Bulgari to correct ‘kimono’ description on hanbok

Italian luxury fashion house Bulgari is to change the description on a costume on exhibition, after a Korean anchorman pointed out the error.On Monday, SBS anchorman Jung Woo-young wrote on his Instagram account (@woo0c) that he saw a hanbok on display at exhibition “La storia, Il Sogno by Bvlgari” held at Castel Sant’Angelo in Rome, Italy. The Italian fashion house, however, noted it as kimono, traditional Japanese garment. According to the description, the “black silk s

Arts & DesignJuly 30, 2019

Japan likely to pass bill striking S. Korea off export whitelist: ministry

Japan is highly likely to pass a bill later this week to remove South Korea from its "whitelist" of trusted trade partners, the foreign ministry said Tuesday, in what would be an additional economic retaliatory measure in a row over wartime forced labor."The bill is expected to be passed at a Cabinet meeting and undergo procedures ... before it comes into effect in late August," the ministry said in a report submitted to the National Assembly. On July 4, Japan imposed tighter

InternationalJuly 30, 2019

S. Korea's pro football body sends protest letter to Juventus

South Korea's pro football governing body, the K League, said Tuesday that it has sent a letter of protest to Juventus FC for its breach of contract for benching Cristiano Ronaldo in an exhibition match in Seoul last week.On Friday, the friendly between the Italian champion and K League All-Stars was scheduled to start at 8:00 p.m., but the kick-off was delayed about one hour as the Italian team arrived at Seoul World Cup Stadium at 8:15 p.m.Moreover, some 63,000 fans went home disappointed, as

Social AffairsJuly 30, 2019

S. Korea, US agree to discuss defense cost sharing in 'reasonable, fair' way

South Korea and the United States have agreed to conduct discussions in a "reasonable and fair" way on how to share the cost for the upkeep of American troops here, a foreign ministry official here said Tuesday.The two sides talked about the upcoming negotiations over Seoul's share of the cost for the stationing of the 28,500-strong US Forces Korea for next year, when US National Security Adviser John Bolton visited Korea last week, the official said.The local daily JoongAng Ilbo repor

DefenseJuly 30, 2019

Seoul to prepare for tangible achievements in inter-Korean ties

South Korea will continue to make preparations toward producing tangible achievements in inter-Korean ties, despite stalemated relations between two Koreas, the unification ministry said Tuesday."We will continue to make efforts to improve inter-Korean relations, including the implementation of South-North join declarations," the ministry said in a report submitted to the National Assembly, referring to summit agreements their leaders signed last year."We will consistently send a

North KoreaJuly 30, 2019

Shinhan Financial raises $500m via debt sale

Shinhan Financial Group Co., a major financial holding firm in South Korea, said Tuesday it has raised $500 million by selling sustainability bonds. Sustainability bonds are floated to exclusively finance a combination of green and social projects.The US dollar-denominated bonds carry an yield of 3.34 percent, Shinhan Financial said in a statement. Proceeds from the sale will be used to help Shinhan Financial fund for a range of environmental, social and governance projects, the company said. (Y

MarketJuly 30, 2019

Pompeo hopes talks with N. Korea will resume 'very soon'

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday that he's hopeful working-level talks with North Korea will resume "very soon."In remarks to The Economic Club of Washington DC, Pompeo also said he hopes there are "creative solutions to unlocking" the current impasse over dismantling North Korea's nuclear weapons program in exchange for sanctions relief."We hope that we can have working-level discussions starting again very soon, so that we can unlock the Rubik's Cube,"

North KoreaJuly 30, 2019

US sanctions N. Korean over ties to WMD program

The United States on Monday sanctioned a Vietnam-based North Korean on suspicion of supporting North Korea's weapons of mass destruction program in violation of UN sanctions.The US Treasury Department announced the measure on its website, saying the individual, Kim Su-il, is tied to the North's ruling Workers' Party and an employee of its affiliate, the Munitions Industry Department.That department, it said, was previously sanctioned by the US and the UN for its involvement in "key aspects&

North KoreaJuly 30, 2019

Pompeo says countries to join Strait of Hormuz plan amid report on S. Korean participation

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday that countries around the world will join a US-led maritime force off the coast of Iran, after a South Korean newspaper reported that the Asian country plans to send a naval unit to the Strait of Hormuz.Pompeo did not mention any countries by name in his remarks to the Economic Club of Washington, DC But last week he told Fox News that the US had asked South Korea, Britain, France and other nations to join the US initiative to protect the strategical

DefenseJuly 30, 2019

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