Girl band IZ*ONE postpones release of new album amid vote-rigging scandal

K-pop girl band IZ*ONE has postponed the release of its new album amid snowballing vote-rigging allegations at "Produce 48," a popular K-pop competition show.    "Off the Record, the management agency of IZ*ONE, has decided to delay the release of the group's first full-length album, originally scheduled for Nov. 11, out of respect for the opinions of fans," cable channel Mnet, which runs the K-pop competition show, said in a release on Thursday.  &nb

PerformanceNov. 7, 2019

Two North Koreans deported as probe finds mass murder charge

Two North Koreans who entered South Korean waters on a fishing boat were repatriated, as they allegedly killed 16 fellow crew members on their boat, the Unification Ministry said Thursday. The government returned the fishermen, who were in their 20s, through the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom after they confessed to mutiny during an investigation conducted by South Korean authorities.  The two men were caught south of the Northern Limit Line, a de facto maritime border off South K

North KoreaNov. 7, 2019

[Eye Plus] Legacy of 1st Korean pilot remains in Yeouido

In the financial and banking district of Yeouido in the center of Seoul, part of the oldest airport in the country is preserved to remind people of South Korea’s aviation history.Korea’s very first airport was constructed in 1916 on Yeouido, which was a barren sandbank in the capital city, known as Gyeongseong at the time. In the times when the idea of flying was unfamiliar to most Koreans, tens of thousands gathered in Yeouido to watch world-famous American stunt pilot Art Smit

TravelNov. 7, 2019

[Graphic News] 5G smartphone users’ monthly data use hits record high in Sept.

　Users of smartphones running on fifth-generation networks used a record amount of data in September, data showed, amid growing demand for mobile content.　The combined amount of data used by South Korean users of 5G mobile devices reached 87,928 terabytes, according to the data released by the Ministry of Science and ICT.　Since the number of 5G subscribers totaled 3.46 million that month, the figure translates to 25.97 gigabytes per user. A two-hour high-definition movie file has around 2 gigaby

IndustryNov. 7, 2019

Elite high schools to be abolished in 2025

The Ministry of Education on Thursday announced its decision to abolish elite high schools across the country in March 2025, as part of efforts to improve fairness in the education system. “In 2025, independent private schools, foreign language schools and global schools will be turned into regular schools all at once, and we will lay the groundwork for a high school credit system and future-oriented education,” Education Minister Yoo Eun-hae said at a press briefing at the Central G

Social AffairsNov. 7, 2019

[Herald Interview] Actress knocks up marionette story in directorial debut, ‘Judy and Punch’

BUCHEON, Gyeonggi Province -- When director Mirrah Foulkes finished her first feature film, “Judy and Punch,” just before it was due to premiere at Sundance Film Festival in January, she put together a small screening in Sydney for the cast, “just so they could make sure they liked it -- decide whether or not to go to Sundance.”After a pause and moment of relief, “They all went,” Foulkes said. The premise of the Australian flick from Vice Films -- a relat

FilmNov. 7, 2019

Final bidding wraps up for sale of Asiana Airlines

Bidders for the sale of Asiana Airlines, the nation’s second-largest air carrier, threw their hats in the ring Thursday for a last chance, raising market expectations as to the fate of the cash-strapped company. Kumho Industrial has put a 31 percent stake in Asiana Airlines up for sale. Three bidders -- Aekyung Group, Hyundai Development Company and Korea Corporate Governance Improvement -- submitted applications. Kumho and Credit Suisse, the lead manager of the sale, are expected to under

IndustryNov. 7, 2019

Defense cost-sharing negotiations face rough road ahead

The ongoing defense cost-sharing negotiations between South Korea and the United States face a rough road ahead, with Washington reportedly asking Seoul to pay for expenses not included in the original agreement.The US has asked Korea to pay about $5 billion toward the cost of maintaining its troops stationed here for another year, about five times more than the current 1.04 trillion won ($861.4 million), local media reported Thursday. This amount reportedly would include items that are not stip

DefenseNov. 7, 2019

[Newsmaker] Travel ban slapped on Mongolian judge accused of sexual misconduct

Police said Thursday they have placed a travel ban on Dorj Odbayar, head of Mongolia’s Constitutional Court who is accused of groping a Korean flight attendant and verbally abusing a Mongolian crew member during a flight from Ulaanbaatar to Incheon on Oct. 31. “We feel confident that Odbayar’s charges are clear and well founded. We will hand him over to the prosecution on Friday or some time definitely before Nov. 15, when the 10-day travel ban expires,” an Incheon Metro

Social AffairsNov. 7, 2019

Special investigation begins into ferry disaster

A special investigation unit tasked with reinvestigating the Sewol ferry disaster in 2014 officially commenced work Thursday. “I fully understand the gravity of the task I’m leading. I will do my best, considering it the last opportunity to reexamine the case,” said Lim Gwan-hyeok, the unit’s chief prosecutor. A day earlier, the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office announced that it would establish a special body to address resurfacing questions about t

Social AffairsNov. 7, 2019

Kakao posts all-time high earnings on the back of mobile ad business

　Korean internet giant Kakao announced a significant increase in its third-quarter earnings Thursday, backed by the growth of its advertisement platform on popular messenger app KakaoTalk. 　The company reported that sales in the July-September period reached a quarterly record of 783.2 billion won ($672 million) -- a 40 percent increase on-year. 　It also posted its highest operating profit since 2015 at 59.1 billion won. That was a 93 percent increase from a year earlier and 46 percent over the

TechnologyNov. 7, 2019

[Joseph E. Stiglitz] The end of neoliberalism and the rebirth of history

At the end of the Cold War, political scientist Francis Fukuyama wrote a celebrated essay called “The End of History?” Communism’s collapse, he argued, would clear the last obstacle separating the entire world from its destiny of liberal democracy and market economies. Many people agreed.Today, as we face a retreat from the rules-based, liberal global order, with autocratic rulers and demagogues leading countries that contain well over half the world’s population, Fukuyam

ViewpointsNov. 7, 2019

[Han Myung-jin] ADEX 2019 and the Future of Defense Industrial Cooperation

The Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition 2019 (ADEX 2019) took place from Oct. 15-20 at Seoul Air Base, which was participated by delegations from 53 countries, with 430 aerospace and defense industries from 34 nations taking part in the exhibition. The international event served as a venue for showcasing Korea’s state-of-the-art weapon systems to visitors from home and abroad. This year’s ADEX was particularly significant as it unveiled the first full-size mock-up of

ViewpointsNov. 7, 2019

World Aviation Conference held in Incheon for sustainable aviation industry

The fourth World Aviation Conference was held in Incheon this week, bringing together global aviation experts to share current issues and the future of the global airport and aviation industry, according to the Incheon International Airport Corp. on Thursday.The annual conference hosted by IIAC has been taking place since 2016 to provide a venue for relevant international organizations, academia and industry to discuss diverse issues of the aviation industry.At this year’s forum held from

IndustryNov. 7, 2019

Hyosung expands biz outreach to Mexico

Hyosung Chairman Cho Hyun-joon met with Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Wednesday to discuss business cooperation, including a rural automated teller machine project, which is the core welfare policy of the administration, the Korean firm said Thursday. The meeting held at the National Palace of Mexico comes after Hyosung’s information technology affiliate, Hyosung TNS, was awarded a contract from the Mexican government for 8,000 ATMs worth 203 billion won ($175 mil

IndustryNov. 7, 2019

Posco chief stresses coexistence for future growth

Posco Chairman Choi Jung-woo on Thursday stressed the importance of forging business partnership in nonsteel sectors for the advancement of technology and sustainable future.Highlighting recent changes in the business landscape amid a slowing economy, Choi also said the steelmaker’s plan to expand its role in community is a way of defining its corporate identity.  “Business environment has been deteriorating more than ever with the nation’s slowing economy showing no sign

IndustryNov. 7, 2019

[Herald Interview] Shaping crude warmth into tableware and more

For a pottery artist leading a tableware brand, the table is where the magic begins, then spreads to the whole house. Yido, launched in 1990, is a pottery ware brand led by Yi Yoon-shin. Yi has achieved a unique success with Yido. As the local upscale tableware market was ruled by foreign brands, Yido carved out its place as a handcrafted brand inspired by traditional practices.“Though we have worked on interpreting traditional pottery in a modern language, the innate characteristic of pot

Arts & DesignNov. 7, 2019

‘Barefoot diva’ celebrates 30 years of singing

Singer Lee Eun-mee is celebrating the 30th anniversary of her debut with a nationwide concert tour and the release of an album.The 53-year-old debuted in 1989 as a guest singer of band Sinchon Blues. Three years later, she began a solo career and has since released more than 10 albums. In 1993, she took her shoes off onstage “to be free.” She has since been performing barefooted, earning the nickname of “barefoot diva.” Two tracks from her upcoming album were prerele

PerformanceNov. 7, 2019

[News Focus] Right-wing party strong on home turf, losing ground elsewhere: survey

SEJONG -- Advocates of President Moon Jae-in and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea appear to be mostly supportive of their efforts to root out corruption from the nation’s public institutions, including their initiative to reform the prosecution.But their opponents continue to accuse the incumbent administration of underperforming on the economy, especially in areas such as real estate, employment, the minimum wage and GDP growth.In about 150 days, voters will assess the performance of

PoliticsNov. 7, 2019