US-N. Korea talks unlikely to resume this year: expert

Nuclear negotiations between the United States and North Korea are unlikely to resume this year as chances are low that Washington will come up with major concessions ahead of its upcoming presidential election, an expert said Friday.Kim Dong-yub, a professor of the Institute for Far Eastern Studies at Kyungnam University, made the case during a seminar in Seoul, adding that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un appears to have calculated this when he warned of a protracted deadlock in US-North Korea

North KoreaJan. 10, 2020

Former Samsung exec questioned in group merger probe

A former Samsung executive who led the group's now-defunct strategy unit was questioned by prosecutors Friday over an ongoing probe into a controversial merger at the country's top conglomerate.Prosecutors called in Kim Jong-joong, a former Samsung president, on his suspected role in the controversial merger of two Samsung affiliates, Samsung C&T Corp. and Cheil Industries, in 2015.Kim led the group's now-disbanded elite unit that served as its control tower during the internal merger.

Social AffairsJan. 10, 2020

Bong Joon-ho's interpreter wows US film industry amid award-winning rally of 'Parasite'

South Korean director Bong Joon-ho of "Parasite" might be the busiest man in the ongoing US winter awards season, hoisting numerous trophies and delivering acceptance speeches onstage.As the director has been increasingly doing media interviews and making it onto talk shows, moreover, the person next to the eclectic auteur has also come into spotlight: Sharon Choi.She has been with Bong as an interpreter since May, when his black comedy thriller won the highest prize of Palme d'Or at t

FilmJan. 10, 2020

Korean business circles welcome data deregulation

A South Korean business association has welcomed on Friday the passage of three revised bills that ease regulations on the use of personal information. A day earlier, the National Assembly passed the revisions of three bills related to the promotion of information and communication networks, personal information protection and credit information protection in a plenary session. They were proposed in November 2018. “Data is like crude oil in the fourth industrial revolution. The amendm

IndustryJan. 10, 2020

[Newsmaker] Arrest warrant sought for Seungri over procuring prostitutes, illegal gambling

The prosecution sought an arrest warrant for K-pop star Serungri on Friday over suspected illegal overseas gambling and procuring prostitutes for his investors. The Seoul Central Prosecutors’ Office said it had filed an arrest warrant for the 30-year-old former Big Bang member, on seven charges including illegal overseas gambling, illegal currency transactions and procuring prostitutes. A hearing on whether to issue an arrest warrant for Seungri, whose real name is Lee Seung-hyun, wil

Social AffairsJan. 10, 2020

N. Korea's Yangdok spa resort begins operations

North Korea began operations of a new spa resort in the country's central region Friday, according to state media, as Pyongyang pushes to attract more foreign tourists in the face of global sanctions crippling its economy.The construction of the Yangdok spa resort in the North's South Pyongan Province was completed last month, which the North's leader Kim Jong-un described as a demonstration of "steady development and prosperity" achieved by the country despite "the worst adversit

North KoreaJan. 10, 2020

US grant-making group provides $11m for NK human rights projects

The National Endowment for Democracy, a congressionally funded US grant-making organization, provided more than $11.2 million over the past four years to human rights groups working on North Korea, recent data showed.According to the data released by the NED on Thursday, $11,222,553 was granted to nongovernmental human rights groups in seven different areas between 2016-2019, including funding for freedom of information. About $5 million was granted to 22 projects designed to provide news to the

North KoreaJan. 10, 2020

Prosecution raids presidential office in election-meddling probe

State prosecutors on Friday raided a division at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae as part of its ongoing probe into an election-meddling case involving the incumbent Ulsan mayor, a close presidential confidant.The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office said it launched a raid on a Cheong Wa Dae unit that covers policies on supporting provincial governments in relation to election-meddling allegations in the industrial city 400 kilometers southeast of Seoul.The raid apparently aimed at se

PoliticsJan. 10, 2020

Outstanding state bonds grow at 4-yr high in 2019: data

South Korea's outstanding state and special bonds grew at the fastest rate in four years in 2019, largely due to government efforts to make up for a cut in tax revenues, data showed Friday. The outstanding amount of bonds and debt issued by public institutions rose 5.3 percent from a year earlier to 1,020.4 trillion won ($879.7 billion), according to the data from Koscom Corp., the system manager of the South Korean bourse operator, Korea Exchange.By type, the Asia's fourth-largest economy net i

EconomyJan. 10, 2020

Renault to partially shut down S. Korea plant amid strikes

Renault Samsung Motors Corp. said Friday it has decided to partially shut down its sole plant in South Korea to reduce production losses resulting from strikes staged by its unionized workers. In the past 12 days, the union held partial strikes at the plant in Busan, 453 kilometers south of Seoul, demanding higher wages. It caused production losses of 6,000 vehicles worth 110 billion won ($95 million). "We have decided to shut down the plant for the night duty time that begins at 3:45 p.m.

IndustryJan. 10, 2020

Korean man gets one-year prison term for beating Japanese woman

A South Korean man was sentenced to one year in prison on Friday for insulting and beating a Japanese woman in Seoul last August.The Seoul Western District Court handed out the jail term to the man identified only as Bang.The 34-year-old Bang is accused of assaulting and hurling insults at the 20-year-old Japanese visitor near the university district of Hongdae in western Seoul around 6 a.m. on Aug. 23. The man was also found to have pulled the victim's hair and used words disparaging the Japane

Social AffairsJan. 10, 2020

BTS unveils teaser video for new album

K-pop boy band BTS on Friday released the first teaser video for its new album slated for Feb. 21.The group uploaded "Interlude: Shadow," the first trailer of its fourth full-length album "Map of the Soul: 7" on its YouTube channel at 12 a.m. Friday.In the three-minute video, member Suga walks listeners through his ambitions and fears involving his band's globally acclaimed music career, carrying on the album series' Carl Jung-inspired theme of exploring the ego. The video em

PerformanceJan. 10, 2020

Moon's approval rating rises to 47% after 2020 message: Gallup

President Moon Jae-in's approval rating has edged up to 47 percent since his address for the new year, in which he offered inter-Korean dialogue and declared a war against real estate speculation, a Gallup survey showed Friday.In the three-day phone interview of 1,000 adults nationwide that began Tuesday, 47 percent of them supported Moon, up 3 percentage points from the previous figure recorded in the third week of December.The proportion of those who disapprove of his leadership fell 3 percent

PoliticsJan. 10, 2020

BTS' 'DNA' music video tops 900m YouTube views

The music video of BTS' 2017 hit song, "DNA," topped 900 million YouTube views Friday, the band's first music video to surpass that milestone. "DNA," the lead track of BTS' 2017 album, "Love Yourself: Her," achieved the feat Friday morning, according to the band's management agency, Big Hit Entertainment.  Released in September 2017, the song stayed on Billboard's Hot 100 chart for four consecutive weeks, and in February the following year, it was certified &qu

PerformanceJan. 10, 2020

Sweet brews at Under Pressure

There is a reason why Under Pressure cafe team manager Park Yong-jin points to its Latte 60 as a star player in this roaster-cafe’s lineup of brews. One sip of this latte, featuring Under Pressure’s Brooklyn Comfort blend, unleashes a striking balance of acidity, sweetness and depth, mellowed and softened by dairy. The tart sweetness of dried berries peeks through all that velvety microfoam, followed by aromas of dried plums and dark chocolate for an elegant and complex brew. Wh

FoodJan. 10, 2020

[Eye Plus] Exhibition highlights Gaya relics

An exhibit in Seoul until March 1 guides you through 2,000-year-old artifacts, ranging from iron armors and swords to pottery and accessories like gold crowns.The National Museum is holding an exhibition on Gaya, an ancient confederacy of small city-states in the central-southern region of the Korean Peninsula from AD 42-562.Under the title of “Gaya Spirit -- Iron and Tune,” the exhibition displays some 2,600 artifacts from 31 institutions here and abroad, including the Tokyo Nationa

Arts & DesignJan. 10, 2020

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

Dolittle(US)Opened Jan. 8Adventure, Comedy, FamilyDirected by Stephen GaghanDr. John Dolittle (Robert Downey Jr.) lives in solitude behind the walls of his manor in 19th-century England. His only companions are exotic animals that he speaks to on a daily basis. But when young Queen Victoria (Jessie Buckley) becomes gravely ill, the eccentric doctor and his furry friends, including the doctor’s loyal dog Jip (Tom Holland), embark on an epic adventure to a mythical island to find a cure.Star

FilmJan. 10, 2020

[Around the Hotels] Promotions and Packages

Winter Wonderland Afternoon Tea at Millennium Hilton Seoul　Millennium Hilton Seoul’s Cilantro Deli, located in the main lobby of the hotel, presents afternoon tea with a winter theme. The tea set includes open sandwiches, scones, a gingerbread man and treats shaped like snowmen, Christmas trees and mittens. The deli’s signature Noel Cake, consisting of a red velvet roll, a green tea roll, a chocolate roll and a mocha roll, will be available for sale, along with fruit sponge cake, cho

FoodJan. 10, 2020

[Travel Bits] Festivals and sights across Korea

E-World Starlight Festival (1) The E-World Starlight Festival in Daegu features 10 million lights in a large area around E-World and 83 Tower. Hot air balloons, illuminated roses and mask light decorations are all part of this carnival-like festival. Large trees are decorated along the 200-meter Light Road, as well as the Umbrella Road, Carnival Road and a photo zone with 1,000 lights. Some 10,000 light-emitting diode roses cover the “proposal stairs.”The festival runs until March 1.

TravelJan. 10, 2020

[Serendipity] Judge a book by its cover, you stand to lose

This sounds rather silly. For a couple of years, I had seen copies of “A Gentleman in Moscow” by Amor Towles on prominent display at the Kyobo Book Center. On the cover was a black-and-white photo of an elderly man in a suit and a hat leaning ever so slightly over a balcony, appearing to be peering down into the city streets, his back to the viewer.Convinced that it was a spy thriller -- anything with the word “Moscow” seems suspect -- I did not bother to lift up the book

ViewpointsJan. 10, 2020