[Newsmaker] Singers Jung Joon-young, Choi Jong-hoon deny rape charges in court hearing

Two disgraced South Korean singers -- Jung Joon-young and Choi Jong-hoon -- denied rape charges in their first court hearing on Thursday.Jung, a disgraced singer and TV personality, and Choi, a former member of boy band FT Island, have been arrested, indicted and referred for trial on charges that they sexually assaulted a woman with other members of a mobile chat room during a drinking party in 2016. The 30-year-old Jung was arrested and indicted in March on charges of secretly filming himself

Social AffairsJune 27, 2019

LG offers ice-making fridge technology to GE Appliance

LG Electronics will offer its core technology for the manufacturing of ice-making refrigerators to one of its competitors, GE Appliance, under a licensing contract, it said Thursday. GE Appliance is currently owned by China’s Haier. The Chinese company acquired the home appliance unit of US-based electronic giant GE and operates the business in the US.  The latest licensing contract allows the Haier subsidiary to use LG’s proprietary technology for making ice cubes inside the fr

TechnologyJune 27, 2019

Woongjin Group puts Coway up for sale again due to financial risks

Woongjin Group said Thursday that the group will resell water purifier business Coway, just three months after completing its reacquisition, to stave off financial risks. The group will seek to sell a 25.08 percent stake in Woongjin Coway by hiring Korea Investment and Securities as an overseer. Woongjin had sold the unit to private equity MBK Partners in 2013. Then, in March, the group repurchased a 22.17 percent stake from the PE for 1.68 trillion won. It later bought an additional 2.91 percen

IndustryJune 27, 2019

Hyosung to partner with Aramco for carbon fibers

South Korean industrial conglomerate Hyosung said Thursday it will partner with Saudi Aramco in the area of carbon fibers. Under a memorandum of understanding, signed by Hyosung Group Chairman Cho Hyun-joon and Saudi Aramco CEO Amin H. Nasser on Tuesday, the two sides agreed to consider building a carbon fiber plant in Saudi Arabia or Korea. They also agreed to cooperate on technology development of carbon fiber production. Carbon fibers are fibers that weigh one-fourth less than steel but

IndustryJune 27, 2019

GS Group inks deal with Saudi Aramco

GS Group said Thursday it had signed a memorandum on energy and investments with Saudi Arabia’s state-run oil company Saudi Aramco on Tuesday at Conrad Hotel in Seoul.The ceremony was attended by GS Group Vice Chairman Jung Taek-geun and Saudi Aramco President Amin H. Nasser, as well as executives of GS Engineering & Construction and GS Caltex.  Based on the agreement, the two companies will seek new business opportunities in areas such as oil and petrochemicals as well as constru

IndustryJune 27, 2019

aT rebrands flower business center to F Square

Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp. (aT) said Thursday it is rebranding its flower business center to F Square, a cultural complex focusing on flowers.F Square will not only have functions the center previously provided, including the auction and wholesale of flowers, but it will also promote a new cultural space for flowers, such as by hosting a flower-themed flea market and displaying famous florists’ works.  aT will also launch the support program “Flower Youth,&rdquo

IndustryJune 27, 2019

Camptong Forest to open in July with mega-scale water activities

The Camptong resort is to open its largest outdoor water park at Cheongpyeong Lake in mid-July, which will also feature accommodations, camping and zones set aside for a variety of activities in Gapyeong-gun, Gyeonggi Province.Called Camptong Forest, the planned water park will occupy about 33,000 square meters across the lake from Camptong’s existing water park. Officials hope the two parks combined will attract around 200,000 tourists per year to the area.The new water park has a 3,300 s

TravelJune 27, 2019

Vacation in Incheon: From triplet islets to Wonderbox

Yeongjongdo, an island off the west coast of South Korea, is popular as a quick getaway spot for Seoulites because the drive is only an hour or so from the heart of the capital.Beaches, seafood and shopping are some of the features boasted by the island -- home to Incheon Airport and connected to the mainland by the 4.4-kilometer Yeongjong Grand Bridge -- but the triplet islets of Sindo, Sido and Modo off its northern coast are also worth visiting in nice weather.Off to the isletsSammok Dock is

TravelJune 27, 2019

Will Song Joong-ki’s divorce affect ‘Arthdal Chronicles’?

Following the Song-Song couple’s shocking divorce announcement, attention is being drawn to “Arthdal Chronicles” featuring Song Joong-ki. The actor stars in the fantasy drama as the main character, playing two characters, Eunseom and Saya.As the tvN Saturday-Sunday drama is a pre-produced show, it will not be affected by the latest development concerning the star. The production team said it is currently editing the latter half of the series. The share price of Studio Drag

PeopleJune 27, 2019

Park Bo-gum denies involvement in Song-Song couple’s divorce

Actor Park Bo-gum has denied rumors that he is involved in the Song-Song couple’s divorce. Following Song Joong-ki’s announcement Thursday that he and Song Hye-kyo are filing for divorce, speculation has been rampant that Park may be the reason for the divorce, as he recently starred in the tvN drama “Boyfriend” with Song Hye-kyo. A few hours after the rumor started to spread on websites and social media, Park’s agency, Blossom Entertainment, told local media outlet

PeopleJune 27, 2019

[Travel Bits] Festivals, sights across Korea

Mega Wave Festival at Caribbean BayThe Caribbean Bay water park at Everland is celebrating summer with a 50-day Mega Wave Festival.The festival, which kicked off June 21 and runs through Aug. 18, offers flyboard performances and other fun events for visitors of all ages. The Mega Pool Party music festival, which takes place at the wave pool and features popular acts like Mamamoo and DinDin, is one of the highlights. Outdoor attractions such as the Aqualoop and the Water Bobsleigh will be rolled

TravelJune 27, 2019

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

Toy Story 4(US)Opened June 20Animation, Adventure, Comedy Directed by Josh Cooley When Bonnie’s (Madeleine McGraw) beloved new craft-project-turned-toy, Forky (Tony Hale), declares himself “trash” and not a toy, Woody (Tom Hanks) takes it upon himself to show Forky why he should embrace being a toy. But when Bonnie takes the whole gang on her family’s road trip excursion, Woody ends up on an unexpected detour that includes a reunion with his long-lost friend Bo Peep (Anni

FilmJune 27, 2019

Merck recruiting 18 startups for accelerator program

Biopharma company Merck said Thursday it is looking for 18 startups for its accelerator program in Darmstadt, Germany, and Shanghai, China. This round of participants will focus on four fields of research: biosensing and interfaces; liquid biopsy technologies; clean meat; and artificial intelligence-enabled health solutions. Merck will have 12 startups for its global headquarters in Darmstadt and six for the China Innovation Hub in Shanghai. It has hosted 57 startups since the accelerator p

IndustryJune 27, 2019

Nexon announces plans for 7 titles

Nexon Korea on Thursday announced seven titles for the second half of 2019, including a couple of mobile games that are handheld versions of original PC games that may be held in special regard for millennials. Talesweaver M and The Kingdom of the Winds: Yeon are mobile versions of online PC games that forged the company’s reputation and led its sales in the 1990s. Millennials, who were elementary and middle school students then who have now grown into their late-20s and 30s, are the bigge

IndustryJune 27, 2019

BTS World gets mixed reactions

Despite the fanfare from international media including CNN, BTS World, a simulation game featuring the award-winning K-pop group, received disappointing reviews the day after its launch.Netmarble released the much-publicized game on Wednesday, in 176 countries and 14 languages simultaneously. Users took to social media to complain of “technical difficulties” and “server failures.” Some found it inconvenient to have to use an additional 544 megabytes to optimize the g

IndustryJune 27, 2019

NK says US should come up with new proposal if it wants to resume nuclear talks

North Korea said Thursday the United States should come up with a new proposal if it truly wants to resume denuclearization negotiations, warning that time is not sufficient to produce results before its earlier imposed end-of-the-year deadline.Kwon Jong-gun, director general of the North Korean foreign ministry's American affairs department, made the remark in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency, saying the stalled nuclear talks won't resume automatically just because

North KoreaJune 27, 2019

Song Hye-kyo, Park Bo-gum’s latest drama, ‘Boyfriend,’ gets renewed attention

With Song Joong-ki and Song Hye-kyo heading for divorce, Song Hye-kyo’s comments at a press conference to promote the tvN drama “Boyfriend” have come under the spotlight.The romance drama, starring Song Hye-kyo and Park Bo-gum, aired from November to January.  “The script was great. Along with producer Park Shin-woo, I thought the results could be beyond imagination,” she said at the event in November. “With Park Bo-gum, I knew the production would be gre

PeopleJune 27, 2019

Police grill ex-YG boss over allegation of procuring prostitutes

Yang Hyun-suk, the founder and former head of YG Entertainment, was questioned by police for nine hours over allegations of procuring prostitution, the police said Thursday. Prostitution is illegal in South Korea.According to the police, Yang was summoned to the investigation unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency at around 4 p.m. Wednesday and was questioned until 45 minutes past midnight.Yang is suspected of arranging prostitution during a July 2014 meeting with foreign investors at a hi

Social AffairsJune 27, 2019

Song Hye-kyo says divorce comes after ‘careful thinking’

As the “Song-Song” couple files for divorce after some 20 months of marriage, Song Hye-kyo, through her agency, said it is coming after “careful thinking.”  “The divorce proceedings between Song Joong-ki and Song Hye-kyo come after careful thinking,” UAA Korea, the agency representing Song Hye-kyo, said, adding the marriage has come to an end due to irreconcilable differences.The two actors met through the “Descendants of the Sun” drama series

PeopleJune 27, 2019

Song-Song couple’s divorce sheds light on wedding ring incident

With Song Joong-ki and Song Hye-kyo filing for divorce, an incident involving the couple’s wedding rings has resurfaced. The famed “Descendants of the Sun” couple were married for less than two years. In February, Chinese media outlets suggested the two actors may not be getting along well, as Song Hye-kyo was spotted not wearing her wedding ring on various occasions. In early June, Song Hye-kyo was seen at Incheon Airport by herself without her wedding ring after a vacation in

PeopleJune 27, 2019