Most Popular
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Psy's touch or new trend in music? P Nation’s solo stars lose their shine
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Seoul to hold grand military parade on Tuesday, disrupting major city routes
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Yoon warns North Korea against nuclear attack attempt
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Park Zi-a, the actor who played 'The Glory' heroine's mother, dies
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Miss Universe Korea names 80-year-old model 'best dressed'
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Shut up and dance
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NewJeans fans corner Hybe amid PR backlash, looming National Assembly audit
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Israel targets Palestinian group in first strike on Beirut center
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Brit pop legend Oasis to perform in Seoul next year
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Seoul mayor suggests shift in immigration policy
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Korean economy to face stronger headwinds
Entering the New Year, the Korean economy finds itself besieged by a complex set of external and internal risks that threaten to continuously hamper its growth. Government policymakers estimate the country’s gross domestic product will grow by 3.1 percent in real terms this year, marking a modest improvement from last year’s growth, which is estimated to have remained at 2.7 percent. Announcing the 2016 economic policy directions last month, they pledged to revitalize the economy by boosting dom
Dec. 31, 2015
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Korea's major industries bracing for downturn in 2016
After a year of prolonged economic downturn and a major drop in exports in 2015, South Korea faces another grim outlook in 2016 as most of its major industries are forecast for sluggish growth. Though Korea’s overall trade will slightly grow, its net export volume will increase by just 2.1 percent this year, according to the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics & Trade. The state-run Korea Development Bank expects a general recession of the domestic economy to continue into the new year as t
Dec. 31, 2015
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Presidential office refutes rumors on Seoul-Tokyo agreement
Cheong Wa Dae, South Korea's presidential office, on Thursday refuted rumors surrounding a deal with Japan on the issue of Korean women forced into sexual slavery for Japanese soldiers during World War II."Reports based on false facts and groundless rumors that only confuse society only leave another scar on the issue of wartime sex slavery," presidential spokesman Kim Sung-woo told reporters.On Monday Seoul and Tokyo reached a breakthrough deal in which the Japanese government apologized and of
PoliticsDec. 31, 2015
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Business leaders stress reform, innovation for 2016
The heads of South Korea’s major business groups called upon the government and businesses to undertake bold structural reforms and continued innovation to remain globally competitive in 2016, while projecting a prolonged economic downturn in the new year. “The Korean economy is at a crucial crossroads. Once we fall behind in the global competition, it (would be) difficult to regain our position,” said Huh Chang-soo, chairman of the Federation of Korean Industries, Korea’s big business lobbying
IndustryDec. 31, 2015
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Kakao, Line vie in Asian character market
KakaoTalk and Line, the nation’s top two mobile messengers, have been pitted against each other to take the lead in the $20 billion Asian character merchandising market.The two mobile messengers operate their own off-line retail stores, dubbed the Kakao Friends Shop and Line Friends Store, respectively, selling products ranging from dolls and smartphone battery chargers to clothes and jewelry emblazoned with characters and emoticons on the mobile messenger platforms. Line Friends Store in Myeong
TechnologyDec. 31, 2015
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Overseas construction orders drop 30% in 2015
Overseas construction orders won by South Korean builders in 2015 fell sharply from the previous year, mainly because demand from the Middle East weakened significantly on low oil prices, government data said Thursday. Construction firms sealed around $46.1 billion worth of overseas contracts in 2015, a 30.1 percent drop from some $66 billion clinched the year before, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. “The country’s overseas order volume fell significantly as a dr
IndustryDec. 31, 2015
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Assembly ends with little achieved
The National Assembly held its last general assembly Thursday morning to pass some 210 pending bills, but only without disputed labor and economic bills. The revised election bill to redraw electoral districts, also remained up in the air.Parliamentary Speaker Chung Ui-hwa, who had refused to push ahead with the bill on his own authority, said that he would submit his version for review to the National Election Commission at midnight.“There will be a legislative emergency situation starting from
Social AffairsDec. 31, 2015
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Non-emergency patients to face ER fee hikes
Non-emergency patients will face much higher medical costs if they use emergency rooms starting this month, as part of the government’s measures to limit the unnecessary use of emergency rooms, officials said Thursday. The Welfare Ministry said patients visiting the top 140 emergency rooms in the country will be classified into five categories depending on the urgency and severity of their condition, and charged different fees accordingly. Non-emergency patients who show mild symptoms such as f
Social AffairsDec. 31, 2015
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Former teacher dedicates 30 years to charity work
As volunteers of all ages, occupations and causes lined up wearing Korean Red Cross uniforms and chef hats at the headquarters in Jongno, central Seoul, one instructor took them through how to split the dough to make cream cakes.Hours later, sponge cakes and sweet bread came out from the oven. Looking at their warm, puffy creations, the cooks’ beamed as they imagined them being doled out to those in need, a daily routine for the volunteers.Standing among them was Yoon Kyung-ae, an 83-year-old vo
Social AffairsDec. 31, 2015
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Korea’s diplomatic presence rises in 2016
In 2016, South Korea will take the helm of nine international organizations including the U.N. Human Rights Council, underscoring the country’s enhanced diplomatic stature on the world stage.In particular, Korea will take some leading U.N. posts in the areas of peace and security, development and human rights ― the three principal areas that the international organization has been focusing on, Seoul officials said. U.N. Economic and Social Council President Oh JoonSince July 2015, Oh Joon, Seoul
Foreign AffairsDec. 31, 2015
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General election a warm-up for presidential race
Once again, election season is high. The forthcoming April general election to constitute the 20th National Assembly will be a race for parliamentary seats as well as a prelude to the 2017 presidential election.The rival parties are mired in a power struggle of their own as their eyes are singularly set on individually and collectively winning the next Assembly seats, the configuration of which is likely to decide the fate of the incumbent administration’s initiatives to cope with the approachin
PoliticsDec. 31, 2015
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Korea braces for year of confrontation
It was a harsh end to the year 2015, as the nation roiled in escalating angst against the government’s agreement with Japan to settle the World War II wartime sexual slavery issue. The year had already been riven with conflicts over education, ideology, labor and other social issues that are likely to continue in the coming year.Social division is expected to only deteriorate as the nation enters major elections, starting with the April 13 general election, which is shaping up as a prelude to th
Social AffairsDec. 31, 2015
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Ewha hospital opens organ transplant center
Ewha Womans University Medical Center said Wednesday it had opened the Organ Transplantation Center to provide a wide range of services for patients who need organ transplants. One of the nation’s leading medical institutes said that the specialized center in southwestern Seoul was part of the EUMC’s efforts to sharpen its competitiveness in organ transplants -- one of its key fields of expertise -- before unveiling its second hospital in Seoul in 2018.Headed by director and surgeon Jung Gu-yong
Social AffairsDec. 31, 2015
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Opposition steps up against sex slave deal
The main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea on Thursday declared the results of South Korea and Japan‘s agreement on wartime sex slavery issue “invalid,” urging renegotiation and the dismissal of Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se.The epochal agreement Monday, in which Japan apologized for victims of sexual slavery during World War II, in addition to funding a 1 billion yen ($8.3 million) project to support the surviving “comfort women.” But the surviving victims, along with the nongovernmental organiz
Foreign AffairsDec. 31, 2015
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‘Hot peace’ to take hold in East Asia
The security and diplomatic landscape in East Asia is expected to be relatively stable in 2016, as major powers seek cooperation in fighting terrorism and focus on domestic issues such as elections and economic revitalization, analysts forecast.Geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and China are set to persist as the latter strives to expand its sphere of influence in the region and beyond. But they may seek to deescalate tensions and avoid military clashes to fostermutual cooperation, analysts
Foreign AffairsDec. 31, 2015
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Inter-Korean ties face rocky road
Relations between the two Koreas are expected to continue to face a rocky road this year as they failed to build on rare momentum in recent months and the North could still stage major provocations.Cross-border ties have quickly turned frosty since their first formal meeting in years broke down early last month due to irreconcilable differences in their positions on stalled tours to a North Korean mountain resort, reunions of separated families and other issues. Soldiers patrol the border area i
North KoreaDec. 31, 2015
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[Poppy S. Winanti] The future of multilateral trading system under WTO
The 10th World Trade Organization’s ministerial meeting in Nairobi failed to meet its original deadline on Dec. 18. The negotiations have been extended due to unresolved discrepancies between major and emerging economies on the issues on the Doha Round, current trade-negotiation round. Approaching the scheduled deadline, the WTO members were still unable to reach a consensus, particularly on the issues of subsidies and protection for farmers, as well as regarding the adoption of new trade issue
ViewpointsDec. 31, 2015
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[George Soros] How to fight Jihadi terrorism
Open societies are always endangered. This is especially true of America and Europe today, as a result of the terrorist attacks in Paris and elsewhere, and the way that America and Europe, particularly France, have reacted to them. Jihadi terrorists, like the Islamic State and al-Qaida, have discovered the Achilles’ heel of our Western societies: the fear of death. By stoking that fear through horrific attacks and macabre videos, the publicists of ISIS awaken and magnify it, leading otherwise se
ViewpointsDec. 31, 2015
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[Editorial] 2016 with big events
Someone can stop a rooster from crowing by twisting its neck, as late President Kim Young-sam once said, but you cannot stop the dawn from coming. Again, many unpleasant incidents over the past year are becoming bygones as we greet the New Year. 2016 is an election year. The world is paying attention to the U.S. presidential campaign, and through the Nov. 8 election, the person who will succeed President Barack Obama is to emerge. Before South Korea maps out diplomatic strategies with the coming
EditorialDec. 31, 2015
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Conglomerates compete on next-generation cars
Dec. 9, 2015 was a big day for South Korea’s top two conglomerates -- Samsung and Hyundai Motor. Samsung announced it would set up a new team dedicated to car parts for infotainment systems and self-driving cars, while Hyundai said it would start developing automotive chips through its own electronics unit.Technological convergence across industries has become an increasing trend in recent years, with the automotive sector becoming a fierce battlefield for tech firms and carmakers in the era of
TechnologyDec. 31, 2015