Two Army cadets and an Air Force civilian employee have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said Wednesday. The Air Force official based in Seongnam, south of Seoul, was confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 after a family member tested positive, according to the ministry. One cadet in Seoul was found to have been infected on vacation, while the other in the central county of Goesan tested positive during a summer training. The latest cases raised the total number of

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases sharply bounced back to the 1,700s on Wednesday as the highly transmissible delta variant weighs on the country's virus fight during the summer vacation season. The country added 1,725 COVID-19 cases, including 1,664 local infections, raising the total caseload to 203,926, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The latest tally marked a sharp rise from 1,218 cases Monday and 1,200 cases Tuesday. Daily cases usually fall o

Homegrown actioner "Escape from Mogadishu" has topped a cumulative 1 million admissions on the seventh day of its release, becoming the first South Korean flick to achieve the feat this year, box office data showed Wednesday. The film, released on July 28, attracted 121,000 people on the previous day, bringing its combined total to 1.03 million, according to the data by the Korean Film Council. Directed by Ryoo Seung-wan, the film became the first South Korean-made title shown in 202

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday, tracking overnight rallies on Wall Street over optimism for strong corporate earnings. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 6.51 points, or 0.2 percent, to trade at 3,243.65 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The KOSPI got off to a strong start on foreign buying, led by tech gains. The S&P 500 gained 0.82 percent to close at a record high, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite

SK Innovation Co. said Wednesday it turned to the black in the second quarter from a year earlier on robust lube oil and battery sales, and decided to spin off its battery business to further propel its growth. The energy and chemical subsidiary of the nation's No. 3 conglomerate SK Group said it booked 415.9 billion won ($362.2 million) of net profit in the April-June period, shifting from a loss of 345.8 billion won a year earlier. SK Innovation also swung to an operating income of 506.5 bil

Samsung Electronics Co. dropped to second place in the European smartphone market in the second quarter, a report showed Wednesday, as China's Xiaomi Corp. rose to the top spot. Samsung made up a market share of 24 percent in the April-June period after shipping 12 million smartphones to Europe, down 7 percent from a year earlier, according to a report from market researcher Strategy Analytics. The South Korean tech giant was the only player among the top five smartphone suppliers in Europe to

North Korean officials attended a photo exhibition held by the Russian Embassy in Pyongyang and highlighted their cooperative ties, state media showed Wednesday, signaling Pyongyang's resumption of in-person diplomacy suspended due to the coronavirus. The photo exhibition was held Tuesday "to mark the 20th anniversary of Chairman Kim Jong-il's historic visit to Russia and the 10th anniversary of his visit to the Siberian and the Far Eastern regions," according to the Korean Central Ne

Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Corp. said Wednesday their sales jumped 26 percent in the United States last month from a year earlier on strong demand for SUVs. Hyundai Motor and Kia sold a total of 138,599 vehicles in the US last month, up from 110,156 units a year ago, the companies' sales data showed . SUV and eco-friendly models drove July sales as consumers responded to Hyundai's diversified lineup to find a vehicle that meets their transportation needs, Senior Vice President Ran

WASHINGTON -- The United States will never accept a nuclear-armed North Korea despite the latter's apparent ambition to become a nuclear state, a ranking US intelligence official said Tuesday. Sydney Seiler, national intelligence officer for North Korea at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, argued the North's true intention, at least for the time being, may be to be accepted as a nuclear state. "We have made clear in all of our negotiations -- what it is we expect from t

South Korea's foreign reserves rose to an all-time high in July as a weaker US dollar raised the value of non-dollar assets, central bank data showed Wednesday. The nation's foreign reserves came to $458.7 billion as of end-July, up $4.58 billion from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). Foreign reserves consist of securities and deposits denominated in overseas currencies, International Monetary Fund reserve positions, special drawing rights and gold bullion. The BOK sai

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Tuesday the country will sharply increase imports of eggs in August and September in a bid to help stabilize high prices amid a pick-up in consumer inflation. The country plans to bring in 100 million eggs in August and September, respectively, more than the 70 million eggs imported in June, according to the finance ministry. South Korea brought in 144 million eggs between January and May to ease the supply shortage caused by the outbreak of bird flu here. Hi

Over 10 workers at a Samsung Electronics Co. local research and development (R&D) center were infected with COVID-19, but there has been no shutdown of the facility, industry sources said Tuesday. Twelve employees at the R5 R&D-focused building in Suwon, just south of Seoul, tested positive for the coronavirus, and those who were in contact with them await their test results, a person familiar with the matter told Yonhap News Agency over the phone. There might be more confirmed coronav

South Korean stocks rose for a second straight session Tuesday after choppy trading, backed by strong advances by large tech companies. The Korean won increased against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) added 14.1 points, or 0.44 percent, to close at 3,237.14 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 643 million shares worth some 12.3 trillion won ($10.7 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 581 to 270. Foreigners bought a net 663 billion won, whil

First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun will visit Iran to attend the presidential inauguration of Ebrahim Raisi and for talks with his counterpart later this week, the foreign ministry said Tuesday. On Thursday, Choi is set to attend the inauguration ceremony for Raisi, the former chief justice who won the presidential election in June to succeed Hassan Rouhani. During his stay in Tehran, Choi will also meet his counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, to discuss bilateral relations and other issues, th

TOKYO -- Having become the second-only South Korean gymnast to win a gold at the Olympics, one may assume Shin Jea-hwan, men's vault gold champion at the Tokyo Games, has had all the luck he could get throughout his athletic journey. Shin, 23, however, is said to have survived a traumatizing back injury during high school, which almost brought his competitive gymnast career to an end. "I don't want to talk about that," Shin said, attempting to shy away from the topic when asked by re