"Hunt," the directorial debut of Lee Jung-jae of "Squid Game," has topped 2 million admissions, box-office data showed Wednesday. The espionage film drew 146,000 people the previous day, bringing its combined total to 2.1 million, according to the data by the Korea Film Council. Released Aug. 10, it took seven days to reach the 2 million level, becoming the fourth most-viewed Korean film in 202...

Any nuclear cooperation between North Korea and Iran is concerning, a state department spokesperson said Tuesday, calling the two countries the "most acute proliferation threats." State Department Press Secretary Ned Price also noted the countries have a history of violating international norms. "We have released information on this. Some of this information has been reportedly publicly as well...

A Seoul court is set to hold a hearing Wednesday to review an injunction filed by the former chairman of the ruling People Power Party (PPP), Lee Jun-seok, against the party's leadership switch. The hearing comes a day after the PPP endorsed members of its emergency leadership committee, completing the leadership transition that removes then suspended party chief Lee Jun-seok from office. Five-t...

Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin was the highest paid among leaders of top conglomerates during the first half of the year, data showed Tuesday. Shin topped the list by receiving 10.28 billion won ($7.84 million) from six Lotte affiliates during the January-June period, up more than 2 billion won from a year ago, securities filings showed. He was followed by LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo wit...

The justice ministry on Tuesday announced four candidates shortlisted for the first prosecutor general of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration. A special ministry committee recommended the four -- Yeo Hwan-seop, head of the Institute of Justice; Kim Hoo-gon, head of the High Prosecutors Offices; Lee Doo-bong, head of the Daejeon High Prosecutors Office; and Lee Won-seok, deputy chief prosecutor of t...

South Korean shipyard Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. said Tuesday its net losses narrowed in the first half from a year earlier, thanks to increased orders. DSME, the world's No. 4 shipbuilder by order backlog, said in a regulatory filing that its net losses for the six months ending in June narrowed to 667.9 billion won ($594.5 million) from 1.24 trillion won a year ago. The comp...

South Korean shares advanced for a third straight session Tuesday amid investors' speculation that central banks in major economies may tone down their monetary tightening after weak economic data from China. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 5.58 points, or 0.22 percent, to close at 2,533.52 points. Trading volume was moder...

SEJONG -- South Korea's antitrust regulator said Tuesday it plans to focus on how to swiftly address damage to victims of unfair business acts, rather than punishing companies, in an effort to overhaul its law enforcement procedures. The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) also said in a policy briefing to President Yoon Suk-yeol that it plans to take stern actions against tech giants' abuse of their ma...

INCHEON -- A university freshman indicted on charges of attempted rape and murder of a female schoolmate is said to have confessed to pushing the victim off a campus building, judicial officials said Tuesday. The 20-year-old student of Inha University in Incheon, west of Seoul, is accused of attempting to rape the victim and causing her to fall to her death from the campus building on July 15. ...

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Tuesday called for a new disaster response system to cope with climate change, as the heaviest rainfall in decades battered Seoul and its surrounding areas last week. "Due to climate change, unprecedented disasters have frequently occurred," Han told a Cabinet meeting, emphasizing the need to come up with a new response system to deal with natural disasters caused ...

South Korean online lender K-Bank said Tuesday it posted the strongest performance for any first half on increased interest revenue. K-Bank's first-half net income stood at 45.7 billion won ($34.9 million), far beyond the 22.5 billion-won annual net profit of last year and marking the highest first-half earnings since its launch in 2017, the bank's data showed. The online lender attributed the ...

The SSG Landers, fresh off yet another productive week, are in the midst of a potentially historic season in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO). On Saturday, they became the first team to reach the 70-win mark this year by beating the Doosan Bears 8-2. The next day, they edged out the Bears 5-4 in extra innings, thanks to Choi Jeong's go-ahead solo home run in the top of the 10th. With five ...

Lawmakers from South Korea and Japan will visit Washington later this week as part of a US State Department invitation program, where they are expected to discuss various pending issues, including strengthening trilateral cooperation, officials said Tuesday. The South Korean participants are National Assembly Vice Speaker Chung Jin-suk, Reps. Kim Seok-ki and Kim Jung-jae from the ruling People P...

With matches from the three-day weekend in the books in South Korean football, both a team pursuing an elusive title and another trying to avoid relegation next year have some much-needed breathing room. Ulsan Hyundai FC defeated reeling Daegu FC 4-0 on Saturday, with goals by four different foreign players. The list included their recent acquisition from Hungary, Martin Adam, with his first in ...

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases fell below 100,000 for the second consecutive day Tuesday, but the number of seriously ill patients hit about a four-month high amid the continued spread of a highly contagious omicron subvariant. The country added 84,128 new COVID-19 infections, including 463 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 21,502,164, according to the Korea Disease Control a...