Foreign currency deposits at banks in South Korea declined in May from a record high in the previous month as some companies withdrew their FX holdings, central bank data showed Wednesday. Outstanding foreign currency-denominated deposits held by residents amounted to $94.7 billion as of end-May, down $100 million from an all-time high of $94.8 billion the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). Residents include local citizens, foreigners staying here for more than six months an

Economy June 16, 2021

A Japanese-language compilation album of BTS songs has shipped 1.1 million units on its first day, the band's agency said Wednesday. Shipments of "BTS, The Best," the seven-piece band's new album, surpassed 1.1 million units on its first day of release in the Asian country, according to Big Hit Music. The 23-track album includes Japanese-language songs such as "Film Out," "Your Eyes Tell" and "Crystal Snow." It also includes Japanese versions of the band

K-pop June 16, 2021

GWANGJU -- Police investigating last week's fatal building collapse during demolition in a housing redevelopment district of the southwestern city Gwangju raided HDC Hyundai Development Co., the main contractor of the project, on Wednesday, officials said. The Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency sent a dozen investigators to the leading real estate developer's Seoul headquarters to execute a search and seizure warrant and ascertain whether the company is responsible for the disaster, they said.

Social Affairs June 16, 2021

Defense ministry investigators raided the offices of the Air Force's legal affairs department Wednesday over the suicide of a sexually harassed noncommissioned officer as part of a sprawling investigation into what led the victim to take her own life. The raid took place one day after the prosecutors grilled a military public defender accused of failing to provide adequate help to the master sergeant, surnamed Lee, who allegedly suffered groping and other abuse by her colleague during a car rid

Defense June 16, 2021

BUSAN -- A landlord who reported a tenant for abandoning 14 cats in the apartment before moving out has bizarrely turned out to be the animals' owner, police said Wednesday. Last week, a local ward office in this southeastern port city received a complaint from a person in their 20s who claimed a tenant had moved out of their apartment leaving 14 cats behind in a pile of garbage and abandoned household goods. The ward office failed to reach the tenant and reported the case to the police on sus

Social Affairs June 16, 2021

Over half of the service members aged under 30 have been administered with their first doses of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine since the vaccination campaign for younger soldiers began last week, the defense ministry said Wednesday. A total of 223,614 troops in their 20s, or 54 percent of the age group, had received their first doses as of Tuesday, according to the ministry. Soldiers aged 30 and older were given AstraZeneca's vaccine, with about 88 percent, or 116,900 members agreeing to take th

Defense June 16, 2021

US media giant Netflix has promoted two Korean content experts to its senior creative leadership team as part of a strategy to strengthen its foothold in South Korea and the rest of the populous Asian region. According to Netflix, in a latest leadership reshuffle, Kim Min-young, formerly vice president of content for Korea, was appointed to take charge of content-related operations across Asia, excluding India. Kim has played a major role in helping the streamer pull off bullish growth in the

Film June 16, 2021

More than a decade after helping South Korea to an improbable Olympic baseball gold medal, former major league outfielder Kim Hyun-soo will try to do it again. Kim was named to the 24-player roster Wednesday, joined by another former major leaguer, KT Wiz infielder Hwang Jae-gyun, on an otherwise youthful roster of Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) stars. Baseball will return to the Olympics for the July 23-Aug. 8 competition in the Japanese capital, after being left off in the past two compet

Baseball June 16, 2021

The head of South Korea's ruling party on Wednesday proposed the installation of small modular reactors (SMRs) in North Korea, calling it a useful way to supply energy to the country when it is free from nuclear weapons. "Under the precondition of resolving the North Korean nuclear issue, SMRs could be a useful way to supply energy to North Korea that has many mountainous regions and a shortage of power transmission and distribution networks," Rep. Song Young-gil, chairman of the ruli

Politics June 16, 2021

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. (DSME) said Wednesday it will develop cybersecurity technologies for remote autonomous ships and smart ships. To that end, the shipbuilder will team up with local cybersecurity companies, including maritime cybersecurity startup DSLAP Company, and Korea University by 2022, it said. The project was also helped by the ocean ministry amid growing demand for cybersecurity for remote autonomous ships, smart ships and smart battleships that have been

Industry June 16, 2021

BamBam, the versatile Thai rapper-singer from disbanded K-pop boy band GOT7, has taken his first step as a solo artist with his new album "riBBon," which he wrote. The six-track album, released late Tuesday, is his first album as a solo musician after members of the septet left their label JYP Entertainment in January following a seven-year stint. BamBam has since signed with Abyss Company, which manages other Korean acts like Sunmi and Urban Zakapa. In an online media event late Tue

K-pop June 16, 2021

South Korea on Wednesday announced a new set of measures for pet-related businesses to better protect animal rights in line with the growing number of pets in the country. Under the measures, puppy farms are obligated to make the width and length of cages at least 2.5 times the size of caged animals, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Starting in 2023, the farms should also have at least one staff member for every 50 dogs or cats, compared with the previous 75.

Industry June 16, 2021

South Korea will work toward advancing its relationship with Japan frayed by common history issues, a key presidential official said Wednesday, amid news that Japan canceled agreed-upon talks between the leaders of the two nations during the recent Group of Seven (G-7) summit. According to a Seoul foreign ministry official, Japan canceled a tentative agreement to hold a "pull-aside" meeting between their leaders on the sidelines of the recent G-7 summit held in Cornwall, Britain, taki

Politics June 16, 2021

Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun has visited an autonomous vehicle joint venture in the United States and tested a vehicle under development as the South Korean automaking giant explores new business opportunities in future mobility solutions, the automaker said Wednesday. Chung tested a self-driving Ioniq 5 electric vehicle during his visit to Motional's Boston headquarters and discussed ways to expand the partnership with its senior executives, Hyundai Motor said. The chairman made

Mobility June 16, 2021

Disney's live action film "Cruella" has become the fifth movie to attract over 1 million viewers in South Korea this year, box office data showed Wednesday. The crime comedy flick, released on May 26, drew more than 24,000 people Tuesday, bringing its combined total to over 1.01 million, according to the data from the Korean Film Council. The movie topped the daily box office for five consecutive days from Friday. Among the movies released here in 2021, "Cruella" is the

Film June 16, 2021