S. Korean economy grows revised 1% on-quarter in Q2: BOK

South Korea's economy grew at a slower-than-expected pace in the second quarter from three months earlier on sluggish exports and government spending, the central bank said Tuesday.The country's gross domestic product expanded 1 percent in the April-June period, rebounding from a 0.4 percent on-quarter contraction the previous quarter, according to preliminary data by the Bank of Korea.The latest reading marks a slight decrease from an earlier estimate of a 1.1 percent on-quarter expansion estim

EconomySept. 3, 2019

US, Poland sign joint document on 5G technology cooperation

The US and Poland signed an agreement on Monday to cooperate on new 5G technology amid growing concerns about Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei.Vice President Mike Pence and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki signed the deal in Warsaw, where Pence is filling in for President Donald Trump, who scrapped his trip at the last minute because of Hurricane Dorian.The signing comes amid a global battle between the US and Huawei, the world's biggest maker of network infrastructure equipment,

World BusinessSept. 2, 2019

Amid divorce row, actress Ku Hye-sun temporarily suspends show biz career

Actress Ku Hye-sun, engulfed in a widely publicized divorce row, announced Monday that she will temporarily suspend her show business career. "Ku Hye-sun will halt her show business activities. She plans to resume her academic career at Sungkyunkwan University," an official at Liwu Law Group, representing the actress, told Yonhap News Agency. The news came one day after Ku alluded to the departure on her Instagram account.Announcing the release of her new book, "I Am Your Pet

TelevisionSept. 2, 2019

Justice nominee apologizes, refuses to quit

Justice Minister nominee Cho Kuk apologized for failing to properly oversee his daughter’s college applications and family’s investments.“I apologize to the public. I have disappointed you despite the expectations placed on me, which were more than I deserved.” Cho said in a press conference Monday at the National Assembly. “I am a wreck, but I will continue as long as I can. … I believe I have to complete what I have worked for my entire life. If I had thoug

PoliticsSept. 2, 2019

Yang Hae-gue brings world of transformations, juxtapositions to Seoul

Yang Hae-gue has turned a gallery space into a place full of ill-matched images. Colors on the walls both dazzle and confuse visitors. Sitting in the middle are sonic and mobile sculptures. Scented gym balls roll between movable versions of her signature venetian-blind sculptures. And shallow layers of artificial fog from the corners fill the floor. Berlin-based Korean artist Yang is holding a solo exhibition titled “When the Year 2000 Comes” at Kukje Gallery, Samcheong-dong, Seoul.

Arts & DesignSept. 2, 2019

Seoul ODA Conference to highlight co-prosperity

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its aid agency will co-host an annual conference to discuss effective ways of international development cooperation and measures to achieve sustainable development of the global community.The 13th Seoul ODA International Conference will take place at Lotte Hotel in downtown Seoul on Sept. 19 under the theme of “promoting co-prosperity to achieve the SDGs.” Participants will discuss the role of the private sector in achieving the sustainable develop

Foreign AffairsSept. 2, 2019

Hyundai Steel on track to commercialize eco-friendly road paving

Hyundai Steel has succeeded in commercializing eco-friendly road paving using an electric furnace slag, the company announced Monday. The firm said it signed a technology-use agreement of slag asphalt concrete with local firm SG on the same day. The deal is to grant an exclusive license of Hyundai Steel’s patent to SG and the two firms will seek to expand slag asphalt concrete in the future. In 2016, Hyundai Steel acquired a patent by developing asphalt concrete made by recycling elec

IndustrySept. 2, 2019

Korea to complete ratification of FTA with UK before Brexit

South Korea is set to complete the ratification of a free trade deal with the UK at the National Assembly before the Brexit deadline of Oct. 31, officials said Monday. Since Britain voted to leave the European Union in June 2016, the Korean government has pushed for a bilateral deal with the UK to prevent the rupture of trade relations and ensure continuity.  On Aug. 22, the two nations signed a trade agreement that would allow businesses to keep trading freely after Brexit, marking the fir

EconomySept. 2, 2019

[Diplomatic circuit]Oman Embassy invites Korean students to foster cultural understanding

The Oman Embassy in South Korea held an open-house program to showcase its rich culture and history to students as part of its public diplomacy. Over 50 students from Sangam Middle School in Seoul participated in the event, “Welcome to Oman,” which was held Aug. 27 in cooperation with the education department of the Seoul Metropolitan Office. Omani Ambassador Mohamed Al-Harthy welcomed the guests and delivered a lecture titled “Oman the Country of Sindbad and Land of Luban

Diplomatic CircuitSept. 2, 2019

Drug probe on heir puts brakes on CJ Group succession

The only son of CJ Group Chairman Lee Jay-hyun is under investigation on charges of smuggling liquid marijuana, putting the brakes on the food-to-entertainment giant’s succession plan.Lee Sun-ho, the heir-in-waiting of CJ Group, the 14th-largest conglomerate here, was allegedly caught by the customs service at Incheon Airport on Sunday attempting to smuggle liquid marijuana in cartridges into the country. The case was transferred to the Incheon District Prosecutors Office, authorities said

IndustrySept. 2, 2019

BoA to hold Seoul concert in October

BoA will hold a stand-alone concert in Seoul next month, her agency said Monday.According to S.M. Entertainment, the singer will take the stage at the Olympic Hall within Olympic Park, southern Seoul, Oct. 26-27. It will be her first concert in South Korea since December.Tickets will be made available at local online booking website Yes 24 at 8 p.m. on Sept. 19, and members of her official fan club will be able to book the tickets two days earlier at 8 p.m. Sept. 17. Prior to the concert, BoA wi

PerformanceSept. 2, 2019

[Robert J. Shiller] The Trump narrative and next recession

US President Donald Trump concluded his remarks at the recent G-7 summit by inviting the assembled leaders to hold next year’s meeting at his Doral country club near Miami, describing a fantasy-like world of “magnificent buildings” whose “ballrooms are among the biggest in Florida and the best.” It was yet another instance of Trump’s public narrative, which has been on a rising growth path for nearly a half-century.One can observe this by searching Trump&rsquo

ViewpointsSept. 2, 2019

[Noah Smith] Of course there’s science in Malaysia

Some right-wing intellectuals believe that immigration harms US society by admitting people from cultures they consider inferior. The argument has a very old pedigree -- writing in 1896, Massachusetts Institute of Technology President Francis Walker warned against taking in “beaten men from beaten races.”This notion was always terribly wrong, and global economic development is offering added proof.In a recent interview, law professor Amy Wax reasserted a version of Walker’s hoa

ViewpointsSept. 2, 2019

[Graphic News] Quarter of world’s population facing extreme water stress

　Nearly a quarter of the world’s population lives in 17 countries facing extremely high water stress, close to “day zero” conditions when the taps run dry, according to a recent report.　The World Resources Institute’s Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas ranked water stress, drought risk and riverine flood risk using a peer-reviewed methodology.　Qatar, Israel, Lebanon, Iran, Jordan, Libya, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Eritrea, UAE, San Marino, Bahrain, India, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Oman a

World NewsSept. 2, 2019

Golfzon makes foray into Vietnam

South Korea’s leading golf simulator maker, Golfzon, is seeking to enhance its business presence in Vietnam, riding on the sport’s growing popularity in the Southeast Asian country.By the end of the year, Golfzon plans to operate a total of 12 Vietnamese branches where people can play virtual golf at indoor facilities. Five branches have opened in the country since Golfzon began its business there last year. The company is also seeking to expand into the construction of outdoor golf

TechnologySept. 2, 2019

EDC Korea attracts 90,000 with creative stage designs

Electric Daisy Carnival Korea premiered last weekend, attracting some 90,000 festivalgoers for two days of electronic dance music at Seoul Land.The event, known as EDC Korea and hosted by US festival company Insomniac for the past 23 years, is based in Las Vegas but travels around the world to countries including Mexico, China and Japan. The global festival landed in South Korea for the first time this year at Seoul Land, an amusement park in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, a 30-minute drive from c

PerformanceSept. 2, 2019

74 students hospitalized following gas leak

Seventy-four students at a high school in the southeastern city of Daegu were hospitalized Monday following a suspected gas leak, officials said.The affected students were in the school auditorium when they reported smelling gas, according to emergency officials in the city 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul.Around 800 students were attending the principal's inauguration ceremony in the morning when it happened.  Some of the students displayed symptoms such as vomiting, but none were reporte

Social AffairsSept. 2, 2019

[Newsmaker] Yoon and Cho, the rise and fall of icons

Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl and Justice Minister nominee Cho Kuk continue to dominate local headlines for starkly different reasons, with shifting support from liberals and conservatives.  Yoon gained fame as a lead investigator in the allegations that the National Intelligence Service interfered in the 2012 presidential election. He was then pushed away from the center of power at the prosecution, only to return to the public eye in 2016 as one of the lead investigators in the massiv

PoliticsSept. 2, 2019

Singapore Airlines appoints new chief in Korea

Singapore Airlines said Monday that Xavier Ho has been appointed as a new chief of the Korean branch. Ho, who joined the company in 2006 after studying civil engineering at National University of Singapore, has previously worked at Los Angeles, Colombo, Auckland, Jakarta and Osaka branches.Until recently, he led sales and operation in India as a manager at Singapore Airlines’ north Indian branch.The air carrier said Ho will help business growth in Korea and enhance customer services b

IndustrySept. 2, 2019