Hyundai Motor to present new mobility road map at CES 2020

South Korea’s largest automaker Hyundai Motor will present its new mobility road map at the annual Consumer Electronics Show 2020, the world’s largest consumer technology conference to be held in Las Vegas next month, officials said Friday.Releasing the teaser image of the human-centered mobility vision, the company envisioned the innovative mobility and consequent changes for dynamic future cities. The upcoming mobility vision comprises three key pillars, Urban Air Mobility, Purpose

MobilityDec. 20, 2019

Grant Hyatt Seoul sold to joint Hong Kong-Korea consortium: JLL Korea

The ownership transition of Grand Hyatt Seoul, a landmark hotel located in central Seoul, has successfully been completed, Hyatt Hotel Corp.’s exclusive real estate selling agent Jones Lang LaSalle said Friday.Acquiring the 41-year-old, five-star hotel building was a consortium led by Hong Kong-based investment firm PAG and Seoul-based Inmark Asset Management.The duo had been picked as the preferred bidder by Hyatt Hotel Corp. in August and signed a stock purchase agreement in October. Bui

IndustryDec. 20, 2019

KT races ahead in 5G streaming games

Telecom firm KT said Friday it will launch a subscription-based 5G cloud gaming service in South Korea starting March, exclusive for its 5G users.The first 10,000 KT users to download the game streaming app will be given a two-month free trial period to play some 50 games on the app. A thumb-sized detachable mini joystick developed by Motion Queen, will be given out to them for free, allowing for an immersive gaming experience without requiring a Bluetooth connection, KT said. The company is the

IndustryDec. 20, 2019

Coex Aquarium announces new rare penguin

Coex Aquarium announced this week the birth of a baby Humboldt penguin, marking the first time a Korean facility has succeeded in natural breeding for a fourth straight generation.The newly born bird was the fourth generation from 20 Humboldt penguins the aquarium acquired in 2008, and was revealed to the public for the first time Wednesday.Officials at the aquarium noted that natural breeding of the species is extremely difficult, as the process is very sensitive to surroundings such as the tem

CultureDec. 20, 2019

Home transactions up 42.6% in November

Home sales in South Korea rose 42.6 percent in November from a year earlier amid a rise in housing prices, data showed Friday.The number of housing transactions across the country came to 92,413 in November, compared with 65,000 during the same period last year, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The number of home sales in Seoul jumped 85.7 percent on-year to 17,313 in November. It represents a 22.4 percent hike from October. Financial Services

EconomyDec. 20, 2019

KBO free agent shortstop returns to original team after controversial negotiations

South Korean free agent shortstop Oh Ji-hwan will be returning to his original club after all, following criticism of unreasonable demands at the negotiating table.The LG Twins of the Korea Baseball Organization announced on Friday that Oh has agreed to a four-year deal worth 4 billion won ($3.4 million). The deal includes a signing bonus of 1.6 billion won, and the 29-year-old will be making 600 million won in annual salary.Oh was drafted by the Twins out of high school in 2009 and has spent hi

BaseballDec. 20, 2019

BAT acquitted in tax evasion case

The South Korean unit of multinational cigarette maker British American Tobacco and its executives, all indicted on charges of tax evasion, were acquitted by a local court on Friday.The Seoul Central District Court acquitted BAT Korea and two of its executives of tax evasion, citing lack of evidence.BAT Korea, a local unit of the London-based BAT, and its two senior executives in charge of production and logistics, were indicted in April this year on charges of evading tax worth 50 billion won (

IndustryDec. 20, 2019

Huawei eyes more product purchases, investment in S. Korea amid US sanctions

Chinese telecommunications behemoth Huawei Technologies Co. on Friday vowed to beef up its business in South Korea by increasing the purchase of parts for its network equipment and smartphones amid continued US sanctions.Karl Song Kai, head of Huawei's global media and communications, said Huawei also plans to increase its investment in the country, although the company didn't specify target numbers. The Chinese tech firm, the No. 1 telecom gear maker and the No. 2 mobile phone manufacturer in t

IndustryDec. 20, 2019

Prosecution raids finance ministry in election-meddling probe

State prosecutors on Friday morning began a search of the finance ministry as part of ongoing probes into an election-meddling case involving the incumbent Ulsan mayor who is known to be a close presidential confidant.Investigators were dispatched to the ministry headquarters and government think tank Korea Development Institute, both located in Sejong, an administrative hub 130 kilometers southeast of Seoul, to secure computer drives and documents on the case.The raid was seen as aiming to find

PoliticsDec. 20, 2019

FTC to closely monitor abuse of chipmakers next year

Korea’s antitrust watchdog plans to set up a chip division early next year to focus on the abuse of market dominance by chipmakers, the chief said Thursday. During a press briefing Thursday afternoon, Fair Trade Commission chief Joh Sung-wook said, “We will closely monitor a chipmaker’s blockade of competitors’ entry into markets that may occur during the transition process into 5G network.” A chipmaker’s blockade is, for instance, to exclude competitors

IndustryDec. 20, 2019

S. Korea rejects claim deported N. Korean fishermen were defector brokers

The unification ministry on Friday rejected as "fake news" allegations that the two North Korean fishermen deported from South Korea last month were brokers helping North Koreans fleeing the communist nation.The two fishermen in their 20s were sent back to the North last month, five days after they were captured near the eastern inter-Korean sea border. After an inter-agency investigation, the South Korean government concluded that they killed the captain of their boat and 15 fellow cr

North KoreaDec. 20, 2019

SBS reality dating show to be remade in Vietnam

South Korean TV channel SBS' popular reality dating show, "Jjak," will be reproduced and aired in Vietnam this month, the channel said Friday.Vietnamese TV channel HTV7 will air the first episode of the Vietnamese version, "The Love Game," during prime time next Friday, according to SBS.The South Korean TV channel has taken part in the production of the Vietnamese program, it said.The show ran for three years till early 2014 in South Korea, featuring an unpredictable process

TelevisionDec. 20, 2019

Biegun fails to set up talks with NK during Asia trip

The US point man on North Korea, Stephen Biegun, ended his trip to Beijing without setting up talks with the North on Friday amid concerns that Pyongyang could resume provocations in protest over the deadlocked nuclear negotiations.Biegun, who has just been confirmed as the US' new deputy secretary of state, was not seen boarding an Air China plane bound for Pyongyang at the Beijing Capital International Airport, a sign that his speculated trip to the North would not materialize.He then departed

North KoreaDec. 20, 2019

Moon to hold bilateral summit with Abe in China on Tuesday : Cheong Wa Dae

South Korean President Moon Jae-in will hold one-one-one talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in China next week, Cheong Wa Dae announced Friday, saying their meeting is "of great significance."Their Christmas Eve meeting in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, will be first official summit in 15 months between the leaders amid soured Seoul-Tokyo ties over a trade fight stemming from a historical issue.They plan to "exchange opinions on pending issues" related to bilateral rel

Foreign AffairsDec. 20, 2019

Impeachment trial plans in disarray as Congress heads home

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Congress has headed home for the holidays leaving plans and a possible timeline for President Donald Trump's impeachment trial in disarray.Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi insisted Thursday that Senate Republicans must provide details on witnesses and testimony before she would send over the charges for Trump's trial. No deal, replied Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell after meeting with his Senate Democratic counterpart."We remain at an impasse," he sa

World NewsDec. 20, 2019

Finance minister vows to boost recovery momentum next year

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Friday that South Korea will spare no efforts to boost economic recovery next year as it seeks to boost corporate investment and consumer spending. "There should be an economic rebound next year to put the economy on a growth track," Hong told a KBS radio program earlier in the day. The nation's economy is expected to grow 2.4 percent next year, following this year's estimated 2 percent expansion, on the back of an anticipated recovery in the memory ch

EconomyDec. 20, 2019

Korea's overseas direct investment falls 5.8% in Q3

S. Korea's overseas direct investment fell 5.8 percent on year in the third quarter due to sluggish investment by the manufacturing sector, data showed Friday.The value of investments made by South Korean companies came to a total of $12.7 billion in the July-September period, compared with $13.5 billion for the same quarter last year, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The US accounted for the largest share of South Korea's overseas investments, with $2.85 bi

EconomyDec. 20, 2019

Outgoing PM says his role for 2020 elections hinges on ruling party's decision

Outgoing Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon has said he will accept whatever the ruling party decides over his role in next year's general elections, as he is set to resume his political career.Lee, a former four-term lawmaker, plans to return to politics as President Moon Jae-in named Chung Sye-kyun, a former parliamentary speaker, as his successor Tuesday. The nomination is subject to parliamentary approval.There is growing speculation that Lee may run in a district for the April 15 parliamentary elec

PoliticsDec. 20, 2019

[Eye plus] Preserving memories of Seoul

The history of Seoul dates back nearly 2,000 years, but citizens and visitors alike find it difficult to imagine what life here must have been like just half a century ago. From the 1950s to the present, the city has undergone the most dramatic transformation in its history, one that is almost unparalleled from a global perspective as well. Rising from the ashes of war to attain economic prosperity, the city has abandoned the remnants of its impoverished past and embraced futuristic skyscrapers,

CultureDec. 20, 2019

US flies surveillance aircraft over S. Korea: aviation tracker

The United States flew a naval surveillance plane over the Korean Peninsula on Thursday, an aviation tracker has said, amid tensions over the possibility of North Korea launching a long-range rocket in protest over the stalemate in the countries' nuclear talks.According to Aircraft Spots, a US Navy EP-3E plane conducted the reconnaissance mission, just a week after a similar flight by a US Air Force RC-135S Cobra Ball aircraft. The turbo-prop aircraft is capable of conducting tactical electronic

DefenseDec. 20, 2019