Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on Friday pledged to nurture 100 global venture firms by 2020 as part of the government's efforts to promote startups, create jobs and revitalize the economy.To achieve this goal, the government plans to provide "strategic, tailored" assistance, including legal counseling, to help venture firms prepare for their entry into foreign markets or expand their presence abroad. Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn speaks during a meeting of

Politics Feb. 17, 2017

Special prosecutors will summon the de facto leader of Samsung Group this weekend to question him for the first time since his arrest over a bribery scandal involving President Park Geun-hye, a spokesman said Friday.Lee Jae-yong, who was formally arrested earlier in the day, will be brought to the special prosecutors' office Saturday, according to Assistant Special Counsel Lee Kyu-cheol, to face questioning over allegations he offered 43 billion won ($36.3 million) worth of bribes to Park's frie

Social Affairs Feb. 17, 2017

KB Kookmin Bank, a major South Korean bank, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Myanmar's Construction Ministry and its state-run Construction and Housing Development Bank, KB Financial Group said Friday.Under the deal, KB Kookmin Bank plans to provide financial support to Myanmar's plan to expand houses for its working-class people.(Yonhap)KB Microfinance Myanmar Co., the local unit that's owned 100 percent by KB Kookmin Bank, plans to offer loans to Myanmar's people when they renovat

Feb. 17, 2017

Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on Friday pledged to nurture 100 global venture firms by 2020 as part of the government's efforts to promote startups, create jobs and revitalize the economy.To achieve this goal, the government plans to provide "strategic, tailored" assistance, including legal counseling, to help venture firms prepare for their entry into foreign markets or expand their presence abroad. Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn speaks during a meeting of

Industry Feb. 17, 2017

The underground economy accounted for 8 percent of South Korea's gross domestic product in 2015 amid the government's efforts to reduce the black market, a state-run think tank said Friday.The Korea Institute of Public Finance said in its latest report that the shadow economy was estimated at 124.7 trillion won ($108.8 billion) as of 2015, taking up 8 percent of the country's GDP worth 1,558.6 trillion won. (Yonhap)The rate against the GDP has been on a slight decline since 2013 when it hit 8.7

Feb. 17, 2017

Accounting firms in South Korea remain jittery as financial authorities are set to discipline Deloitte Anjin LLC soon for its failure to detect massive accounting fraud in a troubled shipyard, sources said Friday.Starting in late 2015, the Financial Supervisory Service conducted a near one-year investigation into Deloitte Anjin over its failure to uncover that Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. had cooked the books to make its snowballing losses in 2013 and 2014 look smaller.  This und

Industry Feb. 17, 2017

Imports of foreign eggs and their processed products to South Korea have surged this year, government data showed Friday, as the country is dealing with the worst supply shortage caused by the spread of avian influenza. The inbound shipments of fresh eggs and processed products reached a total of 1,331 tons from Jan. 1 to Feb. 15, according to data by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, and Ministry of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs.  Piles of boxes containing eggs imported from the United

Industry Feb. 17, 2017

This image provided by CJ Entertainment shows the official poster for "Fabricated City." (Yonhap)The release of the Korean action film "Fabricated City" in seven North American cities will begin this week, its regional distributor said on Thursday. The movie is set to open in Los Angeles and Buena Park, California, on Friday and New Jersey, Dallas, Honolulu, Vancouver and Toronto a week later, CJ Entertainment America said.The latest by "Welcome to Dongmakgol" director Park Kwang-hyun, "Fabricat

Film Feb. 17, 2017

KBS 2TV's late night comedy series "Good Manager" has further widened the gap in the Wednesday-Thursday drama race with "Saimdang, Memoir of Colors," which saw an uptick but not enough to erase its increasingly stale reaction, data showed Friday. This image provided by Logos Film shows actor Namkoong Min playing Kim Sung-ryong, an accountant at the fictional TQ Group, in the KBS2 TV series "Good Manager." (Yonhap)Episode eight of "Good Manger," which aired Thursday night, recorded a 17.6 percent

Television Feb. 17, 2017

Popular K-pop boy group SHINee will embark on a North American tour next month for the first time since its debut, its management S.M. Entertainment said Friday. The image provided by S.M. Entertainment shows the concert poster for "SHINee CONCERT-SHINee WORLD V." (Yonhap)The group will tour on the continent to perform "SHINee CONCERT-SHINee WORLD V," at Toronto's Sony Centeron March 19, Vancouver's Orpheum Theatre on March 21, Dallas's Verizon Theatre on March 24 and LA's Shrine Auditorium on M

Performance Feb. 17, 2017

Park Ji-yoon, an idol diva-turned-singer songwriter, will release her ninth full-length studio album next month, her distributor said Friday.Park's new album titled "parkjiyoon9" will be released on March 2 and will carry 10 tracks, according to Sony Music. It will be her first full-length album in five years outside of several singles released since. This promotional image provided by Sony Music shows singer-songwriter Park Ji-yoon. (Yonhap)On the title track "Gereoji Mayo," which means "Don't

Performance Feb. 17, 2017

South Koreans' calls for the renegotiation of a 2015 Seoul-Tokyo deal on Japan's sexual enslavement of Korean women during World War II have been rising amid the rekindling of a row between the two countries over symbols of the victims, according to poll results released by Gallup Korea on Friday.About 70 percent of the respondents said South Korea should hold talks with Japan to renegotiate the agreement, while 20 percent of them expressed their objection to the idea, with the remaining 10 perc

Social Affairs Feb. 17, 2017

An appellate court on Friday cleared a former chief of the country's leading tobacco maker of bribery, citing a lack of credibility in the testimonies of those involved.Upholding a lower court ruling, the Seoul High Court found Min Young-jin, head of KT&G Corp. from 2010 to 2015, not guilty of receiving some 179 million won ($156,000) worth of cash and goods in kickbacks from subcontractors, a company subordinate and a foreign buyer from 2009 to 2012. The goods allegedly given to him included fi

Social Affairs Feb. 17, 2017

A new survey released Friday indicated a growing popularity of liberal presidential hopefuls while support for conservatives eroded from the fallout of an accelerating corruption probe of President Park Geun-hye.  Moon Jae-in, former head of main opposition Democratic Party, remained on top with 33 percent this week, up 4 percentage points from a week earlier, according to the poll conducted by Gallup Korea.  South Chungcheong Gov. An Hee-jung (Yonhap)He faces a growing challenge from South Chun

Politics Feb. 17, 2017