South Korea's new daily coronavirus cases fell back below 700 again Thursday, but the country is grappling with sporadic cluster infections amid the rising number of travelers enjoying warm weather. The country reported 629 more COVID-19 cases, including 620 local infections, raising the total caseload to 138,311, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Daily cases reached a two-week high of 707 the previous day, rising from 516 tallied Tuesday. There were three additiona

Samsung Electronics Co. further expanded its leadership in the global NAND flash market in the first quarter of the year, a report showed Thursday, despite an overall decline in chip prices. The South Korean tech giant, also the leader in the DRAM sector, had a 33.5 percent share of the global NAND flash market in terms of revenue in the January-March period, up 0.6 percentage point from a quarter earlier, according to market tracker TrendForce. Samsung's revenue from NAND flash products came

President Moon Jae-in will convene a meeting with top government and ruling party officials Thursday on next year's budget and midterm fiscal policy, according to his office. The 2021 National Fiscal Strategy Meeting comes as South Korea is taking expansionary fiscal policy measures in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Other participants include Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum, Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki and Song Young-gil, head of the ruling Democratic Party. They plan to discuss a 2021 state

South Korean stocks opened nearly flat Thursday, as investors continued to wait for the upcoming release of key consumption data in the United States that is widely seen as a gauge for inflation. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) traded down 0.54 points, or 0.02 percent, at 3,167.89 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The Kospi got off to a muted start as investor caution grew while waiting for the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) data, or core PCE, known to

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has called on his country's largest trade union to wage a "do-or-die battle" against non-socialist practices in a letter he sent to mark its latest congress session, state media said Thursday. The eighth congress of the General Federation of Trade Unions of Korea (GFTUK) was held in Pyongyang on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. The congress was held for the first time in about five years. "They should br

President Moon Jae-in has rolled up his sleeves to raise public awareness on a global climate summit to open this weekend. South Korea is scheduled to host the two-day virtual summit of global leaders, officially named the 2021 P4G Seoul Summit, which opens Sunday. It will be joined by dozens of leaders of foreign countries and international organizations, according to Cheong Wa Dae. It has not revealed the list of participants yet. P4G, which stands for Partnering for Green Growth and the Glo

South Korea's exports are expected to rise a whopping 47.5 percent on-year in May on the back of the global economic recovery, which led to higher demand for chips and automobiles, a poll showed Thursday. Outbound shipments are estimated at US$51.3 billion this month, according to the poll by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency. The survey was conducted on eight brokerage houses. Imports are estimated to rise 39.8 percent over the period to $48.4 billion, resulting in

South Korea has signed a US-led international program to send humans to the moon again and further explore Earth's only satellite, the science ministry said Thursday. Science Minister Lim Hye-sook signed the Artemis Accords as a follow-up on an agreement reached at a recent bilateral summit in Washington, becoming the 10th signatory to the pact, the ministry said. The Artemis Accords is an international agreement among governments participating in the Artemis Program, a US-led effort to return

South Korea vowed Wednesday to play a bigger role in easing global shortages of COVID-19 vaccines during a meeting with a group of countries supporting a multilateral trading regime. "To promptly overcome the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important that the production and supply of vaccines are expanded around the globe," Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee said during the virtual meeting of the Ottawa Group. The Ottawa Group refers to a group of 14 members of the World Trade Organization (WTO)

A nurse working with COVID-19 patients in this southeastern city was found dead in an apparent suicide this week, her family and labor union said Wednesday, blaming her death on depression from overwork. The 33-year-old woman, identified only by her surname Lee, worked at a public health center in Busan before she was found dead at her home on Sunday morning. Her family said she had recently been assigned to manage a local hospital that was placed under cohort isolation following an outbreak

Chinese Ambassador to Seoul Xing Haiming voiced discomfort again on Wednesday over a joint statement from last week's summit between South Korea and the United States that touched on sensitive issues like the Taiwan Strait. The statement following the first in-person summit between Presidents Moon Jae-in and Joe Biden in Washington on Friday made a rare mention of the issue of Taiwan, which Beijing regards as part of its territory under its One China policy. "We feel it's a bit discouragi

South Korean stocks closed slightly lower after choppy trading Wednesday as investors took to the sidelines amid lingering concerns of early post-pandemic inflation. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 2.89 points, or 0.09 percent, to close at 3,168.43 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.3 billion shares worth some 13 trillion won ($11.6 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 515 to 337. Foreigners sold a net 3

The number of babies born in South Korea fell to a fresh record low in March, data showed Wednesday, underscoring the country's gloomy demographic situation with the chronically low birth rate. A total of 24,054 babies were born in March, down 0.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It marked the lowest for any March since 1981, when the statistics agency began compiling related data. In the first quarter, the number of childbirths reached a record

South Korea's intelligence chief departed for the United States on Wednesday to discuss cooperation on North Korea after their leaders held a summit and agreed to diplomatically engage with Pyongyang, sources said. National Intelligence Service (NIS) Director Park Jie-won was seen leaving Inchon International Airport, west of Seoul, earlier in the day for the US, according to the sources. Park is expected to meet CIA Director William Burns and other officials. He could also meet with Sung Ki

A Korean-American congresswoman renewed calls Wednesday for US President Joe Biden to appoint a special envoy on North Korean human rights, saying the rights issue would offer "good leverage" against a recalcitrant Pyongyang. Rep. Young Kim of the Republican Party made the remarks, voicing concerns that the upper echelons of South Korea's Moon Jae-in administration views the human rights issue as "destabilizing" to inter-Korean relations. "After this summit, I have yet