CJ ENM launches project to promote its child celebrities

CJ ENM said Wednesday it was seeking to develop the next generation of celebrities through its cartoon and anime channel Tooniverse, dubbed “Toonistar” proejct.The cable channel announced the key projects for the second half of 2019, including the upcoming broadcast of its new children’s anime series, during a press conference in Seoul.According to Tooniverse producer Park Yong-jin, Tooniverse has selected seven children through auditions on the basis of their acting, dancing a

TelevisionJuly 3, 2019

[David Ignatius] Trump successfully played a hunch with Kim. Now what?

In dealing with North Korea’s Chairman Kim Jong-un, President Trump should remember that he is a snake handler, not a snake charmer. (The same advice applies to Kim, but we’ll leave that to pundits in Pyongyang.)The baseline: Kim is a modernizing autocrat who believes his survival will be enhanced by the economic development he wants, in addition to the nuclear weapons he has. If he has decided to resume negotiations, it’s to remove sanctions, put his economy in overdrive and,

ViewpointsJuly 3, 2019

[Kim Myong-sik] Split society brews low public trust in mass media

Korea has many problems in politics, economy and national security. In addition, the media world of this country is in crisis under a new environment created by the emergence of the internet. It is a global phenomenon, but Korea perhaps suffers more greatly because it is better wired than other places. Besides, ideological divisions here into the left, right and cynical center have rapidly lowered public trust in the mass media, which have mostly chosen to pursue a specific direction amid the to

ViewpointsJuly 3, 2019

S. Korea lowers growth forecast for 2019 to 2.4-2.5%

South Korea’s government on Wednesday revised the growth rate forecast for this year to 2.4-2.5 percent, down 0.2 percentage point from its earlier estimation, amid sluggish exports and investments.It also added pressure upon the National Assembly to swiftly approve a long-pending supplementary bill of 6.7 trillion won ($5.7 billion) dedicated to economic revitalization. “The government has devoted all efforts to achieve an economic paradigm shift but uncertainties such as the g

EconomyJuly 3, 2019

Korea speeds up steps to take Japan’s ‘chip move’ to WTO

The South Korean government said Wednesday that it has started to conduct a legal review on its complaint to the World Trade Organization over Japan’s export restrictions -- widely seen as the neighboring country’s retaliation against the ruling by Korea’s top court on wartime forced labor.Trade officials here believe that Japan’s move to limit exports of key materials used to produce semiconductor and displays violates the WTO’s ban on states’ control of expo

TechnologyJuly 3, 2019

Hyundai Motor unveils new CVVD engine valve control technology, a world first

Hyundai Motor Group announced Wednesday that it had become the first company in the world to develop a technology called Continuously Variable Valve Duration, which will improve engine performance and fuel efficiency once the automaker begins mass-producing CVVD-equipped engines for use in Hyundai and Kia cars later this year. According to the company, CVVD technology enhances the function of the engine by optimizing the timing of the opening and closing of the valve at all four stages of its po

MobilityJuly 3, 2019

Oracle announces data center launch in S. Korea

US software giant Oracle officially announced on Wednesday that it has established its first data center in South Korea for cloud computing service, stepping up efforts to compete against global and local vendors in the country’s growing cloud market. During a press conference in Seoul, Oracle Korea chief Tom Song said the company’s Cloud Infrastructure Seoul Region became operational May 14. It is one of 19 new data centers that Oracle plans to build by year-end in Mumbai, Sydney an

TechnologyJuly 3, 2019

Corporate giving: Eagon to perform popular classics with guests from Berlin Philharmonic Camerata

The annual Eagon concert tour will feature special guests from the Berlin Philharmonic Camerata this year. The concert series, now in its 30th year, will kick off in Seoul on Friday at the Lotte Concert Hall before moving on to the Seoul Arts Center and then to Incheon, Gwangju and Busan. The tour will wrap up in Daegu on July 11. This year, the organizers invited eight members of the Berlin Philharmonic Camerata, along with four other individual performers. Together, they have billed thems

PerformanceJuly 3, 2019

‘National Assembly should recall, penalize underperforming lawmakers’: Democratic Party floor leader

Ruling Democratic Party of Korea Floor Leader Lee In-young on Wednesday suggested changes to the National Assembly law in order to prevent another monthslong parliamentary deadlock, and called for the implementation of a political recall system to penalize underperforming lawmakers.“The parliament must automatically open on the first of every month to prevent the National Assembly from ending empty-handed after discussing the schedule,” Lee said during a parliamentary speech at the N

PoliticsJuly 3, 2019

[News focus] In Korea, even a US president can be branded pro-NK

While the jury is still out on the impact of US President Donald Trump’s excursion to the inter-Korean border, some staunch conservatives in South Korea are reacting with extreme responses. On Sunday, Trump met North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom, where he stepped across the Military Demarcation Line. He became the first sitting US president to set foot in North Korea.  Some internet users, particularly those on right-wing websites, have acc

PoliticsJuly 3, 2019

German commerce chamber begins female empowerment program

The Korean-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry said Wednesday its female leadership group Women in Korea kicked off the second generation of its mentorship program. KGCCI started the mentorship program in 2018 with 14 mentors who are international and Korean C-level female executives in Korea and 16 mentees who are female employees in the middle management of KGCCI’s member companies. The second generation of the WIR mentorship program has more than doubled the number of participa

IndustryJuly 3, 2019

Posco becomes first Korean firm to join WEF’s Lighthouse Network

Steelmaker Posco said Wednesday it has become the first South Korean company to be included among 10 leading firms joining the World Economic Forum’s global Lighthouse Network. The Lighthouse Network consists of facilities of leading manufacturers, dubbed “Lighthouse Factories,” in various industries across the world, which are advanced in applying technologies of the “fourth industrial revolution” -- such as the internet of things, artificial intelligence and big d

IndustryJuly 3, 2019

Ministry busts anti-air pollution mask scams during two-month crackdown

Over 1,000 online advertisements for anti-pollution masks have been blocked and sales banned after the government found they included false or misleading information.The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and the Korean Intellectual Property Office conducted an inspection of anti-pollution masks that were sold online in May and June, and found a total of 1,125 cases of misleading product labelling. Of them, 437 involved false advertising, 8 false quality indications, and 680 false patent marks. Th

Social AffairsJuly 3, 2019

[Behind the Wheel] K7 Premier feels brand new with dramatic face-lift

Kia Motors’ full-sized K7 sedan has been always compared to its competitor, the Grandeur, a same-class sedan from its sister company Hyundai Motor. And the rival Grandeur has always topped the sales rankings in the category, selling 46,790 units this year as of June, while K7 sold 12,652 units. Kia Motors’ latest K7 Premier has been face-lifted to bring the car “up to date,” the automaker said, but the changes were so extensive that it almost feels like new generatio

MobilityJuly 3, 2019

Pompeo, Ri Yong-ho may hold talks in August in Bangkok

The US and North Korea may hold high-level talks early next month in Bangkok after the countries’ leaders agreed to resume denuclearization negotiations Sunday at Panmunjom.Following working-level talks scheduled for mid-July, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho are expected to attend the foreign ministers’ meeting at the ASEAN Regional Forum on Aug. 2 in Bangkok.The ARF foreign ministers’ meeting is the only ministerial-level conferen

North KoreaJuly 3, 2019

[Newsmaker] Irregular workers’ strike disrupts school operations

Irregular workers at schools went on strike Wednesday, calling for an end to discrimination in wages and welfare benefits vis-a-vis regular workers and disrupting meal services at thousands of schools nationwide. Six-hour-long negotiations between irregular workers at schools and education authorities fell through the previous day, leading some 22,000 irregular workers at schools -- including cooks, nutritionists and administrative workers -- to stage a walkout until Friday. As of 10 a.m. Wednes

Social AffairsJuly 3, 2019

Defense ministry requests 8% budget increase for 2020

The defense ministry said Wednesday it has proposed an 8 percent on-year hike in its budget for next year to strengthen national defense capabilities and better manage troops.According to a ministry report presented to the National Assembly's National Defense Committee, the ministry has asked the government to earmark 50.43 trillion won ($43.23 billion) for the budget for 2020, up from this year's 46.7 trillion won. If accepted, it will be the first time that the defense budget surpasses the 50

DefenseJuly 3, 2019

South Americans marvel at total solar eclipse

A rare total solar eclipse plunged a vast swath of Latin America's southern cone into darkness Tuesday, briefly turning day into night and enthralling huge crowds in much of Chile and Argentina.Hundreds of thousands of people -- including large crowds congregated in La Higuera in Chile, a country that hosts some of the world's most powerful astronomical telescopes -- looked to the skies captivated by the breathtaking spectacle.Thousands of people on beaches near the Chilean city of La Serena che

World NewsJuly 3, 2019

63% of S. Koreans back Trump-Kim-Moon meeting in DMZ: poll

More than 6 out of 10 South Koreans positively evaluate the historic meeting among the leaders of South Korea, the United States and North Korea in the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas, according to a survey released Wednesday.The survey, conducted by public pollster Realmeter with 501 adults aged 19 or older nationwide, found that 62.7 percent of the respondents gave a positive assessment of the meeting that took place Sunday and paved the way for Washington and Pyongyang to re

North KoreaJuly 3, 2019