IKEA to open its 3rd store in S. Korea next week

Swedish furniture giant IKEA said Thursday that it will open its third outlet in South Korea next week as it strives to strengthen its presence in Asia's fourth-largest economy.IKEA Korea said the 49,800-square-meter store set to open in Giheung on Dec. 12 will enhance accessibility to residents in the nearby area with new services such as home furnishing consultants and a seamless shopping experience offline and online.IKEA Giheung Market Manager Anje Heim said she is excited to "offer bet

IndustryDec. 5, 2019

Ballantine’s leads imported Scotch whiskey market in Korea

Ballantine’s was the most consumed Scotch whiskey in Korea in the last three years with a market share of 28 percent, its distributor Pernod Ricard Korea said Thursday. “Data shows the international Scotch whiskey market in Korea grew by an average 7 percent every year since 2017,” said Florent Leroi, chief of Pernod Ricard Korea’s marketing division. “During this period, Ballantine’s revenue grew by an annual average of 9.2 percent,” Leroi said, un

IndustryDec. 5, 2019

[Newsmaker] Actor Kang Ji-hwan gets suspended prison sentence in rape case

Actor Kang Ji-hwan, who was indicted in July on charges of raping a woman and molesting another at his home, was given a suspended prison sentence by a local court on Thursday.The Seongnam branch of the Suwon District Court sentenced 42-year-old Kang to an imprisonment of two and a half years, suspended for three years, after finding him guilty of sexually assaulting two female production staffers.He was also ordered to conduct 120 hours of social service, undergo 40 hours of sexual offender tre

Social AffairsDec. 5, 2019

S. Korea vows to revitalize manufacturing sector amid protectionism

South Korea said Thursday it will spare no efforts to support local manufacturers in overcoming the growing protectionism around the globe and revamp related policies to provide them with more leeway in rolling out investment."Despite the difficult business environment, we need to overcome various hurdles and challenges to maintain and beef up our competitiveness as a manufacturing powerhouse," Industry Minister Sung Yun-mo said during a meeting with business executives in Seoul.Partic

IndustryDec. 5, 2019

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

Frozen 2(US)Opened Nov. 27Animation, Adventure, Comedy Directed by Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee Anna (Kristen Bell), Elsa (Idina Menzel), Kristoff (Jonathan Groff), Olaf (Josh Gad) and Sven leave Arendelle to travel to an ancient forest in an enchanted land. They set out to find the origin of Elsa’s powers in order to save their kingdom. Ford v Ferrari(US)Opened Dec. 4Action, Biography, Drama Directed by James Mangold American car designer Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) and driver Ken Miles

FilmDec. 5, 2019

[Travel Bits] Festivals and sights across Korea

Little Prince Starlight Festival of Petite France The sixth Little Prince Starlight Festival of Petite France will be held throughout 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

TravelDec. 5, 2019

Wizard, character themed kids rooms at Kensington

Kensington Hotel and Resort has added new types of “character kids rooms” to its Chungju and Gyeongju resort branches in order to appeal to families with young children. The “wizard’s room” at the branch in Chungju, North Chungcheong Province, is furnished with various props like a sorcerer’s robe and tools, and its wallpaper bears illustrations of bookshelves, brick walls and magical books. Cocomong Kidsrooms in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, use the an

TravelDec. 5, 2019

KT, China Mobile to boost cooperation on 5G roaming, blockchain system

KT Corp., South Korea's major telecommunication service provider, on Thursday said it has agreed with China Mobile Communication Corp. to boost cooperation on 5G roaming services and a blockchain system. Using China Mobile's network, KT said its 5G roaming services in China will be available later this month. The two sides demonstrated their 5G roaming operations in May.KT said its "Narle" service, which allows a high-definition group video chat with a maximum eight people, also perfor

IndustryDec. 5, 2019

SK Innovation completes EV battery cell plant in China

SK Innovation Co., a major energy and chemical company in South Korea, said Thursday that it has built its first electric vehicle battery cell manufacturing plant in China in the latest move to tap deeper into the world's largest EV market.The completion ceremony for BEST -- a joint venture established by SK Innovation, Beijing Automotive Group and Beijing Electronics -- in Changzhou in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu drew more than 500 guests, including the companies' executives.BEST is

IndustryDec. 5, 2019

Taihan Electric Wire to establish fiber optic cable JV in Kuwait

Taihan Electric Wire Co., a major cable maker in South Korea, said Thursday it will establish a fiber optic cable manufacturing joint venture in Kuwait to tap deeper into the Middle East market. Under the agreement with its Kuwaiti partners, including Rank General Trading and Contracting Co., Taihan said the joint venture will set up their facilities in Mina Abdullah Industrial Area, southeast of Kuwait City, in the first half of 2020.Taihan said the joint venture will be Kuwait's first fiber op

IndustryDec. 5, 2019

S. Korea unveils world's first geostationary air pollution monitoring satellite

South Korea on Thursday unveiled the world's first geostationary environmental monitoring satellite that can closely check the movement of fine dust and other air pollutants in the East Asian region in real time.The 3.4-ton Chollian-2B, scheduled to be sent into orbit from French Guiana in February 2020, will take up a fixed position 36,000 kilometers above the Earth's equator, the state-run Korea Aerospace Research Institute said.The multipurpose satellite's Geostationary Environmental Monitori

TechnologyDec. 5, 2019

Celeb chef Baek Jong-won's new show focuses on farm products

Baek Jong-won has a number of jobs and titles, such as chef, food researcher, entertainer, writer, essayist and businessman. He is busy running big franchise restaurants and coffee shop chains, while appearing on various TV shows, including "Baek Jong-won's Alley Restaurant" of SBS and "High School Lunch Cook-off" of tvN.This winter, the prolific and active Jack of all trades launched a new reality show, "Delicious Rendezvous," to be first aired Thursday night on SB

TelevisionDec. 5, 2019

S. Korea adds 260,000 jobs in 2018

South Korean companies added 260,000 jobs in 2018 from a year earlier, government data showed Thursday, amid concerted efforts to hire more workers.The job gains were compared with 2017, when South Korean firms added a total of 310,000 jobs from the previous year, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.By sector, wholesale and retail businesses added 70,000 jobs and health and social welfare services added 40,000 jobs in 2018 from a year earlier. In contrast, manufacturing shed 60,00

EconomyDec. 5, 2019

Ex-KBO MVP Kim Jae-hwan to be posted for MLB clubs

After slugging his way around South Korean baseball for years, MVP-winning outfielder Kim Jae-hwan now wants to see how he stacks up against big league pitching.The Korea Baseball Organization announced Thursday it has asked Major League Baseball to post Kim for its 30 teams, making the 31-year-old slugger available for any interested clubs.The move came hours after Kim's KBO club, the Doosan Bears, said they decided to post the 2018 league MVP. Kim becomes the second KBO player to be posted thi

BaseballDec. 5, 2019

Ruling party lawmaker nominated as new justice minister

Choo Mi-ae, a five-term ruling party lawmaker, has been nominated for the position of justice minister, Cheong Wa Dae announced Thursday amid keen attention to her role in the South Korean government's push for prosecution reform.President Moon Jae-in picked Choo to fill the post that has been vacant for several weeks since Cho Kuk stepped down in the face of state prosecutors' probe into alleged irregularities involving his family.Cheong Wa Dae noted that Choo has expertise and qualities of sta

PoliticsDec. 5, 2019

S. Korea seeks to boost hydrogen in energy mix

South Korea is witnessing slow but meaningful progress in its march toward a hydrogen-based economy, with the pollution-free power source set to take up a greater slice of the country's energy mix down the road.The Moon Jae-in administration has been pushing to cut the country's dependency on conventional energy sources such as fossil fuels and move toward sustainable resources like hydrogen, sunlight and wind.In line with this vision, South Korea has been promoting the development of hydrogen f

IndustryDec. 5, 2019

S. Korea, US end 4th round of talks on defense cost-sharing

WASHINGTON/SEOUL -- South Korea and the United States ended another round of talks Wednesday (US time) on sharing the costs for the upkeep of American troops in the South, with the two sides apart on how much of the burden Seoul should shoulder.Wrapping up the two-day negotiations in Washington, Jeong Eun-bo, Seoul's chief negotiator, and his US counterpart, James DeHart, agreed to meet again in Seoul before the end of this month to continue the talks, Seoul's foreign ministry said in a release.

Foreign AffairsDec. 5, 2019

CJ Cheiljedang, franchisees sign pact on fair transactions

CJ Cheiljedang Corp., South Korea's top food maker, and its franchisees signed a pact that helps promote fair business transactions between the two sides, the antitrust regulator said Thursday. It was the first time that a big company signed such a pact with franchisees since tougher laws on franchise businesses took effect in July this year, the Fair Trade Commission said in a statement. Under the pact, a franchisee can ask CJ Cheiljedang to renew their contract 10 years after their f

IndustryDec. 5, 2019

S. Korea, Japan to hold talks over monthslong trade row

South Korea said Thursday it will hold talks with Japan in Tokyo later this month in the latest attempt to settle their monthslong trade row stemming from shared history.The two countries will hold the director-general level talks in Tokyo on Dec. 16, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The announcement came after Seoul and Tokyo held a preparation gathering in Vienna on Wednesday.The upcoming meeting will mark the first official gathering of trade officials between the two

Foreign AffairsDec. 5, 2019

Europeans again condemn North Korea's missile launches

UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- Half a dozen European countries on Wednesday again condemned North Korea's 13 "provocative" ballistic missile launches since May, saying they violate UN Security Council resolutions and undermine regional and international security.A statement from the five European council members -- Belgium, France, Germany, United Kingdom and Poland -- and Estonia, which will join the UN's most powerful body in January, also condemns recent North Korean threats "to partne

North KoreaDec. 5, 2019