Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Sunday instructed officials to take emergency containment measures as authorities confirmed more cases of African swine fever at a pig farm in a southeastern county. The instruction came after the sixth case of the virus, which is deadly to pigs but not harmful to humans, was confirmed at the farm in Yecheon County, 161 kilometers southeast of Seoul. Han ordered authorities to take relevant measures, including culling, a standstill order and an epidemiological anal

European shares fell on Friday, weighed down by losses in banks and energy stocks as investors became more cautious ahead of the second round of voting in French parliamentary elections. The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended 0.2% lower, after notching a more than one-week high early in the day. The index, however, clocked a 1% gain for the week. French financial markets have come under selling pressure since President Emmanuel Macron called for a snap election last month, with concerns that a f

A car driven by a man in his 80s hit pedestrians while U-turning on a road in central Seoul on Saturday, injuring two people, police said. The accident occurred as the vehicle drove left into a pedestrian crossing in front of a gas station near Seoul Station, the police said. The car was supposed to turn the course in the opposite direction as it was making a U-turn, the police said. The car hit one pedestrian and moved about 20 meters before hitting another person. It stopped after crashing int

President Joe Biden on Friday battled to put down an uprising among some Democrats pushing him to abandon his reelection campaign after a poor debate performance, vowing that "I'm staying in the race." In a fiery speech to supporters in Wisconsin and in an ABC News interview , Biden argued he is the best Democratic candidate to prevent Republican Donald Trump from regaining the White House in the Nov. 5 election. Biden's halting performance at his debate with Trump on June

Beyond their trade in flashy weapons, South Korea and the United States appear to be headed for close cooperation in a lesser-known, yet crucial defense area: military logistics and maintenance particularly in the event of a regional crisis. Seoul and Washington signed an arrangement in November to prioritize the supply of defense materials and goods to each other. They have also been seeking to ink a reciprocal defense procurement agreement designed to curtail trade barriers. The efforts on suc

South Korean football star Son Heung-min was spotted playing a casual match at a public park near Seoul, drawing thousands of spectators in minutes and prompting police to control the scene, according to police and witnesses Saturday. Police said some 13 reports had been filed as of 9:20 p.m. Friday of a crowd surging to a "dangerous" level at a public sports park in Yongin, just south of Seoul, where the captain of Tottenham Hotspur apparently happened to have turned up and been playi

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization and its Indo-Pacific partners, including South Korea, plan to discuss resilience, support for Ukraine, disinformation, cybersecurity and emerging technologies during their summit in Washington next week, a senior U.S. administration official said Friday. The NATO summit is set to take place in the US capital from Tuesday through Thursday. The leaders of the alliance's four Indo-Pacific partners (IP4) -- South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Japan --

Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul stressed the importance of a mutually considerate attitude in bilateral ties with Japan as he met with the country's new ambassador to South Korea, Koichi Mizushima, on Friday, Cho's office said. In their meeting, Cho said the two countries should wisely manage pending issues by putting themselves in each other's shoes to bolster the positive flow in bilateral ties as Seoul and Tokyo are set to mark the 60th anniversary of normalizing their ties next y

Under investigation for child abuse allegations, Son Woong-jung, football coach and father of South Korean Premier League star Son Heung-min, was seen kicking a young player at his namesake academy in a video obtained by Yonhap News Agency on Friday. Another clip showed other coaches at Son Football Academy, located in the eastern city of Chuncheon, yell at junior players with profanity during a match in Fukuoka, Japan. The senior Son and two of his coaches at the academy, including Son Heung-mi

Prosecutor General Lee One-seok on Friday denounced the main opposition party's push to impeach four prosecutors, mostly involved in corruption investigations into former party leader Lee Jae-myung, as an illegal act. The Democratic Party submitted the controversial impeachment motion to the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee earlier this week, triggering criticism from many senior prosecutors. The top prosecutor, who has already criticized the motion as unconstitutional

South Korea logged the largest current account surplus in 32 months in May on the back of a sharp rise in the trade surplus and increased dividend income, central bank data showed Friday. The country's current account surplus reached $8.92 billion in May, a turnaround from a deficit of $290 million in April. The May surplus marks the largest since September 2021, when the surplus came in at $9.51 billion. In the first five months of the year, the country's current account surplus reach

The government has been weighing measures on how to deal with trainee doctors who refuse to return to hospitals in protest of medical reform, according to officials Friday. With most trainee doctors still remaining unresponsive to the government's appeasement measures to help them return to hospitals, officials said the government will soon come up with measures on how to respond to the junior doctors who have left their worksites since late February. Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong earlier p

Seoul shares opened higher Friday as investors await US jobs data this week for clues on the Federal Reserve's future policy path. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 15.66 points, or 0.55 percent, to 2,840.60 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Institutions and foreigners bought a combined 358 billion won ($260 million) worth of stocks, offsetting individuals' stock selling valued at 352 billion won. The US jobs report due Friday is forecast to show slowing job grow

The driver involved in a recent car crash that killed nine pedestrians in central Seoul argued a sudden unintended acceleration caused the accident in the first police interrogation. The questioning comes three days after the 68-year-old man's Genesis G80 sedan plowed through a sidewalk guardrail and hit pedestrians while traveling against traffic on a one-way road near Seoul City Hall on Monday night. A total of nine people were killed, including six who died at the scene, most of them off

A civic group filed a complaint with the state anti-corruption agency Thursday for the second time over a luxury bag scandal involving first lady Kim Keon Hee after the case was dropped last month. The People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy filed the complaint, which included additional evidence of the first lady receiving high-end perfumes and expensive liquors from a Korean American pastor, with the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission. "Since the complaint last year,