Hyundai Motor Group is poised to overtake Ford Motor in quarterly vehicle sales in the United States for the first time, underscoring the growing presence of the Korean automaker in the world’s largest car market. Cox Automotive estimates that the group’s three brands — Hyundai Motor, Kia and Genesis — will sell 511,421 vehicles in the U.S. between July and September, up 6.5 percent from a year earlier. By contrast, Ford is projected to sell 504,172 vehicles, down 7.1 percent, according to the market researcher’s latest forecast. If the estimates hold, Hyundai Motor Group would rank third in quarterly U.S. sales behind General Motors, with 671,706 vehicles, and Toyota Motor, with 642,707. The result would mark the first time the Korean group has surpassed Ford on a quarterly basis. The shift comes as U.S. consumers increasingly favor fuel-efficient vehicles amid elevated gasoline prices. Utilizing the market condition, Hyundai Motor Group has been going all-out to expand hybrid sales in the U.S. However, Ford sells much fewer hybrid or fuel-efficient vehicles there. Cox Automotiv

The government is weighing an increase in admission fees at major palaces and royal tombs next year, officials said Friday, as officials and experts argue current prices are low by global standards and point to shifting visitor patterns. If increased, it would mark the first change in two decades, according to the officials. Under current rates, adult admission to both Gyeongbok Palace and Changdeok Palace is 3,000 won ($2.20), while the UNESCO-listed Jongmyo Shrine, Changgyeong Palace and Deoksu Palace charge 1,000 won. Joseon-era royal tombs (1392-1910) range from 500 won to 2,000 won for adults. Kim Jae-kyu, head of the private National Heritage Planning and Evaluation Institute, said at a recent public forum hosted by the Korea Heritage Service that South Korea's palace and tomb fees are very low even by international standards. Using the Big Mac index as a benchmark, Kim noted that France's Versailles equates to about nine Big Macs and Japan's Nijo Castle to roughly 1.2, while fees at Gyeongbok and Changdeok palaces amount to about half a Big Mac. Kim also pointed to changing visitor

More than 100,000 people flocked to a waterfront park at Busan’s North Port on Wednesday, the first day of the Chuseok holiday, hoping to catch a glimpse of a shark nicknamed “Bukangi” that has been spotted in a canal there. The turnout was about 50 times the park’s usual holiday visitor count. According to the Busan Facilities Corporation on Thursday, approximately 93,000 people had visited the waterfront park in Dong District by 6 p.m. Wednesday. Including visitors who arrived later, the total was estimated at around 102,000. The park typically receives about 2,000 visitors on a holiday. The shark, which was spotted at North Port and given the nickname Bukangi, has become a local attraction, drawing crowds even during the holiday period. The waterfront park is about 500 meters from Busan Station and is within walking distance. As crowds gathered around the park Wednesday afternoon, Busan Metropolitan City sent a safety alert urging people to avoid driving and to use public transportation, warning of severe congestion in the area. To prevent safety accidents, the city has restri

A fire suspected to have been caused by a power bank broke out aboard an Air Seoul flight bound for Da Nang before takeoff at Incheon International Airport, industry sources said Friday. The fire started at around 9 p.m. Thursday in a passenger's bag stored under a seat aboard flight RS511, operated by low-cost carrier Air Seoul Inc., as the aircraft prepared for takeoff, according to the sources. Cabin crew extinguished the fire, and firefighters arrived at the scene to check on passengers. No casualties were reported. The aircraft was carrying 221 passengers and seven crew members. Air Seoul later deployed a replacement aircraft, which departed two hours and 50 minutes behind schedule.

Marie Perruchet was born in Seoul, but Korea was not the place that taught her how to be Korean. Sent overseas for adoption at 18 months and raised in Normandy, France, Perruchet grew up without the language, traditions or beauty rituals of her birth country. She later lived in 10 countries, worked as a correspondent for the BBC and spent years in Silicon Valley before eventually returning to Korea as an entrepreneur. When she arrived, she was not coming back to a childhood home. She was discovering one. That experience became part of the story behind Clapoti, the wellness brand she founded in 2022. She describes it as "loved in Paris and perfected by Korean heritage," incorporating Korean manufacturing innovation, French sensory and scent tradition and an American instinct for functional, no-nonsense packaging. Perruchet's relationship with beauty had already been shaped by moving between cultures. Growing up in France, she said she rarely saw herself represented in beauty magazines. Some products weren't designed for her skin tone, and she remembered a stylist admitting she didn't know

The veterans ministry has assigned only three personnel to collect and review materials related to Korea's independence movement against Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule, data showed Friday, raising concerns over a shortage of personnel to sift through the vast amount of historical records. Only three of the 37 personnel in the ministry's Patriots and Veterans Archives Management Division are tasked with collecting and managing records on the country's independence movement, the ministry told Yonhap News Agency. "We typically collect some 300,000 records over the course of a year," a ministry official said, suggesting a possible disparity between the workload and the number of personnel assigned for the task. Put simply, this means each researcher is responsible for handling some 100,000 historical records a year. The revelation comes after the ministry earlier announced plans to honor more than 600 independence activists who have not previously been recognized by the state this year, up from 502 in 2025. Separate data submitted to Rep. Kim Joon-hyung of the minor Rebuilding Korea Party show

Ruling and opposition parties clashed over the government’s decision to keep the repatriation of two North Korean prisoners of war (POWs) from Ukraine confidential. After Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy disclosed the arrangement, the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) questioned whether Seoul had been too concerned about provoking Pyongyang. The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) defended the decision, saying it was necessary to protect the two men and safeguard national security. President Lee Jae Myung expressed regret over Kyiv’s disclosure, saying Zelenskyy had broken a bilateral agreement to keep the transfer confidential. Lee also criticized opposition politicians for questioning the government's decision, saying those who jeopardize lives and national security for the sake of taking credit are "murderers and traitors." DPK spokesperson Shin Hyun-young defended the government's approach, saying its priority was to protect the two former North Korean soldiers. "(President Zelenskyy's disclosure) was an act that betrayed trust between the two countries and was d

MEXICO CITY — A presidential official has pledged a prompt and thorough investigation into who was responsible for the recent explosions in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that injured three South Korean soldiers. "An objective, prompt and thorough investigation is underway," the presidential official told reporters in Mexico City on Thursday while accompanying President Lee Jae Myung on his ongoing state visit to Mexico. The official's remark came in response to suspected mine explosions in the DMZ on Monday that injured three South Korean soldiers, prompting forensic analysis of collected mine fragments to determine whether they were of South or North Korean origin. "A thorough fact-finding is needed to determine whether they were mines, and if they were mines, what kinds of mines they were, as well as whether they were buried by North Korea, and if not, what happened," he said. The investigation is being carried out carefully in coordination with the United Nations Command because the site of the explosions is a new reconnaissance route, making it dangerous to tread on, the official sa

MEXICO CITY — President Lee Jae Myung on Thursday expressed regret that Ukraine disclosed the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war (POWs) to South Korea, calling it a breach of a nondisclosure agreement that he said may lead to many problems. "It was appropriate in every aspect not to disclose, considering many problems it may cause when disclosed, and (we) had agreed to do so," Lee said in a post on his X account, a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York that Ukraine recently sent the two North Korean POWs to South Korea. Shortly after Zelenskyy's speech, the Ukrainian presidential office said the transfer of the two North Korean prisoners to South Korea was carried out through direct dialogue with Seoul. "(Ukraine) disclosed the transfer in breach of a nondisclosure agreement," Lee wrote. "I don't know the reasons (for the disclosure), but I regret it." Lee said the issue is a very sensitive matter that could immensely affect diplomacy and national security, as well as the security environment

Gyeongbok Palace drew a record 2.78 million foreign visitors last year, making it the most visited tourist attraction among international visitors to Korea, as attendance at four of Seoul’s major royal palaces continued to rise. According to the data from the Culture Ministry and the Korea Heritage Service, a total of 6.89 million people visited Gyeongbok Palace in 2025, up 6.88 percent from 6.44 million a year earlier. Foreign visitors accounted for 2.78 million of the total, which is a 37.34 percent increase from 2.03 million in 2024. Domestic visitors also rose 7.11 percent to 4.10 million. The other three major palaces — Deoksu, Changdeok and Changgyeong — also drew millions of visitors last year. Visitor numbers are not tracked at Gyeonghui Palace. Deoksu Palace attracted 3.56 million visitors, up 5 percent from the previous year, including about 378,000 foreign visitors, up 1 percent. Changdeok Palace recorded 2.22 million visitors, including about 666,000 foreign nationals, while Changgyeong Palace drew 1.60 million visitors, of whom about 270,000 were foreign. Combined attend

China is emerging as a critical earnings lifeline for Korea’s struggling low-cost carriers (LCCs), offering them access to fast-growing passenger demand and lucrative business traffic as growth in other short-haul markets loses steam. Some 2.13 million passengers traveled between Korea and China in August, surpassing the previous monthly record of about 2.07 million set in August 2016, before the fallout from the deployment of a U.S. missile defense system in Korea severely disrupted bilateral tourism. The August figure was up 27.5 percent from a year earlier and 9.7 percent from July, according to data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The rebound comes as Korean airlines are gaining access to some of the most commercially attractive China routes. In the latest allocation of traffic rights, the government gave major LCCs additional slots on routes linking Seoul with Beijing and Shanghai, as well as Guangzhou, Dalian and other Chinese cities. Jeju Air and Eastar Jet each secured seven weekly flights on the Incheon-Beijing route, while Parata Air and Air Premia re

Korean regulators’ hardline stance toward Coupang is complicating Seoul’s talks with Washington over the next stages of its planned $350 billion investment in the United States. The latest development came Wednesday when the Seoul High Court rejected Coupang’s request to suspend the effect of a Fair Trade Commission (FTC) decision ordering an on-site inspection of the U.S.-headquartered e-commerce firm’s alleged violations of a local fair transaction act. Coupang had refused to cooperate with the probe, arguing that the FTC failed to provide advance notice. The court ruling allows the FTC to proceed with the investigation. FTC Chairman Ju Biung-ghi has vowed to review the agency’s internal rules to close what he described as loopholes that allow companies to delay or evade investigations through court injunctions. He has also rejected U.S. criticism that the regulator is discriminating against American companies, saying the FTC will continue to enforce Korean law without regard to nationality. The confrontation is particularly sensitive, as Korea and the U.S. work to flesh out t

Expressway traffic headed to people's hometowns eased somewhat Friday evening, the second day of the Chuseok holiday, though traffic back to the cities remained heavy, the expressway operator said. As of 7 p.m., travel times from Seoul were estimated at 4.5 hours to the southeastern city of Busan, four hours and 10 minutes to Ulsan, three hours and 40 minutes to Mokpo, 3.5 hours to Daegu, and three hours and 20 minutes to Gwangju, according to the Korea Expressway Corp. This year's holiday for Chuseok, the Korean equivalent of Thanksgiving, runs from Thursday to Sunday. The holiday is marked by visits to hometowns, family reunions, ancestral rites and traditional holiday foods. Trips to Seoul were expected to take five hours and 50 minutes from Busan, 5.5 hours from both Mokpo and Ulsan, and five hours and 10 minutes from Gwangju. The state-run company said traffic congestion on roads leaving the Seoul area was expected to clear between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m., and in the opposite direction, between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. the following day. An estimated 6.84 million vehicles were expected to travel

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Domestic US political turmoil and Donald Trump’s feud with the media overshadowed a summit that Beijing hoped would project an image of China on equal footing and help stabilise ties with the United States. Trump rolled out the full red-carpet treatment for Chinese President Xi Jinping as he paid his first state visit to the US in over a decade. In addition to Trump and his wife Melania greeting Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan on the tarmac on arrival, the “many special arrangements” included a...

Hong Kong police have arrested three men suspected of using crowbars to steal popular Jellycat dolls and other plush toys worth about HK$70,000 (US$8,923) from a claw machine shop to resell them. The force on Friday said it received a report in the early hours of September 17 that two thieves had broken into an unstaffed claw machine shop in Tai Wai. The shop owner had offered a HK$100,000 reward on social media to catch the thieves after the crime. “They used a crowbar to pry open two claw...

President Trump said on Friday that Chinese President Xi Jinping appeared to like referring to artificial intelligence as “super intelligence” days after Trump announced the U.S. would be using the new name in official documents and communications. Trump made the observation in a Truth Social post in which he referred to his meeting with the...

This live article is freely available to our registered users. Please log in or create an account. Unrivalled Xi-Trump summit analysis: get real-time updates and exclusive boots-on-the-ground reporting from our US and China bureaus. Subscribe now with great savings to stay ahead. This is the final day of Chinese President Xi Jinping and first lady Peng Liyuan’s visit to Washington, following a day in which Xi and US President Donald Trump discussed Taiwan and reached a “new joint arrangement” on...

The organiser of a lantern display at Hong Kong’s Victoria Park cut short the entry hours on Friday night out of public safety concerns after large crowds flocked there to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. “In light of the large number of visitors and in the interest of public safety and order, entry queues of the ‘World Lantern Boulevard’ will be closed shortly,” the Hong Kong Tourism Board said at around 9pm. “All lantern installations at the International Lantern Spectacular will remain on...

HK Electric customers are set to pay less for electricity in October after the Hong Kong supplier cut its fuel charge for the first time in four months, but it warned that international energy prices remained volatile. CLP Power, the city’s other electricity supplier, will raise its energy prices next month. HK Electric, which mainly supplies Hong Kong Island and Lamma Island, said on Friday that its fuel clause charge would fall by 1.4 HK cents to 59.3 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) in...

The Socceroos looked to have held out for the win after Nestory Irankunda's stunning free kick, but a last-minute corner saw Brazil draw level.

The good news is, when US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Washington this week, neither chose confrontation. Amid the high pomp and ceremony, what China has called “constructive strategic stability” continues. Even an uneasy truce in great power relations can be useful. Both recognise the considerable incentive to prevent their economic rivalry from spiralling out of control. Even limited understandings can reduce risks in artificial intelligence (AI) and other...

Throughout President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Washington, Chinese aesthetics were not confined to first lady Peng Liyuan, long an ambassador of Chinese fashion, but also appeared in the outfits of other senior Chinese officials and even members of the US delegation. At the state dinner in the White House on Thursday, Xi and other senior Chinese officials – including his chief of staff Cai Qi and foreign minister Wang Yi – wore black Mao suits. Notably, while Xi has regularly worn the attire...

We have put together stories from our coverage of the White House state dinner. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Xi-Trump dinner puts US tech titans in spotlight – what does it mean for ties? If the American guests seated at the head table with President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump at Thursday’s White House state dinner were any indication, Washington now views its relationship with Beijing largely through the prism of technology. 2....

In a surprise nod to shared history, US President Donald Trump called China a World War II ally as he welcomed Xi Jinping to the White House on Thursday ahead of summit talks. But the historical reference was far from one-sided, with both leaders repeatedly referring to the joint fight against Japanese aggression as they sought to emphasise the long history of US-China friendship and the need to seek common ground. “If we focus on our common interests, I’m confident there is much we can...

Chinese President Xi Jinping pressed his US counterpart Donald Trump to explicitly oppose Taiwan independence – a call that would require a shift in Washington’s long-standing position and further restraint on American arms sales to the island, according to analysts. During the meeting between the two leaders on Thursday, Xi said he hoped the US side would “adhere to the correct position of opposing ‘Taiwan independence’”, according to a statement from the foreign ministry in Beijing. The...

A Hong Kong teacher clinically evaluated as a paedophile has been jailed for three years for molesting a primary school pupil and taking intimate pictures of the child and another boy during volunteer tutoring. Deputy District Judge Ko Wai-hung on Friday sentenced the 31-year-old, who earlier admitted to sexually abusing a student in his Yuen Long flat between January 2022 and July 2024. The pupil was aged nine when the first assault took place. The defendant, a maths teacher who was identified...

Taiwanese officials and observers have reacted cautiously to the Washington summit between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, with uncertainty lingering over what the two leaders discussed about the island. The only public mention of Taiwan after Thursday’s closed-door talks between the pair came from Beijing’s official statement, which said Xi had urged Trump to “oppose ‘Taiwan independence’” and “handle the Taiwan question with caution”. The White House did not immediately give its own detailed...

Chinese President Xi Jinping has not only made history as the first Chinese leader to undertake two formal state visits to the United States, he is also the only Chinese leader to be spending two Mid-Autumn Festivals on American soil. Xi offered festive greetings during his toast at Thursday’s state banquet. “As I speak, my compatriots in China are celebrating Mid-Autumn Festival – a cherished occasion for family reunions according to Chinese tradition. I wish you all a very happy Mid-Autumn...

Hong Kong animal welfare activists say they will forge ahead with microchipping stray dogs despite the heightened legal risk after authorities charged an advocate who engaged in the practice during an investigation into the death of a cyclist. The advocates argued that charging dog rescuers was counterproductive and renewed their calls to implement a comprehensive “trap, neuter, release” programme, while the government said allegations it engaged in “convenience culling” were untrue. The...