N. Korea calls Abe 'most stupid man' for mistaking projectiles from super-large launcher for ballistic missiles

North Korea fired verbal shots at Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Saturday for mistaking Pyongyang's recent test-fire of its super-large multiple launch rocket system for a ballistic missile launch.In a statement released by the Korean Central News Agency, a vice director general of the Department of Japanese Affairs at the North Korean foreign ministry also said Abe "may see what a real ballistic missile is in the not distant future and under his nose. North Korea claimed Friday that

North KoreaNov. 30, 2019

Tennis star Chung Hyeon eyes first Olympics appearance at Tokyo 2020

South Korean tennis player Chung Hyeon said Friday he hopes to compete at his first Olympic Games next summer in Tokyo."All athletes want to play at the Olympics," the tennis star said at a press conference held after a fan event in Seoul. "If I were given a chance, I hope to make the national team and win a game at the Olympics." For the 2020 Tokyo Olympics qualifications, players are required to play in the Davis Cup, a tournament between national teams in men's tennis. Bas

More SportsNov. 29, 2019

S. Korean firm sues BAT over alleged trademark infringement

Vitabon, a South Korean venture firm, said Friday it has launched a trademark infringement suit against tobacco giant British American Tobacco.Vitabon claims that its nicotine-free aromatherapy device, named Sense, and BAT's hybrid e-cigarette product, glo sens, confuse consumers due to their similar names.  Vitabon said it has filed the lawsuit with the Seoul Central District Court, demanding 110 million won ($93,000) in compensation and that manufacturing and sales of glo sens be banned i

IndustryNov. 29, 2019

Seoul considers carrying out maintenance work on facilities at Kumgangsan

The government is considering repairing some of South Korea’s facilities at North Korea’s Kumgangsan tourism complex, the Ministry of Unification said Friday, as the North continues to demand their demolition. “Our side is planning measures to repair the temporary facilities that cannot be reused in Onjong-ri or the port of Goseong,” Kim Eun-han, a deputy spokesman for the Unification Ministry, told a regular press briefing. In October, Pyongyang notified Seoul that

North KoreaNov. 29, 2019

S. Korea, US to resume defense cost-sharing talks next week after breakdown

South Korea and the United States will resume negotiations next week on sharing of the cost of stationing American troops here after their latest talks broke down due to differences over how much Seoul should pay for its share. Jeong Eun-bo, South Korea's chief negotiator for the defense cost-sharing talks, will meet with his US counterpart, James DeHart of the State Department, in Washington on Tuesday and Wednesday (US time), Seoul's foreign ministry said in a release.The previous negotiations

Foreign AffairsNov. 29, 2019

Chinese warplane violates Korea's air defense zone again

A Chinese military plane violated South Korea's air defense identification zone again Friday, prompting the Air Force to deploy its fighters to drive it out, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said.The plane, presumed to be its Y-9 surveillance aircraft, first entered the KADIZ at 10:05 a.m. from an area west of Ieodo, a submerged rock south of Jeju Island, and exited the zone at 10:53 a.m. It later reentered the zone two more times before its last exit at 1:36 p.m.A country declares an air defense i

DefenseNov. 29, 2019

Rhii Jew-yo wins MMCA Korea Artist Prize 2019

Rhii Jew-yo was announced the winner of the Korea Artist Prize 2019 Thursday evening. Rhii was one of four finalists for the prize, organized by the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea. The others included Kim A-young, Park Hye-soo and Hong Young-in.  Rhii won for her work “Love Your Depot,” a storage system that consists of a broadcasting station, media lab, and a five-story tower.Rhii’s work is an alternative art storage space conceived after the artist

Arts & DesignNov. 29, 2019

New LG Electronics chief likely to get tougher on 8K TV war with Samsung

With LG Electronics welcoming a new chief executive officer, the Korean tech giant is likely to get tough on an ongoing dispute over 8K TVs with its archrival Samsung Electronics, according to industry officials Friday.Kwon Bong-seok, who replaces Jo Seong-jin, the vice chairman of LG Electronics, is the one who made a public denouncement of Samsung’s quantum dot light-emitting diode TV that it is only a sort of LCD TV at a press conference in March. Kwon taking the leadership of LG Electr

TechnologyNov. 29, 2019

Bank of Korea holds key rate steady at 1.25 percent, cuts growth forecast

South Korea’s central bank on Friday left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 1.25 percent, while cutting its economic growth forecast for this year to the lowest level in a decade. The widely expected decision to keep its policy rate frozen follows the Bank of Korea’s Monetary Policy Board’s move in October to trim the rate by 25 basis points to the current rate. It had come merely three months after cutting the rate to 1.5 percent in July. The central bank is likely to m

EconomyNov. 29, 2019

Box-office hit 'Frozen 2' reignites debate over anti-monopoly regulations

As Walt Disney's ambitious film "Frozen 2" smashes the South Korean box office, the local cinema market is again engulfed in a long-running debate over anti-monopoly regulations. "Frozen 2," the sequel to 2013's "Frozen," exceeded 6 million admissions on the ninth day of its release as of Friday, according to the latest data compiled by the Korean Film Council (KOFIC).In particular, about 1.66 million people saw the animated film on Saturday alone, on par with the a

FilmNov. 29, 2019

European companies say level of Korean business law ‘tough’

The European business community in Korea on Friday called for efforts to create a business-friendly climate for both Korean and foreign companies here, citing a growing number of criminal charges and regulations that hinder foreign investment.“Korean laws are very tough,” said Michael Reiterer, ambassador of the European Union to Korea, at an event held by the European Chamber of Commerce in Korea, claiming that stricter regulatory measures were being imposed on foreign companies. &l

IndustryNov. 29, 2019

Main opposition to stage filibuster to prevent vote on key reform bills

The main opposition Liberty Korea Party said Friday it will launch a filibuster to prevent a parliamentary vote on contentious reform bills, effectively putting to a halt the ongoing regular session.The conservative LKP approved a filibuster drive with a plan to have its lawmakers take turns speaking for four hours until the ongoing parliamentary regular session ends on Dec. 10, according to party officials.A filibuster involves lawmakers speaking for extended periods as way to prevent a parliam

PoliticsNov. 29, 2019

Hong Kong set for fresh protests as police end university siege

HONG KONG (AFP) -- Hong Kong police on Friday ended their two-week siege of a university campus that became a battleground with pro-democracy protesters as activists vowed to hold fresh rallies and strikes in the coming days.Renewed calls to hit the streets came after Beijing and city leader Carrie Lam refused further political concessions despite a landslide victory for pro-democracy parties in local elections last weekend.Sunday's district council polls delivered a stinging rebuke to the finan

World NewsNov. 29, 2019

Nexon‘s V4 wins G-Rank game of this month

Nexon’s V4 and Zabob Studio’s Coin Princess won November’s G-Rank Game of the Month and Challenge Seoul award, respectively, the company said Friday.The G-Rank awards ceremony took place at OGN E-sports Stadium in Sangam-dong, Seoul, Thursday. November’s game, V4, is a mobile MMORPG made using Unreal Engine 4. It boasts high-end graphics, a vast virtual combat field and character customizing features that reportedly won many fans. Challenge Seoul award winner Coin Princes

IndustryNov. 29, 2019

Block B member faces lawsuits after raising music chart fixing accusations

Park Kyung, a music producer and a member of K-pop boy band Block B, is facing a chain of lawsuits from fellow music artists after accusing them of music chart manipulation. This past Sunday, the 27-year-old rapper named five fellow singers and a duo on his SNS account, saying, "I wish I could do music hoarding like these people." Park was alluding to his suspicion that they had their music downloaded and purchased in large quantities to boost their numbers on sales charts. The six nam

Social AffairsNov. 29, 2019

Police records can’t be used as evidence without defendant’s approval: court

The Supreme Court ruled that police records of a defendant’s statements cannot be used to prove guilt unless the defendant agrees to the records being used as evidence.The top court said Friday that it reversed a lower court ruling that sentenced a defendant to six months in prison for violating the law on community credit cooperatives, and sent the case back to the Daegu District Court.The defendant was indicted for allegedly giving 500,000 won in cash each to two voters and asking for th

Social AffairsNov. 29, 2019

NK's latest weapons test intended to warn it can return to past behavior: Seoul

North Korea appears to have tested a super-large multiple rocket launcher as a warning sign that it can return to its past behavior of resorting to provocations if it fails to get what it wants during talks with the United States, Seoul's spy agency said Friday.The National Intelligence Service also assessed as "premeditated" the North's recent artillery firing drills on an inter-Korean border island in the Yellow Sea.On Thursday, the North fired two short-range projectiles in a row fr

North KoreaNov. 29, 2019

Top nuclear envoys of S. Korea, US, Japan hold phone talks on NK firing

South Korea's chief nuclear envoy has held telephone talks with his counterparts of the United States and Japan and discussed North Korea's latest firing of projectiles, Seoul's foreign ministry said Friday. Lee Do-hoon, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, spoke by phone with Steven Biegun, special representative for North Korea, early Friday (Seoul time). He spoke to Shigeki Takizaki, head of the Japanese foreign ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau l

North KoreaNov. 29, 2019

No info shared between Seoul, Tokyo via GSOMIA over N. Korea's missile test: officials

South Korea and Japan did not exchange military information with each other regarding North Korea's weapons test this week under the framework of their bilateral intelligence-sharing pact, officials said Friday.On Thursday, North Korea fired two short-range rockets into the East Sea in a test of its super-large multiple rocket launcher. It was the North's first weapons test since Seoul decided last week to conditionally renew the General Security of Military Information Agreement."Japan did

DefenseNov. 29, 2019

Ex-Japan PM Nakasone dies at 101

TOKYO (AFP) -- Former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, an ardent conservative who worked to forge a stronger military alliance with the United States, has died at the age of 101, local media said Friday.In office for five years from November 1982 to November 1987, Nakasone was known for trying to integrate the nation defeated in World War II as a full-fledged member of the West during the Cold War era. He poured his efforts into strengthening security ties with the US at a time of inte

World NewsNov. 29, 2019