‘The Man Standing Next’ a film about final weeks leading to dictator’s death

Former President Park Chung-hee, a man who ruled over South Korea with an iron fist for 18 years, is a highly divisive figure in the country’s history. So is his right-hand man and eventual assassin, Kim Jae-gyu. The upcoming film “The Man Standing Next,” starring Lee Byung-hun and directed by Woo Min-ho, offers what its creators say is a faithful depiction of the 40 days leading up to the president’s death. “I was pumped up after reading the script and felt that it

FilmDec. 12, 2019

[Travel Bits] Festivals and sights across Korea

Little Prince Starlight Festival of Petite FranceThe sixth Little Prince Starlight Festival of Petite France will be held at the Petite France Park in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province, until Feb. 29. The annual festival is inspired by the southern French town of Montpellier. In addition to lighting decorations at night, one highlight is the 30-meter-long light tunnel installed next to a round structure modeled after asteroid B 612, home of the Little Prince from Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s book.

TravelDec. 12, 2019

Samsung halts planning for 2020 amid legal risks

No one is sure who the top brass of Samsung Electronics will be next year as the company is silent about its annual organizational reshuffle amid ongoing multiple trials involving key executives, according to industry sources Thursday. The South Korean tech giant usually appoints its top executives in early December and personnel shake-up across all affiliates by mid-December. But this year, neither its leadership nor its business divisions have made personnel announcements, making it harder for

TechnologyDec. 12, 2019

QLED-equipped Galaxy laptops to hit market

Samsung Electronics will start receiving preorders for the world’s first QLED display-equipped laptops in collaboration with Intel, from Friday.Presales for the Galaxy Book Flex and Galaxy Book Ion will take place online from Friday through Thursday ahead of their official launch Dec. 20. Unveiled at the Samsung Developer Conference in October, the Galaxy Book Flex and Galaxy Book Ion feature the world’s first QLED display on a laptop. Equipped with Samsung’s proprietary QLED d

TechnologyDec. 12, 2019

Son Heung-min named top S. Korean athlete in 3rd straight annual poll

Tottenham Hotspur's attacking ace Son Heung-min has topped the survey of South Korea's best athletes for the third straight year.Gallup Korea announced the findings of its annual survey on athletes Thursday. In a poll of 1,700 South Koreans over the age of 13 from Nov. 8 to 28, Son earned an overwhelming support of 82 percent. Respondents could select up to two athletes. It's the highest level of support since the poll began in 2007.Ryu Hyun-jin, a free agent pitcher who played for the Los Angel

SoccerDec. 12, 2019

Prosecutors reopen 1980s murder case

Prosecutors said Thursday they will investigate the rape and murder of a 13-year-old girl from over 30 years ago after a man -- 53-year-old surnamed Yun -- convicted of the crime pleaded his innocence last month.The Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office has formed a task force to find the real killer, as well as to get to the bottom of allegations of wrongdoings by past investigative agencies.The prosecutors said they opened the probe upon request from Yun’s defense team, who alleged in

Social AffairsDec. 12, 2019

K5 preorders set new record for Kia

The number of all-new K5 preorders has set a fresh record of more than 16,000 units sold in just three weeks, Kia Motors said Thursday as it launched the third-generation of the popular sedan officially on the same day. The number of preorders the K5 received is the highest among vehicles launched under the Kia marque, the company said. “Of all customers who preordered the K5, 53 percent of them were in their 20s and 30s, demonstrating overwhelming support and attention from younger genera

MobilityDec. 12, 2019

Hanwha names Lee Tae-kil as new communications head

Hanwha Group named Lee Tae-kil, executive vice president of the group’s compliance committee, as the head of its communications committee in an annual executive reshuffle, officials said Thursday. Lee replaces President Choi Sun-mok, who moves to the committee’s advisory board.  After joining Hanwha Chemical in 1991, Lee climbed the corporate ladder by building his career in compliance and communications.The head of Hanwha’s communications committee oversees both the inter

IndustryDec. 12, 2019

Foreigners’ selling of emerging market stocks highest in S. Korea

Among emerging market stocks, South Korean shares were most offloaded by overseas investors last month as a result of Asia’s fourth-largest economy’s reduced weighting in the Morgan Stanley Capital International emerging markets index, a report by a local brokerage said Thursday.According to Yuanta Securities, foreigners net sold South Korean shares worth nearly $3 billion in November alone, which marked the largest volume among 10 major emerging markets during the same period. 

MarketDec. 12, 2019

SD Biotechnologies launches strategic global brands

Global beauty and health care company SD Biotechnologies is seeking to appeal to global millennial consumers with newly launched SNP mini and SNP prep skincare products, the company said Thursday. SNP mini is a pouch-type skincare set, comprising six items -- cleansing foam, toner, facial essence, serum, eye and facial nourishing cream and tone-up cream. SNP prep is a large-size product line copious enough to apply for both the face and body. The series’ Peptaronic set, a combination of pe

IndustryDec. 12, 2019

More than 40% of newlyweds had no children in 2018

More than 40 percent of newlywed couples had no children last year, reflecting the country's chronically low birthrate and late marriage trend, data showed Thursday.According to the data compiled by Statistics Korea, 1.32 million couples got married in the five years up to November 2018, down 4.2 percent from a year ago, with 79.6 percent consisting of first-time brides and grooms.Of that total, 40.2 percent of newlywed couples had no kids last year, up 2.6 percentage points from the previous ye

EconomyDec. 12, 2019

S. Korea to expand financial support for materials, parts, equipment sectors next year

S. Korea to expand financial support for materials, parts, equipment sectors next yearSouth Korea will expand its financial support programs for materials, parts and equipment sectors next year, as it seeks to boost competitiveness in the key industrial sectors, a senior official said Thursday.Vice Finance Minister Kim Yong-beom made the remarks at a meeting with relevant officials earlier in the day amid a trade spat over Japan's export restrictions against South Korea. Kim said the government

IndustryDec. 12, 2019

New chiefs of three key govt. agencies appointed

Cheong Wa Dae appointed new vice minister-level heads of three major government agencies Thursday in a routine shake-up. Roh Suk-hwan, deputy commissioner of the Korea Customs Service, has been promoted to lead the organization. The office of President Moon Jae-in also named Mo Jong-hwa, a retired Army general who serves as vice chairman of the Korea Defense Industry Association, as chief of the Military Manpower Administration.It promoted Park Chong-ho, deputy head of the Korea Forest Serv

PoliticsDec. 12, 2019

KT teams up with fire agency, hospital for emergency rescue using 5G-AI

Telecom firm KT said Thursday it will provide an optimal emergency rescue protocol using 5G and artificial intelligence technology by collaborating with the National Fire Agency and Severance Hospital. The triumvirate is jointly devising a new smart emergency response service that embeds 5G network for medical emergencies from the 119 emergency call reception to ambulance transportation and hospital emergency room care. As the first step, KT and the NFA on Thursday launched a 5G-based 119 video

IndustryDec. 12, 2019

US cuts antidumping duty on Hyundai's steel products

The US Department of Commerce has said it lowered its antidumping duty on hot-rolled steel from Hyundai Steel Co., South Korea's second-biggest steelmaker.The department said it "preliminarily" determined that the weighted average dumping margin for Hyundai Steel is 0.94 percent.The figures represent a sharp drop from 5.44 percent in June, according to Hyundai Steel on Thursday. The latest move came a year after the department launched an administrative review of the antidumping duty o

IndustryDec. 12, 2019

Watchdog warns foreign would-be voice phishers

The Financial Supervisory Service on Thursday warned that even foreigners who are accomplices to voice phishing crimes will be subject to punishment amid escalating financial crimes.Announcing a plan to tighten its grip over bank account transactions, the watchdog shared campaign materials -- in Korean and Chinese -- to help prevent voice phishing, reflecting the involvement of Chinese and Korean Chinese in such crimes.Recently, an increasing number of foreigners were caught for participating in

MarketDec. 12, 2019

2 S. Korean rookies victorious in Presidents Cup debuts

MELBOURNE -- Two South Korean rookies earned a victory apiece on the opening day of the Presidents Cup golf competition here on Thursday, as the International Team jumped out to a surprising 4-1 lead over the heavily favored United States.Im Sung-jae teamed up with Adam Hadwin of Canada to defeat Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele 1-up in the second four-ball match of the day at Royal Melbourne Golf Club.Right behind them, An Byeong-hun and Adam Scott of Australia beat Tony Finau and Bryson D

GolfDec. 12, 2019

Top court confirms conviction of groper who was subject of innocence petition

The top court on Thursday upheld a lower court’s decision on a high-profile sexual molestation case in which a man was accused of groping a woman in public two years ago, confirming the sentence of six months in jail suspended for two years.On Nov. 26, 2017, the man, 39, allegedly groped the victim’s buttocks as she was coming out from a private room in an oxtail restaurant in the Yuseong district of Daejeon. Based on the victim’s testimony and an examination of security f

Social AffairsDec. 12, 2019

Chubb Life Korea welcomes new CEO

Chubb Group, the world’s largest property insurer based in the US, has named Albert Kim as the new chief executive officer of Chubb Life Korea, its life insurer subsidiary operating here, officials said Thursday.Throughout his 25-year career, Kim has worked in various global insurers including AIG, Allianz and AXA. Until recently, he served as vice president in charge of sales and management at AIG Korea.“We are glad to announce that Albert Kim will henceforth lead Chubb Life Korea,

MarketDec. 12, 2019

Huawei tipped to narrow gap with Samsung in smartphone shipments

Samsung Electronics Co. is widely expected to maintain its No. 1 status in the global smartphone market this year, but its Chinese rival Huawei Technologies Co. will narrow the gap with the world's largest smartphone maker in terms of market share, an industry report showed Thursday.The South Korean tech giant is tipped to ship 323 million smartphones for a 21.3 percent share in 2019, according to market researcher Strategy Analytics.The estimated shipments and market share are both slightly up

IndustryDec. 12, 2019