[News Focus] Showdown for 21st Assembly to start on threshold of fall

SEJONG -- South Korea’s political parties will de facto enter campaign mode after the Chuseok holiday in the second week of September.The general election for the 21st National Assembly is coming up in eight months.Opposition lawmakers have predicted that the general election, slated for April 15, 2020, will pass judgement on the “economic policy failures” of the Moon Jae-in administration.However, some lawmakers of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (liberals) argue that the

PoliticsAug. 12, 2019

Gyeonggi Province launches campaigns to boost local tourism

Gyeonggi Province’s tourism body is launching a set of campaigns to overcome an upcoming slump in the regional tourism industry following Japan’s recent economic retaliation. The administration was one of the first governmental bodies to express support for the people’s boycott of Japan and take countermeasures to the Japanese government’s decision to remove South Korea from its whitelist of preferred trade partners earlier in July. Lee Jae-myung, governor of Gyeonggi Pro

PeopleAug. 12, 2019

Exhibition highlights King Jeongjo and his legacy

King Jeongjo (1752-1800), the 22nd king of the Joseon era, is one of the most respected rulers of the period, known for his love for the people and innovations he tried to bring to the kingdom.Jeongjo recruited many scholars who pursued pragmatic measures, such Jeong Yak-yong, and established Kyujanggak, a royal library. Hwaseong, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was also one of King Jeongjo’s celebrated achievements.The latest exhibition at the Suwon Ipark Museum of Art, titled “Seong

Arts & DesignAug. 12, 2019

Rain fails to put out the heat at Pentaport Rock Festival

Wrapping up three days of festivities, Weezer took the stage at Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival 2019 on Sunday at around 10 p.m. As the crowd rocked on to the US band’s “Perfect Situation,” the downpour blew out the generator and the music stopped.The 10-minute delay did not put out the fire for the frenzied crowd, and many continued to rock on as the band played songs including “Africa,” “Happy Together” and “Island in the Sun.”Nasty weather

PerformanceAug. 12, 2019

[Peter Singer] Can ethics be taught?

Can taking a philosophy class -- more specifically, a class in practical ethics -- lead students to act more ethically?Teachers of practical ethics have an obvious interest in the answer to that question. The answer should also matter to students thinking of taking a course in practical ethics. But the question also has broader philosophical significance, because the answer could shed light on the ancient and fundamental question of the role that reason plays in forming our ethical judgments and

ViewpointsAug. 12, 2019

[Joseph E. Stiglitz] Trump’s deficit economy

In the new world wrought by US President Donald Trump, where one shock follows another, there is never time to think through fully the implications of the events with which we are bombarded. In late July, the Federal Reserve Board reversed its policy of returning interest rates to more normal levels, after a decade of ultralow rates in the wake of the Great Recession. Then, the United States had another two mass gun killings in under 24 hours, bringing the total for the year to 255 -- more than

ViewpointsAug. 12, 2019

Tada launches ride-hailing service for corporate customers

　South Korean mobility company VCNC said Monday that it was expanding its popular van-sharing business, Tada, by introducing a new ride-hailing service for corporate customers.  　According to the company, the new service, “Tada Business,” is to be available on a trial basis until it officially kicks off in October. Once they register through the Tada app, company executives and staff members can use the Tada service in the same way as other customers, the company said. 　To provi

BusinessAug. 12, 2019

Prosecution considers filing extra charges against ex-minister

The prosecution is considering whether to file additional charges against former Vice Justice Minister Kim Hak-eui, who is being tried on suspicions that he received sexual services and bribes, as they secured fresh circumstantial evidence he had taken additional bribes.  Kim, 63, who served as vice justice minister in 2013, is suspected of having received more than 100 million won ($82,220) from the chairman of a local savings bank, surnamed Kim, since the early 2000s, according to the tea

Social AffairsAug. 12, 2019

Lotte chief meets Israeli minister for startup investment

Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin met Israel’s Economy Minister Eli Cohen to discuss ways to strengthen partnership with tech companies and startups in the Middle Eastern country, the South Korean food and retail giant said Monday.During a meeting in Jerusalem on Sunday, the chairman told the minister that Lotte plans to invest in Israel’s innovative companies in the areas of agriculture, robots and artificial intelligence for the group’s future growth. Minister Cohen, in resp

IndustryAug. 12, 2019

Samsung BioLogics adopts N-1 Perfusion at Plant No. 3

Samsung BioLogics said Monday that a new cell-culturing technology called N-1 Perfusion -- adopted for its third plant in Songdo, Incheon, from July -- has proven to increase cell density up to 10 times and cut down on production time by 30 percent.“With this, we have opened up scaled-up commercialization for our clients,” said John Lim, vice president at Samsung BioLogics, who is in charge of Plant No. 3. The South Korean contract manufacturing organization will customize its c

IndustryAug. 12, 2019

Samsung, LG among top 10 patent holders in US in 2018

South Korean tech giants Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics were among the companies that were granted the greatest number of patents in the US last year, falling within the top 10 and rubbing shoulders with IBM, Microsoft and General Electric, a report by a US patent association showed Monday. Samsung ranked No. 2 with 5,836 registered patents in the US, surpassed only by US IT giant IBM, which filed 9,088, according to the Intellectual Property Owners Association.  The Korean IT

IndustryAug. 12, 2019

[News focus] Moon bogged down by multiple crises

Following is the first part in a two-part series on the crisis facing the Moon Jae-in administration -- Ed.Just over two years into his five-year term, President Moon Jae-in is facing the biggest crisis of his term yet, pressed on all fronts due to the weak economy, domestic politics, ties with North Korea and other diplomatic concerns. Japan, history and tradeTopping the long list of issues which Moon faces is the escalating tension with Japan. Since he took office, bilateral relations with Tok

PoliticsAug. 12, 2019

S. Korea to exclude Japan from trade whitelist in September

South Korea is set to drop Japan as a preferred trading partner in September in response to Tokyo’s recent decision to exclude Seoul from its whitelist, officials said Monday. “An export control system on strategic items should be run under ground rules of an international export control system,” said Industry Minister Sung Yun-mo during a press briefing Monday afternoon.“(However) the system should be run accordingly (if a trading partner) operates the system that runs c

IndustryAug. 12, 2019

SK hynix develops highest bandwidth DRAM for mass production in 2020

SK hynix, the world’s second-largest memory chip provider, said Monday it has developed DRAM with the industry’s highest bandwidth for use in machine learning, supercomputers and artificial intelligence. Unlike conventional DRAM products, high bandwidth memory chips are closely interconnected to processors like graphic processing units and logic chips, which allows faster data transfers. HBM is rising as an optimal memory solution for high-end GPUs, supercomputers, machine learning a

TechnologyAug. 12, 2019

Samsung partners with Xiaomi on new hi-def image sensor

Samsung Electronics said Monday it has developed the highest definition image sensor for mobile devices in collaboration with Chinese smartphone vendor Xiaomi. The South Korean tech giant revealed it will start production of the industry’s first mobile image sensor with over 100 million pixels, dubbed as ISOCELL Bright HMX. The sensor boasts 108 megapixels, which enable mobile devices to offer a resolution equivalent to that of a high-end DSLR camera, according to the company. Samsung has

TechnologyAug. 12, 2019

Over two-thirds of Party for Democracy and Peace lawmakers bolt

Ten lawmakers announced Monday their departure from the minor opposition Party of Democracy and Peace to form a new party of “change and hope” after failing to reach a consensus with the party’s leadership. The move could jeopardize the existence of the 1 1/2-year-old progressive party. Calling on Chairman Chung Dong-young and the party’s leadership to resign for success in next year’s general election, the lawmakers who left had demanded the party be led by an emer

PoliticsAug. 12, 2019

[Newsmaker] Chaos at court as murder suspect claims self-defense

Koh Yu-jeong, suspected of murdering her former husband, attended her first trial before a crowd of jeering spectators Monday. During the trial at Jeju District Court, which started at 10 a.m., Koh maintained that she had acted in self-defense against a rape attempt by her ex-husband, identified only by his surname Kang.Koh’s attorney said that Kang attempted “unwanted physical contact” with Koh during the divorced couple’s meeting with their son, “expecting the def

Social AffairsAug. 12, 2019

S. Korea to adopt price ceiling on privately built flats

South Korea will adopt a controversial scheme to cap presale prices of privately built apartments in extended efforts to stabilize real estate markets, the land ministry said Monday. The ministry said the government plans to revise related laws by early October to fully prepare for the adoption of the "presale price cap system" for apartments to be built by private builders amid signs of home prices turning higher, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.The upc

EconomyAug. 12, 2019

YouTuber fined W5m for ‘misleading advertising’ of diet products

A YouTuber with millions of followers was fined 5 million won ($4,100) Monday for false advertising of food products. Food content YouTuber Jung Man-su, who goes by the name Banzz online, was fined for falsely promoting the weight-loss effects of his products, according to Daejeon District Court. Eat4U, a health food company Jeong launched in March 2017, marketed its products as diet aids in a misleading ad, according to prosecutors.Judges said the ad, which ran for about three months on social

TelevisionAug. 12, 2019