The government's online civil service portal temporarily resumed operations Saturday after experiencing a major outage, officials said, although disruptions to the government's administrative computer network persist. The Saeol administrative network used by public workers went down on Friday morning, followed by a suspension of the online portal, Government 24. The outage caused an unprecedented halt to all services of issuing government certificates and civil documents. On Saturday,

Social Affairs Nov. 18, 2023

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida agreed Friday to work together to cut costs and establish international rules in the hydrogen sector. During a discussion at Stanford University, the two leaders talked about ways their countries can cooperate in the hydrogen sector, given South Korea's wide use of hydrogen cars and Japan's large number of hydrogen-related patents. Both Yoon and Kishida attended the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) s

Foreign Affairs Nov. 18, 2023

South Korean shares closed lower Friday to end their three-day winning streak amid speculation that the Federal Reserve may end its aggressive rate hike campaign on eased inflation woes. The local currency closed unchanged against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 18.33 points, or 0.74 percent, to close at 2,469.85. Trade volume was slim at 382.7 million shares worth 7.9 trillion won ($6.13 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 614 to 269. Foreigners sold a

Market Nov. 17, 2023

South Korea and the United States discussed ways to expand bilateral cooperation in the energy and supply chain sectors this week, the industry ministry said Friday. Industry Minister Bang Moon-kyu and Jose Fernandez, US under secretary of state, hosted the clean energy business roundtable on the margins of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. "The Carbon-Free Energy Initiative of Korea and the US Clean Energ

Economy Nov. 17, 2023

US President Joe Biden expressed worries about North Korea's "illicit" nuclear and missile programs during his summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in California this week, a senior US official said Thursday. National Security Council Senior Director for China and Taiwan Affairs Sarah Beran made the remarks during an online press briefing on the summit that took place at the Filoli estate in Woodside, south of San Francisco, on Wednesday. "He raised concerns regarding the

Foreign Affairs Nov. 17, 2023

The reigning Korean Series champions LG Twins announced Friday they have re-signed first baseman Austin Dean for one more season. The Korea Baseball Organization club said Dean, 30, has agreed to a new contract that could pay him up to $1.3 million. He will earn $800,000 in annual salary and $300,000 in a signing bonus, plus another $200,000 in incentives. The announcement comes four days after Dean helped the Twins win their first Korean Series crown in 29 years. Dean made $700,000 in 2023, his

Baseball Nov. 17, 2023

South Korea and the United States have agreed to strengthen cooperation in the fields of disaster and climate change response during their safety-related ministerial talks in Washington, D.C., the interior ministry here said Friday. The agreement was reached between Interior and Safety Minister Lee Sang-min and US Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas on Thursday, the ministry said. This is the first time that South Korea's interior minister has met with the US homeland security

Politics Nov. 17, 2023

Vice Defense Minister Kim Seon-ho called for strengthening international cooperation against North Korea's nuclear and missile threats at an international security meeting led by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, his ministry said Friday. Kim made the call at the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting-Plus in Jakarta on Thursday, attended by top defense officials from nine ASEAN countries and eight others, including U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, according to the ministry.

North Korea Nov. 17, 2023

South Korea has begun imposing temporary anti-dumping duties of 72.23 percent on white Portland cement imported from Egypt, officials said Friday. The finance ministry began levying the duties on white cement from Egypt on Wednesday to be effective for four months after the Korea Trade Commission under the industry ministry announced its preliminary anti-dumping findings against the imports and recommended the imposition in September. The anti-dumping deposit is meant to prevent potential damage

Economy Nov. 17, 2023

Confirmed cases of lumpy skin disease hit 100 as health authorities expect the cattle disease to peak later this month, officials said Friday. The country has reported 101 confirmed cases nationwide, including three new infections from the previous day, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Last week, South Korea completed the inoculation of all 4.05 million cattle in the country. Authorities, however, anticipate additional infections for the time being, considering t

Social Affairs Nov. 17, 2023

The finance ministry said Friday that the government will look into cases of companies reducing the quantity of their products while freezing prices without consumers' knowledge due to mounting public complaints against such practices amid high inflation. First Vice Finance Minister Kim Byoung-hwan announced the plan during a weekly vice-ministerial meeting on inflation, saying that those "shrinkflation" practices "are far from fair and the government takes the matter very se

Politics Nov. 17, 2023

The remains of 25 Chinese troops killed in the 1950-53 Korean War will be sent to their home country next week, the defense ministry said Friday, marking the tenth repatriation of its kind. A ceremony for the handover of the remains will take place at Incheon International Airport, just west of Seoul, next Thursday, jointly organized by the ministry and China's veterans affairs ministry. South Korea has so far returned 913 sets of remains of Chinese troops killed during the war since the tw

Social Affairs Nov. 17, 2023

South Korean stocks opened lower Friday as investors sat on the sidelines as data cautiously raised speculation that the US economy is cooling. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 17.12 points, or 0.69 percent, to 2,471.06 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.13 percent, while the Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.07 percent. Data showed that the unemployment benefit claims in the world's largest economy have reached the highest l

Market Nov. 17, 2023

South Korea and the United States have entered into an arrangement designed to prioritize the supply of defense-related materials and goods to each other, Seoul's arms procurement agency said Friday, in a move to bolster their security supply chain resiliency. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration and the US Department of Defense signed the Security of Supply Arrangement, allowing the two sides to request from one another priority delivery for orders of defense-related goods. The a

Defense Nov. 17, 2023

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida voiced hope for closer cooperation between their countries as they met on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit on Thursday. The two leaders met at a hotel in San Francisco, marking their seventh summit this year as Seoul and Tokyo have been pushing to mend badly frayed ties following the Yoon administration's decision in March to compensate Korean victims of Japan's wartime forced lab

Politics Nov. 17, 2023