Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung will retire as the Catholic archbishop of Seoul and apostolic administrator of Pyongyang on Tuesday, after nine years of service in the post. The Archdiocese of Seoul said it will hold a Mass to mark Yeom's retirement at Myeongdong Cathedral in central Seoul at 10 a.m. with about 600 priests and faithfuls attending. Appointed as the archbishop of Seoul in May 2012, Yeom has since served in the post for about nine years. He will be replaced by Archbishop Peter Chu

South Korea's industrial output fell by the most in 18 months in October as production in the manufacturing sector lost steam amid global supply chain bottlenecks, data showed Tuesday. Industrial output declined 1.9 percent in October from the previous month, a turnaround from a 1.1 percent on-month gain in September, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It marked the largest on-month fall since April 2020, when industrial output fell 2 percent. From a year earlier, industrial

The nonperforming loan rate of banks in South Korea fell to a record low in September due to the expanded provision of credit and debt rollovers for small businesses and merchants, the financial watchdog said Tuesday. The rate of bank loans more than three months overdue in interest or principle payment had stood at 0.51 percent as of end-September, down 0.03 percentage point from three months earlier, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Compared with a year earlier, the rate

South Korean stocks ended down for the fifth straight session on Monday as investors remained worried over the impact of the emergence of the omicron variant of the coronavirus on the global economy. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) retreated 27.12 points, or 0.92 percent, to close at 2,909.32 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 832 million shares worth some 12.9 trillion won (US$10.8 billion), with losers outnumbering

The business outlook of South Korea's smaller firms inched up for December on eased social distancing measures and hopes of higher year-end domestic demand, a poll showed Monday. The survey of 3,150 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) showed that the small business health index amounted to 83.5 for the coming month, up 2 points from November. It marks a turnaround from November's decrease that came after the second straight month of increase, but the reading remains below par. A reading

South Korea plans to suspend arrivals of migrant workers with records of recent visits to southern African nations in order to block the inflow of the potentially more contagious omicron COVID-19 variant, officials said Monday. The labor ministry's plan, which could affect the entry of manual workers from 16 Asian countries, is in line with the earlier restriction placed on foreign arrivals from eight African countries over concerns of the emerging virus variant first reported in Africa. "

South Korea's female population expanded slightly over 1 percent over the past five years to surpass the 25 million mark in 2020, census data showed Monday. The number of women in Asia's fourth-largest economy stood at 25.16 million last year, up 275,000 from five years earlier, according to the 2020 census by Statistics Korea. The average age of South Korean women came to 44.2 years last year, 2.6 years older than in 2015. The median age of married South Korean women who tied the knot for th

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. (DSME) said Monday it has launched a virtual center to train ship painters. The shipbuilder said the virtual training center will give painters the same experience as actual workplaces and will reduce costs. In addition to the heavy costs and time required to train painters, the current system also causes environmental problems due to the use of organic solvents, Daewoo Shipbuilding said. The virtual training system will cut costs and require l

South Korea is set to host an annual international forum on maritime law, setting the stage for judicial officials and academics to discuss emerging challenges from the new oceans technologies and environmental crises, the foreign ministry said Monday. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the UN-backed International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) will jointly hold the sixth International Conference on the Law of the Sea on Tuesday and Wednesday in Incheon, west of Seoul. Albert Hoffm

South Korea's military reported 13 additional COVID-19 cases Monday, bringing the total caseload among its personnel to 2,305. Among the new cases, three Army conscripts stationed in Seoul tested positive after one of them contracted the virus during a vacation. A civilian employee of the Air Force based in Osan, 55 kilometers south of Seoul, tested positive while in self-quarantine. An Army officer stationed in Yangju, north of Seoul, contracted the virus after a family member was infected.

Retail sales in South Korea surged 14.4 percent in October from a year earlier as more consumers opened their wallets amid various promotional events and cold weather, the industry ministry said Monday. The combined sales of 25 major offline and online retailers reached 13.6 trillion won ($11.41 billion) last month, compared with 12.01 trillion won a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Sales from offline stores rose 10 percent on-year in

A 35-year-old stalking murder suspect timidly apologized Monday as he appeared before the public eye for the first time since he was arrested and had his identity disclosed on suspicions of stalking and brutally killing his ex-girlfriend. Kim Byung-chan stood in front of reporters and photographers as he was taken from Seoul Namdaemun Police Station to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office for a further investigation and indictment on the stalking murder charges. Kim repeatedly said,

South Korea will closely monitor global and local financial markets for any impact from the emergence of the omicron variant of the coronavirus and take action in a preemptive and active manner, if necessary, to reduce market volatility, a senior finance ministry official said Monday. First Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-weon made the remark at a meeting to discuss macroeconomic issues amid concerns that financial market volatility could intensify due to the spread of the potentially more transm

South Korea kicked off annual consultation meetings with global rating appraiser Standard & Poor's Global Ratings (S&P) on Monday to discuss the country's credit valuation and economic outlook, the finance ministry said. The delegation, led by Kim Eng Tan, senior director of Asia-Pacific sovereign ratings at S&P, visited South Korea for four days of consultations through Thursday, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. It will be the first face-to-face meetings between th

North Korea said Monday it has strengthened preventive measures against COVID-19 in response to growing concern about the Omicron variant, a move that heralds a further delay in easing its stringent border control. The reclusive nation had been seen preparing to reopen its land border with China and Russia, at least partially, before the end of this year. But the emergence of a new variant of the coronavirus has put the country and many other parts of the world on high alert. In a report, the