South Korea's new COVID-19 cases fell to the lowest Thursday tally in 13 weeks, in a sign that the country is past the peak of the latest winter COVID-19 wave. The country reported 29,816 new COVID-19 infections, including 63 from overseas, bringing the total to 29,927,958, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. Among the imported cases, 36 cases, or 57.1 percent, were from China....

South Korean senior citizens' poverty rate has been on the mend but is still high among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a report showed Thursday. The relative poverty rate of South Koreans aged 65 and older stood at 37.6 percent in 2021, down 1.3 percentage points from a year earlier, according to the report on sustainable development goals by Statistics Kor...

South Korean stocks got off to a weak start Thursday, as the latest US economic data reignited fears of a recession. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 2.89 points, or 0.12 percent, to 2,365.43 in the first 15 minutes of trading. US retail sales and wholesale prices fell more than expected in December, according to its government data released Wednesday Production at factories...

Police on Thursday raided some offices of the construction unions affiliated with the country's two biggest umbrella labor organizations as part of an investigation into alleged wrongdoing at construction sites. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency sent investigators to five offices belonging to the construction union of the Korean Confederation of Trade Union and three construction union office...

North Korea has convened a two-day parliamentary session in Pyongyang to discuss budgetary and other issues, including legislation against foreign cultural influences, its state media said Thursday. Without its leader in attendance, the North held the 8th session of the 14th Supreme People's Assembly on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. No messages by K...

South Korean stocks closed lower for the second straight day Wednesday, as investors were cautious to make risky bets ahead of the earnings season set to kick off next week. The local currency inched up against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 11.07 points, or 0.47 percent, to 2,368.32. Trading volume was moderate at 528.3 million shares worth 5.43 trillion won...

Na Kyung-won, one of the leading contenders in the ruling party's leadership race, decided not to attend a local party event Wednesday, her aide said, an indication she is contemplating deeply whether to officially declare her leadership bid despite opposition from the presidential office. Na had previously planned to attend a New Year's event that the Daejeon branch of the People Power Party wi...

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases fell to the lowest Wednesday tally in 13 weeks, showing signs the infection trend may be subsiding, as the country prepares to lift the indoor mask mandate. The country reported 36,908 new COVID-19 infections, including 80 from overseas, bringing the total to 29,898,142, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Wednesday's tally is down by so...

Military and police personnel resumed a search Wednesday for a presumed civilian drone thought to have crashed after flying near a US THAAD missile defense unit in a southern county the previous day, officials said. The authorities are conducting the search in areas close to the base in Seongju, 217 kilometers south of Seoul, while police are investigating who sent the drone and for what purpose...

The government will decide when to lift the indoor mask mandate this week, as the country is past the peak of the latest winter COVID-19 wave, Interior Minister Lee Sang-min said Wednesday. "With this winter's COVID-19 wave past its peak, the overall virus situation is stabilizing," Lee said during a government virus response meeting. Taking the virus situation and other external factors into a...

South Korean stocks opened lower Wednesday, as concerns over corporate earnings, set to be released starting next week, weighed on investor sentiment. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 15.37 points, or 0.65 percent, to trade at 2,364.02 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Companies are expected to announce their fourth-quarter earnings results beginning next week, with the ma...

South Korea's military has identified the remains of two more soldiers killed during the 1950-53 Korean War, the defense ministry said Wednesday. The ministry's excavation team identified the remains of Choi Bong-keun and Oh Moon-kyo, recovered in 2001 and 2019, respectively, through DNA analysis based on samples provided by their families. Choi was a private first class, while Oh held a rank eq...

WASHINGTON -- US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will visit South Korea in the near future, a Pentagon spokesperson said Tuesday. Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder added the upcoming trip will reaffirm the US' commitment to working with its Asian ally. "Secretary Austin will travel to the Republic of Korea and the Philippines to meet with senior government and military leaders in both countries as the Uni...

Hyundai Motor Co. on Wednesday launched the all-new Kona subcompact SUV in the domestic market, while planning to introduce its electrified version in the second quarter of this year. Hyundai Motor aims to sell 37,000 units of the new Kona -- the first fully revamped model in five years -- this year. The second-generation Kona comes with a 1.6-liter gasoline turbocharged, a 2.0-liter gasoline o...

South Korea's air traffic rose 16 percent in 2022 from a year earlier on unleashed pent-up demand for travel amid eased COVID-19 virus curbs, the transport ministry said Wednesday. Airlines, domestic and foreign, made a total of 539,788 flights over South Korea last year, up from 465,469 flights a year ago, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a statement. The ministry sai...