[Newsmaker] Abe in Seoul amid frosty ties

After years of bitter ties between Seoul and Tokyo, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe arrived at Seongnam Airbase, Gyeonggi Province, Sunday, for a trilateral meeting and his first-ever talk with President Park Geun-hye on Monday.Though previous leaders of the two countries have held summits at least once a year ― visiting each other quite on a regular basis ― Monday’s summit is the first of its kind since May 2012, when Park’s predecessor Lee Myung-bak sat down with the then Japanese Premier Y

Foreign AffairsNov. 1, 2015

[Newsmaker] Ryan: Conservative honing in on White House

The presumptive next speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Paul Ryan, is a onetime “young gun” of the Republican Party ― a conservative with a wonkish reputation who is clearly driven by higher political ambition.Paul Ryan. APPaul Ryan was nominated by his Republican colleagues Wednesday to lead the fractious House through the end of the Barack Obama presidency and potentially beyond.It is the most important job in Congress and one that places him second in line to the presidency, after

World NewsOct. 29, 2015

[Newsmaker] iPhone sales propel rise in Apple’s profits

Apple said Tuesday that surging iPhone sales helped propel a sharp rise in quarterly profits, as the tech giant delivered a record 48 million of the smartphones.Profits rose 31 percent to $11.1 billion, while revenues jumped 22 percent from a year ago to $51.5 billion, Apple said.Customers look at products during the sales launch of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus at the IAPM shopping mall in Shanghai, China. BloombergThe California tech giant, which in September unveiled revamped versions of t

World BusinessOct. 28, 2015

[Newsmaker] Pianist Cho, Korea's newest classical music icon

Cho Seong-jin, the winner of the Chopin piano competition, is a new classical music icon in Korea, setting recording history even before the release of his first solo album. 　The 21-year-old pianist’s upcoming album – a live recording of his performances at the 17th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Poland – was the top seller across all music genres at Kyobo Bookstore, the country’s largest book seller, as of 3 p.m. Tuesday -- a feat that no other classical musician has come ev

CultureOct. 27, 2015

[Newsmaker] Polish euroskeptic right scores landslide victory

Poland’s conservative Law and Justice party won an outright majority in Sunday’s general election on anti-refugee rhetoric and welfare promises, ending eight years of centrist rule.Analysts said the next government’s first moves would be closely scrutinized, given the risk that nationalist policies could inflame tensions with the European Union and Russia.Conservative Law and Justice leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski kisses the hand of Justice candidate for the Prime Minister Beata Szydlo (left) at the

World NewsOct. 26, 2015

[Newsmaker] Kerry: Israel to take steps to calm holy site unrest

US Secretary of State John Kerry said Saturday that Israel had agreed on steps to calm tensions over Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque, at the center of Palestinian unrest, including 24-hour security cameras.Several hours later, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeated his pledge of "upholding unchanged the status quo of the Temple Mount", as Jews refer to the highly-sensitive site, which allows Muslims to pray at the site, and non-Muslims to visit, but not pray.U.s. Secretary of State John K

World NewsOct. 26, 2015

[Newsmaker] iPhone 6s hits store shelves in Korea

Apple Inc.'s two latest smartphones went on sale in South Korea on Friday, with the industry poised to keep close tabs on the market for possible overheating on the retail front. The country's three major mobile carriers -- SK Telecom Co., KT Corp. and LG Uplus Inc. -- released the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus for sale via their respective retail stores nationwide. The iPhone 6s is available for 720,000 won ($635) for the 16GB model and 1.14 million won for the 128GB, given the subsidy of about

TechnologyOct. 23, 2015

[Newsmaker] Korean pianist wins Chopin competition

A 21-year-old Korean pianist won Poland’s Chopin competition Tuesday -- one of the most prestigious contests in the piano world and considered a launch pad for an international career. Cho Seong-jin beat 77 other young pianists from 20 countries to take home the gold medal and prize of 30,000 euros ($33,500) at the 17th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition, held every five years in the Polish capital Warsaw and named after the 19th century pianist and composer.  Cho Seong-jin (AFP-Yon

PerformanceOct. 21, 2015

[Newsmaker] Canada's new P.M. vows to bring hope, change

Canada’s Liberal leader Justin Trudeau, the son of a popular former prime minister, won the general election in a landslide, television networks projected -- a stunning defeat for Stephen Harper’s Conservatives.Networks CBC and CTV projected the 43-year-old Trudeau -- who ran a combative campaign and offered up what he called a bold “new vision” for the nation -- would form a majority government with more than 170 of the 338 seats in the House of Commons. Canada`s Liberal party leader Justin Tru

World NewsOct. 20, 2015

[Newsmaker] Ju takes heat for failed tech transfer

President Park Geun-hye’s surprising personnel shake-up on Monday was widely seen as a move to reprimand her foreign affairs team for its failed mission to persuade the U.S. to transfer fighter jet technology to Korea.Park named Kim Kyou-hyun, the National Security Council secretariat chief, as her new senior presidential secretary for foreign affairs and national security. Kim replaces Ju Chul-ki, who had reportedly offered to resign to take responsibility for Washington’s refusal to transfer f

Foreign AffairsOct. 19, 2015

[Newsmaker] German politician stabbed in 'racist' attack

A German mayoral candidate active in helping refugees was seriously wounded on Saturday in what police described as a stabbing with a “racist, political” motive, heaping further pressure on Chancellor Angela Merkel over the migrant crisis.　The German leader expressed her “shock” over the attack in the western city of Cologne which left mayoral hopeful Henriette Reker with serious neck wounds.　The stabbing comes as Merkel prepares to travel to Istanbul on Sunday for talks on the crisis with Turki

Foreign AffairsOct. 18, 2015

[Newsmaker] Is Korea’s most-wanted conman really dead?

The purported death of Cho Hee-pal, the mastermind behind South Korea’s largest-ever fraud case, returned to the spotlight as his close aide was arrested in China last week, with fresh testimonies suggesting he is actually still alive. 　Cho is one of the most-wanted conmen in South Korea, having allegedly scammed up to 50,000 people out of an estimated 4 trillion won ($3.5 billion) in a pyramid marketing scheme.Cho Hee-pal (Yonhap)　The 58-year-old established a medical equipment supply company a

Social AffairsOct. 14, 2015

[Newsmaker] Poverty expert Deaton wins Noble Prize

Angus Deaton, a British-U.S. professor at Princeton University, won the Nobel Economics Prize Monday for groundbreaking work on poverty and promptly warned that inequality is becoming a serious global threat.The 69-year-old academic, who has spent more than 30 years in the United States, was honored for using household surveys to show how consumers, particularly the poor, decide what to buy and how policymakers can help them. India, one of the fastest growing economies in the world, is a key are

World NewsOct. 13, 2015

[Newsmaker] Lotte chairman hits back in rekindled family feud

Lotte Group chairman Shin Dong-bin speaks during a news conference at Lotte Duty Free’s logistics center in Incheon on Monday. Lotte GroupLotte Group chairman Shin Dong-bin on Monday slammed his father and elder brother for dragging him into another family spat over the company’s management and putting the 90 trillion won ($79 billion) business empire in danger.“Let me tell you one thing about what happened over the weekend,” the chairman said in a news conference at Lotte Duty Free Store’s logi

IndustryOct. 12, 2015

[Newsmaker] Tunisian democracy group wins Nobel Peace Prize

Tunisian civil society groups won the Nobel Peace Prize for helping rescue the only democracy that emerged from the Arab Spring, in a hugely symbolic show of support for the country after a wave of jihadist attacks.The members of the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet that was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize announced in Oslo: (clockwise from left) president of the Tunisian employers union Wided Bouchamaoui; Tunisian lawyer Fadhel Mahfoudh; president of the Tunisian Human Rights League, Abdessatta

World NewsOct. 11, 2015

[Newsmaker] Twitter founder given a second chance as CEO

Twitter is embracing Jack Dorsey as its CEO in hopes that its once-spurned cofounder can hatch a plan to expand the short messaging service’s audience and end nearly a decade of financial losses.The hiring revealed Monday in a regulatory filing ends Twitter’s three-month search for a new leader. It marks Dorsey’s second stint as CEO since he helped start the San Francisco company more than nine years ago with Evan Williams, Biz Stone and Noah Glass.Jack Dorsey, chairman of Twitter Inc. (Bloomber

World BusinessOct. 6, 2015

[Newsmaker] Portugal’s ruling party wins election

Portugal’s ruling center-right coalition won a general election Sunday seen as a referendum on its austerity policies, although it may not hold onto its absolute majority in parliament, near-complete results showed.Portuguese Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho waves to supporters following the announcement of the results of Portugal`s general election in Lisbon on Sunday. (AP-Yonhap)Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho’s “Portugal Ahead” coalition took 39.16 percent of the vote, according to resul

Latest NewsOct. 5, 2015

[Newsmaker] Guns a way of life in U.S. massacre town

Guns, jewelry and guitars may not immediately seem the most obvious items to sell together in one shop.But such is the way of life in Roseburg, Oregon, where a 26-year-old gunman killed nine people on Thursday at a community college in the latest armed massacre which has revived debate in the United States about stiffer gun controls.A day later, the store was doing a brisk trade with men and women of all ages mooching about, some with revolvers visible on their belts."The state of Oregon and Dou

World NewsOct. 4, 2015

[Newsmaker] Russian strikes again expose U.S. disarray

Russia’s dramatic entry Wednesday into the Syrian war put the United States on the back foot once again and left Washington struggling to regain the military and diplomatic initiative.As U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was in New York trying to coordinate with his Kremlin opposite number Sergei Lavrov, a Russian officer contacted the U.S. embassy in Baghdad. (Yonhap)His message was simple: Russian jets are about to launch air strikes in Syria, please stay out of their way.Kerry quickly protes

World NewsOct. 1, 2015

[Newsmaker] Fashion mogul Ralph Lauren steps down

Ralph Lauren is handing off his title as CEO of the fashion and home decor empire that he founded nearly 50 years ago.The New York-based company announced Tuesday that Stefan Larsson, the global president of Gap’s thriving low-price Old Navy chain, will take on the role. The change will be effective in November, and Larsson will report to Lauren who will continue to drive the company’s vision and strategy as executive chairman and chief creative officer.Designer Ralph Lauren. (AFP-Yonhap)As glob

World NewsSept. 30, 2015