Wrapping up 1-month vacation, BTS resumes career with overseas trip

Bringing its first official vacation to an end, boy band BTS on Monday resumed its global music career by traveling away from its home country."Wrapping up its extended vacation, BTS departed overseas this morning for an engagement abroad," Big Hit Entertainment said.  The management agency did not disclose where the septet was headed, but they were reported to be on their way to film a TV reality show.Some of the members, including RM and Jimin, spotted by a local media outlet, w

PerformanceSept. 16, 2019

[Photo News] Pyongyang or Seoul?

Portraits of North Korea’s founding ruler Kim Il-sung and his successor Kim Jong-il hang outside a soon-to-open restaurant in the Hongdae area of Mapo-gu in Seoul. The interior and exterior of the restaurant is themed around North Korea, with decorations including the North Korean flag. According to police, the restaurant has not violated the National Security Law with such decorations, but the restaurant’s owner has decided to take down the controversial items after complaints

Social AffairsSept. 16, 2019

DMZ trail to host special group of foreign tourists this week

A special group of foreign students will walk a trail along the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone this week during a government event designed to mark a historic inter-Korean summit a year earlier. Thirteen university students from 12 countries outside of Korea, including the United States, Britain, Italy, Vietnam and Mexico, will go on a three-hour tour Tuesday on the Cheorwon stretch of the DMZ Peace Trail, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on Monday.Cheorwon, 88 kilo

Social AffairsSept. 16, 2019

Marketing of e-cigarettes to be banned

The advertising of electronic cigarettes will soon be banned. The Ministry of Health and Welfare on Monday issued a notice on revision of the National Health Promotion Act concerning restrictions on e-cigarette advertisements. The amendment will take effect six months after the bill is passed at the National Assembly.  The revised law prohibits not only promotions of e-cigarettes, but any kind of marketing that could induce consumption of tobacco products, such as promotions of products tha

Social AffairsSept. 16, 2019

S. Korea names former vice FM as new ambassador to UN

South Korea on Monday named former Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun as its new ambassador to the United Nations, Seoul's foreign ministry said.Cho, who served as first vice foreign minister from September 2018 to May this year, will replace Amb. Cho Tae-yul. Entering foreign service in 1979, Cho Hyun worked in various key diplomatic posts, including in India and Austria. In 2006, he served as South Korea's deputy permanent representative to the UN.The Seoul government also designated Chang Won-sam

Foreign AffairsSept. 16, 2019

Airlines’ 10-year expiration of mileage under review: FTC

The nation’s antitrust watchdog has been zeroing in on whether it is legal for air carriers’ frequent flyer programs to allow mileage to expire within 10 years. According to lawmakers on Monday, Fair Trade Commission Chairperson Joh Sung-wook told lawmakers last week that the antitrust regulator is reviewing the legality of airline companies’ mileage policies revised in 2008. “In addition to conducting a review on whether the policies have been unfair, we will come up wit

IndustrySept. 16, 2019

[Newsmaker] National Cancer Center strike ends after 11 days

An 11-day health workers’ strike at the National Cancer Center ended Monday morning after the labor union and the hospital management reached an agreement on pay and working conditions. The hospital’s operations will return to normal Tuesday at 6 a.m.The management and the union agreed to a 1.8 percent pay hike, overtime pay in 10-minute increments, transportation allowances for night-shift workers and other welfare support for hospital workers. The management also vowed not to take

Social AffairsSept. 16, 2019

Jeep Camp in Pyeongchang offers genuine off-road experience

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Korea, a local importer and distributor of the Italian-American auto brands, held a two-day event in Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province, offering a unique off-road experience with its signature Jeep.Held Sept. 7-8 at the famous ski resort Phoenix Pyeongchang, the 65-year-old festivities embodied the US brand’s adventurous spirit, the company said. This was the 14th consecutive year in which Fiat Chrysler held a Jeep Camp in South Korea, and it invited 300 teams with 1,

MobilitySept. 16, 2019

S. Korea will push for transfer of wartime operational control as planned: ministry

South Korea is committed to pushing for the retaking of the wartime operational control of its troops from the United States and the relocation of the combined forces command headquarters as planned, the defense ministry said Monday.The comment came after reports that former South Korean generals, who served as deputy CFC commanders, suggested to the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae that the envisioned OPCON transfer and the relocation of the CFC headquarters out of Seoul be delayed until North

DefenseSept. 16, 2019

Johnson the Brexit 'Hulk' finally meets EU's Juncker

LUXEMBOURG (AFP) -- Six weeks after he took office and six weeks before he is due to lead Britain out of the European Union, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is to meet Jean-Claude Junker.On Monday, after comparing himself to berserk comic book super-smasher Hulk, the British leader will enjoy a genteel working lunch with the EU Commission president.Downing Street has confidently billed the Luxembourg visit as part of efforts to negotiate an orderly divorce from the union before an October 17 EU sum

World NewsSept. 16, 2019

LG Innotek to showcase LED, communications modules for cars in Japan

LG Innotek, the electronic parts affiliate of LG Group, said Monday that the company would showcase around 20 kinds of car components at an upcoming automotive show in Japan this week. The LG affiliate will, for the first time, take part in the Automotive World 2019 that kicks off Wednesday for a three-day run in Nagoya -- where Japan’s major auto parts makers, as well as automakers like Toyota, are headquartered. The event is held in Tokyo every January and in Nagoya in September, attende

TechnologySept. 16, 2019

Greenpeace posts protest sign over Hyundai billboard in S. Korea

Greenpeace campaigners climbed a 40-metre billboard advertisement for Hyundai Motor's near its head office in South Korea to post a sign reading "No more internal combustion engines", the environmental group said on Monday.Police said they were investigating the group on suspicion of defacing the advertisement for a sedan next to a busy expressway in the capital, Seoul.Greenpeace spokesman Sean Lee said the group wanted to send a message to Hyundai Motor that eliminating internal combu

Social AffairsSept. 16, 2019

[Newsmaker] Main opposition leader to have head shaved to demand dismissal of justice minister

The chief of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party will have his head shaved Monday to call for the dismissal of the justice minister, whose family is embroiled in corruption allegations, party officials said.LKP chairman Hwang Kyo-ahn plans to shave his head in front of the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae at 5 p.m. to call on President Moon Jae-in to sack Justice Minister Cho Kuk, according to the conservative party.In South Korea, politicians often have their heads shaved publicly in a sho

PoliticsSept. 16, 2019

Ric Ocasek, visionary frontman of The Cars, dead at 75

NEW YORK (AFP) -- Ric Ocasek, the frontman of synth-heavy new wave innovators The Cars, was found dead Sunday in New York, police said. He was 75 years old.The New York Police Department told AFP they had received a call at approximately 4:00 pm (2000 GMT) for an unconscious male at a townhouse in Manhattan.He was pronounced dead at the scene, police said, and the body was identified as Ocasek.There were no signs of foul play, according to US media. Under the leadership of the singer-songwriter

World NewsSept. 16, 2019

Jailed former President Park in hospital for surgery

Former President Park Geun-hye, who is serving a 32-year jail term for bribery, abuse of power and election law violations, was admitted to a hospital for surgery, the Justice Ministry said Monday.　Park was transferred to Catholic University St. Mary’s Hospital in southern Seoul Monday morning for a surgery on her left shoulder.The former president, who has been in the Seoul Detention Center since March 31, 2017, had previously received treatment for herniated disc and other health co

Social AffairsSept. 16, 2019

LG Chem, SK Innovation CEOs meet to discuss legal dispute

The chief executive officers of LG Chem and SK Innovation, embroiled in a legal dispute over patent infringement issues and the poaching of talent, met Monday at a hotel in Seoul to seek some breakthroughs, the companies said. LG Chem CEO Shin Hak-cheol and SK Innovation CEO Kim Jun reportedly exchanged views for over an hour and maintained their respective stances on the ongoing confrontation. “Details of the talks cannot be revealed,” said an LG Chem official. It has also not been

TechnologySept. 16, 2019

Hyundai Engineering wins $2.2b order in Indonesia

Hyundai Engineering Co., a major South Korean industrial plant builder, said Monday it has won a $2.17-billion deal to upgrade a refinery plant in Indonesia.  Under the deal with Indonesia's state-run PT Pertamina, Hyundai Engineering will take part in Indonesia Balikpapan Refinery Development Project that aims to revamp oil processing facilities in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, some 1,000 kilometers northeast of Jakarta.Hyundai Engineering said it will be responsible for the engineering, pr

IndustrySept. 16, 2019

Seoul city to pump in 482b won to become music hub

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Monday plans to invest 481.8 billion won ($407.1 million) to make the city a music hub in a move seen as building on the K-pop momentum spurred by boy band BTS.Under the five-year plan, the metropolitan government will spend the amount on nine projects aimed at nurturing the local music industry, increasing musical exchanges with cities around the world and expanding musical programs for Seoul residents."We aim to enhance Seoul's competitiveness,

Social AffairsSept. 16, 2019

[Newsmaker] Moon issues 'grave warning' against public agencies for wrong naming of East Sea

President Moon Jae-in ordered disciplinary action against three government-affiliated agencies Monday for their description of the waters between Korea and Japan as the Sea of Japan, not the East Sea.The East Sea is South Korea's official name for the waters, and the country is campaigning hard to publicize that name internationally.But the three organizations, under the wing of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, were found to have used the name, the Sea of Japan, on their Kore

PoliticsSept. 16, 2019

S. Korea voices concern over attack on Saudi Arabia's oil facilities

South Korea on Monday expressed concern over last week's attacks on key oil facilities in Saudi Arabia, saying it would undermine regional stability and energy security around the world.The drone attacks on two plants at the center of the Middle Eastern country's oil industry took place on Saturday. The Iran-linked Houthi rebel group in Yemen has claimed responsibility for the attacks."The attacks this time posed a serious threat to key international energy infrastructure, and we express co

Foreign AffairsSept. 16, 2019