Award-winning Japanese film director Ryusuke Hamaguchi said Friday he had planned to shoot his latest project in South Korea to learn from the neighboring country's thriving cinema industry. He was in Busan, as his two films, "Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy" and "Drive My Car," were invited to the Gala Presentation section for introducing new projects of the world's renowned filmmakers at the ongoing 26th Busan International Film Festival. (Yonhap)

Film Oct. 8, 2021

Investigations into a key suspect in the snowballing corruption scandal surrounding a lucrative land development project near Seoul are expected to make progress, as police said Friday they have secured his mobile phone. The Gyeonggi Nambu Police Agency in Suwon, south of Seoul, said its investigators have discovered a mobile phone of Yoo Dong-gyu, former acting president of Seongnam Development Corp., which went missing during a prosecution raid on the suspect's home in Yongin, also south of

Politics Oct. 8, 2021

The chief of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) met with Italy's ambassador on Friday and asked for support for President Moon Jae-in's push for a declaration to formally end the Korean War. "It is a shame that the war on the Korean Peninsula remains undone," Rep. Song Young-gil, chairman of the party, said during the meeting with Italian Ambassador Federico Failla at the National Assembly. The South and the North are still technically in a state of conflict as the 1950-53 Korean War en

Diplomatic Circuit Oct. 8, 2021

Shares in SK hynix Inc. plunged on concerns over a slowdown in the memory market, analysts here said Friday, as they lowered the target price for South Korea's No. 2 chipmaker. SK hynix closed at 94,000 won ($78) on the Seoul bourse after a 1.78 percent decline, so far the lowest price this year, and extended its losing streak to five trading days. SK hynix stocks have declined more than 12 percent in the past two weeks. Compared with the Feb. 25 peak of 148,500 won, SK hynix shares are down m

Industry Oct. 8, 2021

South Korean stocks closed slightly lower Friday largely on the back of growing concerns about giant Chinese property developers' debt crisis. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) declined 3.16 points, or 0.11 percent, to close at 2,956.3 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 659 million shares worth some 12.5 trillion won ($10.5 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 484 to 384. Foreigners sold a net 49 billion won, while

Market Oct. 8, 2021

South Korea's best-known Haeundae Beach in the southeastern city of Busan lost nearly a quarter of its white sand area between 2016 and 2020 due to acceleration of coastal erosion, government data showed Friday. According to a Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries report submitted to Rep. Kim Tae-heum of the main opposition People Power Party, the beach lost 41,954 square meters, or 22.7 percent, of its white sand area over the five years. By volume, 66,224 cubic meters of white sand, or 17.2 perce

Social Affairs Oct. 8, 2021

Unification Minister Lee In-young stressed the need for the Korean-version New Deal project to expand to cross-border cooperation with North Korea, while speaking online with Jim Rogers, a well-known investor, according to the ministry Friday. During a conversation with Rogers the previous day, the minister said that the so-called Peace New Deal will serve as a new growth engine for the South Korean economy. "The minister said that ... if economic cooperation between the two Koreas develops

North Korea Oct. 8, 2021

Illegal stayers who want to leave South Korea voluntarily after completing COVID-19 vaccination will be given various incentives, including exemption from fines, the Ministry of Justice said Friday. The government will waive fines and suspend reentry restrictions for fully vaccinated illegal stayers choosing to voluntarily depart from South Korea between next Tuesday and Dec. 31 this year, the ministry said. The latest measure is part of the Seoul government's efforts to boost the COVID-19 vacci

Social Affairs Oct. 8, 2021

Bond issuance in South Korea fell sharply in September from the previous month due to decreased debt sales by the government and financial firms, data showed Friday. The value of bonds sold in Asia's fourth-largest economy came to 57.5 trillion won ($48.3 billion) last month, down 9.6 trillion won from a month earlier, according to the data from the Korea Financial Investment Association. Last month's drop compares with a 1 trillion-won on-month decrease recorded in August. Sales of state and fi

Market Oct. 8, 2021

Military prosecutors on Friday sought a 15-year prison sentence for a noncommissioned Air Force officer for the alleged sexual abuse of a female colleague that led to her death by suicide, officials said. The master sergeant, surnamed Jang, is suspected of sexually harassing the victim of the same rank inside a car on their way back to their base in the western city of Seosan after a private gathering in March. Following the military's poor initial responses to the case, she took her own life in

Social Affairs Oct. 8, 2021

South Korea said Friday it plans to forge deeper ties with biotechnology firms from the European Union as it seeks to emerge as a global production hub of vaccines by 2025. Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo is set to meet Thierry Breton, the EU commissioner for internal market, during the Korea-EU Global Vaccine Business Round Table in Brussels later in the day, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Officials from 14 major biotechnology businesses from both regions, including SK Bios

Social Affairs Oct. 8, 2021

Germany-based technology firm Merck Group said Friday it plans to invest around $693 million in South Korea through 2025 in the electronics sector, including semiconductor solutions. The investment by Merck is expected to lend hands to South Korea's so-called K-semiconductor blueprint, and help the country secure a stable supply chain of related materials, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The company entered the South Korean market in 1989 and currently operates 11 res

Industry Oct. 8, 2021

Twenty-two draftees at an Army boot camp just south of the inter-Korean border have tested positive for COVID-19, the defense ministry said Friday. The newly enlisted soldiers at the boot camp of the Army's Fifth Division in the border county of Yeoncheon underwent coronavirus tests and were confirmed to have been infected, two days after a colleague was diagnosed with the virus, according to the ministry. All of them joined the military late last month, and only three of the 23 members received

Defense Oct. 8, 2021

Apple Inc. launched the new iPhone 13 series in South Korea on Friday as it seeks a greater presence in rival Samsung Electronics Co.'s home turf. Apple and the country's three major mobile carriers -- SK Telecom Co., KT Corp. and LG Uplus Corp. -- started shipping the iPhone 13 series, comprised of the 5.4-inch iPhone 13 mini, the 6.1-inch iPhone 13, the 6.1-inch iPhone 13 Pro and the 6.7-inch iPhone 13 Pro Max. The tech giant unveiled its new smartphones on Sept. 14 and started shipping the

Industry Oct. 8, 2021

The presidential field for the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) was shortlisted to four candidates Friday, with former Jeju Province Gov. Won Hee-ryong making the cut in the primary's second elimination round. Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, Rep. Hong Joon-pyo, former opposition lawmaker Yoo Seong-min and Won were announced as the four remaining contenders in the main opposition's presidential primary. Friday's result was based on a survey that combined a national poll and a se

Politics Oct. 8, 2021