Most Popular
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Ex-presidential official’s leaked phone call rattles conservative bloc
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Slew of top K-pop stars ready to return from military
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S. Korea, US clinch 2026-30 defense cost-sharing deal in pre-election push
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N. Korean leader's sister derides Seoul's Hyunmoo-5 missile as 'useless'
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Controversial cult leader’s sentence reduced to 17 years
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Concerns raised over chronic labor shortage at state-run center for digital sex crime victims
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Samsung, Hyundai chiefs to accompany Yoon on Singapore trip
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1,430 minors investigated for drug offenses from 2018 to 2023: police
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BTS-themed moon jar to be unveiled on Hangeul Day
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[Robert Fouser] Why the US election looks so close
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Greek stock market reopens with 22 pct plunge
Greece's main stock index plunged over 22 percent as it reopened Monday after a five-week closure, giving investors their first opportunity since late June to react to the country's latest economic crisis.Greek bank stocks suffered the most, hitting or nearing the daily trading limit of a 30 percent loss. Markets in the rest of Europe, however, were largely unaffected. The Athens Stock Exchange and Greek banks were closed on June 29, when the government imposed controls on money withdrawals and
World NewsAug. 3, 2015
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KEPCO shares hit record high
Korea Electric Power Corp., the largest state-owned utility company, became the nation’s second-biggest company after Samsung Electronics in terms of market capitalization Monday, as its shares hit a record high of 52,200 won ($45). KEPCO’s share price rose four consecutive trading days, lifting the company’s market value to 33.1 trillion won. Hyundai Motor fell one notch to third place on the same day as its shares fell 1.5 percent to 91,400 won. The market value of the nation’s largest automak
IndustryAug. 3, 2015
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Shipbuilders face sweeping overhaul
The country’s top three shipyards are readying for restructuring as they deal with a collective second-quarter operating loss of 4.7 trillion won ($4 billion), battered by ailing offshore businesses.The financially distressed players ― Hyundai Heavy Industries, Samsung Heavy Industries and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering ― are expected to step up slimming efforts in the second half of the year, including merging divisions, offloading noncore assets and suspending investment in new proje
IndustryAug. 3, 2015
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Lotte chairman strives to soothe citizens over feud
Lotte Group chairman Shin Dong-bin on Monday met with group founder and general chairman Shin Kyuk-ho at Lotte Hotel in Seoul, fueling speculation that the “rebellious second son” is determined to mend ties with the infuriated father and placate the growing public anger about the irregular family feud at a major conglomerate.“The meeting was on friendly terms, with a smile on the face and ice-breaking conversations about Dong-bin’s business trip,” a source said explaining the dramatic encounter
IndustryAug. 3, 2015
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Only 20 percent of Korean kindergartens offer early morning programs
Only about 20 percent of Korea’s kindergartens offer early morning programs, leaving working parents with limited income the sole option of sending their children to day care centers instead, a study showed Monday. According to the study, which surveyed 524 kindergartens and 631 day care centers nationwide, only 105 of the kindergartens offered early morning classes for children, and the classes on average started at 8.45 a.m. The programs at day care centers on average started about an hour ear
Social AffairsAug. 3, 2015
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Korea tops ratio of underpaid workers in major economies
About 1 in 7 workers in South Korea is paid the legal minimum wage or less, the highest rate among OECD member countries, a recent study showed. According to the annual employment outlook by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, nearly 15 percent of the Korean salaried workers were paid the minimum wage or less as of 2013, more than double the average rate of 5.5 percent among the surveyed 21 countries. (Yonhap)The proportion for below-minimum wage workers in Korea was the
Social AffairsAug. 3, 2015
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‘Give education back to schools’
GEOCHANG ― Last month, the Education Ministry rolled out an ordinance on promotion of “character building education,” in an apparent attempt to reform the nation’s education that has been stigmatized as fueling excessive competition among students for top grades.But Chun Sung-eun, formerly a principal of Geochang High School and head of a presidential education committee during the Roh Moo-hyun administration, said education reform is impossible without overhauling the chain of command connectin
Social AffairsAug. 3, 2015
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[Newsmaker] Park In-bee wins British Open for seventh major
As Park In-bee hunted down Ko Jin-young in the final stretch of the Women‘s British Open, it quickly became clear which South Korean was the rookie and which was the player about to add another chapter in golf’s record book. Park In-bee of South Korea poses with the trophy after winning the Women‘s British Open golf championship at the Turnberry golf course in Turnberry, Scotland, Sunday. AP-YonhapThe top-ranked Park picked up seven shots in her last 12 holes, pressured her 20-year-old protege s
GolfAug. 3, 2015
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Saenuri lawmaker defects over rape claim
A ruling party lawmaker embroiled in an alleged sexual assault case said Monday that he would leave the party for causing concerns.“Regardless of what the reason may have been, I will leave the Saenuri Party not to put the burden on the party,” said Rep. Sim Hag-bong in a statement. “I will faithfully cooperate with the police investigation to resolve all suspicions,” he said.The remark came a day after he denied an allegation that he raped a woman in her 40s at a hotel in Daegu last month. The
PoliticsAug. 3, 2015
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Saenuri Party leader stirs the pot in U. S.
Ruling Saenuri Party chief Rep. Kim Moo-sung, appeared to be having a heyday in his stay in the U.S. over the past week, making comments that would have immediately caused backlash back home, but that nonetheless galvanized his conservative support base. The height of such remarks was his announcement Saturday when he said his party would push for reinstating a system of all schools using government-published textbooks to address what they consider to be a “biased view” imposed by some private
PoliticsAug. 3, 2015
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B.A.P returns to their label following legal strife
K-pop boy band B.A.P is back with agency TS Entertainment, ending a nine-month legal battle against the label. “B.A.P has returned to TS on Aug. 1,” the company said in an official statement Monday. “Faith has been restored,” it said, signaling the end of disputes over their alleged “slave contracts.” B.A.P (TS Entertainment) In November, the group had filed a lawsuit against their agency, claiming their exclusive contracts with TS were unfair and demanded their immediate termination. All six
Aug. 3, 2015
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[Jean Pisani-Ferry] Can the euro be repaired?
When Wolfgang Schauble, Germany’s finance minister, recently tabled the option of a Greek exit from the euro, he wanted to signal that no member could abstain from the monetary union’s strict disciplines. In fact, his initiative triggered a much broader discussion of the principles underpinning the euro, its governance, and the very rationale for its existence. Only a fortnight before Schauble’s proposal, Europe’s leaders had barely paid attention to a report on the euro’s future prepared by Eur
ViewpointsAug. 3, 2015
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[William Pesek] Pennies won’t perk up Japan
Here’s one for the Freakonomics guys: Why aren’t Japan’s drum-tight labor markets leading to higher wages and inflation? When Prime Minister Shinzo Abe embarked on one of modern history’s most audacious economic revival efforts, conventional wisdom held that Japan’s sub-4 percent unemployment (it’s now 3.3 percent) would aid the cause. Labor scarcity should in theory force Japan’s cash-rich companies to raise wages, at least according to what economists call NAIRU, the non-accelerating inflation
ViewpointsAug. 3, 2015
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[Editorial] Golf lessons
Golfer Park In-bee achieved a career grand slam by winning the Ricoh Women’s British Open early Monday morning.Park, ranked first in the world, became only the seventh LPGA golfer in the world to win at least four different majors over a career, the only Asian woman to have done so. She now joins the elite league of women golfers that includes Louise Suggs, Mickey Wright, Pat Bradley, Juli Inkster, Karrie Webb and Annika Sorenstsam. Park, 27, won her seventh career major at 12-under 276, beating
EditorialAug. 3, 2015
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[Editorial] Family feud
It is a story that is familiar to Korean drama viewers. Scions of an imaginary chaebol family fight a bitter battle over control of the company that the father or the grandfather had founded. Lots of backstabbing, behind-the-door conspiracies and boardroom intrigues characterize such dramas. The Lotte Group family feud unfolding before the nation and broadcast almost daily on television news does not deviate much from the drama plots. Except this case involves a real company, the country’s fifth
EditorialAug. 3, 2015
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British photographer captures life inside North Korea
Life inside the reclusive North Korean society has remained a mystery to the people outside. To many, the society poses a grim picture with horrific tales of labor camps and the totalitarian regime‘s surveillance of civilians, as told by defectors. Only few foreign photographers have sought to look beyond those fragmented images and capture an unknown side of the society -- how life manages to go on in such isolation. British photographer Nick Danziger is one of the few. His 2013 journey to th
PerformanceAug. 3, 2015
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English-language patent court to be launched
Patent lawsuits will be allowed in English in Korea as part of the top court’s efforts to better support the legal accessibility of foreigners, sources said Monday. According to the Supreme Court, the authorities agreed to establish an “international justice department” under the Patent Court as early as February next year. Under the new system, testimonies and pleas can be made in English, while documents and written evidence in English will be considered valid. The verdicts will also be availa
Social AffairsAug. 3, 2015
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Japanese opposition leader vows efforts for better Seoul-Tokyo ties
A Japanese opposition leader vowed Monday to make efforts to develop the Seoul-Tokyo relationship into a future-oriented one in a landmark year, despite many challenges such as tension over their shared history.Katsuya Okada, leader of Japan's opposition Democratic Party, made the remarks in his meeting in Seoul with Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se. Okada arrived in Seoul on Sunday for a three-day trip, his first visit to Seoul in this capacity.Seoul and Tokyo are preparing to celebrate Aug. 15, w
Foreign AffairsAug. 3, 2015
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Pyeongtaek Port to expand trade role amid China FTA
The nation’s fourth largest harbor, Pyeongtaek Port, is eyeing a bigger role in trade between South Korea and China following the official signing of a free trade agreement between the nations in June, an official from the Gyeonggi Pyeongtaek Port Corp. said Monday. Kim Jeong-hun, director of Gyeonggi Pyeongtaek Port Corp.“Following the FTA between Korea and China, Pyeongtaek Port’s role will be strengthened as it is the nearest port to China and a gateway to the central region of Korea,” said K
IndustryAug. 3, 2015
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NH chief eyes Southeast Asia
Nonghyup Financial Group is seeking to expand its business in Indonesia and Myanmar amid the lackluster domestic economy, its chairman Kim Yong-hwan said Monday. The former chief of state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea told local reporters that he is “considering M&A and buying bank stocks in Indonesia and Myanmar” as steps to stretch global operations. Nonghyup Financial Group chairman Kim Yong-hwan. (Yonhap) Having served key posts in the Finance Ministry, Financial Supervisory Service and
Aug. 3, 2015