BMW Korea teases all-new BMW 1 Series

BMW Korea revealed Tuesday the return of BMW 1-Series that it said will provide customers a smooth ride with ultimate efficiency.The local branch of the German luxury carmaker said it would showcase its third-generation BMW 1-Series at the #NextGen event, to be held in Munich BMW Welt on June 25-27.The premium compact hatchback has undergone a design upgrade as well as technological advances that will enhance user experience, it said.The interior will boast a driver-centered design with more spa

MobilityMay 28, 2019

[News focus] Trump’s take on NK hints at gaps with aides, Japan

US President Donald Trump appears to be taking a different tack on North Korea from his advisers and also from Japan, sending mixed signals about US-North Korea relations and dialogue prospects. Speaking before and after his summit with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo on Monday, Trump reiterated his views on North Korea’s recent provocations and on its leader, Kim Jong-un. “I think he’s very much -- I talk to him a lot about it, and he’s very much into th

North KoreaMay 28, 2019

1MDB scandal financier allegedly attended YG head’s dinner parties with prostitutes

A third-generation scion of a conglomerate “played an important role” at dinner gatherings involving sexual services arranged by YG Entertainment head Yang Hyun-suk for foreign investors, according to an investigative TV program reporter Tuesday. 　 The MBC program “Straight” which aired late Monday alleged that Yang hosted dinner parties and procured prostitutes for two wealthy investors -- Low Taek Jho, a Malaysian fugitive sought by the authorities in Malaysia, Singapor

Social AffairsMay 28, 2019

Hyundai Motor delivers Nexo to Malaysia’s energy supplier

Hyundai Motor’s hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle Nexo has been delivered to a Malaysian public energy company, the automaker said Tuesday, as part of its plan to expand into the Southeast Asian market with its eco-friendly model.  According to Hyundai Motor, two Nexo cars have been delivered to Sarawak Energy Berhad, a state-run energy supplier, during the opening ceremony for Southeast Asia’s first hydrogen charging station. The ceremony was attended by officials includ

MobilityMay 28, 2019

Music in PyeongChang to tell ‘A Different Story’

Music in PyeongChang (MPyC), also known as the Great Mountains Music Festival, has revamped its concerts and program, with the aim of becoming a leading music festival here. The program for this season was announced by festival artistic director and pianist Son Yeol-eum and Gangwon Art & Culture Foundation Chairman Kim Sung-hwan during a press conference Tuesday in Seoul.Now in its 16th year, the event was originally launched to promote the PyeongChang Olympics. It is held twice a year, in s

PerformanceMay 28, 2019

Prime minister promises ‘soft landing’ for gaming disorder in Korea

The Office for Government Policy Coordination under the prime minister said Tuesday that it will form a consultative group to help respond to the World Health Organization’s adoption of game addiction as an official disease. The announcement follows discord between the Culture Ministry, which opposes the WHO decision, and the Welfare Ministry, which stands by it. “Through this consultative group we will minimize the concerns from game industry and seek reasonable ways to settle a hea

IndustryMay 28, 2019

Korea’s consumer sentiment index dips to 6-month low

South Korea’s composite consumer sentiment index fell in May for the first time in six months, due to a slowing economy, volatile stock market and concerns over the escalating trade war between the US and China.　The Bank of Korea said Tuesday that the CSI -- which measures consumers’ optimism about the economy -- came to 97.9 for May, down 3.7 points from the previous month.It marks the first decline in the index since November 2018, when it fell to 95.7. It had been on a five-month

EconomyMay 28, 2019

Korean general to lead joint drills to test Seoul’s readiness for wartime OPCON transfer

A Korean four-star general is expected to lead joint military drills with the US in August to test Seoul’s readiness to take over wartime operational control of its troops.The first joint exercise for assessment of initial operational capability (IOC), to be held during the combined command-post exercise in August, is likely to be led by a Korean general, according to the ROK-US Combined Forces Command (CFC) and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The wartime OPCON transfer to Korea will proceed as

DefenseMay 28, 2019

LG Electronics fined by FTC for false advertising

LG Electronics was fined 50 million won ($42,000) by South Korea’s antitrust watchdog for false advertisement of one of its home appliances, the government said Tuesday. The Fair Trade Commission said LG falsely advertised that plastic containers inside its Kimchi refrigerators received certification from the US Food and Drug Administration. LG’s Kimchi containers met the safety standards of the FDA but did not receive certification. The FDA certifies only medicines and not plas

IndustryMay 28, 2019

S. Korean firms issue more than W5tr of ESG-related bonds

South Korean firms have issued more than 5 trillion won ($4.27 billion) worth of environmental, social and governance-related bonds so far this year, which surpasses the volume of the asset class floated for the entirety of last year. ESG-related bonds are fixed income investments -- mostly issued by government-run organizations or institutions at the moment -- that finance environmental or social projects that help boost transparency and sustainability in society. Local firms including state-ru

MarketMay 28, 2019

Musical ‘The Merchant of Venice’ plays at Sejong Center

A musical adaptation of William Shakespeare’s classic “The Merchant of Venice” is being staged until June 16 at the M Theater of Sejong Center for the Performing Arts.The Korean-language production is directed by Park Geun-hyung and performed by the Seoul Metropolitan Musical Theater.The piece follows the original storyline of the 16th century play, which takes off after Bassanio seeks a large sum of money for his expenses on the way to woo beautiful and wealthy heiress Portia.

PerformanceMay 28, 2019

Envisioned Seoul-Tokyo defense chiefs' talks on hold: Japanese media

The defense ministers of South Korea and Japan are expected to hold a brief meeting while standing, rather than formal talks, on the sidelines of an international conference in Singapore early next month, a Japanese newspaper reported Tuesday.The neighboring countries have been pushing to hold the meeting between South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and his Japanese counterpart Takeshi Iwaya in Singapore on the sidelines of the upcoming Asian security forum, known as the Shangri-La Dia

DefenseMay 28, 2019

Seoul revokes license for gene therapy drug Invossa

South Korea's drug authorities on Tuesday canceled the license for the gene therapy drug Invossa for the mislabeling and the false reporting of an ingredient used, sending a shock to patients and the country's pharmaceuticals sector.The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety's move came after the manufacturer, Kolon Life Science, acknowledged that a substance in the joint pain treatment drug has been mislabeled since 2003, but failed to clearly explain why it had occurred."Kolon Life Science fals

IndustryMay 28, 2019

Number of Starbucks' premium outlets in S. Korea exceeds US

Starbucks Korea said Tuesday that the number of its upscale Reserve outlets has exceeded that of the United States, reflecting Koreans' growing appetite for premium coffee.The US coffee giant will open its 50th Starbucks Reserve store in central Seoul on Wednesday, Starbucks Korea said in a statement. The coffee chain runs 37 premium stores in the US."We are planning to expand the Reserve stores in Korea to absorb increasing demand for premium coffee," a company spokesman said. Starbuc

IndustryMay 28, 2019

Two feared dead, 17 hurt after Japan mass stabbing

TOKYO (AFP) -- Two people, including a child, were feared dead Tuesday in a mass stabbing attack that also injured 17 people in the Japanese city of Kawasaki, the local fire department said."One man and one female child are showing no vital signs, said fire department official Yuji Sekizawa, employing a phrase commonly used in Japan to mean the victims have died but the death has not yet been certified by an official medical professional.Footage broadcast on local TV stations showed multipl

World NewsMay 28, 2019

Veteran baseball player announces abrupt retirement after DUI accident

The oldest active player in South Korean baseball abruptly announced his retirement on Monday, hours after getting caught driving under the influence of alcohol.Park Han-yi of the Samsung Lions in the Korea Baseball Organization said he wanted to hold himself accountable for a DUI accident that occurred in Daegu, 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, around 9 a.m. Monday. Park was on his way home after dropping off his daughter at school when he got into a fender bender. Police arrived at the scene

Social AffairsMay 28, 2019

Renault shows 'interest' in Fiat Chrysler merger offer

PARIS -- French automaker Renault said Monday that it would study "with interest" a 50-50 merger proposal from Fiat Chrysler, a deal that could reshape the industry as Renault reviews its options following the arrest in Japan of its chief executive.Renault had for years tied its strategy to a partnership with Japanese automaker Nissan but this has come into question after the arrest and subsequent ouster of Carlos Ghosn at both companies.After a board meeting over what it termed a &quo

World BusinessMay 27, 2019

Japan asks for S. Korea's cooperation for G-20 summit

The top Japanese envoy in Seoul asked for South Korea's cooperation for a successful Group of 20 summit in Japan, South Korea's finance ministry said Monday.Japan's Ambassador to South Korea Yasumasa Nakamine made the request in a meeting with Hong Nam-ki, minister of economy and finance, at a government building in Seoul, according to the ministry.The summit, set for June 28-29 in Osaka, Japan, will bring together leaders of the Group of 20 advanced and emerging economies, including South Korea

Foreign AffairsMay 27, 2019

N. Korea slams Bolton as 'security-destroying advisor,' 'human defect'

North Korea sharply criticized US National Security Advisor John Bolton on Monday, calling him "a security-destroying adviser," a "structurally defective guy" and a "human defect" that "deserves an earlier vanishing."A spokesperson for the North's foreign ministry unleashed the vituperation, bristling at Bolton's denunciation of the communist nation's recent missile launches as a violation of UN Security Council resolutions."As for the UNSC 'resolutio

North KoreaMay 27, 2019