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SsangYong Motor, the debt-laden automaker in court receivership, is selling its Pyeongtaek factory, its only facility for auto assembly.   The company has been making cars there for 42 years.   Both the land and the factory are being unloaded, according to an announcement Sunday by the troubled automaker and the city of Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi. Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/07/11/business/industry/ssangyong-motor/20210711180116792.html

South Korea's main nuclear research institute was reportedly exposed for over 12 days to hacking attacks probably by North Korea, but no important data was leaked, according to a parliamentary intelligence committee member on Thursday.   People Power Party (PPP) lawmaker Ha Tae-keung, a member of the parliamentary intelligence committee, told reporters on Thursday, “A probe is underway after the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute filed a damage report on June 1. It was possibly exposed to North Korea for about 12 days.” Ha said he was given the information in a briefing by the National Intelligence Service (NIS).   The first hacking attempt on the institute reportedly occurred on May 14. Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/07/08/national/northKorea/North-Korea-hacking-nuclear/20210708190700374.html

Samsung Electronics provisionally reported a 12.5 trillion won ($11.0 billion) operating profit in the second quarter, up 53.4 percent on year, on strong demand for computer chips. It is a record for the company for a second quarter and higher than expectations. Analysts forecast second-quarter operating profit at 10.9 trillion won, according to FnGuide. Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/07/07/business/industry/Samsung-Electronics-Q2/20210707113400375.html

Torrential rain in the southern regions led to floods and landslides that killed at least two people Tuesday.   Following some 201.5 millimeters (7.9 inches) of rainfall in Gwangyang, South Jeolla, from Monday to Tuesday morning, a landslide around 6:04 a.m. in a mountainous area of the city tore through two homes and a warehouse, killing an 82-year-old woman, police said.   There were reports earlier Tuesday that the woman was alive, because when the Fire Department called her cellphone, the line appeared to be busy.  Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/07/06/national/socialAffairs/floods-landslides-kill-two/20210706191100390.html

Facemasks will remain mandatory in the greater Seoul area — even for vaccinated people — due to a recent surge in virus cases.   In addition, drinking will be banned outdoors after 10 p.m. in parks and riversides in Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi.   A planned relaxation of measures has been called off as health authorities deal with a spike in new Covid cases. Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/07/04/national/socialAffairs/Covid19-masks-vaccination/20210704181500783.html

President Moon Jae-in's secretary for civil affairs was indicted Thursday for abuse of power for allegedly masterminding a travel ban on a top official from the previous administration.    The Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office’s Criminal Department III indicted Presidential Secretary for Civil Affairs Lee Kwang-cheol, a key member of the Blue House inner circle, for arranging an illegal travel ban on former Vice Minister of Justice Kim Hak-eui in 2019. The indictment was filed with the Seoul Central District Court so Lee can be tried with other government officials indicted earlier in the case.    Lee said the indictment was unjust, according to a Blue House statement, but still tendered his resignation to Moon. Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/07/01/national/socialAffairs/Lee-Kwangcheol-Kim-Hakeui-travel-ban/20210701181200294.html

 Universities in Korea will resume in-person classes from the upcoming fall semester, starting with small classes, laboratory courses and other kinds of instruction requiring hands-on teaching.   Education Minister Yoo Eun-hye announced Thursday a phased plan to enable college students to return to classrooms full-time from the fall semester of the 2021 school year. This comes after the Education Ministry’s recent announcement of the reopening of kindergartens, elementary, middle and high schools in the fall semester.   But some returns to class will depend on the country’s progress in vaccinations and gaining of herd immunity. A great many college students won't have gotten vaccinations by the start of the semester.  Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/06/24/national/socialAffairs/Yoo-Eunhye-Education-Ministry-Facetoface/20210624174706917.html

The Bank of Korea (BOK) warned of growing vulnerability to the financial system from mounting household debt, probably signaling a raise in interest rates.   The central bank said in a regular financial stability report released Tuesday that should an unexpected economic crisis takes place, the country's gross domestic product (GDP) could contract by as much as 2.2 percent.   According to the report, the ratio of household and company debt to GDP hit a record 216.3 percent in the first quarter, up 15.9 percentage points year on year. Household and company debt grew by 9.4 percent on year in the first quarter, and the country's GDP grew at a much slower 1.3 percent. Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/06/22/business/finance/bank-of-korea-interest-rate-financial-stability/20210622185213621.html

Hackers connected to North Korea stole information about Navy vessels and submarines designed and built by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, possibly including research for a domestically designed nuclear-powered submarine, according to multiple government sources on Sunday.   “The targeted documents include long-running conceptual research into the development of nuclear-powered submarines that was conducted by Daewoo Shipbuilding,” said one source at the technology protection division of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).   “Some of the documents got out, but we haven’t been able to verify that the ones related to the nuclear-powered submarine development were among these,” the source added. Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/06/21/national/defense/submarine-nuclear-hacking/20210621182100321.html

Starting in July, all adults in their 50s, school teachers and high school seniors will be eligible for their first Covid-19 shots, which will be expanded to everyone over 17 from August.   The Covid-19 Vaccination Task Force announced its vaccination plan for the third quarter on Thursday with the aim of inoculating a total of 36 million people, or 70 percent of Korea’s population, by the end of September.   In the first three weeks of July, the government will first offer jabs to around 270,000 people whose vaccine appointments were delayed due to supply shortages. Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/06/17/national/socialAffairs/Covid19-vaccination-third-quarter/20210617174900299.html

Samsung Electronics signed a contract with UK telecom operator Vodafone to sell 5G equipment -- its first 5G cellular network deal in Europe.   That market was dominated for years by China’s Huawei and European vendors like Nokia and Ericsson. Washington’s sanctions on Huawei forced many countries to diversify their network suppliers, and the Korean giant is moving in.    The tech company announced Tuesday it will provide Vodafone a set of advanced wireless access technologies needed for the deployment of 5G, including a virtualized radio access (vRAN) system. vRAN enables telecom companies to run networking functions as software in contrast to the widely-used, centralized radio access network that requires physical hardware upgrades. Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/06/15/business/industry/Samsung-Electronics-5G-Vodafone/20210615190100631.html

North Korea will not be part of the Tokyo Olympics, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) confirmed Tuesday, the first time it will skip the Summer Games in 33 years.    North Korea's berths for the Tokyo Olympics from July 23 to Aug. 8 were reallocated to other athletes, said the IOC.   The announcement dashed any hope of the upcoming games being used for sports diplomacy with the North. International sporting events in the past, particularly the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in 2018, were occasions for diplomatic breakthroughs.  Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/06/09/national/northKorea/Tokyo-Olympics-North-Korea-IOC/20210609163100317.html