South Korean stocks finished higher Wednesday as investor sentiment was boosted by Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell's comments for a possible interest rate cut. The local currency traded weaker against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 13.15 points, or 0.47 percent, to 2,794.01, rebounding from the previous session's 0.84 percent drop. Trade volume was slim at 334.2 million shares worth 10.1 trillion won ($7.26 billion), with decliners beating gain

The number of people demanding the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol surpassed the 1 million mark Wednesday on the National Assembly's petition website. The petition, calling on the National Assembly to propose a bill on Yoon's impeachment, gained a daily average of 100,000 signatures over a period of 10 days after it was posted on June 24. Lawmakers of the Democratic Party backed the petition, saying the number of petition approvals rightfully reflects the public's views of

Senior doctors at Asan Medical Center, one of the five biggest hospitals in Seoul, said Wednesday they will cut procedures and outpatient care starting Thursday, blaming the government for causing disruptions in public health services in the wake of medical reform. Medical professors at the University of Ulsan, who serve as senior doctors at Asan Medical Center because the hospital is affiliated with the university, said the move is aimed at focusing on treatments for critically ill patients and

Son Woong-jung, the father of South Korean football star Son Heung-min and director of his namesake football academy, has been questioned by prosecutors over his child abuse allegations, sources said Wednesday. Per sources, prosecutors in Chuncheon, some 75 kilometers northeast of Seoul, questioned Son and two of his coaches at Son Football Academy on Tuesday over charges that they had physically and verbally abused a young player. The academy is also located in the same Gangwon Province town. O

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has visited major munitions and machinery factories, calling for efforts to expand production in the overall economic sector, according to state media Wednesday. The inspection took place Tuesday, a day after North Korea wrapped up four days of a plenary meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, according to the Korean Central News Agency. Accompanied by party officials, Kim visited a defense industrial enterprise, which the North s

The head of the financial regulator on Wednesday urged securities firms to change the way they do business, as well as where they invest, stressing the need for innovation to ensure growth. Lee Bok-hyun, chief of the Financial Supervisory Service, made the call in a meeting with the heads of 16 securities firms here. "The tasks aimed at developing our capital market that I have stressed must be discussed in a comprehensive manner, and must not be an issue of energy-consuming disputes betwee

South Korean stocks started higher Wednesday as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's dovish comments eased rate woes. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 11.84 points, or 0.43 percent, to 2,792.7 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, Wall Street closed higher as Powell said recent economic data represented "significant progress," boosting investor sentiment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.41 percent, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.84 per

North Korea's obnoxious sending of trash-filled balloons to South Korea is a "form of soft terrorism," a US think tank report said Tuesday, stressing it should not be taken lightly though it reflects the recalcitrant regime's "weakness" and "insecurity." Victor Cha, senior vice president for Asia and Korea chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and Andy Lim, an associate fellow with the CSIS Korea Chair, released the report that analy

The South Korean baseball club SSG Landers reinstated pitcher Roenis Elias from the injured list Tuesday, while terminating a deal with his temporary replacement in a corresponding move. The Landers said Elias, who had been out since May 18 with an oblique injury, will start against the NC Dinos on Wednesday at Changwon NC Park in the southeastern city of Changwon. The Cuban left-hander last pitched on May 12, and was sidelined before his next scheduled start six days later. With Elias out, th

Naver Corp. CEO Choi Soo-yeon confirmed Tuesday the company will not sell its stake in Japan's LY Corp., the operator of popular mobile messenger Line, in the "short term" amid LY's push to lessen its dependence on Naver. "We don't plan to sell the stake in the short term," Choi said, while noting the company cannot give confirmation on its mid-to-long term strategy. Naver, South Korea's biggest internet portal operator, holds a 50 percent stake in A H

The Minimum Wage Commission on Tuesday voted down a proposal to adopt different rates by industry next year. In a vote that took place during the commission's plenary session at the government complex in the central city of Sejong, 15 were against the different minimum wage rates, while 11 were in favor. There was one invalid vote. Since differentiated minimum wages were adopted for the first time in 1988, the same minimum wage has been set annually across all industrial sectors. The ma

South Korean stocks fell sharply Tuesday ahead of key economic events in the United States later this week. The local currency traded weaker against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 23.45 points, or 0.84 percent, to 2,780.86, ending a two-session winning streak. Trade volume was moderate at 532.3 million shares worth 11.5 trillion won ($8.28 billion), with decliners sharply outnumbering gainers 691 to 195. Foreigners and institutions sold a net 30 billion won a

South Korea resumed live-fire exercises at artillery ranges near the border with North Korea on Tuesday for the first time in six years, following the suspension of an inter-Korean tension-reduction pact that restricted such drills. Troops fired some 140 rounds using the K9 and K105A1 self-propelled howitzers during the drills at front-line ranges in the provinces of Gyeonggi and Gangwon, located within 5 kilometers of the Military Demarcation Line within the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating

The ruling People Power Party threatened to launch a filibuster Tuesday if the opposition seeks to pass a contentious bill mandating a special counsel investigation into the military's response to a Marine's death last year. The move comes as the main opposition Democratic Party is pushing to pass the bill and three broadcasting law revisions during this week's parliamentary plenary session despite objections from the PPP. The special probe bill calls for a special counsel to look

President Yoon Suk Yeol accepted the resignation of Korea Communications Commission Chairman Kim Hong-il on Tuesday, his office said, before a National Assembly vote on his impeachment. Kim offered to voluntarily step down earlier in the day, a move designed to have a successor continue the duties because impeachment would suspend the job. The position holds the key to decisions on broadcasting stations, including the appointment of a new president at MBC TV. The resignation came just hours befo