to join the research projects, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. South Korea said the budget will be spent on developing automotive parts for self-driving cars, along with artificial intelligence software. The announcement came

Retail sales in South Korea moved up 12.9 percent in May from a year earlier, data showed Sunday, as more consumers visited offline shops amid the country's aggressive inoculation program. The combined sales of 25 major offline and online retailers reached 13.1 trillion won ($11.6 billion) last month, up from 11.6 trillion won a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Sales from offline stores advanced 8.8 percent over the cited period as Sou

BUSAN -- Two workers have died after inhaling toxic gas in a bathroom at a shipyard in the southeastern city of Busan, police said Sunday. The two, one of them 48 years old and the other 28, were found unconscious in the restroom at 11:04 a.m. on Saturday before being taken to a hospital. The 48-year-old died less than an hour later and the other died Sunday. Police said the two were believed to have inhaled hydrogen sulfide and ammonia in the bathroom. Tests have shown that hydrogen sulfide