South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases reached a new high of over 2,200 on Wednesday since the start of the pandemic in January last year in the face of monthlong toughened virus curbs and a slower than expected vaccination campaign. The country added 2,223 COVID-19 cases, including 2,145 local infections, raising the total caseload to 216,206, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The latest caseload was up 683 from 1,540 the previous day. The country added o

South Korea’s daily new coronavirus cases surpassed 2,000 for the first time Tuesday despite weeks of toughened social distancing restrictions, according to official data. As of 9 p.m., 2,021 new infections were confirmed nationwide, up 637 from the same time Monday, health authorities and local governments said. It is unprecedented that more than 2,000 additional cases have been reported in a day in the country since it saw its first COVID-19 infection on Jan. 20 last year. South Kore

North Korea did not answer daily phone calls from South Korea via liaison and military hotlines on Tuesday afternoon, hours after the sister of the North’s leader Kim Jong-un blasted Seoul and Washington for going ahead with combined military exercises.  The inter-Korean communication lines -- the liaison hotline and the military channels in the eastern and western border regions -- were in normal operation until the morning but the afternoon calls went unanswered, officials said.&n

South Korean stocks retreated for the fourth straight session Tuesday, as concerns over the spread of the new coronavirus turned investors risk-averse. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) slumped 17.23 points, or 0.53 percent, to close at 3,243.19 points. Trading volume was high at about 719 million shares worth some 21.4 trillion won ($18.6 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 647 to 214. Foreigners sold a net 638 billion w

Prosecutors on Tuesday demanded a 10 million-won ($8,700) fine for actor Ha Jung-woo, who admitted to illegal use of propofol in 2019. The 43-year-old screen star has been indicted on charges of taking shots of the anesthesia-inducing medication for non-medical purposes between January and September in 2019. The prosecution requested the Seoul Central District Court impose a monetary penalty as the actor has no previous record of drug abuse and admitted to his crime. Earlier in the hearing, H

Samsung Electronics Co. further expanded its dominance in the domestic smartphone market in the second quarter of the year, a report showed Tuesday, as its rivals struggled to gain presence. Samsung logged a share of 73 percent in the South Korean smartphone market in the April-June period, up 6 percentage points from a year earlier, according to data from market researcher Counterpoint Research. Its second-quarter market share was also 6 percentage points larger than a quarter earlier. Apple

KT Corp., a South Korean telecom giant, said Tuesday its second-quarter net income rose 77.4 percent from a year earlier on the back of robust growth of 5G network subscribers as well as its media content businesses. Net income for the April-June period stood at 370.8 billion won ($322.9 million) on a consolidated basis, compared with 209.1 billion won the same period the previous year, according to a company statement. Operating income reached 475.8 billion won, up 38.5 percent over the cited

A total of 71 listed firms in South Korea received "adverse" audit opinions in 2020, up from 65 the year prior, as the COVID-19 pandemic increased business uncertainties, government data showed Tuesday. An "adverse" opinion suggests that a company may have violated accounting standards or significantly misstated their financial records. According to a survey of 2,293 listed firms by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), 97 percent of the firms received clean opinions in

South Korean manufacturers' domestic supply rose at the fastest-ever pace in the second quarter as the country's economy is on a recovery track on brisk exports, data showed Tuesday. The manufacturing domestic supply index stood at 111.1 in the April-June period, up 9.2 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea. It marked the sharpest on-year gain since the first quarter of 2010 when the statistics agency began compiling related data. The index, which measures b

A player in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) is undergoing an additional review after failing a doping test, national authorities said Tuesday. The Korea Anti-Doping Agency (KADA) said a player for the Doosan Bears, whose identity is being withheld, tested positive for a banned substance last month but has since appealed his case. The player insisted in his hearing in July that he has never taken any illegal drug. The KADA is reviewing possibilities that a prohibited substance might have

SEJONG -- South Korea's agricultural ministry said Tuesday local chicken farms have gradually normalized their operations from avian influenza, a move that could stabilize the market price of eggs. The number of chickens supplied to the disease-hit egg farms came to around 18 million as of end of June, more than the 16 million chickens culled as a preventive measure, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. South Korea has been normalizing the operatio

SEJONG -- South Korea's trade ministry said Tuesday it is closely reviewing the potential impact from Europe's toughened carbon restrictions set to be implemented in 2023, as the move is expected to weigh down the country's outbound shipments of steel products. "The country is currently assessing the impact of the carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) and plans to come up with measures to cope with the new policy," an official from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said.

The last two members of the virus-hit Cheonghae unit were to be released from a hospital Tuesday, marking the full recovery of all infected service members who had to cut short their anti-piracy missions in waters off Africa and return home following an unprecedented mass infection. All members of the 301-strong Cheonghae unit were airlifted home in July after 247 troops tested positive for COVID-19. Subsequent tests found 25 more cases, raising the total caseload to 272, or 90 percent of the t

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Tuesday the government plans to call on Moderna Inc. to swiftly supply its COVID-19 vaccine as the US drugmaker is expected to delay the planned shipment for this month. Moderna has notified the government that it plans to supply less than half of the 8.5 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine planned for August, spawning concerns that the country's vaccine rollout may hit a snag amid the fourth wave of the pandemic. "The government should make all-out eff

Inter-Korean communication lines were in normal operation Tuesday despite an angry statement that North Korea issued against joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States, officials said. Kim Yo-jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, issued the statement expressing "deep regret" to South Korea for going ahead with the exercise with the US after she warned earlier that the maneuvers will cloud inter-Korean relations. Despite the statement, the two Koreas