[News focus] Japan’s export curbs fuel political feud in S. Korea

Japan’s decision to impose export restrictions on key hi-tech semiconductor and electronics materials to South Korea is having a political fallout here. President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday reiterated Seoul’s position that the measures are politically motivated, while criticizing Japan’s attempt to justify its actions by linking them to sanctions on North Korea. “The Japanese government is taking measures that impact our economy for political goals, and making comments that

PoliticsJuly 10, 2019

[Mac Margolis] Latin America and free trade score a win

Argentina’s foreign minister fought back tears. President Maurico Macri called it “the most important agreement ever signed in our history.” Latin America’s biggest economy would soon be “reborn,” predicted a top aide to Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who likewise heralded the “great day.”The June 28 deal between the European Union and Mercosur was a breakthrough. Who knew that even as China and the US played chicken with international trade,

ViewpointsJuly 10, 2019

[J. Bradford DeLong] Is plutocracy really the problem?

Why did the policy response to the Great Recession only partly reflect the lessons learned from the Great Depression? Until recently, the smart money was on the answers given by the Financial Times commentator Martin Wolf and my Berkeley colleague Barry Eichengreen. Each has argued that while enough was remembered to prevent the 1929-size shock of 2008 from producing another Great Depression, many lessons were plowed under by a rightward ideological shift in the years following the crisis. Since

ViewpointsJuly 10, 2019

Moon presses Japan to halt export curbs before reaching 'dead end'

President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday ratcheted up the pressure on Japan to stop heading toward a "dead end" with "politically motivated" export restrictions against South Korea.Speaking at a meeting with dozens of local business leaders at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, he stressed that the government is doing its best for a diplomatic resolution to the problem. "I hope the Japanese government will respond to it," Moon said."I hope it will no longer go toward a dead end

PoliticsJuly 10, 2019

Marcos Morau to unveil new work in Seoul

Spanish choreographer Marcos Morau will introduce his new work July 19-20 at the Seoul Arts Center.The latest contemporary dance piece by the young artistic director of La Veronal is produced in collaboration with the Korea National Contemporary Dance Company, led by Ahn Sang-soo. In the piece, titled “Ssang Ssang,” Morau combines his dance company’s style with elements of traditional Korean culture.For example, Morau uses gat, Korean traditional hats made of bamboo and horseh

PerformanceJuly 10, 2019

[팟캐스트] (308) 빅히트 넷마블과 새로운 스트리밍 사이트 개발중, 상어 출몰로 제주도 해변 입욕 통제

진행자: 임현수, Paul Kerry1. Big Hit, Netmarble team up on new music-streaming platform기사요약: 투자자들에 따르면 빅히트와 넷마블이 손을 잡고 새로운 스트리밍 사이트를 개발 중이다. 아이튠즈(아이폰): https://itunes.apple.com/kr/podcast/koliaheleoldeu-paskaeseuteu/id686406253?mt=2팟빵 (안드로이드): http://www.podbbang.com/ch/6638[1] Big Hit Entertainment, the mastermind behind global sensation BTS, and the nation’s No. 1 mobile game developer, Netmarble, have joined hands to launch a brand-new music-streaming platform, multiple sources said Tues

PodcastJuly 10, 2019

S. Korea’s jobless population marks 20-year high in June

South Korea logged the steepest pace of job creation in almost two years, but the number of unemployed people reached a 20-year high, indicating the vulnerability of the local job market, government data showed Wednesday.The number of unemployed people here was tallied at 1.14 million as of end-June, up 103,000 from a year earlier, according to monthly employment figures released by Statistics Korea. This was a record high since the 1.5 million observed in June 1999 in the wake of the Asian fina

EconomyJuly 10, 2019

[From the Scene] Rising #boycottJapan campaign faces mixed reactions

Like any other ordinary day at a shopping boulevard in Gangnam, a popular district in southern Seoul, stores conducted business as usual on Monday.A flock of shoppers were busy rifling through items at summer discount deal corners and walking down the aisle of new products at stores, including ABC Mart, a Japan-owned shoes and clothing company.“A call for boycott campaigns (on Japanese goods) doesn’t really affect me,” a shopper told the Korea Herald.“In the same way that

IndustryJuly 10, 2019

Cathay Pacific sponsors homegrown startups to take part in RISE 2019

HONG KONG -- What does an airline have to gain in leveraging early-stage startups?A seemingly unlikely match, Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways has set out to foster local tech startups to shape the city into a global innovation hub and lead more people to fly to and from Hong Kong for business. “This is our home, our most important market. Success of Hong Kong translates to success of Cathay,” said the company’s Chief Customer and Commercial Officer Paul Loo, in an inte

IndustryJuly 10, 2019

Migrant woman can maintain residency after divorce: top court

The top court ruled Wednesday that a marriage migrant can maintain her residency status after divorcing her South Korean husband even if she is partly responsible for the breakup, overturning earlier rulings that required the Korean spouse to be 100 percent at fault.  The Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Vietnamese woman, 23, who filed a suit against the immigration office that refused to authorize an extension of her stay in the country after a divorce, seeking a revocation of the ad

Social AffairsJuly 10, 2019

Lotte shares stagger on anti-Japanese sentiment

Shares of Lotte Group subsidiaries continued to stagger Wednesday following anti-Japanese sentiments due to trade restrictions on exports of key raw materials to local tech conglomerates. The retail giant with its owner family’s roots in Japan is in hot water due to its association with popular Japanese brands including Uniqlo and Asahi.Shares of Lotte Corp., holding company of Lotte Group, closed nearly 1.5 percent lower from the previous session at 40,400 won ($34.19). Lotte Shopping, wh

MarketJuly 10, 2019

Wealth of Korean rich shed amid trade woes: Forbes

Caught in the crossfire of the China-US trade war, export-reliant South Korea saw a steep decline in overseas shipments, and a consequent decline in the wealth among the members of the rich-list, Forbes said Wednesday.A total of 37 list members saw their net worth take a hit in the volatile economic environment. The combined net worth of Korea’s 50 richest declined 17 percent to $110 billion from $132 billion a year ago, the magazine said citing the latest Forbes Rich List.With the slump i

EconomyJuly 10, 2019

Hyundai E&C clinches W3.2tr contract deal with Saudi Aramco

South Korea’s Hyundai Engineering & Construction said Wednesday that it had obtained a whopping 3.2 trillion won ($2.7 billion) deal to expand the production capacity of an offshore oil field owned by Saudi Arabia’s state-run oil company Saudi Aramco.The contract encompasses two oil development projects, Package 6 and Package 12, to be undertaken at the Marjan offshore oil field in northeastern Saudi Arabia. For Package 6, the company will expand the production capacity of an exi

IndustryJuly 10, 2019

Trust can make unimaginable happen in talks with US: N. Korean media

US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un were able to hold a third meeting on the inter-Korean border last month due to their sincere trust and bold will, Pyongyang’s propaganda outlet Maeari said Wednesday. Highlighting close relationship between Kim and Trump, Maeari noted that the top-level encounter in the Demilitarized Zone occurred just a day after the US president made a request by simplifying complex diplomatic protocol that typically takes weeks and months to

North KoreaJuly 10, 2019

Man faces arrest for stabbing wife, daughter to death

Police have sought an arrest warrant for a 60-year-old man on charges of murdering his wife and daughter, according to Masan Dongbu Police Station on Wednesday.Police said the man, identified only by his surname Lee, is accused of fatally stabbing his wife, 56, and daughter, 29, at their home in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, at around 8 a.m. Sunday. Police were alerted to the case Tuesday by the wife’s brother and friend, who visited Lee’s residence and saw the bodies. The wit

Social AffairsJuly 10, 2019

Moon likely to go ahead with appointment of top prosecutor

President Moon Jae-in was set to request a report from the National Assembly on Wednesday on the confirmation hearing of Prosecutor General nominee Yoon Seok-youl -- a report that two opposition parties have refused to adopt, accusing Yoon of perjury.A Cheong Wa Dae official told Yonhap News that the president would make the request Wednesday. A day after the main opposition Liberty Korea Party decided not to adopt the report on Yoon’s confirmation hearing, which would have signaled its ap

PoliticsJuly 10, 2019

Asiana Airlines kicks off flights to Mongolian capital

South Korea’s second-largest full-service carrier Asiana Airlines said Wednesday it has newly added a flight route to Ulaanbaatar from Tuesday -- a lucrative route monopolized by Korean Air for almost three decades.  In February, the Transport Ministry gave Asiana approval to fly the highly sought-after route linking South Korea and Mongolia. The Incheon to Ulaanbaatar route is being operated with Airbus A330-300 aircraft, which can seat 290 passengers. Flights on the route will

IndustryJuly 10, 2019

Civic group chief urges Seoul to work harder to restart Kaesong complex, Mount Kumgang tours

A civic group chief urged the South Korean government on Wednesday to intensify efforts to resume a now-shuttered industrial park in North Korea and suspended tours to a scenic mountain in the communist state."It is quite disappointing that it has been two years since the government was inaugurated ... but our diplomatic and security lines have failed to persuade the US Congress and the White House to realize how important the Mount Kumgang tours and the Kaesong Industrial Complex are,"

PoliticsJuly 10, 2019

Police arrest actor suspected of raping production staff member

Actor Kang Ji-hwan was arrested Tuesday over suspected sexual assault. Gwangju Police Station said the actor was arrested without a warrant at around 10:50 p.m. at his home in Gwangju, a city southeast of Seoul in Gyeonggi Province.According to police, Kang is suspected of raping a staff member of a production company and molesting another at his home on Tuesday evening. Kang and the two women had gone to the actor’s place for a second round of drinks after a company dinner. One of the two

Social AffairsJuly 10, 2019