South Korea is projected to see stable economic growth in 2022, driven by strong memory chips and electronic devices exports, despite lingering omicron and COVID-19 woes, experts in the US, UK and South Korea said. “We believe that sufficient vaccine supply and South Korea’s capacity to quickly rollout booster jabs will ensure a recovery in private consumption and business investment spending,” ...

The chip, renewable energy and entertainment industries are set to grow next year, auditing firm Samjong KPMG said Monday in its annual industry forecast report for 24 industries. The supply of system chips will improve as production expands while sales of memory chips next year will not be as strong as this year, because of oversupply, the report said, noting that the South Korean government sh...

After just four seasons on the LPGA Tour, South Korean star Ko Jin-young has already accomplished more than what most other golfers would love to achieve in their entire careers. But Ko, 26, isn't yet satisfied. In a Zoom press conference with the South Korean media Monday, Ko said she feels she still has so much room for improvement. If Ko can somehow get better after an outstanding 2021 seas...

South Korea’s Defense Ministry on Monday publicly dismissed a former US Forces Korea commander’s opinion that China’s growing military activities and presence in the region should be a key consideration in updating military operational plans. Boo Seung-chan, the ministry’s spokesperson, elucidated that the South Korean and US defense chiefs agreed on a new Strategic Planning Guidance, “reflectin...

Buoyed by the pandemic, the size of the Korean massage chair market is expected to surpass the 1 trillion won ($842.4 million) threshold this year. As people in their 20s and 30s have begun to care more about their health amid the outbreak, 1 in 10 households are expected to have a massage chair within this year, according to industry data. Bodyfriend, the No. 1 player in Korea, saw its sales an...

South Korean President Moon Jae-in asked Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong and Hyundai Motor Chairman Chung Euisun to “collaborate more closely” on automotive chips during a luncheon at Cheong Wa Dae on Monday. According to Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Park Kyung-me, President Moon congratulated the Hyundai Motor chief for the automaker’s advancement in the European electric vehicle m...

Actor Park Yong-woo will become Oh Young, a top agent at the tax bureau who wants to take it easy and work less. The character undergoes changes after working with Im, a newcomer to the National Tax Service. The project is considered one of the most anticipated works by drama fans with its star-studded cast. Im, Ko and Son made a name for themselves on the drama scene with megahit projects tvN’s...

Coronavirus cluster infections have been on the rise at young children's educational facilities in Seoul, the city government said Monday. The Seoul government said as many as 270 children tested positive for COVID-19 last week as parts of infection clusters traced to daycare centers, kindergartens and other educational facilities. The number of COVID-19 infections traced to an English language...

Civic groups vented outrage Monday over the recent special pardon for ex-President Park Geun-hye imprisoned on corruption charges, arguing that the decision is a blow to the country's democracy. Activists representing 1,001 civic groups, including the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) and the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, staged a press conference in front of Cheong ...

South Korea's state intelligence agency formally raised the alarm Monday about the possibility of counterfeit $50 bills being distributed in the nation, especially before and during the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games. The National Intelligence Service (NIS) made public a photo of a fake bill, similar to a so-called supernote in its highly deceptive characteristics, which it had acquired recen...

SK Square, an information and communication technology arm of SK Group, has added South Korean agricultural startup Green Labs to its range of portfolio companies with a 35 billion won ($29.5 million) investment as a sole investor, it said Monday. The startup operates a smart farming platform called “Farm Morning,” dedicated to optimizing the supply chain of crop harvesting and distribution, as ...

An oral drug for COVID-19 is likely to become available via prescription from late January, following the Food and Drug Ministry’s decision Monday to issue emergency authorization for Paxlovid, Pfizer’s oral pill for COVID-19. The announcement came five days after the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency requested emergency authorization of the drug manufactured by the global drug giant....

South Korea’s ruling party presidential nominee Lee Jae-myung is consolidating forces with heavyweights and bringing together outside forces in the tight race to presidency. Lee's presidential election campaign committee on Monday launched a subcommittee tasked with establishing a national vision and bringing unity. The subcommittee is to be jointly headed by the presidential nominee and Lee Nak...

The employment rate of students with bachelor's, master's or doctorate degrees fell to a record low last year as the COVID-19 pandemic dealt a severe blow to job markets, government statistics showed Monday. Their employment rate stood at 65.1 percent last year, the lowest since the education ministry started compiling such data in 2011, according to its statistics. According to the statistics,...

Ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung asked Tokyo's top envoy to Seoul on Monday to help arrange a meeting between him and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, a campaign official said. The Democratic Party nominee expressed the wish during a meeting with Ambassador Koichi Aiboshi at the party's headquarters, Kim Joon-hyung, a foreign policy adviser for Lee's campaign, told reporte...