North Korea stayed mum Monday regarding artillery shots fired the previous day, which were seen as part of an ongoing wintertime military exercise. The North fired suspected artillery pieces into the West Sea from an unspecified location in South Pyongan Province on Sunday, likely from multiple rocket launch systems, according to South Korea’s military. The North’s state media outlets, in...

Naver Webtoon, South Korean tech giant Naver’s web-based cartoon platform, said Monday it will open a European branch in France by June in a bid to further expand its presence in the global market. “The branch, tentatively called 'Webtoon EU,' will oversee webtoon services in France, Germany and Spain, and discover new business opportunities in other European countries,” a Naver official said. ...

South Korea‘s daily COVID-19 infections fell below 300,000 for the first time in 10 days on Sunday, prompting the authorities to speculate that the worst may be over. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the country added 209,169 new COVID-19 infections on Sunday. The country’s total caseload came to 9,582,815. South Korea’s daily COVID-19 cases have been dropping for f...

South Korea‘s top instant noodle maker Nongshim announced Monday the launch of Shinbok-ghetti Big Bowl, a cup noodle that combines two of its top-selling ramyun, Shin Ramyun Fried Noodles, Nongshim’s spicy flagship noodle but without broth, and Jjapaghetti, instant black bean ramyun. “Having monitored social media mentions from last October through this February, we learned that Jjapaghetti was ...

Incumbent President Moon Jae-in’s office on Monday raised concerns over the plans to relocate the presidential office, adding to the controversy surrounding the plans. “President Moon Jae-in pledged to open the Gwanghwamun era in the past presidential election, and we do agree on the idea of returning Cheong Wa Dae to the public,” Park Soo-hyun, senior presidential secretary for public communica...

SK ecoplant Co., the eco-energy unit of SK Group, said it has begun taking steps for an initial public offering next year by sending requests for proposal to major stock brokerage firms. After receiving proposals from the brokerage houses, the company said it will select preliminary candidates and finalize next month the firms that will manage its IPO process. “Based on an economy of scale stra...

Responding to the backlash from the parents, the education office said it would dispatch educational support staff, including Korean language instructors and school counselors, to each school that accepted the Afghan students, as part of its efforts to help them adapt to school life. “We will continue to support the Afghan students to help them receive a proper education. We thank both parents a...

South Korea's political parties are readying for another key election in June, with the Democratic Party of Korea looking to stage a comeback following its narrow defeat in the presidential election. For the local elections set for June 1, parties are competing to win 17 gubernatorial and metropolitan mayoral posts and thousands more local administrative, legislative and educational chief posts....

SEOUL, South Korea , March 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Guidepoint, a leading global expert network, announced today the opening of its newly expanded Seoul office, continuing to support the firm's ongoing growth in South Korea . The new Guidepoint Seoul office will double the size of Guidepoint's presence in South Korea, enabling our teams to provide more of the rapid, high-touch service we'...

Brokerage firms in South Korea saw their net profit grow sharply last year thanks to increased transactions fees, data showed Monday. According to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service, 58 brokerage firms reported 9.09 trillion won ($7.5 billion) in their combined net profit last year, up 54.2 percent from a year earlier. The spike stemmed in part from increased transactions fees that...

FNC will also hold a series of in-person auditions in the US, starting next month. The upcoming audition, titled “2022 FNC Pick Up Stage: USA Tour,” will take place in six cities sixteen times. It will begin in Seattle on April 18-19 and continue traveling to San Francisco on April 20-21, Los Angeles on April 22-24, and New Jersey and New York on April 28-May 1. Anyone born between 2003 and 2010...

Foreign currency deposits at banks in South Korea grew for the first time in three months in February thanks to increased corporate savings, central bank data showed Monday. Residents' outstanding foreign currency-denominated deposits reached $98.14 billion as of end-February, up $4.97 billion from the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). Residents include local c...

The state human rights watchdog has recommended that the government include transgender-related data when compiling national statistics so as to better understand their situation and draw up government policy for them, officials said Monday. The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) made the recommendation to the health, interior and gender ministries as well as Statistics Korea, whi...

The government has seized a total of 150.6 billion won ($112.5 million) in unfair profits from real estate speculation after a yearlong investigation into speculative deals involving over 6,000 offenders, a special government probe team announced Monday. The police-led inter-agency team of over 1,500 personnel, including tax and financial authorities, announced the results of its investigation l...

Cheong Wa Dae, a symbol of South Korea's presidential authority for over seven decades, is set to vanish into history in May when it turns into a public park upon the inauguration of Yoon Suk-yeol as the new president. Yoon announced his decision Sunday to relocate the presidential office from Cheong Wa Dae to Yongsan, central Seoul, saying the vast green area in the heart of Seoul will be retur...