S. Korea not considering delaying GSOMIA termination: defense ministry

South Korea is not considering postponing the termination of the soon-to-expire military intelligence-sharing pact with Japan, the defense ministry said Monday.The General Security of Military Information Agreement between South Korea and Japan is to expire on Nov. 23, following Seoul's decision in August to end it after Japan announced export curbs on Seoul, citing security concerns.As the deadline draws near, some media have speculated that South Korea is considering an option to put off its t

DefenseNov. 11, 2019

[Exclusive] Jim Rogers still optimistic about investing in N. Korea

SINGAPORE -- Jim Rogers, the Singapore-based US investor and chairman of Rogers Holdings, said he was still optimistic about investing in North Korea even after the country’s leader Kim Jong-un ordered the removal of all South Korean facilities from the Kumgangsan resort.　“I’ve never met the man so I don’t know what he thinks, but I speculated that maybe, what he was doing was part of a negotiation ploy,” Rogers said in a telephone interview with The Korea Herald on

North KoreaNov. 11, 2019

Cancer treatment costs top W9tr in 2018

Cancer treatment costs in South Korea exceeded the 9 trillion-won ($7.8 billion) mark in 2018 due to a rise in the number of patients and more state coverage, a report showed Monday.Nearly 9.01 trillion won was spent to treat cancer patients last year, taking up 11.6 percent of the country's total medical spending covered by the state health insurance program, according to the report by the National Health Insurance Service and the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service. The high percent

Social AffairsNov. 11, 2019

S. Korea fall to Mexico in quarterfinals at FIFA U-17 World Cup

South Korea's surprising run at the FIFA U-17 World Cup has ended after the second knockout match.South Korea lost to Mexico 1-0 in the quarterfinals at Estadio Kleber Andrade in Vitoria on Sunday (local time), on a goal by Ali Avila in the 77th minute.This was South Korea's fourth trip to the quarterfinals of this youth tournament, and head coach Kim Jung-soo's team was trying to become the first South Korean squad to make it to the semifinals.Choi Min-seo hit the crossbar in the 14th minute fo

SoccerNov. 11, 2019

Korea's exports down 20.8 % in first 10 days of November

South Korea's exports fell 20.8 percent in the first 10 days of November mainly due to decreased shipments of semiconductors and ships, customs data showed Monday.The country's exports stood at $11.9 billion in the November 1-10 period, compared with $15 billion in the same period last year, according to the Korea Customs Service. By product, exports of semiconductors and ships fell 33.3 percent and 64.4 percent, respectively. Outbound shipments of petroleum products and passenger cars also decl

EconomyNov. 11, 2019

Berlin celebrates 30 years since fall of the Wall

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier urged the United States to be a “mutually respectful partner” and reject nationalism, in a clear salvo aimed at US leader Donald Trump as Germany on Saturday marked 30 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall.Recalling the United States’ key role in helping to bring down the hated Wall separating communist East Germany from the capitalist West, Steinmeier said he still hears the late US President Ronald Reagan’s cry of “tear d

World NewsNov. 11, 2019

[Newsmaker] Hong Kong police shoot protester as flashmob rallies target rush hour

HONG KONG (AFP) -- A Hong Kong police officer shot at masked protesters on Monday morning, hitting at least one in the torso, as anger sparked by the recent death of a student spilled into the rush hour commute.The shooting, which was broadcast live on Facebook, is the latest escalation in more than five months of seething pro-democracy protests that have engulfed the international financial hub and battered its reputation.Footage showed a police officer drawing his sidearm in the district of Sa

World NewsNov. 11, 2019

Bolivia's Morales resigns after losing backing of security forces

LA PAZ (AFP) -- Bolivian President Evo Morales resigned Sunday, caving in following three weeks of sometimes-violent protests over his disputed re-election after the army and police withdrew their backing."I resign my post as president," the leftist Morales said in a televised address, capping a day of fast-moving events in which many ministers and senior officials quit as support for Latin America's longest-serving president crumbled.The streets of La Paz immediately exploded in celeb

World NewsNov. 11, 2019

Moon meets ruling, opposition party leaders amid political stalemate

President Moon Jae-in agreed Sunday with the heads of South Korea‘s five major political parties on the need to resume a key regular meeting on discussing major pending political issues, a ruling party official said after their Cheong Wa Dae dinner meeting.At the end of the session, held at Moon’s official residence inside the presidential compound for around two and a half hours, the participants had a “rather positive discussion” on the issue of restarting the standing

PoliticsNov. 10, 2019

[Graphic News] Number of temporary workers rises 13.1% in 2019

　The number of temporary workers in South Korea rose 13.1 percent on-year this year, with such positions also accounting for a rising percentage of the total, government data showed.　A total of 7.48 million workers were nonregular workers, part-timers or outsourced laborers as of August 2019, up about 870,000 from a year ago, according to the data from Statistics Korea.　They accounted for 36.4 percent of the country’s 20.55 million salaried employees.　In 2018, temporary workers accounted f

Social AffairsNov. 10, 2019

S. Korea open to settling spat with Japan over intel-sharing pact if relations improve

President Moon Jae-in’s top security adviser reaffirmed Sunday that South Korea’s bilateral military intelligence-sharing pact with Japan could be renewed, as the expiration date draws near.Chung Eui-yong, chief of Cheong Wa Dae’s National Security Office, laid the blame on Japan for the strained relations, which have sunk to their lowest point in decades. “The government is willing to rethink an extension of the GSOMIA if South Korea-Japan relations normalize,&rdquo

Foreign AffairsNov. 10, 2019

149-year-old biopharma supplier Sartorius eyes expansion in Korea

GOTTINGEN, Germany -- Behind the market expansion of Samsung’s biologics business is 149-year-old Sartorius, the German firm that has helped it grow rapidly.Founded in 1870, the German company supplies single-use bags and membrane filters on top of many other items that biopharmaceutical firms need to produce cell cultures. As of end-2018, Sartorius had 15 trillion won ($12.95 billion) market capitalization, with offices in over 60 locations in the world and some 8,800 staff. Most of its r

IndustryNov. 10, 2019

Video of former President Chun playing golf sparks uproar

Video footage of former President Chun Doo-hwan playing golf, who has been avoiding attending a defamation trial claiming dementia, has sparked public anger.  Chun has been accused of defaming late Rev. Cho Bi-oh regarding the 1980 Gwangju Democratic Uprising. Justice Party Vice Chairman Lim Han-sol on Friday released a video clip of Chun playing golf with his companions. Upon the release, civic groups, including the May 18 Memorial Foundation, immediately condemned Chun. “This is

Social AffairsNov. 10, 2019

[News Focus] Year of soccer, Olympics, elections coming up

SEJONG -- The 2010s will terminate in about 50 days, and South Korean politics will face a turbulent time from the beginning of the 2020s as the nation has already entered the election mode for the 21st Assembly.In 2020, the general election for the National Assembly is slated for April 15, while there will be a presidential election in the US on Nov. 3.Meanwhile, next year will also feature big international sports events.People in Europe and across the globe are waiting for opening of the

Social AffairsNov. 10, 2019

Senior citizen group hosts hanbok fashion show to bring harmony to society

The Korea Senior Star Association, a civic group for senior citizens, hosted a fashion show Saturday to promote the beauty of the Korean traditional costume, hanbok, and break down the barriers that divide generations.Around 1,000 people attended the event, titled “Our Beautiful Costume Hanbok That Moves Forward Into the Future,” held at Namsangol Hanok Village, a collection of five Korean traditional houses at the foot of Namsan’s north side. “We hope this event hel

CultureNov. 10, 2019

President Moon to hold televised town hall meeting next Tuesday

President Moon Jae-in plans to hold a town hall meeting Nov. 19, Cheong Wa Dae said Sunday. Local televisio network MBC will broadcast the 100-minute meeting starting at 8 p.m. “Anyone is welcome to join, and people can ask the president any question,” Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Ko Min-jung said, adding the president expects to talk candidly to exchange views on his policies so far. Moon, sworn in as president in May 2017, passed the halfway point in his five-year term last Sa

Social AffairsNov. 10, 2019

J Ahn’s photographs capture daily life in urban setting

Photographer J Ahn is holding her solo exhibition at Art Space J in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. Titled “City Colors II,” introduces photographs taken on Ahn’s travels to major urban tourist destinations, such as New York, Paris and Seoul. 　 The latest exhibition, which is the second edition of her 2009 exhibition “City Colors,” features 52 photographs. Each city has its own color, and the photographer’s aim is to capture the different colors. “I grew up

Arts & DesignNov. 10, 2019

[George Soros] The rise of nationalism after the fall of the Berlin Wall

The fall of the Berlin Wall on the night of Nov. 8, 1989, dramatically and suddenly accelerated the collapse of communism in Europe. The end of travel restrictions between East and West Germany dealt a death blow to the closed society of the Soviet Union. By the same token, it marked a high point for the rise of open societies.I had become involved in what I call my political philanthropy a decade earlier. I became an advocate of the concept of open society that had been imbued in me by Karl Pop

ViewpointsNov. 10, 2019

[Jeffrey D. Sachs] America’s war on Chinese technology

The worst foreign policy decision by the United States of the last generation -- and perhaps longer -- was the “war of choice” that it launched in Iraq in 2003 for the stated purpose of eliminating weapons of mass destruction that did not, in fact, exist. Understanding the illogic behind that disastrous decision has never been more relevant, because it is being used to justify a similarly misguided US policy today.The decision to invade Iraq followed the illogic of then-US Vice Presi

ViewpointsNov. 10, 2019