Samdasoo’s market share falls amid heated competition in bottled-water business

Faced with an expanding market and growing consumer demand for cheaper options, South Korea’s bottled-water market leader Samdasoo has a stake below 40 percent in the country’s drinking water market for the first time, industry data showed Friday.Samdasoo, a drinking water brand manufactured by the Jeju Special Self-Governing Province Development Corporation, has topped the market since its launch in 1998, having secured a 45.7 percent stake in the 740 billion won ($626 million) bott

IndustryJune 7, 2019

Regulator to sanction major brokerages for lax control of overseas stocks

The Financial Supervisory Service has decided to take disciplinary action against major securities firms for lax control on their overseas stock trading systems, officials said Friday.　The financial market watchdog earlier conducted an investigation on 17 local brokerages, of which more than 10 turned out to have loopholes in their foreign stock trading systems, according to officials.The list included major players such as Korea Investment & Securities, Samsung Securities, NH Investment &am

MarketJune 7, 2019

Majority of auto part makers in North Jeolla seek switch to EV business: survey

Around 82 percent of the Korean automobile parts makers in North Jeolla Province said they were seeking to switch to making electronic vehicle parts, a survey showed Friday. According to the survey conducted by Korea SMEs and Startups Agency on 403 auto components companies and subcontractors for General Motors Korea in North Jeolla Province, 82.6 percent said they were seeking to transfer their business to EV-parts production, amid dwindling plant operations in their region. Last year, GM

MobilityJune 7, 2019

8 in 10 Koreans prioritize economy over reunification: survey

Eight out of 10 South Koreans put priority on economy over reunification with North Korea, a survey showed Friday, amid the government’s continued efforts to improve inter-Korean ties and a slowing economy.  Asked what problems they would choose to solve between economy and reunification, 77.1 percent of the respondents said they would choose economy over reunification with the North, according to a survey by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs.Some 7 percent of those su

Social AffairsJune 7, 2019

S. Korea, China in close coordination on possible summit: Cheong Wa Dae

South Korea's presidential office strongly indicated Friday that it's pushing for an immediate summit between President Moon Jae-in and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the occasion of the upcoming G-20 summit in Japan."(The two sides) are closely communicating" in connection with the possible summit, a Cheong Wa Dae official told reporters. No decision, however, has been made yet on the "timing, venue and formality" of a possible meeting between Moon and Xi, he added.A final

PoliticsJune 7, 2019

BTS offered Recording Academy membership, to vote for Grammys

Korean pop sensation BTS and its producer Bang Si-hyuk has been invited to join the Recording Academy, an elite US group of pop music figures most well-known for voting for the Grammy Awards.The Los Angeles-based group on Thursday announced the list of 1,340 people in the music industry that have been invited to be members, and therefore eligible to vote for next year’s awards. All seven members were invited as “voting members” while Bang -- the head of its agency Big Hit Enter

PerformanceJune 7, 2019

[Newsmaker] Labor leader grilled by police over violent rallies

The leader of a militant labor umbrella labor group voluntarily appeared before police on Friday to be questioned about allegations of organizing violent protests at the National Assembly in Seoul this spring.Kim Myeong-hwan, chairman of the Korean Confederation of Trade Union, arrived at the Yeongdungpo Police Station in southern Seoul in the morning before being grilled about his responsibility for allegedly masterminding violent illegal acts during KCTU members' protest rallies in front of th

Social AffairsJune 7, 2019

BTS songs to hit playlist of NASA's next lunar journey

Three BTS songs will hit the playlist of the American space agency's next journey to the moon as the agency is planning to make another lunar landing by 2024, the agency's SNS feeds have shown. In a Twitter feed Tuesday, the Johnson Space Center of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said three BTS songs -- "Moonchild," "Mikrokosmos" and "134340" -- will be added to the playlist for the planned lunar journey. "Wow, there are a lot of BTS &a

PerformanceJune 7, 2019

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

Parasite(Korea)Opened May 30Drama, Black ComedyDirected by Bong Joon-hoThe Kims, a poor, jobless family of four, find their way into the wealthy glamorous Park family by landing jobs through deceitful means. They earn the affection of the Parks, who are worlds apart from them and yet are somewhat alike. Their new way of life is turned upside down when an unexpected visitor comes knocking on the door, kicking off a series of unexpected events.Aladdin(US)Opened May 23Adventure, Comedy, Family Dire

FilmJune 7, 2019

Balwangsan Mountain has more than just skiing

Daegwallyeong county in Gangwon Province is mainly known for its ski resorts and sheep farms, but its 1,458 meter-high Balwangsan offers beautiful natural scenery and an opportunity to relax all year round. The 12th-highest mountain in the country has trekking courses, but one can also reach the top via one of the longest gondola rides in Korea, which departs from Yong Pyong Resort. This makes the experience more of a pleasant stroll than a challenging mountain hike.  On the 20-minute, 7.4

TravelJune 7, 2019

[Travel Bits] Festivals, sights across Korea

Everland Rose FestivalLaunched in 1985, the long-running Everland Rose Festival opens every year in May. This year it continues until June 16. At a 20,000-square-meter rose garden, visitors can see various kinds of flowers while enjoying the amusement park.It is held inside Everland, South Korea’s largest theme park in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, and is open to visitors of all ages.To find out more about the event, including admission fees and how to get there, visit everland.com for inform

TravelJune 7, 2019

[Around the Hotels] Packages and promotions

Relaxing spa at Grand Hyatt SeoulGrand Hyatt Seoul’s The Spa presents special spa treatment programs for the summer. The Vitamin Pulse Facial program includes a 30-minute back massage and one-hour anti-aging massage. The Green & Citrus treatment consists of a 90-minute body massage along with a bottle of organic cleanse juice. The Spa allows customers to choose the type of music to be played during its treatments. Treatments cost 220,000 won each. For more information or reservations,

FoodJune 7, 2019

[Weekender] Meet Korea’s age-defying social media icons

Social media may still be the domain of millennials. But they are also producing a new crop of age-defying influencers in their 60s, 70s and even 80s. Call it a graynaissance. From fashion blogging to ASMR, seniors are rallying massive followings on YouTube and Instagram with inspiring content drawn from fascinating life stories. Park Mak-rye, 72, YouTuber Park Mak-rye, known as the Korean Grandma on YouTube, is the biggest breakout star of the Korean graynaissance. Born in 1947, three

PeopleJune 7, 2019

2 more S. Korean victims found, death toll 18 in Hungary boat sinking

The bodies of two more South Koreans have been found from last week's deadly sinking of a tourist boat in Hungary, officials said, raising the number of Korean deaths to 18 with eight others still missing.The Hableany pleasure boat was carrying 33 Korean tourists and two Hungarian crew members when it capsized and sank on May 29 after being hit by a larger Swiss cruise ship from behind. Seven Koreans were rescued right after the accident.On Thursday, three bodies were retrieved from the waters a

Social AffairsJune 7, 2019

[Weekender] Korea’s ‘graynaissance’ stars

It seems age really is no barrier to success nowadays. A 72-year-old Korean vlogger who clumsily tries things that her granddaughter and her generation are into is an international YouTube star, with over 900,000 subscribers to her channel. On Instagram, 75-year-old grandparents post their drawings daily for grandkids, which has eventually developed into a new career for them as artists with 387,000 followers.A 63-year-old owner of a humble eatery in Siheung, Gyeonggi Province, Kim Chil-doo is n

CultureJune 7, 2019

[Weekender] At 77, silver model dreams of big show

News last month that Fenty, a luxury fashion house Rihanna launched with LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, chose 67-year-old model JoAni Johnson to represent its new collection created much buzz in the fashion world. With long, graceful silver hair, she is a model in every aspect, and the epitome of what’s been called a fashion “graynaissance”: the rise of gray-haired models to the forefront of fashion. Choi Soon-hwa may be Korea’s Johnson. At 77 years old, she strut

Arts & DesignJune 7, 2019

Another S. Korean found dead in Budapest river after boat sinking

BUDAPEST -- The body of a South Korean man has been discovered in a river in the Hungarian capital, a week after the sinking of a sightseeing boat there, authorities said Thursday. Local police found the body about 4 kilometers south of the accident site at around 11:29 p.m. Wednesday.The victim has been identified as a South Korean man in his 60s, according to a team of South Korean officials dispatched to Hungary soon after the news of the accident. The vessel was carrying 33 South Korean

Social AffairsJune 6, 2019

S. Korea's ambassador to Vietnam fired for violating anti-graft law

South Korea's ambassador to Vietnam, Kim Do-hyun, has been dismissed for a breach of anti-graft legislation and other irregularities, an informed source here said Thursday.When Kim and his family attended an opening ceremony of a golf course in Vietnam last October, they reportedly received funding for a hotel stay and airline tickets.The strict "Kim Young-ran Act" took effect in South Korea in 2016 as part of the country's efforts to wipe out corruption among civil servants and others

Foreign AffairsJune 6, 2019

Attempted rape suspect caught on camera to be referred to prosecutors: Police

Police are sending the attempted rape suspect of the “Sillim-dong closed-circuit television footage” case to prosecutors Friday, Seoul Gwanak Police Station said Thursday.Police referred the case to Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office on charges of violating the law on sexual crimes. The suspect, a 30-year-old man surnamed Jo, was seen on security footage installed in the apartment hallway stalking a female resident and attempting to make his way into her home on May 28.

Social AffairsJune 6, 2019

[Graphic News] Ryu Hyun-jin named best pitcher for May

　Los Angeles Dodgers’ Ryu Hyun-jin is lately showing off outstanding performances in each and every measure. He has capped it off by winning the National League Pitcher of the Month for May.　Ryu is the second Korean, after then-Dodger Park Chan-ho. Park was the NL’s top pitcher in July 1998, when he was 4-0 in six starts with a 1.05 ERA.

BaseballJune 6, 2019