LG decides to sell off twin buildings in Beijing

LG Electronics has decided to sell off its twin towers in Beijing to secure liquidity amid global uncertainties and to invest in future growth engines, the company said Friday. The company’s board of directors has agreed to sell its entire 49 percent stake in LG Holdings Hong Kong, which wholly owns LG Beijing Twin Towers, to RECO Changan Private, owned by Singaporean fund GIC. The price for the 49 percent stake is 668.8 billion won ($561.7 million), the company said. LG plans to s

IndustryFeb. 7, 2020

Cho Hyun-ah denounces Hanjin KAL board decision

Cho Hyun-ah, the eldest daughter of late Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Yang-ho, released a statement on Friday afternoon to denounce the board decision made by Hanjin KAL in the morning. In a joint statement with local activist fund Korea Corporate Governance Improvement and midsized builder Bando Engineering & Construction, she said the board decisions consisted of “improvised measures to obtain the votes of the shareholders just before the general shareholders’ meeting without s

IndustryFeb. 7, 2020

Transgender student withdraws after getting accepted to Sookmyung Women’s University

A transgender student, the first to gain admission to a women-only university in South Korea, has decided not to attend due to massive opposition from other students, according to media reports Friday.  “I withdrew my admission, because of growing fears on voices of opposition,” she told Yonhap News.  She also wrote in an online community Friday afternoon, the last day to accept the offer, after withdrawing. “I was scared of the recent situation. I was afraid of th

Social AffairsFeb. 7, 2020

FSS in hot water for failing to prevent derivatives disaster

South Korea’s financial watchdog, the Financial Supervisory Service, has become the target of criticism for having failed to prevent the recent fiasco involving derivatives-linked funds. The state-run agency is also accused of trying to duck responsibility for the incident, which involved two of the largest banking groups here. The FSS on Monday decided to impose sanctions on the CEOs of major banking groups --  Woori Financial Group and Hana Financial Group -- which will have

MarketFeb. 7, 2020

Lime likely to release result of audit on its funds: FSC

Hedge fund operator Lime Asset Management will likely announce the amount of losses made by some of its troubled funds next week, according to the Financial Services Commission on Friday. The audit process on Lime’s now frozen funds, being conducted by audit firm Samil PricewaterhouseCoopers, has reportedly completed and the result is scheduled to be sent to the fund operator today. “The audit seems to have taken more time than expected because necessary documents and data have

MarketFeb. 7, 2020

In sickness and in health: mass wedding defies virus fears

GAPYEONG (AFP) -- Thousands of couples -- some in facemasks -- tied the knot in a mass Unification Church wedding Friday, despite concerns in South Korea over the spread of the coronavirus outbreak. The church founded by Sun Myung Moon -- revered as a messiah by his followers -- distributed face coverings to the 30,000 crowd, but only some donned them. "I am overwhelmed that I am getting married today," said Choi Ji-young, who met her husband -- matched by the church -- only two mon

Social AffairsFeb. 7, 2020

Seoul city sets up quarantine facility

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Friday that the Seoul Human Resource Development Center in southern Seoul will be used to house many of those currently in home quarantine for the new coronavirus.  The facility will be used to house people required to go into quarantine who have difficulty getting around or have no one living with them who can provide care, or if the infection is deemed likely to spread among family members. The head of the public health center in each distr

Social AffairsFeb. 7, 2020

Govt. allows shorter school year amid coronavirus outbreak

The education ministry has allowed schools to shorten the number of school days in ongoing efforts to curb the spread of the new coronavirus. Education Minister Yoo Eun-hae sent a document to 17 education offices across the country earlier this week, allowing elementary, middle and high schools to relax mandatory school days by up to 10 percent, according to the ministry. Local law mandates schools run at least 190 days of classes in an academic year, which means schools can shorten the numbe

Social AffairsFeb. 7, 2020

Hanjin KAL decides to give board of directors right to pick chairman

Hanjin KAL, the holding company of Hanjin Group, held a board meeting on Friday, to have the chairman of the board of directors be elected by the board to separate the position of its company president and the board chair. The board also decided to reorganize the hotel and leisure business that former Korean Air Vice President Cho Hyun-ah -- who is engaged in a feud with her brother Cho Won-tae -- had been dedicated to. “The intention is to strengthen the role of the board of director

IndustryFeb. 7, 2020

‘N. Korea hasn’t responded to Seoul’s individual tourism proposal’: Unification Ministry

Seoul’s Unification Ministry said Friday that Seoul hasn’t heard back from Pyongyang on its proposal to allow South Koreans to travel to North Korea.  “North Korea hasn’t given an official response, nor reacted to the individual tourism (proposal) yet,” said Cho Hey-sil, the ministry’s deputy spokesperson, during a regular press briefing. “As for individual tourism, we are evaluating the issue, considering various matters related to the novel coro

North KoreaFeb. 7, 2020

[Newsmaker] 1339 coronavirus hotline short of counselors to help foreigners

Foreign language speakers seeking assistance with their queries on the novel coronavirus are finding it difficult to get help through Korea Centers for Disease Control’s hotline 1339. Korea Tourism Organization announced on Thursday that people who need advice in foreign languages could call 1339 and press 4, which would connect them to a three-way call service with interpreters to accommodate callers who do not speak Korean. The service is available in eight languages, including Englis

TravelFeb. 7, 2020

Lotte Department Store's main outlet in Seoul to close temporarily over coronavirus fears

Lotte Department Store, one of the country's major department store chain operators, said Friday that one of its outlets in downtown Seoul will be temporarily closed starting late Friday for a cleanup following a recent visit there by a patient diagnosed with the new coronavirus. The store in the downtown Myeongdong area, the most bustling shopping district, will be shut down for sterilization, it said. The move follows confirmation that a female Chinese tourist from China's Wuhan, the epicen

ConsumerFeb. 7, 2020

Opposition leader to run in Seoul's Jongno district in April elections

Hwang Kyo-ahn, chief of the main opposition party, announced his bid Friday to run in the Jongno district in central Seoul for the April 15 elections, heralding a high-profile race against the former prime minister. Hwang, chairman of the Liberty Korea Party, made the surprise announcement, weeks after he vowed to run in a "tough" electoral district in a metropolitan area for the parliamentary elections. "I will run in the Jongno district," Hwang told a press briefing. Jo

PoliticsFeb. 7, 2020

Actor Kim Soo-hyun to star in tvN drama ‘Psycho but It’s Okay’

Actor Kim Soo-hyun will star in the tvN drama “Psycho but It’s Okay,” which is scheduled to air before July, according to his agency, Gold Medalist Entertainment. This will be his first drama since his discharge from the military and subsequent change of agency. Kim will play the role of Moon Gang-tae, a psychiatric aide who has taken care of his mentally ill older brother ever since they were children and their parents died. With no goals in life, Moon presses on day by day.

TelevisionFeb. 7, 2020

LG Uplus 2019 profit down as investment, marketing costs rise

LG Uplus Corp., South Korea's No. 3 mobile carrier, said Friday its net profit fell 8.9 percent last year from a year earlier as it ramped up spending on its 5G network and marketing. In a regulatory filing, LG Uplus reported a net income of 438.8 billion won ($369.2 million) last year, down from 481.6 billion won in 2018, on a consolidated basis. The company said that operating profit for the year fell 7.4 percent on-year to 686.2 billion won, although its annual revenue rose 5.6 percent on

IndustryFeb. 7, 2020

SsangYong suffers biggest operating loss in decade since 2009

SsangYong Motors’ balance sheet went from bad to worse in 2019, due to a sharp fall in exports. The automaker said Friday its operating losses skyrocketed to 281.9 billion won ($237.4 million), a whopping 339.3 percent increase from 64.2 billion won a year earlier, and taking its run of losses to 12 consecutive quarters. The figure is the worst since 2009, when the company saw a loss of 295 billion won in the aftermath of global financial crisis. Despite a minor 2.2 percent dip in r

MobilityFeb. 7, 2020

Korea to hold K-pop concert in Russia to celebrate 30 years of diplomatic ties

     The South Korean government will hold a large cultural event, including a K-pop concert and food exhibition in Russia to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the two countries’ diplomatic ties, according to the nation’s fiscal policy chief on Friday. "The government will host KCON as well as a trade fair in Russia this year,” said Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki during a meeting held to develop state-backed events for diplomatic ties. An official fro

EconomyFeb. 7, 2020

[Video] Why does ‘Parasite’ mix pricey beef into instant noodles?

The food featured in director Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite” is not just nourishment for the characters but also serves up symbolism and social satire, hinting at social stratification in Korean society. As the movie’s plot gains momentum, one of the foods in focus is jjapaguri -- translated as ram don in the English subtitles. The Korean name comes from its two main ingredients -- the instant noodle brands Jjapaghetti and Neoguri. Bong spices up this otherwise ordinary dis

FilmFeb. 7, 2020

Coway rebrands under Netmarble

Woongjin Coway is now simply Coway after Netmarble’s acquisition of the company. Coway convened an interim shareholders meeting on Friday at its head office in Gongju, South Chungcheong Province, where it voted on loosing Woongjin from its company name. Netmarble Chairman Bang Jun-hyuk was made a director, as well as Netmarble-Coway task force team leader Seo Jang-won and Coway CEO Lee Hae-sun. 　 Four newly appointed outside directors were Kim Jin-bae, professor at Korea University Bus

IndustryFeb. 7, 2020

Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Mong-koo inducted into Automotive Hall of Fame

Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Mong-koo will be the first Korean to be inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame, the automaker said Thursday. The 2020 induction ceremony will be held in Detroit at the MGM Grand Ballroom on July 23. Established in 1939, the organization has honored some 800 business leaders around the world who have created, shaped and changed the mobility market. Past inductees include Ford founder Henry Ford, inventor Thomas Edison, founder of Mercedes-Benz Karl Be

MobilityFeb. 7, 2020