Woori Financial to shortlist new CEO candidates for banking unit

Woori Financial Group, a major South Korean banking group, plans to shortlist new CEO candidates for its flagship banking unit next week, a company official has said.Woori Financial has selected seven candidates for the top post at Woori Bank. It declined to identify them because the process is under way.The successful candidate will begin a two-year term as Woori Bank‘s CEO if approved at Woori Bank’s general shareholders‘ meeting in March, the official said.Woori Bank, South

EconomyJan. 25, 2020

BTS to dazzle fans with series of US shows next week

K-pop super band BTS will dazzle the world music scene with a series of high-profile performances in the United Sates next week ahead of its official release of a new album. American broadcaster iHeartRadio recently announced an upcoming live show featuring the septet, heralding the band‘s full-swing return to the public eye in the run-up to the official release of a new album, “Map of the Soul: 7,” on Feb. 21.“Although fans have a lot of upcoming dates to look forwa

K-popJan. 25, 2020

Naver's global webcomic biz on growth track

Naver Corp., South Korea's top internet portal operator, is witnessing a growth in its webcomic business, which will eventually improve its earnings, industry sources said Friday.  Naver Webtoon, more commonly known as Line Webtoon in the United States, is home to a plethora of creator-owned content, ranging from romance to fantasy.In particular, Naver Webtoon is showing marked growth in the United States after entering the market in 2014.The number of its monthly active users, or MAUs, sur

IndustryJan. 24, 2020

S. Korea to host P4G summit to tackle climate change this year

South Korea will host the second summit of a global public-private initiative this year to speed up efforts to tackle climate change, according to Seoul's finance ministry on Friday. The first summit of Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030 (P4G) was held in Denmark in 2018 with the aim of addressing challenges in the five areas of food and agriculture, water, energy, cities and circular economy.P4G is a global network of governments, businesses and civil society organizations se

Social AffairsJan. 24, 2020

[Eye Plus] In search of Korean traditional music

Across from Changdeokgung Palace’s main gate are two Korean traditional-style buildings where efforts are being made to preserve Korean traditional music and rekindle interest in the heritage through cutting-edge technologies.Opened in March 2018, the Seoul Donhwamun Traditional Theater is dedicated to performances of gugak, or traditional Korean music. Right next to the theater, the Seoul Museum of Korean Folk Music, which opened in November 2019, boasts an archive of 20,000 Korean folk s

CultureJan. 24, 2020

Tour-related businesses to suffer most from Wuhan virus: Fitch

Fitch Ratings, a global credit ratings firm, said Friday companies involved in the tourism business will bear the brunt of the spreading Wuhan coronavirus if the scale of the virus outbreak increases substantially. "The global airlines, gaming, lodging and leisure sectors are vulnerable to pandemics that influence consumer behavior.Operational disruptions caused by idiosyncratic events, including disease outbreaks, are a perennial risk faced by these sectors," Fitch said in a statement

IndustryJan. 24, 2020

N. Korea to receive $42m to fight tuberculosis, malaria: report

The Global Fund, an organization set up to fight epidemic diseases, will provide $42 million to help North Korea fight tuberculosis and malaria, according to the Voice of America on Friday. In an email sent to the VOA on Thursday (US time), the Global Fund said it has agreed with Pyongyang over the financial support, and it began to make the payment of the fund to the North. The Switzerland-headquartered Global Fund has provided more than $100 million to North Korea to help cure those diagn

North KoreaJan. 24, 2020

S. Korea vows stepped-up response to contain Wuhan coronavirus

South Korea said Friday it will put utmost efforts to contain the Wuhan coronavirus by enhancing preventive quarantine and screening measures at airports and other areas as the country reported the second confirmed case of the deadly virus."It will take lots of time and efforts to terminate the virus, and what's important now is to take quick and through preventive measures, thus minimizing potential fallout," Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said during an emergency meeting hastily arran

Social AffairsJan. 24, 2020

S. Koreans begin to head home for Lunar New Year's Day

An annual mass migration started in South Korea on Friday as people headed to their hometowns for one of the country's key traditional holidays.Seol, or Lunar New Year's Day, falls on Saturday this year, with the holiday period running from Friday to Monday.Along with Chuseok, the equivalent of Thanksgiving in the United States, Seol marks South Korea's traditional holiday in which many South Koreans head back to their hometowns to pay homage to their ancestors and spend time with family and fri

Social AffairsJan. 24, 2020

Ex-USFK commander: Annual renewal of defense costs deal causes structural instability

The decision last year to renew the cost-sharing pact between Seoul and Washington each year for the upkeep of 28,500 American troops here will cause structural instability, a former US Forces Korea commander has said. In an interview with the Voice of America on Thursday (US time), former USFK Commander Vincent Brooks said the annual renewal deal does not guarantee its stability as it always takes more than a year when it comes to local hires and the construction of military facilities. He said

DefenseJan. 24, 2020

Buses, subways to run on extended hours during holiday

Buses and subways in Seoul will run on extended operating hours over the weekend to meet demand for late-hour travel during the Lunar New Year holiday, the city government said Friday.Subway lines No. 1 to 9, as well as the Ui-Sinseol Light Rail Transit, will run until 2 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government.Bus routes passing through five major train stations and four express and intercity bus terminals will also run until 2 a.m. for users who are returning

Social AffairsJan. 24, 2020

2nd case of Wuhan coronavirus puts S. Korea on alert during holidays

South Korea on Friday reported its second confirmed case of the China coronavirus amid mounting fears the pneumonia-like illness that is spreading throughout China and other parts of the world during the Lunar New Year holiday.According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), a South Korean who arrived at Gimpo International Airport, western Seoul, late Wednesday, tested positive for the new type of virus. The 55-year-old man, who has been working in Wuhan, visited a Chin

Social AffairsJan. 24, 2020

North Korea to make Munich Security Conference debut in 2020

North Korea will send a delegation to the Munich Security Conference for the first time in the 56-year history of the top diplomatic gathering, organizers said Thursday.An MSC spokesperson confirmed that North Korean vice foreign minister Kim Son-gyong would attend next month's event.The announcement comes a month after Pyongyang declared it was abandoning moratoriums on nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests.The self-imposed ban on tests had been the centerpiece of two years of nu

North KoreaJan. 23, 2020

Justice minister expresses intent to probe prosecution over indictment of presidential official

Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae expressed intent on Thursday to order an internal probe into prosecutors that brought charges against a presidential secretary for suspected misconduct, calling it a rash move that did not follow due process.Choo delivered her message to the press after an anti-corruption team at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office earlier in the day indicted Choi Kang-wook, a presidential secretary for public office discipline, for fabricating an internship certificate for

Social AffairsJan. 23, 2020

Samsung sets up tech platform center, names new home appliance biz chief

Samsung Electronics created an in-house technology platform unit and named a new chief for its home appliance business in the company's latest reshuffle, corporate sources here said Thursday. Samsung combined its in-house tech units related with artificial intelligence, internet of things and big data solutions to set up a new tech group, tentatively named "next-generation platform center," according to the company officials.  The center will be headed by Chung Eui-suk, an executi

TechnologyJan. 23, 2020

Search operations for S. Koreans missing in Himalayas suspended due to bad weather

The search for four South Koreans missing after an avalanche in the Himalayas were called off Thursday (Nepal time) as worsening weather continued to hamper operations. Nepalese authorities and a voluntary South Korean rescue team have been conducting the search since Friday's accident that left four Koreans and three Nepalese guides missing after an avalanche struck the popular trekking route on Mount Annapurna in northwestern Nepal. South Korea's quick response team dispatched to the site said

Foreign AffairsJan. 23, 2020

Samsung may see passive funds cut exposure sooner than expected

A cap on Samsung Electronics’s weight in a Korean equity index could kick in earlier than planned, triggering fears that billions of dollars will exit the stock.Instead of the bi-annual adjustment, the Korea Exchange is considering putting a 30 percent limit on Samsung’s weighting on the Kospi 200 Index earlier due to the stock’s recent rally, said Ahn Kil-Hyun, the manager of the team that oversees the index. Given the gauge’s popularity among passive funds, research pro

MarketJan. 23, 2020

Furlough threat hangs over US military bases in S. Korea

The US is warning it will send furlough notices within weeks to almost 9,000 South Korean workers at US bases if the two countries don’t reach agreement on President Donald Trump’s demand for Seoul to increase dramatically what it pays for American troops.Trump’s push for South Korea to contribute much more has put the alliance under strain at a time when North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s regime has said it would no longer be bound by its previous promise to halt testing

DefenseJan. 23, 2020

NSC members discuss follow-up measures to Hormuz troop dispatch decision: Cheong Wa Dae

South Korea’s top security officials had internal discussions Thursday on ways to strengthen "communication" with Iran and the United States in connection with its decision to send naval troops to the Strait of Hormuz for contributions to maritime security there, according to Cheong Wa Dae.They reviewed the international community’s responses to the move and discussed "follow-up measures," including the strengthening of "communication" with relevant nati

DefenseJan. 23, 2020

Another Korean sexual slavery victim dies, number of survivors at 19

Another elderly Korean victim of Japan’s wartime sexual slavery died Thursday, the gender ministry said. The death of the woman, whose identity was withheld at the request of her family, puts the number of surviving victims at 19, according to the ministry. A total of 240 are officially registered with the government as victims of sexual enslavement by the Japanese imperial army during World War II. Five died last year. Gender Minister Lee Jung-ok expressed condolences to the family over t

Social AffairsJan. 23, 2020