Korea eyes WTO suit over Japan’s move against Korean chips

South Korean government will sternly deal with Japan’s move to restrict exports of high-tech materials to Korean chip and display makers, and is considering filing a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization against the neighboring country, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced Monday.  “The government will seek stern measures including legal measures in terms of international and domestic laws, including filing a complaint with the WTO.” said Trade Min

IndustryJuly 1, 2019

[Daron Acemoglu, James A Robinson] Istanbul shows how democracy is won

 When the Turkish High Election Council, dominated by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s appointees, annulled Istanbul’s all-important municipal election on May 6, the world was right to be concerned. But now that another vote has been held, it is Erdogan who should be worried.This year’s local elections -- originally held March 31 -- have been widely regarded as a referendum on Erdogan’s authoritarian rule. With  the revote in Istanbul, the full results are now i

ViewpointsJuly 1, 2019

[News Focus] Baby boomers make waves in job market

SEJONG -- They were the backbone of the country’s social and economic development in the 1980s and 1990s, and many of them are still working in core posts in the public and private sector.But now South Korea’s baby boomer generation -- born between 1955 and 1963 -- are having to deal with a retirement that many are not ready to accept.As some employers have a mandatory retirement age 60 or earlier, boomers have been leaving their main jobs since 2010, with knock-on effects on the job

Social AffairsJuly 1, 2019

[Feature] Patients alienated as mental illness falls through cracks in system

Is it safe to live with people with mental disorders? This is the question many South Koreans are asking after a series of highly publicized crimes committed by people with psychological conditions.In a country where mental illness has long been stigmatized and patients removed from the community, reports of traffic accidents and crimes committed by those with mental illness are viewed with great alarm.But mental health groups and advocates question whether the mental health information is even

Social AffairsJuly 1, 2019

Watchdog to wrap up multitrillion won KIKO dispute review

South Korea’s financial market watchdog is set to wrap up its long-stalled arbitration over the disputed sales of currency-option contracts within the month, and is likely to suggest a compensation rate of 20-30 percent on the product by banks.The dispute arbitration committee of the Financial Supervisory Service will hold its final meeting as early as next Tuesday to confirm its recommendations on the damage compensation for the so-called KIKO case, officials said Monday.The given arbitra

MarketJuly 1, 2019

Hanwha introduces new electronic detonator HiTronic II

South Korea’s Hanwha Corp. announced Monday it has introduced an advanced version of its electronic detonator, called “HiTronic II,” with an aim to increase the firm’s global market share to 25 percent by 2024. 　Hanwha said in a press release that the company had succeeded in developing HiTronic II, an improved version of its predecessor, HiTronic I. Hitting the market in 2015. Hitronic I is the country’s first electronic detonator developed by a local defense firm.

TechnologyJuly 1, 2019

[Newsmaker] South Korea wrestles with finalizing 2020 minimum wage

As interested parties struggle to decide next year’s minimum wage, the Korea Employers Federation said Monday that various economic indicators show the rapid increase in minimum hourly wage has taken a toll on companies, laborers and the government.Discussion at the Minimum Wage Commission has been stalled since members representing management left the meeting after the commission voted down a proposal to change the minimum wage by industry.“The recent sharp rise in minimum hourly wa

Social AffairsJuly 1, 2019

[Analysis] What’s next for S. Korea after Trump-Kim meeting?

With US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un agreeing to return to the negotiating table, South Korea’s behind-the-scenes diplomacy is expected to continue to ensure that the nuclear talks get back on track. Breaking a four-month stalemate was a near-impromptu meeting in the truce village of Panmunjom, inside the Demilitarized Zone that separates the two Koreas on Sunday, which came after Trump tweeted an invitation to Kim on Saturday from Japan where he was attending

North KoreaJuly 1, 2019

South Korean party leaders praise Trump-Kim meeting

South Korea's top politicians on Monday hailed the latest meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un for providing a crucial momentum for advancing the stalled nuclear talks and peninsula peace efforts.Trump and Kim agreed Sunday to restart working-level nuclear negotiations in a few weeks during their impromptu meeting in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that divides the two Koreas. Trump became the first sitting US president to step into the North and invited Kim

PoliticsJuly 1, 2019

Samyang’s bestselling spicy chicken ramen sales top W1tr

South Korean food manufacturer Samyang Foods said Monday that its bestselling instant noodle Buldak Spicy Chicken Ramen recorded accumulated sales of 1 trillion won ($863 million), seven years after its launch. According to the company, the sales of its spicy chicken ramen brand shot up from 100 billion won in 2016 to 282 billion won as of last year.  Following the successful hit of the brand, the company developed and launched Carbo Buldak Spicy Chicken Ramen, which set another record

IndustryJuly 1, 2019

Samsung SDI CEO calls for innovative corporate culture

In celebration of the company’s 49th anniversary, the chief of Samsung SDI urged staff on Monday to secure exclusive battery technology by creating an innovative corporate culture.“We can achieve sustainable growth only if we build (and) innovate corporate culture at a time of intensifying market competition for leadership in the future,” said Jun Young-hyun, CEO and president of Samsung SDI, a battery making unit under Samsung Electronics. “Through our innovative DNA, wh

IndustryJuly 1, 2019

Jungheung Group becomes largest shareholder of Herald Corp.

Jungheung Group, a major South Korean construction conglomerate based in Gwangju, announced Monday that it has become the largest shareholder of Herald Corp., the parent company of The Korea Herald and The Herald Business.As part of its strategy to diversify its construction-focused business, Jungheung completed acquisition of 47.8 percent stake in Herald Corp. late last month, pledging to innovate with the Seoul-based media company through strategic investments. Upon inauguration as the new cha

IndustryJuly 1, 2019

Eximbank under pressure to boycott coal finance

South Korea’s official export credit agency Export-Import Bank of Korea is under pressure from international environmental activists to halt its financing of coal power plants, amid a growing global campaign to tackle climate change and air pollution. On Sunday, Greenpeace Korea shone a laser light on the headquarters building of the Export-Import Bank of Korea in Seoul, displaying messages that read, “Stop investing in coal-fired plants” and “President Moon Jae-in, when

IndustryJuly 1, 2019

Women sex crime victims double in past decade: report

The number of women who were victims of a sexual offense in 2017 has increased over twofold since 2007, according to a ministry report.An annual statistical report on women’s life in Korea, released jointly by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Statistics Korea on Monday, showed that women who were reported as the victims of sexual offenses had increased 2.3 times from 12,718 in 2007 to 29,272 in 2017. Men who were reported as sexual offense victims also increased 2.6 times from 697 to 1,

Social AffairsJuly 1, 2019

Unidentified object spotted over DMZ was a flock of birds: JCS

An unidentified object detected on military radars flying near the border with North Korea turned out to be a flock of birds, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Monday, after the detection prompted fighter jets to scramble.Earlier in the day, the JCS said that the military "is checking and taking measures after the military radar captured an unidentified object in the sky above the Demilitarized Zone in the central portion of the inter-Korean border in Gangwon Province at around 1 p.m.The objec

DefenseJuly 1, 2019

Body of Korean tourist drowned in Kota Kinabalu set to return home

The body of a South Korean tourist who drowned in waters off Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, has been found and will be returning to Korea, the Korean Embassy in Malaysia said Monday.According to the Korean Embassy in Malaysia, an 18-year-old surnamed Ahn went missing at around 3:30 p.m. Friday after he was swept away by waves while swimming at a beach in Karambunai. A search and rescue team comprising the local fire department, the police and the Coast Guard was deployed at around 4:17 p.m. after his

Social AffairsJuly 1, 2019

Yuhan Corp. licenses out NASH pipeline to Boehringer Ingelheim for $870m

Korean pharma company Yuhan Corp. said through a regulatory filing Monday that it has clinched a deal worth $870 million to license out its nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) pipeline to global biopharma firm Boehringer Ingelheim for joint research and development purpose.　Yuhan and Boehringer Ingelheim’s collaboration aims to develop first-in-class dual agonist for NASH and related liver diseases that combines GLP-1 and FGF21 activity in one molecule, the companies said. 　“This mol

IndustryJuly 1, 2019

99% of workers at Homeplus now permanent employees

South Korean discount chain Homeplus said Monday that it has granted permanent employment status to 14,283 contract workers at its stores, who account for some 62 percent of all workers at Homeplus, Homeplus Stores and Homeplus Holdings.  The change means Homeplus employs only 1 percent of its workers, or 228 individuals, on a contract basis, according to the company.Homeplus said having 99 percent of its employees, or 22,900 individuals, hold full-time permanent status was a meaningful ste

IndustryJuly 1, 2019

'Hyangho Beach Bus Stop' favorite travel destination for BTS fans: poll

A bus stop on a remote east coast beach has been voted the most popular travel destination for K-pop group BTS' fans planning to visit South Korea, a poll showed Monday.The "Hyangho Beach Bus Stop" in the Jumunjin district of Gangneung, Gangwon Province, ranked first in a popularity poll of BTS filming locations across Korea conducted by the Korea Tourism Organization on 22,272 fans in 137 countries.According to the KTO, 21.8 percent of the pollees chose the Hyangho Beach Bus Stop in G

TravelJuly 1, 2019

Busan police chief named to lead Seoul police agency

Lee Yong-pyo, commissioner of the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency, was appointed as chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in a reshuffle of top police officers on Monday.Lee Joon-sup, director of the National Security Bureau at the Korean National Police Agency , was promoted to head the Korean National Police University, while Kim Chang-ryong, commissioner of the Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency, was named new chief of the Busan agency.  Bae Yong-joo, director of the KNPA‘

PoliticsJuly 1, 2019