Lockheed to take over KF-16 upgrade

The government Wednesday picked U.S. defense giant Lockheed Martin as the new contractor for its project to renovate the aviation electronic systems of KF-16 fighters that has sat dormant for months due to demands for a cost hike by a previous partner. Under the 1.84 trillion won ($1.58 billion) program, the Maryland-based company will exchange and upgrade the radar, armament and other integrated electronic systems of 134 KF-16s currently operated by South Korea’s Air Force. During a defense acq

Dec. 16, 2015

Seoul book club hosts four Korean writers

The Seoul Book and Culture Club will be hosting an event with four writers who will be introducing their newly released bilingual novellas to English-speaking readers. At the event, Korean literature blogger and translation professor Charles Montgomery will be talking with the authors, whose books are part of Asia Publishers’ K-Literature series.The best-known of the four is Lee Ki-ho, author of “At Least We Can Apologize“ and “So Far and Yet So Near,” both of which are also available in English

Dec. 16, 2015

Multicultural theater releases album based on in-house musical

Multicultural theater Salad released Friday an album of songs from a musical it produced.The album, “Ara & Jjimin,” features songs from the musical of the same name, about a second-generation Mongolian girl, a Vietnamese immigrant and their experiences with Korean teachers and students in preparing for a national music competition.The songs were composed by Gil Hizon, musical director and conductor for the Philippine Hyehwa-dong Catholic Church, with the scripts and lyrics penned by Korean write

Dec. 16, 2015

Oil price lower than bottled water

The pretax price of gasoline per liter fell to 522 won (44 cents) this month, lower than that of bottled water, largely due to the continuous drop in international crude oil prices, officials said Wednesday.According to Opinet of the Korea National Oil Corp., the price of gasoline before tax took a dive to 522 won on average this month, a 27 percent drop from a year ago and 44 percent lower than the same month in 2013. (Yonhap)The price is comparable to that of a half-liter bottle of water, sold

Dec. 16, 2015

Business leaders, officials pledge family-friendly corporate culture

In tune with the government’s recent plan to tackle the nation’s record-low birthrate, business leaders said Tuesday that they would help firms create a family-friendly culture for their employees.“We share the view that the problem of marriage and births no longer belongs to individuals only, but is an urgent task that needs to be solved together with the government, businesses and individuals,” said representatives from South Korea’s five major business lobby groups in a declaration read durin

Dec. 15, 2015

Graduate job seekers to outnumber employment openings for next 10 years

A government report showed Tuesday that the number of university and college graduates will exceed demands in the job market by 792,000 from 2014 to 2024.According to a Labor Ministry report on job prospects by college degree, 3.02 million four-year university graduates and 1.72 million two-year college graduates are expected to enter the job market from 2014-2024. But the number of available jobs for them in that time will be roughly 2.69 million and 1.25 million, respectively.The report pointe

Dec. 15, 2015

[Newsmaker] Ahn’s ‘new politics’ slogan fades out after NPAD exit

“New politics” is a catchphrase that has helped Ahn Cheol-soo become the political figure he is today.This vision for new politics was the reason voters welcomed Ahn with open arms in the 2012 presidential election campaigns, despite his total lack of political experience. It was also a title he clung to when merging with the opposition camp last year.But now that years have passed since his grand political debut, the information technology guru-turned-politician leaves crucial questions to obse

Dec. 15, 2015

Ford’s Schuldt named new AMCHAM chief

John SchuldtThe American Chamber of Commerce in Korea on Tuesday named John Schuldt as the new president replacing incumbent Amy Jackson. Schuldt, who serves as the vice president and chief marketing officer at Ford Motor Korea, is currently the chairman of the golf committee and cochairman of auto committee of the business lobby group. He will start his term on Jan. 7 as a full-time AMCHAM executive, .“John comes to AMCHAM with a wealth of private sector experience that will serve him well in h

Dec. 15, 2015

CJ chairman receives jail term in retrial

On Tuesday afternoon, CJ Group chairman Lee Jae-hyun showed up at the Seoul High Court in a wheelchair, armed with a bulky winter coat, a muffler and a face mask.It was the day of his retrial for embezzlement, breach of conduct and tax evasion. Much to his dismay, he was found guilty and handed a 2 1/2-year prison term and a 25.2 billion won ($21.2 million) fine. Lee was charged with creating a 620 billion-won slush fund by embezzling 160 billion won from the company coffers, thus dodging 54.6 b

Dec. 15, 2015

City, ministry in a flap over flag

The war of words is heating up between the government and Seoul City over the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs’ plans to raise the national flag at the heart of downtown in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the country’s liberation from Japan this year. The tit-for-tat over how long and where the giant flag pole should be installed represents a fresh standoff between the conservative government of President Park Geun-hye and the progressive municipality run by Mayor Park Won-soon

Dec. 15, 2015