The defense ministry on Monday eased monthslong restrictions on service members' vacation and off-installation activities as the military has a high COVID-19 vaccination rate of about 94 percent, officials said. Under the fresh regulations effective on Monday, up to 20 percent of service members can go on vacation at the same time per unit, and fully vaccinated troops are allowed to meet visitors who have also received vaccines, according to the ministry. Previous regulations had banned soldie

Rep. Hong Joon-pyo of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) climbed to third place among contenders vying for next year's presidential election, a poll showed Monday. In the two-day poll on 1,003 voters nationwide conducted by the Korea Society Opinion Institute from Friday, Hong garnered approval of 13.6 percent, up 4.2 percentage points from a week ago. Hong, widely considered an underdog contender, managed to overtake Rep. Lee Nak-yon, the former head of the ruling Democratic Party (

Samsung Heavy Industries Co. said Monday it has succeeded in demonstrating a ship collision avoidance system. The shipbuilder's remote autonomous navigation system, known as Samsung Autonomous Ship (SAS), helped two autonomous ships travelling their trajectories avoid by detecting each other in seas off the southwestern island of Gageo, Samsung Heavy said. Samsung Heavy said the demonstration on the sea is the first of its kind in the world. A 9,200-ton ship of Mokpo National Maritime Univers

South Korea's trade ministry said Monday it seeks to launch negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) with Egypt, which would mark the first of its kind with an African nation. Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo plans to meet his Egyptian counterpart Nevin Gamea virtually later in the day to discuss ways to bolster bilateral economic ties, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. "The potential FTA will help South Korean firms penetrate deeper into the Egyptian market, further

South Korea's trade ministry said Monday it aims to resume talks for a new free trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to forge deeper economic ties with the Middle East after a hiatus of more than 10 years. Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo plans to meet his UAE counterpart Thani Al Zeyoudi virtually later in the day and propose resuming talks for the South Korea-GCC FTA, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Asia's No. 4 economy and the GCC agreed to launch negot

Chinese subsidiaries of South Korean firms saw their sales sink nearly 7 percent in 2020 from four years earlier due to their dropping market share in the world's second-largest economy, data showed Monday. Combined Chinese sales of 30 out of South Korea's top 100 companies came to 117.1 trillion won ($101 billion) last year, down 6.9 percent from 2016, according to the data from the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), the lobby for the country's family-controlled conglomerates known as chae

The arms procurement agency has allocated 1.485 trillion won ($1.3 billion) for defense technology research and development (R&D) next year in a budget request submitted to the parliament, it said Monday. Last week, the defense ministry requested a defense budget of 55.23 trillion won for 2022, up from this year's 52.84 trillion won. Of the total, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration's R&D budget rose 76 percent on-year to surpass the 1 trillion won mark for the first time, i

North Korea's official newspaper stressed Monday that effective land management should be a top priority in the country's economic policy, calling for thorough preventive measures against flooding and other natural disasters. "Work on land management is a task where we can protect a hundred and earn a thousand by investing ten," the Rodong Sinmun, the organ of the ruling Workers' Party, said. "If we want to realize fast and sustainable development, we need complete preparations t

South Korean stocks opened nearly flat Monday as investors seek to digest weaker-than-expected August jobs data in the United States. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 0.98 points, or 0.03 percent, to 3,200.08 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The US jobs increase came to a seven-month low in August amid the spread of variant cases, raising expectations that the Federal Reserve would not rush in tapering its asset buying plans in the September meeting. Fi

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases fell back to the 1,300s on Monday due to fewer tests over the weekend, while health authorities extended the tough virus curbs ahead of a major national holiday. The country added 1,375 more COVID-19 cases, including 1,351 local infections, raising the total caseload to 261,778, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The daily caseload fell to a five-week low for any Monday, when new cases usually remain lower than other w

The number of medical tourists to South Korea tumbled nearly 77 percent in 2020 from a year earlier amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Monday. Roughly 117,100 foreign patients visited South Korea last year, down a whopping 76.5 percent from some 497,500 a year earlier, according to the data from the local medical community. The data is based on statistics gathered by the Korea Health Industry Development Institute. Seoul Asan Medical Center, one of South Korea's five major hospitals,

With five birdies in the final round of the 2020-2021 PGA Tour season, South Korean golfer Im Sung-jae has broken a scoring record that stood for 21 years. Im sank a 21-foot putt for a birdie on the second hole during the closing round of the season-ending Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta on Sunday (local time). It was Im's 494th birdie, helping him eclipse the previous record of 493 birdies by Steve Flesch in 2000. The tour began tracking records in 1980. Im finished with

Over 30 million South Koreans have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine as of Sunday, health authorities said, as the vaccine rollout is gaining speed among the general public. Slightly more than 30 million people have been inoculated with their first vaccine shots as of 11:15 a.m., accounting for around 58 percent of the country's 52 million population, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. A total of 17.7 million, or 34.6 percent of the total population, hav

South Korea's female population is forecast to surpass that of males in nine years, a government report showed Sunday. The total number of women reached 25.86 million last year, accounting for 49.9 percent of the country's entire population of 51.82 million, according to the report compiled by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. The ratio of males to females in the South Korean population fell to 100.4 in 2021 from 101.4 tallied in 2000. The ministry said the sex ratio will likely hit

South Korea will host a hydrogen mobility show this week to showcase the latest technologies in fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) and trams, and discuss major trends in the hydrogen economy, its organizer said Sunday. H2 Mobility+Energy Show will take place at an exhibition center in Goyang, just north of Seoul, from Sept. 8-11, with more than 150 companies and research institutions from 12 countries, according to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association.  It is the nation's sec