Seoul shares forecast to remain in tight range next week

South Korean shares are expected to remain in a tight range next week as investors take to the sidelines ahead of key economic events, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 2,095.41 points on Friday, compared with 2,072.33 points a week ago.The index rose for two sessions in a row to a one-month high on Tuesday as China's exports remained bullish in May and it eased rules on local government spending on public projects.The KOSPI, however, closed

MarketJune 15, 2019

Trump brushes off N. Korea's sanctions violations

US President Donald Trump on Friday appeared to downplay North Korea's violation of sanctions, saying "everybody" tries to skirt them.Trump has seemed eager to keep diplomacy with North Korea alive despite the collapse of his second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in February and the North's firing of short-range missiles last month.On Tuesday he revealed that he received another "beautiful" letter from Kim and expressed optimism about the future of US dealings wi

North KoreaJune 15, 2019

Foreign pharmaceutical firm to invest $630 mln in S. Korea: Cheong Wa Dae

A global pharmaceutical company announced a plan Friday to invest $630 million in South Koreaover the coming five years, participating in a "business summit" held here on the occasion of President Moon Jae-in's state visit, his office said.Moon joined the South Korea-Sweden Business Summit at a downtown hotel, along with King Carl XVI Gustaf, Prime Minister Stefan Lofven and hundreds of businesspeople from the two sides.They included Leif Johansson, chairman of AstraZeneca, a Swedish-B

IndustryJune 15, 2019

ASEAN cultural festival kicks off

The ASEAN-Korea Center, an intergovernmental organization, has kicked off ASEAN Week 2019 in Seoul. The ASEAN-Korea Center Secretary-General Lee Hyuk, Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon and Thai Ambassador Singtong Lapisatepun joined the opening ceremony held Friday at Seoul Plaza and delivered congratulatory remarks.Seoul Mayor Park has pledged to strengthen ties with major cities of the 10 ASEAN member countries.First lady Kim Jung-sook, who is on an overseas trip with President Moon Jae-in, also deliv

Diplomatic CircuitJune 14, 2019

Swedish king: Moon's visit to improve bilateral ties

STOCKHOLM, (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in's state visit to Sweden is expected to serve as a chance for the two countries to deepen cooperative ties, King Carl XVI Gustaf said Friday. The king greeted Moon at the Royal Palace in Stockholm in a grand welcoming ceremony. Moon rode through the streets in a horse-drawn carriage to reach the palace in accordance with Sweden's tradition and protocol for state guests. Moon then inspected honor guards.Briefly speaking to media later, the

Foreign AffairsJune 14, 2019

Senior diplomats of S. Korea, US hold phone talks over bilateral ties, cooperation

Senior diplomats of South Korea and the United States held phone talks on Friday to discuss ways to build a lasting peace on the peninsula and other issues of mutual concern, Seoul's foreign ministry said.In the morning, Vice Foreign Minister Cho Sei-young and US Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan had their first phone conversation since Cho took office last month.They shared the understanding that US President Donald Trump's visit to Seoul, slated for late this month, will serve as a cruci

Foreign AffairsJune 14, 2019

Moon suggests trust-based denuclearization, peace

SSTOCKHOLM, (Yonhap) -- triving to jump-start the slow-going Korea peace process, South Korean President Moon Jae-in called overtly for North Korea's substantive denuclearization on Friday.Addressing the Parliament House in the Swedish capital, he pressed Pyongyang to continue dialogue, either bilateral or multilateral, until it wins the trust of the international community."Peace can be realized only through peaceful means, which is dialogue. It is dialogue, not nuclear arms, that will kee

Foreign AffairsJune 14, 2019

S. Korean Christian activists launch association promoting religious freedom in N. Korea

South Korean Christian leaders and activists on Friday launched an association to secure and promote religious freedom in North Korea.The International Coalition for Religious Freedom in North Korea held its inaugural meeting in central Seoul on Friday, bringing together some 200 activists and Christian advocates. Among them are Thae Yong-ho, who served as a high-ranking North Korean diplomat based in London before defecting to South Korea in 2016, and Kenneth Bae, a Christian missionary who was

Social AffairsJune 14, 2019

Yang Min-suk steps down as YG CEO

Yang Min-suk, the brother of YG Entertainment’s founder and chief producer Yang Hyun-suk, who also served as the label’s CEO, stepped down from his post Friday, announcing his decision in an emailed statement. In the statement, the former YG CEO said he wished his “decision (to resign) will bring about the start of new, positive changes for YG Entertainment.”Earlier in the afternoon, his brother also announced his decision to step down from all his posts at at the agency.

Social AffairsJune 14, 2019

CGV Arthouse kicks off ‘Cinema Adult Vacation’ in July

CGV, the country’s largest multiplex operator, will kick off an event featuring films exclusively for adult viewers from July 11-24 at CGV Arthouse branches, which focus on arthouse and indie films.  “Cinema Adult Vacation” will introduce 17 films, ranging from classic horror movies, such as “The Exorcist” and “The Omen,” to zombie film “28 Days later.” Some of the films will be screened here for the first time, including Jim Jarmus

FilmJune 14, 2019

Yang quits as YG chief amid growing suspicions of drug offense cover-up

Yang Hyun-suk, quit as the head of YG Entertainment, the agency he founded 23 years ago, as allegations of police collusion grew Friday.In the latest development in a string of scandals swirling around the embattled label, a whistleblower filed a report against YG with the Anti-corruption and Civil Rights Commision Tuesday, which raised suspicions of the label’s colluding with the police to cover up a possible drug use offense involving one of its artists -- B.I of iKon. YG terminated

Social AffairsJune 14, 2019

S. Korean refiners closely monitoring tanker attacks in Gulf of Oman

South Korean oil refiners said Friday they're closely monitoring the potential fallout from the recent tanker attacks in the Gulf of Oman, a key waterway for oil transport from the Middle East, although they don't expect to see any significant problems in oil supplies.  Global crude oil prices jumped as much as 4 percent before settling about 2 percent higher Thursday following the news that two tankers had been attacked near the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping route fo

IndustryJune 14, 2019

Samsung BioLogics apologizes for destructing evidence of alleged fraud

Samsung BioLogics on Friday apologized for the destruction of evidence related to alleged accounting fraud involving its affiliate Samsung Bioepis. Samsung BioLogics and Samsung Bioepis said in a joint statement, “We deeply regret the unsavory circumstances resulting from disgraceful acts such as the destruction of evidence.” “We feel gravely responsible for the arrest of our officials and the subsequent difficulties in management,” they added. “In order to prevent

IndustryJune 14, 2019

[Breaking] Yang Hyun-suk quits as YG Entertainment head

Yang Hyun-suk announced Friday he had stepped down from all posts he holds at YG Entertainment. The announcement was posted on the label’s official website Friday afternoon.He said while he had “devoted the past 23 years of his life to YG Entertainment,” he “couldn’t bear the shameful things being said as if they were true any longer.” “I believe the truth will be revealed in due time through investigation,” he added.YG founded the label in 19

Social AffairsJune 14, 2019

Prosecutors demand prison term for singer-actor Park Yoo-chun

Prosecutors demanded imprisonment of one and a half years for Park Yoo-chun, an actor and former member of boy band JYJ, in a court trial on his drug charges Friday.They also asked for a fine of 1.4 million won ($1,180) against the disgraced entertainer during the trial at the Suwon District Court in Suwon, 40 kilometers south of Seoul.The prosecutors asked the court to issue probation and treatment orders for Park if it chooses to give a suspended prison sentence. The 32-year-old Park was indic

Social AffairsJune 14, 2019

New vice unification minister visits inter-Korean liaison office for 1st time

Vice Unification Minister Suh Ho visited the inter-Korean liaison office in North Korea's border town of Kaesong on Friday for the first time since his appointment.Suh was appointed last week as the South Korean chief of the office. He replaced Chun Hae-sung last month as vice unification minister, who also serves as Seoul's liaison office chief.Suh crossed the western land border into the North earlier in the day and returned home in the afternoon after meeting the South Korean staff and figuri

North KoreaJune 14, 2019

ILO conventions are universal rights: ILO Director

Lee Sang-heon, the director of the International Labor Organization’s employment policy department, on Friday stressed that core ILO conventions are minimal universal rights of laborers and took a negative stance on allowing substitute laborers in case of a strike.“Key ILO conventions are minimal universal rights that should be granted all workers regardless of where they are. … They should not be subject to negotiation or conditions,” Lee said. He is the first South Kor

PoliticsJune 14, 2019

[Newsmaker] Court dismisses filmmaker Hong Sang-soo's divorce suit

A Seoul court rejected award-winning director Hong Sang-soo's request for divorce at a verdict hearing on Friday.The Seoul Family Court handed down the sentence after Hong applied for a divorce settlement in November 2016 and filed a divorce suit in December that year."Hong and his wife's marriage is on the rocks, and yet the primary responsibility goes to Hong. Supreme Court precedent does not allow those who are responsible for a marriage's breakdown to seek divorce," judge Kim Seong

FilmJune 14, 2019

Samsung denies rumors of Galaxy Fold’s July launch

Little progress seems to have been made on the launch of Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Fold, as the company on Friday denied rumors that the world’s first foldable smartphone would be released in July. There have been rumors that the foldable device would be unveiled to Korean media in June and released on the market in July. Last week, Samsung’s smartphone business chief Koh Dong-jin told a Korean media outlet that the phone would arrive before July. However, according to Samsun

TechnologyJune 14, 2019