[Newsmaker] Bus driver’s waiting time doesn’t count as work hours: court

The Supreme Court ruled that a former chief executive who was fined for making his employee work longer than the legally permitted 52 hours a week was not guilty, saying waiting time did not count as work hours.The top court said Tuesday it has overturned a lower court ruling that imposed a fine of 500,000 won ($410) on Kwak No-sang, former chief executive of Korail Networks. It sent the case back to the Suwon District Court for retrial. The Korail Networks employee surnamed Yoon, who drove a sh

Social AffairsAug. 13, 2019

Extremely poor defector mother, son found dead

A defector from North Korea and her son were found dead in their home in southwestern Seoul last month, police said Tuesday.The bodies of the 42-year-old woman identified by her family name Han and her six-year-old son identified as Kim were found by a janitor of the apartment in Bongcheon-dong, southern Seoul, on July 31. He entered the house after a water serviceman reported that it smelled badly. Water supply had been cut off because of unpaid bills.Police said there were no traces of suicide

Social AffairsAug. 13, 2019

SK E&C, Daelim win Project Finance Deal of the Year through $3.1 deal in Turkey

South Korean builders SK Engineering & Construction and Daelim Industrial said Tuesday they won the Project Finance Deal of the Year award for securing a $3 billion construction deal in Turkey. The two companies clinched the deal as preferred bidders in 2017 through a four-way consortium comprising SK E&C, Daelim and two Turkish builders, Limak and Yapi Merkezi. Dubbed the Turkey Canakkale project, it involves building a 3.7 kilometer-long suspension bridge in Turkey, the longe

IndustryAug. 13, 2019

S. Korea, China, Japan likely to hold foreign ministers' meeting this month: Seoul official

South Korea, China and Japan are likely to hold a trilateral meeting of their foreign ministers later this month, a Seoul official said Tuesday, despite high tensions between Seoul and Tokyo over a diplomatic and trade row.Should the meeting take place in China, the chances are high that South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and her Japanese counterpart Taro Kono will have bilateral talks, the official said, though no final decision has been made yet over either trilateral or bilateral ta

Foreign AffairsAug. 13, 2019

Seoul urges Central American states to quickly implement free trade deal

South Korea's trade ministry on Tuesday urged a group of five Central American countries to implement a free trade agreement with Seoul.Early this month, South Korea's parliament ratified the pact with the five countries -- Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama.Among the five, Nicaragua has completed its domestic procedures, paving the way for the FTA implementation in October, according to the trade ministry here. Four other countries are expected to implement the free trade d

EconomyAug. 13, 2019

Japanese scholar says Tokyo is liable for compensation of colonial victims

Under international law, Japan is still liable for compensating Koreans forced to work for Japanese firms and in military brothels during World War II despite a 1965 bilateral treaty that Japan claims has settled such compensation claims, a Japanese scholar said Monday. Tetsuya Takahashi, a philosophy professor at the University of Tokyo, co-authored "On Responsibility," a 2018 Japanese book that traces Japan's stubborn evasion of its colonial-era liabilities to the country's feeble de

Foreign AffairsAug. 13, 2019

Spy chiefs of Koreas met secretly in April after no-deal summit breakdown in Hanoi: source

The top intelligence officials of the two Koreas met secretly in April after the North's spy chief was replaced following Feb.'s no-deal summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump, a government source confirmed Tuesday. The meeting between National Intelligence Service Director Suh Hoon and his North Korean counterpart, Jang Kum-chol, came right after Jang took over as chief of the North's United Front Department (UFD), the source said.Jang replaced Kim Yong-cho

North KoreaAug. 13, 2019

Cha University provides resource analysis service for SMEs in Gyeonggi Province

Cha University’s resources research center in northeastern Gyeonggi Province aims to help small and medium-sized companies use the region’s resources more efficiently to produce high-value goods.The northeastern part of the province, such as Pocheon and Dongducheon, have had difficulty commercializing natural resources and developing high-value-added businesses due to systemic weaknesses and a lack of technological infrastructure. The biotechnology industry in the area is around 10 t

PeopleAug. 13, 2019

UN probing 35 North Korean cyberattacks in 17 countries

UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- UN experts say they are investigating at least 35 instances in 17 countries of North Koreans using cyberattacks to illegally raise money for its nuclear program _ and they are calling for sanctions against ships providing gasoline and diesel to the country. Last week, The Associated Press reported that North Korea illegally acquired "as much as two billion dollars'' from its increasingly sophisticated cyber activities against financial institutions and cryptocurrency

North KoreaAug. 13, 2019

[Graphic News] Applicants for Korean language test surpass 300,000

The annual number of applicants for the state-run Test of Proficiency in Korean surpassed 300,000 for the first time last year, its administrator said.A total of 329,224 people across 76 countries applied for the Korean language test for non-native speakers and ethnic Koreans in 2018, according to an official in charge of TOPIK at the National Institute of International Education under the Ministry of Education. The figure marked a 13 percent increase from 290,638 in 2017 and was 120 times more

Social AffairsAug. 13, 2019

US prods S. Korea, Japan to seek 'creative' solutions to trade row

The United States maintained Monday that South Korea and Japan need to seek "creative solutions" to their disagreements after Seoul took retaliatory steps for Tokyo's export control measures.Washington also continues to stand ready to facilitate dialogue between its two Asian allies, a US State Department spokesperson told Yonhap News Agency. "As an ally and friend to both the Republic of Korea and Japan, the United States believes it is critical to ensure strong and close relatio

Foreign AffairsAug. 13, 2019

Flights resume at Hong Kong airport after protests

HONG KONG (AFP) -- Flights resumed Tuesday at Hong Kong airport a day after a massive pro-democracy rally there forced the shutdown of the busy international transport hub.Early Tuesday, passengers with luggage were being checked in at the departures hall and information boards showed several flights were already boarding or about to depart. The abrupt shutdown of one of the world's busiest hubs came after thousands of black-clad demonstrators flooded the airport for a peaceful rally.It was a dr

World NewsAug. 13, 2019

[Feature] Koreans reject ‘No Japan’ campaign, focus on criticizing Abe

Last week, it took less than five hours for a district office in Seoul to withdraw its plan to hang some 1,100 banners featuring “No. Boycott Japan” on lampposts across major streets in the heart of the city following a strong public backlash. After officials from Jung-gu Office put up some 50 banners reading “I won’t go (to Japan), I will not buy (Japanese goods)” around the district, which encompasses popular tourist destinations such as Myeong-dong, Namdaemun Mar

Social AffairsAug. 12, 2019

[News Focus] Showdown for 21st Assembly to start on threshold of fall

SEJONG -- South Korea’s political parties will de facto enter campaign mode after the Chuseok holiday in the second week of September.The general election for the 21st National Assembly is coming up in eight months.Opposition lawmakers have predicted that the general election, slated for April 15, 2020, will pass judgement on the “economic policy failures” of the Moon Jae-in administration.However, some lawmakers of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (liberals) argue that the

PoliticsAug. 12, 2019

Gyeonggi Province launches campaigns to boost local tourism

Gyeonggi Province’s tourism body is launching a set of campaigns to overcome an upcoming slump in the regional tourism industry following Japan’s recent economic retaliation. The administration was one of the first governmental bodies to express support for the people’s boycott of Japan and take countermeasures to the Japanese government’s decision to remove South Korea from its whitelist of preferred trade partners earlier in July. Lee Jae-myung, governor of Gyeonggi Pro

PeopleAug. 12, 2019

Exhibition highlights King Jeongjo and his legacy

King Jeongjo (1752-1800), the 22nd king of the Joseon era, is one of the most respected rulers of the period, known for his love for the people and innovations he tried to bring to the kingdom.Jeongjo recruited many scholars who pursued pragmatic measures, such Jeong Yak-yong, and established Kyujanggak, a royal library. Hwaseong, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was also one of King Jeongjo’s celebrated achievements.The latest exhibition at the Suwon Ipark Museum of Art, titled “Seong

Arts & DesignAug. 12, 2019

Rain fails to put out the heat at Pentaport Rock Festival

Wrapping up three days of festivities, Weezer took the stage at Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival 2019 on Sunday at around 10 p.m. As the crowd rocked on to the US band’s “Perfect Situation,” the downpour blew out the generator and the music stopped.The 10-minute delay did not put out the fire for the frenzied crowd, and many continued to rock on as the band played songs including “Africa,” “Happy Together” and “Island in the Sun.”Nasty weather

PerformanceAug. 12, 2019

[Peter Singer] Can ethics be taught?

Can taking a philosophy class -- more specifically, a class in practical ethics -- lead students to act more ethically?Teachers of practical ethics have an obvious interest in the answer to that question. The answer should also matter to students thinking of taking a course in practical ethics. But the question also has broader philosophical significance, because the answer could shed light on the ancient and fundamental question of the role that reason plays in forming our ethical judgments and

ViewpointsAug. 12, 2019

[Joseph E. Stiglitz] Trump’s deficit economy

In the new world wrought by US President Donald Trump, where one shock follows another, there is never time to think through fully the implications of the events with which we are bombarded. In late July, the Federal Reserve Board reversed its policy of returning interest rates to more normal levels, after a decade of ultralow rates in the wake of the Great Recession. Then, the United States had another two mass gun killings in under 24 hours, bringing the total for the year to 255 -- more than

ViewpointsAug. 12, 2019