HANGZHOU, China -- South Korea's Lee Joon-hwan grabbed silver in men's judo at the 19th Asian Games in China on Monday, one of three judo medals for the country on Day 2 of the medal race. Lee lost to Somon Makhmadbekov of Tajikistan by waza-ari, or a half point, in the final of the men's -81kg event at Xiaoshan Linpu Gymnasium in Hangzhou on Monday. Makhmadbekov scored his decisive point with Harai-goshi-gaeshi, or a hip sweep counter, at the 2:14 mark. Lee struggled to mount m

More Sports Sept. 25, 2023

Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung will attend an upcoming court hearing on his arrest warrant on corruption charges, his party said Monday. The hearing to be held Tuesday at the Seoul Central District Court will mark his first public appearance since ending a 24-day hunger strike on Saturday. Lee, the chair of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), will be accompanied by his lawyer for the hearing, DP spokesperson Kwon Chil-seung said in a briefing. Lee has been under medical treatment after h

Politics Sept. 25, 2023

Dondeokjeon, a historic Western-style building in Seoul's Deoksu Palace used as a royal guesthouse during the Korean Empire (1897-1910), will open to the public Tuesday after being reconstructed in its original shape, the Cultural Heritage Administration said. The reconstruction was part of the agency's broader plan to restore the original states of royal palaces, which were damaged during the 1910-45 Japanese colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. The two-story building, known to have

Culture Sept. 25, 2023

More than half of South Koreans are of the opinion that the nation's alliance with the United States should continue to be strengthened, a poll showed Monday. In the poll of 1,238 people aged 18 and older conducted by Gallup Korea from Sept. 4-8, 91.6 percent said the bilateral alliance is important and the majority, 53.7 percent, responded that it should be continuously strengthened. Another 24.9 percent said the alliance should be continuously maintained, whereas only 18.1 percent said it

Foreign Affairs Sept. 25, 2023

South Korea and the United States kicked off a combined naval exercise in the East Sea on Monday to reinforce readiness against growing military threats from North Korea, the Navy said. The three-day exercise involved nine vessels and two patrol aircraft from the two sides, including two South Korean submarines, the ROKS Yulgok Yi I destroyer, the USS Shoup Aegis-equipped destroyer and the USS Robert Smalls cruiser, the Navy said. The Navy said the anti-submarine warfare and live-fire drills wer

Defense Sept. 25, 2023

US wireless chipmaker Broadcom Inc. said Monday it plans to seek an appeal against the South Korean regulator's decision to slap a 19.1 billion-won ($14.3 million) fine for its unfair business practices against Samsung Electronics Co. In a statement, Broadcom said it was "disappointed" over the Fair Trade Commission's decision, noting it plans to appeal the case to the Seoul High Court. The punishment of Broadcom came after the US firm forced Samsung to sign a long-term agree

Industry Sept. 25, 2023

South Korea's major companies performed far worse than their US counterparts in the first half of 2023 due to the sluggish chip and energy sectors amid a global economic slowdown, a report showed Monday. South Korea's top 100 nonfinancial firms listed on the main local bourse saw their combined sales edge up 0.3 percent on-year to $746.3 billion in the January-June period, according to the report by the Federation of Korean Industries. In contrast, the combined top line of the 100 lead

Economy Sept. 25, 2023

The founder and former chief producer of SM Entertainment, Lee Soo-man, is stepping up his environmental, social and governance activities with a tree-planting project in Los Angeles. Lee will participate in the tree-planting event at Seoul International Park on Thursday, according to music industry sources. He will plant street trees together with the Koreatown Youth & Community Center, a nonprofit organization composed of Korean residents in the local community, during the event to promote

Industry Sept. 25, 2023

South Korean stocks opened lower Monday on concerns about the Federal Reserve's aggressive monetary tightening for a longer-than-expected period. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 9.31 points, or 0.37 percent, to 2,498.82 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The US central bank last week signaled it could hike interest rates again this year while keeping the rates unchanged. On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.31 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite

Market Sept. 25, 2023

HANGZHOU, China (Yonhap) -- South Korean taekwondo practitioner Kang Wan-jin, who had the honor of winning the country's first gold of the 19th Asian Games in China on Sunday, drew his inspiration from an unlikely source. Kang, crowned the champion of the men's individual poomsae event in Hangzhou, watched in awe as Argentine football hero Lionel Messi carried his country to the FIFA World Cup title last December. It was the first career World Cup title for Messi in what could have bee

More Sports Sept. 24, 2023

South Korean companies have asked the United States to clarify from which foreign companies they are not required to import critical electric vehicle battery minerals under the US Inflation Reduction Act, industry sources said Sunday. Senior executives of South Korean battery and material companies made the request to US Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves during a closed-door meeting in Seoul on Friday. The executives who attended the meeting were from South Korea's three leading car b

Economy Sept. 24, 2023

South Korean modern pentathlete Kim Sun-woo won silver for the country's first medal at the 19th Asian Games on Sunday. Kim scored 1,386 points in total to take home the silver medal in the final of the women's individual modern pentathlon at Fuyang Yinhu Sports Centre in Hangzhou at the ongoing summer Asian Games. She finished 20 points behind Chinese Zhang Mingyu, while China's Bian Yufei took bronze with 1,374 points. Kim's silver was her third consecutive Asian Games medal, following her tea

More Sports Sept. 24, 2023

As the only high school pitcher on the South Korean Asian Games baseball team, teen prospect Jang Hyun-seok is trying to find his bearings among veterans, with the continental competition fast approaching. The 19-year-old from Masan Yongma High School is the only amateur for South Korea bound for Hangzhou, China. He may be short on experience, but he isn't short on talent, as attested by his recent signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers. And nearly touching 160 kph (99.4 mph) with a fastball

Baseball Sept. 24, 2023

South Korean fencer Gu Bon-gil will take aim at history when he takes the piste for the men's individual sabre event at the Asian Games in China on Monday. Gu is already the only fencer to have won three consecutive Asiad gold medals in an individual discipline. He can push his record further out of reach for others by winning another title at Hangzhou Dianzi University Gymnasium in Hangzhou. For his past two gold medals, Gu took down his South Korean teammates: Kim Jung-hwan in 2014 and Oh

More Sports Sept. 24, 2023

Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, who has been on a hunger strike in protest against what he called a slew of the Yoon government's policy failures, ended his fasting after more than three weeks, a party official said Saturday. "Chairman Lee will end the hunger strike on its 24th day and begin treatment for recovery," Kang Sun-woo, a spokesperson for the main opposition Democratic Party, said in a briefing. "The medical team treating Lee strongly called for Lee to call off the

Politics Sept. 23, 2023