South Korea's defense ministry and state spy agency raised their cybersecurity readiness levels on Monday amid concerns over potential online incursions at a time of a presidential transition in Seoul. The ministry elevated the cyberspace protection condition (CPCON) by a notch to Level 3, the third highest in the five-tier system. The National Intelligence Service (NIS) reinforced its own secur...

The value of construction contracts in South Korea gained more than 10 percent in 2021 thanks to more private projects, government data showed Monday. The value of civilian and public works contracts in Asia's fourth-largest economy stood at 288.9 trillion won ($238 billion) last year, up 10.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transp...

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol on Monday named a former Washington correspondent as his spokesperson for foreign press. Kang In-sun, former chief of the Washington bureau for the Chosun Ilbo newspaper, is expected to help promote Yoon's administrative philosophy overseas, based on her diverse experience covering political, social and cultural affairs, Yoon's spokesperson Kim Eun-hye said during a...

President Moon Jae-in is expected to hold comprehensive discussions about successor-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's plan to relocate the presidential office out of Cheong Wa Dae when they hold a meeting, a senior aide to Moon said Monday. Park Soo-hyun, senior presidential secretary for public communication, made the remark to YTN radio, stressing that Cheong Wa Dae remains unchanged in its position to re...

The government will introduce the oral antiviral medicine Lagevrio for 100,000 patients this week while seeking an early procurement of additional oral COVID-19 medicine, Interior Minister Jeon Hae-cheol said Monday. The planned introduction of the medicine by American multinational pharmaceutical company MSD, also known as Molnupiravir, comes amid rising demand for such oral COVID-19 medicine, ...

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said he plans to meet with officials of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's transition team to ensure a smooth transfer of the administration. Kim made the remark to reporters before departing from Doha for Seoul following a five-day visit to Turkey and Qatar when asked what he is going to take care of first after returning home. Kim, who is scheduled to arrive back home...

ajor overseas units of South Korean automaking titan Hyundai Motor Group were profitable in 2021 on brisk sales of eco-friendly vehicles and increased capacity utilization, company data showed Monday. Hyundai Motor Co., the group's flagship, said its US production unit swung to a net profit of 237 billion won ($195 million) from a net loss of slightly over 1 trillion won the previous year. It r...

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases dropped to the 200,000s for the first time in 10 days Monday due to less testing over the weekend, but concerns remain high that infections could spike again, as the government eased social distancing rules this week. The country reported 209,169 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total caseload to 9,582,815, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDC...

South Korean stocks opened nearly flat Monday as investors keep a close eye on ongoing diplomatic efforts over the Ukraine-Russia tensions. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index had inched down 0.4 points, or 0.01 percent, to trade at 2,706.62 points as of 9:15 a.m. Stocks traded bearish as investors took a wait-and-see mode after a three-day gain that stemmed from hopes of progress i...

South Korea's exports rose 10.1 percent in the first 20 days of March from a year earlier on the back of demand for chips and petroleum products, customs data showed Monday. The country's outbound shipments stood at $37.3 billion in the March 1-20 period, compared with $33.8 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Imports gained 18.9 percent on-year to $39....

South Korea's imports of coffee surged more than 24 percent to hit a new all-time high in 2021 on its growing popularity here, data showed Monday. The value of the country's coffee imports stood at $916.5 million last year, up 24.2 percent from the previous year, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service and industry sources. It marks the first time that South Korea's coffee imports ...

The US subsidiary of South Korean biopharmaceutical company Celltrion Inc. logged record high sales in the US market last year on the back of robust sales of its self-diagnostic kit for COVID-19, officials said Monday. The annual revenue of Celltrion USA, Inc., the wholly owned subsidiary of Celltrion, reached 84.6 billion won ($69.6 million) in 2021, sharply up from 2.36 billion won a year earl...

For the first time this season, Son Heung-min has scored twice in a match for Tottenham Hotspur. Son's brace lifted Tottenham past West Ham United 3-1 in a Premier League contest at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Sunday (local time). Son found the back of the net in the 24th and again in the 88th minutes. With 13 goals this season, Son climbed into a tie for second place in the Premier L...

South Korean high jumper Woo Sang-hyeok captured a historic gold medal at the world indoor championships in Belgrade on Sunday, becoming the first athlete from the country to win a world title in any track and field event. Woo cleared 2.34 meters to top the field of 12 jumpers at the World Athletics Indoor Championships at Stark Arena in the Serbian capital. Loic Gasch of Switzerland took the s...