Trouble-ridden Jisan festival canceled 3 days before opening

The 2019 Jisan Rock Festival was officially canceled Tuesday, as the ambitious attempt to revive the festival came to a sudden and screeching halt, much to the anger and confusion of fans.D2 Global Company, the organizer for the festival, said on its homepage earlier in the day that it had called off the event.“2019 Jisan Rock Festival was to be held for three days at Jisan Forest Resort on July 26-28, but we decided to cancel the event as it was not possible to hold the concerts,” t

PerformanceJuly 23, 2019

[Trending] Kid YouTube star’s family buys $8m building in Gangnam

The family company of a 6-year-old South Korean YouTube celebrity has garnered enough money to purchase a building in one of the richest areas of Seoul.According to a report from Maeil Business Newspaper on Tuesday, Boram Family -- the company that operates two YouTube channels featuring 6-year-old girl Boram -- bought a five-story building worth 9.5 billion won ($8.06 million) in Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam, in Seoul.Referring to the real estate brokerage industry, the daily newspaper said the buil

TelevisionJuly 23, 2019

Foreign investors on buying spree of Korean stocks amid trade row with Japan

Overseas investors have been on a buying spree of South Korean stocks this month, despite a dampening mood from the escalating Seoul-Tokyo trade row, data showed Tuesday. According to the Korea Exchange, foreign investors net purchased stocks on the benchmark Kospi worth nearly 1.8 trillion won ($1.5 billion) from July 1 to Tuesday. Separate data compiled by local brokerage Yuanta Securities showed that Korean stocks were the most popular among those categorized as emerging markets. Foreign inve

MarketJuly 23, 2019

Posco’s operating profit down 15% in Q2

South Korean steelmaker Posco posted an operating profit of 1 trillion won ($848 million) in the second quarter this year, buoyed by its lucrative infrastructure and trade operations despite the sluggish steel business, the firm said Tuesday. The company also posted 16.3 trillion won in sales, with a net profit of 681 billion won. Sales rose 1.5 percent, but operating profit and net income declined 14.7 percent and 14.7 percent on-year, respectively. The decline was mainly due to its sluggi

IndustryJuly 23, 2019

Sale process of Asiana Airlines to begin this week

Creditors and Kumho Industrial, the largest stakeholder of Asiana Airlines, will post a public notice to sell the nation’s second-largest air carrier on Thursday, which is likely to be the largest deal of the year.After completing a financial review of the air carrier, creditors said they would speed up the bidding process, if no additional insolvent factors or problems that would complicate the company’s operations are found. Officials at Asiana Airlines confirmed that there’s

IndustryJuly 23, 2019

Celltrion prepares for direct sales in Australia

Korean biopharmaceutical company Celltrion’s distribution arm Celltrion Healthcare said Tuesday that it has joined Australia’s Generic and Biosimilar Medicines Association to prepare for direct sales of its biosimilars Truxima and Herzuma in the country.Celltrion Group’s three main biosimilars -- Remsima, Truxima and Herzuma -- are currently estimated to be worth 330 billion won ($280 million) in the Australian market. Autoimmune diseases treatment Remsima was launched as Infle

IndustryJuly 23, 2019

LG CNS teaches coding to young people

LG CNS will provide free coding training to elementary and middle school students from Tuesday at Sejong University as part of its corporate outreach, the company said Tuesday.The four-day, three-night “IT Dream Project” is LG CNS’ yearly summer project that began in 2017. LG CNS has so far provided the program to some 7,500 middle school students across 60 schools in Korea.“The advent of mandatory coding classes from elementary school has led to a market for costly priva

IndustryJuly 23, 2019

Market analysts forecast retail industry sales dip in Q2

South Korea’s major retailers and e-commerce companies such as E-mart, Lotte Mart and Coupang are likely to see their sales and performance having deteriorated in the second quarter, according to market analysts on Tuesday.Stock analysts said Tuesday that the industry’s top discount store chain operator E-mart is highly likely to run into the red in the second quarter, recording about 4.7 billion won ($3.9 million), or up to 10.5 billion won, in losses from operations.  “E

IndustryJuly 23, 2019

BOK chief hints at additional cut of growth outlook amid Japan factor

Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said Tuesday that the central bank could consider an additional cut of the country’s growth outlook for this year, should the ongoing trade tensions with neighboring Japan expand.“If (Japan’s export curbs) worsen and such consequences have not sufficiently been reflected in the (recently revised) economic outlook, they will certainly deliver a negative impact on our economy,” Lee said in a briefing session of the parliamentary strategy and f

EconomyJuly 23, 2019

Driver of overturned van in Gangwon repeat road crash offender: police

A van carrying 16 passengers crashed Monday morning in Gangwon Province, leading to deaths and injuries of all those aboard. Upon investigation, police found the van’s driver, a 61-year-old surnamed Kang, had a criminal record involving another fatal car wreck.According to police, Kang was charged with a similar van crash 10 years ago. In January 2009, the van she was driving hit an excavator in Hongseong, South Chungcheong Province, killing five and injuring 11. She was sentenced to a yea

Social AffairsJuly 23, 2019

Ruling party, main opposition spar over diplomatic approach to Tokyo’s trade restrictions

The ongoing dispute between the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and the main opposition Liberty Korea Party on Tuesday spilled over to the government’s diplomatic approach in handling trade restrictions by Japan.The fresh round of tit-for-tat came a day after the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee passed a resolution pressing Tokyo to retract trade measures imposed on three key tech materials vital for Korean tech businesses.Stepping up criticism against t

PoliticsJuly 23, 2019

Huawei helped build NK’s wireless network: report

Huawei Technologies, which the US has blacklisted as a national security threat, has secretly helped North Korea build and maintain its commercial wireless network, the Washington Post reported Monday.As the report suggests the Chinese tech giant, which uses American technology in its components, may have violated US sanctions by providing equipment to North Korea, it could lead to Washington increasing pressure on Huawei and possibly affect US-China trade negotiations as well as US-North Korea

North KoreaJuly 23, 2019

[News Focus] N. Korea taking time to strategize plans for nuclear talks with US: experts

North Korea seems to be agonizing over cherry-picking key negotiators and agenda items for its fresh nuclear talks with the US in order to avoid another setback following a no-deal summit in February, according to experts. US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un agreed to form negotiation teams “in two to three weeks” and create a framework for denuclearization negotiations after a surprise meeting at Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone between the two Koreas on

North KoreaJuly 23, 2019

LG Chem recruiting innovative tech ideas from around world

LG Chem said Tuesday the company is holding the second Global Innovation Contest to discover new technologies and ideas from universities and institutes around the world. The South Korean petrochemicals and energy solutions developer started receiving innovative ideas in the fields of petrochemicals, electronic batteries, advanced materials and biotechnology. Recruitment will run until Sept. 30. Graduates and professional researchers in the aforementioned fields are eligible to apply for the con

TechnologyJuly 23, 2019

Bolton in Seoul amid regional trade row, Hormuz issue

US National Security Adviser John Bolton began his two-day trip to South Korea on Tuesday, during which he will focus on consultations on a range of issues from North Korea to the Strait of Hormuz.It especially comes as two major allies of Washington -- Seoul and Tokyo -- are locked in a confrontation over shared history and the Shinzo Abe administration's use of trade as political retaliation.South Korea wants the US to help resolve the trade friction in a diplomatic way. Bolton landed at the U

Foreign AffairsJuly 23, 2019

[Newsmaker] Ex-SK Chem chief, 33 others indicted over humidifier sterilizer scandal

The prosecution said Tuesday it has indicted 34 people, including former company executives, for manufacturing and selling humidifier disinfectants containing toxic chemicals, wrapping up an eight-month reinvestigation into one of the worst scandals involving consumer products.The probe came after a 2011 scandal involving toxic humidifier disinfectants sold by Oxy Reckitt Benckiser rattled South Korea, leaving more than 100 people dead from lung problems. Hong Ji-ho, former president of SK Chemi

Social AffairsJuly 23, 2019

Russian aircraft violates S. Korea's airspace above East Sea twice

A Russian warplane violated South Korea's airspace above the East Sea twice Tuesday, prompting the Air Force to fire warning shots in the first such airspace violation by a foreign airplane ever, military officers here said.The Russian A-50 early warning and control aircraft trespassed in the territorial sky above the East Sea near South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo earlier in the day for two brief periods in breach of international treaties, according to officers from the Joint Chiefs of

DefenseJuly 23, 2019

[Gwangju Swimming] Water polo stars hope sport will grow after 1st world championships victory

Sometimes, all it takes is one moment to spark wider interest in a sport. And South Korean men's water polo players are hoping that theirs came Tuesday with their first world championships victory.South Korea defeated New Zealand 17-16 after four quarters of regulation and a penalty shootout at the FINA World Championships.It was South Korea's first victory at the biennial competition. "I hope our performance here will help grow water polo at the grassroots level," said captain Lee Seo

More SportsJuly 23, 2019

Overturned van in Samcheok carried 6 Thai nationals: police

Six Thai nationals were aboard the van that crashed Monday morning in Gangwon Province, that resulted in the deaths or injuries of all of the passengers, police said Tuesday.A Hyundai van carrying 16 passengers -- seven Koreans, nine foreign nationals -- crashed into a guardrail on a road in northeastern coastal area in Samcheok City at 7:33 a.m. Monday, killing four.  Of the four fatalities, two were Korean women, both aged 61, one of whom was the van’s driver surnamed Kang. The othe

Social AffairsJuly 23, 2019

NK leader inspects new submarine to be deployed in East Sea: state media

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has inspected a newly constructed submarine, calling for the development of naval armed forces to boost the country's military capabilities, Pyongyang's state media reported Tuesday.The inspection came less than a month after Kim and US President Donald Trump held a surprise meeting at the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom and agreed to resume working-level talks on denuclearization. Accompanied by senior officials from the ruling party and the field of nat

North KoreaJuly 23, 2019