Defense chiefs of South Korea, United States, Japan, the Philippines and Australia discussed multilateral cooperation on the sidelines of an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) defense ministerial meeting in Laos. In their first joint meeting held in Vientiane, the defense chiefs "emphasized their shared commitment to advancing a vision for a free, open, secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific region where international law and sovereignty are respected," according to Seoul'

Politics Nov. 21, 2024

South Korea is banning travel to the entire Kursk region in Russia amid intensifying clashes between Ukrainian forces and Russian-North Korean troops there, the foreign ministry said Thursday. The Level 4 travel ban, the highest of the four-scale travel warning system, will be applied to all areas in Kursk effective from Thursday midnight. Previously, a Level 4 advisory was applied to certain areas within 30 kilometers of the border in five Russian regions bordering Ukraine. However, with this a

Politics Nov. 21, 2024

South Korean stocks fell slightly Thursday to end their three-day winning streak as major shares ended in mixed territory. The local currency fell against the US dollar for the first time in six sessions. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 1.66 points, or 0.07 percent, to close at 2,480.63. The main index had been rising since Monday. Trade volume was moderate at 440.4 million shares worth 8.1 trillion won ($5.8 billion), with decliners beating gainers 477 to 392. Foreigners du

Market Nov. 21, 2024

K-pop girl group BLACKPINK's Rose and global pop star Bruno Mars will give the first live performance of their collaboration single "APT." at this year's MAMA Awards. The two artists will perform on the first day of the two-day awards show to be held at the Kyocera Dome Osaka in Japan, the event's organizer, CJ ENM, said Thursday. It marks the first time that the two will deliver a live performance of the global hit. A prerelease from Rose's upcoming first full-leng

K-pop Nov. 21, 2024

Deuces will be wild in the final of the top national football tournament at the end of November, when two regional rivals in the top-flight K League 1 will clash for supremacy. Ulsan HD FC and Pohang Steelers will square off in the one-and-done final of the Korea Cup tournament at 3 p.m. on Nov. 30 at Seoul World Cup Stadium. Ulsan will go for a domestic double, having clinched the K League 1 title earlier this month with two matches left on the season. It would be their second Korea Cup. Pohang

Soccer Nov. 21, 2024

Samsung Electronics Co. on Thursday unveiled the Samsung Gauss2, the second generation of its generative artificial intelligence model, at an annual tech conference. During a keynote address of the online Samsung Developer Conference Korea 2024, the company highlighted the improved performance, efficiency and various application possibilities of its latest AI model. Samsung Gauss, first introduced last year, is aimed at enhancing the work efficiency of workers by facilitating tasks, such as comp

Industry Nov. 21, 2024

South Korean biopharmaceutical firm Celltrion Inc. said Thursday it will spend around 100 billion won ($71.5 million) to buy back its shares for the fifth time this year in a bid to increase its shareholder value. The buyback of a combined 583,431 shares will begin Friday, according to the company. It will mark the fifth share buyback by Celltrion this year, following such moves in March, April, June and October. The accumulative value of the company's share buyback this year is expected to

Industry Nov. 21, 2024

A local court on Thursday decided against broadcasting live opposition leader Lee Jae-myung's upcoming sentencing hearing for allegedly suborning perjury. The Seoul Central District Court said it decided against broadcasting the sentencing scheduled for next Monday after considering the "legal benefits." Lee of the main opposition Democratic Party is set to be sentenced on charges of suborning a secretary of a former Seongnam mayor to make false court testimony in his favor in a 2

Politics Nov. 21, 2024

Lotte Group, one of South Korea's largest conglomerates, on Thursday refuted concerns of a liquidity crisis, stating its total assets, including deposits, reached 139 trillion won ($99.4 billion) as of last month. The group's assets include 37.5 trillion won worth of shares, real estate valued at 56 trillion won, and disposable deposits of 15.4 trillion won, according to a statement. The clarification came in response to rumors suggesting Lotte may face a liquidity crisis due to challe

Industry Nov. 21, 2024

The South Korean baseball league will hand out its regular-season MVP award and the top rookie prize, among other trophies, in an annual ceremony next week. The Korea Baseball Organization said Thursday that the 2024 KBO Awards ceremony will take place at 2 p.m. Tuesday at Lotte Hotel World in Seoul. Leaders of major hitting and pitching categories will receive trophies, and the league will also recognize top defensive players at each position for the second annual KBO Fielding Award. The ceremo

Baseball Nov. 21, 2024

SK hynix said Thursday it has started mass production of the industry's first triple-level cell-based 321-layer NAND flash memory chips. NAND flash memory is a non-volatile memory storage medium widely used in memory cards, USB drives, solid-state drives (SSDs), and smartphones for general storage and data transfer. It stacks memory cells vertically and is categorized into single-, multi-, triple-, and quadruple-level cells. SK hynix announced that it has become the world's first suppl

Technology Nov. 21, 2024

South Korea's exports increased 5.8 percent on-year in the first 20 days of this month, driven primarily by strong global demand for semiconductors and ships, data showed Thursday. Outbound shipments reached $35.6 billion in the Nov. 1-20 period, compared with $33.8 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Imports shed 1 percent on-year to $34.8 billion during the period, resulting in a trade surplus of $800 million, the data showed. In October,

Industry Nov. 21, 2024

The US House of Representatives passed a bipartisan bill Wednesday to reauthorize and update the 2004 North Korean Human Rights Act aimed at promoting rights and freedom in the reclusive state. The House endorsed the North Korean Human Rights Reauthorization Act in a 335-37 vote, raising hopes of filling the legal void left by the expiry of the reauthorization act in 2022. First adopted in 2004, the North Korean Human Rights Act is periodically updated and reauthorized. The House bill has been s

Foreign Affairs Nov. 21, 2024

South Korea's exports increased 5.8 percent on-year in the first 20 days of November, data showed Thursday. Outbound shipments reached $35.6 billion in the Nov. 1-20 period, compared with $33.8 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Imports shed 1 percent on-year to $34.8 billion during the period, resulting in a trade surplus of $800 million, the data showed. In October, exports rose 4.6 percent on-year to $57.5 billion, the 13th straight mont

Economy Nov. 21, 2024

South Korean actor Song Joong-ki has announced the birth of his second child, a daughter, in Rome. "A beautiful princess was born very healthy," Song wrote on his official fan cafe Wednesday, sharing a black-and-white photo of his newborn daughter's hand. "I will take good care of my family here before returning to the filming set." The 39-year-old actor married former British actress Katy Louise Saunders in January 2023 and welcomed a son in Rome in June of the same yea

Television Nov. 21, 2024