Big Hit, Netmarble team up on new music-streaming platform

Big Hit Entertainment, the mastermind behind global sensation BTS, and the nation’s No. 1 mobile game developer, Netmarble, have joined hands to launch a brand-new music-streaming platform, multiple sources said Tuesday.Even though the new platform may not be solely dedicated to BTS, sources say, the septet is highly likely to release some new songs exclusively for the platform. “The two firms have started development work as a venture project. The platform is targeting global users

PerformanceJuly 9, 2019

Japan rejects S. Korea's offer to hold talks to resolve export curbs

Japan on Tuesday rejected South Korea's call for negotiations to resolve a row over Tokyo's export restrictions against the South, saying it has no intention of lifting the curbs and the issue is not a matter of talks.Trade Minister Hiroshige Seko made the remark after a Cabinet meeting, a day after South Korean President Moon Jae-in urged Japan to retract the restrictions on exports of key materials to the South and called for negotiations to resolve the issue. Seko said the decision was part o

InternationalJuly 9, 2019

Education authorities cancel licenses for 8 elite high schools in Seoul

The Seoul education office decided Tuesday to cancel licenses for eight out of 13 "autonomous private high schools" in Seoul, as the education authorities and the government push for scrapping the privileged category of schools and bringing equality to public education. The cancellation came after the eight high schools -- Kyunghee, Paichai, Sewha, Soongmoon, Shinil, Choongang and two high schools affiliated with Ewha Womans University and Hanyang University, respectively -- failed to

Social AffairsJuly 9, 2019

S. Korea, US to hold economic talks amid Japan's export curbs

A foreign ministry official will travel to Washington this week for talks with his counterpart on economic issues, the ministry said Tuesday, amid speculation that the two sides may also discuss Japan's economic retaliatory measures against Seoul.Kim Hee-sang, director-general for bilateral economic affairs, will meet with Roland de Marcellus, acting deputy assistant secretary for international finance and development at the State Department, according to Seoul officials."There will be conc

Foreign AffairsJuly 9, 2019

BTS becomes highest-charting foreign artist in Japan with new Japanese single

Super group BTS topped Japan's Oricon weekly singles chart this week with its latest Japanese single "Lights/Boy With Luv," garnering the highest weekly score for any foreign artist in the Japanese music market, the band's management agency said Tuesday.The three-track single, dropped in Japan on July 3, earned some 621,000 sales points to finish atop the Oricon weekly singles chart for the week of July 1-7, according to Big Hit Entertainment.   It was the most points a singl

PerformanceJuly 9, 2019

Blue Bottle Coffee to add 2 more outlets in S. Korea this year

Blue Bottle Coffee Inc. said on Tuesday that it will increase the number of its outlets in South Korea to four this year as it seeks to tap deeper into one of the world's most competitive coffee markets. The California-based coffee company advanced to Korea in May by opening its first store in Seongsu, eastern Seoul. It opened a second shop in Samcheong, central Seoul, last week.South Korea has been a proven market for global coffee brands such as Starbucks. The Seattle-based coffee company now

IndustryJuly 9, 2019

Murder suspect jumps to death after 16-hour police standoff

A 45-year-old murder suspect surnamed Park jumped to his death in Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province.According to the police, Park is suspected of stabbing a man, 57, to death at 2:17 p.m. Monday. Park was identified as a key suspect in the murder in the ensuing investigation. The victim was the CEO of a company where Park’s ex-wife worked.Park ran to a rooftop of an apartment in Okpo-dong, a neighborhood along the eastern coast of the island.Police deployed a SWAT team, crisis negotiation t

Social AffairsJuly 9, 2019

Foreigners defaulting on state health insurance fees required to cover full medical cost

Foreign residents in South Korea who default on state health insurance fees will be required to personally pay for all medical costs, the health ministry said Tuesday.Under changes made to the National Health Insurance Act that will go into effect on July 16, foreign nationals who reside in the country for more than six months must mandatorily join the public health insurance plan, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare.  "Those that are in arrears will not receive support unt

Social AffairsJuly 9, 2019

Soldier jumps into river after unit's coastal operations failure

An Army soldier jumped off a Han River bridge to his death, officials said Tuesday, after his unit came under fire for failing to detect a North Korean boat's arrival at a South Korean port last month.The 21-year-old private first class from the Army's 23rd division in Samcheok, Gangwon Province, threw himself into the Han River on Monday night. After being rescued, the solider, whose identity was withheld, was rushed a nearby hospital, but died soon after, Col. Jeon Ha-kyu said.  The man w

DefenseJuly 9, 2019

Govt officials of S. Korea, Japan to hold talks over Tokyo's export curbs: report

Government officials of South Korea and Japan will hold talks in Tokyo as early as this week to discuss Japan's toughening of restrictions on exports of key chemicals to South Korea, a news report said Tuesday. The meeting, if realized, will be the first time officials of the two countries have met since Japan announced on July 1 a stringent approval process for exports to Seoul of high-tech materials essential for the production of semiconductors and display panels, a report by Yomiuri Shimbun

Foreign AffairsJuly 9, 2019

1 dead, 5 saved after fishing boat capsizes off south coast

One fisherman died after a fishing boat with six people aboard capsized off the south coast of South Korea on Tuesday, maritime police said.The 8.55-ton Minseong-ho capsized in waters 22 kilometers southeast of Maemul Island in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, around 3:42 a.m. The 24-year-old Sri Lankan fisherman was found dead inside the boat, while the remaining five fishermen were rescued. After hearing a radio call from the Tongyeong Fishery Communications Bureau that the boat had overt

Social AffairsJuly 9, 2019

N. Korea-Russia border trade nearly triples in Q1 on improving ties

North Korea's trade with Russia's Far Eastern region nearly tripled in the first quarter from a year earlier, data showed Tuesday, amid intensifying efforts by the two neighbors to strengthen bilateral relations.According to the data by South Korea's Consulate General in Vladivostok, the trade between the North and Russia's Far Eastern region totaled $10.69 million during the Jan.-March period, up from $3.72 million tallied a year earlier. Russia's exports to the North came to $10.67 million, wh

North KoreaJuly 9, 2019

US stresses cooperation amid escalating row between S. Korea, Japan

The United States on Monday expressed its continued commitment to strengthening ties with South Korea and Japan amid an escalating row between the Asian nations.Tensions between Seoul and Tokyo have spiked since the Japanese government last week announced tightened controls on exports of high-tech materials to the neighboring country. South Korea views the measure as retaliation for last year's Supreme Court rulings that ordered Japanese companies to compensate Korean victims of forced labor dur

Foreign AffairsJuly 9, 2019

Dodgers' Ryu Hyun-jin 'honored' to start MLB All-Star Game

For Los Angeles Dodgers' left-hander Ryu Hyun-jin, getting to start this week's All-Star Game in Cleveland isn't just a big deal for himself."Starting the All-Star Game is an honor for my family, and I think it's going to be a special day back home in South Korea," Ryu said at a press conference at Huntington Convention Center on Monday, the eve of the Midsummer Classic. "It's definitely a great occasion. This feels like being in the postseason, because starting pitchers get to si

BaseballJuly 9, 2019

N. Korea slams Japan's export curbs as 'shameless' act

North Korea's media Monday slammed Japan's recent restriction on high-tech exports to South Korea, calling the measure a "shameless" act that indicates a lack of remorse for Tokyo's historical wrong-doings against the Korean people.Japan began to tighten regulations last week on shipments to South Korea of three materials essential to the production of semiconductors and display panels.    South Korea suspects the move may be retaliation for a Seoul court's order fo

North KoreaJuly 8, 2019

Gender minister pledges support for Vietnamese assault victim

South Korea’s gender minister pledged Monday to provide support for a Vietnamese woman assaulted by her husband last week. During her visit to the victim’s hospital, Gender Minister Jin Sun-mee said the government would redouble its efforts to ensure her recovery.  “In order to help her families in Vietnam stop worrying about it, we would do our best to help our recover as soon as possible,” Jin said via a press release. The ministry also vowed to establish an &

Social AffairsJuly 8, 2019

Gaming behavior can be authentic health concern: medical experts

Since the dawn of the internet age, debate has continued over excessive time and energy spent consuming digital content and the difficulties in exercising control. In May, gaming disorder became one such contemporary health plight to be included in the World Health Organization’s disease classification. Less than a month after the adoption of gaming disorder into the International Classification of Diseases, the issue became a subject of heated contention. The most vocal opp

Social AffairsJuly 8, 2019

Prosecution chief nominee vows political neautrality

Prosecutor-General nominee Yoon Seok-youl pledged to free the prosecution from political influence and reform the powerful law enforcement body at his confirmation hearing Monday.  “I take it with a heavy heart that the prosecution has been shaken and is not strict when facing the powerful,” he said, vowing “drastic” changes in the organization, system and culture.Last month, President Moon Jae-in picked Yoon to lead the prosecution, which many regard as reflecting h

Social AffairsJuly 8, 2019

[Graphic News] France has lowest levels of trust in vaccines globally

　France has the lowest levels of trust in vaccines globally, according to the world’s biggest survey on public attitudes toward health and science.　A third (33 percent) of French people do not agree that immunization is safe, and it is also the only country where a majority (55 percent) believe science and technology will reduce the total number of jobs available, according to the poll of more than 140,000 people across 144 countries. 　The survey of people aged 15 and older was devised by

WorldJuly 8, 2019