What’s in a name? Ex-president’s confidante wants media to use her new name

Former President Park Geun-hye’s confidante Choi Seo-won, better known as Choi Soon-sil, has officially requested that the Korean media stop using her old name, saying that doing so amounts to defamation.  According to Choi’s lawyer on Wednesday, Choi sent letters to 93 media outlets in South Korea, asking that they use her new name when reporting about her. Choi reportedly changed her name from Soon-sil to Seo-won in February 2014. Choi, who is in prison, faces an ongoing trial

Social AffairsNov. 14, 2019

Luxury lifestyle retailer Conran Shop lands in Korea

Leading luxury retailer of furniture and home accessories Conran Shop announced Thursday the launch of its first outlet in upscale Gangnam District, southern Seoul.In a 10-year partnership with local retail giant Lotte Shopping, the London-based retailer of more than 300 designer brands will offer a unique curation of design classics and future icons. Korea’s lifestyle market has grown nearly 70 percent in in the past decade -- from 7 trillion won ($6 billion) in 2008 to 12 trillion won in

IndustryNov. 14, 2019

Hyundai to invest $410m to start production of Santa Cruz in US

Hyundai Motor said Thursday it will invest $410 million to start production of the Santa Cruz compact sport utility vehicle in the US in 2021. Facilities will be expanded at its plant in Montgomery, Alabama, along with the deployment of related equipment, with the aim of starting sales in the US and Canada in the same year, it added. The investment will create 200 new jobs at the plant and an additional 1,000 at local suppliers and logistics companies supporting Hyundai in Montgomery and the Riv

MobilityNov. 14, 2019

OECD leading index for S. Korea edges down in Sept.

A leading economic index for South Korea inched down in September, heralding a contraction for Asia's No. 4 economy down the road, data showed Thursday.The composite leading indicator of economic activity for South Korea stood at 98.69 in September, down 0.09 point from the previous month, according to the data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.September marked the 28th consecutive month of on-month decline, the longest losing streak among members of the Paris-based

EconomyNov. 14, 2019

Samsung BioLogics becomes first CMO to obtain ISO 27001

Samsung BioLogics said Thursday it has become the first CMO company globally to obtain ISO 27001 certification from the Geneva-based International Organization for Standardization.ISO 27001 is the most prestigious international standards certification in information security. It acknowledges the local biopharma firm to be the “World’s Best CDMO Company,” and will help boost trust between global partners, the company said. To obtain the certification, Samsung BioLogics had

IndustryNov. 14, 2019

S. Korea remains willing to reconsider GSOMIA decision if Japan changes course: defense ministry

South Korea remains willing to reconsider its decision to terminate a military intelligence-sharing pact with Japan if Tokyo first retracts "unfair" export curbs, the defense ministry said Thursday.The General Security of Military Information Agreement is set to expire on Nov. 23, following South Korea's decision in August to terminate it after Japan imposed export curbs on Seoul in a row over wartime forced labor. US officials have called strongly for renewing the pact as they conside

Foreign AffairsNov. 14, 2019

Regulator unveils measures to bolster investor protection over risky assets

South Korea's financial regulator on Thursday unveiled a raft of measures to better protect consumers in the wake of improper sales of derivatives linked to overseas interest rates that carry the risk of losing nearly all the money invested in them.Under the measures, banks will be banned from selling high-risk privately placed funds, according to the Financial Services Commission.Banks and other financial firms will be required to strengthen their internal control systems when they sell high-ri

MarketNov. 14, 2019

BLACKPINK makes Time magazine's newly launched '100 Next' list

K-pop girl band BLACKPINK has made it to "Time 100 Next," a list of 100 rising stars, launched this year by Time magazine, its website showed Thursday. "BLACKPINK's star may still be rising in the US, but on YouTube, it reigns supreme: the foursome -- a.k.a. Jisoo, Jennie, Rose and Lisa -- has 31 million subscribers, more than any other music group in the world," the website said.  "This year, BLACKPINK also became the first K-pop girl group to perform at Coachella,

PerformanceNov. 14, 2019

Auto exports fall 10 % in Oct.

South Korea's vehicle exports fell 10 percent last month from a year earlier due to lower demand in emerging markets, data showed Thursday. South Korean carmakers shipped a total of 208,714 vehicles in October, down from 230,086 units a year ago amid a slowing global economy, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said in a statement.  "Lower demand in Asia and Latin America fully offset increased sales of Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. in North America and rising demand in

EconomyNov. 14, 2019

Image sensor market to post record sales in 2019: report

Global sales of an image sensor used in smartphones and digital cameras are expected to hit a record high this year, emerging as a bright spot in the stagnant chip sector, a report showed Thursday.The market for complementary metal oxide semiconductor sensors is forecast to reach $16.8 billion in 2019, up 19 percent from a year earlier, according to market researcher IC Insights. The latest growth rate is sharply up from its August prediction of a 9 percent rise for this year. The explosive grow

IndustryNov. 14, 2019

Prosecutors grill ex-Justice Minister Cho

Former Justice Minister Cho Kuk was questioned for eight hours by prosecutors Thursday. Cho appeared at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office in the morning, a month after his resignation as justice minister, and three days after his wife’s second indictment on additional charges. “Given all charges against me are all untrue, I think it’s unnecessary for me to address prosecutors’ questions one by one. I intend to reveal the truth at the court,”

Social AffairsNov. 14, 2019

N. Korea warns US against joint military drills with S. Korea

North Korea's top governing body demanded Wednesday the United States cancel planned joint military drills with South Korea, warning otherwise it would face a "greater threat." The State Affairs Commission, chaired by leader Kim Jong-un, also repeated that Pyongyang would seek a "new way" unless Washington changes its stance and comes up with new solutions in their nuclear talks by the end of this year. South Korea and the US conducted regular joint drills in March and August

North KoreaNov. 14, 2019

S. Korean Ryu Hyun-jin ties for 2nd in NL Cy Young voting

South Korean left-hander Ryu Hyun-jin has finished tied for second place in the 2019 National League Cy Young Award voting, while also becoming the first Asian to earn a first-place vote for the top pitching prize.In the voting result announced Wednesday evening (US Eastern Time), Ryu, who led all of baseball with a 2.32 ERA for the Los Angeles Dodgers this year, earned one first-place vote, six second-place votes and eight third-place votes for a total of 72 points. It tied him with Max Scherze

BaseballNov. 14, 2019

Trump says he will decide on auto tariffs soon

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he will make a decision soon on whether to impose tariffs on imported cars and auto parts.Trump made the remark to reporters at a meeting with Turkey's president at the White House amid expectations he would announce the decision as early as Wednesday following a six-month delay in May.South Korea has lobbied hard to win an exemption from any further tariffs, citing its renegotiated trade deal with the US."I'll make a decision fair

Foreign AffairsNov. 14, 2019

Esper: US could alter military drills to boost N. Korea talks

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Wednesday that he is open to the possibility of altering American military activities in South Korea if it would help advance a diplomatic deal with North Korea to eliminate its nuclear program.In an interview with reporters flying with him to Seoul, Esper said any changes in military exercises or training would be done in ways that did not jeopardize troops' combat preparedness. And he said they would be done in consultation with the South Ko

DefenseNov. 14, 2019

Pressure builds as Trump impeachment probe hears new claims

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- Two top US diplomats delivered gripping testimony Wednesday about Donald Trump's efforts to get Ukraine to investigate his potential 2020 rival Joe Biden, as the impeachment inquiry into the president shifted into a new phase of high-stakes televised hearings.Trump dismissed the probe in the Democratic-led House of Representatives as a "witch hunt" and said he was "too busy" to watch the first public hearings, during which he received staunch backing from

World NewsNov. 14, 2019

One dead, another in coma after inhaling toxic gas from waste oil tank

One man was killed and another injured after inhaling toxic gas in an offshore waste oil tank on Wednesday, the coast guard said.The incident occurred in an oil storage structure docked near a shipbuilding yard in the southeastern port city of Busan.  Officers from the Busan Coast Guard found the chief executive of an oil waste collection company, identified by his surname, Jeong, and a worker, surnamed Lee, unconscious inside the tank.Jeong in his 30s died later in hospital and Lee, 62, is

Social AffairsNov. 13, 2019

Culture minister says gaming is not disease, vows law revision in 2020

BUSAN – Korea’s culture minister vowed to make revisions to the decade-long game industry law to help revitalize the gaming industry, Wednesday, saying that he disagrees with viewing it as a disease.“Gaming is not a disease but a leisure activity. Cultural contents not only enrich our lives but also serve as growth engines for our future.” said Culture Minister Park Yang-woo at the 2019 Korea Game Awards held in Busan.  He was referring to the World Health Organizati

IndustryNov. 13, 2019

Lost Ark sweeps 2019 Korea Game Awards

BUSAN -- Smilegate RPG’s Lost Ark bagged six awards at 2019 Korea Game Awards including the presidential accolade, receiving 10 million won ($8,550) in prize money. XLGames’ Moonlight Sculptor nabbed the prime minister’s accolade and a 5 million won prize. The culture minister’s accolade went to four games: Cherry Bug’s Blade and Soul Revolution, Funnypaw’s Seven Deadly Sins: Grand Cross, Netmarble N2’s Koongya Catch Mind and Krafton’s Mistover.Los

IndustryNov. 13, 2019

President Moon orders full efforts to retrieve bodies from chopper crash site

President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday ordered officials to use "all possible means" to retrieve bodies from a chopper crash site in the East Sea, his spokeswoman said, a day after rescue workers found the fourth body. Three people are unaccounted for after the rescue helicopter, carrying seven people, fell into waters near the easternmost islets of Dokdo late at night on Oct. 31, right after taking off from the islets. Moon ordered officials to "step up search works to swiftly rescue

PoliticsNov. 13, 2019