Constitutional Court to rule on 2015 ‘comfort women’ deal Friday

South Korea’s Constitutional Court is to rule Friday on the constitutionality of the controversial 2015 agreement between Korea and Japan regarding Korean women who were forced to work in Japan’s military brothels during World War II. The now-botched deal, which was meant to “finally and irreversibly” resolve the issue, is one of several reasons behind the two neighbors’ soured relations, with Seoul declaring it critically flawed and Tokyo blaming Seoul for bre

Foreign AffairsDec. 24, 2019

[Monitor] TV market to see growth in 2020

The global TV market that has seen lackluster sales this year due to the US-China trade dispute and overall market downturn is expected to pick up next year, according to industry watchers.TV sales usually peak in even-number years when major sports events are held. Tokyo Summer Olympics 2020 is scheduled for July-August.According to global market research firm IHS Market, the delivery and sales of TVs worldwide in 2020 are expected to grow by 4 percent and 2 percent on-year, respectively.South

TechnologyDec. 24, 2019

[Video] The magic and romance of Christmas

The magical morning of Dec. 25 is a time of great excitement and anticipation, as you get to spend time with your beloved family and make more memories to cherish. One of the essential parts of celebrating Christmas is exchanging good vibes and spreading the holiday’s goodwill. It’s exactly around that time of year where the whole world turns boisterous and people are drawn to the festive spirit. The noise of bells jingling, colorful seasonal decorations and Christmas trees embellish

CultureDec. 24, 2019

LG launches its pay TV ambition with Hellovision

The board of South Korea’s No. 3 wireless carrier LG Uplus on Tuesday approved its acquisition of CJ Hello, one of the nation’s biggest cable operators, which will be rebranded as LG Hellovision.The company’s shareholders and board of directors agreed to appoint Song Gu-Young, previous senior managing director at LG Uplus as CEO of the company. CJ ENM, the biggest shareholder of CJ Hello with a 53.92 percent stake, has handed its stake of 50 percent plus one share to LG Uplus f

IndustryDec. 24, 2019

Seoul, Tokyo remain apart on forced labor issue, but stress dialogue at summit

President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister agreed to resolve the forced labor and trade issues through dialogue at a bilateral summit held in China, Seoul’s presidential office said Tuesday. At the meeting -- held on the sidelines of South Korea-China-Japan trilateral summit held in the city of Chengdu, Sichuan province -- Moon and Abe stressed the importance of dialogue, but failed to narrow differences over outstanding issues. “(Korea and Japan) confirmed the diffe

Foreign AffairsDec. 24, 2019

[Photo News] Holiday trips in time for Christmas

Travelers are seen at Incheon International Airport on Christmas Eve on Tuesday. Incheon Airport said it expects a total of 191,247 inbound and outbound travelers to use the airport on Christmas Eve and 207,669 on Christmas Day. (khnews@heraldcorp.com)

IndustryDec. 24, 2019

Hyundai Investments partners with La Francaise to create European office-focused fund

Seoul-based Hyundai Investments said Tuesday it has joined hands with French investment house La Francaise to create a blind pool fund that focuses on small and midsized office buildings in Western Europe. The new fund seeks 8 percent internal rate of return through a 10-year investment, according to Hyundai Investments. The Korean vehicle did not disclose the fund’s volume and its limited partners committed to the fund. The fund will target core-plus commercial buildings in key citie

MarketDec. 24, 2019

[News Focus] Korea falls short of G-20 average in Q3 growth

SEJONG -- South Korea’s policymakers are struggling to invigorate the sluggish economy, having suffered minus 0.37 percent on-quarter growth in the first quarter this year.The nation posted 1.04 percent on-quarter economic growth in the second quarter, on the back of the base effect from the deep slump in the previous quarter.But its third-quarter growth stayed at 0.41 percent due to continuous lackluster export performance and slower-than-expected improvement in private consumption.The fi

EconomyDec. 24, 2019

US museum acquires 14th century Goryeo Buddhist painting

The Cleveland Museum of Art recently acquired a rare Buddhist painting from the Goryeo Kingdom period in the 14th century, depicting the afterlife.“The Fourth King of Hell” is from a series of paintings depicting the 10 Buddhist kings of hell, according to the museum’s press release dated Dec. 19. The practice of painting the 10 kings of hell developed in China during the Tang dynasty (618-907) and this practice was subsequently adopted in Korea and perfected during the Goryeo

CultureDec. 24, 2019

IMM PE to invest W134.7b to become HanaTour’s top shareholder

Seoul-based private equity house IMM Private Equity will become the largest shareholder of HanaTour Service, in a capital increase by South Korea’s No. 1 travel agency, HanaTour said on Monday. IMM PE will buy HanaTour’s newly issued 2.3 million common shares, or 16.7 percent of the outstanding shares, for 134.7 billion won ($115.8 million) -- with a 16.3 percent premium to its market price -- according to HanaTour’s disclosure. The funding will be raised from IMM PE&rsquo

MarketDec. 24, 2019

Ryu Hyun-jin to depart for Toronto on Christmas Day to finalize deal with Blue Jays

South Korean pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin is scheduled to depart for Toronto on Christmas Day to finalize his contract with the Blue Jays, his Seoul-based agency said Tuesday.A•Spec Corp. said the 32-year-old left-hander will fly to Toronto on a 10:20 a.m. flight out of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, on Wednesday. The agency added Ryu will not speak with the press at the airport and will instead have his media availability here after he returns home from Toronto.The agency said Ryu w

BaseballDec. 24, 2019

Naver-backed VC names head of Startup Alliance as new co-chief

South Korea’s internet giant Naver-backed venture capital TBT said Tuesday it has named Startup Alliance Managing Director Lim Jung-wook as the new co-chief of the investment vehicle. Lim will take office in March, when his term at Startup Alliance expires.He is serving his seventh year as the head of the nonprofit organization, dedicated to startup ecosystem advocacy and community building. Formerly a career journalist, Lim served as the head of web portal operator Lycos and global b

MarketDec. 24, 2019

LG Chem mulls spinoff of EV battery biz: report

LG Chem is mulling a slew of measures to bolster its electric vehicle battery business, including a plan to spin off the battery unit next year, according to a news report Tuesday. The report said an internal task force at LG Chem is currently operating with a schedule to spin off the battery business division as a subsidiary of the LG affiliate by July. In response, LG Chem said, “The company is considering various measures in order to enhance competitiveness and value of the battery busi

TechnologyDec. 24, 2019

Samsung Display becomes largest shareholder of Dowoo Insys

Samsung Display, the sole supplier of foldable displays for Samsung Electronics, has acquired majority stake in ultrathin glass substrate firm Dowoo Insys as part of its plan to secure adequate supplies, according to industry sources Tuesday. The subsidiary of Samsung Group purchased 600,000 shares of Dowoo Insys for 13.5 billion won ($11.6 million) last week through a collaborative fund with Samsung Venture Investment Corp., making it the largest shareholder with a total of 27.7 percent stake.

TechnologyDec. 24, 2019

5 injured in Posco plant explosion

GWANGYANG -- Five employees were injured in an explosion at a plant operated by South Korean steelmaker Posco on Tuesday, fire officials said.Two explosions occurred within five minutes, starting at 1:14 p.m., at the steelmaker's plant in Gwangyang, 420 kilometers southwest of Seoul.Five employees working at the plant have been transported to nearby hospitals. The degree of their injuries was not immediately known.The fire was extinguished at around 2 p.m. after 173 firefighters and Posco safety

Social AffairsDec. 24, 2019

[Newsmaker] Wi-Fi use latest hot spot of tension at Hyundai Motor

The latest bone of contention between the labor union and management at Hyundai Motor was unforeseen in a country that boasts one of the highest internet penetration rates -- Wi-Fi use.On Tuesday, the automaker changed its decision to allow employees to use Wi-Fi at its manufacturing plant in Ulsan, and placed restrictions on use only during meal times and break hours. The decision was taken after criticism that employees spent a lot of their time surfing the internet or watching YouTube vi

MobilityDec. 24, 2019

US denies ‘decapitation strike’ drill

The US Department of Defense on Monday dismissed local reports that a recent US-South Korea joint military exercise was a rehearsal for a “decapitation strike” against key North Korean figures. The reports said the combat exercise, which took place in Gunsan, South Jeolla Province, from August to November this year, simulated a surgical strike to take down Pyongyang's key commanders in an apparent warning, citing photographs and videos posted on the department’s website on Dec

DefenseDec. 24, 2019

Online sales at Lotte Duty Free to surpass W3tr

Lotte Duty Free’s online sales are expected to surpass 3 trillion won ($2.5 billion) by the year-end, exceeding its target of 2.9 trillion won, according to the company. In the first half of this year, Lotte Duty Free recorded 1.42 trillion won in sales at its online mall, a 49 percent jump year-on-year.Last year, Lotte Duty Free raked 2.14 trillion won in online sales, up 46.3 percent from the previous year, the largest sales of an online duty-free outlet in the world.The company&rsq

IndustryDec. 24, 2019

US surveillance planes fly over S. Korea again

The United States flew two surveillance aircraft over the Korean Peninsula on Tuesday amid growing concerns that North Korea could test a long-range missile as a “Christmas gift.”The US Air Force RC-135W Rivet Joint was spotted above the peninsula every day since last weekend, according to aviation tracker Aircraft Spots.The RC-135W flew at an altitude of 9.4 kilometers. The aircraft is fitted with equipment that can detect signals before a missile is launched, and analyze its ballis

DefenseDec. 24, 2019

More than half of middle-aged people in S. Korea indebted: data

More than half of middle-aged people were indebted last year, data showed Tuesday, in the latest sign of growing household debt in South Korea. The data compiled by Statistics Korea showed that 56.1 percent of people aged between 40 and 64 borrowed money from banks or other financial institutions in 2018, up 0.8 percentage point from 2017.Their median debt amount stood at 50.96 million won ($43,836) in 2018, according to the data.  For those who own homes, the median debt amount jumped to 8

EconomyDec. 24, 2019