The Korea Herald

CJ CGV's credit outlook 'negative' over deal to buy Turkey's cinema chain

Korea Ratings, a leading credit rating agency in South Korea, downgraded the credit outlook for CJ CGV from "stable" to "negative" Wednesday, citing a growing financial burden from its planned takeover of a Turkish cinema chain.CJ CGV, South Korea's top operator of multi-screen theaters, announced earlier that its consortium would buy Istanbul-based Mars Entertainment Group for 792 billion won ($682 million).CJ CGV plans to pay 300 billion won to secure a 38.1 percent stake.Korea Ratings noted t

Industry April 6, 2016

CJ CGV's credit outlook 'negative' over deal to buy Turkey's cinema chain

Two S. Korean ships freed from Chinese custody

Two South Korean ships have been released by China after being seized for an alleged collision with a local fishing boat, officials said Wednesday.A tugboat and a barge were impounded on March 18 in the eastern Chinese port city of Ningbo after they reportedly collided with the Chinese vessel while sailing through Chinese waters west of the Korean Peninsula.Nine Chinese fishermen went missing as it sank.The owner of the ships has completed talks about compensation through an insurance firm, acco

Diplomatic Circuit April 6, 2016

Ex-Olympic swimming champ Park Tae-hwan ruled out of Rio Games

Former Olympic swimming gold medalist Park Tae-hwan was ruled out of this year's Rio Summer Games Wednesday following a decision by the nation's top sports body.The Korean Olympic Committee (KOC) said it would not amend its rule preventing athletes who've served doping suspensions from representing the country for three years, starting on the day the suspension ends.Park recently served an 18-month suspension after testing positive for testosterone, and his ban ended on March 2.The KOC institute

Olympic Games April 6, 2016

Diplomats criticized for taking selfies while causing protocol blunder

Some senior diplomats have found themselves in the center of controversy after being spotted taking selfies the same day a protocol error was made during President Park Geun-hye’s participation at the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington last week. Recent video footage captured the scene where U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon came to see the president before the conference’s plenary session kicked off last Friday. As the two shook hands and exchanged conversation, Choi Jong-moon, deputy minis

Diplomatic Circuit April 6, 2016

S. Korea confirms new bird flu case

South Korea confirmed a new case of bird flu on Saturday, the first outbreak in about five months.The Ministry for Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said ducks at a poultry farm in Icheon, 80 kilometers east of Seoul, have tested positive for the virulent strain of avian influenza (AI).All 10,900 ducks were culled as a precautionary measure, and the farm has been under quarantine to prevent the virulent virus from spreading, according to the ministry.South Korea has not reported any additional

Social Affairs March 26, 2016

N. Korea unveils video footage showing SLBM attack on Washington

A North Korean Web site unveiled video footage on Saturday in which its submarine-launched ballistic missile scorches Washington D.C., ratcheting up its provocative acts in defiance of international pressure.The 4-minute long footage, uploaded on the website of dprktoday.com, one of the North's propaganda sites for outside online users, shows an SLBM, after re-entering the earth's atmosphere from outer space, hitting the U.S.' capital.Earlier this month, a U.S. news report said that the North ha

North Korea March 26, 2016

Activist group send anti-Pyongyang leaflets amid eased tensions

A leading civic group sent anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the inter-Korean border on Saturday amid escalating tensions sparked by the North's nuclear tests and missile launches.The Fighters for a Free North Korea said that it has scattered some 80,000 leaflets critical of the communist regime.The civic group regularly launches big balloons carrying such anti-Pyongyang leaflets in a campaign to spread dissenting messages in the reclusive country.The campaign had irked North Korea in the past, whi

North Korea March 26, 2016

Brussels police conduct more raids linked to deadly bombings

Heavily armed police swept into Brussels neighborhoods Friday in operations linked to this week's bombings as well as a suspected new plot in France, detaining three people and shooting two of them in the leg. One man was carrying a suspicious bag while accompanied by a young girl.As Easter weekend began, jittery Europeans faced uncertainly about how many violent extremists remain at large, and where and when they might strike again. On Friday afternoon, two blasts and gunfire rang out in the Sc

World News March 26, 2016

Brussels police conduct more raids linked to deadly bombings

Samsung's Lee, Chinese VP discuss business on chip, car battery

Samsung Group vice chairman Lee Jae-yong met with Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang this week and discussed Samsung's businesses in China ranging from semiconductors to car batteries, Samsung officials said Saturday. The meeting between Lee and Wang took place at the Zhongnanhai leadership compound on Friday, the Chinese unit of Samsung said in a statement. Lee and Wang "exchanged views about investment into high-tech industrial sectors, including semiconductor, LCD and car battery," the statement

Industry March 26, 2016

NPS' dissenting votes up in 2015: data

South Korea's state-run pension fund actively exercised its voting rights last year with its number of dissenting votes edging up, data showed Saturday.Data from the National Pension Service (NPS), the operator of the fund, showed it voted against 10 percent of 2,836 resolutions last year at shareholders meetings of the companies it invested in, a 1.1 percentage point rise from a year earlier.The fund had been casting more opposing votes in the past few years, the no votes accounting for 6.6 per

March 26, 2016

Korean shares expected to rebound this week

South Korean shares will likely remain rangebound ahead of key U.S. indicators next week, but begin an upward march toward the end on a continued inflow of foreign capital, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 1,983.81 on Friday, down 0.4 percent from a week earlier.Foreign investors purchased a net 286 billion won ($244.2 million) worth of stocks. Both retail and institutional investors were net sellers as they sought to cash in on their gain

March 26, 2016

Korean shares expected to rebound this week

More than 900 candidates run for parliamentary elections

More than 900 candidates have registered for next month's parliamentary elections, South Korea's election watchdog said.A total of 944 candidates -- 844 men and 100 women -- are set to compete for the 253 seats up for grabs on April 13. The competition rate is 3.7 to one, compared with 4.84 to one in the 2004 parliamentary elections.The remaining 47 seats will be allocated to political parties according to the numbers of votes that they receive overall under proportional representation, the Nati

Politics March 26, 2016

Rolling Stones give historic free concert in Cuba

Tens of thousands of jubilant Cubans and tourists swarmed the site of the Rolling Stones' free concert in Havana Friday, calling it a historic moment for a country that once forced rock fans to listen to their favorite music behind closed doors. Coming just two days after Barack Obama finished the first trip to Cuba by a U.S. president in nearly 90 years, the evening concert cemented the communist-run nation's opening to the world. Organizers expect at least a half million spectators to see the

World News March 26, 2016

Rolling Stones give historic free concert in Cuba

Defense secretary says US has killed senior IS leader

U.S. forces killed a senior Islamic State leader, among several key members of the militant group eliminated this week, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Friday. The successful attack is the latest in a string of strikes targeting the group's leadership even as it losses territory in both Iraq and Syria. US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter speaks during a press briefing at the Pentagon in Washington DC, Friday. (AFP-Yonhap)Carter identified the senior IS leader as Haji Imam and described him a

World News March 26, 2016

Defense secretary says US has killed senior IS leader

Hanjin chairman under fire for trivializing pilots’ job

The owner of Hanjin Group, parent company of the country’s largest flag carrier Korean Air, came under fire Monday for demeaning pilots by stating that they are useful only during emergencies.Commenting on a Facebook post uploaded by a Korean Air pilot, Hanjin Group chairman Cho Yang-ho said his employee was exaggerating, and that pilots’ work is easier than driving a car thanks to the autopilot system. “Pilots are briefed by flight control staff as well as weather analysis by the operation cent

Industry March 14, 2016

Hanjin chairman under fire for trivializing pilots’ job

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