US says it respects S. Korea's decision to expedite return of bases

The United States respects South Korea's decision to seek an early return of more than two dozen American military bases in the country and will work with its ally to get the bases returned "as expeditiously as possible," US Forces Korea said Tuesday.South Korea's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae announced the decision last week, saying the move is in line with the relocation of all US bases to Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul. "We are aware of the ROK g

DefenseSept. 4, 2019

K-Pop and Kimchi: Tokyo's 'Little Seoul' shrugs off spat

TOKYO (AFP) -- In the "little Seoul" area of Tokyo, Japanese shoppers flock to get their fix of K-pop and Korean face cream, seemingly shrugging off a deep freeze in Japan-South Korean ties.Visitors to Shin-Okubo could be forgiven for thinking they had stumbled into a district in Seoul, with rows of restaurants serving kimchi and music shops selling the latest K-pop hits from BTS or Wanna One.And in contrast to South Korea where anger over a deterioration in bilateral ties has sparked

Foreign AffairsSept. 4, 2019

Ahngook Pharm. executive arrested over illegal clinical tests

Prosecutors said Wednesday they have arrested an executive of Ahngook Pharmaceutical Co. on charges of carrying out illegal clinical tests. The KOSDAQ-listed company's Vice Chairman Auh Jin is suspected of having performed the illicit act in violation of the pharmacy law, the Seoul Seobu District Prosecutors' Office said.  The drug company also publicly announced Auh's arrest earlier in the day. In a separate case, Auh has been indicted without detention on charges of having offered kickbac

IndustrySept. 4, 2019

South Koreans using spy gadgets to fight workplace bullying

South Korean workers fed up with bullying are being increasingly emboldened by a new tougher labour law to secretly record alleged abuse or harassment by their bosses, boosting sales of high-tech audio and video devices.Gadgets disguised as leather belts, eyeglasses, pens and USB sticks are all proving popular with employees in a country where abusive behaviour by people in power is so pervasive that there is a word for it - "gabjil". Several incidents have made international headlines

Social AffairsSept. 4, 2019

Aug. foreign car sales dip 5.6% on weak Japanese car demand

Imported vehicle sales in South Korea fell 5.6 percent last month due to a slump in sales of Japanese vehicles amid trade tension with Japan, industry data showed Wednesday.The number of newly registered foreign vehicles stood at 18,112 in August, down from 19,206 a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association.  Weak demand for Japanese cars led the overall decline. Sparked by Japan's July trade restrictions against South Korea, anti

MobilitySept. 4, 2019

Crisis level of peninsula remains unchanged despite NK missiles: think tank

The crisis level of the Korean Peninsula remained unchanged last month despite a series of short-range projectile launches by North Korea, an international think tank said in a recent report.The International Crisis Group's global crisis tracker Crisis Watch marked the situation on the peninsula as "unchanged" while noting the five rounds of projectile launches carried out by the North in August. The group also said South Korea and US President Donald Trump played down the North's laun

North KoreaSept. 4, 2019

Devastation in Bahamas as Hurricane Dorian crawls along US coast

NASSAU, Bahamas (AFP) -- Weakening slightly but still packing a powerful punch, Hurricane Dorian churned along the southeastern coast of the United States on Tuesday after delivering a devastating blow to the Bahamas.Bahamas National Security Minister Marvin Dames said several children were among the five deaths reported in the Atlantic archipelago from the monster storm and predicted more fatalities."I can't see any way out of it," the Nassau Guardian newspaper quoted Dames as telling

World NewsSept. 4, 2019

Major defeat for British PM as lawmakers seize Brexit agenda

LONDON (AP) -- On a day of humiliating setbacks, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson suffered a major defeat in Parliament on Tuesday night as rebellious lawmakers voted to seize control of the Brexit agenda, prompting the embattled prime minister to say he would call for a new general election.The 328 to 301 vote, made possible by fellow Conservatives who turned their back on Johnson's pleas, cleared the way for his opponents to introduce a bill Wednesday that would seek to prevent Britain fro

World NewsSept. 4, 2019

Hong Kong leader insists she will stay on

HONG KONG (AFP) -- Hong Kong's embattled leader insisted Tuesday she had no intention of stepping down after an audio recording emerged of her saying she wanted to quit over three months of unrest in the southern Chinese city.Hong Kong has endured dozens of sometimes violent pro-democracy protests triggered by opposition to Chief Executive Carrie Lam's bid to push through a law allowing extraditions to mainland China.The protests have evolved into a wider democracy campaign involving clashes bet

World NewsSept. 4, 2019

Royal palaces and tombs open doors to all during Chuseok

Joseon-era landmarks of royal tombs and palaces in Seoul and adjacent areas will be open free of charge during the upcoming Chuseok holidays, the Cultural Heritage Administration said Tuesday.This measure applies to the palaces Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung, Deoksugung and Changgyeonggung along with Jongmyo Shrine, all located in the center of Seoul in Jung-gu and Jongno, from Sept. 12-15. Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty, registered as on the UNESCO World Heritage list and distributed across th

CultureSept. 3, 2019

Ex-Chicago Cubs scout hired as new GM for KBO's Lotte Giants

Former Chicago Cubs scout Sung Min-kyu has been named the new general manager for the South Korean club Lotte Giants.The Korea Baseball Organization team announced Tuesday that Sung will succeed Lee Yoon-won, who resigned in July, in the front office.Sung, 37, had been in the Cubs organization for more than a decade, first as a minor league player, then as a minor league coach and, most recently, as the Pacific Rim scouting supervisor and special assignment professional scout.Sung has also dabbl

BaseballSept. 3, 2019

Samsung begins replacing Japanese materials in chip production amid export curbs

Samsung Electronics, the world's leading memory chip and smartphone maker, has begun replacing Japanese materials with local supplies for its production of semiconductors, company officials said Tuesday, a move that could offset Japan's restrictions on high-tech exports to South Korea."(The company) has injected supplies other than Japanese imports in certain manufacturing processes," the Samsung official said, while speaking on condition of anonymity.Another informed source said the c

TechnologySept. 3, 2019

UN rights investigator on Myanmar lambasts Suu Kyi

Myanmar's civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi has washed her hands of the Rohingya crisis, a UN rights investigator said Tuesday ahead of a meeting between South Korea's President Moon Jae-in and the tarnished democracy icon.Yanghee Lee, a university professor in Seoul who is the United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights to Myanmar, said Suu Kyi was "terribly misguided and misinformed" about the abuses against the stateless Muslim minority in her country.The Nobel laureate was und

World NewsSept. 3, 2019

Nuke envoys of S. Korea, Russia hold talks on North Korea's denuclearization

The top nuclear envoys of South Korea and Russia held talks in Russia on Tuesday on North Korea's denuclearization and other peninsula issues, Seoul's foreign ministry said.Lee Do-hoon, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, met with his Russian counterpart, Igor Morgulov, in Russia's Far Eastern city of Vladivostok, the ministry said in a release.They discussed the current situation on the Korean Peninsula, including North Korea's latest series of missile launch

North KoreaSept. 3, 2019

S. Korean diplomat holds working-level talks with US on NK issues

South Korea and the United States held working-level talks in Washington last week about the North Korean nuclear standoff and inter-Korean issues, the foreign ministry said Tuesday.Rhee Dong-yeol, director-general of the Korean Peninsula Peace Regime Bureau at the ministry, had broad discussions over the matters with his US counterparts last Thursday, according to the ministry. His visit follows the latest meeting between top nuclear envoys of the two allies, Lee Do-hoon and Stephen Biegun, tha

North KoreaSept. 3, 2019

[Graphic News] What is a Category 5 storm?

What is a Category 5 storm?　Hurricane Dorian has slammed into the northern Bahamas, one of the strongest storms to make landfall in history. It’s also the fifth Category 5 storm to form in the Atlantic in the past four years. 　Here are some facts about what makes a Category 5 storm and what to expect as climate change supercharges our weather.What is a Category 5 storm? 　Scientists rank hurricanes from one to five on what is called the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Categor

WorldSept. 3, 2019

Heads of Grab Ventures, Startup Genome to share tips at Start-Up Seoul 2019

Startup experts, including head of Grab Ventures Chris Yeo and Startup Genome founder Jean-Francois Gauthier, will share their real-life startup success tips at “Start-Up Seoul: Tech-Rise 2019,” which will be held here from Wednesday to Friday.　“As Seoul is becoming a global startup incubating city, we set up this opportunity to share global startup expert’s insights about the industry trend,” a Start-Up Seoul 2019 official said in a statement. “We hope to pro

TechnologySept. 3, 2019

[Kim Seong-kon] S. Korea should choose Affluent Boulevard, not Poverty Lane

There are many funny street names in the Unisted States. Some reflect positive nuance and idiosyncrasy, while others sound negative and weird. Google provides a host of funny street or road names in America. Some funny names include Frying Pan Road in Virginia, Roast Meat Street in Connecticut, Chicken Dinner Road in Idaho and North Sandwich Street in New Hampshire. Other amusing names are Anyhow Road in New York, Pillow Talk Court in Las Vegas and Billy Goat Strut Alley in Kentucky. There are s

ViewpointsSept. 3, 2019

[James Stavridis] Burning Brazil threatens America’s security

When I headed the US Southern Command a decade ago, I took a trip to the Brazilian military’s jungle training site near Manaus in the Amazon River basin. I spent time both in the jungle with Brazilian troops and on the river, meeting with some of the 300 indigenous groups that populate the region, which spans nine South American nations. I came to understand that Brazilian pride in controlling much of the rain forest is palpable and well-deserved. Now, of course, that pride is being challe

ViewpointsSept. 3, 2019