S. Korea's gender pay gap widened to 37% last year: survey

South Korea's gender pay gap widened in 2018 from a year earlier, marking the largest difference among the 36 member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a local workers' union said Thursday. Last year, the wage gap between male and female workers in Asia's fourth-biggest economy widened to a "serious level" of 37.1 percent, up from the previous year's 34.6 percent, the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) said in a forum. "The widening pay gap

Social AffairsSept. 26, 2019

Justice minister's phone conversation over raid sparks uproar in parliament

Justice Minister Cho Kuk said Thursday he spoke by telephone with a chief prosecutor in charge of raids on Cho's residence over allegations of corruption, sparking a row over the appropriateness of the conversation, during a parliamentary interpellation session.The telephone conversation was with a prosecutor who was on the scene of the raids of Cho's residence on Monday. Prosecutors are investigating corruption allegations involving his family, including his wife's alleged forgery of a school a

PoliticsSept. 26, 2019

Ex-French President Chirac, who stood up to US, dies at 86

PARIS (AP) -- Jacques Chirac, a two-term French president who was the first leader to acknowledge France's role in the Holocaust and defiantly opposed the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, died Thursday at age 86.His son-in-law Frederic Salat-Baroux told The Associated Press that Chirac died ``peacefully, among his loved ones.'' He did not give a cause of death, though Chirac had had repeated health problems since leaving office in 2007. His death was announced to lawmakers sitting in Franc

World NewsSept. 26, 2019

What's next now that Pelosi has launched impeachment inquiry

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Now that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has launched an official impeachment inquiry of US President Donald Trump, what's next?In some ways, the investigations of the Trump administration won't look too different from those underway in the House, but now they'll have a focus on the Ukraine situation and an urgency to act.Pelosi embarked on the impeachment inquiry she had long resisted after an uproar from Democrats in Congress. It stemmed from a whistleblower's complaint of Trump

World NewsSept. 26, 2019

Trump 'quite likely' to visit Pyongyang: ex-US nuke envoy

US President Donald Trump could visit Pyongyang for a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to try to use the event to boost his reelection campaign, a former top US nuclear envoy said Thursday."A possibility of him going to Pyongyang, I think it's quite likely. He's focused on reelection. Anything that helps the reelection, he would be wanting to do it," Joseph Yun, former US special representative for North Korea told a forum in Seoul."Another summit is likely. Trump has e

North KoreaSept. 26, 2019

A journey to find memories, origins

Global silver reserves are shrinking fast and may run out as early as 2029 if we continue to mine the metal at the current rate without finding any new deposits, according to some experts.Korean-French artist Daphne Nan Le Sergent recalled reading reports about diminishing silver supplies earlier this year and worrying if the depletion of silver would mean the disappearance of traditional photography. Sergent’s exhibition “Silver Memories: How to Reach the Origin” at Atelier He

Arts & DesignSept. 26, 2019

[Graphic News] Most imported fake products are Chinese-made: data

　Nearly 90 percent of the counterfeit goods found by customs authorities in the last five years were from China, with Louis Vuitton  the biggest victim among reputable brands, data showed. 　The value of imported fake goods uncovered between 2015 and August this year amounted to 1.86 trillion won ($1.55 billion), with 89 percent, or 1.65 trillion won, from China, according to data from the Korea Customs Service obtained by Rep. Hong Il-pyo.　Louis Vuitton was on top among counterfeited brands

Social AffairsSept. 26, 2019

Will KakaoTalk kill off text messaging services?

　Despite South Korean mobile carriers’ efforts to rekindle the use of text messages, the prospects of the once-lucrative business continue to look grim.　The country’s three biggest telecom firms -- SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus -- have upgraded their text message services with advanced features like group chatting and video sharing in recent years. 　But the moves have so far failed to draw users away from the popular messenger service KakaoTalk. While the chatting app has seen a dramat

TechnologySept. 26, 2019

Korea bans sales of ranitidine generics over carcinogen concern

　South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety tentatively put the brakes on the manufacturing, import and sale of 269 ranitidine-based drugs from 133 companies in the country, Thursday, upon alert from the US Food and Drug Administration that a carcinogenic chemical was found in the widely used medicine Zantac and its generic versions.　Ranitidine is a drug that decreases stomach acid production. It is used to treat peptic ulcer disease and gastroesophageal reflux disease, or indigestion

IndustrySept. 26, 2019

S. Korea joins Gothenburg Book Fair as guest of honor

South Korea on Thursday took part in the 2019 Gothenburg Book Fair as the guest of honor, providing the Nordic audience a rare glimpse into its literature and culture.The four-day annual book fair, the largest cultural event in Scandinavia, opened in Gothenburg, the second-largest city in Sweden, earlier in the day, with some 85,000 people from about 40 nations joining at an 11,000-square-meter exhibition center. This year's book fair presents three themes -- "South Korea-Guest of Honor,&qu

CultureSept. 26, 2019

[Noah Feldman] UK top court’s Brexit ruling will have wide-ranging impact

The UK Supreme Court’s ruling voiding Boris Johnson’s suspension of Parliament is one for the ages -- a landmark in British constitutional law of the kind that comes around only once every few centuries.The court’s judgment tried to downplay how astonishing its decision was. But the reality is that the unanimous court broke new ground in making the judiciary, not Parliament, the ultimate arbiter of constitutional legality in the UK. Although, the court said this case was a &ldq

ViewpointsSept. 26, 2019

[David Ignatius] Trump compromised national security for personal gain

If you’re wondering why it matters that US President Donald Trump withheld military aid to Ukraine while he was requesting political favors from its new president, think about the Ukrainian soldiers who are fighting a nasty proxy war against Russian-backed separatists. America is Ukraine’s ally in this fight. Ukrainian commanders, battling to hold their country together against a five-year onslaught by Russia, have been depending on US promises of military assistance. In life or deat

ViewpointsSept. 26, 2019

S. Korea to sell 6.1t won in state bonds in Oct.

South Korea plans to sell 6.1 trillion won ($5 billion) in state bonds next month, the finance ministry said Thursday.The government will issue 1.2 trillion won in bonds with a maturity of three years and 1.2 trillion won in five-year bonds, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. It also intends to sell 1.4 trillion won in bonds with a maturity of 10 years and 500 billion won in 20-year Treasurys, while floating 1.4 trillion won and 400 billion won in bonds with a maturity of 30 years

EconomySept. 26, 2019

Hyundai launches innovative festival for artists, developers, startups

Hyundai Motor Group said Thursday that its open innovation platform is to host a three-day festival called “Zero One Day,” where artists, developers and startups can share their ideas and communicate in a creative environment. The event is named after and hosted by Zero One, an open innovation platform launched by Hyundai in March 2018. It will offer opportunities for participants to present their projects and business models to the public. About 70 projects will be presented this ye

MobilitySept. 26, 2019

Former financial technocrat tapped as S. Korea's chief negotiator for defense cost-sharing talks with US

South Korea appointed a former career finance ministry official the new chief negotiator for defense cost-sharing talks with the United States, the foreign ministry said Thursday.Jeong Eun-bo, who served as vice chairman of the Financial Services Commission and had a long career at the finance ministry, will lead the South Korean team to negotiate a new Special Measures Agreement, according to the ministry.The pact between Seoul and Washington stipulates how much South Korea should contribute to

Foreign AffairsSept. 26, 2019

Samsung Heavy develops fuel cell-powered crude oil tankers

Samsung Heavy Industries has become the first shipbuilder to develop the world’s first fuel cell-powered aframax crude oil tankers in response to the International Maritime Organization regulations strictly limiting carbon dioxide emissions. Samsung Heavy said Thursday it acquired Approval in Principle, or AiP, by Oslo-based international accredited registrar and classification society DNV GL, for its fuel cell-powered aframax crude oil tanker. AiP is a process to verify technological

IndustrySept. 26, 2019

KOTRA hosts Korea consumer goods fair in India

The state-run Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency hosted a consumer goods fair in New Delhi on Thursday, eyeing the fast-evolving consumer goods sector of the world’s sixth-largest economy. The fair, which is part of a weeklong Korea-India business forum, involved 45 South Korean consumer goods firms and Indian buyers. They held a total of 500 rounds of meetings, according to KOTRA.  India’s consumer goods sector was valued at $53 billion in 2017, according to data provided

IndustrySept. 26, 2019

Cho Kuk's scandal tops agenda at parliamentary session

Corruption allegations involving embattled Justice Minister Cho Kuk and his family engulfed a parliamentary interpellation session Thursday, with the opposition bloc calling for his impeachment.Making an appearance before lawmakers at the National Assembly for the first time as a new Cabinet member, Cho vowed utmost efforts to reform the prosecution and innovate the Justice Ministry seeking cooperation for bills related to judicial reforms. The session, however, was dominated by a new revel

Social AffairsSept. 26, 2019

S. Korean, Chinese foreign ministers reaffirm cooperation on North Korea

The foreign ministers of South Korea and China met in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly and agreed to continue their cooperation for denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Thursday.In the 30-minute talks, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi exchanged views on the current situation, including North Korea’s nuclear program. “The two sides agreed that it is imperative to make substanti

North KoreaSept. 26, 2019