Questions have been raised over the crisis response capacity of Mercedes-Benz Korea Ltd., as the company remained largely silent for over a week on an electric vehicle fire scare that started from one of its vehicles. Public concerns over EV safety mounted in the country after a spontaneous fire that began in a parked Mercedes-Benz EV ended up obliterating an entire parking garage inside an apartment complex in Incheon, 27 kilometers west of Seoul, either completely destroying or damaging over 1

Industry Aug. 9, 2024

The main opposition Democratic Party vowed Friday to reveal the truth behind the recent death of a senior official of the state anti-corruption agency, saying government pressure led to his death. Until recently, the official of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission had served as acting chief of the agency's anti-corruption bureau and oversaw inquiries into politically sensitive cases, including first lady Kim Keon Hee's acceptance of a luxury handbag and opposition leader Le

Politics Aug. 9, 2024

North Korea has unilaterally applied to list taekwondo, a traditional Korean martial art, as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, the UNESCO website showed Friday. The North submitted an application to the UNESCO headquarters in March to include taekwondo on the ICH list, according to the UNESCO website. UNESCO's Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage is expected to decide on the application in 2026, after assessing taekwondo's qualificat

North Korea Aug. 9, 2024

President Yoon Suk Yeol visited the headquarters of the armed forces in the central city of Gyeryong on Friday to inspect security posture and examine preparations for upcoming joint military drills between South Korea and the United States, his office said. Yoon's visit to the Gyeryongdae military headquarters, about 160 kilometers south of Seoul, came on the last day of his five-day summer vacation. During the visit, Yoon met with the top commanders of the Army, Air Force and Navy at a wa

Politics Aug. 9, 2024

The chief of Qoo10, the Singapore-based parent firm of TMON and WeMakePrice, said Friday it has begun a process to merge the two e-commerce platforms to help resolve the liquidity crisis facing the companies. On Thursday, Qoo10 applied for the establishment of a new business entity named K-Commerce Center for World with an initial capital of 1 billion won ($730,000) to proceed with the merger plan, the company said in a statement. The merger between TMON and WeMakePrice requires approval from th

Industry Aug. 9, 2024

South Korean stocks finished more than 1 percent higher Friday as investor sentiment was boosted by better-than-expected recent US jobless data, soothing recent recession fears that had rocked global financial markets. The local currency gained against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 31.7 points, or 1.24 percent, to close at 2,588.43. Trade volume was moderate at 464.3 million shares worth 9.5 trillion won ($6.96 billion), with gainers largely outnumbering de

Market Aug. 9, 2024

The number of patients hospitalized for COVID-19 has grown sharply in South Korea recently amid a virus resurgence in summertime nationwide, health authorities said Friday. The number of people admitted to 220 hospitals nationwide for COVID-19 came to 861 in the first week of August, the highest level since early February, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. The figure has grown rapidly from 148 in the second week of July to 226 in the third week and 475 the following w

Social Affairs Aug. 9, 2024

An undocumented immigrant from Kazakhstan fled from an immigration office in Suwon while in handcuffs, police said Friday. The Kazakh national in his 20s pushed away immigration officers and ran away right after he was escorted out of a car upon arrival at the Suwon Immigration Office at 8:40 p.m. Thursday, according to police. Immigration officials had earlier taken over his custody from the Suwon District Prosecutors Office after he was apprehended by police for failing to pay fines. Police ar

Social Affairs Aug. 9, 2024

South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Friday tracking overnight gains on Wall Street on eased recession woes. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 36.85 points, or 1.44 percent, to 2,593.58 in the first 15 minutes of trading. In the United States, stock indices finished higher as better-than-expected unemployment data buoyed investor sentiment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.76 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.87 percent. In Seoul, most share

Market Aug. 9, 2024

PARIS -- Kim Yu-jin, the latest Olympic taekwondo champion from South Korea, took a far more circuitous road to Paris than her teammates and many others who fancy themselves as medal contenders. Of the four South Korean taekwondo practitioners in Paris, Kim, who won the women's -57-kilogram gold medal on Thursday, had the lowest world ranking position at No. 24. Her three teammates, Park Tae-joon in the men's -58kg, Seo Geon-woo in the men's -80kg, and Lee Da-bin in the women�

More Sports Aug. 9, 2024

Woo Ha-ram ended up well off the podium in the men's 3-meter springboard diving event at the Paris Olympics on Thursday. Woo scored 374.15 points to finish in 11th place among the 12 finalists at the Aquatics Centre in Saint-Denis, north of Paris. This was Woo's second straight appearance in the 3m springboard final. He had finished fourth in Tokyo in 2021, the best Olympic performance by a South Korean diver, but did not come close to topping that Thursday. He was in 11th place afte

More Sports Aug. 8, 2024

The reigning bronze medalist Jun Woong-tae ranked fourth after the opening fencing event of the modern pentathlon at the Paris Olympics on Thursday. Jeon went 22-13 in his 35 fencing matches in the men's ranking round and earned 235 points to rank fourth out of 36 athletes. A win-loss record of 25-10 is worth 250 points. Athletes earn five points for each additional victory and lose five points for each additional defeat beyond the 10th. Jun won bronze at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics to become

More Sports Aug. 8, 2024

The 2016 Olympic women's golf champion Park In-bee has missed out on an election for membership on the Athletes' Commission of the International Olympic Committee, failing to earn enough support from fellow Olympians to join two other South Koreans at the top Olympic body. The IOC announced voting results for the Athletes' Commission on Thursday in Paris, and Park was not among the four newly elected members. Members on the Athletes' Commission have an eight-year term, and

More Sports Aug. 8, 2024

Kim Su-ji just missed out on the final of the women's 3-meter springboard diving at the Paris Olympics on Thursday. Kim finished 13th among 18 divers in the semifinal with 272.75 points at the Aquatics Centre in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, with only the top 12 moving on to the final. Kim finished 6.15 points behind the last qualifier, Yasmin Harper of Britain. Kim will be the first reserve in case a finalist cannot compete Friday. Kim ranked seventh after her first dive with 58.50 points

More Sports Aug. 8, 2024

Sport climbing medal hopeful Seo Chae-hyun qualified for the women's combined event final at the Paris Olympics on Thursday, making up enough ground in the lead portion of the competition after struggling in bouldering earlier in the week. Seo tied for fourth in the lead semifinal with 72.1 points at Le Bourget Sport Climbing Venue in Le Bourget, north of Paris. Combined with 44.2 points from the bouldering semifinal Tuesday, Seo finished eighth overall among 20 climbers with 116.3 points

More Sports Aug. 8, 2024