Most Popular
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After opposition U-turn, Korea to repeal plan for financial capital gains tax
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North Korea fires ballistic missiles hours before US Election Day
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Gangnam Station ramming suspect to face detention
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Harris, Trump face off as North Korea tests US on Election Day
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Amid record-low approval rating, Yoon forgoes Assembly budget address
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[Out of the Shadows] Seoul room clubs offer drugs to compete for clientele
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Local food festivals enjoy unexpected popularity as snacks go viral
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South Korea and Central Asia set stage for first summit
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Ruling party leader condemns North Korea troop dispatch as crime against humanity
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‘Children have the right to great stories': Head of Astrid Lindgren Award stands firm against book ban
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Korea provides evidence of Russian warplane’s airspace intrusion
South Korea presented Russia with evidence of a Russian warplane’s airspace intrusion Thursday, during a working-level meeting over a recent intrusion into Korea’s territorial skies, Seoul’s Defense Ministry said, as the two sides maintain conflicting accounts of the incident. “During the working-level meeting, the Defense Ministry provided a detailed explanation with evidence that the Russian military aircraft violated South Korea’s airspace,” the ministry sa
DefenseJuly 25, 2019
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[David Ignatius] US military muscle in Persian Gulf
ABOARD THE USS BOXER IN THE PERSIAN GULF -- Capt. Ronald Dowdell was on the starboard side of the bridge, looking toward Iran, as his vessel passed through the Strait of Hormuz on July 18. He’d been monitored by Iranian helicopters and speedboats, but now a drone was closing fast. Dowdell ordered his crew to disable the drone because it “looked like a potential threat,” he said in an interview on that same bridge Tuesday. The danger signs were the drone’s proximity to the
ViewpointsJuly 25, 2019
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[Editorial] Security posture
The intrusions by Chinese and Russian warplanes into South Korea’s air defense zone this week seemed designed to test the robustness of security ties between Seoul, Washington and Tokyo.On Tuesday, two Russian bombers and two Chinese bombers trespassed Korea Air Defense Identification Zone without prior notice. Afterward, a Russian surveillance aircraft committed what the South Korean Air Force described as an “unprecedented violation of the country’s airspace” over the D
EditorialJuly 25, 2019
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Hyundai Motor to launch AI center in Silicon Valley this year
Hyundai Motor Group plans to launch a research unit of its artificial intelligence division in the heart of Silicon Valley within this year, establishing its first overseas division entirely for AI development, the company said Thursday.The AIR Center will be the latest addition to Hyundai Motor’s AI projects. The carmaker launched the Artificial Intelligence Research Lab late last year and hired Kim Jeong-hee, a South Korean expert in deep learning and former leader of Naver Lab’s i
MobilityJuly 25, 2019
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Korea to raise tax credit rate for corporate facility investments, R&D
The South Korean government announced Thursday that it plans to raise the tax credit rate for corporate facility investment and research and development in an effort to stimulate the economy by lifting the tax burden on firms. The government’s announcement of its 2019 tax code revision bill, comes amid an escalating trade row between Korea and Japan, after Tokyo placed export restrictions on key materials needed for semiconductors and display screens, as well as a slew of pessimistic econo
EconomyJuly 25, 2019
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Hyundai Motor chief meets Indonesian leader for future investments
Hyundai Motor Group Executive Vice Chairman Chung Euisun on Thursday held talks with Indonesian President Joko Widodo to discuss the carmaker’s market entry and future investment plans, according to the company.Chung is the first South Korean conglomerate leader to meet President Widodo after his election victory in May. During the meeting held at the presidential palace in Jakarta, the Indonesian leader reportedly sought more investments by Hyundai in the country, touting the carmaker as
MobilityJuly 25, 2019
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Homeplus announces expansion of specialized stores, online biz
South Korea’s discount chain Homeplus on Thursday raised the stakes in the competitive retail market here by announcing its full-fledged expansion of specialized branches and online business.During a press conference on its business strategy held in Seoul, Homeplus CEO Lim Il-soon said that the retail giant will aim to raise its online revenue from around 600 billion won last year to 2.3 trillion won by 2021 through innovation that breaks the boundaries of online and offline shopping.Homep
EconomyJuly 25, 2019
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[News Focus] Moon’s approval ratings slide in Seoul, Sejong: poll
SEJONG -- One year ago, President Moon Jae-in was gaining support from a dominant portion of people nationwide over his performance in state affairs.Moon’s approval rating had reached 67 percent, according to a poll conducted from July 17-19 last year by Gallup Korea. Only 25 percent of the 1,000 surveyed responded that they did not support him.His collective approval rating across the country was roughly in proportion to figures in the Seoul metropolitan area and North and South Chungcheo
PoliticsJuly 25, 2019
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LG Chem invests W500b for battery plant in Gumi
LG Chem will invest 500 billion won ($424 million) in building a 60,000 ton-capacity cathode material plant in Gumi, north Gyeongsang Province by 2024, the company said Thursday. Cathode is one of the four main parts of a lithium ion battery, alongside the anode, electrolyte and membrane. The cathode accounts for 40 percent of the raw materials cost of electric vehicle batteries. “Starting with the investment in Gumi, LG Chem will kick spur into producing its own core materials for batteri
IndustryJuly 25, 2019
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SK hynix to downsize production amid profit plunge
SK hynix, the second-largest chipmaker in the world, announced Friday its lowest quarterly operating profit in three years in the second quarter of this year, and has decided to downsize production amid growing concerns about demand recovery and impact of the trade dispute with Japan.The company said it posted 6.45 trillion won ($5.46 billion) in sales during the April to June period, down 38 percent from a year earlier, while recording 638 billion won in operating profits. Second-quarter operat
TechnologyJuly 25, 2019
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Nationwide #boycottJapan campaign puts Korean workers in tight spot
These days, Kim Hyun-jin feels uneasy telling others where he works. “I have been working at Uniqlo for two years as a part-timer. I am proud of my workplace. It is a fun place to work, with nice people and relatively a good amount of pay,” said the 25-year-old student majoring in fashion at a university, who agreed to speak under a pseudonym.“But now, when I say I work at Uniqlo, people think I’m doing something very wrong and it makes me feel very uncomfortable. I
IndustryJuly 25, 2019
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‘30/50 Club’ looks into Korea’s rapid growth, uncertain future
“30/50 Club: A Dialogue on S. Korea, US, China and N. Korea,” originally published in Korean in February, has recently been published in English.Penned by Hong Sang-hwa, the 424-page book looks into how Korea became the seventh country to join the “30-50 Club,” referring to countries with a per capita GNI of more than $30,000 and a population of more than 50 million, following the US, Japan, Germany, Britain, France and Italy. The writing takes the form of an imaginary di
BooksJuly 25, 2019
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Arrested North Korean spy suspect under investigation
A suspected North Korean spy, who was sent to the South and allegedly lived here as a Buddhist monk since last year, has been arrested, marking the first such case in nine years, authorities said Thursday.The National Intelligence Service reported details of the suspected North Korean spy to representative members of the National Assembly’s Intelligence Committee led by Rep. Lee Hye-hoon of the Bareunmirae Party on Thursday morning.“We are not in a situation to brief information on t
PoliticsJuly 25, 2019
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‘My Name Is Kim Bok-dong’ tells tale of comfort women, champion of human rights
In January, human rights activist Kim Bok-dong passed away just shy of 93.With her death, all but 21 identified Korean women who were sexually enslaved by the Japanese during World War II -- euphemistically called comfort women -- had passed away. At the same time, the prospect of Japan’s Shinzo Abe administration formally apologizing for the country’s past sins grow ever dimmer. Upcoming documentary “My Name Is Kim Bok-dong” focuses on Kim’s life and struggles
FilmJuly 25, 2019
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‘Special Labor Inspector, Mr. Jo,’ ‘To Jenny’ nominated for 2019 Seoul International Drama Awards
Two Korean dramas are among finalists competing for the 14th Seoul International Drama Awards. The organizing committee of the awards announced a list of 28 television dramas from Korea and abroad selected as finalists for this year, at the Korea Press Center in central Seoul on Thursday.Two Korean productions, comedy drama “Special Labor Inspector, Mr. Jo” and music drama “To Jenny,” were chosen as contenders for the best drama award. Korean director Park Chan-wook&
TelevisionJuly 25, 2019
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Korean biotech firms seek retraction of Japan’s trade curbs
The Korea Biotechnology Industry Organization issued a statement Thursday calling for a withdrawal of Japan’s move to exclude South Korea from the trade whitelist, citing the peaceful nature of bio pathogens trade and the open collaboration required to foster the technology worldwide.The organization represents more than 300 companies, including major pharma and biotech firms. Japan requires approvals for trade of human, animal, plant pathogens and toxins, as well as fermenters and cross-f
IndustryJuly 25, 2019
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Korean Food Promotion Institute helps farmers as onion prices plummet
Amid an unprecedented onion crisis, the Korean Food Promotion Institute held an event Tuesday to promote sales of the vegetable.A record harvest of onions, despite a decrease in farmland that grows the vegetable, has resulted in a heavy drop in prices.To help farmers, restaurateur Paik Jong-won shared recipes using onions on his YouTube channel. Individuals, companies and local governments are also supporting farmers by purchasing large amounts of onions.Joining the movement, the Korean Food Pro
FoodJuly 25, 2019
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Video of man in clown mask attempting burglary a viral marketing stunt
The closed-circuit TV clip of a man in a clown mask attempting to break into an apartment turned out to have been a viral marketing stunt by a delivery service agency, according to police.Seoul Gwanak Police Station said Thursday the police summoned the video’s publisher, a 34-year-old surnamed Choi, for questioning. The video, posted Tuesday on YouTube under the title “CCTV of psychopath burglar in Sillim-dong,” quickly garnered online attention, prompting the building’s
Social AffairsJuly 25, 2019
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Four men accused of mocking wartime sex slavery victims apologize
Four South Korean men apologized Wednesday for mocking women who were forced into sexual slavery for Japanese soldiers during World War II.Six surviving sex slavery victims said Thursday the men visited them at a shelter in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, kneeled and apologized.The men, who are in their 20s and 30s, spat on a statue representing a wartime sex slave on July 3 in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, and spewed insults in Japanese. The memorial statue in shape of a young girl was erected in remem
Social AffairsJuly 25, 2019
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Eximbank to be more inclusive in financing new exporters
South Korea’s official export credit agency Export-Import Bank of Korea said Thursday it will expand its credit policy to be more inclusive in financing new exporters with low credit ratings. According to Eximbank, it has allocated a total of 20 billion won ($17 million), with individual raw material exporters funded up to 3 billion won.Also, firms in the innovative growth industry -- such as the energy, information and communications technology, and future transportation and materials sec
MarketJuly 25, 2019