Former Industry Minister Bang Moon-kyu is expected to be appointed the new South Korean ambassador to Indonesia, diplomatic sources said Friday. An internal personnel review process is under way for Bang to fill the post that has been vacant since July, sources said. The previous ambassador, Lee Sang-deok, left the position after he was tapped to lead the state agency for overseas Koreans. Bang's likely appointment would reflect the importance South Korea attaches to its partnership with th

Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung on Friday urged North Korea to retract its recent move to cut off all roads and railways connected to South Korea, voicing concerns over the North's "explicit intent" to completely sever inter-Korean ties. On Wednesday, North Korea's military said it will "permanently shut off and block the southern border" with South Korea by cutting off all roads and rail links with the South and building frontline defense structures. "We deman

Kim Beom-su, founder of tech giant Kakao Corp., has filed for bail two months after being arrested over suspected stock manipulation related to the firm's takeover of a K-pop agency last year, sources said Friday. Kim, now chairman of Kakao's Management Innovation Committee, filed for bail with the Seoul Southern District Court the previous day, legal sources said. Since his arrest on Aug. 8, Kim has been facing trial in detention, charged with involvement in the suspected stock manipu

South Korean stocks opened higher Friday as the country's central bank was set to hold a rate-setting meeting later in the day. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 0.68 percent, or 17.55 points, to 2,616.71 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Investors' eyes are on the results of the Bank of Korea's monetary policy meeting to be held later in the day, where it is widely expected to start its rate-cutting cycle. Overnight, Wall Street lost ground amid mixed bets on

South Korea's two major online bookstores said Thursday their sites briefly crashed due to high traffic soon after homegrown author Han Kang was announced as the winner of the Nobel Prize in literature. "We fielded complaints that people weren't able to get on our website, and when they did, pages were slow to load," an official at Kyobo Book Centre said. "Since we did not anticipate Han Kang winning the award, we don't have any stock of her books. We have contacted

President Yoon Suk Yeol congratulated novelist Han Kang on winning the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature Thursday, calling it "a monumental achievement" in the history of Korean literature "It is a monumental achievement in the history of Korean literature and a national celebration that brings joy to all the people," Yoon wrote on his Facebook page during his visit to Laos to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit. "You have transformed the painful wounds

Russia on Thursday rejected a recent South Korean claim that North Korean soldiers were likely fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine. During a parliamentary audit session in Seoul on Tuesday, South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun said it was "highly likely" that North Korea had deployed troops in support of Russia, because the two countries have a mutual treaty "akin to a military alliance." Kim also said a recent media report on North Korean troop casualties in

Lawmakers of the ruling People Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party clashed Thursday over allegations that first lady Kim Keon Hee was involved in nominating candidates for a 2022 by-election and the April 2024 parliamentary elections. During a parliamentary audit of the National Election Commission, the state election watchdog, the People Power Party lawmakers dismissed the allegations, which have been raised by the media and the opposition bloc, as having nothing to do with the

A North Korean teenage defector on Thursday shared her horrific story of life in the reclusive regime during a forum hosted by South Korea's unification ministry. "I wear makeup and go out here in South Korea, but my friends in North Korea can't even wash properly, let alone wear makeup. Some friends smell because they can't bathe, but we live understanding each other," Noh Jin-hae recalled. The 16-year-old girl, who defected from North Korea in 2019, recalled her harsh

Seoul stocks finished marginally higher Thursday on overnight US stock gains amid a decline in international oil prices. The local currency fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index edged up 0.19 percent, or 4.8 points, to 2,599.16. Trading volume was heavy at 603 million shares worth 13.48 trillion won ($9.99 billion), with gainers outpacing losers at 442 to 423. Institutions sold a net 299.6 billion won, while foreign and retail investors together bought a net

Bond sales in South Korea rose sharply from a month earlier in September helped by an increase in corporate bond issues, data showed Thursday. The value of bonds sold last month came to 77.1 trillion won ($57.1 billion), up 7.4 trillion won from 69.7 trillion won sold in August, according to the data from the Korea Financial Investment Association. The value of outstanding bonds, on the other hand, dropped 10.3 trillion won to 2,802.6 trillion won over the cited period, due to a sharp decline in

Qoo10 CEO Ku Young-bae attended a court hearing held on Thursday to determine whether to issue an arrest warrant on fraud and embezzlement charges related to his e-commerce group's large-scale payment delays to vendors. Ku appeared at the Seoul Central District Court for his hearing, which will be shortly followed by arrest warrant hearings for Ryu Kwang-jin and Ryu Hwa-hyun, CEOs of Qoo10's e-commerce subsidiaries TMON and WeMakePrice, over the massive insolvency incident Ku denied sp

Seoul stocks opened higher Thursday thanks to overnight US stocks gains led by a decline in international oil prices and a rise in local tech stocks. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 0.46 percent, or 11.90 points, to 2,606.26 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, US stocks extended their gains thanks to a decline in global oil prices and gains in tech stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.03 percent, the S&P 500 gained 0.71 percent, and the tech-heavy N

President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba are set to hold their first summit on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Laos on Thursday, Yoon's office said Wednesday. Yoon arrived in Vientiane, the Lao capital, for a three-day visit until Friday to attend the regional gatherings of the ASEAN. Last week, Yoon and Ishiba held their first phone talks, where they shared the need for bilateral cooperation as well as trilateral coope

The KT Wiz walked off the LG Twins 6-5 in 11 innings Wednesday to stay alive in the Korea Baseball Organization postseason. No. 9 hitters Sim Woo-jun delivered an infield single with the bases loaded in the bottom 11th before a sellout crowd of 17,600 at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, just south of Seoul. The Wiz scored three times in the bottom of the third inning to rally from a 3-1 deficit before a sellout crowd of 17,600 at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, just south of Seoul. Cleanup Kang Baek-ho gave the home