South Korean stocks ended a four-session winning streak Thursday as investors sought to lock in recent gains amid concerns of inflation. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) retreated 31.17 points, or 0.97 percent, to close at 3,175.85 points. Trading volume was moderate at 731.76 million shares worth some 13.99 trillion won ($11.8 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 472 to 371. Foreigners offloaded a net 380.8 billion won

South Korea has been developing a massive ballistic missile as powerful as a tactical nuclear weapon, sources said Thursday, after the full lifting of US-imposed restrictions on missile development. The surface-to-surface missile, which can carry a warhead of up to 3 tons with a flight range of 350-400 kilometers, is in the last stage of development and the timing of its deployment will be determined after several test-firings, according to the sources. Unveiling its defense blueprint for 2022

US Forces Korea (USFK) commander Gen. Paul LaCamera has said that the latest joint exercise between South Korea and the United States served as a chance to display readiness and strengthen the bilateral alliance, but the two sides need to and can "achieve more." The commander, who also leads the South Korea-US Combined Forces Command and the United Nations Command, made the comments in a message sent to the Korea-US Alliance Foundation after wrapping up the joint summertime exercise.

The reigning South Korean men's volleyball MVP Jung Ji-seok is under police investigation for allegedly assaulting his ex-girlfriend, sources said Thursday. According to the sources, Jung, a star outside hitter for the Korean Air Jumbos in the V-League, was recently questioned by police on charges of assaulting his ex-girlfriend and installing a hidden camera in the home the two share. The sources said the girlfriend recently reported Jung's alleged assault to police. A woman who claimed to be

The government plans to expand its regulatory sandbox program to include testing of innovations in the areas of mobility and biohealth, and present innovative deregulation road maps for the autonomous shipping and bio industries, officials said Thursday. The government announced the plan to newly add the two areas into the regulatory sandbox program in an inter-agency state affairs review and coordination meeting chaired by Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum. The regulatory sandbox program, first int

A local court has ordered the Japanese government to disclose its assets in South Korea by next March to pay compensation to Korean victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery, judicial sources said Thursday. The Seoul Central District Court issued the order for Tokyo to submit a full list of its assets in South Korea as part of efforts to secure reparations for 12 "comfort women" who were forced into sexual slavery for Japanese troops during World War II, setting the deadline at 10 a.m

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases fell back below 2,000 on ThursUS, as the country is planning to unveil revised distancing guidelines later this week that may potentially include allowing family gatherings during the Chuseok holiday. The country added 1,961 more COVID-19 cases, including 1,927 local infections, raising the total caseload to 255,401, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The number marked a slight drop from the 2,025 tallied WednesUS. Dai

South Korean stocks opened lower Thursday as investors attempted to lock in recent gains. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 6.6 points, or 0.21 percent, to trade at 3,200.42 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The KOSPI got off to a lackluster start amid sell-offs in banking, bio and auto large caps after the index rose for four straight sessions. Market kingpin Samsung Electronics edged down 0.13 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix slipped 0.46 percent. P

South Korea's unionized health workers called off their planned strike on Thursday, hours before the unionized workers were set to go on a nationwide strike. The Korean Health and Medical Workers' Union (KHMU) said it reached an agreement with the government in their last-ditch talks held the day before. The decision to call off the planned strike came after midnight as union members took time to discuss the tentative agreement with the government. The sides were said to have agreed on the need

South Korea's consumer prices rose more than 2 percent for the fifth straight month in August due to high prices of farm and oil products, data showed Thursday, indicating a continued build-up of inflationary pressure amid an economic recovery. The consumer prices rose 2.6 percent in August from a year earlier, the same growth as the previous month, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. Compared with a month earlier, consumer inflation rose 0.6 percent last month, accelerating fr

South Korea's economy grew slightly faster than expected in the second quarter, thanks to a robust recovery of exports and service sectors, central bank data showed Thursday. The nation's economy grew 0.8 percent in the April-June period from three months earlier, 0.1 percentage point higher than earlier expected, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The country's annualized growth in the April-June period was also revised up to 6 percent, up 0.1 percentage point. Sout

The combined net profit of asset management firms in South Korea rose 3.2 percent in the second quarter from three months earlier on a modest rise in commission fees, data showed Thursday. Their net income amounted to 609.4 billion won ($526 million) in the April-June period, compared with 590.4 billion won in the first quarter, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Compared with a year earlier, their net profit surged 91.6 percent, it said. The solid earnings were mainly due

  It has been 15 years since Dick Advocaat last coached the South Korean men's national football team. And the 73-year-old Dutchman finds himself on his old stomping grounds this month, not to have any reunion with old pals, but to prepare for a battle against his former team with a World Cup berth at stake.    Advocaat will make his Iraq coaching debut at 8 p.m. Thursday against South Korea in the third round of the Asian qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. It will be the f

  Over 200 millimeters of rain battered the central province of South Chungcheong on Wednesday, leaving eight people displaced and about 40 houses and commercial properties submerged.    According to the provincial government, 224 mm of rain fell in Hongseong, 157 kilometers south of Seoul, and adjacent Yesan for three to four hours beginning at 3 a.m.    In Asan, another South Chungcheong town, 74.5 mm of rain fell per hour between 2 and 3 a.m.    Casual

South Korean carmakers' sales fell 4.5 percent last month from a year earlier as an extended global chip shortage and the COVID-19 pandemic continued to weigh on vehicle production and sales, industry data showed Wednesday. The country's five carmakers -- Hyundai Motor Co., Kia Corp., GM Korea Co., Renault Samsung Motors Corp. and SsangYong Motor Co. -- sold a combined 544,992 vehicles in August, down from 570,601 units a year ago, according to data from the companies. Their domestic sales dec