Rapper Kisum challenges herself with first dance hip-hop record, 'Yeah!sul'

Female rapper and songwriter Kisum on Tuesday dropped a new EP, "Yeah!sul," fronted by a funky dance number, transforming sharply from her previous dark hip-hop music.The EP's title, "Yeah!sul," translates in Korean as "Yeah! alcohol," or as "art" when read together, and the six-track album is led by "Let's Drink Up."Kisum sampled the widely loved refrain from male duo Vibe's hit song with the same Korean title in composing and writing the main t

PerformanceAug. 20, 2019

GM Korea union enters partial strike for higher wages

Unionized workers at GM Korea Co., the South Korean unit of General Motors Co., on Tuesday entered a two-day partial strike, demanding higher wages. GM Korea workers held a four-hour strike on Tuesday and plan to stage another four-hour walkout on Wednesday, GM union spokesman Dang Sung-geun said over the phone. "Union leaders will hold a meeting on Thursday to decide on whether to enter another round of strikes," he said. GM Korea and its union have held seven rounds of talks since Ju

MobilityAug. 20, 2019

Amorepacific spins off tea brand Osulloc

South Korean cosmetics giant Amorepacific Corp. said Tuesday that its premium green tea brand Osulloc will be launched as an independent entity this year to boost its value.Osulloc will begin independent business activity starting on Oct. 1, the company said in a regulatory filing. The move is part of efforts to reinforce Osulloc's brand image as a premium organic green tea brand, the company said. "Osulloc will solidify its brand as a leading premium tea brand through efficient and re

IndustryAug. 20, 2019

Antitrust watchdog approves plan to establish ‘Netflix of Asia’

Korea’s antitrust watchdog on Tuesday approved the integration of two popular video streaming businesses, giving the nod to the local companies’ ambition to establish a massive home-grown streaming platform to compete with Netflix. The Fair Trade Commission said it greenlighted the merger of SK Telecom and territorial broadcasters’ over-the-top video services. Combining SK Telecom’s Pooq and the broadcasters’ Oksusu, new OTT service Wavve will be launched next month

TechnologyAug. 20, 2019

[Graphic News] Korea's coal consumption up in 2018, bucks global trend

　South Korea’s coal consumption increased last year, bucking the global trend for reducing carbon emissions, a report showed. 　South Korea consumed 88.2 million tons of oil equivalent, a unit of energy, in 2018, up 2.4 percent from a year ago, according to the London-based energy company BP’s Statistical Review of World Energy 2019.　The latest figure makes South Korea the world’s fifth-largest coal consumer, following China, India, the United States and Japan, BP said. (Yonhap)

World BusinessAug. 20, 2019

Are ‘water drop’ breast implants a ticking time bomb in the chest?

South Koreans with Allergan’s textured breast implants are expressing fear and complaining about a lack of direction from authorities, a week into the latest developments surrounding the first Korean patient being diagnosed with breast implant-associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma, or BIA-ALCL, a rare cancer of the immune system.The first BIA-ALCL diagnosis in Korea was publicly announced Wednesday last week by the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. It was the fourth such case in

IndustryAug. 20, 2019

SsangYong Motor launches gasoline-powered Korando

Amid waning market demand for diesel-powered sport utility vehicles, SsangYong Motor unveiled the gasoline model of the Korando on Tuesday, to boost sales of its SUV brand. The carmaker has improved safety of the 1.5-liter turbo gasoline model by installing seven air bags and other safety features, including lane keeping assist, driver awareness assist and autonomous emergency braking systems. The launch came six months after the company unveiled the 2.0-liter diesel Korando here in February. Th

MobilityAug. 20, 2019

Samsung heir meets software trainees in Gwangju

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong on Tuesday headed to Gwangju to check on the tech giant’s software educational program that supports youth employment. “It is essential to raise software talent in expanding the fundamental base for the IT industry,” Lee said. “Despite the current difficulties, we need to plant seeds for the future.” Last year, Samsung established four software academy centers across the country, including in Gwangju, with the

TechnologyAug. 20, 2019

BTS nominated in 5 categories for 2019 MTV Video Music Awards

K-pop boy band BTS has been nominated for American TV channel MTV's 2019 Video Music Awards in the Best Group category, raising the number of its nominations to five, the TV channel's website showed Tuesday.In its previous announcement last month, MTV said BTS was nominated in four categories for the globally coveted awards. "Boy With Luv," BTS' latest single featuring Halsey, is competing in the Best Collaboration category for the fan-voted music awards, whose final awards ceremony is

PerformanceAug. 20, 2019

S. Korea to ban Audi, Volkswagen, Porsche cars in emissions scandal

South Korea will ban domestic sales of eight models of Audi, Volkswagen and Porsche diesel cars for violating emissions regulations, the Ministry of Environment said Tuesday.The ministry said it will also slap fines on Audi Volkswagen Korea and Porsche Korea and seek a prosecution investigation.The ministry's probe has found that the German automakers manipulated pollution control devices used in those vehicles. A total of 1,261 cars in the eight models were sold in South Korea from May 2015 to

MobilityAug. 20, 2019

[Kim Seong-kon] We should put ourselves in other people’s shoes

Koreans are known to be people of “jeong” or affection. However, many Koreans do not seem to be thoughtful or considerate. Perhaps jeong does not encompass thoughtfulness or caring about others. Nevertheless, it is necessary to put yourself in another person’s shoes. In the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird,” Harper Lee writes, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view. Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around

ViewpointsAug. 20, 2019

Hyosung to invest W1tr in carbon fiber, aims to become global top 3

South Korea’s Hyosung announced Tuesday it will invest 1 trillion won ($829 million) by 2028 to expand its carbon fiber production capacity, vowing to raise the country’s competitiveness to lessen dependence on other countries. To achieve this, it will put advanced materials, crucial for the “hydrogen economy,” at the forefront of its business portfolio.The textile giant plans to start 10 production lines for carbon fiber manufacturing at its plant in Jeonju City, capable

IndustryAug. 20, 2019

[News Focus] Moon to pass halfway point with challenges at home and abroad

SEJONG -- President Moon Jae-in will pass the halfway point in November, finishing the first 30 months of his 60-month term.The Moon administration launched in May 2017, several months after a political scandal involving former President Park Geun-hye and her confidante Choi Soon-sil swept the nation and ignited public fury.The people pinned great hopes on Moon, who stressed justice and fairness in his inaugural speech.Moon’s approval ratings hovered around 70-80 percent during the first y

PoliticsAug. 20, 2019

Mirae Asset Daewoo posts robust H1 overseas earnings

Marking one year since Mirae Asset Group Chairman Park Hyeon-joo became global investment strategy officer of the firm’s brokerage unit Mirae Asset Daewoo, the brokerage’s overseas businesses reported robust earnings for the first half of the year. According to an earnings report recently released by the brokerage, the combined net profit of Mirae Asset Daewoo’s overseas branches reached 82.7 billion ($80 million) in the January-to-June period, up nearly 70 percent compared to

MarketAug. 20, 2019

Kang and Kono to seek diplomatic breakthrough in Beijing

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha will meet her Japanese counterpart in China in another attempt to ease tensions with Tokyo after a diplomatic feud developed into a trade row and now threatens to weaken security cooperation. Kang, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi gathered in Beijing on Tuesday for the ninth in an ongoing series of trilateral foreign ministers’ meetings involving the top diplomatic officials of the three countries. Th

Foreign AffairsAug. 20, 2019

Police impose exit bans on ex-YG Entertainment chief, Seungri over alleged gambling

Yang Hyun-suk, former CEO of YG Entertainment, and Seungri, a former member of the company-managed K-pop boy band BIGBANG, have been slapped with an exit ban over allegations that they engaged in habitual gambling abroad and violated the foreign exchange law to secure gambling money, police officials said Tuesday.The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency has recently obtained an approval from the Ministry of Justice to ban Yang and Seungri from leaving the country after booking them on charges of hab

Social AffairsAug. 20, 2019

Loans extended by Japanese lenders in Korea drop, conglomerates remain large borrowers

The combined volume of loans extended by Japanese lenders operating here fell 5.4 percent on-month as of late June, data showed Tuesday. Meanwhile, loans taken out by local conglomerates accounted for more than half of the total volume, a report by the Financial Supervisory Service showed.According to the report submitted to a main opposition lawmaker, the volume of loans stood at 23.4 trillion won ($20 billion) as of late June, down 5.4 percent from 24.7 trillion won the previous month.  A

MarketAug. 20, 2019

S. Korea, US wrap up summertime combined exercise

South Korea and the United States wrapped up their weekslong combined military exercises on Tuesday, raising hopes for a halt in a series of missile launches by North Korea and a possible resumption of nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang.The North has strongly bristled at the Combined Command Post Training and Crisis Management Staff Training, ratcheting up tensions with six rounds of missile or projectile launches and bellicose rhetoric over about three weeks."We've wrapped up t

DefenseAug. 20, 2019