South Korean stocks are likely to come under selling pressure next week amid concerns about the spreading virus variant and regulation fears that had led to massive sell-offs of giant platform companies. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 3,125.76 points Friday, down 2.35 percent from a week ago. The weekly loss came as an increase in the country's new coronavirus cases raised concerns of an economic slowdown, in addition to regulatory move against fintech compa

South Korea's daily coronavirus cases stayed in the 1,800s for the second straight day Saturday as infections continued to spread in the greater Seoul area. The country added 1,865 more COVID-19 cases, including 1,816 local infections, raising the total caseload to 271,227, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. The number of new cases was down 27 from Friday but still 62 more than a week ago. In the past week, the number of new cases has ranged from 1,375 to 2,049, aver

Kakaopay, a financial unit of tech giant Kakao Corp., will suspend its car insurance comparison service later this month after providing an unauthorized brokerage service, industry sources said Friday. Kakaopay's service to help customers find the best deal among six partnered car insurers, including Hyundai Marine and Fire Insurance Co. and DB Insurance, will be suspended from Sept. 25, according to the sources. The Financial Services Commission said the online program is not advertising tha

Doosan Infracore on Friday announced that it will sell stocks to raise 800 billion won ($682 billion). The proceeds from the stock sale will be used mainly to pay off its debts and for other purposes, the company said in a regulatory filing. Doosan Infracore will issue some 115.1 million common shares at a price of 6,950 won per share. The stocks will be sold to the firm's existing shareholders. Hyundai Genuine, the holding company of Doosan Infracore, will buy up to 28.8 percent of the sto

South Korea and Poland agreed Friday to boost exchanges and cooperation in a wide range of defense and related fields, Seoul's defense ministry said. Vice Minister Park Jae-min and his Polish counterpart, Marcin Ochiepa, reached the agreement during their talks in Seoul, as Ochiepa visited South Korea to attend the annual security forum of the Seoul Defense Dialogue (SDD). "The Polish vice minister expressed his country's will to expand and deepen the bilateral defense cooperation with

  South Korea's top nuclear envoy, Noh Kyu-duk, will visit Tokyo next week for bilateral and trilateral talks with his U.S. and Japanese counterparts, the foreign ministry said Friday, as Seoul steps up diplomacy to resume dialogue with Pyongyang.    Noh and his US and Japanese counterparts, Sung Kim and Takehiro Funakoshi, respectively, plan to hold a trilateral meeting on Tuesday, as they strategize on reengaging with Pyongyang, amid concerns over signs of the reclusive regime

Apple Inc. on Friday rejected US game maker Epic Games Inc.'s request that its hit title "Fortnite" be rereleased in South Korea in a case that highlights a tug-of-war over lucrative payment systems on the app market. The video game maker earlier tweeted that it asked Apple to restore its "Fortnite" developer account and that it plans to relaunch the game on Apple's mobile operating system in the country in light of a new legislation that effectively allows alternative in-ap

Nearly eight out of 10 South Koreans have no plans to visit their hometowns or travel during the upcoming Chuseok holiday amid the widespread COVID-19 fears, a poll showed Friday. In the survey of 1,001 adults nationwide conducted by Gallup Korea from Tuesday to Thursday, 77 percent said they do not have any plans to leave their homes for more than one night during the Chuseok holiday, the autumn harvest celebration. This year's Chuseok runs from Sept. 20-22, and it will be extended by an extra

US robotics startup Boston Dynamics said Friday it will expand its partnership with South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Group to integrate its robotics technologies in future mobility solutions and expand their applications in other industrial sectors. Boston Dynamics demonstrated its latest robotics technologies during an online media event after the automotive group in June completed the $880 million purchase of its 80 percent stake from Japanese conglomerate Softbank. Boston Dynamics, spu

A university student developed a website to make it easier for people to navigate a web of ever-changing social distancing rules on private gatherings. The creator, Kim Joon-tae, said he developed the website (www.canwemeet.us) to reduce inconveniences coming from complicated rules on private gatherings that differ depending on time of the day, vaccination status and regions, among other things. The service, which went up Tuesday, asks a user seven questions about a planned gathering to ultima

The state anti-corruption investigative body has formally booked ex-Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl on multiples charges, including abuse of power, in its widening probe into a political meddling scandal, officials said Friday, dealing a blow to his presidential bid. An official at the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) in charge of the probe told reporters, "(The office) booked ex-Prosecutor General Yoon yesterday." Yoon is facing four difference char

An Air Force officer and an Army soldier have tested positive for the new coronavirus, raising the total caseload reported among the military population to 1,653, the defense ministry said Friday. The Air Force officer based in Suwon, 45 kilometers south of Seoul, was confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 after developing symptoms, while the Army soldier in the border county of Yeoncheon was found to have been infected after a vacation, according to the ministry. Nationwide, South Korea added

South Korean telecom operators have so far installed less than 200 base stations that support millimeter wave (mmWave) 5G, data showed Friday, highlighting the lack of progress to commercialize the technology that unlocks the fastest speeds on the network. Major mobile carriers -- SK Telecom Co., KT Corp. and LG Uplus Corp. -- have installed just 161 mmWave 5G base stations as of the end of August, lagging far behind the government requirement of over 45,000 base stations by the end of this yea

South Korea and five Southeast Asian countries along the Mekong River have reaffirmed concerted efforts for cooperation in health and economic fields to minimize COVID-19-driven impact and facilitate recovery. They made the pledge in a joint statement adopted after the 11th Mekong-South Korea foreign ministers' meeting Wednesday, stressing the importance of solidarity and multilateralism to advance shared goals, Seoul's foreign ministry said.  The meeting, held in a hybrid format, was c

The arms procurement agency said Friday it has signed a 985.7 billion won ($853 million) deal with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. to build a new 3,600-ton-class submarine capable of firing submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs). The Defense Acquisition Program Administration signed the contract Thursday for the second unit of three Changbogo-III Batch-II class submarines that South Korea plans to build by 2029. Construction of the first unit began just last month. C