North Korean defectors seek to create political party

North Korean defectors living here are pushing to create a political party that protects their rights and interests. On Tuesday, some 200 defectors launched a preparatory committee for establishment of the tentatively named Inter-Korean Reunification Party during a conference of party promoters at the Federation of Korean Industries building. “We are trying to create a political party that can represent the equivalence and difference between South and North Korean people,” the

PoliticsFeb. 18, 2020

[Anjani Trivedi] China Inc. virus cure will make matters worse

Beijing is throwing all it’s got at the coronavirus. Less visible than the drama of quarantining communities, however, is the new pressure that the outbreak is bringing on China Inc.’s hard-up borrowers. They face $944 billion of debt maturities onshore and $90 billion offshore this year. Authorities are going back to their old playbook of spewing handouts to get them through. The costs will add billions of dollars of debt and cripple an already weakened financial system. It may be d

ViewpointsFeb. 18, 2020

[Kim Seong-kon] Living well until the end

Recently, I saw an American movie in which the main character says there are three words beginning with “R” that kill older people slowly. They are retirement, regret and revenge. “Reward,” too, should be included in this category. “Retirement” can be bliss for some people, and yet it is a curse for others. After retirement, some people may enjoy a restful life, but others get bored. Indeed, if you have nothing to do all day long, you will find your life bor

ViewpointsFeb. 18, 2020

Lee Kwang-soo injured in car accident

South Korean star actor and entertainer Lee Kwang-soo has been injured in a traffic accident and will cancel all of his scheduled activities, his agency said Tuesday. According to King Kong by Starship, Lee was hit by a car violating traffic signals on Saturday last week. "He underwent a thorough examination at a nearby hospital and was diagnosed with a right ankle fracture," the company said. "He is now being hospitalized and receiving medical treatment." As a result, L

PeopleFeb. 18, 2020

[Herald Interview] Baritone comes full circle in ‘Barber of Seville’

Baritone Kim Ju-taek, also known as Julian Kim, is a singer recognized beyond the Italian opera scene, even by non-classical music audiences in Korea. Kim is to perform in opera concert “Barber of Seville” in March, as part of art management agency Arts&Artists’ opera concert series.　 He is exceptionally attached to the opera piece as he made his official debut as Figaro in “Barber of Seville” at Teatro G.B. Pergolesi in Jesi, Italy in 2009, Kim, 33, said. &

PerformanceFeb. 18, 2020

Watchdog to probe investment firms, banks, brokerages over Lime scandal

Looking into a major hedge fund misselling fiasco involving Lime Asset Management, South Korea’s financial watchdog is likely to narrow its focus on three major vendors -- Shinhan Investment, Woori Bank and KEB Hana Bank -- officials said Tuesday. Shinhan Investment is facing additional allegations that it sold the disputed financial products with full awareness of their flaws. The Financial Supervisory Service is slated to kick off its first on-site investigation of the country&rsquo

MarketFeb. 18, 2020

[News Focus] Why did UK-based Nanoco sue Samsung?

Questions are emerging about the UK nanotechnology company Nanoco and its past relationship with South Korea’s Samsung Electronics since the British company filed a patent infringement suit against Samsung on Friday. The UK firm filed suit against Samsung with the Texas Eastern District Court, alleging that the Korean tech giant infringed patents for five technologies related to nanoparticles and quantum dot technology that Nanoco claims to have developed. Founded in 2001, Nanoco was s

TechnologyFeb. 18, 2020

[News Focus] Korea’s household debt surges 100% in a decade

SEJONG -- In 2013, South Korea saw its collective outstanding loans plus credit-based payment services extended to the household sector top 1,000 trillion won ($842 billion) for the first time in history. The mounting household debt was somewhat attributable to eased lending regulations on the debt-to-income ratio in 2012 during the Lee Myung-bak administration. The Park Geun-hye administration further pushed for double-track deregulation, under which the loan-to-value ratio as well as the de

EconomyFeb. 18, 2020

Weak earnings, coronavirus fears weigh on Korean firms’ credit

Korean companies are facing imminent threats of credit downgrades, as they face a double whammy of weak 2019 earnings and novel coronavirus fears weighing on the global economy. Some of the firms have already experienced credit rating downgrades by agencies in the past week. Seoul-based NICE Investors Service last week downgraded credit ratings of panel maker LG Display and retailer E-mart by one notch each, as their business prospects are clouded and they are shouldering increased debt. LG

MarketFeb. 18, 2020

[News Focus] Recruitment of new faces remains key task for merged conservative party

After three years of disarray, conservatives managed to forge a united front to counter the main liberal force of the ruling party, boosting their chances in the upcoming general elections. The question, however, remains. Will the newly formed Party for Future Integration be able to recruit new talent and extend its support base beyond diehard conservative voters? The new bloc was born Monday through the merger of the largest opposition Liberty Korea Party, the New Conservative Party and

PoliticsFeb. 18, 2020

On brighter chip prospects, market cap of Samsung up 10%

After a strong performance by technology-related stocks such as semiconductors and secondary batteries, the top three Korean conglomerates -- Samsung, LG and SK Group -- saw their market capitalization figures rise this year, data showed Tuesday.   According to financial market tracker FnGuide, the combined market cap of Samsung’s 16 listed subsidiaries jumped nearly 10.18 percent from end-December last year to Friday, to about 524.2 trillion won ($440.9 billion), further solidifying

MarketFeb. 18, 2020

[Monitor] South Korea remains world’s 7th largest automobile producer

Although the number of automobiles manufactured in South Korea dropped below 4 million units last year, its global market share in car production increased slightly, data by the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association showed. The number of cars produced dropped 1.9 percent from 2018, but the market share in car production increased by 0.1 percentage point. The association pointed out that Korea failed to see a more significant improvement due to prolonged conflicts and strikes at major aut

MobilityFeb. 18, 2020

NK reiterates it has no virus patients

North Korea has yet to see its people infected with the virus that causes COVID-19, which has left over 1,800 dead and 72,000 infected in neighboring China, its state-run newspaper reported Tuesday. “So far, we haven't seen a single patient infected with the virus,” the newspaper said quoting a senior official in charge of the matter. The report did not mention whether the country has any suspicious cases or people under quarantine. But, the senior official cautioned that authorit

North KoreaFeb. 18, 2020

S. Korea entering ‘new phase’ in virus fight

South Korea’s fight against the new coronavirus may be entering a new phase of local transmission, the head of the state disease control center said Tuesday, as the country identified a third case with an unclear infection route. “The situation here and abroad suggests we’re entering a new phase,” Jung Eun-kyeong, head of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a press briefing. “We have three cases yesterday and today with no overseas tra

Social AffairsFeb. 18, 2020

New party woos soldiers with longer vacation pledge

The newly formed main opposition United Future Party on Tuesday unveiled an election pledge to offer soldiers longer vacations, extended tenures and higher pay. It was the fledging party’s first campaign promise for the April general elections. The conservative group was launched the day before following the merger of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party and two minor parties. On average, conscripted soldiers take vacation every 1 1/2 months and can spend only one night out before re

PoliticsFeb. 18, 2020

Virus games buoyed by coronavirus pandemic

Virus-related games are gaining popularity amid the ongoing COVID-19 spread. Plague Inc., launched in 2012 by London-based company Ndemic Creations, especially enjoyed a spike in its daily user rate, sitting atop the charts of the respective Apple App Store in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, France and the UK, as of Tuesday, boasting unusual prominence for an 8-year-old game. In Korea, China and the US, the game is variably either first or second on the charts. “Can you infect the world?

IndustryFeb. 18, 2020

Jeonbuk Bank’s Cambodian subsidiary posts record-high net profit in 2019

Jeonbuk Bank’s Cambodian subsidiary logged record-high annual net profit last year, marking it as one of the most successful Korean banks operating in the Southeast Asian country, the bank’s holding group JB Financial said Tuesday. Phnom Penh Commercial Bank’s net profit for fiscal 2019 jumped 40.5 percent on-year to 20.7 billion won ($17.4 million), according to JB Financial. PPC Bank was the only commercial lender in Cambodia to post an annual net profit of over 20 billio

MarketFeb. 18, 2020

Government jet mobilized for evacuation of Koreans from cruise ship in Japan

A South Korean government jet left Tuesday to evacuate Koreans aboard the coronavirus-stricken cruise ship in Japan, amid concerns of rapidly rising cases of COVID-19 onboard. 　 The VCN-235 Air Force plane left Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, at noon, and landed in Japan’s Haneda Airport, 20 minutes away from the Yokohama port where the cruise ship Diamond Princess is docked. 　 The plane is scheduled to leave Japan on Wednesday and arrive at Gimpo Airport at around 8 a.m.

Foreign AffairsFeb. 18, 2020

Anti-chairman coalition falters at Hanjin with withdrawal from director candidate

Kim Chi-hoon, a former Korean Air executive director who was proposed as one of the inside directors for Hanjin Group, said Tuesday he was voluntarily resigning from the candidacy. His withdrawal deals a blow to a coalition formed by Hanjin Group heiress Cho Hyun-ah to counter her brother, Chairman Cho Won-tae, as Kim had been recommended by them. Kim reportedly said that he was “against what the coalition intends to do,” according to Hanjin KAL, the holding company of Hanjin Group

MobilityFeb. 18, 2020