[News Focus] Single-person households on the rise in S. Korea

SEJONG -- Ten years ago in July 2009, the number of single-person households was 6.08 million in South Korea, which took up 31.7 percent of the total households.Compared to a mild increase in the number of households over the past decade, the number of single-person households has surged by more than two million to post 8.33 million as of July 2019.According to the Ministry of Interior and Safety, they account for 37.3 percent of the total 22.31 million households across the country.They exceede

Social AffairsAug. 15, 2019

Clash of the titans: Samsung Galaxy Fold, LG V50S to debut at IFA

Global smartphone makers are anticipated to go head-on in September, with some strategically unveiling their latest models at the annual trade show, the Internationale Funkausstellung (IFA) 2019, from Sept. 6 to 11 in Berlin, Germany.LG Electronics announced that it will introduce its new dual-screen smartphone V50S at the annual consumer electronics show, while industry watchers predict Samsung Electronics is likely to display its foldable phone Galaxy Fold for consumers to experience it firsth

IndustryAug. 15, 2019

S. Korea’s credit card spending on Japanese brands halves amid boycott

South Korean consumers cut back their credit card spending on products sold by Japanese brands here by nearly 50 percent as of end-July, a report by the nation’s financial watchdog showed Thursday.According to the report released by an opposition lawmaker, the combined card spending plummeted to 4.9 billion won ($4 million) in the fourth week of July, from 10.2 billion won in the last week of June. On-year, the combined credit card spending on Japanese products sold in Korea, fell 48 perce

MarketAug. 15, 2019

[Eye Plus] Japanese colonial history in Korea at a glance

On Thursday, a national holiday marking Korea’s independence from Japanese colonial rule on Aug. 15, 1945, the Museum of Japanese Colonial History in Korea was very crowded with visitors wanting to better understand the history of the two neighboring countries amid a deepening diplomatic and trade rift. The two-story museum, which sits in a small alley in Yongsan, central Seoul, opened in August last year through donations from the public, civic groups and academics. It exhibits the h

CultureAug. 15, 2019

SK Innovation secures W800b green loan for EV battery

SK Innovation said it has secured an 800 billion won ($650 million) green loan to expand its investments in electric vehicle batteries. The company said it secured the funds through several financial organizations, including the Korea Development Bank, KEB Hana Bank and Bank of America, without giving further details. A green loan is a new lending activity aimed at making sustainable investments and reducing the impact on the environment with lower interest rates. SK Innovation said the fun

IndustryAug. 15, 2019

Seoul yet to decide on sending Cheonghae Unit to Strait of Hormuz

The Ministry of National Defense Ministry said Thursday that it has not yet decided on sending the anti-piracy Cheonghae Unit to the Strait of Hormuz in response to Washington’s request to forge a coalition against Iran’s military activities amid heightened tensions with Tehran.“Sending (Cheonghae Unit) to the Strait of Hormuz has not been decided. … We are considering various ways to protect our vessels in the area, and are closely observing the situation,” the mi

DefenseAug. 15, 2019

Bolton says NK missile launches violate UN resolutions, threaten allies

US National Security Adviser John Bolton has said that North Korea's recent short-range missile launches violate UN resolutions and pose threats to South Korea, Japan and American troops in Asia, the Voice of America reported. Since July 25, the North has launched a series of short-range projectiles, including ballistic missiles, five times to protest the ongoing South Korea-US combined military exercise, which it sees as a rehearsal for an invasion."The latest test of a missile we denomina

North KoreaAug. 15, 2019

S. Korea expresses 'deep concerns' over Abe's offering to controversial war shrine

South Korea on Thursday expressed "deep concerns" over Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ritual offering to a war shrine seen as a symbol of Japan's imperialistic past.Abe sent the offering to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine via an aide to mark the country's 1945 surrender in World War II, Kyodo News reported. It marked the seventh consecutive year for him to send an offering to the shrine on the Aug. 15 day of surrender since taking office in December 2012.Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide

World NewsAug. 15, 2019

As China pressure mounts, Hong Kong's Cathay sacks two pilots

Cathay Pacific said Wednesday two pilots had been sacked, as the Hong Kong carrier comes under huge pressure from Beijing to clamp down on staff supportive of anti-government rallies."One is currently involved in legal proceedings. The other misused company information on Flight CX216/12 August," the airline said in a statement.Hong Kong has been gripped by ten weeks of protests that have seen millions take to the streets, sparked by opposition to a planned law that would have allowed

World NewsAug. 14, 2019

Govt braces for Typhoon Krosa as it nears the Korean Peninsula

The government is on alert Wednesday as Typhoon Krosa is forecast to affect the eastern part of the country, officials said. The powerful tropical storm is heading northward from western Japan and will likely skirt the eastern coastal regions, including Busan, Ulsan and the easternmost islands of Ulleung and Dokdo, early Thursday, according to the country's weather agency. Krosa is not expected to make landfall in South Korea.The Ministry of the Interior and Safety said it had raised the typhoon

Social AffairsAug. 14, 2019

Russia's vice foreign minister in Pyongyang: KCNA

Russian Vice Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov arrived in Pyongyang on Wednesday, North Korea's state media reported, a visit that comes amid the possibility of a resumption of nuclear talks between the North and the United States. Morgulov, the senior diplomat in charge of Asia-Pacific affairs, is in the North Korean capital along with other officials, the Korean Central News Agency reported, without giving details on when he arrived or the purpose of his trip. Morgulov also serves as Russia's spe

North KoreaAug. 14, 2019

Three workers killed in elevator crash

An elevator carrying three workers crashed from a height equivalent to a 15-story building, killing all three.Two foreign laborers on the ground level, who were injured when a hoist crashed at the construction site in Sokcho, Gangwon Province, were transferred to a hospital, but they soon disappeared, police said Wednesday. Police suspect the two foreign nationals in their 40s were in Korea illegally and left the hospital out of concern their undocumented status would be revealed. “We are

Social AffairsAug. 14, 2019

[Anniversary Special] Waiting for apology they deserve

On Saturday, a commemoration ceremony was held in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, to remember the women who were forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military during World War II. The House of Sharing, a shelter for the wartime sex slavery survivors, hosted the event, with two of its residents in the audience. This year marks the 28th anniversary since the first South Korean survivor of sexual slavery came forward on Aug. 14, 1991. Of the six remaining survivors currently residing at the House

Social AffairsAug. 14, 2019

Seoul, Tokyo cancel vice foreign ministers meeting

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday denied reports that the vice foreign ministers of Seoul and Tokyo would meet this week to discuss the trade row. Ministries from both sides appear to have canceled the plan after it was reported by the media. Citing diplomatic sources, news outlets in the two countries reported that South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Cho Sei-young and his Japanese counterpart, Takeo Akiba, would meet Friday or Saturday to discuss ways to resolve the ongoing trade

Foreign AffairsAug. 14, 2019

[Anniversary Special] Historian calls for recognition of progress in Korea-Japan relations

The long-brewing dispute between Seoul and Tokyo over history has come to a head, spilling over into the economic realm, with Japan restricting the exports of key materials for manufacturing chips and displays to South Korea and removing it from its whitelist of trade partners.While the Korean government has responded with retaliatory measures of its own and citizens here are boycotting Japanese goods and travel, there are concerns about bilateral relations and how the current situation will pan

PoliticsAug. 14, 2019

[J. Bradford DeLong ] America’s superpower panic

Global superpowers have always found it painful to acknowledge their relative decline and deal with fast-rising challengers. Today, the United States finds itself in this situation with regard to China. A century-and-half ago, imperial Britain faced a similar competitive threat from America. And in the 17th century, the Dutch Republic was the superpower and England the challenger.History suggests that the global superpower should aim for a soft landing, including by engaging with its likely succ

ViewpointsAug. 14, 2019

[Kim Myong-sik] Moon’s illusory ‘peace economy’ with North Korea

The physical world we live in is governed by constructive power and destructive power. Constructive power can be measured by the value of things that individuals or groups create over a period of time. They call it GDP on the national level. Destructive power is estimated by looking at the things that can be destroyed (annihilated) in a conflict; it represents security threats between adversaries.North Korea is believed to have stored 20 to 30 nuclear bombs, each having the destructive energy of

ViewpointsAug. 14, 2019

S. Korea begins process of excluding Japan from whitelist

South Korea on Wednesday started the legislative process to exclude Japan from its list of preferential trading partners, as part of the snowballing trade row between the two neighbors.The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy has posted an advance legislative notice to revise its whitelist of trade partners, removing Japan from the top-tier list.Feedback will be accepted until Sept. 2, after which it will be put through a regulatory screening and legal review, before taking effect. Earlier thi

EconomyAug. 14, 2019

NK says US missile deployment will turn S. Korea into 'bullet-shield'

North Korea's official news agency on Wednesday warned South Korea not to host US intermediate-range missiles on its soil, saying the deployment would be a "reckless act of escalating tension" in the region.Earlier this month, the US formally pulled out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty with Russia and vowed to begin testing new missiles and deploy them around the world. Shortly after the withdrawal, US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said Washington will consult with its

North KoreaAug. 14, 2019