President Yoon Suk Yeol met with a group of religious leaders Tuesday to thank them for their efforts to promote social unity and seek advice on state affairs, his office said. The meeting was held over lunch at the former presidential compound of Cheong Wa Dae, with the attendance of nine faith leaders: respective representatives of the Jogye and Chontae orders of Buddhism, the United Christian...

South Korea and France signed an arrangement on military space cooperation on Tuesday in an effort to pursue "future-oriented" bilateral security cooperation, Seoul's defense ministry said. Choi Byung-ok, director general at the defense policy bureau of Seoul's defense ministry, and French Space Commander Philippe Adam inked the letter of intent on the South Korea-France military space partnersh...

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday signed off on a proposal to dismiss the chief of the broadcasting watchdog accused of involvement in score manipulation against a right-wing cable channel in the process of renewing its broadcasting license in 2020, the presidential office said. Han Sang-hyuk, chairman of the state Korea Communications Commission (KCC), was indicted earlier this month on charge...

South Korean football icon Son Heung-min came home Tuesday after completing a tumultuous Premier League season with Tottenham Hotspur, a campaign that featured a serious injury, multiple coaching changes and a significant personal milestone. Son arrived at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, to great fanfare Tuesday afternoon. Judging by the reception, it would have been difficult to g...

SEOGWIPO, South Korea -- A group of countries endorsing the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) on Tuesday reaffirmed their commitment to interdict the illicit transfer of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and related materials. The agreement was reached at a high-level forum on the 20th anniversary of the PSI on South Korea's southern resort island of Jeju with delegates from 70 PSI-endorsi...

South Korean stocks ended sharply higher Tuesday on a breakthrough in US debt ceiling negotiations. The local currency fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 26.71 points, or 1.04 percent, to close at 2,585.52. Trading volume was moderate at 631.71 million shares worth 10.75 trillion won ($8.11 billion), with winners outpacing losers 454 to 410. Offsh...

Retail sales in South Korea rose 4 percent on-year in April on the back of people's growing outdoor activities and various promotional events by major discount stores, the industry ministry said Tuesday. The combined sales of 25 major offline and online retailers came to 14.08 trillion won ($10.67 billion) last month, compared with 13.54 trillion won a year earlier, according to the data compile...

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Tuesday requested a team of experts to transparently and comprehensively present the outcome of their inspection of Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant. The 21-member team, headed by Nuclear Safety and Security Commission Chairperson Yoo Guk-hee, returned home Friday after completing their six-day trip to Japan that included the on-site inspection of the...

A motion requesting parliamentary consent to potential arrests of two lawmakers over an election bribery scandal was set to be reported to a plenary session of the National Assembly on Tuesday. Prosecutors sought arrest warrants for the two -- Reps. Youn Kwan-suk and Lee Sung-man -- for their alleged involvement in a campaign to distribute "cash envelopes" containing a total of 94 million won ($...

South Korea's finance ministry said Tuesday it has decided to apply tariff-rate quotas on eight major foodstuff imports to ease households' burden amid rising consumer prices. Under the plan passed at the Cabinet meeting, South Korea will lift tariffs on 45,000 tons of pork and 10,000 tons of mackerel starting in early June, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. "This year, the over...

The National Assembly was set to hold a revote Tuesday on the nursing act vetoed by President Yoon Suk Yeol earlier this month amid expectations it is unlikely to win the necessary two-thirds support. Yoon exercised his veto power against the bill railroaded by the main opposition Democratic Party, saying the legislation causes too much tension among medical professionals, such as doctors, nurse...

SK bioscience Co., a pharmaceutical affiliate of South Korea's SK Group, said Tuesday its COVID-19 vaccine SKYCovione has won approval from British authorities. The British Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has approved the Korean vaccine for use as a primary vaccination in those aged 18 and over in the United Kingdom, according to the company. SK bioscience said it is SKYCovi...

South Korea's new coronavirus cases remained below 20,000 for the sixth consecutive day Tuesday as health authorities prepare to ease remaining antivirus curbs later this week. The country reported 13,529 new infections, including 19 imported cases, bringing the total caseload to 31,679,100, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. Tuesday's tally is lower than the 23,671 cases two...

The proportion of female executives at South Korea's major companies came to 7 percent in the first quarter of 2023 following last year's implementation of a related law, a corporate tracker said Tuesday. The number of female executives at 349 out of the country's top 500 firms by sales reached 997 at end-March, accounting for 6.8 percent of the total 14,718, according to the Leaders Index. The...

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday on a breakthrough in US debt ceiling negotiations. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 17.36 points, or 0.68 percent, to 2,576.17 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Over the weekend, US President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy agreed to raise the nation's debt ceiling. Now, the deal would need to get enough bipartisan supp...