Yoon vetoes bills for broadcast governance

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday vetoed a set of broadcasting bills sponsored by the main opposition that seeks to reduce his administration’s clout over public broadcasters, a week after the opposition-controlled parliament passed the contentious revisions. Upon returning from a weeklong summer vacation that wrapped up Friday, Yoon approved a Cabinet motion that requested the president to strike down four bills designed to tweak the governance structure of the Korean Broadcasting System,

PoliticsAug. 12, 2024

PUBG maker Krafton posts record half-year earnings

Krafton posted record earnings for the first half of this year on the strong output from its popular battle royale shooter PUBG: Battlegrounds, the Korean game developer announced Monday. According to the announcement, Krafton logged 1.37 trillion won ($1 billion) in revenue and 642.6 billion won in operating profit in the January-to-June period this year, up 48.3 percent and 55 percent on year, respectively. For the second quarter alone, the game developer reported 707 billion won in revenue an

CompaniesAug. 12, 2024

[Today’s K-pop] EXO’s Baekhyun to return as solo act

Baekhyun of EXO will make a comeback as a solo musician on Sept. 6, he announced via agency INB100 Monday. He will bring out his fourth EP “Hello, World” about 3 1/2 years after his previous EP “Bambi.” The six-track album topped the iTunes Top Albums chart in 56 regions and sold over 1 million copies. His second solo EP “Delight," was the first million-selling album from a solo artist in 19 years in K-pop history. The singer hinted at the new album at his so

K-popAug. 12, 2024

New chief of Independence Hall refuses to step down

Kim Hyoung-suk, the new chief of the Independence Hall of Korea, has refused to step down on Monday, despite accusations from critics that he is unfit for the position due to his alleged controversial view of Japan’s 1910-1945 colonial rule of Korea. Kim, a former conservative professor, who took office as the chief of the national museum dedicated to the country’s independence movement, denied the claims that he is a supporter of the New Right political movement that justifies Japan

PoliticsAug. 12, 2024

Telecom carriers rush to launch call recording features for iPhones

South Korean mobile carriers are rushing to launch call-recording services for iPhone users, possibly taking a cue from the market leader SK Telecom’s success with its A. service. According to industry sources on Monday, LG Uplus, the country's smallest telecom company by market share, is planning to launch a call-recording service, dubbed, “ixi O,” in the second half of the year. The service would become the second of its kind after SK Telecom’s A. service, which de

TechnologyAug. 12, 2024

Fired for rejecting romantic advances: Civic group reveals bizarre dismissal cases

A local civic group recently revealed its analysis of 46 consultation cases involving employees of small businesses, the majority of which were related to what the employees saw as wrongful dismissal from work. The Workplace Gapjil 119 looked into their consultations in 2023 involving employees of workplaces of fewer than five workers and found that 27 of them were cases related to dismissal. In one such case, the employee was fired after packing their own lunch instead of eating with co-worke

Social AffairsAug. 12, 2024

Foreign student arrivals hit record high. Find out which country leads the pack

Over 200,000 international students came to South Korea for studies in the first six months of this year, setting a new half-year record, data showed Monday. According to the Korea Tourism Organization, 204,000 foreign students entered South Korea for studies from January through June, a 50.6 percent increase from the same period last year. This is the first time that the half-yearly number of student arrivals has exceeded 200,000, though the total number of students at universities here has

Social AffairsAug. 12, 2024

Korea-ASEAN startups to compete for sustainable development goals

South Korea's Ministry of SMEs and Startups, in partnership with Indonesia's Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs, is set to co-host the fifth Korea-ASEAN Business Model Competition for SDGs 2024 in October. According to the organizing committee Monday, the annual event, launched in 2020, aims to foster cross-border collaboration to nurture startups and small and medium-sized enterprises from Korea and Southeast Asia. The event will act as a platform for entrepreneurs to present solutions

IndustryAug. 12, 2024

Ive, on world tour, performs encore concert in Seoul

Popular K-pop girl group Ive, currently on a 10-month-long world tour, returned to the Seoul stage, reuniting with the group's global fanbase, Dive. The sextet held an encore performance of its first world tour, "Show What I Have," at the Kspo Dome in Songpa District, Seoul, on Aug. 10-11. Having kicked off the world tour last October at Jamsil Indoor Stadium, Ive has since performed 37 shows in 27 cities across 19 countries, including stops in Japan, Asia, Europe, North America a

K-popAug. 12, 2024

Park Chan-wook’s next film stars Lee Byung-hun, Son Ye-jin

South Korean auteur Park Chan-wook will begin shooting his new film “No Other Choice” starring Lee Byung-hun and Son Ye-jin on Aug. 17, the film distributor CJ ENM said Monday. Based on the US novel titled “The Ax” by Donald E. Westlake, the movie revolves around Man-soo, an employee who is fired from his paper manufacturing company. Lee, who worked with Park on the 2000 mystery thriller “Joint Security Area” and the Korean section of 2004 horror trilogy &ldqu

FilmAug. 12, 2024

Samsung, LG to challenge Chinese rivals with 'all-in-one' robot vacuums

Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics are stepping up efforts to carve out a share of the burgeoning robot vacuum market, which has been dominated by China's Roborock, with new machines designed to remove the pain points of existing products. This week, LG Electronics is rolling out its first all-in-one robot vacuum and mop machine in 21 years, since the company introduced its first such device in 2003. Samsung Electronics has also released a robot vacuum and mop combo machine adopting adv

IndustryAug. 12, 2024

Seoul shares spike over 1% on eased US recession woes

South Korean stocks closed more than 1 percent higher Monday, recovering from last week's rout as concerns over a US economic recession eased. The local currency lost ground against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 29.87 points, or 1.15 percent, to 2,618.30, rising for the second consecutive day. Trade volume was slim at 286.2 million shares worth 7.4 trillion won ($5.4 billion), with winners far outnumbering losers 674 to 202. Foreigners and institution

MarketAug. 12, 2024

Woman from 36-week abortion YouTube video to face criminal charges

A woman who shared her experience of undergoing an abortion at 36 weeks of pregnancy via YouTube could face criminal charges, along with the doctors who performed the operation, Korean police said Monday. “The YouTuber and the doctors of the hospital where she underwent the surgery are being investigated as criminal suspects,” a Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency official told reporters on Monday. In the since-deleted video, a woman who described herself as 24 years old claims to have

Social AffairsAug. 12, 2024

[Herald Interview] Why Korean investors can benefit from US equity exposure

With the US stock market representing more than half of the world’s total equity market capitalization, adopting a US perspective for investment decisions can be helpful for Korean investors, Hamish Preston, head of US Equity Indices at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said in a recent interview held online with The Korea Herald. Over the years, Korean investors have been showing an increased appetite in US-listed stocks. Their holdings of US equity stood at $88.23 billion in end-July, displayin

MarketAug. 12, 2024

Seoul to hold drill simulating North Korean nuclear attack

South Korea will stage the first government-wide drill against North Korean nuclear attack scenarios as part of Ulchi Freedom Shield, an annual joint and combined exercise with the United States. The UFS this year is set to take place from Aug. 19 to 29, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff and the South Korea-US Combined Forces Command on Monday. The South Korean JCS said alongside the military exercises, the government will hold a first-ever drill training officials and staff

DefenseAug. 12, 2024

[Herald Review] Crossover music groups' joint concert proves deep spectrum of Korean music

Four crossover groups mesmerized fans with fresh, intense music, presenting a bold mixture of genres. "The Masterpiece," a concert featuring the crossover groups Fortena, Crezl, RabidAnce, and Liberante — formed through seasons 3 and 4 of JTBC's audition program Phantom Singer — was held over the weekend at Inspire Arena in Yeongjongdo. The concert began with Fortena, a group of four tenors. The quartet opened the show with "Neapolis," which the group perform

PerformanceAug. 12, 2024

EV fires prompt transparency moves over battery origins

Electric vehicle battery manufacturers are bracing for increased scrutiny as South Korea considers new regulations requiring automakers to disclose their battery suppliers for each vehicle model, following a series of EV-related fires including a blaze in Incheon that damaged 100 vehicles. The car in the Incheon fire was a Mercedes-Benz equipped with a battery from Farasis, a Chinese manufacturer ranked 10th in the world by revenue. The exact cause of the fire -- whether it stemmed from the batt

MobilityAug. 12, 2024

[From the Scene] Matchmaking at Buddhist temple

YANGYANG, Gangwon Province -- Camera crews quickly swarmed a woman, zooming in on her pick for a dinner date from 10 men in photos at a temple run by the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, the country’s largest sect that since last year has been pushing hard with an unlikely project -- matchmaking. “I haven’t really had time to chat with this guy and we have only one dinner,” said the woman, identified as Woman 10, referring to her choice as she hurriedly left the room cro

CultureAug. 12, 2024

Day6 to set off on 3rd world tour next month

K-pop band Day6 is embarking on its third world tour next month. According to JYP Entertainment, Day6 will kick off its third world tour “Forever Young” with a three-day concert at the Inspire Arena in Incheon, Sept. 20-22. Day6 is set to take its show to Kuala Lumpur on Oct. 5, Bali on Oct. 13, Surabaya, Indonesia on Oct. 16, Jakarta on Oct. 19, Singapore on Nov. 22, and Bangkok on Nov. 30. The tour continues into next year with concerts in Hong Kong on Jan. 26, Osaka on Feb. 12-13,

K-popAug. 12, 2024

Yoon names new defense chief, national security adviser

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday named a new defense minister and national security adviser, while creating the new position of special adviser on foreign affairs and national security to the President, in a surprising shake-up of his foreign and defense policy team. Shin Won-sik, who had been serving as defense minister at the time of his appointment, has now been appointed as the new national security adviser, according to presidential chief of staff Chung Jin-suk. Shin, a retired three-star

PoliticsAug. 12, 2024