The number of multiple home owners in South Korea grew by the smallest number in six years last year due largely to heavy taxation on such people, data showed Tuesday. The number of multiple home owners had reached 2.32 million as of Nov. 1, 2020, up from 2.28 million the previous year, according to Statistics Korea. The 2020 growth marked the slowest gain since 2014, when the number of such people grew by 28,000. The portion of people who have two or more houses accounted for 15.8 percent of

South Korea saw its foreign population shrink by 3.2 percent in November last year from the previous year, the first such decline at least since 2006 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the interior ministry said Tuesday. According to a report by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the number of foreign residents, defined as foreign nationals residing in the country for more than 90 days or naturalized Koreans and their children, stood at 2.15 million in November in 2020, compared with 2.22 millio

Foreign currency deposits at banks in South Korea surged to a record high in October on expectations for a strong dollar, central bank data showed Tuesday. Residents' outstanding foreign currency-denominated deposits had stood at a fresh record of $100.77 billion as of end-October, up $6.57 billion from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). It marks the first time the country's foreign currency deposits have surpassed the $100 billion level. It also represents the third con

South Korea seeks to stage a large-scale military parade next year to mark the Oct. 1 Armed Forces Day, a defense ministry official said Tuesday, in what could be a major show of force just months after the launch of the country's next administration. The ministry has set aside 7.98 billion won ($6.75 million) for the parade likely to showcase the nation's state-of-the-art military hardware, though a final decision would be made by the new government to be launched in May, the official said. &

South Korea's military reported nine additional COVID-19 cases Tuesday, bringing the total caseload among its personnel to 2,135, the defense ministry said. Five of the newly added patients tested positive after their family members were infected, the data showed. A Marine Corps draftee stationed on the southern resort island of Jeju tested positive after a virus case was reported at the base. An officer at the arms procurement agency in Gwacheon, south of Seoul, tested positive after develop

A UN official on the human rights situation in North Korea has criticized China for sending back North Korean defectors, describing the practice as a serious challenge to international law, according to a news report Tuesday. "The issue is very serious and the government is challenging international law," Tomas Ojea Quintana, the special rapporteur on North Korea human rights, was quoted as saying by the Voice of America (VOA). He added, "I urge once again the People's Republic

Reporters covering the wife of the ruling party's presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung outside their home have been sent away by police after being warned of potential stalking offenses, officials said Tuesday. According to the Bundang Police Station in Seongnam, South of Seoul, five reporters who were covering Kim Hye-kyung, Lee's wife, in front of her home Monday have been sent away after being warned they could be in potential violation of the anti-stalking law. The journalists reportedly s

South Korean football club Gangwon FC announced Tuesday they've hired former national team striker Choi Yong-soo as new head coach. Choi, 48, is taking over a team in danger of relegation from the top-flight K League 1. With two matches remaining this season, Gangwon FC are in 11th place, second from last, with 39 points, only three ahead of Gwangju FC. The last-place club in the K League 1 will be automatically relegated to the K League 2 for next year. The 11th-place team will face a K Leagu

South Korea ranked 18th out of 85 countries in terms of integrity in the defense sector last year, an international anti-corruption organization said Tuesday. According to the Government Defense Integrity Index (GDI) by Transparency International, South Korea scored 59 points on a 100-point scale, receiving grade C, which means that a country has a moderate risk of corruption in the defense sector, according to Transparency International Korea. GDI is an index analyzing the risk of corruption

System integrator Doosan Logistics Solutions Co. (DLS) said Tuesday it has signed a deal with a local autonomous mobile robot (AMR) manufacturer KN to provide more logistics robots. "As orders for AMRs have increased in recent months, we have diversified the supply chain of AMRs to meet growing demands for them," the company said in an emailed statement. With the latest deal, DLS will be provided with AMRs by two AMR makers -- Chinese AMR maker Geek+ and KN. In November last year

Hyundai Rotem Co., a South Korean railway system and plant equipment maker, said Tuesday it has obtained a 207.8 billion won ($176 million) railway project in Taiwan. Hyundai Rotem formed a consortium with Taiwan's ST Engineering Electronic Ltd. to receive the deal from the Kaohsiung Mass Rapid Transit Bureau, the company said in a statement. Under the deal, Hyundai Rotem will supply electric multiple units, electricity and railway systems in the project to extend the existing Kaohsiung Red L

South Korea's tax revenue increased 4.1 trillion won ($3.5 billion) in September from a year earlier amid an economic recovery and a boom in asset markets, the finance ministry said Tuesday. The government collected 26.3 trillion won in taxes in September, compared with 22.2 trillion won a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The government said tax revenue has increased so far this year as corporate tax income has risen in line with the economic recovery, while capi

The number of critically ill COVID-19 patients in South Korea hit an all-time high on Tuesday as the daily caseload hovered over 2,000 for the seventh consecutive day amid eased antivirus curbs. The country reported 2,125 new COVID-19 cases, including 2,110 local infections, raising the total caseload to 399,591, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The number of patients in serious condition came to the highest ever figure of 495, breaking the previous record o

Having dug themselves into an early hole in the Korean Series, the Doosan Bears will now turn to their best starter from the regular season. The Bears have dropped the first two games of the best-of-seven set against the KT Wiz. They will have left-hander Ariel Miranda start Game 3 when the series resumes at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. But it will be a much different version of Miranda than the one the Bears saw during an MVP-worthy regular season. This will be the first

Korean Air Lines Co. said Tuesday it has received regulatory approval from Vietnam for its integration with smaller local rival Asiana Airlines Inc. Korean Air expects the latest approval to help speed up its process to acquire Asiana Airlines. In January, Korean Air submitted documents to anti-trust regulators of 14 countries for the review of its business combination with Asiana.  As of Tuesday, it had received approvals from six countries -- Vietnam, Thailand, Turkey, Taiwan, Malay