S. Korea holds search operation for ASF-infected wild boars

South Korea's quarantine officials on Monday kicked off an intensive search operation for dead wild boars possibly infected with African swine fever near the border with North Korea.South Korea's environment and forest authorities said they will implement a joint search operation to find dead wild boars near the border, as they could be infected with the virus.About 440 officials will carry out daily patrols in the designated areas.South Korea will also induce wild boars to move to northern regi

Social AffairsOct. 28, 2019

STX Corp. signs coal trading deal with Russia's Mechel

STX Corp., a South Korean general trading firm, said Monday it has signed a deal with Russian mining giant Mechel PAO to import coal and coke produced in the Kuzbass mines in Kemerovo, Russia.Under the deal, STX Corp. will import 1.2 million tons of coal and coke a year. The Kuzbass region accounts for 60 percent of the total coal production in Russia.STX Corp. has been recently expanding its commodity trading businesses to minerals. In June, it secured rights to sell vanadium and graphite produ

EconomyOct. 28, 2019

S. Korea asks N. Korea to hold working-level talks over Mount Kumgang

South Korea offered Monday to hold working-level talks with North Korea about a long-suspended tour program at the North's Mount Kumgang, after Pyongyang demanded Seoul remove all of its resort facilities from the mountain in a threat to end the joint business.  The North made the demand Friday, following up on leader Kim Jong-un's directive that all South Korean-built facilities should be removed from the mountain resort and the North should build an international tourist zone of its

North KoreaOct. 28, 2019

Peronist Fernandez wins Argentine presidential election

BUENOS AIRES (AFP) -- Peronist candidate Alberto Fernandez won Argentina's presidential election in the first round on Sunday, official results showed, bringing to an end the crisis-plagued rule of market-friendly incumbent Mauricio Macri. Fernandez, a 60-year-old law professor, had 47.36 percent of the votes -- crossing the threshold for outright victory -- after 75 percent of the votes had been counted, with center-right incumbent Mauricio Macri trailing at 41.22 percent. To win outright, Fern

World NewsOct. 28, 2019

Lee becomes longest-serving prime minister in S. Korea

Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon became the longest-serving prime minister in South Korea on Monday since the country adopted a direct presidential election system in 1987. Lee has served in the post for 881 days since his appointment in May 2017 under the liberal Moon Jae-in government, according his office.The record topped Kim Hwang-sik's 880-day stint as prime minister between October 2010-February 2013 under the conservative Lee Myung-bak administration.Lee, a former journalist and four-term lawm

PoliticsOct. 28, 2019

Comfort woman statue gets settled in Virginia after 3 years in warehouse

A statue symbolizing Korean victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery finally got ensconced in Virginia on Sunday, after being stored in a warehouse for three years due to Tokyo's alleged efforts against its installation. A civic group pushing to erect the statue of a young girl commemorating the former sex slaves, better known as comfort women, held a ceremony unveiling the monument in Annandale. It was the fifth such statue to be installed in the United States.The statue was first shown to the

Social AffairsOct. 28, 2019

Seoul stocks open higher on hopes of US, China deal

Seoul stocks opened higher Monday as investor sentiment was boosted by signs that the United States and China may settle their protracted trade row in the near future.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index increased 13.11 points, or 0.63 percent, to reach 2,101.00 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The US stock market also gathered ground on Friday following reports that Washington and Beijing are getting closer to finding common ground in their trade talks.Market kingpin Samsung Elect

MarketOct. 28, 2019

Luxury giant LVMH makes bid for jewellers Tiffany: source

NEW YORK (AFP) -- LVMH, which owns Louis Vuitton, Dior and the champagne brands Veuve Clicquot and Moet, has made a bid for American jeweller Tiffany, known for its engagement rings and diamonds.The French luxury giant made an offer for the US company at the start of the month, a source told AFP late on Saturday.Tiffany, whose flagship New York store is next to Trump Tower on 5th avenue, has not yet responded to the offer, which comes as the luxury industry is jittery about the possible effects

World BusinessOct. 28, 2019

ABS issuance dips 11.9% in Q3

The issuance of asset-backed securities in South Korea slipped 11.9 percent on-year in the third quarter because of a decline in sales of government-led mortgage funds, data showed Monday. The value of ABSs issues stood at 9.6 trillion won ($8.1 billion) during the July-September period, down 1.3 trillion won from a year ago, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service.  ABSs are structured with mortgages, auto loans, credit card receivables and students loans as underlying

MarketOct. 28, 2019

The tip, the raid, the reveal: The takedown of al-Baghdadi

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The helicopters flew low and fast into the night, ferrying US special forces to a compound where Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was hiding in Syria. Half a world away, President Donald Trump watched the raid in real time via a video link as troops blasted into the hideout and sent the most-wanted militant running the last steps of his life.The daring raid was the culmination of years of steady intelligence-gathering work -- and 48 hours of hurry-up planning onc

World NewsOct. 28, 2019

S. Korea to set up fences from east to west to prevent spread of ASF

South Korea will establish fences across the country from east to west to prevent the spread of African wine fever (ASF) via wild boars, quarantine authorities said Sunday.The decision to build the structures stretching from the western border city of Paju to Goseong in the east coast came after a series of ASF cases were confirmed among wild boars near the inter-Korean border.    No additional cases of ASF have been confirmed at local farms since early this month, but there have

Social AffairsOct. 27, 2019

Two US B-52 bombers fly over East Sea: aviation tracker

Two US B-52 strategic bombers flew over the East Sea last week, an aviation tracker said, in a mission possibly designed to send a warning in response to North Korea's recent series of missile launches. The bombers, which took off from Guam's Anderson Air Base, "conducted a mission" in the East Sea and "possibly the South China Sea" on Friday, Aircraft Spots said on a Twitter post. Three KC-135R aerial tankers provided support for their flight. The B-52 is considered a repres

DefenseOct. 27, 2019

Trump says Islamic State leader dead after US raid in Syria

The shadowy leader of the Islamic State group who presided over its global jihad and became arguably the world's most wanted man, is dead after being targeted by a U.S. military raid in Syria, President Donald Trump said Sunday."Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead," Trump announced at the White House, saying the U.S. had "brought the world's number one terrorist leader to justice." As U.S. forces bore down on him, Trump said al-Baghdadi fled into a tunnel with three of his children

World NewsOct. 27, 2019

Greenpeace slams Hyundai Motor’s green car strategy

The Seoul branch of Greenpeace has slammed South Korean carmaker Hyundai Motor, claiming that its green car strategy falls short of global movements on climate change.In a statement published on Friday, the nongovernment organization argued that Hyundai’s plans to raise both production and sales capacity of electric vehicles to 850,000 a year by 2025 accounts for only 10.3 percent of its 2018 sales. Despite the global efforts to curb carbon emissions, the carmaker is still producing diesel

MobilityOct. 27, 2019

Despite Penderecki’s absence, SIMF continues with Polish-themed concerts

In spite of numerous hiccups -- the biggest one being the unexpected absence of Polish maestro Krzysztof Penderecki -- the 11th Seoul International Music Festival kicked off as planned and continues to introduce classical music to a wider audience. The 86-year-old composer and conductor was to visit South Korea for a concert Saturday at the Seoul Arts Center, but canceled a few days prior due to health concerns. Polish composer Maciej Tworek filled in and led the KBS Symphony Orchestra for

PerformanceOct. 27, 2019

Jonasson's '100-Year-Old Man' meets Kim Jong-un in sequel

Bestselling Swedish novelist Jonas Jonasson visited South Korea upon the release of his latest novel, “The Accidental Further Adventures of the 100-Year-Old Man,” a sequel to his bestseller “The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed out of the Window and Disappeared.” Jonasson’s first story about 100-year-old Allan Karlson sold more than 10 million copies around the world and was made into a film. Though the sequel came out in English in July 2018, it took more than a year f

BooksOct. 27, 2019

FTC probes Subway for power abuse allegations

South Korea’s antitrust watchdog is probing the US franchise Subway over an allegation that it forced a local franchisee to shut down his shop without a proper reason, said officials and local news reports Sunday.　The Fair Trade Commission’s Seoul office recently concluded in its preliminary investigation that the American franchise might have violated the local franchise business law and filed the case to an in-house judging committee.The probe began as one store owner of Subway cha

IndustryOct. 27, 2019

[News Focus] Construction policy risks undermining fiscal soundness

SEJONG -- Enterprises under the Moon Jae-in administration are investing less in construction and facilities, with 2018 data revealing year-on-year contraction in both areas.These are the first simultaneous drops in corporate investment in construction and facilities that South Korea has experienced in a decade. The last time was in 2008, when the nation was affected by the crisis that followed the US subprime mortgage collapse.Previously, when anti-speculation measures led the construction indu

EconomyOct. 27, 2019

[Jeffrey Frankel] a weaponized dollar could backfire

The language of international monetary policy has turned militaristic. The phrase “currency war” has now been popular for a decade, and the United States government’s more recent “weaponization” of the dollar is generating controversy. But ironically, a martial approach could end up threatening the US currency’s global dominance.This is a good time to gauge the relative strengths of the dollar and rival international currencies (meaning currencies that are use

ViewpointsOct. 27, 2019