E-Mart24 Inc., the convenience store arm of South Korean retail giant Shinsegae, said Wednesday it will open its first store in Malaysia this week as part of its overseas push. The 257-square-meter outlet, located in an office district in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, is slated to open Thursday, E-Mart24 said. E-Mart24 said it has signed a "master franchise" contract with local food and distribution investment firm United Frontiers Holdings (UFH) for its foray into the South

South Korea's market for carbonated water expanded nearly 29 percent over the past five years amid growing consumer interest in low-calorie drinks, a state food trade firm said Wednesday. The volume of carbonated bottled water in Asia's fourth-largest economy came to 24.3 million liters in 2020, up 28.6 percent from five years earlier, the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp. said, citing a report from market researcher Euromonitor. Euromonitor has projected local sales of carbonated bo

South Korea's top nuclear negotiator stressed Tuesday the importance of resolving the North Korean nuclear issue through dialogue and diplomacy, casting it a great challenge to international security beyond the Korean Peninsula. Noh Kyu-duk, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, made the remark in a videoconference co-hosted by the French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs and the South Korean Embassy in France, as he explained Seoul's efforts to

Seven American service members and a family member stationed in South Korea have tested positive for the new coronavirus, US Forces Korea said Tuesday. Four service members at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, some 70 kilometers south of Seoul, and two soldiers stationed at Camp Casey in Dongducheon, north of Seoul, tested positive on June 17 and 18 after coming into contact with individuals who had recently tested positive for the virus. One service member, also from Camp Humphreys was confirmed

South Korean property developer Sung Jung Co. said Tuesday the court has selectedit as the final bidder to acquire financially troubled budget carrier Eastar Jet Co. The Seoul Bankruptcy Court accepted Eastar's plan to sign a contract with Sung Jung on Thursday, Eastar Chief Executive Kim You-sang said over the phone. Early on Tuesday, Sung Jung received contract documents from the bankruptcy court through the deal's lead manager Deloitte Anjin LLC to buy Eastar, the company's Chairman Hyoung

South Korean stocks rebounded Tuesday as investors speculate that the Fed's tapering timeline may be slower than expected. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) advanced 23.09 points, or 0.71 percent, to close at 3,263.88 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.6 billion shares worth some 15.2 trillion won ($13.4 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 582 to 270. Foreigners bought a net 319 billion won, while retail inves

The number of double-income households in South Korea declined the most in three years last year as the job market took a beating from the pandemic, data showed Tuesday. The number of double-income households came to 5.59 million as of October last year, down 69,000 from the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea. This accounted for 45.6 percent of all married couple households. It marked the largest on-year decline since 2017, when the number of such households fell by 89,

The sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said Tuesday that the United States has "wrong" expectations after US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan called Kim's comments about dialogue with the US an "interesting signal." The statement from Kim Yo-jong also came a day after US Special Representative for North Korea Sung Kim said the US has offered to meet with the North "anywhere, anytime without preconditions" and looks forward to Pyongyang responding posi

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. (DSME) said Tuesday that it plans to set up a global research and development alliance to develop state-of-the-art shipbuilding technologies. To sharpen its competitive edge in the construction of eco-friendly ships and smart ships amid their growing demand, DSME will establish the R&D alliance, along with four universities, five ship quality assurance and risk management companies, and five research institutes, the shipbuilder said. The fou

South Korea's culture minister said sports should be separated from politics regarding calls for a boycott of the Tokyo Olympics amid a renewed territorial spat over the East Sea islets of Dokdo between the two countries. Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Hwang Hee made the remark during a parliamentary committee's general meeting held Monday evening, implying that the ministry is not considering boycotting the upcoming Olympics, only a month away. Calls for such a measure emerged among th

The volume of container cargo processed at South Korea's seaports jumped 11.2 percent in May from a year earlier, data showed Tuesday, in yet another sign of a recovery in trade from the economic fallout of the new coronavirus pandemic. Container cargo processed at the seaports reached 2.63 million twenty-foot-equivalent units (TEUs) in May, compared with 2.37 million TEUs in the previous year, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. The ministry attributed the growth to the COVID-

South Korea's financial market continues to be stable, but a build-up of financial imbalance remains worrisome, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said Tuesday. In a regular report on financial stability, the BOK also called for vigilance against a rise in debt of households and companies amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The nation's financial stability index shot up to 22.3 in April last year, breaching the lower boundary for a crisis warning, but it has since come down to 1.8. At the end of March, outsta

Subcontractors of financially troubled SsangYong Motor Co. will receive additional financial help as the automaker is in search of a new investor. The state-run Korea Credit Guarantee Fund will provide 25 billion won ($22 million) for SsangYong's subcontractors, raising such help to 75 billion won in total, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The move is aimed at maintaining the supply chain for the financially troubled carmaker to support its normalization. In December,

President Moon Jae-in said Tuesday his government will continue efforts to broaden South Korea's role and responsibility regarding major pending international issues. He was talking about the results of his participation in a Group of Seven (G-7) summit in Britain and ensuing state visits to Austria and Spain earlier this month. Moon said he was able to "again confirm the changed national status" of South Korea through the weeklong trip. "The Republic of Korea will play a key r

About 80 percent of service members aged under 30 have received their first doses of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine since the vaccination campaign for younger soldiers began earlier this month, the defense ministry said Tuesday. A total of 332,384 troops in their 20s, or 80 percent of the age group, had received their first doses as of Monday, according to the ministry. Soldiers aged 30 and older were given AstraZeneca's vaccine, with 88 percent, or 116,900 members, agreeing to take their first