Ediya Coffee beefs up investment in R&D, coffee roasting technology

Ediya Coffee, which focuses mainly on small shops offering low-cost coffee, has been boosting its investment in research and development and coffee roasting technology in an effort to increase its competitiveness, the company said Monday. Amid the expanding Korean coffee market -- the world’s third-largest following US and China as of last year -- Ediya Coffee said it has increased R&D spending for its coffee and bakery products by 20 percent each year. As part of its efforts

IndustryJune 10, 2019

[News Briefs] Actress Yoon Ji-oh faces class-action suit for taking donation for false cause

Actress Yoon Ji-oh, who claimed to have been a witness in the sexual abuse scandal surrounding late actress Jang Ja-yeon, was sued Monday by donors who had given her money.According to the Seoul-based law firm Law & Us, 439 people who made donations to Yoon have filed a lawsuit for the return of about 10 million won ($8,500), claiming Yoon profited by deceiving them. The class action suit demanded compensation of 30 million won for other damages, according to the law firm.  Yoon had tes

Social AffairsJune 10, 2019

NCT 127 announces European leg of ongoing world tour

Rising global stars NCT 127 announced Monday a new European leg of their ongoing world tour "Neo City - the Origin."The European part of the concert tour will kick off at Russia's Ice Palace on June 26 and move to Megasport Sport Palace in Moscow on June 29, according to SM Entertainment.Those will be followed by performance at the SSE Arena, Wembley in London on July 7 and La Seine Musicale in Paris on July 10. As part of their world-trotting concerts, NCT 127 has toured 20 North Amer

PerformanceJune 10, 2019

Remains of some Hungary boat sinking victims return home

The remains of some of the victims of a recent tour boat sinking in Budapest were returned home Monday, airline sources said.The bereaved families of four victims arrived at Incheon International Airport in the morning, while holding the boxes of the victims' ashes, the sources said, adding that their cremation took place in Hungary. It's the first time that bereaved families returned home after visiting the European country after the accident.Other bereaved families are expected to follow suit,

Social AffairsJune 10, 2019

[Diplomatic circuit] Africa, Korea to exchange cultural, business opportunities in 2019 Africa Week

African embassies in Korea will host events as part of 2019 Africa Week from Wednesday to Saturday in an effort to share their culture and exchange business opportunities. According to the Embassy of Egypt in South Korea, which holds chairmanship of the African Union, 19 embassies will participate: Algeria, Angola, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Egypt, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Libya, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, and Zambia.  The events

Diplomatic CircuitJune 10, 2019

[Feature] ‘Contributing to South Korean society in the way we can’

PAJU, Gyeonggi Province -- Crossing armed borders alone to flee a poverty-stricken life in North Korea was one of the biggest challenges 29-year-old Lee Kang has faced. Starting life over in South Korea, entirely different from his former home, was another. In the beginning, everything was surreal, as if he were living in two different worlds. He would be in South Korea when awake, but he would return to the North in his dreams at night, Lee told The Korea Herald.But thanks to the help he receiv

North KoreaJune 10, 2019

Kang Daniel gears up for return to show biz with new talent agency

Kang Daniel, a member of the disbanded boy band Wanna One, is expected to finally return to the K-pop scene as a solo artist with the establishment of a management agency for himself.His aides said Monday the singer has recently established Konnect Entertainment, a one-person company, in Seoul to launch his solo career. The move came a month after a local court accepted his request to suspend the efficacy of his exclusive management contract with LM Entertainment.Having finished as the front run

PerformanceJune 10, 2019

Hyper-speed internet to be available all across country next year: ICT ministry

　Those living in South Korea are expected to enjoy the benefits of hyper-speed internet in every nook and cranny of the country from as early as next year, as the Korean government pledged to designate it “mandatory business” for internet service providers.　The Ministry of Science and ICT said Monday that it will mandate telecommunications companies provide ultra-fast internet to every part of South Korea. The initiative is to be enforced on Jan. 1, 2020 via government decree, the mi

TechnologyJune 10, 2019

SK hynix launches data research lab, hires scientist for smart chipmaking

SK hynix, the world’s second-largest memory chip provider, has launched a data research lab to seek optimal solutions for its manufacturing processes and R&D projects via the use of artificial intelligence and data analysis. The new lab, along with the existing data science division, will be led by Kim Young-han, a computer engineering professor at University of California San Diego, renowned in the areas of learning theory and quantum information processing, the company said Monday. K

TechnologyJune 10, 2019

[Newsmaker] SK Innovation demands W1b from LG Chem in defamation countersuit

On the heels of a lawsuit filed by LG Chem in the United States, SK Innovation sued its South Korean competitor for defamation in a local court, claiming 1 billion won in damages in a new chapter in the ongoing legal battle. The country’s top energy business and newcomer to the lithium-ion battery market said Monday that it could no longer endure “groundless accusations” brought against it by rival LG Chem. LG Chem, in response, said it feels “regret” over SK Innova

TechnologyJune 10, 2019

S. Korea should continue expansionary actions: finance minister, IMF chief

South Korea’s top fiscal policymaker and the chief of the International Monetary Fund have agreed that Asia’s fourth-largest economy needs to continue its current pump-priming policies in order to respond to external risks and to boost growth, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said Monday.The finance minister also pledged his dedicated efforts to effectuate the government’s supplementary budget bill worth 6.7 trillion ($5.7 billion), which has been pending here since late Apr

EconomyJune 10, 2019

Hyundai Motor, Rotem to develop hydrogen-powered tram by 2020

South Korea’s largest automaker, Hyundai Motor, and its locomotive arm, Hyundai Rotem, are slated to develop a hydrogen-powered tram by 2020, which will be the first of its kind in the nation. On Monday, Hyundai Rotem said the two companies had agreed to cooperate on developing a train powered by hydrogen. Hyundai Motor plans to deploy hydrogen fuel cell stacks on trains developed and manufactured by Hyundai Rotem, which will also build the system interface to be installed between train ca

IndustryJune 10, 2019

North Korea pushes for completion of Wonsan-Kalma tourist zone

Tens of thousands of young North Koreans have been forced to join work brigades to build a huge resort complex in Wonsan, with leader Kim Jong-un harboring ambitions of transforming the port city into a source of foreign currency, British paper the Times reported Sunday. Located on the southeastern coast of North Korea, the Wonsan region has been the focus of the North Korean regime’s tourism push, with an aim to complete the project by October 2020.  After a rare trip by Western medi

North KoreaJune 10, 2019

[Diplomatic Circuit] ASEAN cultural festival to kick off Friday

The ASEAN-Korea Center, an intergovernmental organization, is organizing ASEAN Week 2019 in Seoul to showcase the diverse cultures of the 10 ASEAN member states. From Friday through Sunday, special events and exhibitions will be held at Seoul Plaza to raise public awareness of ASEAN cultures and tourism ahead of the ASEAN-South Korea Commemorative Summit scheduled for November this year. The center invited the citizens of Seoul and anyone with an interest in the ASEAN region to “take

Diplomatic CircuitJune 10, 2019

Government, ruling party urge main opposition to discuss supplementary budget

The presidential office and the ruling party on Monday urged the main opposition to resume parliamentary proceedings, saying that the supplementary budget needs to be implemented by July at the latest. Officials who attended a high-level meeting between Cheong Wa Dae, the ruling Democratic Party and the government said discussions on the supplementary budget must begin early this week if it is to be implement next month. The 6.7 trillion won ($5.6 billion) supplementary budget bill has been held

PoliticsJune 10, 2019

US Embassy in Seoul removes rainbow flag amid speculation of Washington's disapproval

A rainbow flag symbolizing sexual minorities has been taken down from the US Embassy building in Seoul amid a news report that the State Department has adopted a new policy to reject all requests to raise such flags.The eight-by-four-meter flag was hoisted on the front wall of the US mission in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul, on May 18. It was taken down on Sunday, according to the embassy.  The embassy had said it hung up the gay pride flag -- a larger one than those hung in previous years --

InternationalJune 10, 2019

Korean game developers oppose classification of gaming as disease

A group of Korean game developers and companies said Monday they will oppose the Health Ministry plan to adopt the World Health Organization’s acknowledgement of gaming as a disease, instead labeling the pursuit as a healthy sport for those seeking fun. In a statement directed at the Welfare Ministry and an association of addiction psychiatrists, game developers raised a skeptical voice in opposition to the classification.“We are deeply concerned that the hundreds of papers written s

IndustryJune 10, 2019

Olive Young launches global online mall for foreign shoppers

CJ Olive Networks’ health and beauty store Olive Young launched its first global online mall Monday, as part of its efforts to strengthen its global business and promote K-beauty products, the company said. According to Olive Young, the opening of its online mall targeting foreign shoppers in some 150 countries follows rapidly growing overseas demand for K-beauty products. The service, which can be found at global.oliveyoung.com, is the first e-commerce platform for overseas

IndustryJune 10, 2019

Foreign investors’ Korean bond holdings hit record high in May

Foreign holdings of South Korean bonds amounted to 119.2 trillion won ($111 billion) at the end of last month, reaching a new monthly high, according to data from the Financial Supervisory Service, while the local stock market remained stagnant. The figure surpassed the previous monthly record high of 114.3 trillion won in August 2018.  Overseas investors’ debt holdings accounted for 6.7 percent of the total market, according to the FSS data. They net purchased 11.3 trillion won worth

MarketJune 10, 2019

[Newsmaker] Search under way for S. Korean tourist missing after fall from Mediterranean Sea cruise ship

Search operations are under way to find a South Korean tourist who fell from a cruise ship into the Mediterranean Sea last week, Seoul's foreign ministry said Monday.The 63-year-old woman, whose name was withheld, fell off the Norwegian Epic cruise ship at 5:30 a.m. on Saturday (local time) when the vessel was sailing in waters near the Spanish island of Menorca, the ministry said. She was traveling with her husband."The local (Spanish) rescue authorities are conducting the search for the m

Social AffairsJune 10, 2019