34 Koreans murdered in the Philippines 2014-2018

A total of 98 South Korean nationals were murdered overseas between 2014 and 2018, a third of them in the Philippines, Foreign Ministry data showed Thursday.According to the ministry data submitted to Democratic Party of Korea Rep. Park Byeong-seug, 34 South Koreans were murdered in the Philippines over the five-year period.  Park, a member of the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs recently called in the Philippine ambassador over a 2016 kidnap-m

Social AffairsOct. 10, 2019

Navy seeking to secure nuclear-powered submarines for self-defense capabilities

The Navy said Thursday it has been running a task force on the potential construction of nuclear-powered submarines as part of efforts to bolster its nuclear deterrent and boost defense capabilities."With longer-term perspectives to have nuclear-powered submarines, we have been running a task force of our own," the Navy said in a report presented to lawmakers for a parliamentary audit."As the matter will be decided in accordance with national policy, the Navy will work closely wit

DefenseOct. 10, 2019

Railway workers to go on strike Friday

Railway workers are set to begin a three-day strike Friday to press their demands for higher pay and better working conditions. The government plans to deploy substitute workers and alternative forms of transportation to minimize disruption, as the walkout is expected to cut passenger and cargo train operations by 20 percent and 60 percent, respectively.The 19,000-member Korean Railway Workers' Union decided to strike early last month, after its negotiations with the Korea Railroad Corp. broke d

Social AffairsOct. 10, 2019

[Herald Design Forum 2019] Actress, model, environmental activist Gong Hyo-jin opens up about inner conflict

Award-winning South Korean actress Gong Hyo-jin, who has also made a name for herself as a popular fashionista, shared her inner conflict as an environmentally conscious fashion model, encouraging the public to take small steps every day to save the environment.“I have a nickname, ‘fashionista.’ Part of my job as a model is to convey, ‘Isnt’ this pretty? Would you like to purchase one?’ But since I saw this data, I have been experiencing an inner conflict, inn

Arts & DesignOct. 10, 2019

World Cup qualifier in Pyongyang unlikely to be broadcast live: official

An inter-Korean World Cup qualifier in Pyongyang slated for next week is unlikely to be broadcast live amid the North's silence on the issue, a unification ministry official said Thursday. North Korea is set to host the game Tuesday as the two Koreas were placed in the same group for the second round of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification, in what will be a rare sports exchange between the two sides. The North, however, has remained silent on South Korea's offer to talk on the issues of sendin

SoccerOct. 10, 2019

LIG Nex1 to participate in Seoul ADEX 2019

　South Korean defense firm LIG Nex1 said Thursday that it will attend an international defense exhibition in Seoul to showcase the company’s weapon systems and technological prowess for battlefields of the future.　Weapons to be displayed at Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition 2019 include long-distance, air-to-ground guided missiles. Home-built fighter components, electronic warfare weapon systems, unmanned choppers and microdrones are also part of the show.  　For t

IndustryOct. 10, 2019

Tax agency slaps W1b in taxes on 7 YouTube content creators

South Korea's tax agency has slapped a combined 1 billion won ($833,000) in taxes on seven YouTube content creators in the first known crackdown on tax evasion by such people, a ruling party lawmaker said Thursday.Citing monthslong probes by the National Tax Service, Kim Chung-woo, a lawmaker of the ruling Democratic Party, said the content creators earned a combined 4.5 billion won, but they did not report their income to the tax agency. It is the first time that the income of highly paid YouTu

TechnologyOct. 10, 2019

S. Korea to ban men with domestic violence record from marrying immigrants

South Korea plans to enact legislation aimed at prohibiting men with a criminal record of domestic violence from marrying foreign brides, the justice ministry said Thursday.The enactment of the legislation, of which the ministry will make a prior announcement on Monday, comes as part of the government follow-up measures to improve the country's immigration marriage system and prevent violence against marriage immigrants.In July, public outcry erupted after the release on social media of a video

Social AffairsOct. 10, 2019

Seoul's Gangnam Ward holds medical and beauty fair in Dubai

Seoul's Gangnam Ward hosted a medical and beauty fair in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, this week to promote South Korean medical services and beauty products in the Middle East, officials said Thursday.The 2019 Gangnam Premium Medi & Beauty Fair, organized jointly with the Korea International Trade Association, was held in the largest UAE city on Wednesday and Thursday, they said. A total of 16 South Korean institutions, including those involved in medical tourism, participated in the fai

Social AffairsOct. 10, 2019

Cheating on rise in Korean language tests

The number of cheating cases among students taking Test of Proficiency in Korean is on the rise, with planned group cheating even found in some cases, government data showed Thursday.A total of 1,250 applicants were found to have cheated in the language test between 2014 and July this year, according to the data submitted by the Education Ministry to Rep. Park Chan-dae of the ruling Democratic Party.By year, the number of cheats dipped to 94 cases in 2015 from 154 cases in 2014 but has steadily

Social AffairsOct. 10, 2019

US surveillance aircraft on missions over the Korean Peninsula: aviation tracker

The United States flew E-8C surveillance aircraft over areas near the Korean Peninsula, an aviation tracker said Thursday, on an apparent mission to collect intelligence regarding North Korea.Two E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System aircraft arrived at Kadena Air Base in Japan's Okinawa on Sunday "to resume missions over the Korean Peninsula," Aircraft Spots said in a Twitter post. The aircraft flew over Japan on Wednesday and took off from the base again later in the day

DefenseOct. 10, 2019

Korea, Japan to discuss export controls at WTO on Friday

South Korea and Japan are slated to have bilateral consultations in Geneva on Friday, a first step toward resolving a trade dispute triggered by Japan’s export restrictions, officials said Thursday.Since Sept. 20, when Tokyo responded to Seoul’s request for bilateral consultations in accordance with the World Trade Organization’s rules, the two countries have discussed details such as dates and times through diplomatic channels and decided to send director-level representatives

IndustryOct. 10, 2019

Germany shooting was live on Twitch for 35 minutes

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) -- An anti-Semitic attack that killed at least two people in the German city of Halle Wednesday was streamed live for 35 minutes, and eventually seen by some 2,200 people, the online platform Twitch said."The account owner streamed this horrific act live on Twitch for 35 minutes, during which time it was viewed by approximately five people," the livestream gaming platform posted on Twitter."A recording of the stream, which was automatically generated based

World NewsOct. 10, 2019

BTS' pop-up store to entertain fans in Seoul this month

K-pop world stars BTS will open a pop-up store in southern Seoul this month to entertain fans with artworks and fan merchandise, the band's management agency said Thursday.The pop-up store, "House of BTS," will open at a four-story building in Seoul's posh district of Gangnam next Tuesday, according to Big Hit Entertainment. It will run for 80 days till Jan. 5. The fan event, an upgraded version of what Big Hit operated on the sidelines of BTS' world tour concerts in Los Angeles, Chica

PerformanceOct. 10, 2019

Bong Joon-ho and 'Parasite' are coming for you

NEW YORK (AP) -- Even as it's just hitting US theaters, Bong Joon-ho's "Parasite'' is already a major award-winner and a box-office smash."Parasite'' will open in theaters Friday having already amassed $70.9 million in Bong's native South Korea, where the film notched one of the country's best opening weekends ever. In May, "Parasite'' won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, a first for a Korean film. Jury president Alejandro Inarritu said it was a unanimous decision. At a

FilmOct. 10, 2019

[Newsmaker] S. Korea enhances quarantine operations following 14th ASF case

South Korea's agricultural ministry on Thursday announced a lockdown on all pig farms in a town north of Seoul, where the country's 14th African swine fever case was confirmed a day earlier, and designated nearby areas as a "buffer zone" for intensive quarantine operations.The 48-hour movement ban on all pig farms in Yeoncheon, north of Seoul, went into effect earlier in the day, according to the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Rural Affairs.South Korea confirmed its 14th case of AS

Social AffairsOct. 10, 2019

Tightlipped S. Korean envoy says NK could latch onto his remarks

South Korea's chief nuclear negotiator left the United States Wednesday after holding talks with his American and Japanese counterparts on how to make progress in denuclearization negotiations with North Korea.Lee Do-hoon, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, had bilateral and trilateral meetings with US envoy Stephen Biegun and Japanese envoy Shigeki Takizaki in Washington Tuesday.They agreed not to disclose the details of their discussions, according to Lee,

Foreign AffairsOct. 10, 2019

Lawmakers urge NBA to suspend China activities over boycott

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A bipartisan set of US lawmakers urged the NBA on Wednesday to suspend all activities in China until Chinese firms and broadcasters end their boycott of the league and the Houston Rockets.The open letter to NBA commissioner Adam Silver came from eight US lawmakers as politically diverse as Ted Cruz of Texas and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez from New York, both from states with multiple NBA teams."You have more power to take a stand than most of the Chinese government's targets

World NewsOct. 10, 2019

S. Korea gets US consent for new ambassador

The United States has formally agreed on South Korea's plan to send Rep. Lee Soo-hyuck of the ruling Democratic Party as its new ambassador, Cheong Wa Dae confirmed Thursday.Seoul recently received the diplomatic consent, known as "agrement," from Washington over the pick of the diplomat-turned-lawmaker, according to Cheong Wa Dae's deputy spokesperson Han Jung-woo.President Moon Jae-in will soon appoint Lee so that he can assume the post, he said.The consent came about two months afte

Foreign AffairsOct. 10, 2019

China slams NBA, Apple over Hong Kong

SHANGHAI (AFP) -- China on Wednesday slammed NBA commissioner Adam Silver's defence of free speech, cancelling a basketball fan event and lashing him in the state-run press, as Apple was warned it could be the next Western firm punished for supporting democracy protesters in Hong Kong. The NBA had been looking to cement its already huge popularity in the lucrative China market this week with a pair of annual pre-season exhibition games, but those plans were thrown into disarray by a tweet from H

World NewsOct. 10, 2019