Apple most favored by Korean investors among foreign stocks in Q4: data

Apple Inc. was the top pick by South Korean investors among foreign companies during the fourth quarter of last year as local investors joined the rush to buy shares in the US tech giant on hopes of it making a rally, data showed Monday. Apple outperformed all other market-leading tech shares in 2019, rising 86 percent, as its new products, such as the Apple Watch 4 series, drew better-than-expected market response.According to the data compiled by the Korea Securities Depository, South Korean i

IndustryJan. 6, 2020

Prosecution demands arrest of ex-Coast Guard chief in Sewol probe

State prosecutors said Monday they have requested a court formally detain a former Korea Coast Guard chief for alleged mishandling of one of the country's worst maritime disasters, in which more than 300 people died.A special unit tasked with the probe said it has requested the arrest of Kim Suk-kyoon, former Korea Coast Guard chief, as well as five other key officials, including those who supervised the western coastal unit and the southwestern port city of Mokpo, according to the prosecution.

Social AffairsJan. 6, 2020

S. Korea vows 'swift responses' to Middle East contingencies: defense ministry

South Korea vowed Monday to work closely with the international community to swiftly respond to any contingencies related to the safety of its people in the Middle East amid simmering tensions between the United States and Iran.  Fears have grown over imminent military conflicts between the US and Iran after top Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani was killed in a US drone strike last week. Iran has warned of severe revenge for the attack, and even pledged to abandon the 2015 nu

Foreign AffairsJan. 6, 2020

[CES 2020] Korean tech giants to showcase more AI robots

LAS VEGAS -- Living together with multiple robots that assist humans in everyday life at home is no longer a distant future. At the Consumer Electronics Show kicking off Tuesday in Las Vegas, South Korean tech leaders will demonstrate how their robots can live together with humans and what roles they will play, blending artificial intelligence into people’s everyday life at their exhibition booths in the Las Vegas Convention Center. Samsung Electronics will take the largest area of 3,368 s

TechnologyJan. 6, 2020

State pension payouts rise 18% in 10 years

State pension payouts increased by about 18 percent over the last 10 years. According to the National Pension Service, this is because the consumer price index was used to calculate the amounts to be paid out in each successive year. Korea has seen positive inflation rates of 0.8 percent in 1999, 3.6 percent in 2003, 4.7 percent in 2008, 1.3 percent in 2013, 1.3 percent in 2014, 0.7 percent in 2015, 1 percent in 2016, 1.9 percent in 2017 and 1.5 percent in 2018.The NPS will increase this year&rs

Social AffairsJan. 6, 2020

SKC to complete takeover of world's top copper foil maker for $1b

SKC Inc., a chemical unit of SK Group, said Monday that it will acquire KCF Technologies Co., the world's top producer of copper foil for lithium-ion batteries, this week in a bid to diversify its business portfolio.SKCFT Holdings Co., a subsidiary of SKC, is set to buy a 100 percent stake in KCFT from Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., a US-based private equity fund, for 1.19 trillion won ($1 billion) on Tuesday."The acquisition is meant to expand mobility business," SKC said in a reg

IndustryJan. 6, 2020

Hyundai Motor rolls out upgraded Kona Electric 2020

Hyundai Motor said Monday it has launched Kona Electric 2020, an upgraded version of the country’s most-sold electric vehicle last year.A total of 13,587 units of Kona Electric were sold in the domestic market last year, maintaining its top position in the EV market for two years in a row.  The automaker said all trims of Kona Electric 2020 have adopted 10.25-inch navigation, offering drivers with wider, clearer screen as well as various multimedia contents. The navigation program is

MobilityJan. 6, 2020

S. Korea's content industry grows 3.1% in first half of 2019

South Korea's content industry expanded 3.1 percent in the first half of 2019 from the same period the previous year, driven by growth in comics, information services and movies, data showed Monday.Sales of the South Korean content industry reached 58.13 trillion won ($49.7 billion) in the first six months last year, compared with 56.37 trillion won in the same period in 2018, according to the data by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Creative Content Agency.Comics, mostl

IndustryJan. 6, 2020

S. Korea to hold NSC meeting on Iran issue

South Korea's top security officials will have a National Security Council meeting to discuss the current Iran crisis on Monday afternoon, Cheong Wa Dae said.President Moon Jae-in instructed the members of the NSC standing committee to closely review security conditions, the safety of South Koreans in the region and crude oil supply, in particular, according to Cheong Wa Dae's spokesperson Ko Min-jung. Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Sung Yun-mo also plans to attend the session at the call o

PoliticsJan. 6, 2020

New satellite images show N. Korea's hidden submarine capable of firing ballistic missiles

Recent satellite imagery revealed a hidden submarine capable of launching ballistic missiles at North Korea's Sinpo shipyard, a US monitoring website said, amid concerns that Pyongyang could test a submarine-launched ballistic missile as a threatened "new strategic weapon."Satellite imagery taken Jan. 1 "revealed the presence of the North Korean SINPO-class experimental ballistic missile submarine and its submersible test stand barge positioned beneath a recently constructed, dock

North KoreaJan. 6, 2020

'Parasite’ wins Korea’s first Golden Globe

Korean director Bong Joon-ho’s satirical drama “Parasite” marked another milestone for Korean cinema when it became the first Korean film to win a major US film award.Bong’s “Parasite” won the award for best foreign language film at the Golden Globes ceremony, held Monday at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California.The film, which also won the top prize at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, has been on a global winning streak. Now, with its f

FilmJan. 6, 2020

Imported car sales dip 6.1% in 2019 as Japanese brands struggle

Imported car sales in South Korea fell 6.1 percent in 2019 from a year earlier as Japanese brands struggled with a boycott amid trade tensions between Seoul and Tokyo, an industry association said Monday.The number of newly registered foreign vehicles fell to 244,780 units last year from the previous year's 260,705, according to the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association."Local campaigns against Japanese vehicles and other products are still underway, weighing on imported

IndustryJan. 6, 2020

Korean firms expected to register better earnings in 2020

Nine out of 10 major listed firms in South Korea expect to see their profitability turn for the better in 2020 on the back of a much-awaited recovery in the global chipmaking sector and lower base effect, a market tracker said Monday.According to FnGuide, 264 listed companies, or 91.4 percent of the 289 major companies listed on the main bourse and the secondary bourse, said their performance will get better this year compared with last year.The combined operating profit of the 264 companies is

IndustryJan. 6, 2020

Hollywood stars shine on Globes red carpet

LOS ANGELES (AFP) -- Hollywood's brightest stars sparkled Sunday on the red carpet at the Golden Globes, the first showbiz awards gala of 2020.Under sunny skies, the best and brightest of film and television arrived at the Beverly Hilton in their finest for the ceremony, hosted by British comedian Ricky Gervais.Here is a look at some of the trends spotted on the red carpet:Black and white Tinseltown's A-list wants to make a good impression on the first major red carpet of the year, and how bette

FilmJan. 6, 2020

Financial watchdog to give more time to banks over dispute settlement

South Korea's financial watchdog said Monday that it will give more time to six banks to decide whether to accept a proposal meant to resolve disputes over currency-related derivatives.The move came two days before a deadline by which the six banks are required to decide whether to accept and honor the arbitration proposal by the dispute settlement board of the Financial Supervisory Service.The watchdog has said the deadline can be extended if requested by the relevant parties. So far, none of t

EconomyJan. 6, 2020

Hyundai sells over 50,000 Palisade SUVs in S. Korea last year

Hyundai Motor Co. said Monday that it sold over 50,000 Palisade sport utility vehicle models in the domestic market last year, helping buoy the carmaker's annual sales. For the whole of 2019, 52,299 Palisades were sold here following its launch in January, Hyundai sales data showed. Some potential SUV buyers chose the flagship Palisade over the midsize Santa Fe SUV last year amid concerns of cannibalization, or competition between models from the same carmaker. But the flagship Palisade's h

IndustryJan. 6, 2020

Korea's FX reserves hit record high in Dec.

South Korea's foreign exchange reserves climbed to a record high in December on the back of the weakening of the US greenback, which pushed up the dollar value of other foreign currencies held by the country, central bank data showed Monday.The country's foreign exchange reserves came to $408.82 billion as of the end of last month, up $1.36 billion from a month earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea.The amount marks the world's ninth largest.The increase "mainly stems from an

MarketJan. 6, 2020

'Parasite' named best picture by US Nat'l Society of Film Critics

South Korean director Bong Joon-ho's black comedy thriller "Parasite" has won the top honor from the US National Society of Film Critics.As the NSFC announced winners of its 54th annual voting meeting in New York on Sunday (US time), "Parasite" was named best picture and also took the best screenplay award.The Korean film received 44 votes for the top prize, outnumbering Greta Gerwig's "Little Women" with 27 votes and Quentin Tarantino's "Upon a Time in Hollywo

FilmJan. 6, 2020

Merkel, Macron, Johnson urge Iran not to flout nuclear deal

BERLIN (AFP) -- The leaders of Germany, France and Britain on Sunday urged Iran to drop measures that go against the 2015 nuclear deal, after Tehran announced it would no longer abide by a limit on enrichment."We call on Iran to withdraw all measures that are not in line with the nuclear agreement," German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and British PM Boris Johnson said in a joint statement.The 2015 agreement negotiated between Iran and the UN Security Counc

World NewsJan. 6, 2020

BTS wins top prize at Golden Disc Awards for 3rd consecutive year

K-pop boy band BTS won the top prize in the album division at a prestigious annual music awards ceremony in South Korea on Sunday.BTS took home "Album of the Year" at the 34th Golden Disc Awards ceremony at Seoul's Gocheok Sky Dome. It marked the third straight year that the septet won the top prize in the album division. On Saturday, BTS also won best digital song in the digital song division.Winners are determined mostly by album sales and digital streaming, according to the organize

PerformanceJan. 6, 2020