South Korean IT giant Naver’s webtoon business is continuing its dominance in the global market, getting recognized as the world’s best webtoon application while posting a record high number of users. Naver Webtoon has been honored as the world’s best webtoon application in the mobile app market by analyzer Sensor Tower’s 2021 Asia-Pacific Awards, the company said Friday. Sensor Tower said Nave...

Even on weekends when COVID-19 testing drops, the number of new confirmed cases surpassed 100,000 for three consecutive days and is expected to rise further in the coming weeks. The government expects the pandemic to peak at the end of this month or early next month. It predicted that the new cases would rise to 180,000 in early March. As of Saturday midnight, there were 104,829 new infections ...

The military on Sunday reported 628 additional COVID-19 cases, raising the total caseload among its domestic personnel to 12,197. The new cases included 362 from the Army, 167 from the Air Force, 48 from the Navy, 23 from units under the direct control of the defense ministry, 22 from the Marine Corps, and six from the ministry. Currently, 3,532 military personnel are under treatment. (Yonhap)

South Korea is thinking seriously about sharing its liquefied natural gas (LNG) inventories with Europe amid looming supply disruptions sparked by the Ukraine crisis, officials said Sunday. "The government is seriously contemplating supporting Europe should the situation aggravate in Ukraine and create difficulties in the supply of natural gas," a foreign ministry official said on condition of a...

BEIJING -- South Korea's top Olympic official praised strong efforts by the country's athletes at Beijing 2022 on Sunday, while also recognizing the need to nurture future Winter Olympic stars away from ice. Lee Kee-heung, president of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC), held a press conference in the Chinese capital to discuss South Korea's performance at the 2022 Winter Games. With th...

In line with the K-pop boom in and out of South Korea, sales of original soundtrack albums of Korean dramas and movies have surged. K-pop merchandise sales, on the other hand, have been sluggish in the wake of the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, data showed Sunday. Last year, 28,939 copies of soundtrack albums of hit dramas and movies were sold at Ktown4u, an online shopping mall that sells albums ...

Main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol is leading his ruling party rival Lee Jae-myung with 42.9 percent public support to 38.7 percent, a survey showed Sunday. Yoon of the People Power Party gained 1.3 percentage points from a week ago, while Lee of the Democratic Party lost 0.4 percentage point, according to the Realmeter survey conducted on 3,043 adults from last Sunday to Frida...

BEIJING -- South Korea has decided not to appeal short track speed skating refereeing at Beijing 2022 to the top global sports tribunal, the country's Olympic chief said Sunday. At a press conference in Beijing, Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) President Lee Kee-heung said the decision was reached after consultations with legal experts. The KSOC had earlier sought to take its appeal to t...

South Korea's antitrust regulator said Sunday it has decided to impose a fine of 286 million won ($239,130) on the country's leading online education service provider Eduwill for misleading advertising. Eduwill ran bus and subway advertisements between November 2018 and August 2021, in which the company claimed to rank first in the number of subscribers who passed exams, according to the Fair Tr...

Two members of South Korean girl group Momoland have tested positive for the coronavirus during their trip in Mexico, their management agency said Sunday. "Hyebin and Nancy tested positive for coronavirus in Mexico," MLD Entertainment said in a statement. The six-member group was visiting Mexico to promote its new digital single, seeking to advance into the Central and South American market. A...

The number of daily COVID-19 cases in Seoul topped the 20,000 mark for the second consecutive day, officials said Sunday, bring the total caseload in the capital city to over half a million. A total of 22,102 virus cases were confirmed on Saturday after 23,193 cases were reported a day earlier. The latest cases, which represent nearly a two-fold jump from a week earlier, brought the accumulated ...

Main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol said Sunday North Korea could undertake provocations, like missile launches, while the United States is distracted by tensions in Ukraine as he called for ensuring watertight security posture with the US "As the US focuses on Europe, among others, North Korea may carry out a strategic provocation like an intercontinental ballistic missile test...

The Seoul city government said Sunday it will launch a 180 billion won ($150 million) project to link parks and other green spaces with "green roads" in an effort to make urban green spaces more accessible. Under the Green Road Project, the city government plans to renovate and create eco-friendly roads spanning a total of 2,000 kilometers by 2026 that connect to the city's forests, parks, and o...

BEIJING -- South Korea's dominance in short track speed skating is hardly new. Despite some early hiccups in Beijing, South Korea still emerged as the leader in the short track medal count with two gold medals and three silver medals. The country also added four medals in speed skating with two silver and two bronze from the oval. But South Korea didn't get medals in sports other than the two s...

BEIJING -- In late December, about a month and a half before the start of Beijing 2022, the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) announced a rather modest medal target: win one or two gold medals and finish around the top 15 in the medal race. That low target did not sit well with South Korean athletes, who voiced confidence they could exceed that number. Some close calls and unexpected chal...