Films about S. Korean immigrant family in 1980s US, Kim Jong-nam murder premiere at Sundance

Actress Han Ye-ri, Korean American actor Steven Yeun and veteran actress Youn Yuh-jung received a standing ovation for “Minari” at the Sundance Film Festival on Sunday. The festival, which kicked off Thursday at Park City in Utah, runs until Sunday. The annual event is one of the largest indie and documentary film festivals in North America where up-and-coming filmmakers and original titles aim for a big break. The movie “Minari” tells the story of a South Korean fam

FilmJan. 28, 2020

State-backed W1.5tr infra fund to raise private money

Korea’s state-backed fund seeking a commitment of 1.5 trillion won ($1.27 billion) is looking to raise 900 billion won in private money, its lead fund manager Samsung Asset Management said Tuesday. The fund has a maturity of 30 years and is set to close all transactions by October 2024. The fund is designed to target overseas infrastructure assets, ranging from new and renewable energy plants, oil and gas plants, airports and roads to railways and smart city infrastructure. Managing th

MarketJan. 28, 2020

North Korea on high alert to contain Wuhan coronavirus

North Korea is on high alert to contain the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus and is stepping up quarantine efforts, as the deadly respiratory virus that originated in China continues to spread across Asia and the world. 　 Pyongyang’s official newspaper, the Rodong Sinmun on Tuesday said the government has taken emergency measures to prevent the virus from spreading in the country, as it shares a border with China. The newly identified respiratory virus has killed over 100 people in mainl

North KoreaJan. 28, 2020

[Monitor] Land price hike slows down

Land prices across South Korea surged by 3.92 percent last year from 2018, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The growth in land prices dropped by 0.66 percentage point from 4.58 percent in 2018. In 2019, the price hike in the capital and surrounding region dropped to 4.74 percent from 5.14 percent, and in provinces, to 2.51 percent from 3.65 percent a year ago. (khnews@heraldcorp.com)

IndustryJan. 28, 2020

5 cities to get nearly W16b for tourism development in 2020

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on Tuesday announced five cities across the country will be developed into tourism hubs. “Five cities were picked based on their potential. We will inject around 15.9 billion won ($13.51 million) in total this year,” Culture Minister Park Yang-woo said during a press conference in Seoul. The move is aimed at promoting destinations outside of Seoul, which currently attracts the vast majority of overseas tourists. Busan, picked as a glob

TravelJan. 28, 2020

S. Korea to spend W20.8b to combat spread of coronavirus

South Korea will use 20.8 billion won ($17.7 million) of its national budget to contain the new Wuhan coronavirus, while keeping a close watch for potential negative effects on the local economy from the outbreak, the top fiscal policy chief said Tuesday. “Of the budget allocated for this year, 6.7 billion won set aside for building a quarantine system, 5.2 billion won for diagnosis and 2.9 billion won for isolated treatment -- culminating in a total of 20.8 billion won -- will be execut

EconomyJan. 28, 2020

NCT 127 to drop new full-length album in March

K-pop boy band NCT 127 will return with a new studio album in March, its agency said Tuesday. SM Entertainment said the group's second full-length album, "NCT #127 Neo Zone," will be released in March. It will be NCT 127's first full album since "NCT #127 Regular-Irregular" was published in October 2018. Jungwoo, who has been taking a break due to a health problem, will rejoin the group for the new album, according to SM Entertainment. The group's previous six-track EP,

K-popJan. 28, 2020

S. Korea to fly its nationals out of Wuhan this week over coronavirus concerns

South Korea said Tuesday it will send chartered planes to the central Chinese city of Wuhan this week to bring home its nationals amid concerns about the global spread of a new coronavirus originated in China. The flights will be operated Thursday and Friday to evacuate hundreds of South Koreans staying in Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak of the pneumonia-like illness, according to government officials. The plan was unveiled at an emergency ministerial meeting presided over by Prime Minis

Social AffairsJan. 28, 2020

NPS wins big from Samsung affiliates’ recent rally

The overall value of the shares in Samsung affiliates and subsidiaries held by South Korea’s largest institutional investor, the National Pension Service, jumped nearly 60 percent over the past year, according to data made public Tuesday. The NPS’ shares in 13 Samsung units were worth 49.28 trillion won ($41.7 billion) as of Wednesday last week, up 57 percent from 31.4 trillion won ($26.7 billion) Jan. 2 last year, according to financial research firm FnGuide. The whopping increa

MarketJan. 28, 2020

S. Korea issues travel alert for China amid fears over deadly Wuhan coronavirus

South Korea's foreign ministry issued a travel alert for all of China except for Taiwan on Tuesday, amid stepped-up efforts to contain the spread of the deadly new coronavirus that first emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan last month. It applied the alert level of "restraint," the third highest in its four-tier travel warning system, for the entire country, including Hong Kong and Macau, while maintaining the second-highest level of "withdrawal recommendation" for

Foreign AffairsJan. 28, 2020

Scientists describe Wuhan coronavirus outbreak

In a study of early cases of the Wuhan coronavirus (2019-nCoV), a team of Chinese scientists discussed potential treatments for the rapidly spreading illness. In the latest issue of the Lancet medical journal, the scientists looked at key features of the virus and its effects in the first 41 confirmed patients. As the 2019-nCoV is an emerging virus, there is no vaccine or clear treatment specifically targeted to cure it. However, as all 41 patients developed pneumonia, they were all given anti

BusinessJan. 28, 2020

Billie Eilish to have concert in Seoul in August

Grammy-winning teenage pop star Billie Eilish will have a concert in Seoul in August, marking the first South Korea visit by the chart-topping sensation. According to the announcement on the singer's official website last week, Eilish's 2020 world tour, titled "Where Do We Go?" will start March 9 in Miami, Florida, and run through September in 19 countries, including Mexico, Argentina, Germany, France and Italy. She will perform in Seoul on Aug. 23, with the venue to be determined l

PerformanceJan. 28, 2020

Hedge fund AlpenRoute may freeze W180b investor funds as distrust builds

AlpenRoute Asset Management said Tuesday it may opt to suspend investor withdrawal of assets worth 181.7 billion won ($154.4 million) from its 26 open-ended funds by February to ward off illiquidity, as the distrust of hedge fund managers across South Korea has triggered abrupt money withdrawal attempts. Of its 226.4 billion won assets in open-ended funds -- designed to allow investors to withdraw at will -- that mainly target equities in privately held companies, AlpenRoute has decided to defe

MarketJan. 28, 2020

Semiconductors again top list of S. Korea's export items in 2019

Semiconductors continued to top the list of South Korea's largest export items last year, data showed Tuesday. Outbound shipments of semiconductors came to $93.9 billion in 2019, accounting for 17.3 percent of the country's overall exports of $542.3 billion, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. The amount marks a 25.9 percent plunge from 2018, when semiconductors accounted for nearly one-quarter of South Korea's overall exports. The drop has largely been attributed to a shar

IndustryJan. 28, 2020

Corporate direct financing jumps 3.3% in 2019: data

South Korean companies' equity and debt sales rose 3.3 percent on-year in 2019 due mainly to a rise in corporate bond issuance, data showed Tuesday. Local companies raised 175.49 trillion won ($149 billion) by selling stocks and bonds last year, compared with 169.8 trillion won in the previous year, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. The surge is attributable to the 5.8 percent on-year growth in the value of corporate bonds issued, including bank bonds and asset-bac

EconomyJan. 28, 2020

Korean firms scrambling to minimize fallout from Wuhan virus

Major South Korean companies are scrambling to minimize any possible fallout from the Wuhan coronavirus by pulling their staff out of China and curbing trips there, industry sources said Tuesday. Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp. plan to evacuate family members of hundreds of their employees in China to South Korea by Wednesday while allowing the employees in China to work at their homes, a Hyundai Motor official said. The move is meant to minimize contact with people as th

IndustryJan. 28, 2020

S. Korean schools on alert as new coronavirus spreads

With classes resuming Tuesday after a monthlong winter vacation, local schools are on alert amid growing concerns over the new coronavirus. Many children were seen wearing masks as they went to school or kindergarten, while some parents of preschool children said they plan to stay home with their children for the time being. "I'm worried that some kids went to Ilsan or Pyeongtaek (during the Lunar New Year's holiday), where coronavirus patients were found to have visited," said a 36

Social AffairsJan. 28, 2020

OECD further cuts Korea's potential growth rate

South Korea's potential economic growth rate may have permanently been reduced, apparently because of a steady decline in its workforce and productivity, according to an OECD report Tuesday. According to the report, South Korea's potential growth rate for the year is estimated at 2.5 percent, down 0.2 percentage point from a year earlier. A potential growth rate refers to the maximum possible rate an economy can grow without triggering inflation. South Korea's rate has been on a steady decli

EconomyJan. 28, 2020

2.7b passengers used Seoul metro last year

Nearly 2.73 billion passengers used subway lines run by Seoul Metro last year, the subway operator said Tuesday. On average, some 7.47 million people used Subway Line Nos. 1 to 8 daily as well as the second and third segments of Line No. 9 (Eonju Station to VHS Medical Center Station). Gangnam Station on Line No. 2 was the busiest subway station, with a daily average of 141,597 passengers. Hongik Univ. Station and Jamsil Station, also on Line No. 2, were the second-and third-busiest stations

Social AffairsJan. 28, 2020

More institutions adopt stewardship code, embrace shareholder activism

The number of South Korean institutions that have embraced shareholder activism by adopting the stewardship code surged last year, raising tensions for companies ahead of their general shareholders meetings in March. The stewardship code sets forth guidelines for institutional investors, allowing them to participate actively in corporate governance by exercising their voting rights in the interests of their beneficiaries.  The code was introduced in December 2016. The National Pension S

IndustryJan. 28, 2020