Moon in dilemma over next prime minister

Having picked a nominee to become justice minister after long consideration, President Moon Jae-in faces a similar kind of major task: deciding whether to replace his prime minister and, if so, whom to choose.Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon is the front-runner to become Moon's successor in various opinion polls, while the next presidential race is more than two years away.Lee is reportedly hoping to return to the ruling Democratic Party (DP) to play a role in the April 15 general elections in 2020.Le

PoliticsDec. 14, 2019

Samsung VP gets jail term for attempting to break up labor union

A Seoul court handed a jail term to a Samsung executive on Friday for attempting to break up a labor union at Everland, an amusement park run by the country's biggest conglomerate.The Seoul Central District Court sentenced the Samsung Electronics Co. vice president, Kang Kyung-hoon, to 1 year and four months in prison for obstruction of business and breaching labor union-related laws. Kang was not taken into custody so he can lodge an appeal.The court also sentenced a former Everland execut

TechnologyDec. 13, 2019

Biegun to visit Seoul next week ahead of NK year-end deadline

US Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun was set to arrive in Seoul on Sunday, just weeks ahead of Pyongyang's year-end deadline for Washington to show flexibility to advance their stalemated nuclear talks.His three-day visit comes amid rising tensions in the wake of Pyongyang's apparent rocket engine test earlier this month and Washington's subsequent warnings against additional "hostile" acts.Escalating tensions further, the North on Saturday said it carried out "

North KoreaDec. 13, 2019

Samsung denies selling 1 mln Galaxy Fold smartphones

Samsung Electronics on Friday denied media reports that the company has sold one million Galaxy Fold smartphones globally since the device's launch in September.Samsung Electronics President Sohn Young-kwon said at a conference organized by U.S. tech media TechCrunch that the South Korean tech giant has sold 1 million Galaxy Folds so far, double the industry's earlier estimate.But a Samsung spokesman said Sohn may have confused the figure with the company's initial sales target for the year, emp

TechnologyDec. 13, 2019

Labor office launches probe into employer paying migrant workers in fake money

A local labor office said Friday that it is investigating allegations that a subcontractor had paid Vietnamese migrant workers in fake money for their farm labor.  According to an association of migrant workers’ rights organizations based in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province, the subcontractor paid the workers in paper coupons, instead of cash, promising to exchange the coupons with real currency when they wanted. Their employer, however, did not exchange the coupons in full when re

Social AffairsDec. 13, 2019

Korea vows to localize materials used at bio drug production facilities

Korean biologics drug companies, including major players Celltrion and Samsung BioLogics, agreed Friday to localize materials for bio drug production. Incheon Metropolitan City hosted the event attended by some 110 personnel from the biologics industry. Incheon houses Korean biologics production facilities. Korea’s 1.69 trillion won ($1.4 billion) bio industry output in 2017 has climbed annually, and is anticipated to rake in well over 2 trillion won. However, 98 percent of the materials u

IndustryDec. 13, 2019

Naver Financial attracts W800b investment from Mirae Asset

Naver Financial, a financial platform by South Korean internet giant Naver, has attracted an investment of about 800 billion won ($683 million) from its financial partner Mirae Asset, the company said in a regulatory filing on Friday. The investment will secure a stable financial structure for Naver Financial and forge a partnership between the two to take the lead in the country’s emerging “techfin” industry. Techfin refers to technology firms seeking to deliver financial prod

MobilityDec. 13, 2019

Detective admits to coercing confession in serial murders

A police officer has admitted to torturing a 53-year-old surnamed Yun during the investigation into the Hwaseong serial killings from the 1980s to 1990s. Yun was later convicted for the eighth murder in the case. A local media outlet said Friday that the Suwon Prosecutors’ Office recently called in three former detectives who investigated Yun. One of the officers acknowledged that he had deprived Yun of sleep. But he denied that he had beat Yun or forced him to do squat jumps as alleged

Social AffairsDec. 13, 2019

Special investigation team secures audit records involving ferry disaster

A special unit of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office launched Nov. 11 to reinvestigate the 2014 Sewol ferry disaster raided the Board of Audit and Inspection on Thursday, and secured audit records for the responsible government ministries from the aftermath of the sinking. Shortly after the disaster, the audit agency conducted probes into those government bodies, including the Coast Guard, to find out why a new locally developed Navy ship was not mobilized to aid the rescue operations. 

Social AffairsDec. 13, 2019

Malaysian court approves N. Korean's extradition to US

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) -- A North Korean man is likely to face money-laundering charges in the United States after a Malaysian court approved his extradition Friday, in a case his lawyers claim is politically motivated. Mun Chol -myong has denied FBI claims that he led a criminal group that violated sanctions by supplying luxury goods to his isolated homeland and laundered funds through front companies. The 54-year-old, who has lived in Malaysia with his family for a decade, was arrested in May foll

North KoreaDec. 13, 2019

Watchdog advises banks to partially cover losses from KIKO misselling

Wrapping up long-stalled arbitration proceedings Friday to settle disputed sales of currency-option contracts, South Korea’s financial market watchdog advised local banks to compensate local businesses for up to 41 percent of the loss they inflicted.At a press briefing, the Financial Supervisory Service’s Dispute Arbitration Committee urged six banks to pay about 25.5 billion won ($21.7 million) in total to four local businesses that signed “knock-in, knock-out” currency

MarketDec. 13, 2019

Hyundai Motor jumps into Indonesian ride-hailing market

Hyundai Motor said Friday it has delivered the first batch of 20 Ioniq EVs to Indonesia, entering the ride-hailing market in the Southeast Asian country in partnership with Grab. The South Korean carmaker and Grab will operate ride-hailing services in Jakarta with the electric version of the compact starting early next year. They plan to expand the number of vehicles in operation by the end of the year. The Ioniq EV is capable of running 271 kilometers per single charge. It can be recharged to 8

MobilityDec. 13, 2019

Ruling party slams ex-president for extravagant wine and dine

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea on Friday lashed out at former President Chun Doo-hwan, who is now on trial on libel charges in connection with his role in the 1980 crackdown on the Gwangju Democratic Uprising, for hosting an extravagant luncheon on the anniversary of the military coup that brought him to power.  The former Army general, 88, seized power in a military coup on Dec. 12, 1979, following the assassination of President Park Chung-hee on Oct. 26 by his spy agency director. C

Social AffairsDec. 13, 2019

9 former, current KT executives shortlisted for next chairman post

Nine candidates have been shortlisted for the position of next chairman of KT, South Korea’s second-largest mobile carrier said Friday. KT’s board of directors said late Thursday it had finalized a short list of nine candidates -- including three current KT executives and four former executives -- and announced the names of eight candidates. KT has not revealed the profile of one candidate upon the person’s request. The incumbent KT executives are Koo Hyun-mo, head of customer

TechnologyDec. 13, 2019

Samsung to invest additional $8b in China memory plant: report

Samsung Electronics will make an additional $8 billion investment in its memory plant in Xian, China, in a preemptive response to the projected growth of memory chip demand, according to news reports Friday. A Chinese media outlet reported that Samsung has officially decided to execute the investment for the Xian plant. Samsung’s headquarters in Seoul, however, declined to confirm the investment plan. According to the report, the decision was revealed Tuesday during a meeting between an ex

TechnologyDec. 13, 2019

Bank Salad ties up with Kakao Bank for open banking service

South Korean budget app Bank Salad said Friday it will start providing tie-up services with internet-only Kakao Bank later this month, allowing users to manage their online bank accounts more efficiently in line with the launch of open banking services.Financial technology firm Rainist, which operates Bank Salad, had launched a task force to prepare for the services in partnership with Kakao Bank, ahead of Dec. 18, when financial authorities will formally greenlight operations of open banking se

MarketDec. 13, 2019

Delivery Hero to acquire delivery app Baedal Minjok

Germany’s Delivery Hero, the operator of food delivery app Yogiyo here, is set to acquire its main Korean competitor Baedal Minjok, in the largest merger and acquisition deal of an internet startup in the country. Woowa Brothers, which runs the Baedal Mijok app, announced Friday that Delivery Hero will become its majority stakeholder with a stake of 87 percent, while setting the value of the firm at $4 billion. Delivery Hero is listed on the Frankfurt bourse and has been expanding its pres

IndustryDec. 13, 2019

Guide to indulging in winter street food

With the freezing cold season approaching, the craving for hot street food grows. Seoul’s street food is perfect for warming the soul. Get some cash ready, put on a coat and head to Myeong-dong to fill your belly. Street food in Myeong-dong is simply amazing. For those who enjoy spicy stuff, it’s like paradise. What is happiness, if not this? Vendors get ready around 4 p.m., and people start visiting them around 5 p.m.Hotteok (Sugar-filled griddlecake)If the country’s frosty te

FoodDec. 13, 2019

S. Korea, US to hold defense cost-sharing talks in Seoul next week

South Korea and the United States will hold a new round of negotiations in Seoul next week on the sharing of the cost for stationing American troops here, the foreign ministry said Friday, amid few signs of either side giving ground.Seoul's chief negotiator Jeong Eun-bo and his US counterpart James DeHart are set to meet on Tuesday and Wednesday over how much Seoul should pay for the upkeep of the 28,500-strong US Forces Korea. They last met in Washington early this month.The allies have been st

Foreign AffairsDec. 13, 2019

Former KBO MVP announces retirement

Yoon Suk-min, former MVP-winning pitcher in South Korean baseball, announced his retirement Friday at age 33.The Kia Tigers in the Korea Baseball Organization said Yoon has decided to call it a career, with his long rehab from a shoulder injury stalled."I've been trying to return to the mound, but I am in a situation where I can no longer pitch," Yoon said in a statement released by the Tigers. "Rather than taking up a spot on the team during my rehab, I wanted to give younger pla

BaseballDec. 13, 2019