Yuhan launches subsidiary in Australia

　South Korean pharmaceutical giant Yuhan  has established a subsidiary in Australia to expand its global clinical network and drug development pipelines. 　The subsidiary, Yuhan ANZ, was launched in June. Some 2 billion won ($1.6 million) was reportedly invested for the project. 　The company said Australia is one of the countries with bright prospects for the pharmaceutical market, given its increasing demand for medical products. 　“Launching a subsidiary in Australia is a part of our

IndustryAug. 7, 2019

LG H&H CEO leads biggest market cap growth

Local corporate tracker CEO Score revealed Wednesday that among CEOs of major listed companies in South Korea, LG Household & Health Care Vice President Cha Suk-yong raised the market cap of the company by the largest margin during his tenure. According to CEO Score, LG H&H’s market cap was valued at 435.7 billion won ($358.6 million) in January 2005, when Cha was first appointed as the CEO, but rose to 19.63 trillion won as of end-July, a whopping 4,405.4 percent increase in 14.6

IndustryAug. 7, 2019

Asiana Airlines to suspend flights on Busan-Okinawa route

Asiana Airlines Inc. said Wednesday it will suspend flights on the Busan-Okinawa route later this month due to falling demand stemming from a trade row between South Korea and Japan. A series of Tokyo's export curbs on Seoul has sparked a "Boycott Japan" campaign here against travel to the neighboring country and purchases of Japanese products. Asiana said flights departing from the southeastern port city of Busan for Japan's southern resort island of Okinawa will be suspended starting

IndustryAug. 7, 2019

Activists hold rally against Japan's wartime sex slavery amid trade spat

A group of activists in Seoul, protesting against Japan's wartime sexual enslavement of Korean women, held a weekly rally Wednesday, expressing hope that it would be their last one.More than 1,000 people gathered in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, where a girl statue is located to symbolize those who were forced to serve as sex slaves for Japanese troops during World War II, according to an organizing civic group. The victims are widely called "comfort women." Local activists,

Social AffairsAug. 7, 2019

KT Q2 net down 33% on increased 5G investment

KT Corp. said Wednesday its net profit sank 33.4 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier as it ramped up spending on its 5G network and marketing. The South Korean telecom provider posted 139.7 billion won ($115 million) in net profit in the April-June period, compared with 209.9 billion won a year ago. Its operating profit dipped 37.9 percent on-year to 191.1 billion won, while sales rose 6.4 percent to 4.5 trillion won in the three-month period, the firm said in a financial statement

IndustryAug. 7, 2019

[Newsmaker] South Korea expected to conduct maritime defense drills on Dokdo this month

South Korea is planning to conduct combined maritime defense drills on and around its easternmost islets of Dokdo as early as this month, government sources said Wednesday. During a parliamentary committee session, National Security Director Chung Eui-yong confirmed Tuesday that the government would carry out two maritime drills this year. While the date has not yet been decided, military sources said the maritime drills are likely to take place before or after the Liberation Day holiday Aug. 15

DefenseAug. 7, 2019

Domestic carriers jittery over Korea-UAE aviation talks

South Korea’s aviation industry is on the edge with the aviation talks this week between South Korea and the United Arab Emirates, over the latter’s demand to double the route allocation.During the summit being held on Wednesday-Thursday in Abu Dhabi attended by Korea’s Transport Ministry officials, their UAE counterparts are likely to request increasing the Incheon-Dubai and Incheon-Abu Dhabi routes up to 14 times a week, according to industry sources.Their previous talks in J

IndustryAug. 7, 2019

Police track far-right online community post plotting President Moon assassination

Police are tracking an online community post plotting the assassination of President Moon Jae-in.Seoul Gangbuk Police Station said Wednesday they are trying to identify the user behind a post published on far-right website Ilbe on Saturday.In the post, an unidentified member claims to have illegally obtain a gun with the intention to assassinate the president, alongside a photo of a handgun, two pistol magazines and cartridges. Beneath that photo is a digitally manipulated photo of Moon in priso

Social AffairsAug. 7, 2019

S. Korea to launch M&A consultative body in response to Japan’s export curbs

South Korea’s financial authorities said Wednesday they plan to launch a consultative body by the end of the month to help local firms seeking mergers and acquisitions that could reduce the country’s dependency on imported materials from Japan. The plan is in line with the government’s contingency plans -- announced a few days ago in response to Japan’s decision to remove Korea from its list of trusted trade partners -- including financial support for firms eyeing a foray

MarketAug. 7, 2019

Novus String Quartet to go on tour with Prague-inspired music

The Novus String Quartet is to embark on a nationwide tour, highlighting composers from the Czech Republic.The tour, slated to take place Aug. 27 to Sept. 1, kicks off in Gwangju and will move on to Seoul, Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang Province before a final concert in Seoul. Titled “Slavic,” the program includes Dvorak String Quartet No. 7 in A minor, Janacek String Quartet No. 1 “The Kreutzer Sonata” and Smetana String Quartet No. 1

PerformanceAug. 7, 2019

Lawmaker pushes bill to strip convicted doctors of licenses

Ruling Democratic Party Rep. Kwon Chil-seung proposed Tuesday a bill prohibiting doctors convicted of violent crimes from practicing medicine. If it passes, physicians who have committed murder, burglary, sexual assault, drug offenses or human trafficking will be banned from practicing medicine.The proposed bill asks to revoke the licenses of medical professionals found guilty of such crimes and grant patients access to information about medical professionals with criminal records. Kwo

Social AffairsAug. 7, 2019

Fire in Anseong put out after injuring 11

A fire at a box factory in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, was extinguished early Wednesday, 12 hours after it broke out, injuring two firefighters and nine others. According to the Gyeonggi-do Fire Department, the fire started around 1:15 p.m. Tuesday at the two-story manufacturing building with a single underground floor. It was completely put out around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday. Authorities said the fire was started by an explosion inside the fuel tank located on the basement floor. The fire departmen

Social AffairsAug. 7, 2019

[팟캐스트] (312) 증시 검은 월요일 / 노재팬 깃발 논란

진행자: 손지형, Kevin Lee Selzer1. Markets roiled as US-China spat dwarfs impact of Japan factor기사요약: 증시에서 소위 ‘검은 월요일’이 재현된 가운데, 정부는 시장 불안의 원인이 한일 무역 갈등이 아닌 미중 무역 분쟁에 있다고 발언아이튠즈(아이폰): https://itunes.apple.com/kr/podcast/koliaheleoldeu-paskaeseuteu/id686406253?mt=2팟빵 (안드로이드): http://www.podbbang.com/ch/6638[1] As South Korea’s financial market continued to totter Tuesday after a “Black Monday,” experts observed that the key reason behind the current anxiety is the prolonge

PodcastAug. 7, 2019

Bolton links missile deployment to protecting allies in S. Korea, Japan

US National Security Adviser John Bolton said Tuesday that Washington's recent willingness to deploy intermediate-range missiles in Asia has to do with protecting its allies in South Korea and Japan.Bolton made the comment on Fox News in response to China's protests against US plans to consider deploying conventional, intermediate-range missiles in Asia. US Defense Secretary Mark Esper made the plan known over the weekend after Washington withdrew from a missile treaty with Russia."That's b

DefenseAug. 7, 2019

S. Korea, China, Japan in talks over possible foreign ministers' meeting: official

South Korea, China and Japan are in talks about holding a meeting of their foreign ministers this month ahead of their possible trilateral summit in China later this year, a Seoul official said Wednesday.Japanese broadcaster NHK reported that Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and her Chinese and Japanese counterparts, Wang Yi and Taro Kono, are expected to meet in China on Aug. 21 to discuss joint efforts for North Korea's denuclearization.The broadcaster also said that talks have been under way t

Foreign AffairsAug. 7, 2019

Taxi driver suspended for 30 days for cheating foreign passenger

A Seoul court has sentenced a taxi driver to a 30-day suspension for attempting to deceive a foreign passenger into paying extra charges, court officials said Wednesday.The taxi driver, whose identity was withheld, was booked in March last year on charges of asking his passenger, a visitor from overseas, to pay an extra charge of 20-percent after he intentionally pushed an out-of-city trip button on the fare meter, though the trip occurred within Seoul. The driver launched a lawsuit after Seoul'

Social AffairsAug. 7, 2019

Nobel laureate Toni Morrison dead at 88

NEW YORK (AP) -- Nobel laureate Toni Morrison, a pioneer and reigning giant of modern literature whose imaginative power in "Beloved,'' "Sula'' and other works transformed American letters by dramatizing the pursuit of freedom within the boundaries of race, has died at age 88.Publisher Alfred A. Knopf announced that Morrison died Monday night at Montefiore Medical Center in New York after a brief illness."Toni Morrison passed away peacefully last night surrounded by family an

PeopleAug. 7, 2019

Seoul to take preemptive steps to stabilize markets

South Korea will take swift and bold steps if necessary to help stabilize the financial markets, the country's finance minister said Wednesday, assuring that the country's economic fundamentals remain strong despite what he called "temporary risks."In an emergency meeting with other top financial officials, including the head of the Bank of Korea, Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said the increased volatility in the market was the result of "short-term risks" that happened to ove

EconomyAug. 7, 2019

N. Korea says it fired new missiles in warning against allies' joint exercise

North Korea said Wednesday it tested new tactical guided missiles under leader Kim Jong-un's guidance in the firing of two projectiles into the East Sea the previous day in a warning against the joint military exercise between South Korea and the United States that kicked off earlier this week.  On Tuesday, North Korea fired two projectiles believed to be short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea, the fourth such launch in less than two weeks. They flew about 450 kilometers

North KoreaAug. 7, 2019

[Graphic News] Cigarette sales down 0.6% in H1

　Sales of cigarettes in South Korea edged down 0.6 percent in the first half of 2019 from a year prior, data showed, amid an anti-smoking campaign and higher prices.　South Korean smokers purchased 1.67 billion 20-cigarette packs in the January-June period, compared to 1.68 billion packs in the same period last year, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Economy and Finance.　The figures represent a 17.8 percent drop from the first half of 2014. (Yonhap)

TechnologyAug. 6, 2019