Court rejects arrest warrant for justice minister's younger brother

A Seoul court on Wednesday refused to issue an arrest warrant for a younger brother of Justice Minister Cho Kuk in connection with a probe into corruption allegations surrounding Cho's family.The Seoul Central District Court rejected the prosecution's request filed Friday, saying there is no need to arrest the suspect, given that the charges against him are disputable and enough evidence has already been collected. The rejection is expected to deal a blow to the prosecution's investigation of th

PoliticsOct. 9, 2019

NK leader visits military farm in first public appearance since breakdown of nuclear talks

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited a military farm, state media reported Wednesday, in his first public appearance since the breakdown of working-level nuclear negotiations with the United States.The "field guidance" to Farm No. 1116 under Unit 810 of the Korean Peoples' Army appears to be designed to underline his commitment to resolve food problems and focus on economic development despite the lack of progress in Saturday's talks with the US in Sweden.The Korean Central News Age

North KoreaOct. 9, 2019

S. Korea, US, Japan envoys meet after breakdown of NK nuke talks

The chief nuclear negotiators of South Korea, the United States and Japan met in Washington Tuesday and reaffirmed the importance of working together to achieve complete denuclearization and lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula, the US State Department said.Lee Do-hoon, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, held bilateral and trilateral talks with his US and Japanese counterparts -- Stephen Biegun and Shigeki Takizaki -- to discuss last weekend's working-level

Foreign AffairsOct. 9, 2019

EU nations condemn NK missile test, urge meaningful talks with US

European Union members of the UN Security Council on Tuesday condemned North Korea's latest missile launch as a clear violation of UN resolutions and urged the regime to engage in "meaningful" denuclearization negotiations with the United States.Britain, France, Germany, Poland and Belgium, as well as Estonia, which joins the council in January, issued the joint statement after a closed-door session of the Security Council in New York. North Korean Ambassador to the UN Kim Song had war

North KoreaOct. 9, 2019

3 win Nobel Prize in Physics for work to understand cosmos

A Canadian American cosmologist and two Swiss scientists won this year’s Nobel Prize in Physics on Tuesday for their work in understanding how the universe has evolved from the Big Bang and the blockbuster discovery of the first known planet outside our solar system.Canadian-born James Peebles, 84, of Princeton University, was credited for “theoretical discoveries in physical cosmology” and Switzerland’s Michel Mayor, 77, and Didier Queloz, 53, each from the University of

World NewsOct. 8, 2019

NCSoft gives more info on Lineage2M launch

Lineage2M will release in Korea first, before going anywhere global, NCSoft said Tuesday. “We are not considering a simultaneous worldwide launch,” said Lee Sung-gu, a managing director at NCSoft, at a press event about the upcoming mobile massively multiplayer online role-playing game. This is the first new game NCSoft will release in two years. The exact launch date has yet to be announced, but character creation will open Oct. 15 to give select users a head start. Globally, in cou

IndustryOct. 8, 2019

Naver introduces social media influencer search function

South Korea’s internet giant Naver unveiled on Tuesday a social media “influencer research” function as part of its efforts to provide a creator-friendly platform and technology. The new search function will be launched as a beta version with a focus in beauty and travel sectors at the end of this year, Naver CEO Han Seong-sook said during Naver Connect 2020, an annual event that shares the company’s focus and strategy for the next year. Influencers, referring to individu

TechnologyOct. 8, 2019

Statue symbolizing former wartime sex slave returns to Japanese art show

A South Korean statue symbolizing Japan’s sexual enslavement of women from Korea and elsewhere in Asia was put back on display Tuesday at a major Japanese art show in Nagoya.The statue, representing Korean women who were forced into sexual service for the imperial Japanese military during World War II, and its umbrella exhibition -- “After ‘Freedom of Expression?’” -- were withdrawn from the Aichi Triennale 2019 in Nagoya just days after the Japanese art show opened

InternationalOct. 8, 2019

S. Korea issues travel warning for Ecuador over anti-govt protests

South Korea issued a travel warning for Ecuador on Tuesday, citing growing safety risks from anti-government protests, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said. A “yellow warning,” the second lowest of the four-phase travel advisory system, calls for Korean citizens to refrain from traveling to the nation, the ministry said in a release.The warning is to ensure the safety of Koreans staying in or planning a trip to the country, as there has been a spike in clashes between citizens and law

Foreign AffairsOct. 8, 2019

ATEEZ gears up for first full-length album

After pulling off a successful world tour in their first year, ATEEZ is on full steam with their very first full studio album “TREASURE EP.FIN: All to Action” which was released on Oct. 8.Known for their strong stage presence and powerful dance moves, the full-length album is the latest addition to the group’s short but growing discography, which naturally has plenty of intense dance tracks, accompanied by high-energy choreography.As the title suggests, the album is the end of

K-popOct. 8, 2019

[Herald Interview] S. Korea, Poland to work closely for nuclear energy, defense, cybersecurity: Polish FM

Amid South Korea’s strengthened economic relations with Poland, the European country is seeking to bolster cooperation in nuclear energy, defense and cybersecurity, Polish top envoy said.“South Korea is now our main economic partner in Asia. We are talking of increasing cooperation with Korean companies,” Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz told The Korea Herald in an exclusive interview in Seoul.“There is also potential (to cooperate in) in nuclear energy. Of cours

Diplomatic CircuitOct. 8, 2019

[Graphic News] Property bubble risks in EU rise

　The risk of a property bubble in the eurozone surged last year as ultralow interest rates helped drive up house prices.　Munich is now the city most vulnerable to a property bubble, according to UBS Group’s annual Real Estate Bubble Index. Frankfurt and Paris are increasingly in danger of prices becoming unsustainable, even as some of the priciest cities around the world cool, the report said.　For the first time in four years, London is no longer regarded as dangerously overvalued. Prices

World BusinessOct. 8, 2019

Cho Kuk lays out prosecution reform plan

Embattled Justice Minister Cho Kuk laid out measures to reform the prosecution Tuesday, proposing to curb its power for direct probes and better protect human rights during investigations. Cho, whose family is under investigation over corruption allegations, made the announcement during his first press briefing since taking office last month, stressing the public’s call for prosecution reforms.The reform measures came as Cho’s wife, Chung Kyung-shim, was summoned for questioning for

Social AffairsOct. 8, 2019

Volvo Trucks Korea’s sales surpass 25,000 mark

 The number of commercial vehicles sold by Volvo Trucks Korea has surpassed the 25,000 mark, a first for a foreign auto brand here, the company said Tuesday.The local importer and distributor of the Swedish carmaker delivered its 25,000th vehicle to a customer on Monday at its central cargo center in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province. After delivering its first vehicle in South Korea in 1997, Volvo Trucks Korea went on to sell its 5,000th in 2007 and reached the 10,000 mark in 2012. Since then

MobilityOct. 8, 2019

Mercedes-Benz’s New GLE named car of the month

A group of South Korean reporters covering automobiles picked Mercedes-Benz’s latest sports utility vehicle, the New GLE, as the car of the month, they announced Tuesday.According to the Korea Automobile Journalists Association, the SUV from the German luxury carmaker earned 18.4 points of 25, taking the top spot for the monthly award. It competed against GM Korea’s Chevrolet Traverse and Kia Motors’ Mohave the Master.The association assesses finalists in five categories. The N

MobilityOct. 8, 2019

GS E&C to invest in petrochemical plant construction project in Turkey

South Korean builder GS Engineering & Construction said Tuesday it will invest in a massive petrochemical plant construction project in Turkey by purchasing a nearly 50 percent stake in a construction firm.According to GS E&C, it signed a contract with Ceyhan Petrokimya Endustriyel Yatrim on Sept. 26 to acquire a 49 percent stake in the latter. The value of the deal will be determined after the Turkish firm finalizes its future project plans. This will allow GS E&C to participat

IndustryOct. 8, 2019

N. Korea able to use Punggye-ri nuke testing site after restoration work: JCS

North Korea is believed to be able to reuse its now-defunct Punggye-ri nuclear test site after weeks or months of restoration work, though no such moves have been detected, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said Tuesday.In May last year, the communist country demolished the testing site, which included four tunnels, in a show of its commitment to denuclearization. "Two of the four tunnels -- the No. 3 and No. 4 ones -- could be able to be used again after repair," Joint Chiefs of Sta

North KoreaOct. 8, 2019

Nearly half of convenience stores suffer deficits: lawmaker

Approximately 48 percent of franchisees of major convenience store chains here such as CU, GS25 and 7-Eleven suffered deficits last year amid severe market saturation, a lawmaker said Tuesday, citing industry data.Based on convenience store association data, disclosed by Rep. Woo Won-shik from the ruling Democratic Party, 47.8 percent or 15,819 of the country’s total 33,068 convenience stores as of last year reported sales of less than 1.5 million won ($1,255) per day. Among them, 20

IndustryOct. 8, 2019

Cabinet okays extension of troop dispatch to UAE, waters

South Korea's Cabinet approved a pair of motions Tuesday to extend the missions of military units operating in waters off Somalia and the United Arab Emirates.In the session, chaired by President Moon Jae-in, Cabinet members agreed to lengthen the troop dispatch by another year through Dec. 31, 2020, according to Cheong Wa Dae.South Korea sent the 300-strong Cheonghae Unit to the Gulf of Aden in 2009 to help fight against piracy. Separately, around 140 special forces have been stationed in the U

PoliticsOct. 8, 2019

[Kim Seong-kon] ‘Seoul: Winter 1964’ vs. winter in 2019

In his epoch-making short story, “Seoul: Winter 1964,” novelist Kim Seung-ok brilliantly renders the bleak landscape of Seoul in the mid-Sixties when Koreans had to suffer the ruthless military dictatorship and dehumanization caused by rapid industrialization. At that time, people had to struggle with a suffocating reality every day, embedded with tyranny and poverty. So people liked to drop by a street liquor stall, warming up their bodies with alcohol, and tried to forget their mis

ViewpointsOct. 8, 2019