Seoul shares close tad lower on foreign selling

South Korean shares closed slightly lower Thursday as foreign investors extended their selling streak to a second session. The local currency lost ground against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) slipped 1.06 points, or 0.04 percent, to close at 2,609.30. Trading volume was moderate at 325 million shares worth 9.7 trillion won ($7.09 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 511 to 358. Foreign investors net sold 405.8 billion won worth of local shares, on

MarketOct. 17, 2024

BTS' J-Hope completes military service, returns to fans

J-Hope of K-pop sensation BTS returned Thursday as the second member of the group to complete his military service. J-Hope enlisted in April last year and served as an assistant instructor at the 36th Recruit Training Battalion in Wonju, Gangwon Province. Around 10 a.m., he left his battalion, where fellow member Jin greeted him with a large bouquet. The two shared a warm hug to celebrate J-Hope’s discharge. J-Hope smiled and expressed his gratitude to fans. "I completed my service in

K-popOct. 17, 2024

Hanwha Securities acquires Indonesian brokerage house

Hanwha Investment & Securities, under the wings of South Korea's defense-to-energy conglomerate Hanwha Group, announced Thursday, that it has completed the acquisition of Indonesia’s Ciptadana Securities. Completion of the deal comes over a year after the brokerage house signed an underwriting agreement to acquire an 80 percent stake in Ciptadana Securities for around 49 billion won ($35.7 million) in June 2023. It won final approval from the Indonesian financial authorities last

IndustryOct. 17, 2024

NK's gradual unveiling of constitutionalizing ‘2 hostile Koreas’ exposes dilemma: experts

After a week of silence following its parliamentary session, North Korea on Thursday effectively claimed to have revised its constitution to declare South Korea a "hostile state" while reporting on the severance of inter-Korean routes. The Rodong Sinmun, the most widely circulated newspaper in North Korea, reported Thursday on its front page that the General Staff of the Korean People's Army on Tuesday implemented measures to sever roads and railways connecting the two Koreas alon

North KoreaOct. 17, 2024

Experts urge revitalization of domestic market for a second Han Kang

The revitalization of the domestic literary market and critics' activities are prerequisites for Korea to achieve its next major literary milestone, according to experts in literature Wednesday. Less than a week after Han Kang was announced the recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature, the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism gathered experts -- ranging from writers to translators -- at the Literature Translation Institute of Korea in southeastern Seoul to brainstorm ways to sus

CultureOct. 17, 2024

Guatemala had early role in disseminating Korean literature in Latin America

By Sara A. Solis-Castaneda Ambassador of Guatemala to Korea On the occasion of the 62nd anniversary of diplomatic relations between Guatemala and the Republic of Korea (1962-2024), it is essential to highlight a lesser-known aspect: Guatemala's early contribution to the dissemination of Korean literature in Latin America, even before the establishment of the Republic of Korea. This endeavor was spearheaded by the Guatemalan writer and diplomat Enrique Gomez Carrillo, who, in 1906, transla

ViewpointsOct. 17, 2024

As election ends, Han urges first lady to scale back public role

Ruling party leader Han Dong-hoon on Thursday stepped up his call for first lady Kim Keon Hee to refrain from public activities and explain multiple allegations against her, which include claims of her illegal involvement in the April 10 parliamentary elections. Han’s remarks come a day after the conservative bloc won two of the five seats in the regional by-elections in its respective strongholds -- Busan's Geumjeong District and Incheon's Ganghwa County – as President Yoo

PoliticsOct. 17, 2024

S. Korean nuclear power firms buoyed by Amazon’s big energy push

Amazon’s decision to invest in clean energy projects to meet the increasing energy demands of artificial intelligence has raised expectations for South Korean companies in the nuclear power sector. Amazon announced Thursday that it signed three new agreements to support the development of nuclear energy projects, including the construction of several new small modular reactors, or SMRs. Amazon joined a recent series of nuclear energy pledges by big tech companies such as Google and Microso

IndustryOct. 17, 2024

Finance minister vows all-out efforts to win Czech nuclear deal

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choi Sang-mok vowed to secure the final deal for Czech nuclear plants amid ongoing criticism that it would result in a pork-barrel project. “We will put an utmost effort to ensure that the construction of the Czech nuclear power plant reaches the final contract without any setbacks,” Choi said during a ministerial meeting on external economics. Korea's consortium, led by the state-run Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, is s

EconomyOct. 17, 2024

[Herald Interview] Go Jun likens end of 'Snow White Must Die – Black Out' to breakup

Actor Kim Jun-ho, better known by his stage name Go Jun, recalled feeling a deep sadness after the airing of the final episode of "Snow White Must Die – Black Out" -- a feeling like breaking up with a girlfriend. "It was both touching and bittersweet, like being heartbroken," said Go, during an interview with a group of reporters on Oct. 7. "I had never enjoyed (filming) a drama this much before. I got deeply immersed in it, as if I had been in a relationship for a

TelevisionOct. 17, 2024

LG Uplus chief stresses quality in AI innovations

LG Uplus CEO Hwang Hyeon-sik on Wednesday stressed service quality as the top priority in the telecom carrier’s ongoing efforts for artificial intelligence-based corporate transformation or AX. “The most fundamental aspect of growing into an AX company should be service quality,” the CEO said during a town hall meeting with employees on Wednesday. “No matter how innovative AI technology may be, it cannot create true customer satisfaction if not backed by quality.” &

IndustryOct. 17, 2024

Ex-Seoul police chief acquitted of negligence in Itaewon crowd crush

A Seoul district court on Thursday ruled that Kim Kwang-ho, the former chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, was not guilty of negligence before and during the deadly Halloween crowd crush on Oct. 29, 2022, in Itaewon, central Seoul. According to the Seoul Western District Court, the prosecution had not provided enough evidence that Kim had directly violated his duty of care as the police chief of the Seoul police agency, either on the day of the crowd crush or in the days leading up to

Social AffairsOct. 17, 2024

Seoul's new education chief likely to inherit progressive policies

Jung Geun-sik, the newly elected liberal superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, officially took office on Thursday. With his inauguration, the city’s progressive approach to education, which has been in place for the past decade under his predecessor, Cho Hee-yeon, is expected to continue. Jung secured 50.17 percent of the vote in Wednesday's by-election, defeating his conservative rival, Cho Jun-hyuk, by a margin of 4.15 percentage points. His win surpassed the

Social AffairsOct. 17, 2024

Fifty Fifty to embark on first US tour next month

K-pop group Fifty Fifty is embarking on its first US tour, “Love Sprinkle Tour in USA,” in November. According to Attrakt, the rebranded group -- now consisting of Athena, Chanelle Moon, Hana, Keena and Yewon -- is going to perform its debut album, “Love Tune,” in eight US cities. “As we prepare for our first US tour, we are fully dedicated to showcasing a variety of performances and delivering a high-quality stage experience. We hope you look forward to it,”

K-popOct. 17, 2024

Kia to start EV production in Slovakia by year-end

Hyundai Motor Group’s smaller affiliate Kia is poised to start electric vehicle production in Europe by the end of this year at its Slovakian manufacturing plant, according to Marc Hedrich, president and CEO of Kia Europe. “(I had a) very good meeting today with Slovakian Economy Minister (Madame) Denisa Sakova and State Secretary Vladimir Simonak,” stated Hedrich in a LinkedIn post on Wednesday. “I had the opportunity to discuss challenges the automotive industry is faci

MobilityOct. 17, 2024

Men in 50s, 60s account for 54% of 'lonely deaths': report

South Korea saw a continuing rise in "godoksa," or lonely deaths, in 2022 and 2023, respectively, with men in their 60s and 50s accounting for over half of them, according to a government report on Thursday. The Health Ministry defines "lonely death" as those living alone, disconnected from their family, relatives, friends and neighbors, who died alone from suicide, illness or other causes. There were 3,559 and 3,661 lonely death cases in 2022 and 2023, respectively, the mini

Social AffairsOct. 17, 2024

First lady cleared of stock manipulation allegations

The South Korean prosecution on Thursday announced it would not indict first lady Kim Keon Hee for her alleged involvement in a 63.6 billion won ($46.6 million) investment fraud case, effectively clearing her remaining legal risks. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office said in a press release it would not pursue charges against the first lady as there was a lack of evidence that Kim had been aware of what was found to be a pump-and-dump scheme when trading stocks of the targeted compani

PoliticsOct. 17, 2024

Shinhan partners with China's BoCom on QR payment service

Shinhan Financial Group announced Thursday it has signed a memorandum of understanding with China's Bank of Communications to enable its SOL Travel Card users to make payments using QR codes in China. The Bank of Communications, one of China’s five state-owned commercial banks, ranked ninth in The Banker’s 2023 Top 1000 World Banks. Its Seoul branch serves as the only designated renminbi clearing bank in Korea, managing settlements in yuan on behalf of other institutions. As par

IndustryOct. 17, 2024

2-meter-long snake captured outside of Gyeonggi Provincial Office

A snake nearly 2 meters long was captured outside the Gyeonggi Provincial Government’s northern office in Uijeongbu on Wednesday. At around 11:55 a.m., the fire department received a call reporting a large snake on the road in front of the provincial office. Firefighters arrived at the scene, captured the snake and released it into a nearby forest. The authorities believe the snake came down from a nearby mountain. According to the Gyeonggi Northern Fire and Disaster Headquarters, 6,675

Social AffairsOct. 17, 2024

Multinationals in Korea pay OECD’s lowest share of corporate tax

The proportion of South Korea's total corporate tax revenue that comes from foreign multinational companies, including Google and Netflix, stands at just 7 percent, one of the lowest ratios in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. According to an analysis of OECD corporate tax data by Rep. Ahn Do-geol, submitted at the parliamentary audit of the National Tax Service on Wednesday, the share of corporate tax revenue from foreign multinationals in Korea is less than one-th

EconomyOct. 17, 2024