South Korea became the world's third-largest exporter of cosmetics products in 2020 with its trade balance in the sector remaining in the black for nine straight years, government data showed Monday. The country exported $7.57 billion worth of cosmetics goods last year, up 16.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. South Korea's exports were third in the world, trailing France and the United States. Asia's fourth-largest economy posted a

Parcel shipments in Seoul increased 26.9 percent last year from the previous year, a study showed Monday, as an increasing number of people prefer ordering food and daily necessities online amid the spread of COVID-19. According to the AI-based study by the University of Seoul, parcel deliveries of food, household items and health products in the capital surged by around 50 percent in 2020 due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. In contrast, the study said maternity and baby care produc

South Korea hopes that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's recent mention of dialogue will lead to resumption of talks between the two Koreas, as well as between the United States and the North, the unification ministry said Monday. During a key Workers' Party meeting last week, Kim said the country should be ready for both dialogue and, more importantly, confrontation with Washington and called for efforts to stably control the political situation. "The government takes note of Chairman Ki

The value of household chores grew nearly 36 percent in 2019 from five years earlier, with men's participation in such work rising amid an increase in one-person households and double income families, data showed Monday. The value of household work, such as child care, meal preparations and cleaning, came to 490.9 trillion won ($433 billion) in 2019, compared with 361.5 trillion won in 2014, according to the data from Statistics Korea. The 2019 figure was equivalent to 25.5 percent of the coun

South Korea's economy became slightly less trade-dependent in 2019, with imports accounting for more than 14 percent of overall supplies here, a central bank report showed Monday. The country's overall industrial output amounted to 5,097.5 trillion won ($4.49 trillion) in 2019, compared with 5,074.2 trillion won in 2018, according to the report from the Bank of Korea (BOK). Domestic output accounted for 85.6 percent of the total, up from 85.5 percent in 2018, while imports accounted for the r

South Korea and Japan will hold working-level talks in Seoul later Monday to discuss a prolonged row over wartime sexual slavery, forced labor and other pending issues, the foreign ministry said. The planned meeting between Lee Sang-ryeol, director general for Asia and Pacific affairs at Seoul's foreign ministry, and his Japanese counterpart, Takehiro Funakoshi, comes amid little headway in Seoul's efforts to mend strained ties with Tokyo. Funakoshi, who doubles as Japan's top nuclear envoy, w

One pitcher held up his end of the bargain. The other failed to join him in the win column. For the third time in 2021, the two South Korean left-handers in the majors, Ryu Hyun-jin of the Toronto Blue Jays and Kim Kwang-hyun of the St. Louis Cardinals, started on the same day. And once again, they failed to pick up a victory together. Ryu got his "W" taken care of earlier Sunday afternoon in Baltimore, where he kept the Orioles to a run on three hits in seven innings in a 7-4 Toront

K-pop star band TWICE's new EP album debuted at No. 6 on the Billboard main albums chart this week, becoming the second K-pop girl group to make the chart's top 10. "K-pop girl group TWICE debuts at No. 6 with 'Taste of Love,' with 46,000 equivalent album units earned," Billboard reported Sunday (US time), one day before its chart will be updated. The Billboard 200 is one of the U.S. music publisher's main charts, ranking the most popular albums of the week in the United States based

President Moon Jae-in nominated Kim Han-kyu, a lawyer and rookie politician, as his new secretary for political affairs Monday. Having worked as a legal counsel for the ruling Democratic Party (DP), he is a lawyer at the Seoul-based law firm Kim & Chang and also a standing member of the National Unification Advisory Council. He graduated from Harvard Law School after studying law at Seoul National University. Park Seong-min, another DP official who is 25 years old, was tapped as secretary

BUSAN, -- Prosecutors asked a judge to sentence former Busan Mayor Oh Keo-don to seven years in prison for sexual assault in the workplace. Oh is accused of sexually assaulting two female employees and injuring one of them while in office. He is also charged with filing a false complaint against YouTube channel operators who reported the accusations against him. "Given the similarity of his crimes against the two victims, this is a workplace sex crime using his power," prosecutors sa

The approval rating of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) has reached its highest point since a far-reaching corruption scandal surrounding former conservative President Park Geun-hye in 2016 dealt a crushing blow to the party, the latest opinion poll showed Monday. In the Realmeter survey of 2,514 voters nationwide conducted from Monday to Friday last week, the PPP garnered 39.7 percent of support, up 0.6 percentage point from the previous week. It marks the third week in a row that

Samsung Electronics Co. on Monday announced the global launch of its upgraded gaming monitors as the South Korean tech giant tries to boost sales amid the stay-at-home trend. The 2021 edition of Odyssey gaming monitors -- G70A, G50A and G30A -- will be available in major markets, including South Korea, according to Samsung. The 28-inch G70A comes with a price tag of 950,000 won ($840) here, while the 27-inch G50A will be sold at 650,000 won. List prices for the 27-inch and 24-inch G30A monit

Defense Minister Suh Wook said Monday that South Korea will enhance its space defense capabilities and establish a system for combined operations to deal with growing space threats following the recent lifting of US curbs on the country's missile development. The minister made the remarks in a pre-released message for a forum in Seoul, also describing the lifting as having "great significance" that has opened a new horizon for the country's defense industry. After a summit with US Pr

South Korea's new coronavirus cases fell below 400 in about a week on Monday due to fewer tests over the weekend, but rising COVID-19 variant cases, along with pandemic fatigue, are hampering the country's virus battle amid the accelerating vaccinations. The country reported 357 new cases, including 317 local infections, raising the total caseload to 151,506, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Daily infections stayed in the 400s or 500s in the past five days after rep

China's top envoy to North Korea stressed the importance of cooperation between the two allies on regional peace, stability and prosperity on the occasion of the second anniversary of President Xi Jinping's visit to Pyongyang, the North's state media showed Monday. In an op-ed piece to the Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the North's ruling Workers' Party, Chinese Ambassador Li Jinjun also said that China and North Korea should expand their communication as their relations are faced wit