Aug. ticket sales for S. Korean movies hit 7-year low

Monthly sales figures for homegrown films tumbled to their lowest point in seven years last month on a dearth of hit titles, a report showed Saturday.Sales of tickets for South Korean movies came to 18 million in August, 4.21 million less than the monthly sales recorded in August last year, according to the Korean Film Council.It is the first August figure to fall below the 20-million level since 2012.The unusual downturn is attributable to Korean films' tepid performance this summer.Such famous

FilmSept. 14, 2019

S. Korean hedge funds see steady growth this year

South Korea's homegrown hedge funds continued to soak up money while viable investment vehicles remain few in number, data showed on Saturday.Hedge funds here pulled in 600 billion won (US$509 million) over the past month, with their assets under management reaching 34.9 trillion won at the end of August, according to industry data.The end-August figure also marks a sharp rise from 23.3 trillion won at the end of last year, the data showed.The capital inflow into hedge funds averaged 1.4 trillio

MarketSept. 14, 2019

Korea Exchange to go paperless from next week

South Korea's stock exchange will introduce an electronic securities system next week, under which all listed stocks and bonds do not exist in paper form, according to the country's financial regulator.Under the new system, which will go into effect Monday, securities certificates of listed stocks and bonds are required to be recorded on an electronic register, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) said. The new system will allow investors to acquire, transfer and exercise subsequent rights el

MarketSept. 14, 2019

Justice minister's cousin arrested in link to suspicious family fund

Prosecutors on Saturday arrested a cousin of Justice Minister Cho Kuk at the center of corruption allegations surrounding Cho and his family's investment in a private equity fund. The cousin, also surnamed Cho, was arrested at Incheon International Airport earlier in the day on embezzlement charges, according to officials.After being transported to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, the cousin is currently being interrogated, the officials said.He is allegedly the de facto head of c

Social AffairsSept. 14, 2019

[Newsmaker] Police to summon K-pop band iKON's ex-leader over drugs allegation

Police plan to summon B.I, former leader of K-pop band iKON, next week to question him about an allegation of drug use, officials said Saturday.The Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency is accelerating its probe into the drugs allegation facing the former iKON member, whose real name is Kim Han-bin, as well as related suspicions over Yang Hyun-suk, the former chief of the band's music label. Kim will be grilled over whether he bought marijuana from an acquaintance in 2016 and smoked it, accord

Social AffairsSept. 14, 2019

Business administration most popular university major in Korea: report

Business administration appears to be the most popular and common major for South Korean university students, with domestic universities having more than 800 departments of business administration, a report said Saturday.According to the report by the Korean Educational Development Institute, four-year universities in South Korea had a total of 12,595 departments as of April 1, 2019.Of them, business administration accounted for the largest number with 809 departments, followed by 411 department

Social AffairsSept. 14, 2019

Unclaimed Lotto prizes top W260b over 5 years

Unclaimed lottery prizes have topped 260 billion won over the past five years in South Korea, government data showed Saturday. According to the finance ministry, 261 billion won ($218 million) in prize money offered by Lotto, the most popular offline lottery ticket, has not been claimed by winners in the 2014-2018 period. The ministry said the right to claim Lotto prizes expires after one year and the unclaimed winnings are carried over to a state social welfare fund. Sales of Lotto tickets h

Social AffairsSept. 14, 2019

Number of N. Korean childbearing women likely to decline significantly: report

The number of North Korean women of childbearing age will likely decline by 400,000 as of 2035, a report showed.According to the report by Population Reference Bureau (PRB), a Washington-based population survey agency, the number of women aged 15-49 in North Korea is expected to stand at 6.2 million in 2035, down from 6.6 million estimated last year.The North's total fertility rate -- the average number of babies that a woman bears in her lifetime -- hit an all-time low of 1.9 last year, accordi

North KoreaSept. 14, 2019

Congress to mull resolution urging active U.S. role in S. Korea-Japan row: lawmaker

The U.S. House of Representatives plans to discuss a resolution urging the U.S. government to take an active role in resolving an ongoing trade and historical row between South Korea and Japan, a visiting South Korean lawmaker said Friday.Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, who chairs the National Assembly's foreign affairs committee, visited Washington from Wednesday to Friday to meet with members of both the Republican and Democratic parties, as well as U.S. governm

PoliticsSept. 14, 2019

N. Korean media highlights typhoon repair efforts on Chuseok day

North Korean state media reported Friday that concerted efforts are under way to repair the damage caused by Typhoon Lingling, which recently hit the Korean Peninsula.   The government has distributed food, clothing and other necessities to communities that have been affected by the typhoon, according to Korean Central Television (KCTV).    It added that government agencies were sharing in the hardship of typhoon victims and doing all they could to provide them with relief su

NationalSept. 13, 2019

S. Korea's top nuclear envoy visits Beijing for talks on NK

South Korea's chief nuclear envoy has held talks with a senior Chinese diplomat over North Korea and peninsula issues ahead of an expected resumption of nuclear dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang, Seoul's foreign ministry said Friday. Lee Do-hoon, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, met Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Luo Zhaohui in Beijing on Thursday and discussed the overall situation on the Korean Peninsula, the ministry said in a release.  The

Foreign AffairsSept. 13, 2019

S. Koreans still unable to fully use leisure time despite 52-hour

   South Koreans are not fully able to use their leisure time despite having more time on their hands thanks to the 52-hour workweek, a poll showed Friday.   Macromill Embrain surveyed 1,000 people between the ages of 19 and 59, 70 percent of whom said they had more time off, up 10 percentage points from 2018.   South Korea adopted the 52-hour workweek in July 2018.   The online research company said that among salaried workers, the number of people with m

Social AffairsSept. 13, 2019

Japan remains mum on S. Korea's request for talks on fisheries pact

Japan has spurned South Korea's request to hold talks to work out differences for the renewal of their fisheries agreement, a South Korean official said Friday.   South Korea sent a letter to Japan in May calling for working-level talks. Last month, Japan replied to South Korea, though it did not mention the proposed talks, according to Park Sung-jun, a director handling the issue at the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.   The two neighbors last held face-to-face talks in Jun

Foreign AffairsSept. 13, 2019

Moon, Trump to hold summit in New York this month

 South Korean President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Donald Trump will hold summit talks in New York late this month on the sidelines of a U.N. session, Cheong Wa Dae announced Friday.   The allies have agreed to hold the meeting to coincide with Moon's visit to the U.S. city for the 74th General Assembly session of the United Nations from Sept. 22-26, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson, Ko Min-jung.   But the two sides are still in consultations on a detailed tim

PoliticsSept. 13, 2019

[Newsmaker] Working-level nuclear talks aimed at drafting summit agreement: pro-Pyongyang paper

Working-level talks expected to take place between the United States and North Korea late this month are part of a process to draft an agreement to be signed at the next summit of the two countries, a pro-Pyongyang newspaper in Japan said Thursday. Earlier this week, the North expressed a willingness to hold working-level talks with the U.S. in late September in what would mark a resumption of the negotiating process that reached a deadlock with February's no-deal summit between U.S. President D

North KoreaSept. 12, 2019

Traffic heavy on expressways on first day of Chuseok holiday

Traffic was backing up heavily on many expressways across the country Thursday as people headed to their hometowns on the first day of the four-day Chuseok holiday. Chuseok, the Korean equivalent of Thanksgiving, is one of the country's biggest traditional holidays and serves as a chance for family members to get together to give thanks and pay tribute to their ancestors by preparing them meals and visiting their graves. Chuseok is celebrated on Aug. 15 in the lunar calendar, which falls on Frid

Social AffairsSept. 12, 2019

4 S. Korean officials leave for U.S. for joint probe into capsized ship

Four South Korean investigators left for the United States on Thursday for a joint probe with U.S. officials into the capsizing of a cargo ship off the U.S. east coast, Seoul's oceans ministry said Thursday. The investigators will team up with officials from the U.S.Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board to try to find the exact cause of the mishap near the Port of Brunswick, Georgia, the ministry said.The 71,000-ton the Golden Ray carrying about 4,000 cars capsized off the Geo

Social AffairsSept. 12, 2019

Over 200 S. Koreans issued government certificates of N.K. trips after U.S. visa rule change

More than 200 South Koreans have been issued government certificates showing state authorization of their previous trips to North Korea, the unification ministry said Thursday, after the United States tightened visa requirements for those with records of trips to the communist nation. The U.S. enforced a new visa rule last month, under which those with records of visits to the North since March 2011 are no longer eligible for the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) and must go through an interview and oth

North KoreaSept. 12, 2019

S. Korea's imports of Japanese beer nose-dive amid boycott

South Korean imports of Japanese beer nose-dived this month due to a boycott of products from the Asian neighbor here amid a bilateral trade dispute, data showed Thursday. The combined imports of Japanese beer over the first 10 days of this month fell a whopping 99.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Korea Customs Service.Over the cited period, imports of Japanese cigarettes and beauty appliances also dropped 92.7 percent and 83 percent, respectively.South Korea'

IndustrySept. 12, 2019

S. Korea's chief nuclear envoy to visit Beijing

South Korea's chief nuclear envoy was set to visit Beijing on Thursday to meet with a senior Chinese official expected to be his counterpart ahead of an expected resumption of nuclear negotiations between the United States and North Korea.Lee Do-hoon, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, plans to hold talks later Thursday with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Luo Zhaohui and discuss the situation on the Korean Peninsula.Luo, who was elevated to his post handling A

Foreign AffairsSept. 12, 2019