Page 3 - South Korea Economy

Big Oppn win in S Korean parl election poses setback to President Yoon

South Korea's liberal opposition parties appeared set to win a landslide victory in Wednesday's parliamentary election, vote counts showed, a result that could make conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol a lame duck for his remaining three years in office. With most of the votes cast counted, the main opposition Democratic Party and its satellite party appear to have won a combined 175 seats in the 300-member National Assembly. Another small liberal opposition party was expected to win 12 seats under a proportional representation system, according to South Korean media tallies. Yoon's ruling People Power Party and its satellite party were projected to have obtained 109 seats. The final official results were expected later Thursday. But the outcome means the liberal opposition forces would extend their control of the parliament, though they will likely fail to garner the super majority of 200 seats that gives them legislative powers to pass bills vetoed by a president and even impeach

S Korea elections: Voters to decide President Yoon Suk Yeol's fate

The record-high turnout for early voting has garnered the attention to whether the final turnout would exceed 70%

S Korea launches 2nd military spy satellite as tensions with N Korea rise

South Korea has launched its second military spy satellite into space, days after North Korea reaffirmed its plan to launch multiple reconnaissance satellites this year. The Koreas each launched their first spy satellites last year North Korea in November and South Korea in December amid heightened animosities. They said their satellites would boost their abilities to monitor each other and enhance their own missile attack capabilities. South Korea's second spy satellite was launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sunday evening local time, which was Monday morning in Seoul. South Korea's Defense Ministry said in a statement that the satellite was successfully separated from a rocket. It said it will check whether the satellite functions properly via its communications with an overseas ground station. Under a contract with SpaceX, South Korea was to launch five spy satellites by 2025. South Korea's first spy satellite launch on Dec. 1 was made from California's ...

North Korea fires intermediate range missile into S Korea's eastern waters

North Korea on Tuesday test-fired a suspected intermediate-range ballistic missile toward waters off its eastern coast, South Korea's military said, adding to a series of weapons demonstrations that have raised tensions in the region. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missile was launched from an area near the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, but it did not immediately confirm how far the weapon flew. The North had said last month that it tested a solid-fuel engine for its new-type intermediate-range hypersonic missile as it tries to expand its arsenal of weapons aimed at remote US targets in the Pacific, including the military hub of Guam. It was the North's first known launch event since March 18, when North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised a live-fire drill of artillery systems designed to target South Korea's capital. Japan's coast guard shared an assessment of the country's Defense Ministry that the missile has already landed but still urged caution for vessels .

South Korea's production of semiconductors rises by most in 14 years

The memory-chip market that underpins South Korea's semiconductor industry is notorious for its boom-and-bust cycle

Why is South Korea hosting a 'Summit for Democracy', all you need to know

This year's summit agenda focused on digital threats to democracy, including misinformation, artificial intelligence, and deep fakes

South Korea deploys military, public doctors to strike-hit hospitals today

Twenty military surgeons along with 138 public health doctors will be assigned to 20 hospitals for four weeks, Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong said at a meeting on Sunday

N Korea responds to S Korea-US military training with artillery firing

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised artillery firing drills aimed at boosting combat readiness, state media reported Friday, days after his country vowed to take corresponding military steps against the ongoing South Korean-U.S military trainin g that it regards as an invasion rehearsal. Thursday's drills involved frontline artillery units, whose weapons place Seoul, the South Korean capital, in their striking range, the North's official Korean Central News Agency said. Kim said artillery units must take the initiative with merciless and rapid strikes at the moment of their entry into an actual war, KCNA said. North Korea's forward-deployed long-range artillery guns pose a serious security threat to Seoul, a city with 10 million people which is about 40 to 50 kilometers (25 to 30 miles) from the border with North Korea. North Korea's Defense Ministry said Tuesday it would conduct unspecified responsible military activities in response to the annual South Korea-U.S. military

South Korea regulator likely to sanction Meta over online marketplace

The Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) had investigated possible violations of the country's e-commerce law and had sent an examination report to Meta late last year, reports say

South Korea's fertility rate, which is world's lowest, drops to fresh low

The total number of births in South Korea stood at 230,000 in 2023, a 7.7 per cent decrease and another new low for the country, which has a population of about 50 million people

S Korea sets Feb 29 as deadline for its young doctors to return to work

South Korea's government gave striking young doctors four days to report back to work, saying on Monday that they won't be punished if they return by the deadline but will face indictments and suspensions of medical licenses if they don't. About 9,000 medical interns and residents have stayed off the job since early last week to protest a government plan to increase medical school admissions by about 65 per cent. The walkouts have severely hurt the operations of their hospitals, with numerous cancellations of surgeries and other treatments. Government officials say adding more doctors is necessary to deal with South Korea's rapidly aging population. The country's current doctor-to-patient ratio is among the lowest in the developed world. The strikers say universities can't handle so many new students and argue the plan would not resolve a chronic shortage of doctors in some key but low-paying areas like pediatrics and emergency departments. Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo said ..

No desire for talks, will destroy S Korea if provoked: Kim Jong Un

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un restated he has no desire for diplomacy with South Korea and that the North would annihilate its rival if provoked, state media said Friday, in the latest of his belligerent statements that are raising tensions in the region. During a visit to North Korea's Defence Ministry on Thursday, Kim said his recent moves to cut ties with South Korea allow his military to take on a more aggressive posture by securing lawfulness to strike and destroy (the South) whenever triggered." Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have increased in recent months, with Kim elevating his weapons demonstrations and threats and the United States, South Korea and Japan strengthening their combined military exercises in response. While most South Korean officials and experts have downplayed the possibility that Kim has real intent to engage in a war, concerns about a direct military provocation have grown as the North may try to ramp up pressure in an election year in South Korea and

North Korea scraps all economic cooperation with South Korea: Report

The project was suspended in 2008 after a South Korean tourist who strayed into a restricted zone was shot and killed by North Korean guards

Number of N Korean defectors to S Korea tripled in 2023, says Seoul

The number of North Korean defectors entering South Korea nearly tripled in 2023 compared to the previous two years, including a higher number of youth and elite, CNN reported

S Korean Oppn leader released from hospital a week after being stabbed

South Korea's main opposition leader expressed hopes for an end of politics of hatred, as he left a hospital Wednesday about a week after he was stabbed in the neck by a knife-wielding man who approached while asking for his autograph. The suspect's motive isn't known, but he told police that he attempted to kill Lee Jae-myung, leader of the liberal Democratic Party. The shocking assault came as political strife was deepening in South Korea ahead of its parliamentary elections in April. Our respected and dear citizens, I feel sorry for causing concerns for you and I'd like to say thank you. Our people saved me, Lee said in front of Seoul National University Hospital, as his supporters shouted his name. Lee said he hopes the attack will serve as a chance to end politics of hatred and politics of confrontation and return to politics of mutual respect and co-existence. The attack, which happened during his visit to the southeastern city of Busan on Jan. 2, left Lee, 59, bleeding and .

S Korean Oppn leader recovering well from surgery after stabbing attack

South Korea's main opposition leader is recovering well from surgery after being stabbed in the neck earlier this week, his doctor said Thursday, as police seek a formal arrest warrant to extend the suspect's custody. Lee Jae-myung, head of the liberal Democratic Party, South Korea's biggest political party, was stabbed by a knife-wielding man who approached him asking for his autograph at an event in the southeastern city of Busan on Tuesday. The man was immediately detained by police. The assault left Lee, 59, bleeding and slumped on the ground. After emergency treatment, he was flown to a Seoul hospital for an operation that lasted about 100 minutes. After the surgery, Lee was placed an an intensive care unit at Seoul National University Hospital and then transferred to an ordinary ward on Wednesday evening, according to party officials. In his first briefing since the surgery, Min Seung-kee, a vascular surgeon at the hospital who performed the operation, said Thursday that Lee i

In threatening shift, North Korea moves to redefine relations with South

Since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a stalemate, both nations have had policies that treat each other differently than other countries

S Korea orders Japanese cos to compensate wartime workers for forced labour

South Korea's top court ordered two Japanese companies to financially compensate more of their wartime Korean workers for forced labor, as it sided Thursday with its contentious 2018 verdicts that caused a huge setback in relations between the two countries. But observers say Thursday's ruling won't likely hurt bilateral ties much since Seoul and Tokyo, now governed by different leaders, are pushing hard to bolster their partnerships in the face of shared challenges like North Korea's evolving nuclear threats and China's increasing assertiveness. The Supreme Court ruled that Mitsubishi Heavy Industries must provide between 100 million and 150 million won ($76,700 and $115,000) in compensation to each of four plaintiffs bereaved families of its former employees who were forced to work for the company during Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. The court also said Nippon Steel Corp. must give 100 million won (about $76,700) to each of seven Korean plaintiffs for ...

S Korea, India to strengthen ties to diversify supply chain away from China

South Korea plans on strengthening cooperation with India as Seoul attempts to align with a US-led push to diversify the global supply chain away from China

South Korean President Yoon's approval rating rises to 40.4% after 6 weeks

In the poll of 2,504 adults conducted by Realmeter from February 13-17, the positive assessment of Yoon's performance rose 3.5 percentage points from a week earlier to 40.4 per cent