Seoul’s Subway Line No. 1 posted the highest concentration of fine dust among all eight lines operated by Seoul Metro this year, data showed Thursday. Subway Line No. 1 recorded an annual average of 74 micrograms per cubic meter of dust particles smaller than 10 micrometers in diameter, or PM10. The reading was higher than last year’s 66.6 micrograms, data from the operator of the eight subway l...

South Korea will inject 4.3 trillion won ($3.6 billion) in subsidies to support owners of small businesses and self-employed people struggling from social distancing rules necessitated by the pandemic, top officials said Friday. The support measures come a day after the government decided to reimpose restrictions due to a surge in infections. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said at a joint governm...

GS Caltex said Friday its drone flew about 1 kilometer over Seoul to successfully deliver heating oil to its destination in a test run. According to the Korean total energy company, the demonstration was performed at the Korea Drone Expo 2021 in Yeouido, western Seoul, Thursday. The drone, which took off from a GS Caltex gas station, flew across the sky and landed at a nearby park 1 kilometer aw...

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won’s younger brother Chey Jae-won will take the post as the co-CEO of SK On, the group’s electric vehicle battery unit. According to SK on Friday, it held a board of directors meeting and appointed the junior Chey as the co-CEO. Chey Jae-won will lead SK On together with current CEO Jee Dong-seob. This is a return to management for Chey eight years after he stepped d...

CHENGDU, China , Dec. 17, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- With the aim of creating a better living environment for residents, the government of Wenjiang is attaching great importance to the construction of a greenway, to upgrading its river ecological system and strengthening cultural protection centered on Confucius Temple. The snow mountain view is among the charms of Wenjiang district of Chengdu, ca...

A noncommissioned Air Force officer was sentenced to nine years of imprisonment Friday for sexually abusing a female colleague who later took her own life, according to a military court. The master sergeant, surnamed Jang, was accused of groping the victim of the same rank inside a car in March. He also blackmailed her not to report the case to the authorities while sending threatening text mess...

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Friday the government has mobilized all possible resources to provide additional financial support to small businesses that will be affected by the new virus curbs. Kim spoke at a joint press briefing with economy-related ministers on the government's plan to pay 1 million won ($844) each to 3.2 million small business owners following its announcement of stricter...

North Korea's state media called for "absolute trust" in leader Kim Jong-un, as the country marked 10 years since the death of former leader Kim Jong-il on Friday. Kim died on Dec. 17, 2011, after having ruled the reclusive regime since the death of his father and national founder, Kim Il-sung, in 1994. Kim Jong-un, the third son of the late leader, took over the helm of the North in another her...

South Korea's domestic demand is feared to lose steam amid the latest upsurge in COVID-19 cases and tighter antivirus measures, the finance ministry said Friday. Amid global inflation risks and supply chain disruptions, Asia's fourth-largest economy faces persisting uncertainty due to the spread of the omicron variant and major economies' move to accelerate monetary policy shifts, the ministry s...

South Korea is considering sending COVID-19 vaccines for booster shots to its troops abroad, officials said Friday, amid concerns over breakthrough infections and the omicron variant. It initially sought the local supply of additional vaccines needed for booster jabs. But it has begun consultations with the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on the direct provision of vaccines, as they ...

David Ellis, a former British deputy head of mission in Tokyo, has been appointed as the country's new ambassador to North Korea, London's foreign ministry has said. Effective immediately, Ellis will temporarily work from London to replace Colin Crooks who will serve as the new ambassador to South Korea starting next year. "I am delighted to have been appointed British Ambassador to the Democra...

South Korea's new coronavirus cases stayed above 7,400 for the third consecutive day Friday, with the country set to restore tight social distancing and other virus curbs to contain the fast spread of the virus. The country added 7,435 more COVID-19 cases, including 7,400 local infections, bringing the cumulative total to 551,551, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Fri...

South Korea's overseas direct investment rose at the fastest pace in nearly five years in the third quarter amid the global economic recovery, data showed Friday. South Korean companies' overseas investments came to $17.01 billion in the July-September period, up 58.2 percent from the previous year, according to the data by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. It marked the fastest on-year gain...

Senior diplomats of South Korea and the United States are set to hold annual economic talks in Seoul on Friday to discuss bilateral cooperation on global supply chains, energy, infrastructure and technology, Seoul officials said. Second Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-moon and Jose Fernandez, US undersecretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment, will lead the sixth Senior E...

The average life expectancy of South Korean babies born last year reached 83.5 years, more than seven years longer than two decades ago, data showed, amid improved public awareness about health and a better medical system. The average life expectancy at birth in 2020 was 2.4 months longer than a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. Compared with 10 and 20 years a...