SPOTLIGHT

• Social affairs

  

  Singer-artist Cho Young-nam found not guilty of painting fraud in appeals trial

  A Seoul appeals court cleared singer-artist Cho Young-nam of fraud charges Friday, citing a lack of evidence to prove his actions were illegal. A lower court had sentenced Cho to 10 months in prison suspended for two years for passing off paintings created by his assistants as his own works. Although he had directed the creation of the paintings, he had not notified buyers that assistants had painted the artworks.  Cho Young-nam (Yonhap)The Seoul High Court overturned the lower court’s ruling, s

• Music

  

  Anticipation heightens over BTS’ new teaser photos

  Just a week away from its much-anticipated return, BTS released teaser photos for its upcoming “Love Yourself: Answer” album. On Thursday night, the act’s agency Big Hit Entertainment revealed 16 promotional photos, divided into “L” and “F” versions, on its Twitter account. The group previously released teaser photos for the upcoming album in “S” and “E” versions, all of which combine to form the word “Self” from “Love Yourself.” BTS had also released four different sets of teaser for its “Her”

• Culture

  

  Young Koreans ride ‘ripples of love’ on mobile platforms

  From dating apps to mobile messaging, unique rules of romantic engagement emerge

• Social affairs

  

  Dog butchers nabbed for water pollution

  Operators of illegal dog slaughterhouses were caught discharging wastewater into a nearby construction site, as the city of Seoul continues its efforts to make the businesses close shop.The city government’s special enforcement division said Thursday they booked without detention three people who ran unregistered dog slaughtering facilities or illegally disposed of wastewater from their butcheries.Two of the three dog butchers channeled what was washed away from the slaughterhouses, including bl

LATEST NEWS

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  More sports

  S. Korean prime minister leaves for Indonesia for Asian Games

  South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon left for Indonesia Saturday to attend the opening ceremony of the Asian Games, setting the stage for a possible meeting with a senior North Korean official. (Yonhap)South and North Korea are set to march together behind the Korean Unification Flag at the opening ceremony in Jakarta later in the day.The rival Koreas are scheduled to field joint teams in three sports -- women's basketball, rowing and canoeing -- in a sign of warming relations. The two Koreas

• 

  More sports

  Co-host city of Palembang could be promised land for S. Korea

  Palembang, a co-host city of the 2018 Asian Games along with Jakarta, could prove to be the promised land for South Korea, once the competition begins in earnest on Sunday.Located about 430 kilometers northwest of the Indonesia capital, Palembang will stage women's football, shooting, rowing, canoeing, bowling, tennis and soft tennis, among others. (EPA-Yonhap)While preliminary matches in football, basketball and handball have already been played prior to Saturday's opening ceremony due to sched

• 

  Industry

  Nuclear reactor shuts down for maintenance

  The operator of South Korea's nuclear power plants said Saturday that it has stopped operation of a nuclear reactor in the country's southwestern nuclear complex for scheduled maintenance Hanbit 1 (KHMP)The 950-megawatt "Hanbit 1" reactor stopped operating at 10:03 a.m. for routine inspections, the Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co. said.The reactor is located in Yeonggwang, about 350 kilometers southwest of Seoul. Three other reactors in Yeonggwang are also undergoing maintenance. (Yonhap)

• 

  World News

  Japan must do more for WWII 'comfort women': UN experts

  Japan should do more for victims of wartime sexual slavery, UN rights experts said at a hearing on Friday, insisting Tokyo had yet to provide full redress and reparations.Mainstream historians say up to 200,000 women, mostly from Korea but also other parts of Asia including China and the Philippines, were forced to work in Japanese military brothels during World War II. (Herald DB)During a two-day review of Japan's record before the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which

• 

  Soccer

  Son's Asian Games hopes rocked by minnows Malaysia

  Son Heung-min's hopes of avoiding military service by securing Asian Games gold suffered a blow Friday as South Korea were stunned 2-1 by minnows Malaysia. (Yonhap)The Tottenham Hotspur forward came off the bench just before the hour-mark but couldn't help the defending champions overturn a two-goal deficit, after Safawi Rasid's first-half double for 171st-ranked Malaysia.Son is skipping Premier League action for the regional Olympics, where victory would mean an exemption from South Korea's 21

• 

  Finance

  Seoul shares likely to drift in cautious mode amid uncertainties

  South Korean stocks may move in a tight range as investors are likely take a cautious approach due to lingering risks over various global issues, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 2,247.05 on Friday, losing 1.57 percent, or 35.74 points, from a week ago. (Yonhap)In the beginning of the week, a collapse of the Turkish lira sent a shockwave throughout the world. The Turkish currency had been on a sharp decline since the beginning of this year, but the

• 

  Politics

  S. Korean gov't committed to nuclear phase-out policy goal

  The South Korean government is firmly committed to reducing the country's dependence on nuclear power and will expand the use of renewable power sources despite growing public support for time-tested atomic energy, observers in Seoul said Saturday. (Herald DB)According to a poll conducted by the Korean Nuclear Society, 71.6 percent of respondents supported the use of nuclear power in the country, far more than the 26 percent that said the country will be fine without it. The survey was conducted

• 

  North Korea

  Some activity seen at NK shipyard capable of building ballistic missile subs: 38 North

  A North Korean shipyard capable of building ballistic missile submarines appears to be somewhat active, but it's unclear whether a new submarine is being built, according to a US website monitoring the regime.38 North, a project of the Stimson Center think tank, said it has observed in recent commercial satellite imagery "a low level of activity" at the Sinpo South Shipyard, the most probable place North Korea would build its first operational ballistic missile submarine."Movement of parts and e

• 

  North Korea

  US, NK to have frequent talks until denuclearization goal reached: State Dept.

  The United States and North Korea will have frequent discussions until the goal of Pyongyang's denuclearization is reached, the State Department said Friday, declining to provide details on a reported meeting last weekend.US Ambassador to Seoul Harry Harris is reported to have met with North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui at the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom Sunday to deliver a message from Washington. (Yonhap)The two sides have been in negotiations to implement an agreemen

• 

  Politics

  Court denies arrest warrant for Gov. Kim in opinion rigging scandal

  A Seoul court on Saturday refused to grant an arrest warrant for South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo over his alleged involvement in a massive opinion-rigging case. The Seoul Central District Court said the charges against Kim are disputable and that he presents little risk of fleeing given his current position.  (Yonhap)Special Counsel Huh Ik-bum has been investigating suspicion that he colluded with Kim Dong-won, better known by his nickname Druking, to manipulate comments in news ar

GRAPHIC NEWS

OPINION

• Columnists

  

  Erdogan makes some worrying friends

  Relations between the US and Turkey have been deteriorating almost as fast as the Turkish lira. In a speech on the Black Sea coast Saturday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made the ultimate dig against an ally: He threatened to switch teams.　“Before it is too late, Washington must give up the misguided notion that our relationship can be asymmetrical and come to terms with the fact that Turkey has alternatives,” he told the crowd. If the “disrespect” continues, his government will seek “

• Columnists

  

  Worst lawlessness reigns in Street of Justice

  The new Seoul Eastern Detention House, or “Dongbu Guchiso,” is located on Jeongui-ro, or “Justice Street,” in Munjeong-dong. Across the street are the Seoul Eastern District Court and Seoul Eastern Prosecutors’ Office adjoining each other. Opened a little over a year ago, Dongbu Guchiso has become the judgment grounds of old power, as it accommodates many “celebrities” from the administrations of presidents Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye who are being prosecuted under the Moon Jae-in government

THE INVESTOR

• Retail & Consumer

  

  Sulbing’s plans to takeoff overseas face strong headwinds

  Korean dessert cafe franchise Sulbing has some ambitious plans for this year. “We’re aiming to open 40 stores by the year-end,” the firm said in a statement on Aug. 8 as it announced its first outlet in Cambodia. “We are confident of attracting global customers with our know-how for making Korean desserts.”On the opening day in Cambodia, its outlet attracted over 300 local customers, according to the company. Sulbing also operates in seven other countries outside of Korea, includi

• Stocks & Bonds

  

  SM, JYP, YG shares jump on Q2 earnings

  K-pop powerhouses SM Entertainment, JYP Entertainment and YG Entertainment enjoyed a sharp rise in their share price on better-than-expected earnings results combined with upbeat analyst forecasts. On Aug. 16, shares of JYP -- home to entertainers like Twice, 2PM and Suzy -- surged 8.21 percent to close at 25,700 won (US$22.79). Big Bang’s label YG rose 7.05 percent to 37,100 won, while SM enjoyed a 6.3 percent increase to 43,800 won Earlier this week, the labels announced their s

• Bio & Medicine

  

  FSS announces tougher disclosure rules for biotech stocks

  The Financial Supervisory Service on Aug. 17 announced strengthened disclosure requirements for biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies starting with their third-quarter earnings reports. The aim is to help investors obtain a more accurate picture of their business. “The purpose of these measures are to make them present detailed information in their disclosure reports in a systematic manner after we found that many pharma and biotech companies aren’t properly disclosing the un

• Industrials

  

  Gov’t decides not to cancel Jin Air license

  The government said on Aug. 17 that it has decided not to revoke Jin Air’s license, ending weeks of business uncertainty for the budget affiliate of Korean Air Lines over its illegal appointment of a foreign national to its board of directors.Under the aviation law, only Koreans can be registered as a director of an airline. The company, however, appointed Cho Hyun-min, an American citizen and the younger daughter of Korean Air Chairman Cho Yang-ho, to serve as a board member of J

K-POP HERALD

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  Higher anticipation over BTS’ new teasers

• 

  Jennie, Jisoo with pets ‘everywhere’

• 

  Irene wants to pay back for all the love

HERALD INTERVIEW

• Music

  

  ‘We will keep evolving, regardless of our age,’ says Super Junior D&E

• Social affairs

  

  Legislation Minister makes reducing discrimination her mission

• Finance

  

  Balancehero urges govt. to support firms targeting India entry

• Diplomatic Circuit

  

  ‘Reformed Georgia: pearl of South Caucasus after 2008 war’: Georgian Foreign Minister

PHOTO NEWS

• Travel

  

  DMZ Peace Park: wildlife paradise at the Cold War’s last frontier

   After the Korean War ended with an armistice agreement in 1953, two Koreas declared a 4-kilometer-wide Demilitarized Zone along the demarcation line that separated them, to prevent accidental skirmishes. Since the DMZ has been off-limits for more than 60 years, the area has become home to many endangered species, including red-crowned cranes. The border town of Cheorwon in Gangwon Province opened the DMZ Peace Park, an ecotourism park in the southern part of the heavily-fortified region, in 201

VIDEO

• Music

  

  MXM returns with self-produced album ‘More Than Ever’

• Food

  

  Fish in water? Sliced fish in chilled broth

• Television

  

  Hyun Bin, Son Ye-jin talk about remote-acting in ‘The Negotiation’

• Food

  

  Snake-like creature writhes, squirms on grill

FEATURES

• Social affairs

  

  After plastic-cup ban in cafes, some Koreans are ‘fed up’ with the new rule

  Han Ji-young, a professional in her 30s, was almost late for work last week. As she does every morning, she visited her go-to cafe to grab coffee on the way to her office in southern Seoul. The queue was unusually long that day, she said, partly because of the hot weather. When she finally got her coffee, after minutes of waiting, she realized the beverage was served in a glass mug, not the plastic cup that she usually gets for take-out drinks.　“It turns out, one of the staff members at the cafe

• Finance

  

  Samsung Electronics pulls along H1 growth in Kospi earnings

  South Korea’s listed companies experienced lackluster earnings in the second quarter despite on-year growth in the first half of the year largely driven by Samsung Electronics, data showed Thursday. (Yonhap)The combined first-half operating profit of 641 companies trading on the Kospi, including Samsung Electronics, jumped 18.6 percent on-year, while combined net profit surged 7.6 percent. However, if the data excludes Samsung Electronics, the figures significantly slid. The combined operating p

• Technology

  

  SKT adopts Xilinx’s neural processing unit to boost AI

  SK Telecom, South Korea’s biggest mobile carrier, has deployed US chipmaker Xilinx’s neural processing units to accelerate its artificial intelligence processing speed and performance by fivefold, the two companies announced Thursday. Known as FPGAs or field-programmable gate arrays, the integrated circuits based on latest deep learning techniques are now deployed at the mobile carrier’s data center and are running its automatic speech-recognition application to accelerate AI speaker NUGU. SKT s

• Travel

  

  Changwon, Miryang readies for guests ahead of ISSF championship

  Cities in South Gyeongsang Province offer mysteriously icy creeks, seafood, temples and shooting ranges The eyes of the sports world will be on Korea later in the month, this time in the southern and hottest place in the country, as the city of Changwon will host the International Shooting Sport Federation World Championship from Aug. 31 to Sept. 15.With outsiders expected to visit the region -- including 12 athletes and 10 officials from North Korea -- Changwon and the neighboring city of Mirya