Moon asks Koreans abroad to support 2032 peace Olympics bid

President Moon Jae-in expressed hope Saturday that Koreans residing in foreign countries continue to support Seoul's peace efforts, especially its bid to host the 2032 Olympic Games together with Pyongyang.Addressing the 13th World Korean Day event at a Seoul hotel, he recalled their contributions to the successful hosting of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics early last year."I request compatriots once again to work together for peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula," Moon said. &

PoliticsOct. 5, 2019

Ferry disaster, politics and cinema intermingle at BIFF

BUSAN -- A new film about the Sewol ferry sinking, a disaster that killed more than 300 people -- most of them children, will premiere at Asia's biggest film festival, five years after director Lee Sang-ho caused controversy with his first documentary on the topic."Diving Bell", which screened at the 2014 Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), criticised then leader Park Geun-hye's administration on its handling of the sinking.In response, angry officials cut BIFF's $1.3 million fun

FilmOct. 5, 2019

U.S., N. Korea to resume working-level nuclear talks in Sweden

Korea were set to resume working-level nuclear talks in Sweden on Saturday, after their preliminary meeting the previous day.  The talks will mark their first formal negotiation since February's summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Hanoi ended without a deal due to differences over the scope of Pyongyang's denuclearization and Washington's compensation.  The countries' deputy delegation chiefs -- Mark Lambert of the U.S. and Kwon J

North KoreaOct. 5, 2019

S. Korea paying close attention to US-NK nuke talks: ambassador

WASHINGTON -- South Korea is paying close attention to the outcome of this weekend's denuclearization negotiations between the United States and North Korea, while maintaining communication with Washington, Seoul's top envoy here said Friday.Ambassador Cho Yoon-je made the remark at an annual parliamentary audit of the South Korean Embassy in Washington, noting that the U.S. and North Korea are scheduled to resume working-level denuclearization talks in Sweden Saturday."(We are) paying clos

North KoreaOct. 5, 2019

Prosecution grills justice minister's wife again over alleged family corruption

Prosecutors on Saturday questioned Justice Minister Cho Kuk's wife for the second time this week as part of a sprawling investigation into corruption allegations surrounding his family.Cho's wife, a university professor surnamed Chung, is suspected of inappropriately helping her daughter gain admission to medical school, as well as being involved in a dubious private equity fund investment.Chung appears to have used the basement parking area to enter the Seoul Central District Prosecutors'

PoliticsOct. 5, 2019

Body of landslide victim found in Busan

The body of a man buried in a landslide in the southern city of Busan was found Friday after 33 hours of rescue work, police said. He is the last of the four victims of the landslide that crashed a house and a restaurant early Thursday after heavy rain brought by Typhoon Mitag. The man, surnamed Kwon, and his parents were at his home at the time of the incident. The bodies of his father and the owner of the restaurant were pulled from the rubble late Thursday. His mother was found dead on Friday

Social AffairsOct. 4, 2019

To ban or not to ban? Masked protesters in other countries

Hong Kong's government, faced with months of pro-democracy protests that have spiraled into violence, on Friday invoke emergency powers to ban masks from street demonstrations. A look at how some other countries have dealt with masked protesters:FRANCEIn March, following months of often violent yellow vest protests, the French Parliament passed a bill backed by President Emmanuel Macron's government to further prevent violence during protests and to help authorities maintain order. The so-called

World NewsOct. 4, 2019

Hong Kong leader bans masks in hardening stance on protests

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam banned protesters from wearing masks Friday in a hardening of the government's stance on the territory's most disruptive crisis since it reverted to Chinese rule in 1997.Lam announced the ban at an afternoon news conference where she decried a recent escalation of violence after four months of anti-government demonstrations.The mask ban, imposed under a colonial-era Emergency Ordinance, takes effect Saturday. It applies to unauthorized public gatherings and police-app

World NewsOct. 4, 2019

Hwaseong serial killer's confession in doubt

Criminal Lee Chun-jae was belatedly found to have made a dubious confession, raising doubts about the credibility of statements in which he identified himself as the killer in South Korea's worst serial murder case.On Wednesday, police announced that the 56-year-old admitted to committing nine of the 10 murders in the Hwaseong serial murder case in addition to around 30 rapes and attempted rapes.He also confessed his involvement in five separate murders, the police said, without elaborating on t

Social AffairsOct. 4, 2019

NPS raises stakes in Hyundai, Samsung and SK

South Korea’s state pension fund, which holds stakes in more than 250 local listed firms, announced changes to its investment portfolio on Friday that are having a considerable impact on the local markets.Among the major conglomerate subsidiaries in which it has invested, the National Pension Service increased its stake in the nation’s No. 1 auto manufacturer, Hyundai Motor, by 1 percent to 10.05 percent by acquiring additional shares Sept. 9. The NPS’ stake in Hyundai Motor st

MarketOct. 4, 2019

About 2,200 shipwrecks abandoned in S. Korean waters: lawmaker

About 2,200 shipwrecks remain abandoned in South Korean waters, posing a potential environmental threat, a ruling party lawmaker insisted Friday.Rep. Seo Sam-seok of the Democratic Party, citing data released by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries for a parliamentary inspection, said the number of abandoned shipwrecks nationwide now reaches 2,199 but that the government's on-site inspections of them are progressing slowly. The lawmaker said the maritime affairs ministry has conducted on-site in

Social AffairsOct. 4, 2019

LG Display sheds one-quarter of executives

LG Display, the world’s largest organic light-emitting diode panel provider, said Friday the company has shed nearly one quarter of its executives as part of an organizational restructuring to normalize financial capabilities. The panel manufacturer has cut the number of executives above the team leader level by 25 percent by incorporating overlapping departments and simplifying the organizational structure, it said. In order to speed up its change in portfolio from an LCD-focused lineup t

TechnologyOct. 4, 2019

Abe wants summit with North Korea, keeps distance from South

TOKYO (AP) -- Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Friday he wants to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un even though he keeps testing missiles. At the same time, Abe gave a cold shoulder to South Korea amid tensions over wartime history.In a policy speech opening the parliamentary session, Abe said he will take any chance to meet Kim."I'm determined to face Chairman Kim Jong-un, without attaching any preconditions," Abe said, after changing his policy earlier this year. "

Foreign AffairsOct. 4, 2019

Philippine lawmakers join anti-cyberbullying campaign initiated in S. Korea

Twelve lawmakers from the House of Representatives of the Philippines signed an anti-cyberbullying pledge Wednesday at an event to raise public awareness about malicious comments and hate speech on the internet and social media. The event was part of the Sunfull Internet Peace Movement, initiated in 2007 in South Korea and led by Min Byoung-chul, a Hanyang University professor who serves as chairman of the Sunfull Foundation. Rep. Florida Robes, chairperson of the House Committee on People Parti

PeopleOct. 4, 2019

LG Chem reviewing 2nd EV battery plant in US with GM: report

LG Chem, South Korea’s leading lithium-ion battery maker, might build a new plant to manufacture electric vehicle battery cells in the United States with its longtime partner General Motors, according to news reports Friday. Rumors have been circulating here since the Wall Street Journal reported that GM had offered a deal to the striking United Automobile Workers, which would entail the construction of a new battery cell plant in Lordstown, Ohio. The deal was reportedly made to assua

TechnologyOct. 4, 2019

[Newsmaker] Security adviser under fire for domineering manner

A South Korean diplomat to the United Nations was required to kneel down in front of National Security Office Second Deputy Chief Kim Hyun-chong over a mistake that led to a missed engagement, a lawmaker said Thursday. An error by a first secretary-level diplomat left Kim unable to attend a summit between Korean President Moon Jae-in and Polish President Andrzej Duda in New York on Sept. 23, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.  Rep. Chung Jin-suk of the Liberty Korea Party disclose

PoliticsOct. 4, 2019

LG Electronics’ rollable TV receives award at Japanese design competition

LG Electronics said Friday that its rollable organic light-emitting diode TV was granted an award as one of best 100 design product in Japan. The LG Signature OLED R, the world’s first rollable TV unveiled by LG at CES2019 in January, was the only product by a Korean company that was named the Best 100 products at Japan’s Good Design Award 2019. Other than the rollable TV, LG’s 8K TV, air conditioner and refrigerator in the Signature lineup received awards.  “The dev

TechnologyOct. 4, 2019

Mnet launches another audition show amid Produce 101 controversy

Mnet’s new survival audition show “World Klass” premieres Friday, with a score of contestants competing over the next few weeks to become the next K-pop star.Viewers will see 20 trainees from countries all over the world including South Korea, Japan, China, the US and Australia put on display a set of multiple entertainment skills such as singing, dancing, acting and even banter.And only 10 people will get to debut as Too – an acronym of Ten Oriented Orchestra -- a group

K-popOct. 4, 2019

Moon vows to invite foreign multinationals to Kaesong

President Moon Jae-in said Friday that he would seek to turn the Kaesong industrial complex into a factory zone for foreign corporations, if the manufacturing village in North Korea’s border city resumes operation.Moon was speaking at a luncheon with business representatives in South Korea. The remarks came a week after he, in an address delivered at the United Nations, urged support from the international community for designating areas linking the truce village of Panmunjeom and Kaesong

IndustryOct. 4, 2019

Lancet publishes safety trial results for Yuhan's 3rd gen. cancer drug

The results of phase 1 and 2 clinical studies for Yuhan’s cancer drug lazertinib, suggesting that it has a “tolerable” safety profile and warrants further clinical investigation, were published in the prestigious journal the Lancet Oncology, the company said Friday.The Lancet, founded in 1823, is an international weekly medical journal.Lazertinib is an irreversible, third-generation, mutant-selective, EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor. Yuhan hopes it can provide another option for

IndustryOct. 4, 2019