Veteran Choi Kyoung-ju has won a PGA Tour Champions tournament, becoming the first Korean golfer to win a men's professional senior golf tour event. Choi, affectionately known as K.J. Choi, shot a final round of 68, with five birdies and one bogey, for a total of 13-under 203 at the PGA TOUR Champions PURE Insurance Championship held at Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, California, on Sunday (US time). It is the first victory for a Korean golfer at the PGA Tour Champions, formerly known a

South Korea said Monday it plans to increase support for overseas expansion by startups and smaller firms as part of efforts to strengthen its ties with Southeastern Asian countries and nations in Eurasia. The government plans to further promote economic cooperation with the 10-member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Europe based on the outcome of summit diplomacy with such nations, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The country will pursue cooper

South Korea and the United States were to begin two days of biannual defense talks in Seoul on Monday to discuss regional security situations and pending alliance issues, the defense ministry said. During the 20th Korea-US Integrated Defense Dialogue (KIDD), the two sides plan to discuss "major pending security issues," such as the assessment of the security situation on the Korean Peninsula and the policy coordination on North Korea, according to the ministry. The meeting comes two da

The number of 5G network base stations in South Korea accounted for just 11 percent of the total in the second quarter, data showed Monday, amid continued user complaints against the latest generation networks. As of the April-June period, there were 162,099 5G base stations in the country, compared with a total of 1.47 million mobile network base stations, according to data from the Korea Communications Agency. The number of 5G base stations was far outnumbered by around 1 million 4G base sta

Nearly 2,400 foreigners are engaging in the home rental business in South Korea, with Chinese nationals accounting for more than one-third of the total, government data showed Monday. The number of foreign home rental business operators in Asia's fourth-largest economy stood at 2,394 as of the end of June last year, according to the data from the land ministry. There were 885 Chinese housing rental business owners here, taking up 37 percent of the total. Americans came next with 702, followed

Dividend payouts by South Korean listed companies jumped nearly 24 percent in the first half of the year amid their strong earnings, a corporate tracker said Monday. The combined amount of dividends paid out by 140 firms, including top-cap Samsung Electronics Co., came to 9.3 trillion won ($7.9 billion) in the January-June period, up 23.5 percent from a year earlier, according to Leaders Index. The firms cover those that have announced dividends out of the country's 2,323 listed corporations.

  Kwon Soon-woo claimed his maiden ATP Tour title at the Astana Open on Sunday, becoming the first South Korean champion on the world's top tennis circuit in more than 18 years. Kwon, world No. 82, defeated the 65th-ranked James Duckworth in straight sets, 7-6 (8-6), 6-3 in Nur-Sultan. The last Korean to take an ATP title is the retired Lee Hyung-taik from January 2003. Kwon and Lee are now the only two South Koreans to win a regular ATP Tour event. "I am just really, really happy

  A lawmaker of the People Power Party (PPP) offered Sunday to leave the main opposition party amid mounting criticism over his son receiving a massive severance pay from a firm at the center of a controversial land development scandal. Rep. Kwak Sang-do submitted to a regional party chapter a document to end membership with the party, Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon, the party's floor leader, said, as his political opponents ramped up an offensive against Kwak over the severance pay. His son reporte

South Korea will begin administering booster shots for high-risk people, including those aged 60 and older, and medical workers, in the near future, the prime minister said Sunday, amid a surge in new COVID-19 cases following a national holiday. Kim Boo-kyum also noted the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) will announce a fourth-quarter inoculation plan, including the booster shot program, Monday. Kim also said starting early next month, the government will shorten the interval

The unification ministry on Sunday described the weekend remarks by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's sister about the possibility of holding "constructive" discussions on inter-Korean issues as "meaningful." On Saturday, Kim Yo-jong said the North could declare a formal end to the Korean War as suggested by the South and even discuss holding an inter-Korean summit if the South treats the North with "impartiality" and mutual respect. The statement, carried by the Ko

A South Korean worker of a state-run facility currently used by hundreds of evacuees from Afghanistan as a temporary shelter was confirmed to be infected with the new coronavirus Sunday, the Ministry of Justice said. According to the ministry, the employee of the National Human Resources Development Institute in the nation's central county of Jincheon tested positive for the virus. The worker reportedly was not in charge of duties related with the Afghan evacuees. Following the infection, the in

Five groups of media workers urged political parties Sunday to renounce a possible parliamentary vote this week on a bill accused of hurting press freedom, stressing the need to form a consultative body to build social consensus on the issue. The groups, including the Journalists Association of Korea, issued a joint statement, as the ruling Democratic Party hopes for the bill to be passed Monday, following talks with the main opposition People Power Party. The legislation, titled the Press Arbit

The amount of cargo handled at South Korean seaports was up 8.7 percent on-year in August amid the global economic recovery, government data showed Sunday. The cargo processed at the country's ports stood at 128.6 million tons last month, up from 118.3 million tons a year earlier, according to the data by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. Handling of export-import cargo rose 9 percent to 117.4 million tons on the back of strong exports of petrochemicals and cars. Coastal cargo handled in Sou

A North Korean researcher berated Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Sunday for his recent remarks at the UN General Assembly, stressing Pyongyang would not associate with whoever his successor will be if Tokyo's "hostile policy" toward it continues. Ri Byong-dok, a researcher at the Institute of Japan, made the remarks in a piece posted on the website of the North's foreign ministry, after Suga made the video message Friday (New York time), stressing the North's recent ballisti

South Korea will still be able to carry out its plan for a phased return to normal life, starting in late October, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Sunday, despite the recent surge in new coronavirus infections. Kim made the remarks at a forum, as the country is seeking to accelerate a return to normal life on the back of progress in the vaccination campaign, with small businesses suffering deepening economic woes due to prolonged social distancing curbs. "By late October, 70 percent of the