Naver chooses 4 Asian countries as outposts for V Live service expansion

 　South Korean tech giant Naver said Thursday it will focus on four Asian countries in expanding its K-pop livestreaming service, as part of efforts to boost its global profile starting with the region with better business outlook. 　During a press conference in central Seoul, Naver V Live’s chief Park Sun-young said it had chosen Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and Japan as strategic countries for expansion and would encourage local pop stars and influencers to participate in the V Live

TechnologyMay 23, 2019

[Photo news] Paving the way to Myanmar

 

MarketMay 23, 2019

‘Competition laws should be more flexible in digital era’

The South Korean antitrust watchdog will be more flexible in enforcing competition laws with the emergence of new services and products in the digital era, its chief said following a meeting with large companies Thursday. Fair Trade Commission Chairman Kim Sang-jo held a closed-door policy meeting with top executives from 15 companies, including Hanjin, CJ, Kumho Asiana, Kolon, OCI and Kakao -- the nation’s largest companies ranking from 11th to 34th by assets.This is the fourth time Kim h

IndustryMay 23, 2019

Seoul to become first global city to use 5G network in public transit

　Following hype over how to incorporate the fifth-generation network into autonomous driving since the network began commercial service here last month, the initial step toward the futuristic goal is expected to take off in Seoul later this year. 　South Korea’s biggest mobile carrier SK Telecom and Seoul City government said Thursday they have agreed to develop 5G-based maps for self-driving. By the second half of this year, 1,700 vehicles will be used to create a map by providing real-tim

TechnologyMay 23, 2019

K-water hosts global forum to address water scarcity

DAEJEON -- Scientists, government officials and representatives of global environmental organizations gathered in Daejeon City on Thursday to discuss water shortage around the world and possible response measures at the 2019 International Drought Forum.Organized jointly by Korea Water Resources Corp., or K-water, the South Korean Ministry of Environment and Asia Water Council, the forum running through Friday touches upon a range of issues related to water scarcity, such as countermeasures by gl

IndustryMay 23, 2019

[Newsmaker] Moon replaces vice foreign, unification, defense ministers

President Moon Jae-in replaced vice ministers of diplomatic, defense and inter-Korean affairs simultaneously on Thursday amid a stalemate in the peace-building process and efforts to resolve a history dispute with Japan. He appointed Cho Sei-young, chancellor of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, as first vice foreign minister, according to Cheong Wa Dae.He is "a diplomat well-versed in Northeast Asia, especially Japan (issues) ... (He) is expected to lead the innovation of the Ministry

PoliticsMay 23, 2019

Inaugural Korea Fintech Week kicks off

The inaugural Korea Fintech Week event kicked off in Seoul Thursday, bringing together more than 50 local startups and 2,500 attendees to share business ideas and clinch new investment opportunities.The three-day event taking place at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul through Saturday is organized by the Financial Services Commission, Financial Supervisory Service and Fintech Center Korea.The CEOs of fintech operators, including mobile payment platform Kakao Pay, personal finance managem

MarketMay 23, 2019

Net profit of overseas FI branches jumps 37%

The overseas branches of South Korean financial institutions reported a 37 percent growth in their combined net profit on-year to nearly $1.3 billion last year, data from the Financial Supervisory Service showed Thursday.Overall, 79.1 percent of the combined net profit came from branches in Asia. China contributed the most with $252 million, with Hong Kong and Vietnam each tailing behind at $235 million and $157 million, respectively.  The number of overseas branches operated by the firms i

MarketMay 23, 2019

Hyundai Motor heir stresses customer-first value, partnerships with mobility firms

Hyundai Motor Group Executive Vice Chairman Chung Eui-sun has vowed to bring the focus back to customers and stressed that the group’s future success lies on building firm partnerships with global mobility companies. The remarks came during an event by Carlye Group as part of its annual conference, which invites the world’s political and business leaders to share insights. Chung had been invited to share his thoughts and priorities for the world’s fifth-largest automaker.&

MobilityMay 23, 2019

Moon lauds Bush’s visit as strong Korea-US alliance

South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Thursday said former US President George W. Bush’s attendance at a memorial service to commemorate the late South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun reflects strong alliance between the two countries.“Thank you for attending the official ceremony to mark the 10th anniversary of former President Roh. I believe (former) President Bush’s attendance to commemorate Roh, who was a partner in the Korea-US alliance, is symbolic of the strong alliance,&r

PoliticsMay 23, 2019

Hyundai Heavy Industries wins two LNG vessel deals worth $390m

The world’s largest shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries said Thursday it has obtained two additional orders to build liquefied natural gas carriers, bringing its total number of orders to five so far this year. HHI revealed that a deal had been made with an unnamed European shipping company for two LNG vessels valued at $390 million in total. The vessels will have 180,000 cubic meters in capacity and will be delivered by HHI’s Ulsan headquarters in 2022.The vessels will be equipped

IndustryMay 23, 2019

Vice transport minister opposes market entry of Uber

LEIPZIG, Germany -- Citing the role of taxis in Korea as a form of quasi-public transport, South Korea’s vice transport minister said Wednesday that he “disagrees” with the idea of global ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft entering the local market.In an interview with Korean reporters covering the International Transport Forum in German city of Leipzig, Kim Jeong-ryeol, the second vice minister of transport, land and infrastructure, said that the Korean government was wo

MobilityMay 23, 2019

Koreans’ overseas card spending down in Q1

Overseas card spending by South Koreans fell in the first quarter, despite the rising number of outbound tourists, as a weaker Korean won discouraged them from swiping cards overseas, central bank data showed on May 23.　In the January-March period, Koreans spent $4.68 billion using cards abroad, down 3.3 percent from three months earlier, according to the data by the Bank of Korea.　Quarterly card spending peaked at a record $5.07 billion in the first three months of 2018. But it declined for two

EconomyMay 23, 2019

Seoul to remove right of parents to administer punishment of kids

South Korea said Thursday that it will remove the right of parents to administer corporal punishment on their children as part of efforts to enhance the rights of minors.The move is part of the Moon Jae-in administration's youth policy that aims to create an environment where children can be happy and enjoy themselves, with the government taking on more responsibility to ensure young people live safe, healthy, protected and fulfilling lives.Under the plan, revision of the country's civil law wil

Social AffairsMay 23, 2019

[Newsmaker] Diplomat accused of leaking phone conversation between Moon, Trump

South Korea's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae has found the diplomat suspected of leaking the phone talks between President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Donald Trump to a lawmaker earlier this month, an official said Wednesday. Earlier this month, Rep. Khang Hyo-shang of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party said Moon asked Trump during the phone conversation to visit South Korea immediately after his May 25-28 trip to Japan, citing an unnamed diplomatic source in the US."We have conf

Foreign AffairsMay 23, 2019

Six former aides to Park Geun-hye may face indictment for political intervention

Six former presidential secretaries to President Park Geun-hye were found to have illegally intervened in local elections and politics during the previous administration, police said Thursday.A special investigation team of the Korean National Police Agency ( said it has referred the six, including former presidential Chief of Staff Lee Byung-ki and two former senior presidential secretaries for political affairs, Hyun Ki-hwan and Cho Yoon-sun, to the prosecution for indictment on charges of abu

PoliticsMay 23, 2019

S. Korean Olympic chief nominated for IOC membership

The head of South Korea's Olympic body has been nominated for membership of the International Olympic Committee, a major boost for Seoul's efforts to increase its influence in global sports.Korean Sport & Olympic Committee President Lee Kee-heung was one of 10 candidates proposed for the election by the IOC's Executive Board on Wednesday (local time) in Lausanne, Switzerland.The list was submitted to the IOC Session that will meet in June, also in Lausanne. The vote, usually a formality, is

Olympic GamesMay 23, 2019

Top diplomats of S. Korea, Japan to hold talks in Paris amid tensions over forced labor

The top diplomats of South Korea and Japan were set to hold bilateral talks on the sidelines of an international meeting in Paris on Thursday amid rising tensions over Tokyo's wartime forced labor, Seoul's foreign ministry said.Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha will meet her Japanese counterpart, Taro Kono, on the margins of the Ministerial Council Meeting of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in the French capital. Bilateral ties have chilled in recent months as Japan has c

Foreign AffairsMay 23, 2019

Gender pay gap widens at large firms in Q1

The wage gap between male and female workers at large firms here widened in the first quarter from a year earlier, data showed Thursday.Women working for 202 major listed companies were paid an average 15.37 million won ($12,910) in the January-March period, or 63.5 percent of the median pay of 24.2 million won for male employees, according to the data by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news and information arm of Yonhap News Agency.It was slightly lower than the 64.6 percent ratio recorded during

EconomyMay 23, 2019

Director Bong Joon-ho: stairs are a key metaphor in ‘Parasite’

CANNES, France -- South Korean auteur Bong Joon-ho said Wednesday that stairs serve as a key metaphor for hierarchical social status and materialism in his Cannes-nominated black comedy “Parasite.” “Nearly 90 percent of the story takes place in a big house, the home of the rich family. It has a vertical structure -- second floor, first floor and basement,” the director said at an official press conference for the 72nd Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France. &ldqu

FilmMay 22, 2019