BTS garners more than $50 million from stadium tours in May

K-pop band BTS topped the monthly list of tour grosses with the biggest attendees among global superstars in May, Billboard reported on Thursday (on US time). "From only eight shows in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Sao Paolo, the South Korean superstars grossed $51.66 million and sold 384,498 tickets (in May)," Billboard said, citing figures from Billboard Boxscore."These towering earnings mark the biggest one-month total of 2019 so far," it said.  In May, the septe

PerformanceJune 28, 2019

National Assembly back on track with Liberty Korea Party’s return

The floor leaders of the ruling and opposition parties on Friday agreed to extend the terms of special parliamentary committees on judiciary and political reform until the end of August, signaling the end of an 84-day political deadlock.The main opposition Liberty Korea Party also reached an internal consensus to unconditionally resume participation in parliamentary committees, wrapping up a protest that lasted nearly three months and brought the National Assembly to a standstill.In the wake of

PoliticsJune 28, 2019

US ready for talks with NK to make 'simultaneous and parallel' progress: nuke envoy

The United States is ready to hold talks with North Korea to move their denuclearization negotiations forward in a "simultaneous and parallel" manner, Washington's top nuclear envoy was quoted as saying Friday.US Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun made the remarks when he met with his South Korean counterpart, Lee Do-hoon, a day before US President Donald Trump visits Seoul for summit talks with President Moon Jae-in, according to the foreign ministry.Biegun "re

North KoreaJune 28, 2019

Seoul stocks end lower ahead of Trump-Xi meeting

South Korean shares ended lower Friday as investors remained cautious ahead of the US-China trade talks Saturday that could provide a pivotal cue for markets. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 3.7 points, or 0.17 percent, to close at 2,130.62. Trade volume was moderate at 530 million shares worth 4.2 trillion won ($3.6 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 533 to 269. All eyes are now on Saturday's planned meeting between US.Pres

EconomyJune 28, 2019

Korea, India to set up high-level body for cooperation

OSAKA, Japan -- South Korea and India will establish a new high-level dialogue body to seek ways to achieve synergies between Seoul’s New Southern Policy and India’s Look East Policy, Cheong Wa Dae said Friday. The agreement was made during President Moon Jae-in’s summit with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit in Osaka. “The two leaders agreed to seek projects (for achieving synergies) by establishing a high-level consultatio

Foreign AffairsJune 28, 2019

Canberra checking on Australian reportedly detained in NK

The Australian government said it is working with the Swedish government to confirm reports that an Australian man has been detained in North Korea. The family of Alek Sigley, a 29-year-old student who has lived in North Korea for the past year and is pursuing a master’s degree in Korean literature at Kim Il-sung University, said they had not heard from him since Tuesday. Citing unnamed sources, South Korean and Australian media reported that Sigley had been arrested by North Korean author

North KoreaJune 28, 2019

University warned over survey that got too personal, violated students’ rights

A private university received a warning from the nation’s human rights body over a mandatory survey that included highly personal questions. The National Human Rights Commission of Korea said Thursday that the University of Suwon, located south of Seoul in Gyeonggi Province, violated students’ rights by requiring them to fill out the detailed questionnaire before they could check their exam scores. In December, the school added the 95-question survey to the lecture evaluation questio

Social AffairsJune 28, 2019

Korean musicians receive awards at Tchaikovsky Competition

Four classical musicians from South Korea have received awards in the voice, violin, cello and brass instruments sections of the International Tchaikovsky Competition held this week in Russia, according to organizers Friday.  Kim Ki-hoon, a 27-year-old baritone, won second prize in the voice competition held at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg.Kim Dong-hyun, 19, finished third in the violin section of the competition’s 16th edition, following the final round held at Tchaikovsky

PerformanceJune 28, 2019

Far-right party to relocate rally station ahead of Trump’s visit

The far-right Our Republican Party announced Friday it will suspend its monthlong occupation of Gwanghwamun Square in downtown Seoul. The decision comes a day before US President Donald Trump’s scheduled visit to South Korea, following a police advisory that the rally station’s presence could pose security risks.Our Republican Party Chairman Rep. Cho Won-jin said the party leadership has decided to move the protest tents to the pedestrian mall in front of the nearby Seoul Finance Cen

Social AffairsJune 28, 2019

Panel wraps up probe into border security failure in N. Korean boat case

A defense ministry panel wrapped up a weeklong probe Friday into the border security failure that led to the undetected arrival of a North Korean boat at an eastern sea port earlier this month, military sources said.The investigation detected some problems in maritime and coastal surveillance operations, but the panel is yet to make a conclusion on if there were any false reports or attempts to cover up the case, they added. The panel involving 30 officials and experts launched the probe on June

DefenseJune 28, 2019

YouTube to allow users to block channel recommendations

YouTube on Thursday announced two big changes to its browsing features, giving users more control over video recommendations.Users will soon have a “Don’t recommend channel” button, for content that is not relevant to their interests. Videos from rejected content creators will still be discoverable on the platform, but they will not come up on the recommended list or on the YouTube homepage. There will also be a new feature that sorts recommended videos into different topics, s

TechnologyJune 28, 2019

Former President Lee Myung-bak to leave hospital after overnight stay

Former President Lee Myung-bak, who was admitted to Seoul National University Hospital on Thursday, will be discharged Friday afternoon.According to his aide, he is expected to leave the hospital after a review of his test results.Lee was hospitalized at around 1:30 p.m. Thursday for symptoms that included a high fever, the hospital told The Korea Herald. The hospital added that Lee’s condition was not serious.The hospital said Lee was admitted to the Cancer Hospital because there were no

Social AffairsJune 28, 2019

S. Korea, ASEAN to launch science center for cooperation

South Korea and ASEAN have agreed to establish a center for science and technology partnership to promote exchanges and policy sharing programs, the Ministry of Science and ICT said Friday.  The agreement was made at the fourth meeting of the Korea-ASEAN Joint Science and Technology Committee in Indonesia. Around 30 officials in charge of S&T policies from the 10-member ASEAN nations attended the biennial event.Alongside establishing a new S&T center, they also agreed to launch an e

EconomyJune 28, 2019

Celltrion adopts new clinical trial management software

The South Korean biotechnology firm Celltrion has adopted Veeva Vault eTMF software to increase efficiency in managing its clinical trials, Veeva Systems announced Friday. The California-based software company’s program modernizes the clinical trial process and enhances cross-team collaboration, the company said.With the new software, Celltrion can now manage its master files in real time and can maintain all paperwork in a single cloud-based platform, Veeva Systems said. Celltrion sa

IndustryJune 28, 2019

S. Korea, Iraq initial double taxation avoidance pact

South Korea and Iraq have initialed a double taxation avoidance pact, South Korea's finance ministry said Friday, in a move that could boost bilateral economic cooperation.The agreement is set to take effect after a formal signing and parliamentary ratifications in both countries, according to the ministry.The move comes as South Korean construction companies are participating in major infrastructure projects in the war-torn country. Hanwha Engineering & Construction Corp. is set to build 10

IndustryJune 28, 2019

State pension fund logs 6.81% return rate through April

South Korea's state pension fund posted a return rate of 6.81 percent in the first four months of2019 on the back of solid performances in domestic and foreign stock markets, the fund's operator said Friday.The state pension logged a 9.97 percent investment return from the local stock market and a 20.34 percent yield from investments in overseas stocks, according to the National Pension Service. The NPS' return rates from investments in domestic and foreign bonds reached 1.42 percent and 6.

EconomyJune 28, 2019

Bank lending rates drop in May

The average lending rate for fresh loans extended by banks dropped in May from a month earlier on a large dip in the rates for businesses that more than offset a slight increase in rates for households, central bank data showed Friday.The average interest rate on all new bank loans came to 3.62 percent last month, down 0.03 percentage point from the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea.The drop comes amid growing market expectation that the central bank may be poised to s

EconomyJune 28, 2019

S. Korea's industrial output down 0.5% on-month in May

South Korea's industrial output edged down 0.5 percent in May from a month earlier due in part to decreased oil refining, government data showed Friday.The data compiled by Statistics Korea showed oil refining fell14 percent in May from a month earlier, while production in the service sector increased 0.1 percent on-month.From a year earlier, industrial output rose 1 percent. Kim Bo-kyoung, director of Statistics Korea's industry statistics division, said decreased oil refining can be blamed on

IndustryJune 28, 2019

S. Korea wants more investment from US: trade minister

South Korea is ready to provide an array of benefits to US companies seeking to invest in Asia's fourth-largest economy, the country's trade minister said Friday."Cooperation between South Korea and US investors has become even more important than ever amid increased investment in high-end technologies, emerging industries and startups," Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee said during a meeting with members of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea. The remark came as US firms have been ex

BusinessJune 28, 2019

Moon greeted by Abe in G-20 opening ceremony

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the host of this week's G-20 summit, greeted South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the official welcoming ceremony Friday amid no announcement yet of any schedule on their formal talks.Having entered the summit venue of INTEX Osaka, Moon walked toward Abe and shook hands with him.They then posed for photos, briefly smiling.It was their first meeting since the UN General Assembly session in New York last September.Abe was welcoming the guests at the two-day G20

Foreign AffairsJune 28, 2019