2 DP lawmakers to voluntarily leave party over political funding scandal
SEOUL -- Two lawmakers of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) accused of involvement in a political funding scandal said Wednesday they will voluntarily leave the party.
The scandal centers on allegations that campaign officials of Song Young-gil, a former DP leader, distributed cash envelopes to party members prior to the party's national convention in May 2021, during which Song was elected chairman.
Seoul dismisses Tokyo's 'unfair' territorial claim over Dokdo after Japanese protest
SEOUL -- South Korea's foreign ministry has dismissed a protest from Japan over a Seoul lawmaker's recent visit to the country's easternmost islets of Dokdo, a ministry official said Wednesday.
According to Kyodo News on Tuesday, the Japanese foreign ministry lodged the protest to Seoul over the visit by Rep. Jeon Yong-gi of the main opposition Democratic Party to Dokdo on the same day.
POSCO to build US$441 mln nickel refining facility in Indonesia
SEOUL -- POSCO Holdings Inc. said Wednesday it is spending US$441 million to build a nickel refining facility in Indonesia as it pushes to beef up its supply chains of the key secondary battery material.
The factory will be located in the Weda Bay industrial park on the northeastern island of Halmahera and aim to produce nickel matte, an intermediate product for use in making battery-grade nickel, the South Korean steel giant said in a release.
Seoul dismisses Tokyo's 'unfair' territorial claim over Dokdo after Japanese protest
SEOUL -- South Korea's foreign ministry has dismissed a protest from Japan over a Seoul lawmaker's recent visit to the country's easternmost islets of Dokdo, a ministry official said Wednesday.
According to Kyodo News on Tuesday, the Japanese foreign ministry lodged the protest to Seoul over the visit by Rep. Jeon Yong-gi of the main opposition Democratic Party to Dokdo on the same day.
S. Korea, ADB to launch 'K-Hub' to tackle climate change
INCHEON -- South Korea's finance ministry said Wednesday it has clinched an agreement with the Asia Development Bank (ADB) to launch a new organization dedicated to sharing climate-related expertise in the region.
Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho and ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa signed the memorandum of understanding during the 56th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the ADB, which kicked off in Incheon, west of Seoul, earlier this week, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
Seoul shares down 0.7 pct late Wed. morning on tech, chemical losses
SEOUL -- South Korean stocks traded 0.7 percent lower late Wednesday morning, weighed down by the losses in tech and chemical blue-chips.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) dropped 17.23 points to 2,506.66 at around 11:20 a.m.
'Hype Boy' by NewJeans hits 300 mln Spotify streams
SEOUL -- "Hype Boy," a hit song from rookie girl group NewJeans, has become the group's third song to garner 300 million streams on Spotify, the group's agency said Wednesday.
The song had recorded 300,100,390 streams on the world's largest music streaming platform as of Monday, after its release on Aug. 1, ADOR said.
Yoon thinks his 'American Pie' rendition at White House state dinner was quite good
SEOUL -- President Yoon Suk Yeol has revealed that he was taken aback when asked to sing "American Pie" at a state dinner at the White House last week but believes he delivered his rendition quite well.
During his six-day state visit to the United States last week, Yoon attended the dinner hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden, and close to the end of it, Biden asked Yoon to sing the song, one of Yoon's favorites, originally by Don McLean.
Source: Yonhap News Agency