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

More than 300 cases of Invossa side effects reported

More than 300 cases of Invossa side effects have been reported, the National Assembly’s Health and Welfare Committee said Friday. Invossa is the first-ever gene therapy drug from Korea that treats joint inflammation. Kolon Life Science acquired the sales approval of the drug in July 2017, only to have it revoked this May after the company admitted mislabeling the drug’s main ingredient.When applying for Invossa’s commercialization with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety here,

IndustryOct. 4, 2019

Nearly 800 workplace bullying complaints filed in two months: ministry

Some 800 instances of workplace bullying have been reported in two months since a new labor law against workplace harassment came into force on July 16. The number of complaints filed by employees against their companies totaled 794 as of Sept. 19, the Ministry of Employment and Labor said during a parliamentary audit session Friday. Verbal abuse was the most common type of misconduct reported, accounting for 44.5 percent of all cases. This was followed by unfair demotions at 26.3 percent, and g

Social AffairsOct. 4, 2019

Lotte was No. 1 violator of FTC sanctions between 2014 and 2018

Over the past five years, Lotte Group was the South Korean conglomerate that received the highest number of sanctions from the nation’s antitrust watchdog, data showed Friday. According to the data supplied by Rep. Chun Hae-chul of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, the Fair Trade Commission sanctioned Lotte on 81 occasions between 2014 and 2018. The group that received the next-greatest number of sanctions was Hyundai Motor Group with 76, followed by Kolon Group with 63, SK Group with

IndustryOct. 4, 2019

Main opposition ratchets up political attacks over justice minister following massive rally

The main opposition Liberty Korea Party called for a probe into the justice minister over corruption allegations on Friday, one day after conservatives held a massive rally to demand his dismissal.The conservative party ratcheted up its political attacks on Justice Minister Cho Kuk and the ruling party, apparently buoyed by Thursday's rally in downtown Seoul, in which the party claimed around 3 million people took part.Hundreds of thousands of South Koreans took to the streets in downtown Seoul,

PoliticsOct. 4, 2019

S. Korea’s forex reserves rise in Sept. on investment returns

South Korea’s foreign currency reserve assets increased by nearly $2 billion on-month in September, bolstered by high returns from foreign asset investments, data showed Friday. According to the Bank of Korea, foreign exchange reserves increased $1.8 billion on-month to $403.3 billion last month. The figure had declined in August due to the strong dollar, but rebounded slightly last month as the central bank’s investment in foreign government bonds, mortgage-backed securities and oth

MarketOct. 4, 2019

Justice minister’s relative indicted on embezzlement charges

The prosecution on Thursday indicted Justice Minister Cho Kuk’s relative Cho Beom-dong on a number of charges, including embezzlement, over dubious financial dealings involving a private equity fund in which the minister’s wife and children had invested.Cho Beom-dong, 36, is the de facto owner of Co-Link Private Equity, the operator of a fund in which the minister’s wife and their two children, as well as his brother-in-law and his two children, have invested a combined 1.4 bil

Social AffairsOct. 4, 2019

S. Korea's economic fundamentals remain solid: Moody's

A senior official of global rating agency Moody's Investors Service has said that the overall fundamentals of the South Korean economy are solid, the finance ministry said Friday.Moody's managing director of sovereign risk, Yves Lemay, made the comment in a meeting with South Korea's Vice Finance Minister Kim Yong-beom in London after Kim asked Moody's to take into account South Korea's policies in evaluating its rating on Seoul. Lemay said geopolitical risks constrained South Korea's rating, th

EconomyOct. 4, 2019

Chief of studio behind 'Parasite' wins French cinema award

The chief of the company that produced the Cannes-winning "Parasite" will be given a French cinema award in recognition of her role in promoting South Korea-French collaboration in cinema, the French Embassy here said Friday.Kwak Shin-ae, the CEO of Barunson E&A, which produced the film by director Bong Joon-ho, and Korean actress Bae Doo-na have been selected as this year's winners of the Etoile Du Cinema award, the embassy said. The embassy award annually recognizes actors and pe

FilmOct. 4, 2019

Movement ban extended, more pigs to be culled to halt additional ASF cases

South Korea is making seamless disinfection efforts to stem the outbreak of African swine fever, including extending the lockdown on northern areas of the country and culling more pigs as a part of preventive measures.In less than three weeks since the country's first-ever outbreak of the deadly animal disease, South Korea has confirmed 13 ASF cases, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs on Friday. Four cases were added in just the past two days. The ministry said the

Social AffairsOct. 4, 2019