US has no secret plan to make UNC operational headquarters: Abrams

The United States does not have any “secret plan” to make the United Nations Command an operational command, and media reports regarding this are “fake news,” Gen. Robert Abrams, the UNC commander said Thursday.As South Korea is gearing up to retrieve its wartime operational control from the US, concerns have been raised here that Washington would try to keep its authority over the military activities in the region by strengthening the US-led UNC. “There is no

DefenseOct. 17, 2019

FTC stalls proposed merger of LG Uplus with CJ Hello

South Korea’s antitrust watchdog said Thursday it has decided to delay its judgment on the proposed merger of LG Uplus and CJ Hello, putting the brakes on the country’s third-biggest mobile carrier’s attempt to acquire the largest cable TV operator here. According to the Fair Trade Commission, its decision-making body failed to reach an agreement on the issue during the meeting held a day earlier. The FTC officials said they would revisit the agenda “after reviewing a sim

IndustryOct. 17, 2019

‘N. Korea wants innovative approach from US for nuke talks’

Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul said Thursday that North Korea may be seeking an epoch-making approach from the US for a breakthrough in their deadlocked nuclear talks. Nuclear negotiators from Washington and Pyongyang resumed stalled working-level talks in Stockholm, Sweden, Oct. 5, seven months after a disappointing summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. But the two countries failed to make tangible progress in their recent meeting. “The US and N

North KoreaOct. 17, 2019

[Eye Plus] Seonyudo, a place of peace and tranquility inside Seoul

Seonyudo is one of several natural islands on the Han River in Seoul. Located west of Yeouido -- the biggest of those islands -- it is a popular destination for those seeking peace and tranquility inside the concrete jungle of Seoul. The 110,400-square-meter island was the site of a water treatment plant for more than two decades, until the facility closed in 2000. City officials decided to turn it into an urban park, and Seonyudo Park opened to the public in 2002. Its current look is the w

CultureOct. 17, 2019

MMCA’s ‘The Square’: exhibition unthreads Korea’s modern history

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Korea is holding the exhibition “The Square: Art and Society in Korea 1900-2019” in celebration of its 50th anniversary this year. 　The exhibition takes place in the three MMCA venues, including the main branch and the Deoksugung branch in central Seoul, Gwacheon branch in Gyeonggi Province. It’s the first time for the museum to hold an exhibition at three different venues.The binding motif for the exhibitions at three separ

Arts & DesignOct. 17, 2019

[Min Gab-ryong] Korean police lead in world peace, security through ‘K-Cop Wave’

The Korean National Police Agency hosts the International Police Summit Seoul, 2019 with police chiefs from 30 countries around the world on the margins of the 74th celebration of Police Day. The summit will discuss “Global Partnership for Smart Policing” on the advent of the “fourth industrial revolution.” The event is possible owing to Korean police efforts to contribute to international policing cooperation.The Korean police have been actively pursuing the “K-Cop

ViewpointsOct. 17, 2019

Game changers gather for Sustainable Fashion Summit Seoul

With the 2020 Spring-Summer Seoul Fashion Week currently underway, the organizers hosted a forum to discuss sustainable fashion on Wednesday and Thursday The Seoul Design Foundation hosted Sustainable Fashion Summit Seoul at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza in central Seoul invited fashion designers who are currently participating in sustainable fashion projects from here and abroad.The event was divided into four sessions: fashion and community development; harmony of human and technology; sustainab

Arts & DesignOct. 17, 2019

[News Focus] Korea to vitalize FTA talks with S. American countries

SEJONG -- South Korea has become the first Asian country to sign a free trade agreement with a Central American trade bloc, composed of five countries -- Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Panama.The Korea-Central America FTA took effect on Oct. 1, as the initial effectuation with Honduras and Nicaragua. The deal with the other three will be implemented after ratification by their legislatures.Korea is pinning big hopes on its 16th FTA deal with the Central American countries, and

EconomyOct. 17, 2019

Top prosecutor Yoon promises bold in-house reforms at audit

Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl pledged to drastically reform his agency at a parliamentary audit Thursday.  “All of us are aware that the people are demanding prosecution reforms more strongly than ever,” he said. “We respect their voices and the parliament’s decisions and will come up with our own reforms.” He reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to reform, three days after former Justice Minister Cho Kuk resigned from his post. The audit session

PoliticsOct. 17, 2019

Senior NK military official in Beijing to attend regional security forum

A senior North Korean military official arrived in Beijing on Thursday, apparently to attend a regional security forum to be held next week.Kim Hyong-ryong, the North's vice defense minister, was seen arriving earlier in the day at the Beijing international airport on an Air Koryo flight from Pyongyang.The trip appears aimed at Kim attending Xiangshan Forum, a regional security forum, to be held in Beijing from Sunday through Tuesday. China has held the forum every year since 2014 to counter the

North KoreaOct. 17, 2019

Asiana Airlines introduces A350-900 to focus on long-haul flights

Asiana Airlines, the country’s second-largest full-service carrier in terms of sales, has added Airbus’ A350-900 for service to focus on strengthening long-haul flights, the firm said Thursday. The company said it will introduce up to 30 of the A350s by 2025, to increase its competitiveness in operating diversified, mid- and long-distance flight services. The latest introduction of the new A350-900 is the air carrier’s 10th of its kind.  The air carrier has been recen

IndustryOct. 17, 2019

Samsung ranks 6th in global brand value

Samsung Electronics was ranked sixth among 100 global corporate brands in terms of their value, according to a consulting firm Thursday.  The brand value of South Korea’s tech giant was estimated at $61.1 billion this year, increasing from $59.9 billion last year, according to the list of 100 Best Global Brands announced by US-based Interbrand. Its brand value surged 250 percent from $17.5 billion in 2009.Samsung first entered the list of top 10 brands in 2012, and has been rising ste

TechnologyOct. 17, 2019

KBS cancels plan to broadcast footage of inter-Korean football match

South Korean public broadcaster KBS said Thursday it canceled a plan to broadcast a prerecorded video of this week's inter-Korean World Cup qualifier football match in Pyongyang after its arrival from the North earlier in the day.KBS had earlier said it would consider airing the football footage at 5 p.m. Thursday on KBS 2TV after obtaining a North Korea-produced DVD delivered by the South Korean football squad that returned from Pyongyang early in the day.South Korea and North Korea played to a

SoccerOct. 17, 2019

[Newsmaker] Top court confirms suspended sentence for Lotte chief

South Korea’s top court on Thursday confirmed a suspended sentence for Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin for his involvement in a corruption scandal that removed former President Park Geun-hye from power in 2017.The Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s ruling that sentenced Shin to 2 1/2 years, suspended for four years, on charges including bribery, dereliction of duty and embezzlement. 　Lotte Group said in a statement it will do its best to become a trusted company by contributing

Social AffairsOct. 17, 2019

Daily money transfers via mobile payment apps exceed W200b in H1

The value of daily money transfers via mobile payment apps in South Korea surpassed 200 billion won ($168.6 million) in the first half of the year, central bank data showed Thursday, as more people used smartphones for financial services. The value of daily money transfers via smartphone apps, such as Toss, Naver Pay and KakaoPay, stood at 200.5 billion won in the January-June period, up 60.7 percent from six months ago, according to the data by the Bank of Korea. Toss, Naver Pay and KakaoPay ac

MarketOct. 17, 2019

Daewoong’s BTX launches in Canada

Daewoong Pharmaceutical’s wrinkle-removing botulinum toxin Nabota has launched in Canada under the name Nuceiva, the company said Thursday. Marketed outside of Korea by US-based Evolus, Daewoong’s product is the first Korea-made BTX to penetrate the US market. Evolus gained the US Food and Drug Administration’s sales approval for the drug in March and launched it under the name Jeuveau in May.  As for the launch in Canada, Park Sung-soo, head of Daewoong’s Nabota bus

IndustryOct. 17, 2019

S. Korean, ASEAN officials look ahead to special summit and stronger regional ties

BUSAN -- Ahead of the highly anticipated summit in Busan next month between the leaders of South Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, top officials from participating countries gathered in the southern port city Wednesday and voiced high expectations for the future of the relationship between South Korea and the ASEAN nations.South Korean Ambassador to ASEAN Lim Sung-nam, ASEAN-Korea Center Secretary-General Lee Hyuk, Busan Mayor Oh Keo-don and Myanmar Ambassador to South Korea

Diplomatic CircuitOct. 17, 2019

S. Korea's vehicle exports fall 4.8% in September

South Korea's vehicle exports fell 4.8 percent in September from a year earlier due to production losses caused by strikes at GM Korea Co., the trade ministry said Thursday. Five passenger and two commercial carmakers in South Korea shipped a combined 171,425 vehicles last month, down from 180,051 a year ago in terms of units, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said in a statement. "GM Korea suffered over 15,000 units in production losses (in September) as its union went on strike f

MobilityOct. 17, 2019

Hyundai Kona named best compact diesel SUV in Europe

Hyundai Motor said Thursday its compact vehicle Kona was named the best diesel SUV model in Europe by an auto magazine in Germany. 　The German publication Auto Bild conducted a comparative evaluation of four compact diesel SUVs currently sold in Europe -- Hyundai Motor’s Kona, Mazda’s CX-3, Ford’s EcoSport and Dacia’s Duster.  The four models were assessed across seven categories of body, powertrain, driving dynamic, connectivity, environment, driving comfort and cos

MobilityOct. 17, 2019