Prosecution raids Cheong Wa Dae office over probe into ex-vice mayor

The prosecution raided a division of the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae on Wednesday for its probe into an alleged cover-up of an inspection into an ex-vice mayor who faces bribery charges.The Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors Office said it launched the raid on the Cheong Wa Dae office at 11:30 a.m. after securing a warrant from a court.State prosecutors are seeking to obtain evidence for its probe into why a special inspection into Yoo Jae-soo, the former vice mayor of Busan, was abruptly

PoliticsDec. 4, 2019

Broken glass falls from high-rise apartment in Busan

Broken pieces of glass fell from some 110 meters at a high-rise apartment building in Haeundae, Busan, on Monday. No one was injured.According to the Haeundae IPark apartment’s administrative office on Wednesday, hundreds of glass fragments fell to the ground at around 10 a.m. Monday as workers were repairing a window on the 44th floor of one of the buildings. Most of the glass pieces fell onto the playground, pedestrian overpasses and near the entrance to residential buildings.According t

Social AffairsDec. 4, 2019

Seoul Court upholds W1tr penalty for Qualcomm

The Seoul High Court ruled on Wednesday in favor of the nation’s antitrust watchdog in a legal battle with US chipmaker Qualcomm over a record penalty of 1 trillion won ($837 million). “The court dismissed Qualcomm’s requests and partially sided with the Fair Trade Commission,” said the FTC in a statement on the day. The “partial” decision is due to the court deeming that some corrective actions taken against Qualcomm were illegal, although the imposition

IndustryDec. 4, 2019

Defense chief calls for firm readiness posture against N. Korea

South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo called Wednesday for maintaining a staunch defense posture, his office said, as North Korea and the United States traded thinly veiled threats against each other amid stalled nuclear negotiations.Jeong made the call during a biannual meeting of top commanders held at the ministry compound in Seoul. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Park Han-ki and around 150 high-level military officers and government officials from related agencies attended the m

North KoreaDec. 4, 2019

S. Korea to support Uzbekistan's bid to join WTO

South Korea said Wednesday it plans to support Uzbekistan's bid to join the World Trade Organization in line with its efforts to broaden ties with Central Asia.Trade officials from the two sides are set to begin a two-day seminar in Tashkent on Thursday to discuss how Asia's No. 4 economy can support Uzbekistan's efforts to join the global trade body.The two countries vowed to make a joint effort for Uzbekistan's accession to the WTO after holding a summit in November 2017."South Korea will

Foreign AffairsDec. 4, 2019

[News Focus] Unlisted stock market gains momentum with attention to startups

With stocks on major bourses failing to satisfy the appetite of South Korean investors and brokerages, the unlisted securities market has been gaining high popularity, buoyed by growing interest in startups.Unlisted stocks largely remained a foreign concept for domestic investors until 2014, when the Korea Financial Investment Association upgraded and rebranded its over-the-counter trading platform Freeboard -- which was launched in 2005 -- to K-OTC. OTC markets around the globe serve as a platf

MarketDec. 4, 2019

HSBC Securities names new co-CEOs

HSBC Securities has appointed Lee Jong-jin and Rhee Sang-ho as co-chief executive officers, the firm announced Wednesday.Lee joined HSBC in Hong Kong in 2009 from Dresdner Bank and transferred to HSBC Korea in 2010. He has since led fixed income sales, and in 2019 he expanded sales coverage to cash equity products. Lee is also said to specialize in risk management.Rhee joined HSBC in 2010 from JPMorgan and has been leading the Korea debt capital markets team.HSBC Securities provides market resea

MarketDec. 4, 2019

Imported car sales rise 14 % in Nov. on new models

Imported car sales in South Korea rose 14 percent on-year last month, helped by new models, industry data showed Wednesday. The number of newly registered foreign vehicles rose to 25,514 units in November, up from 22,387 a year earlier, the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association said in a statement. German carmakers, including Audi-Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, posted a 30-percent on-year jump last month. Their combined sales climbed to 16,459 in November from 12,688 a ye

EconomyDec. 4, 2019

S. Korea to nurture food sector as new growth engine

South Korea said Wednesday it will double the size of key food industries by 2030 to serve as a new growth engine by easing regulations and revamping related policies.Under the plan, South Korea plans to focus on five major foodstuff industries, namely customized, functional, ready-to-eat, environmentally friendly and export-oriented products, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs.The size of the five industries, which was estimated at 12.4 trillion won ($10 billion)

IndustryDec. 4, 2019

US flies surveillance plane over S. Korea: aviation tracker

The United States flew a naval surveillance aircraft over the Korean Peninsula, an aviation tracker said Wednesday, the latest in a series of flights of its aircraft to monitor North Korea amid concern over the North's military moves.The US navy's P-3C maritime surveillance plane was spotted flying over the Korean Peninsula at 22,000 feet, Aircraft Spots said on its Twitter account without specifying the exact time of the operation. It also did not upload photos showing the flight route. Accordi

DefenseDec. 4, 2019

[Diplomatic circuit] [Meet the diplomat] Paris looks to Korea’s technology, startups for cooperation: French ambassador

Video shot and edited by Kim So-meeIn South Korea, France is known predominantly for its rich history, sophisticated culture and luxury brands. But take a deeper look into the history between the two countries, and traces of France can be found across South Korea’s core industries.In the digital era, Paris is seeking to bolster cooperation with Seoul in the field of technology and startups, the top French diplomat in Seoul said. “In France, I think we have missed the beginning of thi

Diplomatic CircuitDec. 4, 2019

Trump, Macron and Erdogan clash overshadows NATO summit

LONDON (AFP) -- US President Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron exchanged fire over the future of NATO on Tuesday, as the French leader attacked Turkey and demanded the alliance rethink its strategy. The three-way battle overshadowed the start of the alliance's 70th anniversary summit in London, threatening to derail efforts to show unity in the face of Russia and China.In recent weeks Macron has tried to shake up the agenda of the meeting by demanding a review of NATO's "brain dead" str

World NewsDec. 4, 2019

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

WASHINGTON -- South Korea and the United States on Tuesday began their fourth round of negotiations on sharing the costs for the upkeep of US troops in the South, with the two sides apart on how much of the burden Seoul will shoulder.Jeong Eun-bo, Seoul's chief negotiator, arrived in Washington on Monday for talks with his American counterpart, James DeHart.The negotiations are slated to run for two days through Wednesday.The US has reportedly demanded that South Korea increase its contribution

Foreign AffairsDec. 4, 2019

Trump weighs need for US troop presence in S. Korea

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that it is up for debate whether keeping American forces stationed in South Korea is in the US national security interest.Trump made the remark to reporters in London, where he is attending a meeting of North Atlantic Treaty Organization leaders, according to Reuters. The comment comes as the US has demanded South Korea contribute more to the upkeep of 28,500 American troops in the country, with negotiations over a new cost-sharing deal curren

Foreign AffairsDec. 4, 2019

Trump hints US may use military force against NK if necessary

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump hinted Tuesday that the United States may use military force against North Korea if necessary, after Pyongyang warned that an end-of-year deadline for the two countries' denuclearization negotiations is drawing near.Trump alluded to the use of force to reporters in London, where he is attending a meeting of North Atlantic Treaty Organization leaders, according to news reports.However, Trump also said he continues to have a good personal relationship with N

North KoreaDec. 4, 2019

BTS to perform on popular Japanese year-end TV show

K-pop sensation BTS will perform at "FNS Music Festival," one of the biggest and most prestigious year-end musical events in Japan, later this week, the TV network broadcasting the show said Tuesday.BTS will make its appearance on the first day of the annual music show on Wednesday, Fuji Television said. The second show will be aired on Dec. 11.  The Japanese TV broadcaster said it will be the first time BTS has participated in the annual music gathering, which has been held since

PerformanceDec. 4, 2019

Cho Yeo-jeong shows off different side in TV drama

After what many would call a career-defining performance in Cannes-winning film “Parasite,” Cho Yeo-jeong is demonstrating a different side of her acting spectrum with a role in a new KBS series.In the upcoming “Woman of 9.9 billion,” Cho plays a woman who used to live a hopeless life but becomes relentless when it comes to money, a far cry from the naive housewife that has become familiar to international audiences.“I had a desire to play a different role from the

TelevisionDec. 4, 2019

[Newsmaker] Eight people indicted in audition show vote-rigging scandal

Eight people were indicted on Tuesday in connection with a widening vote-rigging scandal involving the high-profile audition show “Produce X 101,” prosecutors said Tuesday.The Seoul Central District Prosecutors‘ Office said it has indicted Ahn Joon-young -- a director at entertainment giant CJ ENM’s K-pop-oriented music channel, Mnet -- and the program‘s chief producer, Kim Yong-beom, with physical detention.　The two are charged with fixing the final vote result in

Social AffairsDec. 3, 2019

Mount Bukak to be fully open to public starting in 2022: Cheong Wa Dae

The mountain just behind the presidential compound will be fully opened to the public in stages before mid-2022, more than a half century after it became off-limits to the public for security reasons, Cheong Wa Dae said Tuesday. It means citizens will be able to walk across the 1.1 million-square-meter Mount Bukak, 4.8 times bigger than Yeouido in western Seoul.The region had been off limits to the public since the so-called Jan. 21 incident in 1968. At the time, 31 North Korean commandos sneake

TravelDec. 3, 2019

S. Korea updates travel advisories on 18 countries

South Korea adjusted its travel advisory for 18 countries on Tuesday to reflect the latest developments that may affect travelers, the foreign ministry said. The special travel advisory currently placed on Caracas and some other parts of Venezuela has been updated, with high “red”alerts being issued, meaning people should refrain from traveling and should seriously consider leaving the Latin American nation. Venezuela has been plagued by violent riots and anti-government demonstratio

TravelDec. 3, 2019