The number of new daily COVID-19 cases in South Korea declined for the second straight day Friday, but infections stayed above 100,000 for a fourth day amid a fast-spreading omicron variant of the virus. The country added 128,714 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the total caseload to 21,111,840, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Of the new cases, 464 were from oversea...

South Korean stocks opened marginally higher Friday amid persistent woes over the US Federal Reserve's monetary tightening. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 3.85 points, or 0.15 percent, to 2,527.63 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The index started 0.16 percent lower at the opening bell. Investors digested the softer-than-expected US consumer prices for July, released Wed...

South Korea's import prices fell for the first time in three months in July as global oil prices declined amid concerns about a global recession, central bank data showed Friday. The import price index inched down 0.9 percent in July from a month earlier, compared with a 0.5 percent on-month rise in June, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). This marked the first on-m...

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Friday instructed the government to swiftly take steps to designate areas that were hit by heavy rains early this week as a special disaster zone. If designated, the rain-hit areas will be eligible for the government's financial support in recovery work, relief funds for victims and other benefits. "The government will make its utmost efforts to stabilize the live...

WASHINGTON -- The United States is preparing for all contingencies amid signs of a potential North Korean nuclear test but is concerned by Pyongyang's "strengthened rhetoric" around its nuclear program, a state department spokesperson said Thursday. Vedant Patel, principal deputy spokesperson for the department, said Pyongyang is continuing to prepare for what will be its seventh nuclear test. ...

The foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and other major powers reaffirmed their commitment to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and support for diplomacy toward the goal during a regional security forum, a statement showed Thursday. The chair's statement was released five days after the annual ASEAN Regional Forum held in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh...

South Korean stocks jumped 1.73 percent Thursday, taking a cue from an overnight Wall Street rally after softer-than-expected US inflation data helped ease worries about a drastic rate hike by the Federal Reserve, analysts said. The local currency gained ground against the US dollar. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) advanced 42.90 points to 2,523.78. Trading volume was moderate at 4...

Foreign investors became net buyers of South Korean stocks for the first time in six months in July on expectations that the Federal Reserve may slow the pace of monetary tightening, central bank data showed Thursday. Foreigners' stock investment funds recorded a net inflow of $160 million in July, a turnaround from a net outflow of $3.01 billion the previous month, according to the data from th...

South Korea's money supply grew for the third straight month in June on increased deposits amid rising interest rates, central bank data showed Thursday. The country's M2, a key gauge of the money supply, stood at 3,709.3 trillion won ($2.85 trillion) on average in June, up 12 trillion won, or 0.3 percent, from the previous month, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). ...

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo held a meeting with relevant authorities to review how the recovery from this week's heavy rain damage has progressed, Han's office said Thursday. Two days of the heaviest rainfall in 80 years battered Seoul and its surrounding areas, killing 11 people, with eight people still remained missing. About 1,000 pieces of heavy equipment have been mobilized for recovery wo...

Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Co., South Korea's No. 1 non-life insurer, said Thursday its second-quarter earnings rose 9 percent from a year ago thanks to a decreased loss rate. Net income came to 340.8 billion won ($261 million) in the April-June period, compared with 312.6 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. Operating income expanded 8.4 percent on-year to ...

South Korea's unification ministry on Thursday voiced strong regret over North Korea's claim that its COVID-19 outbreak had originated from the South and its threats of an unspecified retaliatory step. Earlier in the day, Pyongyang's state media reported that leader Kim Jong-un held a national meeting the previous day and declared victory in the campaign against COVID-19. During the session, hi...

GS Retail Co. said Thursday it will close all of its lalavla shops, 17 years after it entered the health and beauty (H&B) store market, due to slumping sales amid the coronavirus pandemic and fierce competition. GS Retail will stop operating its lalavla online shops in September and close down all offline stores of the brand by the end of November, the company said. "GS Retail decided to end ou...

In the midst of their second-half surge, the NC Dinos announced Thursday they've acquired new American pitcher Matt Dermody. Dermody will make $220,000 for the rest of the ongoing Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) season, including a $40,000 signing bonus. Dermody, with 30 big league games to his credit, will replace Wes Parsons, who was released last week after posting a 1-2 record with a 3.56...

South Korea's exports of information and communication technology (ICT) products inched down in July from a year earlier due to a slowdown of global demand in smartphone and computer products, government data showed Thursday. Outbound shipments of ICT products came to $19.34 billion last month, slightly down from $19.48 billion a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Sc...