"Squid Game" creator Hwang Dong-hyuk will talk about his stories behind the smash hit Netflix drama in a local online forum next month, the event's organizer said Friday. At the SBS D Forum to be held Nov. 18, Hwang will deliver a speech, titled "The Portrayals of the Times, Things We Have to Talk About," sharing his experience on his theatrical works and the social impact of the global success of "Squid Game," according to the SBS TV station. He took the helm of

Television Oct. 29, 2021

South Korea's veterans ministry said Friday it has named late Gen. Oliver Prince Smith of the US Marine Corps as the Korean War hero of the month for his role in a major evacuation mission during the 1950-53 conflict. Under his leadership, the 1st Marine Division of the US fought their way against Chinese forces at the Battle of Chosin Reservoir, which is considered one of the fiercest battles of the war. The 1950 battle enabled the famous Hungnam evacuation, in which UN troops helped evacuate

Defense Oct. 29, 2021

Shareholders of SK Materials Co., a semiconductor and display materials arm under SK Group, on Friday approved a plan to merge with its parent company, SK Inc., paving the way for the latter to bolster investment in new growth drivers, including battery materials. The merger approval, released in a regulatory filing, came about two months after the two companies announced the decision made by the companies' boards for SK Inc., the investment and holding company of South Korea's No. 3 conglomer

Industry Oct. 29, 2021

South Korean online grocery delivery platform Market Kurly said Friday it aims to go public in the domestic market in 2022 as part of efforts to help hone its competitiveness. Market Kurly said it has picked NH Investment and two other brokerage houses as co-lead managers for its initial public offering (IPO) slated for the first half of next year. The company, however, failed to disclose the specific date for its stock market debut. Market Kurly had originally pushed to debut on the US equit

Industry Oct. 29, 2021

Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was re-elected as the head of a Seoul-based international organization on green growth for a third term to serve until 2023, officials said Friday. On Thursday, the 40 members of the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) unanimously approved the appointment of Ban as president of the institute, according to the GGGI officials. The institute was launched in 2012 to support developing countries' efforts for transition to environmentally-sustainable economic

Foreign Affairs Oct. 29, 2021

South Korea will fully resume in-person school classes next month in line with the government's "living with COVID-19" scheme, the education ministry said Friday. In-person attendance at kindergarten, elementary, middle and high schools will resume nationwide on Nov. 22, following this year's College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), a state-run university entrance exam, on Nov. 18, according to the ministry. The plan is part of the government's "living with COVID-19" scheme

Politics Oct. 29, 2021

South Korea plans to secure enough oral COVID-19 medications to treat some 404,000 infected patients from global drugmakers and distribute them starting in the first quarter of next year, the government said Friday. The government said it signed a pre-purchase contract with US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. this month to buy enough medications to prescribe to 70,000 patients, an official from the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters said. Last month, the government also

Social Affairs Oct. 29, 2021

Consumption inequality in South Korea worsened last year as the coronavirus pandemic undercut "discretionary" spending by lower-income earners due to toughened curbs on gatherings and business operation, a central bank report showed Friday. According to the report by the Bank of Korea, the consumption inequality index -- a major gauge of spending patterns between the haves and have-nots -- increased to 3.74 in 2020 from the previous year's 3.67. A higher reading means more inequality

Economy Oct. 29, 2021

A UN General Assembly committee has approved three draft resolutions concerning North Korea, including one reaffirming the Assembly's commitment to the "complete, verifiable and irreversible" abandonment of Pyongyang's nuclear program, its website showed Friday. On Wednesday, the First Committee in charge of disarmament and security affairs approved 25 resolutions and decisions, including those related to the North, amid reports that the recalcitrant regime has been doubling down on i

North Korea Oct. 29, 2021

Airlines of South Korea and European Union member states will be allowed to operate without restrictions on their nationality requirements starting next month under a new aviation accord, Seoul's foreign ministry said Friday. South Korea and 22 EU member states signed a horizontal aviation agreement in June 2020, which goes into effect Monday, the foreign ministry said. The horizontal accord will ease nationality requirements for airlines to allow any EU member states to operate on the routes

Foreign Affairs Oct. 29, 2021

South Korean actor Lee Byung-hun has won a US entertainment award for Asian and Asian American contributions to film and television, the event organizer said Friday (Korean time). Lee was included in the list of recipients of the US Asia Entertainment Summit and Game Changer Awards, along with Bela Bajaria, head of global TV at Netflix, and Destin Daniel Cretton, director of the superhero film "Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings" (2021). Hosted by the nonprofit organization As

Television Oct. 29, 2021

Card spending in South Korea grew in the third quarter from a year earlier as consumer sentiment improved amid expanded vaccination and relaxed social distancing rules, industry data showed Friday. Card spending came to about 248 trillion won ($212.2 billion) in the July-September period, up 8.6 percent from the same quarter a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Credit Finance Association. The growth was attributed to improving consumer sentiment bolstered by accelerated vaccin

Economy Oct. 29, 2021

CHANGWON -- A total of 117 coronavirus cases were reported in just two days at the psychiatric ward of a hospital in the southern city of Changwon, all believed to be breakthrough infections, officials said Friday. According to city government officials, three COVID-19 cases were first reported on Thursday and tests on other people at the ward showed that an additional 114 people were infected. Of them, 110 were patients at the ward and the seven others were hospital employees. All reported

Social Affairs Oct. 29, 2021

South Korea's military reported 12 additional COVID-19 cases Friday, bringing the total caseload among its personnel to 2,035, the defense ministry said. Two Army conscripts stationed in Paju, north of Seoul, tested positive after returning from their vacations, according to the ministry. A Marine based on the front-line island of Daecheongdo was also infected. Other remaining cases included two Army officers based in the central city of Daejeon, and a trainee at a boot camp in Nonsan, some 2

Defense Oct. 29, 2021

South Korea will launch a project next month to develop a homegrown naval interception system designed to protect warships from hostile aircraft and missiles, the state arms procurement agency said Friday. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said the project aims to develop the Close In Weapon System-II (CIWS-II) -- a ship-based gun capable of countering incoming attacks in the final stage of the Navy's multilayered interception program -- by 2027. The Navy currently employs

Defense Oct. 29, 2021