The South Korean stock market ended lower Thursday over the gloomy outlook for inflation and concerns over aggressive monetary tightening. The local currency fell against the US dollar. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 4.77 points, or 0.18 percent, to close at 2,612.45. Trading volume was light at 583.60 million shares worth 8.48 trillion won ($6.69 billion), with decliners ou...

While webtoon-based Korean films and TV series have risen as a tried-and-true source of fresh ideas for creators throughout the world, a growing number of Korean digital comics are making their own presence felt on the global stage. "Navillera: Like a Butterfly," written by Hun and Jimmy and published by Kakao Entertainment, was nominated for the Best Webcomic section at this year's Will Eisner ...

South Korea reported fewer than 20,000 COVID-19 cases Thursday as the rapid spread of the omicron variant is under control. The country added 18,816 new infections, including 34 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 18,036,720, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The daily tally fell to a 17-week low for a Thursday and declined around 33 percent from a wee...

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a 1 1/2-year prison term for Seungri, the disgraced former member of K-pop boy band BIGBANG, on prostitution mediation, overseas gambling and other charges. Upholding a lower court's ruling, the top court found the 32-year-old, whose real name is Lee Seung-hyun, guilty of all nine charges in a far-reaching sex and drug scandal surrounding Burning Sun, a night...

The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled against the peak wage system introduced by a large number of local companies to gradually cut the salaries of senior workers several years before retirement. The top court said the peak wage system is an illegal discrimination against workers on the basis of age, making the first ruling of its kind in a lawsuit filed by a former employee of a local research in...

With the local elections less than a week away, the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) has found itself battering with an internal feud amid concerns the infighting may hinder its chances in the elections. The turmoil began earlier this week when the DP's co-interim chief Park Ji-hyun promised self-reflection and called for a sweeping reform of the party in a press conference aimed at drummin...

President Yoon Suk-yeol on Thursday named his nominees for education and welfare ministers, picking women for both positions following criticism that his Cabinet is male-dominated. Park Soon-ae, a professor of the Graduate School of Public Administration at Seoul National University, was named education minister, while Kim Seung-hee, a former lawmaker, was named welfare minister. Earlier in the...

South Korean stocks open higher Thursday, as the US central bank signaled room for flexibility in aggressive interest rates hike plans. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 16.21 points, or 0.62 percent, to trade at 2,633.43 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, US stocks closed higher after the US Federal Reserve released minutes of its May meeting, which showed support ...

South Korea plans to announce a set of measures to tame inflationary pressure and stabilize people's livelihoods next week amid the prospect that the growth of consumer prices could top 5 percent, a senior government official said Thursday. The country faces the urgency to stabilize prices of food and other items closely linked to people's lives, according to First Vice Finance Minister Bang Ki-...

The number of startups in South Korea dropped 3.4 percent in the first quarter of the year due largely to a one-off factor, government data showed Thursday. A total of 348,732 startup businesses were set up in the January-March period, compared with 360,846 a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and Startups. The ministry attributed ...

North Korea appears to be continuing operations at its main Yongbyon nuclear complex with signs of some facilities even being expanded, a North Korea information provider said, citing recent satellite imagery. The assessment came amid concerns the recalcitrant and unpredictable regime may carry out another nuclear test in the near future. Commercial satellite photos taken from April 27 through M...

North Korea's state media outlets remained silent Thursday about the previous day's launch of three ballistic missiles, including an apparent intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). As of 9 a.m., the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Korean Central Television and Rodong Sinmun, the daily of the country's ruling Workers' Party, had made no mention of the launches, which marke...

The action comedy "The Roundup" has become the most-watched Korean film in the pandemic era, box-office data showed Thursday. The sequel to the 2017 hit comedy "The Outlaws" garnered 342,000 people Wednesday, bringing its combined total to 4.51 million, according to the Korean Film Council. It surpassed the attendance record of the previous No. 1 pandemic-era hit "Deliver Us from Evil," which w...

The defending champions Jeonnam Dragons have been sent home early from the top national football tournament. Busan Transportation Corp., a third-tier semi-pro club playing out of the K3 League, stunned the K League 2's Jeonnam 5-4 in a penalty shootout in their round of 16 match at the FA Cup on Wednesday night. Busan exacted revenge on Jeonnam after falling to the same club on penalties in the...

North Korea reported no new deaths for the third consecutive day and over 105,000 new suspected COVID-19 cases Thursday amid its virus outbreak. More than 105,500 people showed symptoms of fever, but no deaths were reported over a 24-hour period until 6 p.m. the previous day, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, citing data from the state emergency epidemic prevention headquarter...