US Ambassador Harris says alliance with S. Korea remains 'strong, vibrant'

US Ambassador to South Korea Harry Harris said Tuesday that the alliance between the two countries remains strong and vibrant as they work together to ensure peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and beyond.Harris made the remarks in the written version of his keynote speech for a seminar organized by the Association of the Republic of Korea Army and held in Seoul on the alliance. He was absent from the forum "due to pre-arranged travel outside of Korea," an embassy spokesperson

Foreign AffairsOct. 15, 2019

Benz joins mobility trend with new Mercedes-Benz Mobility Korea

Daimler Mobility AG -- a subsidiary of Daimler AG, which owns Mercedes-Benz -- has established Mercedes-Benz Mobility Korea to offer mobility solutions in Korea, the firm said Tuesday.The new entity by the mobility unit of the Daimler AG, which recently changed its name from Daimler Financial Services AG to Daimler Mobility AG, will focus on providing digitalized customer service and premium mobility products, MBMK said. MBMK will kick off in Korea with the launch of a premium long-term car rent

MobilityOct. 15, 2019

LG Chem biggest beneficiary of subsidy for innovation

LG Chem was the biggest beneficiary of government subsidies for innovative pharmaceutical firms last year, according to the National Assembly’s Health and Welfare Committee on Tuesday. The government doled out subsidies of 92.2 billion won ($78 million) to 45 pharmaceutical firms carrying out innovative projects in 2018. LG Chem got 13.6 billion won, followed by Daewoong Pharmaceutical (9.2 billion won), Chong Kun Dang (9.1 billion won), Viromed (8.9 billion won), Celltrion (6.8

IndustryOct. 15, 2019

[News brief] 30 school buildings nationwide structurally unsound: report

Thirty school and affiliated institute buildings across the nation were rated as structurally unsafe and unsuitable for use, an Education Ministry report showed Tuesday. A total of 30 buildings used by schools or school-affiliated-kindergartens received the two lowest safety ratings -- D and E -- in a safety evaluation conducted by the government, according to the report, which was obtained by Bareunmirae Party lawmaker Rep. Lee Chan-yeol and presented to the National Assembly’s Education

Social AffairsOct. 15, 2019

Suspect in decades-old murders booked, case to be sent to prosecutors

SUWON, Gyeonggi Province -- Police said Tuesday that Lee Chun-jae, 56, has been booked in connection with a series of rape-murders in the 1980s and early '90s and his case will be referred to prosecutors despite the expired statute of limitations.The Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency confirmed in a press briefing Tuesday morning that Lee’s status was changed from “suspect” to “accused” as of Monday, after authorities judged that his account of the crimes in qu

Social AffairsOct. 15, 2019

[News brief] Teens booked in beating, extortion case

Three runaway teenagers are accused of extorting money from a man after luring him with the promise of sex for money. The Incheon Samsan Police Station said Tuesday that it had booked three teenagers without detention the previous day on charges of “special robbery” and were seeking an arrest warrant for one of the three, a 15-year-old boy they described as the main culprit. The term “special robbery” refers to a robbery where two or more people team up and threaten their

Social AffairsOct. 15, 2019

[Herald Review] Classical music lifted up by circus performance

Accompanied by Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries,” an aerialist in red trousers flew high above the conductor, the orchestra and the audience. He danced in the air -- suspended midair as he held onto a piece of red silk fabric -- looking like an incarnation of a true Valkyrie.Circus troupe Cirque de la Symphonie took the stage at the Lotte Concert Hall over the weekend, giving three performances. The Georgia-based production company, founded in 2005, presents circus movements cho

PerformanceOct. 15, 2019

Cabinet passes prosecution reform plans

The government on Tuesday approved partial restructuring of the prosecutors’ office proposed as part of prosecutorial reform plans. The approval, given at the Cabinet meeting presided over by Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon, comes a day after Cho Kuk resigned as justice minister, hours after announcing his prosecutorial reform plans. At the Cabinet meeting, the revision of the regulation on the administrative bodies of the prosecutors’ office was approved. As a result, four of the se

PoliticsOct. 15, 2019

S. Korea, US stage more combined marine exercises this year

South Korea and the United States carried out more combined marine exercises in 2019 than in previous years, the Marine Corps said Tuesday.The allies conducted 24 rounds of the Korea Marine Exercise Program this year, up from 11 in 2018 and 17 in 2017, the service said in a report presented to the National Assembly for an audit. Next year, the two sides are planning to hold 22 rounds of the KMEP drills, it added. The exercise is designed to bolster defense of South Korea's northwestern border is

DefenseOct. 15, 2019

Opposition resists launching agency to probe officials

Following Justice Minister Cho Kuk’s resignation Monday, the Liberty Korea Party reiterated its opposition to establishing a separate agency for the investigation of crimes by senior government officials.The bill to set up the agency is among the fast-tracked bills on prosecution reform, which the main opposition party insists should be reconsidered from square one.The Liberty Korea Party and minor opposition Bareunmirae Party have accused the ruling Democratic Party of trying to stop the

PoliticsOct. 15, 2019

FIFA president to watch inter-Korean football game in Pyongyang

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has flown to Pyongyang to watch a match between South and North Korea for the World Cup qualifier on Tuesday, a government official here said. “The president flew to Pyongyang via his chartered plane to watch the South-North soccer game,” an official at the Unification Ministry told reporters. On Monday, 55 people from South Korea, including 25 players, arrived in Pyongyang for the Group H match in the second round of the Asian qualification for t

North KoreaOct. 15, 2019

New top envoy to US formally assumes post

South Korea's new ambassador to the United States, Lee Soo-hyuck, has been formally appointed and will leave for Washington to take office next week, the foreign ministry said Tuesday.  The appointment came after the US gave its diplomatic consent to Lee's nomination, about two months after President Moon Jae-in named the diplomat-turned-lawmaker to be his new ambassador for the US.   Lee is expected to leave for Washington next Thursday, the ministry said.  Lee served a

Foreign AffairsOct. 15, 2019

Zoe Kravitz to play Catwoman in new 'Batman' film

LOS ANGELES (AFP) -- US actress Zoe Kravitz will play Catwoman in the new "Batman" film starring Robert Pattinson, a Warner Bros. source told AFP on Monday.Kravitz, who recently starred in HBO's hit TV drama "Big Little Lies" and is the daughter of rock musician Lenny Kravitz, will portray the whip-wielding cat burglar who is both Batman's foe and love interest in the comics. She follows A-listers such as Halle Berry, Anne Hathaway and Michelle Pfeiffer in portraying Catwoman

FilmOct. 15, 2019

N. Korea promises to provide S. Korea with footage of Pyongyang World Cup qualifier

North Korea agreed to provide South Korea with a video of an inter-Korean World Cup qualifier to be held Tuesday in Pyongyang, a unification ministry official said, after Seoul's push to televise the match live fell through.The North promised to give the video to the South's delegation before it departs from Pyongyang on Wednesday afternoon after the match to be held at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. The delegation is scheduled to arrive back home via Beijing early Thursday.South Korea had pushed for live b

SoccerOct. 15, 2019

BEANPOLE eyes global expansion through brand renewal

Samsung C&T Corp., a construction and fashion unit of Samsung Group, said Tuesday that it aims to accelerate the global expansion of its fashion brand BEANPOLE through renewal efforts.Celebrating its 30th anniversary, BEANPOLE announced its renewal move to rebrand as a "heritage" brand that embraces South Korea's unique culture and sentiment. "BEANPOLE will be reborn as a heritage brand based on our country's unique culture and sentiment," creative director Jung Ku-ho tol

IndustryOct. 15, 2019

$4m frozen in Chinese Taipei due to sanctions on N. Korea

Taiwan has frozen millions of dollars worth of assets as it carried out sanctions on North Korea aimed at preventing the spread of weapons of mass destruction, a recent report said.The implementation of targeted financial sanctions for North Korea has resulted in 81 freezing actions worth over $3.96 million, according to the Mutual Evaluation Report on Chinese Taipei released by the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering on Monday.   "Chinese Taipei authorities have highlighted an

North KoreaOct. 15, 2019

S. Korea seeks Russia's support for N. Korea's denuclearization

South Korean National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang has asked Russia to persuade North Korea to rid itself of nuclear weapons and promote economic projects with Seoul and Moscow.Moon made the request to Valentina Matviyenko, chairwoman of the Russian Federation Council, on Monday as they met after attending the 141st assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Belgrade, Serbia. He referred to a visit to Russia on Oct. 23-24 by a delegation of North Korea's parliament, known as the Presidium of

North KoreaOct. 15, 2019

Texas police officer charged with murder for shooting black woman

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- A white policeman who shot dead a black Texas woman as she played video games at home with her young nephew has been charged with murder, police said Monday.Aaron Dean gunned down 28-year-old Atatiana Jefferson from outside her Fort Worth property in the early hours of Saturday as she approached a window to investigate noises outside.The incident, less than two weeks after a white policewoman was jailed for killing a black man in his apartment in nearby Dallas, has spark

World NewsOct. 15, 2019

US trio win Nobel Economics Prize for work on poverty

STOCKHOLM (AFP) -- A trio of Americans on Monday won the Nobel Economics Prize for their work in the fight against poverty, including Esther Duflo, the youngest-ever economics laureate and only the second woman to win the prize.Duflo -- a 46-year-old French-American professor who has served as an advisor to ex-US president Barack Obama -- shared the Nobel with her husband, Indian-born Abhijit Banerjee and fellow American Michael Kremer "for their experimental approach to alleviating global

World NewsOct. 15, 2019

US slaps sanctions on Turkey as Syrian regime returns to north

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- The United States slapped sanctions on Turkey Tuesday as it demanded an end to its deadly incursion against Syrian Kurdish fighters, accusing its NATO partner of putting civilians at risk and allowing the release of Islamic State extremists.The actions came hours after regime troops returned for the first time in years to parts of northeastern Syria, invited by Kurdish fighters desperate for protection as the United States pulls out.President Donald Trump took extraordinary m

World NewsOct. 15, 2019