Hungarian swimmer accused of groping sent to prosecutors

Hungarian swimmer Tamas Kenderesi who is competing in the FINA world championships in Gwangju was sent to prosecutors Monday on charges of groping a teenager.On Sunday, cops from the Gwangju Seobu Station arrested the 22-year-old swimmer on suspicion of groping an 18-year-old woman at a club at around 3 a.m. Police said he initially denied all the allegations during questioning, but later admitted to the accusation. In an online statement, Kenderesi offered a partial apology, “I touched th

Social AffairsJuly 29, 2019

Rival parties reach deal on full parliamentary session

Rival parties agreed Monday to hold a plenary parliamentary session this week to vote on an extra budget bill and parliamentary resolutions condemning Japan’s export curbs and an air intrusion by China and Russia.The meeting will be held Thursday under the deal reached by the floor leaders of the ruling Democratic Party and two major opposition parties. It would be the first full floor session since early April.An extraordinary session was held in June following months-long partisan tensio

PoliticsJuly 29, 2019

Korea’s recovery team for Hungary boat disaster to wrap up 2-month mission

South Korea’s team of rescue and recovery workers dispatched to Hungary in May to cope with a tourist boat disaster will wrap up its months-long operations this week, the foreign ministry said Monday.Seoul also decided to disband its disaster management headquarters for the boat sinking on Tuesday, when the last of the workers are set to depart for home from the mission to search for the victims of the tragedy that left 25 Koreans dead and one missing.The decision was made during a governm

Social AffairsJuly 29, 2019

Korean Air to suspend Busan-Sapporo route amid trade tension

Korean Air, South Korea’s top carrier, said Monday it will suspend its Busan-Sapporo route from September as travel demand to Japan declines amid escalating trade tension between the two nations. The carrier plans to cease its three regular weekly flights between the Korean southern port city and the northeastern Japanese city beginning Sept. 3, a company spokeswoman said. “We will provide domestic flight services to bring those who have booked the Busan-Sapporo route to Incheon Inte

IndustryJuly 29, 2019

[Graphic News] North Korean economy contracts 4.1% last year

　North Korea’s fragile economy is estimated to have contracted for a second consecutive year in 2018, South Korea’s central bank said last week, an apparent outcome of what many have called unprecedentedly strong international sanctions against the communist state.　The country’s real gross domestic product  is believed to have shrunk 4.1 percent last year from the year before, according to the Bank of Korea. (Yonhap) 

North KoreaJuly 29, 2019

Ruling party lawmakers questioned on confrontation over fast-tracked bills

Lawmakers from the ruling Democratic Party of Korea on Monday urged opposition lawmakers to cooperate in police investigation into physical scuffles at the National Assembly in April, as they appeared before police for questioning.  Rep. Kim Doo-kwan, Woo Sang-ho and Lee Jong-kul of the Democratic Party of Korea appeared at the Yeongdeungpo Police Station to be questioned in connection with violence that occurred in the process of putting reform bills on the fast track in April. “Ever

Social AffairsJuly 29, 2019

South Korea reviews sending troops to Strait of Hormuz

South Korea is reviewing sending a naval unit to the Strait of Hormuz to take part in the US-led maritime force to protect oil tankers in the strait.On Monday, a local daily reported that Korea has decided to send the Cheonghae Unit that operates in waters off Somalia, citing an unnamed senior government official. However, Seoul’s Defense Ministry said it has not made a decision.  “There have been reports on sending troops to the Strait of Hormuz, but nothing has been decided. W

DefenseJuly 29, 2019

Curator Yung Ma to head next year’s Seoul Mediacity Biennale

Pompidou Center curator Ma Yung has been appointed artistic director for next year’s Seoul Mediacity Biennale, Seoul Museum of Art Director Beck Jee-sook announced during a press conference in Seoul on Monday.This is the first time a foreign curator will head the biennale since its inauguration in 2000. “It was the very first thing that I did since I know about the complications that last year’s Seoul Mediacity Biennale had,” Beck said.Ma will be in Seoul in December

Arts & DesignJuly 29, 2019

Indonesian minister confirms Hyundai’s new plant

An Indonesian Cabinet member has confirmed Hyundai Motor’s plan to build a new manufacturing factory with a $1 billion investment into the country, according to local media. Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said he met the carmaker’s de facto leader Chung Euisun on Friday to discuss the investment plan and that the carmaker has secured a plot for construction on western Java Island, Indonesian newspaper Kompas reported Sunday. The planned factory wil

MobilityJuly 29, 2019

[Jeffrey D. Sachs] The crisis of Anglo-American democracy

How did the world’s two most venerable and influential democracies -- the United Kingdom and the United States -- end up with Donald Trump and Boris Johnson at the helm? Trump is not wrong to call Johnson the “Britain Trump” (sic). Nor is this merely a matter of similar personalities or styles: It is also a reflection of glaring flaws in the political institutions that enabled such men to win power. Both Trump and Johnson have what the Irish physicist and psychologist Ian Hughe

ViewpointsJuly 29, 2019

[Leonid Bershidsky] Today’s world leaders are walking cliches

One of the most striking things about Boris Johnson, who became UK prime minister last week, is how precisely he fits the stereotype of the eccentric upper-class Brit. With his elevation, Britain joins several other major nations led by people who embody their national stereotypes, and not the best of them at that; it could be argued, however, that it’s leaders defying such cliches who take their countries forward.In a paean to Johnson published on Quillette, his onetime Oxford schoolmate

ViewpointsJuly 29, 2019

Korean pharmacists boycott Japanese OTC medicines

Regional associations of Korean pharmacists are boycotting imported over-the-counter drugs from Japan, recommending Korean alternative products to patients.Some of the popular Japanese OTC drugs in Korea include: Takeda Pharmaceutical’s fatigue-restoring vitamin Actinium; teardrop solution Rohto; stomatitis treatment Albothyl; cold remedy Whituben; Kobayashi Medicine’s eye-cleaning agent Eyebon; Nichiban’s first-aid bandage Careleaves; and Kowa’s digestion medicine Cabagi

IndustryJuly 29, 2019

‘An exhibition Yi Jong-ho would have done’

It is perhaps unusual for a deceased artist to be listed as a member of a group exhibition alongside living artists. Especially, when the person is a well-known figure, a retrospective exhibition is often the more favored option.  “In the beginning, I wanted to organize an exhibition that highlights Yi Jong-ho himself, an architect who is respected in the local architecture scene yet not much known to the public. However, I later realized he would have not liked such a spotlight, He w

Arts & DesignJuly 29, 2019

Global chipmakers spur investments while Samsung suffers

While production of high-computing chips at Samsung Electronics, the world’s top memory chip business, is expected to suffer in the wake of a trade dispute between South Korea and Japan, other global chipmakers are aggressively expanding investments to spur production, according to the industry on Monday. TSMC, the world’s third-biggest chipmaker based in Taiwan, has announced a plan to hire more than 3,000 engineers by the end of this year, along with plans to invest in new extreme

TechnologyJuly 29, 2019

[Newsmaker] Police probe leaked video footage of Jeju murder suspect

Police have launched a probe into circumstances surrounding the leak of video footage taken during the arrest of Koh Yu-jeong, a prime suspect in the murder of her ex-husband.The leaked footage, released Saturday by local media, shows Koh’s arrest on June 1 at 10:32 a.m. in the parking lot of an apartment block in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. As police officers handcuff her after informing her of her Miranda rights, Koh asks, “Why? I never did that. I am the victim.”Ko

Social AffairsJuly 29, 2019

South Korea beset by escalating trade tensions

South Korea faces economic disruption as Japan moves to tighten export curbs on materials necessary for local tech frms, along with fresh objections raised by the US that could hurt the domestic agricultural sector.Japan is likely to remove Korea from a whitelist of 27 countries that receive preferential treatment in trade after a Cabinet meeting Friday, major Japanese media outlets reported Monday. Tokyo gathered public opinion on its decision to remove Korea from the whitelist last week. A maj

IndustryJuly 29, 2019

[Herald Review] ‘Hotel Del Luna’ wins over viewers with spooky romance

TvN’s Saturday-Sunday drama “Hotel Del Luna” recorded its highest viewership rating over the weekend with Sunday’s episode peaking at 9.7 percent with an average viewership rating of 8.7 percent. The numbers are higher than the ratings peak for “Arthdal Chronicles,” that was shown in the same slot, which was at 7.7 percent.Initial expectations had not been too high, as the drama was scheduled to air between the second and the third part of “Arthdal Chron

TelevisionJuly 29, 2019

Samsung C&T retains top spot in builder rankings

Samsung C&T has been named the top builder in South Korea for six straight years in terms of building capacity, government data showed Monday. The construction affiliate of Samsung Group took the top slot among the 61,559 local construction firms evaluated, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Those evaluated account for about 89 percent of 68,781 construction firms here.Samsung C&T’s construction capacity was valued at 17.5 trillion won ($14.7 billion),

EconomyJuly 29, 2019

Exports down nearly 10% in July: poll

South Korea’s exports have extended their slump for the eighth consecutive month in July, falling nearly 10 percent from a year earlier, a poll showed Monday, due mainly to the prolonged trade row between the United States and China.Outbound shipments are estimated to reach $46.6 billion last month, down from $51.8 posted a year earlier, according to the poll conducted by Yonhap Infomax, a financial information service arm of Yonhap News Agency, on 10 local financial companies. The Korea C

EconomyJuly 29, 2019