The South Korean economy is facing continued uncertainty about the recovery of domestic demand as the latest resurgence in COVID-19 cases is denting person-to-person service sectors, the finance ministry said Friday. In its monthly economic assessment report, the ministry said the country's exports have extended solid growth momentum and the job market has improved despite the fourth wave of the pandemic. "But uncertainty over domestic demand has continued, centering on face-to-face service

As Typhoon Chanthu passed near Jeju, it brought drenching rain and high winds, flooding low-lying neighborhoods, striking trees and a streetlight, and grounding flights. The Korea Meteorological Administration said the typhoon came the nearest to the island at around 7 a.m. Friday, passing 60 kilometers south-southeast of the city of Seogwipo. It moved eastward along the Korea Strait, a sea passage between South Korea and Japan, at the speed of 21 kph. The season's 14th typhoon has already soake

Health authorities remain on heightened alert over the potential spread of COVID-19 during the Chuseok fall harvest holiday due to increased travel, the prime minister said Friday while asking the public to maintain vigilance against the pandemic. "As the greater Seoul area accounts for nearly 80 percent of new cases as of late, we are highly concerned that the non-capital regions may experience a balloon effect due to increased travel," Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said during an inter

South Korean stocks opened lower Friday ahead of the holiday as investors weigh the pace of an economic recovery from the pandemic. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 14.08 points, or 0.45 percent, to 3,116.01 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks retreated as investors took to the sidelines to digest mixed US economic indicators, such as weak price and strong retail sales in August, and their impact on the global economy. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial

South Korea's daily coronavirus cases exceeded 2,000 on Friday again amid concerns a major holiday may stoke further upticks in virus cases. The country added 2,008 COVID-19 cases, including 1,973 local infections, raising the total caseload to 281,938 according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The daily caseload remained in the 2,000s on Tuesday and Wednesday before falling to 1,943 on Thursday. Daily cases have stayed above the 1,000 threshold for more than 70 days am

Diplomats of South Korea and Japan held talks in Tokyo on Thursday to discuss the security situation on the Korean Peninsula and historical issues between the two countries, the foreign ministry said, after tensions flared anew with North Korea's recent missile launches. The talks between Lee Sang-ryol, the ministry's director general for Asian and Pacific affairs, and his Japanese counterpart, Takehiro Funakoshi, came after the North fired off two short-range ballistic missiles on Wednesday fo

South Korea and Vietnam agreed Thursday to strengthen cooperation in defense affairs and the arms industry during annual vice-ministerial talks, Seoul officials said. South Korean Vice Defense Minister Park Jae-min and his Vietnamese counterpart, Hoang Xuan Chien, held the Defense Strategy Dialogue in the Southeast Asian nation and discussed regional security issues and ways to strengthen their defense ties, according to Seoul's defense ministry. "The two sides agreed to boost cooperatio

Jeju made preparations for the impact of Typhoon Chanthu on Thursday as the storm moved toward the resort island from the south, packing strong winds and heavy precipitation, the weather agency said. As of 6 p.m., the typhoon was travelling north-northeastward at a speed of 19 kilometers per hour over waters about 220 km south-southwest of Jeju, the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said. The slow-moving typhoon was forecast to begin picking up speed later in the day and move the close

South Korean civic groups called on the government Thursday to come up with "drastic" measures to help lessen the hardship of self-employed workers and small business owners, many of them in deep financial trouble caused by the protracted coronavirus pandemic.  "We are in an emergency situation that is driving small business owners and the self-employed to make fatal decisions," they said in a joint statement during a press conference held at the office of People's So

Xiaomi Corp. said Thursday its new tablet PC will go on sale in South Korea next week as the Chinese tech giant eyes to expand its presence here. Xiaomi Pad 5, which was first unveiled in China last month, will be available on South Korean online retailers from next Thursday with a price tag of 449,000 won ($380). This is the first time since 2014 Xiaomi is releasing a new tablet product in South Korea. The company said it decided to sell the new tablet in the country to meet growing demand

South Korea's trade watchdog said Thursday it has decided to recommend the government extend anti-dumping duties on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film imported from Taiwan, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates, citing substantial damage to the local industry. The Korea Trade Commission said it has advised the finance ministry to set duties of 3.19 percent to 60.95 percent on PET film coming from the countries for the next five years. The country already had been applying tariffs of around

The cloud affiliate of South Korea's leading internet portal operator, Naver Corp., said Thursday it aims for the No. 3 position in the Asian Pacific region by 2023. "We aim to reach the No. 2 position in the country, and No. 3 in Japanese and Southeast Asian markets by 2023," Jang Beom-sik, an official of Naver Cloud, said during an online conference. "We aim to secure the new growth engine by investing 80 percent of our annual sales into technology and human resources." N

LG Electronics Inc. said Thursday the first phase of home appliance manufacturing facility upgrades at its main production base in South Korea has been completed as the company aims to improve productivity with a better automation system. The tech giant said its reconstructed production building at LG Smart Park in Changwon, 400 kilometers south of Seoul, started its initial stage operations.  LG earlier announced it will invest a total of 800 billion won ($683 million) to upgrade its C

North Korea's main newspaper, the Rodong Sinmun, and other media outlets targeted toward the domestic audience did not carry a statement by leader Kim Jong-un's sister that warned South Korea of the deadlock of inter-Korean relations. On Wednesday, Kim Yo-jong released a statement slamming South Korean President Moon Jae-in for branding the North's weapons tests as a "provocation" and warned of a "total deadlock" of inter-Korean relations. As of early Thursday morning, the Ro

An appellate court on Thursday approved a 20-year prison term for a woman convicted of abandoning a 3-year-old girl in an empty house and causing her death. The 22-year-old woman surnamed Kim was arrested on Feb. 11 after the corpse of the 3-year-old was discovered the previous day at her home in a multiunit house in Gumi, 260 kilometers southeast of Seoul. Kim was accused of abandoning the child, leading to her death, after she moved out of her home in August last year to remarry. At first, the