Seoul again presses Tokyo not to implement additional export curbs

South Korea on Wednesday repeated its call on Japan to scrap its planned measure to take Seoul off its list of trusted trading partners granted with preferential procedures for exports, warning it could undermine bilateral economic ties.Early this month, Japan implemented strict regulations for exports of three key materials to South Korea that are crucial for the production of chips and displays on the grounds that Seoul runs a lax system for the control of goods that can be diverted for milita

Foreign AffairsJuly 24, 2019

Nation braces for protracted heat waves

South Korea is bracing for sweltering heat waves in the coming weeks, with its southern provinces and many other regions suffering from an extended tropical night phenomenon, weather forecasters said Wednesday.As most parts of the country have been put under a heat wave warning or alert, the daily high temperature is expected to soar to 32 C in Seoul, 35 C in Daegu, 34 C in Gangneung and 33 C in Gwangju, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration. A heat wave warning was issued for Dae

Social AffairsJuly 24, 2019

IMF downgrades world growth, warns of 'precarious' 2020

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Global trade tensions, continued uncertainty and rising prospects for a no-deal Brexit are sapping the strength of the world economy, which faces a "precarious" 2020, the International Monetary Fund warned on Tuesday.Trade conflicts are undercutting investment and weakening manufacturing, and the IMF urged countries to avoid using tariffs to resolve their differences.In the quarterly update of its World Economic Outlook, the IMF trimmed the global forecast issued in

World BusinessJuly 24, 2019

BTS nominated in 4 categories of MTV 2019 Video Music Awards

K-pop boy band BTS has been nominated for American TV channel MTV's 2019 Video Music Awards in four award categories, the TV channel's website showed Wednesday."Boy With Luv," BTS' latest single featuring Halsey, is competing in the best collaboration category for the fan-voted music awards whose final awards ceremony is set for Aug. 26 at New Jersey's Prudential Center.  The main track of "Map of the Soul: Persona" is also competing in three other categories: Best K-pop

PerformanceJuly 24, 2019

Chinese nationals, company indicted in US over NK sanctions evasion

Four Chinese nationals and a Chinese company have been indicted on charges of helping North Korean entities involved in the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the US Department of Justice said Tuesday.A federal grand jury in Newark, New Jersey, charged Chinese businesswoman Ma Xiaohong, her company, Dandong Hongxiang Industrial Development Co. Ltd., and three of the company's top executives with violating sanctions and conspiring to defraud the US and launder money, the department sai

North KoreaJuly 24, 2019

US voices strong support for S. Korea, Japan after 'airspace incursions' by Russia, China

The Pentagon on Tuesday expressed the United States' strong support for South Korea and Japan in their response to "airspace incursions" by Russian and Chinese warplanes.Its mention of Japan in response to a question about Tuesday's incident over South Korea's East Sea, however, could raise questions about its position on the longrunning territorial dispute between its two Asian allies.Earlier Tuesday, a Russian A-50 early warning and control aircraft trespassed twice into Korea's terr

Foreign AffairsJuly 24, 2019

Boris Johnson wins race to become UK's next prime minister

Brexit hardliner Boris Johnson won the contest to lead Britain's governing Conservative Party on Tuesday and will become the country's next prime minister, tasked with fulfilling his promise to lead the U.K. out of the European Union.Johnson resoundingly defeated rival Jeremy Hunt, winning two thirds of the votes in a ballot of about 160,000 Conservative members. He will be installed as prime minister in a formal handover from Theresa May on Wednesday.  In a brief speech Tuesday meant to ra

World NewsJuly 23, 2019

BOK chief says another rate cut possible

Bank of Korea (BOK) Gov. Lee Ju-yeol hinted at an additional rate cut Tuesday, less than a week after the central bank slashed the key rate to help spur growth in Asia's fourth-largest economy."(BOK) maintains its stance that it will take measures if necessary, depending on the (rate of) economic growth," Lee said while speaking in front of the parliamentary finance committee. Lee's remarks came five days after the central bank cut the key rate by 25 basis points to 1.50 percent despit

MarketJuly 23, 2019

Foreign visitors to S. Korea jump 15% in June

The number of foreign visitors to South Korea rose sharply last month, helped by a large increase in visitors from China, Japan and Taiwan, data showed Tuesday.In June, the number of foreign visitors to the country came to more than 1.47 million, up 15.1 percent from around 1.28 million the same month last year, according to the data from the state-run Korea Tourism Organization.By country, the number of visitors from China spiked 25 percent on-year to a little over 475,000 last month, with visi

TravelJuly 23, 2019

2 Koreas to discuss Japan’s wartime forced labor, sexual slavery in Manila

South and North Korea as well as other countries will discuss issues related to forced labor and sexual slavery by Japan at an international forum in Manila, the Philippines, this week, the organizers said Tuesday.The Gyeonggi Provincial Government and Asia Pacific Interchange Association will host the International Convention for Asia Pacific Peace and Prosperity in the Southeast Asian country from Thursday to Saturday.A six-member North Korean delegation, including Ri Jong-hyok, vice chairman

North KoreaJuly 23, 2019

S. Korea fires warning shots at intruding Russian warplane

A Russian military aircraft intruded into South Korea’s airspace above the East Sea twice on Tuesday, prompting Air Force fighter jets to fire warning shots in response, military officials said. Two other Russian warplanes and two Chinese bombers also entered South Korea’s air defense identification zone without prior notice.According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Russian warplane, identified as an A-50 -- an airborne early warning and control aircraft -- entered South Korea&rsqu

DefenseJuly 23, 2019

Seoul lodges complaint with Russia over airspace intrusion

South Korea sent a message of “strong complaint” to Russia over its military aircraft’s violation of Korean airspace, Cheong Wa Dae said Tuesday. Seoul has also filed formal complaints to China over its military aircrafts entering the Korea Air Defense Identification Zone. Earlier in the day, a number of Chinese and Russian military aircrafts engaged in a joint drill entered the KADIZ, with one Russian plane twice entering Korean airspace over the Dokdo Islets in the East Sea.

DefenseJuly 23, 2019

LG Display plans W3tr investment to push forward OLED TVs

LG Display announced Tuesday it has invested an additional 3 trillion won ($2.5 billion) in the 10.5-generation line for organic light-emitting diode panels at its P10 factory in a bid to expand the market presence of large-sized OLED screens. The world’s biggest OLED panel maker will execute the investment with an aim to increase the monthly production capacity of the newest line located in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, to 45,000, starting from 2023. The Gen 10.5 plant was built to manufacture

TechnologyJuly 23, 2019

[Graphic News] Eco-friendly car exports soar in part 7 years

 South Korea’s shipments of environment friendly vehicles jumped an average of 33 percent annually in the past seven years on growing overseas demand, an auto business lobby group said.Local carmakers exported 196,000 eco-friendly vehicles in 2018, up from 35,000 units in 2012. Eco-friendly cars accounted for 8 percent of the country’s overall vehicle exports last year, up from 1.1 percent six years earlier, according to data from the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association.

MobilityJuly 23, 2019

[Newsmaker] Moon’s civil affairs secretary at center of yet another political feud

Cho Kuk, senior secretary to the president for civil affairs and justice, is once again in the spotlight, drawing fire from conservatives and fueling a feud between the ruling and opposition blocs. This time around, Cho -- a longtime target of the conservative opposition -- is drawing criticism for comments on social media related to Japan’s decision to impose trade restrictions in apparent retaliation over court rulings on Korean forced labor victims. While Cho has made over 40 posts

PoliticsJuly 23, 2019

AI tech used to battle spycam video crimes

The South Korean government has begun to use artificial intelligence technology in its fight against illegal sex videos.The state agencies said Monday that they have started applying the AI technology to search and delete illicit sex videos shared on the internet. The technology has been adopted by the Gender Equality Ministry’s center for supporting victims of cybersex crimes.The center expects the new AI solution to help shorten the time in finding and removing sex crime videos, also kno

TechnologyJuly 23, 2019

[Ashoka Mody] Let’s choose the best person to lead the IMF

Now that Christine Lagarde has announced her resignation as managing director of the International Monetary Fund, German chancellor Angela Merkel says Europeans “again” have a “claim” to fill what is arguably the world’s most important economic job. Merkel is invoking a decades-old political deal, which gives Europe the IMF leadership in return for allowing Americans to run the World Bank.If global leaders want the IMF to achieve its mission of ensuring internationa

ViewpointsJuly 23, 2019

[Kim Seong-kon] Ultra-nationalism in the era of globalism

We are now living in the era of globalism when the whole world has become a global village. The boundaries between nations are rapidly collapsing and people are experiencing crossovers everywhere. Take the EU, for example. Practically the whole continent of Europe has become a global village already and Europeans are freely crossing borders without an entry visa, using the same currency and their mobile phone with no extra charge. Why, then, are we witnessing such sudden unprecedented change in

ViewpointsJuly 23, 2019

[Herald Review] Hopes of cinematic universe may be too ambitious for ‘Divine Fury’

A cinematic universe is not something that has earnestly been tried in the Korean film industry, which makes Jason Kim’s attempt to start one via an occult film border on risky. Occult-themed flicks have rarely been major hits at the box office here.So how does “The Divine Fury” – the supposed “Iron Man” of the crudely named “Holy Universe” -- measure up? While it has some good elements and can be fun from time to time, the unoriginal plot and conc

FilmJuly 23, 2019