UNESCO institute for documentary heritage slated to open late 2020 in Cheongju: ministry

The government has finalized an agreement with UNESCO to host an institute for its documentary heritage register in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, according to the Ministry of Interior and Safety.The ministry said, the South Korean Ambassador to UNESCO Lee Byung-hyun and Audrey Azoulay, director-general of the UN agency, signed the agreement at the its headquarters in Paris on Friday. The International Center for Documentary Heritage is designed to support UNESCO’s programs to conse

Social AffairsJuly 15, 2019

Christian group chief who attacked Moon under probe for other charges

Jeon Gwang-hoon, a pastor and chief of the Christian Council of Korea who has been accused of seditious conspiracy for repeatedly calling for President Moon Jae-in to step down, is under investigation over other charges, including violation of the banking law and forgery of documents. According to police, Jeon was questioned at Hyehwa Police Station in Seoul on Friday over allegations that he walked away with money he collected from Christians for a “mission bank” that he established

Social AffairsJuly 15, 2019

Asiana adopts smart work platform for cabin crew

South Korea’s full-service carrier Asiana Airlines said Monday that it has adopted a smart work platform called A-tab for its cabin crew to increase their work efficiency and convenience. The system,which works on a tablet PC, allows crew members to easily and conveniently check their work schedule, information on flights, work manual and also hand in work-related reports, the air carrier said. Some 4,000 cabin crew members will be given tablet PCs equipped with the system by the

IndustryJuly 15, 2019

Posco International sends volunteer team to Papua, Indonesia

Posco International, the trade and resources development arm of Posco, said Sunday that it had sent some 30 executives and employees to Papua, Indonesia, to perform volunteer work. Together with 30 medical experts from Korea University Ansan Hospital, the Women’s Health Foundation and Seegene Medical Foundation, the Korean volunteer team conducted medical checkups for some 1,160 residents in Indonesia’s eastern province of Papua from July 6 to Saturday. Posco International&rsquo

IndustryJuly 15, 2019

Chinese shoppers at Shilla Duty Free rise after WeChat tie-up

Shilla Duty Free, South Korea’s second-largest duty-free operator in terms of sales, has seen a twofold jump in number of Chinese customers on its online mall following the introduction of WeChat Pay, the company said Monday.According to the duty free operator, the number of customers who joined Shilla Duty Free’s Chinese online mall has surged as of July, compared to in March when it introduced WeChat Pay as one of its payment options. WeChat is China’s most popular mobil

IndustryJuly 15, 2019

300 nabbed for drunk driving nationwide over weekend: police

Police caught 300 drunk drivers during a nationwide crackdown over the weekend.The National Police Agency said Monday that the drunk driving crackdown, conducted between 8 p.m. Saturday and 7 a.m. Sunday, resulted in the license suspensions of 122 drivers and revocations of 166. Five refused to take the field sobriety test and seven asked for a blood sample test for further confirmation of the breath test results.Police said 3,716 officers were mobilized at 914 checkpoints around the country in

Social AffairsJuly 15, 2019

Korean oil refiners push into EV charging market

The three large Korean oil refiners -- Hyundai Oilbank, GS Caltex and SK Innovation -- are seeking new opportunities in electric vehicle charging infrastructure, amid slowing sales of diesel cars and weakening profitability in the saturated gas station market. On Monday, Hyundai Oilbank said it signed with local EV charger producer JoongAng Control and charger operator Charzin to build charging infrastructure for electric vehicles in Korea. Under the agreement, the three firms will form a hybrid

IndustryJuly 15, 2019

[Newsmaker] New law to bring to light widespread but overlooked problem of workplace bullying

A new law designed to prevent bullying in the workplace is set to go into effect in South Korea this week, setting the stage for victims of harassment at work to get some protection.A revised law on labor standards, commonly called the workplace anti-bullying law, will be effective starting Tuesday, after a six-month grace period.Physical assault and sexual abuse in the workplace are being handled in the legal domain, but harassment has been mostly overlooked as it is regarded as a personal rela

Social AffairsJuly 15, 2019

BTS wraps up Japan stadium tour

BTS has successfully completed the Japanese leg of its tour. Following its tour of the Americas and Europe, BTS performed for 210,000 fans in Japan as part of its “Love Yourself: Speak Yourself” tour. The band held concerts in Osaka from July 6-7 and in Shizuoka on Saturday and Sunday.  The seven members performed “Dionysus,” “Not Today,” “Interlude: Wings,” solo tracks and the Japanese version of “Boy With Luv,” released July 3. T

PerformanceJuly 15, 2019

Moon ready for meeting with political party leaders: Cheong Wa Dae

The office of President Moon Jae-in reaffirmed Monday that he's all set to hold a group meeting with the leaders of five major political parties in South Korea. It was responding to a proposal by Hwang Kyo-ahn, the head of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, which was made hours earlier via a press conference.Hwang cited a "crisis" from Japan's stricter export restrictions against South Korean firms in an apparent retaliatory measure over historical issues.He said he would hold a

PoliticsJuly 15, 2019

S. Korean, Israeli presidents agree to seek early FTA deal

The presidents of South Korea and Israel agreed Monday to push for an early deal in talks on a bilateral free trade agreement during a summit in Seoul.If the two sides forge an FTA, their economic cooperation in investment, services and other sectors will expand sharply, President Moon Jae-in said at the start of the Cheong Wa Dae summit with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin. "The two countries have great potential for the development of their relations, having a mutually supplementary econo

Foreign AffairsJuly 15, 2019

Lotte Chemical, GS Energy to invest 800 bln won in petrochemical JV

Lotte Chemical Corp., a major chemical unit under Lotte Group, said Monday it will establish a petrochemical joint venture with GS Energy Co., an energy-specialized holding company of GS Group.Lotte Chemical and GS Energy signed an agreement to form a joint venture, tentatively named Lotte-GS Chemical Company, this year to produce chemical compounds like bisphenol A (BPA) and C4 fraction.Lotte Chemical will have a 51 percent stake in the joint venture, with the rest to be owned by GS Energy.&nbs

IndustryJuly 15, 2019

Vice unification minister seeking to meet Japanese official during Tokyo visit

Vice Unification Minister Suh Ho is seeking to meet a Japanese official during his three-day visit to Japan this week, his ministry said Monday, amid growing concerns over a trade row between the two countries.Suh is set to leave for Japan on Tuesday to give a keynote speech at a side event of the Korea Global Forum for Peace hosted by the unification ministry, it said.  "(The government) is pushing to set a schedule for a meeting with a Japanese government official (during his visit),

Foreign AffairsJuly 15, 2019

[Newsmaker] Representatives of militant labor group to step down from minimum wage panel

A major umbrella labor union group said Monday its representatives will resign from the minimum wage panel in protest of last week's decision to hike the wage by the slowest pace in a decade.The Minimum Wage Commission, involving labor and business representatives and experts, set the minimum wage at 8,590 won ($7.32) per hour for next year Friday, up 2.9 percent from this year.The decision was a far cry from an initial demand of 10,000 won by the labor sector, a level that President Moon Jae-in

Social AffairsJuly 15, 2019

Govt. draws up five-year plan on quality control of military supplies

The arms procurement agency on Monday announced a five-year plan to better ensure the quality of military supplies so as to boost the safety of servicepersons and enhance the competitiveness of homegrown materials.Under the blueprint, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration plans to set quality criteria in major development phases and set up and run a support team in charge of checking if products fully meet requirements.   The plan also calls for assigning "patrol" of

DefenseJuly 15, 2019

Ex-CIA official advocates nuclear freeze for North Korea as next negotiation step

A nuclear freeze is the next "logical" option the United States could take in its negotiations with North Korea as it is impossible to resolve the nuclear issue in a "a single, one-step agreement," a former senior CIA official has said.In a Washington Post column on Sunday, former acting CIA director Michael Morell also stressed that a freeze, however, cannot be the end state of the negotiations and should require Pyongyang to declare all of its nuclear programs.  "

North KoreaJuly 15, 2019

Japanese man accused of illicitly filming athletes at FINA barred from leaving country

A Japanese spectator at the FINA World Championships has been barred from leaving the country following accusations he took illicit footage of women’s water polo players in a restricted area, according to police.Gwangju Gwangsan Police Station on Sunday booked the Japanese man, 37, on suspicion of violating laws on sex crimes.  While the suspect was scheduled to return to Japan on Monday after undergoing police questioning, police requested immigration authorities prohibit him from de

Social AffairsJuly 15, 2019

Mall clashes at latest Hong Kong anti-extradition march

HONG KONG (AFP) - Riot police and protesters fought running battles in a Hong Kong shopping mall Sunday night as unrest caused by a widely loathed plan to allow extraditions to mainland China showed no sign of abating.Police used pepper spray and batons against small groups of protesters, who responded by hurling bottles and other projectiles, in a night of fresh violence in the international hub.Sunday's clashes took place at the end of another huge rally -- this time in Sha Tin a district that

World NewsJuly 15, 2019

S. Korea, Israel to hold summit on high-tech ties, regional security

The leaders of South Korea and Israel will hold bilateral talks in Seoul on Monday on cementing partnerships on regional security and advanced technologies, Cheong Wa Dae said.Israeli President Reuven Rivlin arrived in Seoul on Sunday for a five-day stay.  President Moon Jae-in plans to greet him at Cheong Wa Dae for an hourlong summit that will be followed by a luncheon meeting, according to Moon's office.Agenda items include ways to strengthen cooperation in high-tech sectors, including s

Foreign AffairsJuly 15, 2019

S. Korea's Kim Sei-young wins LPGA Marathon Classic

South Korean golfer Kim Sei-young has captured her ninth LPGA title, winning the Marathon Classic tournament in Sylvania, Ohio.The 26-year-old shot a 22-under 262 to win the four-round tournament on Sunday (local time). She shot a six-under 65 on the last day to edge out Lexi Thompson of the United States by two strokes at the par-71 Highland Meadows Golf Club.The win marked Kim's ninth career title on the LPGA Tour and her second of the year. The 26-year-old, who picked up a check of $262,500,

GolfJuly 15, 2019