South Korea's daily coronavirus cases hit a record high of 8,571 on Tuesday, driven by the fast spread of the new dominant omicron variant, as the country is set to put in force revised virus curbs to rein in the highly transmissible variant. Tuesday's cases, including 8,356 local infections, took the total caseload to 749,979, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. It marks the first time the daily caseload has surpassed the 8,000 mark since the country reported the firs

Presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party on Monday stressed the need to adopt strict measures to push North Korea’s denuclearization, and vowed to strengthen national defense, saying it is the key to prosperity and peace on the Korean Peninsula. Announcing his 20 election pledges on diplomacy and defense policies -- four on North Korea, 11 on diplomacy and five on national defense -- Yoon vowed to normalize inter-Korean relations and strengthen Sout

Corporate direct financing by firms in South Korea jumped 19 percent on-year in 2021 driven by multiple massive initial public offerings (IPOs), data showed Tuesday. Local companies raised a combined 231.48 trillion won ($194 billion) by selling stocks and bonds last year, up 37 trillion won from the previous year, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. Direct financing refers to raising funds directly from the stock and bond markets without borrowing from banks and othe