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

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

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

‘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

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

‘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

‘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

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

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

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

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

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

Japan’s export curbs to have negative implications globally: AmCham

Amid the ongoing tensions following export curbs by Japan on hi-tech exports to South Korea, the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea on Thursday expressed concerns that it could have a negative impact on global trade.“AmCham is committed to free and fair trade worldwide. The tightening of export controls on critical materials to Korea will have damaging effects on bilateral trade and also have negative implications globally,” the organization said in a statement. It added that

IndustryJuly 25, 2019

One of the missiles North Korea fired was new design - S. Korea official

At least one of the two missiles North Korea test fired on Thursday was a newly developed design and flew some 690 km (428 miles), an official at South Korea's defence ministry told Reuters.The other missile travelled about 430 km (267 miles) before coming down in the sea off North Korea's east coast, the official said, adding that a detailed analysis was being done to verify if the two missiles were the same model. (Reuters)

North KoreaJuly 25, 2019

World Toilet Association earns UN consultative status

The World Toilet Association has been granted special consultative status by the United Nations Economic and Social Council for its expertise in health and hygiene. This allows the WTA, currently led by Suwon Mayor Yeom Tae-young, to take part in meetings and events held by the UN to present ideas, build an international network and engage in lobbying. The WTA applied for special consultative status with the council in May last year and received a recommendation from its Committee on Nongovernme

Social AffairsJuly 25, 2019

Moon calls for 'fundamental change' of state prosecution

President Moon Jae-in stressed Thursday that the South Korean people want a "fundamental change" of the state prosecution accused of having been often politically swayed, as the new chief prosecutor began his two-year tenure."(You) are assuming a very important post at a very important time," Moon told Yoon Seok-youl after presenting him a letter of appointment at Cheong Wa Dae.Yoon is a veteran prosecutor widely regarded as reform-minded and unyielding to outside pressure. H

PoliticsJuly 25, 2019

NCSoft marches onto global stage with AI tech

NCSoft, a pioneer in artificial intelligence research among Korean game companies, is shifting beyond the tech applicable to games to cover various original AI tech for cross-genre industries. Under the drive of CEO Kim Taek-jin and President Yoon Song-yee, the company put together an AI research team as early as 2011. Eight years forward, the company now has around 150 AI research-focused staff. NCSoft touts that its AI know-how is of international standards -- CEO Kim is quoted to have exchang

IndustryJuly 25, 2019

Korea to join RCEP talks in China this week

South Korea is slated to participate in the 27th official negotiations this week to discuss the implementation of an Asia-Pacific mega trade deal possibly this year. The upcoming talks for a Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership will be held in Zhengzhou, China, from Friday. RCEP is, in essence, a massive regional trade deal between the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the six countries with which ASEAN has free trade agreements -- Korea, China, Japan, Indi

IndustryJuly 25, 2019

Over 6 in 10 Koreans taking part in boycott of Japanese goods: poll

More than 6 in 10 South Koreans are taking part in a boycott of Japanese products amid growing public resentment over Tokyo's export restrictions, a poll showed Thursday.In the poll of 504 adults nationwide conducted Wednesday by pollster Realmeter, 62.8 percent said they were participating in the anti-Japanese boycott, marking steady rises from two previous surveys. The boycott participation rate was 48 percent in Realmeter's first such poll on July 10 and rose to 54.6 percent in a second surve

Social AffairsJuly 25, 2019

NSC to discuss N. Korean missile launch: Cheong Wa Dae

South Korea's presidential National Security Council will soon discuss the issue of North Korea's latest missile firing, Cheong Wa Dae said Thursday.Immediately after the North launched two short-range missiles early in the morning, President Moon Jae-in received a briefing from the NSC, according to Han Jun-woo, Cheong Wa Dae's deputy spokesman.Cheong Wa Dae is thoroughly handling the situation through the "crisis management center" of the national security office, he said.  The

DefenseJuly 25, 2019