Korea provides evidence of Russian warplane’s airspace intrusion

South Korea presented Russia with evidence of a Russian warplane’s airspace intrusion Thursday, during a working-level meeting over a recent intrusion into Korea’s territorial skies, Seoul’s Defense Ministry said, as the two sides maintain conflicting accounts of the incident.　“During the working-level meeting, the Defense Ministry provided a detailed explanation with evidence that the Russian military aircraft violated South Korea’s airspace,” the ministry sa

DefenseJuly 25, 2019

[David Ignatius] US military muscle in Persian Gulf

ABOARD THE USS BOXER IN THE PERSIAN GULF -- Capt. Ronald Dowdell was on the starboard side of the bridge, looking toward Iran, as his vessel passed through the Strait of Hormuz on July 18. He’d been monitored by Iranian helicopters and speedboats, but now a drone was closing fast. Dowdell ordered his crew to disable the drone because it “looked like a potential threat,” he said in an interview on that same bridge Tuesday. The danger signs were the drone’s proximity to the

ViewpointsJuly 25, 2019

Hyundai Motor to launch AI center in Silicon Valley this year

Hyundai Motor Group plans to launch a research unit of its artificial intelligence division in the heart of Silicon Valley within this year, establishing its first overseas division entirely for AI development, the company said Thursday.The AIR Center will be the latest addition to Hyundai Motor’s AI projects. The carmaker launched the Artificial Intelligence Research Lab late last year and hired Kim Jeong-hee, a South Korean expert in deep learning and former leader of Naver Lab’s i

MobilityJuly 25, 2019

Korea to raise tax credit rate for corporate facility investments, R&D

The South Korean government announced Thursday that it plans to raise the tax credit rate for corporate facility investment and research and development in an effort to stimulate the economy by lifting the tax burden on firms. The government’s announcement of its 2019 tax code revision bill, comes amid an escalating trade row between Korea and Japan, after Tokyo placed export restrictions on key materials needed for semiconductors and display screens, as well as a slew of pessimistic econo

EconomyJuly 25, 2019

Hyundai Motor chief meets Indonesian leader for future investments

Hyundai Motor Group Executive Vice Chairman Chung Euisun on Thursday held talks with Indonesian President Joko Widodo to discuss the carmaker’s market entry and future investment plans, according to the company.Chung is the first South Korean conglomerate leader to meet President Widodo after his election victory in May. During the meeting held at the presidential palace in Jakarta, the Indonesian leader reportedly sought more investments by Hyundai in the country, touting the carmaker as

MobilityJuly 25, 2019

Homeplus announces expansion of specialized stores, online biz

South Korea’s discount chain Homeplus on Thursday raised the stakes in the competitive retail market here by announcing its full-fledged expansion of specialized branches and online business.During a press conference on its business strategy held in Seoul, Homeplus CEO Lim Il-soon said that the retail giant will aim to raise its online revenue from around 600 billion won last year to 2.3 trillion won by 2021 through innovation that breaks the boundaries of online and offline shopping.Homep

EconomyJuly 25, 2019

[News Focus] Moon’s approval ratings slide in Seoul, Sejong: poll

SEJONG -- One year ago, President Moon Jae-in was gaining support from a dominant portion of people nationwide over his performance in state affairs.Moon’s approval rating had reached 67 percent, according to a poll conducted from July 17-19 last year by Gallup Korea. Only 25 percent of the 1,000 surveyed responded that they did not support him.His collective approval rating across the country was roughly in proportion to figures in the Seoul metropolitan area and North and South Chungcheo

PoliticsJuly 25, 2019

LG Chem invests W500b for battery plant in Gumi

LG Chem will invest 500 billion won ($424 million) in building a 60,000 ton-capacity cathode material plant in Gumi, north Gyeongsang Province by 2024, the company said Thursday. Cathode is one of the four main parts of a lithium ion battery, alongside the anode, electrolyte and membrane. The cathode accounts for 40 percent of the raw materials cost of electric vehicle batteries. “Starting with the investment in Gumi, LG Chem will kick spur into producing its own core materials for batteri

IndustryJuly 25, 2019

SK hynix to downsize production amid profit plunge

SK hynix, the second-largest chipmaker in the world, announced Friday its lowest quarterly operating profit in three years in the second quarter of this year, and has decided to downsize production amid growing concerns about demand recovery and impact of the trade dispute with Japan.The company said it posted 6.45 trillion won ($5.46 billion) in sales during the April to June period, down 38 percent from a year earlier, while recording 638 billion won in operating profits. Second-quarter operat

TechnologyJuly 25, 2019

Nationwide #boycottJapan campaign puts Korean workers in tight spot

These days, Kim Hyun-jin feels uneasy telling others where he works. “I have been working at Uniqlo for two years as a part-timer. I am proud of my workplace. It is a fun place to work, with nice people and relatively a good amount of pay,” said the 25-year-old student majoring in fashion at a university, who agreed to speak under a pseudonym.“But now, when I say I work at Uniqlo, people think I’m doing something very wrong and it makes me feel very uncomfortable. I

IndustryJuly 25, 2019

‘30/50 Club’ looks into Korea’s rapid growth, uncertain future

“30/50 Club: A Dialogue on S. Korea, US, China and N. Korea,” originally published in Korean in February, has recently been published in English.Penned by Hong Sang-hwa, the 424-page book looks into how Korea became the seventh country to join the “30-50 Club,” referring to countries with a per capita GNI of more than $30,000 and a population of more than 50 million, following the US, Japan, Germany, Britain, France and Italy. The writing takes the form of an imaginary di

BooksJuly 25, 2019

Arrested North Korean spy suspect under investigation

A suspected North Korean spy, who was sent to the South and allegedly lived here as a Buddhist monk since last year, has been arrested, marking the first such case in nine years, authorities said Thursday.The National Intelligence Service reported details of the suspected North Korean spy to representative members of the National Assembly’s Intelligence Committee led by Rep. Lee Hye-hoon of the Bareunmirae Party on Thursday morning.“We are not in a situation to brief information on t

PoliticsJuly 25, 2019

‘My Name Is Kim Bok-dong’ tells tale of comfort women, champion of human rights

In January, human rights activist Kim Bok-dong passed away just shy of 93.With her death, all but 21 identified Korean women who were sexually enslaved by the Japanese during World War II -- euphemistically called comfort women -- had passed away. At the same time, the prospect of Japan’s Shinzo Abe administration formally apologizing for the country’s past sins grow ever dimmer. Upcoming documentary “My Name Is Kim Bok-dong” focuses on Kim’s life and struggles

FilmJuly 25, 2019

‘Special Labor Inspector, Mr. Jo,’ ‘To Jenny’ nominated for 2019 Seoul International Drama Awards

Two Korean dramas are among finalists competing for the 14th Seoul International Drama Awards. The organizing committee of the awards announced a list of 28 television dramas from Korea and abroad selected as finalists for this year, at the Korea Press Center in central Seoul on Thursday.Two Korean productions, comedy drama “Special Labor Inspector, Mr. Jo” and music drama “To Jenny,” were chosen as contenders for the best drama award. Korean director Park Chan-wook&

TelevisionJuly 25, 2019

Korean biotech firms seek retraction of Japan’s trade curbs

The Korea Biotechnology Industry Organization issued a statement Thursday calling for a withdrawal of Japan’s move to exclude South Korea from the trade whitelist, citing the peaceful nature of bio pathogens trade and the open collaboration required to foster the technology worldwide.The organization represents more than 300 companies, including major pharma and biotech firms. Japan requires approvals for trade of human, animal, plant pathogens and toxins, as well as fermenters and cross-f

IndustryJuly 25, 2019

Korean Food Promotion Institute helps farmers as onion prices plummet

Amid an unprecedented onion crisis, the Korean Food Promotion Institute held an event Tuesday to promote sales of the vegetable.A record harvest of onions, despite a decrease in farmland that grows the vegetable, has resulted in a heavy drop in prices.To help farmers, restaurateur Paik Jong-won shared recipes using onions on his YouTube channel. Individuals, companies and local governments are also supporting farmers by purchasing large amounts of onions.Joining the movement, the Korean Food Pro

FoodJuly 25, 2019

Video of man in clown mask attempting burglary a viral marketing stunt

The closed-circuit TV clip of a man in a clown mask attempting to break into an apartment turned out to have been a viral marketing stunt by a delivery service agency, according to police.Seoul Gwanak Police Station said Thursday the police summoned the video’s publisher, a 34-year-old surnamed Choi, for questioning. The video, posted Tuesday on YouTube under the title “CCTV of psychopath burglar in Sillim-dong,” quickly garnered online attention, prompting the building’s

Social AffairsJuly 25, 2019

Four men accused of mocking wartime sex slavery victims apologize

Four South Korean men apologized Wednesday for mocking women who were forced into sexual slavery for Japanese soldiers during World War II.Six surviving sex slavery victims said Thursday the men visited them at a shelter in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, kneeled and apologized.The men, who are in their 20s and 30s, spat on a statue representing a wartime sex slave on July 3 in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, and spewed insults in Japanese. The memorial statue in shape of a young girl was erected in remem

Social AffairsJuly 25, 2019

Eximbank to be more inclusive in financing new exporters

South Korea’s official export credit agency Export-Import Bank of Korea said Thursday it will expand its credit policy to be more inclusive in financing new exporters with low credit ratings. According to Eximbank, it has allocated a total of 20 billion won ($17 million), with individual raw material exporters funded up to 3 billion won.Also, firms in the innovative growth industry -- such as the energy, information and communications technology, and future transportation and materials sec

MarketJuly 25, 2019