The Seoul metropolitan government opened elevated bicycle lanes Monday along a stream that flows through the heart of the city as part of efforts to encourage the use of the eco-friendly means of transportation among citizens and tourists. The bike lanes were built on a 5.94-kilometer-long section of the existing two-way roads that run along Cheonggye Stream, connecting Cheonggye Plaza near Gwanghwamun to Gosanja Bridge in the eastern ward of Dongdaemun. Raised to the same height as the sidew

South Korea and Indonesia agreed Monday to rev up monitoring on the working environment of Indonesian crewmen boarding local fishing boats and root out possible violations of human rights. Oceans Minister Moon Seong-hyeok held a virtual meeting with his Indonesian counterpart Ida Fauziyah and inked a memorandum of understanding to increase transparency in the recruitment process of workers, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. The agreement came as Indonesia takes up around 36 pe

The number of employees at local businesses grew on-year by 2.1 percent in April on the back of an economic recovery, the labor ministry said Monday. As of the last business day of April, there were 18.6 million people employed by companies, up 379,000 from the same month last year, the Ministry of Employment and Labor said in a monthly report. The increase is the largest in 21 months, after 396,000 in July 2019. The coronavirus pandemic caused negative growth in employee numbers starting in

JEJU -- Jeju Island attracted more than 1 million tourists this month alone, industry data showed Monday, as the southern resort island raised its anti-COVID-19 social distancing measures by one notch to Level 2 on the same day to cope with growing local transmissions of the coronavirus. According to the data from Jeju's tourism association, 1,089,690 tourists arrived on Jeju from May 1-30. With an additional 31,000 visitors expected on the last day of May, the monthly tally is estimated to top

The ruling Democratic Party (DP) on Monday unilaterally adopted a parliamentary confirmation report on the top prosecutor nominee despite protest from opposition lawmakers. The parliamentary Legislation and Judiciary Committee, where DP lawmakers command a majority, adopted the report on the result of the confirmation hearing on Prosecutor General nominee Kim Oh-soo, held last Wednesday. The committee session was, however, boycotted by lawmakers of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP)

South Korea will push to develop diverse platforms to fire off space launch vehicles from air and sea, the defense ministry said Monday, after the United States lifted all restrictions on the country's missiles. Earlier this month, South Korea and the US announced their decision to scrap the 1979 bilateral guidelines that ban Seoul from developing or possessing missiles with a maximum flight range greater than 800 kilometers. "In order to beef up our defense capabilities following the ter

South Korea plans to invest 3.6 trillion won ($3.2 billion) this year to promote the convergence of different industries and foster new growth engines, the industry ministry said Monday. The budget, which marks a 3.7 percent rise from 3.46 trillion won allocated in 2020, will be spent on 163 projects, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The projects will center on helping the country's vision to go carbon neutral by 2050 and speed up the development of contact-free econom

South Korea is likely to collect larger-than-expected tax revenue this year, potentially securing ammunition to finance another extra budget that could be under review to help underpin an economic recovery. The country may be able to collect more than 300 trillion won ($269 billion) in tax revenue this year, up around 17 trillion won from the government's earlier forecast of 282.7 trillion won, according to government and parliamentary officials. This, if realized, would also mark an increase

Could this spell the end of the greatest dynasty in South Korean football? Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, four-time defending K League 1 champions, have tumbled down from first to fourth in the tables over the past two weeks. They were still at the top before facing rivals Ulsan Hyundai FC on May 19. They dropped that match 4-2 and slipped to second place. And their winless skid reached seven matches Saturday, following a 1-1 draw with Incheon United. Only an injury time goal by Takahiro Kunimoto sa

The military will begin administering coronavirus vaccines to service members aged under 30 next week, the defense ministry said Monday. "We plan to begin vaccinating those aged under 30 next week, with Pfizer's vaccines expected to be provided," ministry spokesman Boo Seung-chan said during a regular press briefing. The military has completed providing the first doses of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccines to some 117,000 service members aged 30 and older who have agreed to be inoculate

Samsung Heavy Industries Co. said Monday that it has signed a 417 billion won ($374 million) deal to build two liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers. Under the deal with an Oceanian company, Samsung Heavy will deliver the vessels by July 2024, the company said in a regulatory filing. The vessels will be equipped with devices to boost fuel efficiency, the shipbuilder said. With the latest deal, Samsung Heavy has bagged orders worth $5.4 billion for 44 ships so far this year, achieving 59 perc

US Forces Korea (USFK) said Monday it is cooperating with local authorities over allegations some of its members were involved in no-mask parties on a Busan beach over the weekend in violation of social distancing rules. According to police, around 2,000 foreigners, including US soldiers, set off firecrackers and held parties without masks at Haeundae Beach in the southeastern city of Busan, marking US Memorial Day. "USFK is aware of the alleged behavior at Haeundae Beach and is cooperat

Hyundai Motor Group's eco-friendly vehicle exports jumped 46.6 percent in the first four months of this year compared with a year earlier, led by robust demand for its electric vehicle (EVs) and hybrid models, industry data showed Monday. The combined exports of eco-friendly models by the Korean automotive group's two affiliates -- Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp. -- stood at 118,321 units in the January-April period, up from 80,689 units a year ago, according to the data by the Korean Automobi

LG Electronics Inc. said Monday its new gaming monitor will be available in South Korea this week as the tech giant aims to expand its sales amid the pandemic-driven stay-at-home trend. LG's latest 32-inch UltraGear monitor, 32GP850, will hit local shelves Tuesday with a price tag of 799,000 won (US$720). The addition of the 32GP850 expands LG's gaming monitor portfolio to 19 models, with their display sizes ranging from 24 inches to 38 inches. The new monitor comes with Nano IPS display s

President Moon Jae-in's job approval rating rebounded to nearly 40 percent for the first time in nearly three months thanks to positive reception toward his recent summit deal with US President Joe Biden, according to a new poll released Monday. In the survey conducted by Realmeter on 2,512 people over the age of 18 from May 24-28, Moon's job approval rating was recorded at 39.3 percent, up 4.4 percentage points from the previous week. The result marked Moon's highest performance in public pol