Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong spoke by phone with his Czech counterpart on Friday and discussed bilateral issues, including ways to boost cooperation in the nuclear power plant business, his office said.  In the phone talks with Jakub Kulhanek, Chung stressed that South Korea is the best partner for the Czech Republic's new nuclear power plant project under way in the southern region of Dukovany, citing the technologies and price competitiveness proven through various projects Korean com

South Korea's spy agency has told lawmakers that North Korea could return to nuclear dialogue with the United States as it is intent on ending hostile relations with the country, a source said Friday.  The National Intelligence Service made the comment Thursday while debriefing the National Assembly's intelligence committee on the recent remarks from Pyongyang, the source with knowledge of the matter said.  "North Korea's consistent position is to end its hostile relations with

Following several days of downpours in the southern South Korean regions over the past week, a heat wave advisory was issued for many parts of the country Friday, the state weather agency said. The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said it issued the heat wave advisory for almost all parts of the southern provinces of Gyeongsang and Jeolla, the central provinces of Chungcheong, and parts of the Gyeonggi and Gangwon provinces as of 10 a.m. Seoul was excluded from the advisory, which is

South Korean stocks slumped for the third day in a row Friday as the country decided to impose a semi-lockdown in the greater Seoul area, a hotbed for the recent spike in the new coronavirus, to rein in the fast spreading COVID-19. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) slumped 34.73 points, or 1.07 percent, to close at 3,217.95 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.3 billion shares worth some 16.2 trillion won ($14.1 billion

South Korean firms are tightening their virus prevention measures, including allowing more workers to work from home, as the country has decided to enforce the toughest social distancing rules in the greater Seoul area, the hotbed of the recent spike in new infections. South Korea's daily virus infections hit a new high with 1,316 cases, forcing the government to apply the strongest Level 4 distancing measures from Monday for two weeks. Under the Level 4 rules, private gatherings of three or m

Hyundai Motor Co. said Friday it will suspend one of its seven domestic plants for four weeks to prepare for the production of an electric vehicle. Hyundai plans to halt the Asan plant from Tuesday until Aug. 6 to upgrade the facilities before it begins production of the IONIQ 6 midsize sedan later this year, a company spokesman said over the phone. The 300,000-unit-a-year Asan plant produces the Sonata sedan and the Santa Fe SUV. In February, the maker of the Sonata sedan and the Palisade SU

President Moon Jae-in on Friday expressed gratitude for the support the US Congress has provided in the advancement of the decades-old Seoul-Washington alliance during a meeting with a group of visiting US lawmakers at Cheong Wa Dae. Moon hosted a reception for the visiting members of the US Congressional Study Group on Korea (CSGK), a bipartisan study group on South Korea, at the presidential office. The CSGK, consisting of about 54 US lawmakers, was launched in 2018 as part of diplomatic effo

Five people who went to a theater in Seoul last month have tested positive for COVID-19, the first time an infection has been confirmed among audience members, the city government said Friday. The five are among 22 confirmed COVID-19 patients traced to the theater in Jongno Ward. The first case was reported in a theater personnel member on June 29. "This is the first time we have confirmed infections among members of an audience at a theater, which we manage separately in case of cluster

The retail, hospitality and other service sectors in the wider capital area are expected to suffer another setback as the highest level of social distancing rules will be implemented amid the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, industry watchers said Friday. Under the Level 4 guidelines to go into effect Monday for two weeks in Seoul, the surrounding Gyeonggi Province and the western port city of Incheon, entertainment establishments, including night clubs, will be ordered to shut down, while

The upcoming ban on private gatherings of three or more people in the greater Seoul area is driving owners of restaurants, bars, cafes and many other small businesses into utter despair. On Friday, the government announced a decision to put the capital area under the toughest social distancing rules of Level 4, halving the maximum number of people allowed for private gatherings to a mere two. Under the unprecedented restrictions set to be in effect for two weeks beginning Monday, gatherings of

Unionized workers at Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., South Korea's top shipbuilder, have decided to extend their ongoing walkout for another week to up the ante in their wage negotiations with the management as the company urged them to return to work, the labor union said Friday. The unionized workers were to end the strike on the day, which started Tuesday, occupying a shipbuilding crane in Ulsan, 414 kilometers southeast of Seoul, after the wage deal fell through. In response to the walkout,

South Korea's electricity consumption continued to rise in May amid an accelerating economic rebound, data showed Friday. Asia's fourth-largest economy used 40,842 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of power in May, up 6.6 percent from a year ago, according to the data from the Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO). It marked the seventh consecutive month for the power consumption to increase on-year. By segment, power consumption of the industrial sector rebounded a whopping 10.3 percent, and that of shops a

South Korea's leading steelmaker POSCO estimated Friday its second-quarter operating profit hit the highest point in 15 years on robust demand amid a global economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Operating profit for the April-June quarter jumped to 2.2 trillion won (US$1.9 billion) from 121.2 billion won during the same period of last year, the company said in a regulatory filing. It marked the highest quarterly operating profit since 2006, when the steelmaker reported its quarterly ea

The main opposition party outstripped the rival ruling party in public support for the first time since a major corruption scandal involving former conservative President Park Geun-hye about five years ago, an opinion poll showed Friday. The latest survey by Gallup Korea showed the conservative main opposition People Power Party (PPP) garnered 32 percent of support while the ruling Democratic Party (DP) had 31 percent. The poll was conducted on 1,000 voters nationwide from Tuesday-Thursday. T

All schools in the greater Seoul area will switch to virtual instruction full-time, as the government decided to raise the virus alert level to the highest next week amid record-breaking COVID-19 cases. The measure will go into effect Wednesday at schools in Seoul, Incheon, 40 kilometers west of the capital, and Gyeonggi Province until July 25, Education Minister Yoo Eun-hae said during a briefing Friday. Cram schools should shut down at 10 p.m. starting Monday. School summer vacation normally