Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki has said it is not easy for the government to increase the size of an extra budget currently under review at parliament as politicians made the request amid the fourth wave of the pandemic. In late June, the government proposed an extra budget of 33 trillion won ($28.7 billion) to fund another round of COVID-19 aid packages for people in the bottom 80 percent income bracket and small merchants hit hard by the pandemic. But politicians raised the need to increase th

A South Korean missionary couple, who were abducted by an unidentified group in Haiti, have been released over the weekend after 17 days in captivity, the foreign ministry said Monday. The two Korean citizens were set free at 12:06 p.m. on Saturday (Haiti time) and left the country the following day to return home via a third country, the ministry said. They remain in good shape. Soon after learning that the couple were kidnapped on the outskirts of Haiti's capital of Port-au-Prince on June 24

Imported electric vehicle sales jumped 65 percent in the first half compared with a year earlier despite an extended COVID-19 pandemic, industry data showed Monday. From January to June, the number of imported EV registrations jumped to 14,295 units from 8,681 in the year-ago period, according to the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association and Carisyou Data Lab. Imported EVs accounted for 54 percent of the country's overall EV sales of 26,632 units in the first six months, the

Foreign investors unloaded about 500 billion won ($436 million) worth of South Korean stocks in June to remain net sellers for the second consecutive month, data showed Monday. Offshore investors' net selling of local stocks came to 499 billion won last month, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. As of end-June, foreign investors held 842.3 trillion won worth of local listed stocks, accounting for 29.9 percent of the stock market capitalization. The data also showed f

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases rose by more than 1,000 for the sixth consecutive day Monday despite fewer tests over the weekend, as the greater Seoul area, the hotbed for the recent spike in new infections, is placed under the toughest social distancing measures. The country added 1,100 new COVID-19 cases, including 1,063 local infections, raising the total caseload to 169,146, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The tally compares with 1,324 tallied

North Korea's foreign ministry on Monday accused the United States of using humanitarian aid as a political tool for interfering in internal affairs and taking issue with human rights. Kang Hyon-chol, a senior researcher at the Association for the Promotion of International Economic and Technological Exchange, made the case in an article published on the website of the North's foreign ministry. "In actual practice, many countries have undergone bitter tastes as a result of pinning much ho

The ruling Democratic Party (DP) on Sunday narrowed its lineup of presidential contenders down to six in the first round of the party primary to pick its candidate in next year's presidential election. The DP declared Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung, ex-DP chief Lee Nak-yon, ex-Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, ex-Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae and two others as the six final winners of the first-stage presidential primary. The results are based on opinion polls conducted from Friday-Sunday on party

The presidential office Cheong Wa Dae reiterated Sunday that the decision on President Moon Jae-in's potential attendance at the opening ceremony of the upcoming Tokyo Olympic Games depends on whether the visit would guarantee a fruitful summit meeting between the two countries' leaders. Cheong Wa Dae has left the door open for Moon's possible attendance at the opening ceremony set for July 23 and a summit meeting between Moon and Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on that occasion. The possibil

New orders won by South Korean shipbuilders hit a 13-year high in the first half of the year amid signs of a modest recovery in global trade from the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed Sunday. Korean shipbuilders led by Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. won new orders worth $26.7 billion that amounted to 10.88 million compensated gross tons (CGTs) in the January-June, according to the data provided by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Compared with a year ago, new orders skyrocketed 724 per

South Korean manufacturers' business sentiment soared to a two-year high, largely buoyed by optimism about a fast rebound of the tech industry, data showed Sunday. The business survey index (BSI), compiled based on a survey of 1,034 manufacturers, showed an overall market forecast of 97 for the April-June period, the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade (KIET) said. The corresponding number for sales stood at 100. A BSI larger than 100 means that optimists outnumber pessimists.

St. Louis Cardinals' starter Kim Kwang-hyun braved rain to beat the Chicago Cubs for his third consecutive victory, giving himself a strong foundation to build upon in the second half of his sophomore campaign. Kim tossed six shutout innings against the Cubs at Wrigley Field in Chicago on Saturday (local time), helping the Cardinals to a 6-0 win. Kim, who gave up five singles and struck out seven, improved to 4-5 while lowering his ERA from 3.39 to 3.11. The South Korean left-hander earned hi

"Permission to Dance" by South Korean superband BTS snatched the No. 2 spot on Spotify's Global Top 200 chart, the global streaming giant said Sunday. The upbeat number was streamed 7,339,385 times on Spotify on the day of its release Friday, the streaming service said. The song was only second to "Beggin'" by Italian rock band Maneskin, the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest this year. "Permission to Dance" also came in first on 13 regional top 200 charts

A Seoul court will this week begin trials for Yang Hyun-suk, former CEO of K-pop powerhouse YG Entertainment, on charges of attempting to cover up a drug scandal involving a singer-rapper, judicial officials said Sunday. According to the officials, the Seoul Central District Court is to hold its first hearing Friday for Yang, who was indicted last month for having threatened and coerced an informant who testified to police about drug suspicions surrounding B.I, the former songwriting leader of

The South Korean club Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors have extended their undefeated streak to six matches at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League, while also helping another team from the country join them in the knockout stage. Jeonbuk defeated Gamba Osaka 2-1 in their final Group H match played at Bunyodkor Stadium in Tashkent on Saturday (local time). Gustavo and Mo Barrow had a goal apiece for Jeonbuk, which won their group with 16 points from five wins and a draw. And Gamba Os

The South Korean passport was found to be the third most effective one for travelers around the world, allowing its bearers to travel to 191 countries visa-free, data showed Sunday. Asia's fourth-largest economy and Germany tied for third, only after Japan and Singapore, in the latest edition of the Henley Passport Index. The Japanese passport provides visa-free travel to 193 countries and Singapore to 192 countries. The index released by immigration consulting firm Henley & Partners Co