Halfway into Moon's presidency, Cheong Wa Dae vows patient peace drive

Cheong Wa Dae said Sunday it would patiently advance the Korea peace process, although Seoul's own drive is restricted due to its international obligations and relations with Pyongyang.Speaking at a press conference to mark the halfway point of President Moon Jae-in's single five-year tenure, his chief of staff, Noh Young-min, reaffirmed the prioritization of peace between the Koreas."The government will consistently advocate the path of Korean Peninsula peace with patience," he said.L

PoliticsNov. 10, 2019

Nonproliferation conference ends without meeting between US, NK envoys

MOSCOW -- A nuclear nonproliferation conference in Moscow has wrapped up without a separate meeting between a US special envoy for North Korea and a North Korean foreign ministry official handling American affairs who attended the event.US Special Envoy for North Korea Mark Lambert and Jo Chol-su, director-general of the North American department at the North's foreign ministry, had gathered in the Russian capital for the 2019 Moscow Nonproliferation Conference, raising speculation over possible

North KoreaNov. 10, 2019

LG Electronics sues China’s TCL over LTE patent in Germany

LG Electronics has filed a lawsuit with two German courts against China’s phone manufacturer TCL over patent infringement, the South Korean tech giant said Sunday. In the suits filed with the district courts in Mannheim and Düsseldorf, LG claimed the Chinese vendor infringed three standard patents owned by LG in relation to 4G Long Term Evolution telecommunications on mobile devices. The three standard patents are essential to enabling LTE communications on any phone. TCL, which

TechnologyNov. 10, 2019

Telecoms get conditional approval for M&As

The Fair Trade Commission said Friday that it has conditionally approved two separate merger and acquisition deals, one led by SK Telecom and the other by LG Uplus, reshaping the local pay TV industry as it is already undergoing a major transformation toward digital services.The decision clears regulatory hurdles for a 4.7 trillion won ($4 billion) merger between SKT’s internet protocol TV service arm SK Broadband with t-broad, the country’s No. 2 cable TV multiple system operator, a

TechnologyNov. 10, 2019

Police open full-scale probe into ‘dark web’

The South Korean police are widening their probe against criminal activity on the “dark web” – parts of internet hidden from public access.The dark web, which is not indexed by search engines and requires special software to access, has been associated with crimes and other illicit activities as it permits users to dodge identification and keep their browser history discreet.The police investigation of the dark web, which was hitherto handled by a six-member task force at the N

Social AffairsNov. 10, 2019

[News Focus] Will Samsung, Hyundai have to pay digital tax overseas?

Top-tier South Korean firms such as Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and Hyundai Motor may have to pay corporate taxes overseas due to the growing worldwide debate on digital tax, raising concerns about its economic impact here, according to experts. According to the Finance Ministry, a debate is underway in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to apply digital tax -- in the form of corporate tax -- on manufacturing companies selling consumer goods, such as smartphones, h

IndustryNov. 10, 2019

[Newsmaker] Police probe former YG chief over alleged drug cover-up

Former head and executive producer of K-pop talent agency YG Entertainment Yang Hyun-suk was grilled by police Saturday for about 14 hours.The Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency, handling the case, said its special crime squad questioned Yang from 10 a.m. to 11:50 p.m.Police booked Yang on Wednesday on suspicion of blackmailing a witness to retract her statement to police in August 2016 alleging drug use by one of YG’s artists -- B.I of boy band iKON. Yang is also suspected of paying

Social AffairsNov. 10, 2019

Doosan’s hydrogen-powered drone wins CES awards

Doosan Mobility Innovation, a subsidiary of South Korean conglomerate Doosan Group, has won two awards from the Consumer Electronics Show 2020 for its fuel cell drones that can fly uninterrupted for over two hours, the company said Sunday.DMI received best of innovation award in the category of drones and unmanned systems, for pushing the limit of drones relying on the short lifetime of rechargeable batteries. Drones powered by lithium-ion batteries can fly 20-30 minutes while DMI’s hydrog

TechnologyNov. 10, 2019

Samsung, SK, Hyundai see gain in market cap

Amid a sluggish stock market, the top three South Korean conglomerates -- Samsung, SK and Hyundai Motor Group -- saw their market capitalizations rise this year, while values of the other top 10 plunged in the same period, data compiled by a local market tracker showed.According to FnGuide, the combined market cap of Samsung’s 16 listed subsidiaries increased nearly 18 percent, from Jan. 2 to Oct. 30, to 434.9 trillion won ($382 billion). Of the 16 subsidiaries, nine saw a growth in their

MarketNov. 10, 2019

S. Korea to face US to begin Super Round in rematch of inaugural final

TOKYO -- South Korea's quest for a spot in the 2020 Olympic baseball tournament will begin in earnest here on Monday against a familiar foe.South Korea will face the United States at Tokyo Dome at 7 p.m. Monday to begin the Super Round at the World Baseball Softball Confederation Premier12. It'll be a rematch of the inaugural Premier12 final from 2015. The Premier12 is also an Olympic qualifying tournament for the Americas and Asia/Oceania. The top dozen teams on the WBSC rankings were divi

BaseballNov. 10, 2019

Global Innovator Festa selects 46 teams with entrepreneurial potential

“The most challenging part of getting something out of startup ecosystems is getting into one, and that is 100 percent dependent on you,” said Antti Hammainen from Finland, who gave a keynote speech at this year’s Global Innovator Festa held last week in Daegu. “I mean, you just have to pick yourself up and go there. No one will come and ask you to. Start from little. If you are a young student, like I was three years ago, start from basic stuff. If you already own a star

TechnologyNov. 10, 2019

Japan emperor to greet public in parade marking enthronement

TOKYO (AP) -- Well-wishers are gathering along a central Tokyo street hours before Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako are expected to greet them from a royal motorcade under tight security.  Police have set up 40 security checkpoints. Selfie sticks, bottles and banners -- and even shouting -- are not allowed inside the restricted zone. Naruhito succeeded his father Akihito on May 1 following his abdication, and formally ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne in a palace ceremony last

World NewsNov. 10, 2019

As 2019 draws to a close, a preview of Korea’s 2020 film scene

As 2019 slips away, it’s clear that comedy and Hollywood blockbusters have dominated South Korea’s box office this year.Four films -- two domestic and two Hollywood blockbusters -- have broken the 10 million ticket sales mark this year. “Extreme Job” became the second most successful film in Korean box office history with 16.2 million and the top-selling comedy, while “Avengers: Endgame” became the most successful foreign film of all time. They were followed b

FilmNov. 10, 2019

S. Korean economy to rebound slightly in 2020: data

South Korea's economy is expected to grow in the low end of 2 percent next year, probably higher than this year's estimated expansion, industry data showed on Sunday.According to the median of eight brokerage houses on next year's growth estimates, Asia's fourth-largest economy is projected to grow 2.1 percent, with the highest estimate being 2.3 percent.They cited the conclusion of the ongoing US-China trade row, expansionary policies in major economies and aggressive fiscal spending here. &quo

EconomyNov. 10, 2019

Huge Hong Kong rally after student dies and lawmakers arrested

HONG KONG (AFP) -- Tens of thousands of Hong Kongers packed into a park Saturday night to mourn a student who died during recent clashes as police arrested a group of pro-democracy lawmakers, deepening the city's political crisis.The international finance hub has been upended by five months of huge and increasingly violent pro-democracy protests, but Beijing has refused to give in to most of the movement's demands.Tensions have soared since the death on Friday of Alex Chow, 22, who succumbed to

World NewsNov. 10, 2019

NK official calls on US to meet year-end deadline before 'window closes'

South Korea's top nuclear envoy met with the US special envoy for North Korea in Moscow on Saturday, South Korea's foreign ministry said, as Pyongyang warned of a closing window of opportunity on a nuclear deal.Lee Do-hoon held a breakfast meeting with Mark Lambert and the two discussed how to deal with North Korea following last month's collapse of working-level talks between North Korea and the US, the foreign ministry said without elaborating.The talks in Stockholm -- the first since the coll

North KoreaNov. 10, 2019

BIGBANG members set to return to show biz amid ongoing scandal

With all of its members coming back to public life over the weekend, popular K-pop band BIGBANG is set to return to show business, but the future of the group remains unknown due to an ongoing corruption scandal.As a well-known fashion icon across Asia, its leader G-Dragon, who was discharged from the military on Oct. 26, resumed his entertainment activities with a fashion collaboration with Nike.He participated in designing the US-based firm's flagship sneaker line of the Air Force 1 Para-noise

PerformanceNov. 10, 2019

Search under way at chopper crash site, gov't vows all-out efforts

Ten days after an ambulance chopper crashed into the East Sea, the authorities continued operations to find four missing persons on Saturday, with Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon vowing to do everything to the end.On Oct. 31, the ambulance helicopter, carrying seven people, crashed into the sea shortly after taking off from South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo. The chopper, owned by the National 119 Rescue Headquarters, was on a mission to save a patient from a fishing boat. So far, three bodies

Social AffairsNov. 9, 2019

Former YG chief faces police probe into intimidation charges

Yang Hyun-suk, former CEO of YG Entertainment, was summoned by police on Saturday for questioning into his alleged attempts to cover up drug suspicions surrounding one of the company's singers, officers said.Yang, an idol-turned-K-pop guru who once led one of the country's biggest K-pop management firms, arrived at the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency building in Suwon, 45 kilometers south of Seoul, to undergo interrogation into suspicions that he threatened a whistleblower who earlier re

Social AffairsNov. 9, 2019