Seventeen's The 8 tested positive for COVID-19, becoming the group's seventh member to catch the virus, the group's agency said Monday. "The 8 tested negative through a self-test kit Saturday. But he later received a polymerase chain reaction examination, as he experienced a mild cough, which returned a positive result on Monday morning," Pledis Entertainment said. He is now receiving treatment...

Samsung Electronics Co. is widely expected to launch its entry-level Galaxy smartphones later this month in response to the March 8 release of Apple's new iPhone SE, industry sources said Monday. Samsung's mid-low tier Galaxy A series is forecast to come in various new models -- A73, A53, A33 and A23 -- a product line the company said would provide "cutting-edge innovations, services and feature...

South Korea said Monday it plans to suspend transactions with Russia's central bank, joining the global move to impose additional sanctions against Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine. The government said it will announce details after consulting with related government agencies. The US has banned transactions with Russia's central bank, the finance ministry and sovereign wealth funds as part o...

The South Korean economy is on a recovery track, but external economic uncertainty has markedly increased as the Russian invasion of Ukraine has jacked up prices of oil and raw materials, a state-run think tank said Monday. Asia's fourth-largest economy is maintaining its moderate recovery on the back of solid manufacturing output, with the latest upsurge in COVID-19 cases having limited impacts...

Four out of 10 investors who buy small shares of iconic artworks through online platforms in South Korea are young generations, a local auction house said Monday. Among customers who have purchased a share of a single piece of art worth at least 10 million won ($8,100) at a time, 40 percent were in their 20s and 30s, according to Sotwo, an online art investment platform run by Seoul Auction Blue...

Civic groups have filed complaints against top officials of the National Election Commission (NEC) over their alleged mishandling of the early voting for the March 9 presidential election among COVID-19 patients last week. The election watchdog came under fire over the weekend following revelations that virus patients were not allowed to put their votes into ballot boxes, and election officials ...

US President Joe Biden's mentioning of South Korea in his State of the Union address showed his gratitude for Seoul's joining of sanctions on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a senior official at Cheong Wa Dae said Monday. In his first State of the Union address last week, Biden thanked South Korea, along with dozens of other countries, for condemning what he called Russia's "unjustified" and "tota...

South Korean boy group NCT Dream will give an online concert next month with its second full-length record set to drop late this month, the group's agency said Monday. The concert "Dream Stage: Glitch Mode" will be streamed on the Beyond Live platform on April 5, SM Entertainment said. The subunit of the 23-person K-pop mega group NCT will perform tracks in the second full album "Glitch Mode" a...

Female workers account for nearly a quarter of all employees with major South Korean companies, with their pay amounting to nearly 70 percent of that for male counterparts, data showed Monday. The country's 150 key companies hired about 199,700 women workers as of end-2020, or 24 percent of their combined workforce at 831,100, according to corporate tracker Korea CXO Institute. The data is base...

Police will deploy a total of 68,786 personnel to provide security at polling and counting stations across the nation during Wednesday's presidential election, officials said Monday. The personnel will be deployed to 14,464 polling stations and 251 ballot counting stations as police will go on higher alert on the election day for possible emergencies, officials said. Police also plan to set up ...

North Korea will launch a rocket carrying satellite at a "time and place" as determined by its leadership, a pro-North Korea newspaper said Monday with regard to the secretive nation's stated development of a "reconnaissance satellite." On Saturday, the North fired an apparent ballistic missile into the East Sea, which its state media described as "another important test" for the satellite progr...

The education ministry has hired about 61,000 people to take care of anti-virus measures at schools in the first semester, officials said Monday. The number represents 87.3 percent of a total of 76,696 anti-virus workers the ministry plans to hire for temperature-taking, visitor control, disinfecting work and rapid test kit handling at schools across the nation. The ministry also plans to hire ...

K-pop girl group Oh My Girl will release its first full-length album in three years in late March, the group's agency said Monday. "Real Love," the second studio album from the group, will drop at 6 p.m. on March 28, WM Entertainment said. It marks the group's first full album in three years, with the latest one released in 2019. Debuting in April 2015 with the EP "Oh My Girl," the septet has ...

South Korea's military plans to provide aviation fuel from its oil reserves, and mobilize 2,390 troops and 26 choppers Monday to help contain wildfires in eastern coastal areas, the defense ministry said. The military will offer fuel enough for the single-day operation of 10 helicopters, as firefighting authorities are struggling to put out the blaze that began Friday in Uljin, 330 kilometers so...

South Korean steelmaker SeAH Besteel Corp. said Monday it will deliver three dry casks used to store spent nuclear fuel to a US nuclear logistics company. The delivery comes some six months after SeAH Besteel signed a deal for 17 casks with Orano TN, which provides total system solutions for used nuclear fuel and radioactive waste management. SeAH Besteel said it marks the first time for a Sout...