Police to summon Seungri, ex-YG chief on gambling charges this week

Police are set to summon Big Bang star Seungri and Yang Hyun-suk, former head of K-pop entertainment house YG Entertainment, for questioning on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, on charges of overseas gambling.  Seungri, 29, formerly of K-pop boy band Big Bang, and Yang, 50, former chief producer and founder of YG Entertainment, are under investigation on suspicions that they gambled in a hotel casino in Las Vegas. Gambling is illegal in Korea, and Korean citizens are held to the countr

Social AffairsAug. 27, 2019

Samsung heir’s visit viewed as signal for QD-OLED investment

Market analysts and investors said Tuesday it has become clearer that Samsung Display will invest in quantum dot organic light-emitting diodes as the next-generation display technology to replace liquid-crystal displays. “Samsung Display is likely to stop its LCD production at the Gen 8.5 line in Asan in the coming months and covert the LCD business to large-size QD-OLED panel business phase by phase,” said Kim Dong-won, an analyst at KB Securities. Such expectations were raised afte

TechnologyAug. 27, 2019

Trade concerns push S. Korea’s consumer sentiment to 31-month low

South Korea’s consumer sentiment came to 92.5 in August, the lowest indicator readout since January 2017, data released by the Bank of Korea showed Tuesday as global trade issues continued to weigh on the economy. According to the central bank, the composite consumer sentiment index dipped 3.4 points on-month to well below the baseline of 100, which means consumers are decidedly pessimistic compared with average readings between 2003 and 2018. The BOK cited a number of risks to explain the

EconomyAug. 27, 2019

Meeting between SK, Posco chiefs hints at possible battery partnership

 The private meeting between SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and Posco Chairman Choi Jeong-woo two weeks ago has raised the possibility that the two conglomerates may partner for battery development.The two met in Seoul on Aug. 13, both companies confirmed Tuesday without elaborating. They were accompanied by 10 top management officials from the groups’ energy, chemical and telecom units.  According to local reports and industry insiders, those who attended included SK E&S CEO

IndustryAug. 27, 2019

Samsung remains most valuable S. Korean brand

Samsung Electronics has retained its top position in terms of brand value, a report by a British industry tracker showed Tuesday.According to Brand Finance, the brand value of Samsung Electronics was 83.2 trillion won ($68.6 billion) this year, down 6.3 percent from a record high of 88.8 trillion won last year. The brand rating of the world’s largest memory chip and smartphone maker dropped to AAA from AAA+, it added.The tech giant’s parent company, South Korea’s largest conglo

IndustryAug. 27, 2019

‘Super Show’ in October to herald return of ‘complete’ Super Junior

Super Junior on Tuesday announced that it will hold a standalone concert in October in Seoul, its first since 2008 to feature all nine members. All the band’s musicians have now been discharged from the military after fulfilling their mandatory military service.The promotional image released for “Super Junior World Tour -- Super Show 8” showed that the Seoul concert will be held Oct. 12-13 at the KSPO Dome at Olympic Park in Songpa-gu, southern Seoul. Tickets will be available

PerformanceAug. 27, 2019

60,000 students were victims of school violence: survey

Some 60,000 students of elementary, middle and high schools said they had been victims of school violence, according to a survey released by the Education Ministry on Tuesday.This is about 1.6 percent of the 3.72 million students, from fourth graders to high school seniors, who took part in the monthlong survey in April, up from 1.3 percent (50,000 students) last year and 0.9 percent (37,000 students) in 2017. There are about 4.1 million fourth graders through high school seniors here. Psycholog

Social AffairsAug. 27, 2019

BTS honored at annual MTV music awards

Proving its massive success on the American pop scene once again, K-pop boy band BTS has picked up two trophies at the annual MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) held in New Jersey, the United States.The septet won in two categories -- best group and K-pop -- out of the five it was nominated for in the awards ceremony held at New Jersey's Prudential Center on Monday (US time). The other categories BTS was nominated for were art direction, collaboration and choreography. Currently on its first-ever off

PerformanceAug. 27, 2019

HDC Hyundai Development Company plans to revamp Yongsan

HDC Hyundai Development Co. said Tuesday it plans to develop a new underground square near Yongsan Station, under a build-transfer-operate agreement signed with the Yongsan District Office. Build-transfer-operate refers to public or private entities’ financing of private firms to build and operate a facility. The Yongsan District Office and HDC signed the agreement on Dec. 20 last year to build the 22,505-square-meter underground square.According to the company, the square will connect to

IndustryAug. 27, 2019

Eximbank inks $86m EDCF loan agreement for Ethiopia

The Export-Import Bank of Korea said Tuesday it had signed a loan agreement to provide $86 million from the Economic Development Cooperative Fund for Ethiopia’s project involving a university. The ceremony was attended by Eximbank Chairman Eun Sung-soo and Ethiopia’s State Minister of Finance Admasu Nebebe during Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali’s state visit to Korea.The EDCF offers long-term low-interest loans to developing countries, set up and managed by the Korean g

EconomyAug. 27, 2019

LG, Naver cooperate on dual-screen browsing platform

In order to provide better user experiences on dual-screen devices, LG Electronics has partnered with Naver to work on expansion of the web portal’s multitasking-focused browsing platform, the company said Tuesday. LG will adopt Naver’s web browser Whale for the firm’s upcoming devices, which will focus on optimizing the user interface of LG’s dual screen devices. Whale is marketed as an “omni-tasking” browser that enables users to operate more than two tasks

TechnologyAug. 27, 2019

Art-filled staycation at JW Marriott Dongdaemun

Riding the staycation wave, JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul presents the Artractive Holiday package for the Chuseok holidays.The package offers three tickets to L’Atelier, an exhibition hall in Dongdaemun, featuring works by leading 19th century artists, including Vincent Van Gogh. Located in nearby Hyundai City Tower, L‘Atelier is less than a 10-minute walk from the hotel. L’Atelier, an experience-oriented art theme park, features famous paintings in light displays, allowi

CultureAug. 27, 2019

[Herald Interview] Can Korea develop its own wine country?

Despite winemakers’ efforts to introduce high-quality Korean wines to the wider public, European and Old World wines still dominate the scene here. Enter sommelier Jung Ha-bong, the director of wine at JW Marriott Seoul, who hopes to give Korean wines a competitive edge. Also known as Lucas Jung, he is vice president of the Korea International Sommelier Association. The hotel’s buffet restaurant Flavors drew up a new list of Korean wines in August, in addition to the usual list

FoodAug. 27, 2019

Antitrust regulator chief nominee plans to check Google, Apple, Naver

The nominee to lead South Korea’s antitrust watchdog said she would look closely into unfair business practices related to information and communication technologies amid the emergence of online platforms and big data.  “In order to back the innovative ecosystem in line with new economic trends, such as the development of the digital economy and the growth of platform companies, antitrust authorities are required to approach the industry with a balanced perspective,” Joh S

IndustryAug. 27, 2019

Michigan congressman visits SK Saran Americas in Midland

A Michigan congressman on Monday visited the main facility of SK Saran Americas, part of SK Global Chemical Americas, which produces chemical resin, according to SK Innovation, owner of the chemical unit. SK Innovation said Rep. John Moolenaar toured SK Saran Americas in Midland, Michigan, accompanied by Jay Kim, president of SK Global Chemical Americas, and Steve Persyn, site leader for SK Saran Americas. The company employs more than 40 people at the Midland facility and the chemical resi

IndustryAug. 27, 2019

[News Focus] Moon’s 40% support faces risks amid Cho Kuk scandals

SEJONG -- The people’s disappointment and fury toward Cho Kuk, a confidant of President Moon Jae-in, is negatively affecting support for Moon, recent polls showed.Some analysts raised the possibility that Moon’s support rating could dip below the psychologically significant 40 percent mark amid allegations of impropriety in the university entrance of Justice Minister nominee Cho’s daughter.Cho’s daughter has been suspected of receiving admission from a highly ranked unive

PoliticsAug. 27, 2019

Thailand: Tech edge will lure Korean firms

BANGKOK -- South Korean businesses are increasingly entering promising Southeast Asian markets, but the number of Korean companies operating in Thailand is still far lower than that in Vietnam, for instance, where more than 3,000 Korean companies operate. There are currently around 400 Korean companies operating in Thailand, which is Korea’s 18th-largest trade partner in the world and the third-largest market for Korean companies in Southeast Asia, after Vietnam and Indonesia. “Korea

IndustryAug. 27, 2019

S. Korea to expand financial support for firms hit by Japan's export curbs

South Korea's top financial regulator said Tuesday the government will expand financial support for companies hit by Japan's export restrictions if needed, as Tokyo's decision to drop Seoul from its list of trusted trading partners is set to take effect this week. Choi Jong-ku, chairman of the Financial Services Commission, made the remarks at a meeting with senior executives of banks, a day before South Korea is officially dropped from Japan's so-called whitelist.  Japan, which tightened e

EconomyAug. 27, 2019

S. Korea issues travel warning for protest-hit Hong Kong

South Korea has issued a travel warning for Hong Kong, citing increasing risks from escalating violence in deepening anti-government protests, Seoul's foreign ministry said. A "navy warning", which calls for caution and is the lowest of the four-phase travel warning system, has been imposed on all of Hong Kong, effective as of Monday, the ministry said in a release. The decision was made to ensure the safety of South Koreans staying in or planning to visit Hong Kong, as physical clashe

Social AffairsAug. 27, 2019

HK police say radical protesters forced use of water cannon, warning shot

HONG KONG (AFP) -- Hong Kong police said Monday they were forced to fire water cannon and a warning shot to fend off "extremely violent"  demonstrators, following another weekend of clashes at pro-democracy rallies.Sunday's violence in the district of Tsuen Wan, around 10 kilometres (six miles) from the city centre, was some of the worst in 12 weeks of political unrest roiling the international financial hub.As night fell, a group of officers were cornered by protesters armed with

World NewsAug. 27, 2019