South Korean stocks opened sharply lower Friday led by losses from chip and battery shares, bucking overnight gains on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 24.49 points, or 0.97 percent, to fall to 2,510.8 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The US stocks continued their November rally on optimism that the Federal Reserve is set to end its hawkish mode. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1.5 percent, and the S&P 500 gained 0.4 percent. In Seoul, market bellw

Market Dec. 1, 2023

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo will preside over an extraordinary Cabinet meeting this week over proposals requesting President Yoon Suk Yeol exercise his veto power against four contentious bills unilaterally passed by opposition parties earlier this month, his office said Thursday. The meeting, scheduled for Friday, is expected to handle the motions asking Yoon to reject a pro-labor bill, commonly known as the "yellow envelope bill," and three other bills on broadcasting laws. The &

Politics Nov. 30, 2023

A tour program to the truce village of Panmunjom on the inter-Korean border has been suspended again as safety concerns increased due to North Korean soldiers armed with pistols in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, the unification ministry said Thursday. The government partially resumed the tour program on Nov. 22, after it had been halted since mid-July following US Army private Travis King crossing the border into North Korea. But the ministry said it has recently decid

North Korea Nov. 30, 2023

South Korea's Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun met with the US White House Deputy National Security Advisor Mike Pyle on Thursday for talks on lingering uncertainties regarding the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and other trade issues of mutual concerns, Seoul's industry ministry said. Ahn asked the US official to pay close attention to South Korean firms' concerns about the potential impact of the IRA, which provides tax credits of up to $7,500 to buyers of electric vehicles (EVs)

Economy Nov. 30, 2023

Foreign Minister Park Jin on Thursday said South Korea "gave its best" in its campaign to host the 2030 World Expo, after the southeastern city of Busan lost to Saudi Arabia's Riyadh in a vote earlier this week. Park made the remarks responding to reporters at the 5th International Conference on Action with Women and Peace in Seoul amid speculation he could be replaced in an upcoming reshuffle. "The government gave its best," Park said when asked whether he had heard any

Politics Nov. 30, 2023

A US diplomat in charge of public diplomacy will embark on a trip to South Korea, Indonesia and Japan this week to underscore Washington's "deep" commitment to its allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific, the State Department said Wednesday. During her Asia trip from Thursday to next Wednesday, Liz Allen, undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs, will stress the United States' efforts to reinforce and expand regional alliances and partnerships in the re

Foreign Affairs Nov. 30, 2023

South Korea's industrial output fell in October on a marked decline in the production of the semiconductor sector, data showed Thursday. Retail sales and facility investment also declined last month, and it was the first time in three months that the three major indicators on industrial activities logged an on-month fall, according to Statistics Korea. Industrial production dropped 1.6 percent on-month in October following two months of gains. It was the sharpest decline since April 2020, w

Economy Nov. 30, 2023

South Korean stocks started lower Thursday, as investors are waiting for the central bank's key rate decision later in the day. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 7.98 points, or 0.32 percent, to 2,511.83 in the first 15 minutes of trading. In a rate-setting meeting, the Bank of Korea is widely expected to keep the rate unchanged at 3.5 percent. Major shares went south, with market bellwether Samsung Electronics falling 0.28 percent and LG Energy Solution, the second-bigge

Market Nov. 30, 2023

North Korea said Thursday the country's military spy satellite has taken photos of US military facilities in San Diego and Japan, as well as the Suez Canal in Egypt. Leader Kim Jong-un viewed the satellite photos taken Wednesday when he received an operations report from the Pyongyang General Control Center of the National Aerospace Technology Administration, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. The satellite took pictures of the San Diego Naval Base in California at 2:24 a

North Korea Nov. 30, 2023

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development revised up the outlook for South Korea's economic growth next year to 2.3 percent on a recovery in exports and eased geopolitical tensions, Seoul's finance ministry said Wednesday. The figure marked a 0.2 percentage-point increase from its projection of 2.1 percent made in September, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The latest outlook is rosier than those by the International Monetary Fund and the Bank of Korea,

Economy Nov. 29, 2023

South Korean stocks finished slightly lower Wednesday as investors remained cautious ahead of the central bank's rate-setting meeting this week. The local currency gained ground against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index declined 1.95 points, or 0.08 percent, to close at 2,519.81. Trading volume was moderate at 571.6 million shares worth 9.27 trillion won ($7.19 billion), with losers beating winners 598 to 272. Institutions sold a net 140.9 billion won worth of l

Market Nov. 29, 2023

A cargo ship believed to be Chinese submerged in waters off South Korea's southwestern coast Wednesday, the Coast Guard said. The Mokpo Coast Guard said it received a report at around 7:28 a.m. that the 200-ton ship was sinking in waters off Gageo Island, 422 km southwest of Seoul. However, it later said the ship submerged at a 45-degree starboard angle. The Coast Guard is investigating whether there were any attempts at illegal entry into South Korea, citing no crewmen were found on the sh

Social Affairs Nov. 29, 2023

The US Department of Defense said Tuesday that there are "plenty" of images of the White House and the Pentagon already available online, after North Korea claimed its military spy satellite took photos of key US government and military facilities. In a press briefing, Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder, the department's press secretary, also reiterated the United States' "ironclad" defense commitment to South Korea, as Pyongyang started reinstalling guard posts and heavy weapons along

Foreign Affairs Nov. 29, 2023

South Korean stocks opened a tad lower Wednesday ahead of the central bank's rate-setting meeting. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) lost 11.02 points, or 0.44 percent, to 2,510.74 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight on Wall Street, US stocks climbed modestly on a dovish comment by a Federal Reserve official, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average edging up 0.24 percent and the Nasdaq Composite adding 0.29 percent. The Bank of Korea is set to decide on its pol

Market Nov. 29, 2023

The South Korea football governing body announced Tuesday forward Hwang Ui-jo will be banned from the national team until the conclusion of an ongoing police investigation into charges that he'd filmed a sexual encounter with a woman without consent. The Korea Football Association (KFA) reached the decision following a meeting of representatives from its ethics committee and national team technical committee earlier in the day. The KFA held the meeting after being criticized for putting Hwa

Soccer Nov. 28, 2023