South Korean ended slightly higher Thursday as foreign investors and institutions snapped up shares following a two-day losing streak. The local currency rose against the greenback. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 5.46 points, or 0.23 percent, to close at 2,427.08. Trading volume was moderate at 388.8 million shares worth 7.13 trillion won ($5.44 billion). Losers, however, outnumbered gainers 444 to 432. The Kospi remained in negative terrain in the morning session with mixe

Market Nov. 9, 2023

South Korea's national debt issued inched down to fall below the 1,100 trillion-won ($838.5 billion) level as of end-September on the repayment of government bonds, though the fiscal deficit logged an on-month growth, data showed Thursday. The country's debt as measured in outstanding state bonds came to 1,099 trillion won in September, down 10.4 trillion won from a month earlier, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. From the end of last year, the figure rose by 66.1 trill

Economy Nov. 9, 2023

The agriculture ministry said Thursday it will step up monitoring of food sector prices, as part of the government's efforts to tame inflation. To that end, the ministry said it will appoint personnel to monitor the prices of 28 key food items. "Prices of agricultural and fishery products are showing signs of decreasing since the end of October, but there are still hurdles, including deteriorating weather conditions and the outbreak of an animal disease," Vice Agricultural Ministe

Economy Nov. 9, 2023

With the Korean Series against the LG Twins knotted at one game apiece, the KT Wiz will turn to their American ace Wes Benjamin trying to win their first home game in the best-of-seven set Friday. The Twins will send homegrown right-hander Im Chan-kyu to the hill, as they look to steal a game on the road. The Wiz won the opening game of the series 3-2 on Tuesday at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul. Then on the following day, the Wiz opened up a 4-0 lead after the first inning before the Twins ra

Baseball Nov. 9, 2023

South Korean stocks opened flat Thursday as investors took to the sidelines gauging the Federal Reserve's future rate policy in the wake of the country's short selling ban. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 0.04 point, or 0.00 percent, to 2,421.58 in the first 15 minutes of trading. US stocks closed mixed overnight, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 0.12 percent and the Nasdaq Composite rising 0.08 percent, as investors largely sat on the sidelines while

Market Nov. 9, 2023

South Korea's agricultural ministry said Thursday it has vaccinated 99.5 percent of cattle in the country against lumpy skin disease. The authorities have inoculated more than 4.05 million out of the country's 4.08 million cows so far to protect them against LSD, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The government launched the intensive vaccination campaign last month after reporting its first-ever case of LSD on Oct. 20 under the plan to vaccinate all catt

Social Affairs Nov. 9, 2023

The new US special envoy for North Korean human rights made an overture for dialogue with the recalcitrant regime Wednesday, after Pyongyang accused her of "distorting and slandering" its rights records. Ambassador Julie Turner made the call, underscoring that the North Korean rights records have been "well documented" as highlighted in the 2014 report by the UN Commission of Inquiry on the situation in the reclusive country. "I would welcome the opportunity to have a co

North Korea Nov. 9, 2023

Foreign Minister Park Jin and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken were set to hold talks Thursday on North Korea, alliance, regional and global issues, amid concerns over expanding military cooperation between the North and Russia. The talks come after revelations that the North provided Russia with a large amount of munitions and weapons for use in the war in Ukraine under an arms deal apparently reached at a rare September summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President V

Foreign Affairs Nov. 9, 2023

Unionized workers of Seoul Metro, the operator of Seoul subway lines No. 1-8, will stage a strike starting Thursday in protest of the company's manpower reduction plan, officials said Wednesday. The labor union has threatened to take the collective action after the company announced a plan to reduce its workforce by 2,212, or 13.5 percent, by 2026 to overcome its chronic deficit and normalize management. The labor and management of the company, run by the Seoul city government, have held ro

Politics Nov. 8, 2023

South Korea and the International Atomic Energy Agency held regular high-level policy talks Wednesday and discussed North Korea's nuclear program and other areas of cooperation, the foreign ministry said. Park Yong-min, the deputy foreign minister for multilateral and global affairs, met with Massimo Aparo, deputy director general of the IAEA, in Seoul for their 12th round of the meeting earlier in the day, the ministry said in a release. The two sides discussed joint efforts to strengthen

Politics Nov. 8, 2023

History shows that the team that drops the opening game of the Korean Series, the South Korean baseball championship round, loses the series nearly 75 percent of the time. But there's no panic in the clubhouse for the LG Twins even after their 3-2 loss to the KT Wiz in Game 1 of the best-of-the-seven series Tuesday night, according to manager Youm Kyoung-youb. In his media scrum prior to Game 2 at Jamsil Baseball Stadium on Wednesday, Youm said he told his players to stick to what they&

Soccer Nov. 8, 2023

The top diplomat of the Vatican will visit South Korea later this month for talks on bilateral ties and issues concerning the Korean Peninsula, Seoul's catholic bishops' institution said Wednesday. Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Vatican's secretary for relations with states, is scheduled to make a four-day visit to South Korea starting Nov. 20, according to the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea. During the envisioned trip, he plans to meet with South Korea'

Politics Nov. 8, 2023

South Korean stocks ended lower Wednesday amid lingering woes over the country's ban on short selling. The local currency gained ground against the greenback. After choppy trading, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 22.34 points, or 0.91 percent, to close at 2,421.62. Trading volume was moderate at 461.3 million shares worth 7.54 trillion won ($5.75 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 498 to 378. After opening higher, the Kospi climbed as high as nearly 1 percent in

Market Nov. 8, 2023

BRUSSELS -- This year is "virtually certain" to be the warmest in 125,000 years, European Union scientists said Wednesday, after data showed last month was the world's hottest October in that period. Last month smashed through the previous October temperature record, from 2019, by a massive margin, the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service said. "The record was broken by 0.4 degrees Celsius, which is a huge margin," said C3S Deputy Director Samantha Burgess, who de

World News Nov. 8, 2023

South Korea's industry ministry said Wednesday it plans to inject 78 trillion won ($59.7 billion) by the end of this year in trade financing to keep outbound shipments on the recovery track. South Korea's exports moved up on-year for the first time in 13 months in October, driven by robust automobile shipments, along with signs of improvement in the chip sector. The fund will be raised by state-run institutions, including the Korea Trade Insurance Corp. and Export-Import Bank of Korea,

Economy Nov. 8, 2023