Samsung Electronics Co. is expected to report a more than 15 percent rise in operating profit for the second quarter, helped by strong semiconductor business despite slowing demand for smartphones and home appliances, a survey showed Tuesday. The world's largest memory chip maker is forecast to log 14.5 trillion won ($11.1 billion) in operating profit in the April-June period, up 15.6 percent fr...

South Korea on Tuesday started transporting the country's first lunar orbiter to the United States ahead of next month's launch using a SpaceX rocket, officials said. South Korea plans to launch the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter, also known as Danuri, aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 8:24 a.m. on Aug. 3 (Korean Time). According to the Mini...

Seven out of 10 South Koreans believe the government should only provide nonmilitary aid to Ukraine, a survey showed. In the survey of 1,000 people aged 18 or above conducted by Gallup Korea from June 21-23, 72 percent said the government of President Yoon Suk-yeol should only send medical, food and other nonlethal aid. Only 15 percent said the government should also provide weapons. Eight...

South Korea's new coronavirus cases sharply increased Tuesday amid concerns about the virus' resurgence following eased social distancing restrictions. The country added 18,147 new COVID-19 infections, including 171 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 18,413,997, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Tuesday's tally nearly tripled from 6,253 the previous day and...

North Korea's new suspected COVID-19 cases dropped below 3,000, according to its state media Tuesday. More than 2,500 people showed symptoms of fever over a 24-hour period until 6 p.m. the previous day, the official Korean Central News Agency said, citing data from the state emergency epidemic prevention headquarters. It did not provide information on whether additional deaths have been reporte...

South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Tuesday after the key index hit a 20-month low the previous session amid global recession woes. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 18.62 points, or 0.81 percent, to 2,318.96 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Large-cap stocks gathered ground across the board, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics rising 0.7 percent and chip giant...

South Korea's consumer prices rose at the fastest clip in nearly 24 years in June due mainly to soaring energy costs, data showed Tuesday, fanning expectations of a sharp rate hike this month. Consumer prices soared 6 percent last month from a year earlier, accelerating from a 5.4 percent on-year spike in May, according to the data from Statistics Korea. It marked the sharpest inflation rate si...

South Korea will investigate Eastar Jet Co. to see if there was any violation in the process of the budget carrier having obtained government approval last year for flight resumptions, the transport ministry said Tuesday. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport recently found that Eastar Jet submitted false accounting documents to receive air operator certificate (AOC) approval from t...

WASHINGTON -- A US bill is seeking to express concerns over the proposed abolishment of South Korea's Ministry of Equality and Family, the bill showed Monday. The House of Representatives bill on the 2023 budget for the state department will also urge the secretary of state to remain "actively engaged" in promoting gender equality in South Korea if passed. "The Committee is concerned about the ...

By Park Yuna (yunapark@heraldcorp.com)

In May, US President Joe Biden visited South Korea and Japan with the aim of reaffirming America’s commitment to the Asia-Pacific region after the uncertainties and doubts generated by Donald Trump’s presidency. In Tokyo, Biden launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity and participated in a summit of the Quad, an informal security grouping that also includes Japan, Australia, an...

"El Salvador wants to develop strategic alliances with Korea,” he stressed, saying that, historically, Korea has been a strategic ally. “We have come a long way since 2019, but also, we need a lot to do,” said Rodriguez. “Strategic allies such as CABEI, K-Eximbank and South Korean public and private sector are important to generate conditions of development that El Salvador is building,” he add...