South Korea confirms 2020 minimum wage at W8,590

South Korea’s hourly minimum wage for next year has been confirmed at 8,590 won ($7.10) after a monthslong debate, the government said Monday.The Ministry of Employment and Labor legally set the figure as the minimum wage for 2020, sticking with the recommendation of the Minimum Wage Commission last week.It added that when factoring in the minimum wage to the 209 working hours every month, the monthly salary would come to 1.7 million won.  The 2.9 percent raise from this year’s

PoliticsAug. 5, 2019

Police place travel ban on official involved in Ronaldo saga

Seoul police said Monday they have put a travel ban on an official involved in a controversy surrounding football star Cristiano Ronaldo's absence in a recent exhibition match.An official with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency told reporters that one person has been banned from leaving the country, while two others from the K League, the national governing body of professional football, have been questioned. Police declined to identify the person under the travel ban. Ronaldo was conspicuous

Social AffairsAug. 5, 2019

YouTubers caught recommending illegal camping

Wilderness camping spots have been an increasingly popular item for Korean YouTubers, but unlike in other parts of the world, camping out in the wild is illegal in Korea.According to a report by Korean broadcaster SBS on Sunday, some South Korean YouTubers trespassed into off-limits areas and even encouraged their viewers to do the same. In one of the videos shown in the report, the YouTuber makes his camping spot on a rock next to a pool of water below the waterfall and then heads straight into

TelevisionAug. 5, 2019

S. Korea reviews 'propriety' of military intel-sharing pact with Japan: ministry

South Korea is reviewing whether it is right to continue exchanging military intelligence with Japan under a bilateral information-sharing pact, the defense ministry said Monday, amid speculation Seoul could rescind the agreement over a trade and diplomatic row with Tokyo.Officials in Seoul have hinted at the possibility of scrapping the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) in response to a series of retaliatory measures Japan has taken over a row surrounding wartime force

DefenseAug. 5, 2019

Korean won sharply down vs dollar amid increased uncertainty

The South Korean won traded at a three-year low against the US dollar on Monday on concerns that the escalating trade row between the United States and China, and more recently South Korea's own conflict with Japan, could further cast a pall on its economy. The won was changing hands at 1,212.30 to the greenback as of 10:56 a.m., down 14.3 won from the previous session's close, after easily breaching the psychologically significant level of 1,200 won.After opening at 1,203.60, the local currency

EconomyAug. 5, 2019

Pro-democracy push causes transport chaos in Hong Kong

HONG KONG (AFP) -- Peak-hour morning train travel and international flights in Hong Kong were thrown into chaos on Monday as pro-democracy protesters launched an attempted city-wide strike to ramp up pressure on the financial hub's embattled leaders. Activists descended on key subway stations during the morning rush hour, deliberately keeping open doors to stop trains departing, causing long queues and triggering occasional scuffles between angry commuters and protesters. More than 100 flights a

World NewsAug. 5, 2019

US to decide missile deployment locations in consultation with allies: Esper

The United States will consult allies and partners to decide where to deploy intermediate-range missiles in Asia and elsewhere to maintain deterrence after withdrawing from an anti-missile treaty with Russia, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper has said.The comments came after the US pledged to begin testing new missiles and deploy them around the world, including in Asia, after it formally pulled out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty with Russia last week."Our exit from the

InternationalAug. 5, 2019

Summer nights at Seoul’s rooftops

The night can hold a beauty unseen in the daytime, especially in Seoul. Though the capital city is often defined by its towering skyscrapers and busily rushing people, the atmosphere abruptly changes as darkness descends on a summer evening.And when the mercury does not fall even after the sun does, a visit to a hip rooftop bar can help beat the heat.Though rooftop bars have long been the thing for cities with warmer climates -- Bangkok, Singapore, Hong Kong -- more spots in Seoul are now embrac

FoodAug. 5, 2019

S. Korea to invest in 100 key strategic items for stable supply

South Korea said Monday it will invest 7.8 trillion won ($6.47 billion) in 100 key strategic items to create a stable supply by 2024, in the latest move to cope with Japan's economic retaliation. "We will upgrade the competitiveness of the materials, parts and equipment industries," Hong Nam-ki, minister of economy and finance, said in a meeting with officials in Seoul.Last week, Japan decided to remove South Korea from a list of countries subject to preferential trade status in appare

IndustryAug. 5, 2019

S. Korean An Byeong-hun finishes 2 shots short of 1st PGA win

Hurt by wayward tee shots down the stretch, South Korean An Byeong-hun has come up two strokes short of his first PGA Tour title.An finished alone in third place at the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina, on Sunday (local time), after a final round of 67 at the par-70 course. He shot a 20-under 260 for four days, two behind the champion, JT Poston.An led after each of the first three rounds, and took a one-stroke advantage over Webb Simpson and Brice Ga

GolfAug. 5, 2019

Japan issues travel advice for citizens traveling to S. Korea

Japan on Sunday asked its nationals traveling to South Korea to exercise caution, citing anti-Japanese protests in South Korea.Japan's foreign ministry also advised its nationals not to get involved in any trouble by staying away from protest sites.The advice came after bilateral relations plunged to their lowest levels in recent decades over a trade row stemming from Japan's wartime use of Koreans as forced labor during its 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. Last week, Japan's Cabin

Social AffairsAug. 5, 2019

S. Korea affirms next year's minimum wage as earlier set

The government announced Monday that the 2020 minimum wage will be set at 8,590 won ($7.16) per hour as earlier decided as it has rejected a call for more deliberation by the labor sector.The labor ministry posted next year's minimum wage in a publication in the government's official gazette, adding the hourly pay will be uniformly applied to all workplaces starting Jan. 1.In July, the Minimum Wage Commission, involving labor and business representatives and experts, decided to raise the minimum

PoliticsAug. 5, 2019

German museum removes wartime sex slave statue on Japan's pressure

Japan has allegedly pressured a German museum to remove a statue of a girl representing victims of Japan's World War II-era sexual slavery from display, a South Korean civic group said Sunday amid escalating political and trade tensions between the two neighboring countries.According to Korea Verband, a nonprofit association based in Berlin, its chairperson Han Jung-hwa donated a small statue of a girl to Ravensbruck Memorial, located in Brandenburg, northern Germany, in 2017. The German museum,

PoliticsAug. 4, 2019

Govt. vows to support local industries amid Japan's economic retaliation

South Korea's industry minister on Sunday vowed to provide any necessary support to local firms to help them cope with Japan's economic retaliation and export restrictions on key industrial materials."The government will utilize all necessary assets and capabilities to ease local firms' burdens," Industry Minister Sung Yun-mo said during a meeting with representatives from different industries. The remark came after Japan announced the removal of South Korea from its list of trusted tr

PoliticsAug. 4, 2019

New US defense chief to visit S. Korea this week

US Defense Secretary Mark Esper will visit South Korea this week for talks with his South Korean counterpart, the South Korean defense ministry said Sunday.The trip comes as North Korea continues its military provocations against South Korea's joint military exercises with the United States and as Washington reportedly wants Seoul to increase its contribution to the cost of stationing 28,500 American troops in its Asian ally's territory. During his stay in Seoul, Esper will meet with South Korea

DefenseAug. 4, 2019

S. Korea to set aside W1tr to deal with Japanese trade restrictions next year

South Korea said Sunday that it will set aside more than 1 trillion won ($833 million) in next year's budget to cope with Japan's unilateral economic restrictions.In a senior-level tripartite meeting of the government, the ruling party and the presidential office, officials agreed to do their best to minimize the fallout from Tokyo's decision on Friday to remove South Korea from its list of preferred trading partners."Placing a top priority on strengthening competitiveness of the materials,

EconomyAug. 4, 2019

Credit demanded for search dog who found missing girl on Cheongju mountain

Calls are mounting for an official commendation for a military service dog who played a key role in finding a missing 14-year-old on Friday in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province.The 7-year-old Dalgwan found the missing child at around 2:40 p.m. Friday on a mountain where she had first been reported missing 10 days prior on July 23.“Dalgwan made gestures at me during a search around the area that day, and there I found the child, about 3 meters away,” said senior military officer Pa

Social AffairsAug. 4, 2019

Japanese tweets with ‘I like Korea’ hashtag offer message of goodwill

Despite the worsening diplomatic and economic relationship between Korea and Japan, some from the two countries continue to promote goodwill-based ties via social media.Thousands of tweets from Japanese users have been posted with a hashtag written in Korean meaning “I like Korea” on Twitter, much to the surprise of Korean users of the site, who have expressed gratitude for the positive posts.  Emoji resembling South Korean and Japanese flags, accompanied by heart and crying fac

Social AffairsAug. 4, 2019

[Graphic News] Huawei still No. 2 smartphone seller despite US sanctions, Samsung No. 1

　Huawei Technologies remained the No. 2 global smartphone vendor in the past quarter despite tough US sanctions imposed on the Chinese technology giant, market trackers said.　The Chinese firm managed to boost its sales even as the overall market declined, remaining on the heels of sector leader Samsung and ahead of US-based Apple.　According to Strategy Analytics, overall global smartphone sales fell 2.6 percent to 341 million units in the April-June period.　Samsung increased its market share to

World BusinessAug. 4, 2019

9 killed, at least 16 injured in Ohio shooting

DAYTON, Ohio — Nine people in Ohio have been killed in the second mass shooting in the US in less than 24 hours, and the suspected shooter is also deceased, police said.Dayton police tweeted that an active shooter situation began in the Oregon District at 1:22 a.m., but that officers nearby were able to "put an end to it quickly." At least 16 others were taken to local hospitals with injuries, police said.The suspected shooter's identity has not been released.Miami Valley Hospita

World NewsAug. 4, 2019