Nat'l Assembly passes bills for alternative military service

South Korea's National Assembly passed bills to establish a law on alternative military service and amend the Military Service Act to that effect at its plenary session on Friday, allowing conscientious objectors to avoid criminalization. According to the proposed law, conscientious objectors can fulfill the obligatory military service via 36 months of alternative service at correctional facilities.   At present, all able-bodied Korean men are required to serve in the Army for 21 month

PoliticsDec. 27, 2019

National Assembly passes electoral reform bill amid opposition lawmakers' protest

South Korea's National Assembly on Friday passed an election reform bill to introduce a new proportional representation system and lower the voting age amid fierce protests by opposition lawmakers. The revision bill has been at the center of a monthslong political spat after the ruling Democratic Party and smaller opposition parties placed it on a legislative fast track in late April, along with a set of bills to overhaul the prosecution and set up an independent body to probe high-level corrupt

PoliticsDec. 27, 2019

National Assembly passes electoral reform bill

The National Assembly on Friday passed a controversial reform bill designed to adopt a new proportional representation system for the April general elections.The bill was put up for vote about eight months after the ruling Democratic Party and its smaller rivals placed it on a fast-track in late April, along with prosecution reform bills. National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang introduced the electoral reform bill Monday despite strong objections from the main opposition Liberty Korea Party.The

PoliticsDec. 27, 2019

National Assembly convenes plenary meeting to vote on electoral reform bill

The National Assembly convened a plenary meeting Friday to vote on a controversial electoral reform bill designed to adopt a new proportional representation system for the April general elections.The bill will be put to a vote, about eight months after the ruling Democratic Party and its smaller rivals placed it on a fast-track in late April, along with prosecution reform bills.National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang introduced the electoral reform bill Monday despite strong objections from the

PoliticsDec. 27, 2019

KT’s board selects media business head as new chairman

South Korea’s telecom giant KT said Friday its board of directors has approved the appointment of current head of customer and media division Koo Hyun-mo as the new chairman.  Koo will be officially appointed as KT’s new leader following the final approval at a shareholders meeting scheduled in March. When Koo is appointed, he will be the first insider to take the helm at the formerly state-owned company in 12 years. Over the period, former CEOs -- Hwang Chang-gyu Hwang and Lee

IndustryDec. 27, 2019

Japan's NHK delivers erroneous North Korean 'Christmas gift'

TOKYO (Reuters) -- Japanese public broadcaster NHK on Friday sent a news bulletin that incorrectly reported North Korea had launched a missile that fell into waters east of the Japanese archipelago, issuing an apology explaining it was a media training alert.The news alert came as the United States and its East Asian allies have been on tenterhooks after Pyongyang's warning this month of a possible "Christmas gift" for Washington in what experts took to mean a possible long-range missi

North KoreaDec. 27, 2019

Ex-South Korea coach Shin to take over struggling Indonesia

JAKARTA (AFP) -- Former South Korea coach Shin Tae-yong has been tapped to take over Indonesia's struggling national team, the country's football association said on Friday.Shin, who led South Korea at last year's World Cup in Russia -- where they famously ousted defending champions Germany -- is expected to be formally unveiled on Saturday."We have invited Shin to finalise the contract. After that he will be introduced later on Saturday," Mochamad Iriawan, chairman of the Football Ass

SoccerDec. 27, 2019

Moon meets top military commanders over lunch to discuss combat posture

President Moon Jae-in had a year-end luncheon at Cheong Wa Dae on Friday, in which he discussed South Korea's combat readiness with a group of top military commanders.Moon had the 100-minute meeting with Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Park Han-ki, as well as the chiefs of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps. Also present was Gen. Choi Byun-hyuk, deputy commander of the South Korea-US Combined Forces Command.The meeting was meant as a chance for M

PoliticsDec. 27, 2019

Unification minister proposes ‘tentative deal’ for NK nuclear impasse

Expressing regret over stalled inter-Korean relations, South Korean Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul stressed the need to seek “modus vivendi,” or a tentative deal, as a solution to break the impasse in the nuclear negotiations between the US and North Korea. “With North Korea’s looming deadline for negotiations, the situation on the Korean Peninsula hereafter is very uncertain. Concerned countries share the severity of the circumstances, and are undertaking variou

North KoreaDec. 27, 2019

Artist Koo Jeong-a selected one of 100 most inspiring individuals by OOOM Magazine

Koo Jeong-a, a South Korean artist, was selected as one of the world’s most inspiring people in 2019 by OOOM Magazine -- the sole Korean to figure in the list. The German magazine each year announces 100 individuals who have been influential in each field. In its fourth annual announcement, Koo -- ranked at 32nd -- was one of the four artists on the influential individuals list, according to PKM Gallery. The Seoul-based gallery is currently holding an exhibition, “Eternal Now,”

Arts & DesignDec. 27, 2019

Hwacheon ice-fishing festival opening delayed

Organizers of a world-famous ice fishing festival on Thursday decided to delay its opening to Jan. 11 from the originally announced Jan. 4 due to safety issues.On Wednesday, the organizers -- local government of Hwacheon and Nara Foundation -- tested the ice condition of Hwacheon River, where the Hwacheon Sancheoneo Festival’s signature program that allows visitors to catch sancheoneo -- a species of trout known to live only in very clean freshwater-- takes place. “We normally c

TravelDec. 27, 2019

S. Korea conducts Dokdo defense exercise

The South Korean military conducted an exercise on Friday to strengthen defense capabilities for the country's easternmost islets of Dokdo, the first such drills in four months, a source said, amid budding efforts to restore ties with Japan strained over trade and wartime history.The Korean Navy did not make the exercise public in an apparent move to avoid further aggravating tensions with Japan, which has persistently laid claim to the rocky islets in the East Sea. "The Navy carried out th

DefenseDec. 27, 2019

No constitutionality dispute in Seoul-Tokyo deal on WWII sex slavery: court

South Korea’s Constitutional Court on Friday said it found no apparent points of constitutional contention in the 2015 Seoul-Tokyo deal over Japan’s sexual enslavement of Korean girls and women during World War II.The court said it would dismiss the constitutional complaint filed by 29 survivors of sexual slavery at Japanese military brothels and 12 family members of deceased victims.The court’s decision came after three years and nine months of deliberation.“The agreemen

Social AffairsDec. 27, 2019

UN Green Climate Fund approves 1st project for N. Korea

The UN Green Climate Fund has approved $752,000 in funding for North Korea to help Pyongyang deal with climate change, marking the first financing project by the UN fund for the reclusive nation. The fund will help North Korea improve its "readiness" to tackle climate change, the GCF said Thursday.  North Korea is a party to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and to the landmark Paris climate agreement. In January, North Korea registered a national designated authority

North KoreaDec. 27, 2019

BOK vows to maintain monetary easing stance in 2020

South Korea’s central bank said Friday that it plans to keep its monetary easing stance next year in a bid to support economic recovery. “We plan to maintain a monetary easing stance to support recovery in economic growth and stabilize inflation at the target level of 2 percent,” the Bank of Korea said in its report outlining the direction of its monetary policy for 2020.  “We expect South Korea’s economic growth rate to fall short of the potential growth rate

EconomyDec. 27, 2019

NK stresses discipline on Constitution Day

The North Korean state media stressed discipline among senior officials as the country commemorated Constitution Day on Friday.The Rodong Sinmun, official newspaper of the North’s Workers’ Party, said in its editorial that preferential treatment and double standards by ranking officials must not be permitted. “There may be units or workers with important missions in our society, but they cannot be outside the law. … (Senior officials) should set an example for the people

North KoreaDec. 27, 2019

Almaty airport says 9 killed in Kazakhstan plane crash

MOSCOW (AP) -- Almaty International Airport said nine people died on Friday in the crash of a Bek Air plane in Kazakhstan. The aircraft had 100 passengers and crew abroad, and hit a concrete fence and a two-story building shortly after takeoff. The airport said the plane lost attitude at 7:22 a.m. (0122 GMT). In a statement on its Facebook page, the airport said there was no fire and a rescue operation got underway immediately following the crash. The plane was flying to Nur-Sultan, the cou

World NewsDec. 27, 2019

HDC inks deal to acquire Asiana Airlines

HDC Hyundai Development Co., a midsized construction company, signed a deal on Friday to acquire Asiana Airlines Inc. as the South Korean builder strives to diversify its business portfolio.In their board meetings held early Friday, HDC and Kumho Industrial Co., a construction unit of Kumho Asiana Group, approved the deal.The signing comes after the consortium formed between HDC and Mirae Asset Daewoo was picked the preferred bidder last month to acquire a 30.77-percent Asiana stake held by Kumh

MobilityDec. 27, 2019

US flies surveillance aircraft over peninsula amid concerns over NK provocations

A US maritime patrol plane has made a late-night flight over the Korean Peninsula, an aviation tracker said Friday, amid concerns that North Korea could launch provocations in protest over stalled nuclear talks with the United States.According to Aircraft Spots, a P-3C plane of the US Navy flew over the peninsula at around 11 p.m. on Thursday, the latest in the US military's recent series of surveillance flyovers. The aircraft appears to have been mobilized to check for any signs of the North pr

DefenseDec. 27, 2019

Hyosung Group leader prosecuted for violating fair trade law

The prosecution said Friday that it has indicted the chief of South Korean textile and chemical conglomerate Hyosung Group without detention on charges of violating the fair trade law."We indicted Hyosung Group Chairman Cho Hyun-joon the previous day," the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office said.Earlier, the Fair Trade Commission had reported the 51-year-old Cho to the prosecution for providing unfair financial assistance to ailing Galaxia Electronics Co., a Hyosung affiliate in

IndustryDec. 27, 2019