YG’s new girl group Babymonster debuts with single 'Batter Up'

YG Entertainment’s new girl group Babymonster debuted on Monday with the release of its digital single “Batter Up.” “We are happy to welcome this day that we’ve dreamed of for a long time. We will do our best to show our unique musical colors. We are also preparing diverse content and events for our fans who have waited for our debut, so please look forward to them,” Babymonster said in a press release. The group's debut digital single topped iTunes&rsquo

K-popNov. 27, 2023

Poetic lauder of North Korean regime faces jail term in the South

A man in his 60s has been sentenced to a 14-month jail term for praising the North Korean regime in an award-winning poem published on the North Korean state-run news site Uriminzokkiri. The Seoul Central District Court on Monday found the 68-year-old South Korean guilty of violating the National Security Act when he submitted an anti-state poetry piece to the North Korean mouthpiece in September 2016. The court sentenced him to 14 months in prison and imposed a one-year suspension of qualific

North KoreaNov. 27, 2023

Man falls off Jeju cliff trying to capture 'photo of life'

A man in his 50s fell off a cliff on Jeju Island while trying to photograph himself at a popular tourist spot, local police said Monday, in what seems to be an attempt to grab an "insaeng shot," or photo of life. According to the Seogwipo Coast Guard, the unidentified man was visiting the Oedolgae Sea Stack, a famously photogenic location along the southern coast of the island. During an attempt to shoot a picture of himself at a nearby cliff, he tumbled and sustained a head injury as

Social AffairsNov. 27, 2023

Soccer star's sex tape controversy highlights spycam issue in Korea

A sex tape scandal involving South Korean striker Hwang Ui-jo has brought to light the issue of "molka," hidden cameras used to take pictures or videos for sexual purposes. A recent report showed that the crime happened at an average rate of 17 times per day over the past five years. A total of 3,111 crimes involving video recording without consent were reported in the first half of the year, according to the quarterly report on crime trends published Sunday by the Korea Institute o

Social AffairsNov. 27, 2023

Software update management system -- a key prerequisite for software-defined vehicle

Until five years ago, carmakers were hesitant to introduce cybersecurity measures in vehicles despite being aware of their necessity due to cost issues. However, when the European Union introduced cybersecurity regulations in 2022, it became virtually impossible to enter the European market without meeting the new standards. The change has made cybersecurity an essential element to ensure the survival of carmakers. The advancements in vehicle software, diversification of vehicles’ function

MobilityNov. 27, 2023

2 Taiwanese display firms ordered to pay damages to LG for price-fixing

Two Taiwanese display makers have been ordered to pay a combined 32.8 billion won ($25.1 million) in damages to LG Electronics Inc. for fixing the prices of LCD panels, sources said Monday. The Seoul Central District Court recently delivered the ruling in a compensation suit filed by LG and six of its overseas branches in January 2014 against AUO Corp. and HannStar Display Corp., both based in Taiwan. AUO, formerly AU Optronics Corp., and nine other LCD manufacturers and distributors were accuse

CompaniesNov. 27, 2023

Yoon's approval rating up for 2 weeks to 38.1 pct

President Yoon Suk Yeol's approval rating increased for two consecutive weeks to 38.1 percent, according to a poll released Monday. The survey, conducted by the polling agency Realmeter, showed that the positive assessment of Yoon's performance went up by 2.5 percentage points from the previous week, while 58.9 percent of respondents disapproved of his performance, down 3.1 percentage points. Yoon's approval rating, which had previously lingered in the mid-30 percent range since t

PoliticsNov. 27, 2023

S. Korea attends NATO-led cyberdefense exercise

South Korea is set to attend an international cyberdefense exercise led by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization for the first time to enhance collaboration with NATO in the cyberspace domain, the defense ministry said Monday. NATO's flagship annual cyber exercise, called Cyber Coalition 2023, takes place in Estonia from Monday to Friday, involving 35 NATO members and partners as well as the European Union to strengthen their joint ability to counter threats in the cyber domain. South Kore

DefenseNov. 27, 2023

S. Korea to double ceiling of immediate tax refund for foreign tourists

South Korea will double the maximum limit of purchases eligible for an immediate tax refund by foreign tourists to 5 million won ($3,831) next year to attract overseas visitors and bolster the tourism industry, the finance ministry said Monday. Currently, the country provides on-the-spot tax refunds for an individual purchase of up to 500,000 won at designated stores, with a maximum cap being set at 2.5 million won on total payments. "Starting Jan. 1, 2024, the maximum per-payment amount fo

EconomyNov. 27, 2023

N. Korea claims S. Korea violated key inter-Korean agreements

North Korea claimed Monday that South Korea has breached a 2018 inter-Korean military accord and other key agreements between the two Koreas, condemning joint military drills between Seoul and Washington as a provocative act that violates the military accord. The condemnation came as North Korea vowed last week to resume all military measures halted under the 2018 deal and deploy new weapons to the border in response to Seoul's partial suspension of the military tension reduction accord ove

North KoreaNov. 27, 2023

BOK likely to keep policy rate unchanged on slowdown, hope for Fed's rate freeze, easing inflation

The weak economic momentum, along with the hope for the Federal Reserve's rate freeze next month and moderating inflation, may prod South Korea's central bank to keep its policy rate unchanged again this week. But the Bank of Korea is likely to say that it will keep its restrictive monetary policy stance amid still high inflation and soaring household debts. On Thursday, the BOK is widely predicted to leave the rate, which currently stands at 3.5 percent, unchanged, which would be the seventh st

EconomyNov. 27, 2023

N. Korean leader casts ballot in local elections

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un cast his ballot in local elections held over the weekend to pick new deputies for local assemblies of provinces, cities and counties across the nation, state media reported Monday, with voter turnout recorded at almost 100 percent. Kim visited a polling station set up in South Hamgyong Province on Sunday and voted for candidates who ran in the elections in the region, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. North Korea's local elections are held

North KoreaNov. 27, 2023

Seoul shares open higher amid eased volatility

Seoul shares opened higher Monday amid decreased volatility on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 4.77 points, or 0.19 percent, to 2,501.40 in the first 15 minutes of trading. On Friday, US stocks closed mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.33 percent and the tech-heavy NASDAQ down 0.11 percent. The volatility index, Wall Street's fear gauge, hit the lowest since January 2020 at 12.46 as market participants expected the Federal Reserve is near the

MarketNov. 27, 2023

[Hello Hangeul] Welding book first in vocational Korean series for foreign labor

A plethora of textbooks and learning materials cater to Korean language learners from diverse backgrounds. But, there’s a significant gap for a particular type of learners whose grasp of work-related Korean is crucial not only for quality control and skills development but also for their own safety. In August, a groundbreaking work was released to fill the void of job-related technical books for non-Korean native speakers in welding. Welding, essential for various manufacturing processes

Hashtag KoreaNov. 27, 2023

[Graphic News] Beer imports from China plunge 43% after worker urination video at Tsingtao

South Korea’s beer imports from China plunged more than 40 percent last month from a year earlier following the release of a viral video showing a man urinating into a tank at Tsingtao Brewery, the customs office said. The amount of beer imports from China fell 43 percent on-year to 2,281 metric tons in October, and the value of beer purchases from the neighboring country declined 38 percent to $1.93 million, according to the Korea Customs Service. The video released on Oct. 19 shows a uni

World BusinessNov. 27, 2023

[Shang-Jin Wei] Biden missed chance to help US and himself

At their recent summit in San Francisco, US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed on a few important issues. Notably, the two countries will resume military-to-military communication, thereby reducing the chances of an accidental conflict, and China will do more to restrict the export of chemicals used to make the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl -- a major cause of death in the United States. But there is one crucial area where progress remained elusive: tariffs. In 2018

ViewpointsNov. 27, 2023

[Eric Posner] The monopolists fight back

As the Google antitrust trial winds down, corporate opposition to antitrust reform in the United States is winding up -- and not by coincidence. With the trial having once again revealed the prevalence of anticompetitive behavior in the tech industry, big corporations are turning to the US Congress to block the two federal agencies tasked with antitrust enforcement, the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission, from ramping up their efforts after decades of neglect. In the Google t

ViewpointsNov. 27, 2023

Former England soccer manager Terry Venables dies aged 80

Terry Venables, the former manager of England's national soccer team and clubs including Tottenham Hotspur and Barcelona, has died aged 80 after an illness, his family said on Sunday. "We are totally devastated by the loss of a wonderful husband and father who passed away peacefully yesterday after a long illness," the family said in a statement. (Reuters)

SoccerNov. 26, 2023

China ministry seeks more fever clinics to combat respiratory illness surge

China's health ministry on Sunday urged local authorities to increase the number of fever clinics as the country grapples with a surge in respiratory illnesses in its first full winter since easing COVID-19 restrictions. The spike become a global issue last week when the World Health Organization asked China for more information, citing a report on clusters of undiagnosed pneumonia in children by the Program for Monitoring Emerging Diseases. China and the WHO have faced questions about the

World NewsNov. 26, 2023