President Moon Jae-in on Thursday expressed concerns over further disruption of global supply chains, as China's COVID-19 lockdowns sent ripples through the global auto industry. Moon instructed officials to come up with thorough measures to prepare for disruptions of supply chains after being briefed about difficulties facing South Korea's auto-parts industry from lockdowns in some Chinese regions, presidential spokesperson Park Kyung-mee said in a statement. A sharp rise in COVID-19

Politics March 17, 2022

Renault Samsung Motors Corp., the South Korean unit of Renault S.A., said Wednesday it has dropped the Samsung brand from its new company name as the deal with the South Korean conglomerate over the brand's use ends in August. Starting Wednesday, the company will use the new name of Renault Korea Motors while pushing ahead with the procedure to change the corporate name by August, a company spokesman said over the phone. From January to February, its vehicle sales jumped 84 percent to 24,82

Industry March 16, 2022

A spokesperson for President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol said Wednesday there is "zero chance" Yoon will move into Cheong Wa Dae and the transition team will continue to look at alternative sites, including the defense ministry compound in Yongsan. Yoon pledged during the presidential campaign that if elected, he would set up his office in the Seoul government complex in Gwanghwamun and open the Cheong Wa Dae compound to the public. Since his election, the transition team has been scouting alt

Politics March 16, 2022

Even with no light visible at the end of the tunnel that is the COVID-19 pandemic, the South Korean baseball league plans to forge ahead with a full slate of regular season games in 2022. The first step toward that objective will come in the form of a preseason, which starts Saturday for all 10 teams. The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) has scheduled 16 exhibition games per team through March 29. All games are scheduled to begin at 1 p.m., though teams can ask the league to push some games to

Baseball March 10, 2022

The US Forces Korea (USFK) has sent five helicopters to help contain wildfires in eastern coastal areas, the defense ministry said Thursday. Local authorities have been struggling to put out the blazes that began Friday in Uljin, 330 kilometers southeast of Seoul, and spread to other areas. South Korea's military also deployed 1,600 troops and 48 choppers to support firefighters for the seventh day. (Yonhap)

Defense March 10, 2022

Voter turnout for South Korea's presidential election reached 16 percent as of 11 a.m. Wednesday, according to the country's election authorities. Out of the total 44.2 million eligible voters nationwide, 7 million had cast their ballots at 14,464 polling stations, five hours after the start of voting, the National Election Commission (NEC) said. The turnout was lower than 19.4 percent reported at the same time in the previous presidential election in 2017. The provisional tally does n

March 9, 2022

Ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung calls himself a person that is "unbreakable" as he has overcome various obstacles starting with his impoverished childhood, and he wants to prove it again in the March 9 election. Known to be an aggressive public administrator, the former Seongnam mayor and Gyeonggi governor emphasizes that he is the one who can overcome the COVID-19 crisis, drive economic growth with fairness and bring national unity. In the modern Korean vernacular, L

March 6, 2022

WASHINGTON -- The sanctions imposed by the United States and its allies, including South Korea, show how many countries see Russia's invasion of Ukraine as unjust, a US state department spokesperson said Thursday. Jalina Porter, principal deputy spokesperson for the state department, said the United Nations has also voiced its clear opposition against Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "The international community has been very clear and we've been united in our defense of this wa

Foreign Affairs March 4, 2022

North Korea has canceled the annual Pyongyang marathon due to the COVID-19 pandemic for the third consecutive year, a tour agency has said. The event, also known as the Mangyongdae Prize International Marathon, was originally scheduled for April 10 in Pyongyang, but Koryo Tours, a Beijing-based tour agency specializing in North Korea tours, said on its website, "2022's Pyongyang Marathon has officially been cancelled." The agency said the marathon for next year will be held on Apr

North Korea March 3, 2022

Kim Dong-yeon, the presidential candidate of the minor New Wave Party, dropped out of the race Wednesday to support ruling party candidate Lee Jae-myung. Kim, who served as President Moon Jae-in's first finance minister, announced the withdrawal a day after he reached an agreement with Lee of the ruling Democratic Party to have policy coalitions and operation of a joint government. "It was not an easy decision for me," Kim said. "Please understand this was a difficult decisio

Politics March 2, 2022

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, the five-time defending champions in the top South Korean football league, were about a dozen minutes away from becoming the only club to win the first two matches of the 2022 season on Sunday. Daegu FC had other ideas, as they scored in the 79th minute to eke out a 1-1 draw at home in Daegu, some 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul. That was the last game of Matchweek 2 for the 12 teams in the K League 1. And for the first time since 2016, no club has come out of the gate

Soccer Feb. 28, 2022

South Korea's antitrust regulator on Thursday approved Jungheung Group's acquisition of its bigger rival Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co. in a deal worth more than 2.06 trillion won ($1.7 billion). The Fair Trade Commission approved the takeover deal as it won't hamper competition in the construction market, the regulator said in a statement. Jungheung is the 17th largest builder in terms of building capacity, while Daewoo E&C ranks third. In December, Jungheung Civil Enginee

Feb. 24, 2022

The South Korean football club FC Seoul announced Wednesday they have signed forward Cho Young-wook to a two-year contract extension. Cho, 23, made his K League 1 debut with his hometown club in 2018, and the extension will keep him in the nation's capital through 2024. In 107 career matches, Cho has netted 18 goals and five assists. He scored a career-high eight goals in 2021, and became the youngest K League 1 player to reach the 100-game mark. For September 2021, Cho became the youngest-

Soccer Feb. 23, 2022

South Korean stocks rebounded nearly two percent Wednesday, snapping a three-day losing streak, as Ukraine tensions eased. The Korean won increased against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) surged 53.14 points, or 1.99 percent, to close at 2,729.68 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 415 million shares worth some 8.3 trillion won ($6.9 billion), with losers far outnumbering gainers 832 to 64 Foreign and retailer investors sold a net 43.1 billion won

Market Feb. 16, 2022

Lee Yoo-mi might be one of the luckiest actors in the world because she instantly skyrocketed to global fame for her roles in two highly successful Netflix dramas, "Squid Game" and "All of Us Are Dead." In the sensational survival drama "Squid Game," released in September last year, Lee played Ji-yeong, or Player 240, a young woman who competes for the 45.6 billion won ($38.1 million) in the mysterious contest after being released from prison for killing her abusive

Television Feb. 15, 2022