[David Ignatius] US losing information war with Russia

Richard Stengel, a former Time editor who became the State Department’s undersecretary for public diplomacy, writes that he was once an information “idealist.” He believed that in the marketplace of ideas, the truth would ultimately prevail. Not anymore. “I think we all now know that this is a pipe dream,” writes Stengel in a disturbing memoir of his three years on the communications firing line. “Unfortunately, facts don’t come highlighted in yellow. A

ViewpointsSept. 5, 2019

Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism to kicks off Saturday

The 2019 Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism is set to begin its 65-day run, starting Saturday. Titled “Collective City,” the event explores the interactive relationship between architecture and urbanism through exhibitions, programs and extra activities. Organized by the Seoul Design Foundation, the biennale was inaugurated in 2017. “We hope to suggest an alternative for the future of cities. The biennale is to function as a place where people can start a discourse on

Arts & DesignSept. 5, 2019

[News Focus] Korean firms flock to ‘Asia’s last frontier’ Myanmar

In line with President Moon Jae-in’s tour of Southeast Asia this week, South Korean business leaders and ranking officials visited Myanmar, the reclusive country bordering China -- that is opening up now. Several of them chose to visit Myanmar exclusively –- from Tuesday to Thursday -- skipping Moon’s other destinations such as Thailand and Laos. Eyeing its economic potential and geographical attractiveness, they clinched new deals and partnerships with the country called

EconomySept. 5, 2019

‘If Cyworld had been a global hit, Facebook would have faded’

Startup Accelerators and CEOs, who participated in Start-Up Seoul event’s Policy Forum session on Thursday, called on the government to encourage South Korean startups to go global and expand their presence overseas.“If Cyworld had been a global hit, Facebook could have become redundant,” Korea Accelerator Association chairman Lee Jun-bae said. “But that didn’t happen.”  Hwang Yoon-sik, the CEO of food catering startup Fooding Kitchen also called for more

TechnologySept. 5, 2019

Cho Kuk’s wife at center of controversy

Beleaguered Justice Minister nominee Cho Kuk appears to be sinking further into a quagmire as more allegations concerning his wife and daughter continued to emerge Thursday, with prosecutors accelerating their probe into the allegations. A confirmation hearing for Cho is scheduled Friday. 　Cho’s wife, a professor at Dongyang University, faces allegations that she forged a certificate for their daughter, now 28, under the name of the university’s president without his knowledge in 201

Social AffairsSept. 5, 2019

Arrest warrant sought for CJ Group scion on drug charges

Prosecutors on Thursday sought an arrest warrant for the eldest son of CJ Group Chairman Lee Jae-hyun over drug charges. 　The Incheon District Prosecutors’ Office took into custody Lee Sun-ho, heir apparent of the leading food and entertainment conglomerate at 8:20 p.m. Wednesday after he voluntarily showed up at around 6:20 p.m. He was caught Sunday at Incheon International Airport attempting to smuggle in liquid marijuana in cartridges, as well as other types of marijuana, from the US. T

Social AffairsSept. 5, 2019

S. Korea calls for int'l cooperation on Japan's Fukushima water discharge plan

South Korea on Thursday called for international cooperation to respond to a possible move by Japan to discharge contaminated water from its crippled Fukushima power plant into the Pacific Ocean.In a press conference held in Seoul, Choi Won-ho, the head of the Ministry of Science and ICT's big science policy division, said releasing tainted water from the nuke plant poses a grave threat to the global environment and health of people everywhere."There is a pressing need to work together on t

Foreign AffairsSept. 5, 2019

New KAI chief vows to find growth engine

South Korean aerospace and defense company Korea Aerospace Industries appointed Ahn Hyun-ho, a former vice industry minister, as its new chief executive at its board meeting Thursday. The new CEO replaces former leader Kim Jo-won, who is now serving as a senior presidential secretary to President Moon Jae-in. Ahn was to begin his three-year term immediately Thursday. “We will establish a foothold for KAI to leap forward by seeking new business portfolios,” said Ahn Hyun-ho durin

IndustrySept. 5, 2019

Daewoong claims its BTX strain different from Medytox

South Korea’s Daewoong Pharmaceutical said Thursday it is close to settling a legal dispute with its local rival Medytox, which accused it of stealing trade secrets through a former researcher. Daewoong’s Nabota, sold as Jeuveau overseas, is a neurotoxin drug to treat forehead wrinkles. The drug, approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in January, was to be commercialized by California-based firm Evolus in the second quarter of this year. In January, however, Medytox app

IndustrySept. 5, 2019

Defense chief vows strong military power to ensure peace

Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo pledged Thursday to build strong military capabilities to back the government's efforts to achieve peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and beyond."Despite last year's achievements for peace on the Korean Peninsula, many challenges still lie ahead, such as military tensions heightened by North Korea's recent firings of short-range ballistic missiles," Jeong said during an opening address at the eighth Seoul Defense Dialogue (SDD).Stressing that

DefenseSept. 5, 2019

LG CNS releases updated language comprehension dataset KorQuAD 2.0

LG CNS announced Wednesday it will release for free KorQuAD 2.0, consisting of an additional 80,000 datasets, for the benefit of South Korea’s artificial intelligence industry.  The initial release of KorQuAD, short for the Korean Question Answering Dataset, comprises a South Korean machine reading comprehension dataset with over 20,000 question-and-answer sets compiled from Korean Wikipedia entries. It provides guidelines for AI and machines to learn how to extract answers from quest

TechnologySept. 5, 2019

Porsche unveils first-ever electric sports car Taycan

FUZHOU, China -- German super car maker Porsche unveiled its first electricity-powered sports car Taycan on Wednesday, combining the premium brand’s heritage and innovation in terms of sustainability and digitalization. The world premiere of Taycan was held simultaneously in three countries -- the US, Germany and China -- given the three countries’ importance as markets for electric cars. According to Porsche, the four-door sports saloon is the first EV in the market that u

MobilitySept. 5, 2019

S. Korea braces for strong typhoon

South Korea was on alert on Thursday as a powerful typhoon is expected to hit the country with strong winds and heavy rain later this week Typhoon Lingling, this year's 13th typhoon, is forecast to affect the Korean peninsula as early as Friday and directly hit the wider Seoul metropolitan area on Saturday, according to the weather agency.The Korea Meteorological Administration forecast the typhoon to pass seas 160 kilometers southwest of Jeju at 3 a.m. on Saturday and move upwards to seas 70 ki

Social AffairsSept. 5, 2019

US Ambassador Harris says alliance with S. Korea 'cornerstone of security'

US Ambassador to South Korea Harry Harris said Wednesday that America's alliance with South Korea is the "cornerstone for security and stability" throughout the region.  Harris made the remarks amid tensions between South Korea and the United States over Seoul's recent decision to terminate a military intelligence-sharing pact with Tokyo, which was seen as a symbolic platform to promote the US' trilateral security cooperation with its two Asian allies.  "The US

Foreign AffairsSept. 5, 2019

China's top diplomat returns home after Pyongyang visit

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has returned home after a three-day visit to Pyongyang but without meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the North's state media reported Thursday.Wang arrived at the Beijing Capital International Airport on Wednesday evening, after meeting with his North Korean counterpart, Ri Yong-ho, and Ri Su-yong, vice chairman of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea's Central Committee, in Pyongyang. Reporting on Wang's meeting with the vice chairman, the North's main

North KoreaSept. 5, 2019

Moon in Laos for summit on business partnerships

South Korean President Moon Jae-in landed in Vientiane, the capital of Laos and the last leg of his regional swing, Thursday for talks on promoting bilateral cooperation.Moon is South Korea's first president to make a state visit to Laos, which reflects his administration's efforts to expand Seoul's ties with Southeast Asian countries under the New Southern Policy.Moon is scheduled to have back-to-back meetings with President Bounnhang Vorachith and Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith. High on th

Foreign AffairsSept. 5, 2019

Trump: US is not looking for regime change in NK

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the United States is not looking for regime change in North Korea, appearing to extend another invitation to Pyongyang to return to denuclearization talks.Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump again lumped North Korea and Iran together as he suggested the possibility of striking a deal with both."Iran can be a great country and North Korea can be a great country," he said. "They can be great. We are not looking for a regime c

North KoreaSept. 5, 2019

Experts at Start-Up Seoul highlight importance of failure

Startup experts taking part in “Start-Up Seoul: Tech-Rise 2019” say that failure, along with a flexible environment allowing such failure, are critical factors for business operation and to eventually become a successful entrepreneur. “Everyone understands the important role of failure for progress, but failure is still so stigmatized in society. It is still punished within most organizational cultures,” Museum of Failure founder Samuel West told The Investor in a recent

TechnologySept. 5, 2019

Trump: US spends 'a lot of money' to help S. Korea

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the United States spends "a lot of money" to help South Korea and other allies without getting much in return.The issue of getting allies to contribute more to shared defense has been a favorite theme of Trump's both before and after his election.But the latest remark comes as Seoul and Washington are due to launch negotiations soon on renewing a cost-sharing agreement for the upkeep of 28,500 American troops stationed in the South, indicat

Foreign AffairsSept. 5, 2019

North Korea tells United Nations to cut international aid staff - letter

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -- North Korea has told the United Nations to cut the number of international staff it deploys in the country because the world body's programs have failed "due to the politicization of UN assistance by hostile forces," according to a letter seen by Reuters on Wednesday.The United Nations estimates 10.3 million people - almost half the country's population - are in need and some 41 percent of North Koreans are undernourished, while Pyongyang said in February it

North KoreaSept. 5, 2019