SPOTLIGHT

• Social affairs

  

  Police to return money thrown on the street by woman in Daegu

  Police collected and returned cash that was scattered around Daegu by a woman as she was driving. The woman, 51, threw cash around Buk-gu, Dong-gu and Seo-gu in Daegu on Thursday morning, according to the Daegu Bukbu Police Station on Friday.Police collected a total of 15.8 million won ($13,970) but the total amount scattered across the city could not be determined.  (Yonhap)After checking CCTV and black box footage of cars that drove near the woman’s car, police confirmed the car license plate

• Music

  

  Seventeen showcases new album 'You Make My Day'

  K-pop boy band Seventeen held a media showcase of their new album "You Make My Day" in Blue Square in central Seoul on July 16."Oh May!" fronts the new album, which has five other tracks of self-produced music. (Yonhap)The songs are an easy listen that can fuse comfortably into the summer background, according to the group. (Yonhap)

• Social affairs

  

  Jin Air under fire for sudden cancellation of international flight

  Korean Air-affiliated Jin Air received a barrage of criticism from over 180 passengers after its abrupt cancellation of a flight bound for Da Nang, Vietnam from Busan’s Gimhae International Airport on Thursday night. Flight LJ075, originally scheduled to depart at 10:05 p.m., was canceled due to “poor maintenance of the aircraft,” according to airport authorities. “When it was past 9:40 p.m. (the original boarding time), I asked if the plane was going to leave any time soon. All they said was ‘w

• Social affairs

  

  Woman avoids ‘fake prosecutor’ voice phishing scam

  The police prevented a woman in her 20s from losing 8 million won ($7,030) in a voice phishing scam.According to the Busan Nambu Police Station on Friday, the victim received a call on Wednesday at 3:20 p.m. from a fraudster saying that her account was involved in a crime so she should withdraw 8 million won cash and give it to an official from the Financial Supervisory Service until the case is confirmed. (Yonhap)The fraudster pretended to be a prosecutor from the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office an

LATEST NEWS

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  North Korea

  President Moon vows independence for spy agency

  President Moon Jae-in on Friday pledged to guarantee the independence of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) and help the agency stay free from politics.   "I certainly promise that the government will never use the NIS for political purposes," Moon said after receiving a report from the spy agency. "I will never exact loyalty from you."   The briefing marked the first official report from the NIS since Moon took office in May 2017, though Cheong Wa Dae, especially the National Security Offi

• 

  North Korea

  Unified Korean men's doubles team loses in semis, takes bronze

  A unified Korean men's doubles ping pong team settled for the bronze medal after losing in the semifinals of an international tournament in South Korea on Friday.   The duo of Lee Sang-su (South Korea) and Pak Sin-hyok (North Korea) lost to Ho Kwan Kit and Wong Chun Ting of Hong Kong at the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Tour Platinum Korea Open in Daejeon, 160 kilometers south of Seoul. The top-seeded Ho and Wong beat Lee and Pak 3-0 (11-9, 11-9, 11-8) at Chungmu Sports Aren

• 

  Industry

  YouTube, Facebook dominate Korea’s video ad market: report

  YouTube and Facebook grabbed a combined 73.1 percent share of South Korea’s video advertising market in the first half of this year, according to a report by Mezzomedia, a digital marketing firm.Data showed Friday that YouTube garnered 116.9 billion won ($103.2 million) and Facebook 93 billion won from online video advertising between January and June this year. The 73.1 percent share controlled by the two firms marks a 6 percent increase from last year’s 67.5 percent.(Yonhap)Naver, the country’

• 

  Defense

  Plan to deploy tanks in Seoul included in martial law document: Cheong Wa Dae

  　The government confirmed Friday that the martial law document drawn up by the Defense Security Command during the Park Geun-hye administration included a plan to deploy tanks in Seoul, censor the media and block the National Assembly from ending the emergency action. 　Presidential spokesperson Kim Eui-kyeom said during a press briefing that there were key differences from the usual plans for martial law, such as the people who would be in command, indicating the document in question was designe

• 

  Industry

  South Korean duty-free sales fall for three months

  Sales of South Korean duty-free stores have fallen for three consecutive months since April, industry data showed, partly due to the Chinese government’s strengthened crackdown on Chinese shuttle traders or “daigongs.”According to the Korea Duty Free Association, combined sales at 48 local duty-free shops came to $1.41 billion (1.6 trillion won) in June, an about 5.17 percent drop from the previous month.  (Yonhap)Despite a sharp decrease in the number of foreign tourists following a diplomatic

• 

  Defense

  Documents indicate martial law proposal more deliberate than thought: Cheong Wa Dae

  Documents submitted by the defense ministry show the earlier reported proposal from the defense intelligence agency to declare martial law may have been more deliberate than earlier believed, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Friday, apparently implying the military may have actually sought to go ahead with such a plan.Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom said the military maintained and renewed its plans for a martial law every two years, but that the new documents submitted by the mi

• 

  North Korea

  Singaporean company director charged with supplying luxury items to North Korea

  SINGAPORE - A Singaporean company director was hauled to court on Thursday (July 19) for allegedly supplying luxury items such as musical instruments, wines and perfumes to North Korea.Ng Kheng Wah, 55, is said to have engaged in a conspiracy with general wholesale trade company T Specialist International and two others - Sherly Muliawan and Li Ik - to commit the offences.There were no details on Muliawan and Li in court documents. The Friendship bridge connecting the North Korean town of Sinuij

• 

  Social affairs

  Court reviews arrest warrant for fatal child abuse case

  A day care worker accused of fatal child abuse entered the Seoul Southern District Court Friday morning for a hearing to review the warrant for her arrest. Accompanied by Gangseo police officers, the 59-year-old woman was seen covered up in a black hat and mask in front of the court around 10 a.m. Asked if she admitted to killing the 11-month-old victim, Kim reportedly did not say a word. The suspect enters the Seoul Southern District Court Friday morning. (Yonhap)The day care worker allegedly s

• 

  North Korea

  FM Kang says NK leader to stay on dialogue track

  North Korean leader Kim Jong-un won't likely reverse the course of dialogue, South Korea's top diplomat has said, adding he apparently cares about "domestic management of messages."Speaking at Chatham House, a local institute of international affairs, in London on Thursday (local time), Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha dismissed concerns about the slower-than-expected denuclearization process."I think that what is clear is that there is the political will that was not there in any previous negoti

• 

  Social affairs

  Over half of office employees work on weekends: poll

  More than half of salaried employees in Korea work on the weekend despite the country's push to help workers strike a balance between work and their personal lives, a poll showed Friday.According to the survey of 2,004 office employees by job search portal operator JobKorea Corp., 53.8 percent of respondents said they either go to work in the weekend often due to a heavy workload or work in business sectors subject to weekend work. (Yonhap)Slightly over 62 percent of male respondents said they w

GRAPHIC NEWS

OPINION

• Columnists

  

  Lady Liberty’s radical history

  At a time when immigration and indeed the very nature of America’s heritage are being re-examined, it is worth considering the history of one of America’s greatest icons: the Statue of Liberty.　Images of the statue are so ubiquitous that it is tempting to take her for granted. But Lady Liberty, as we now call her, is quite a radical creation, both visually and conceptually. She does not carry the traditional American nationalist symbols of the flag and the eagle, instead holding the Declaration

• Columnists

  

  What soldiers should do during domestic disturbance

  The present power holders in Korea like to refer to the turmoil in 2016 as the “candlelight revolution.” President Moon Jae-in and people around him may want to use the word revolution for its strong political appeal, but not many would agree that the monthslong protests in Seoul that eventually brought them to power deserves that title in the bumpy annals of our republic.　Tens of thousands of people gathered at Gwanghwamun Square on weekend evenings with candles in their hands to denounce Presi

THE INVESTOR

• Samsung

  

  Samsung mulls merging Galaxy S Plus and Note lineups

  Samsung is considering simplifying its flagship smartphone lineups by merging the Galaxy S Plus and Note smartphone series to reduce cost amid its falling profits in the smartphone business, according to news reports on July 20. The streamlining has been under consideration for the past year at Samsung, and the firm’s vendors and partners have been notified of the possible reduction in the number of flagship smartphones the company rolls out each year.Over the past years, the tech

• Blockchain

  

  EosBLACK platform offers ICO alternative

  A new blockchain-based platform for developers, called eosBLACK, has recently been unveiled through Koreos, one of Korea’s largest EOS communities. The platform aims to create a more transparent working and rewarding platform for decentralized applications, or DApp, developers and their supporters. The developer Crypto Future believes its decentralized funding platform could become an alternative to initial coin offerings amid regulatory and cost hurdles.“We aim to overcome the cu

• Bio & Medicine

  

  Contract dispute between Reyon and ViroMed deepens

  A patent licensing dispute between Reyon Pharmaceutical and ViroMed is intensifying as a gene therapy candidate developed by the latter is expected to become commercialized.Seoul-based Reyon threatened to sue ViroMed on July 19 if its long-time partner manufactures the potential drug VM202 at a US plant that ViroMed recently acquired. Reyon claims that such an action would breach a license agreement under which Ryeon has the right to produce the ingredients of the drug.“We will ta

• Finance

  

  Schindler claims W300b from Korean government over Hyundai Elevator

  Swiss elevator manufacturer Schindler Group, which is the second-largest shareholder of Hyundai Elevator, has launched a legal claim seeking at least 300 billion won (US$264 million) from the Korean government as compensation for damages over its approval of paid-in capital increase of the Korean lift maker from 2013 to 2015. The Ministry of Justice on July 19 said Schindler submitted a notice of intent seeking a resolution through the investor-state dispute settlement mechanism.

K-POP HERALD

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  Japanese ver. of ‘Ddu-Du-Ddu-Du’

• 

  “On Your Wedding day” confirms opening

• 

  Big Bang’s Seungri plans to enlist

HERALD INTERVIEW

• Film

  

  Singing and dancing in zombie apocalypse

• Culture

  

  It all began with the house

• Diplomatic Circuit

  

  South Africa calls on world to fulfill Mandela’s unfinished mission

• People

  

  ‘Culture, education critical in reaching out to the world’

PHOTO NEWS

• Social affairs

  

  Dried fish market, Korean style

  Seaweed, anchovies, squid and pollock, you name it -- it’s rare to see so many fish all at once, especially all in their dried forms. Seoul’s Chungbu Market is a rare spot for locals and visitors alike to experience what Korea has to offer when it comes to dried seafood. All sorts of dried seafood ae available at prices 20 to 30 percent less than most other stores in the nation’s capital. Drying as a method of fish preservation, which works by removing the water and then hanging it to dry in the

VIDEO

• Culture

  

  Sweetness overload at 2018 Seoul Dessert Fair

• Fashion

  

  When French luxury brand meets Korean traditional beauty

• Film

  

  Despite eye-popping action, ‘Mission: Impossible’ is about the story

• Social affairs

  

  LGBT people share what Pride means

FEATURES

• Travel

  

  Following palace murder trail on jaunty trip

  It was here, on a sequestered patch of greenery, that King Danjong (1441-57), the sixth king of the Joseon era, was sent into a brief exile before his death at the age of 16. That was some 560 years ago.

• Industry

  

  YouTube, Facebook dominate Korea’s video ad market: report

  YouTube and Facebook grabbed a combined 73.1 percent share of South Korea’s video advertising market in the first half of this year, according to a report by Mezzomedia, a digital marketing firm.Data showed Friday that YouTube garnered 116.9 billion won ($103.2 million) and Facebook 93 billion won from online video advertising between January and June this year. The 73.1 percent share controlled by the two firms marks a 6 percent increase from last year’s 67.5 percent.(Yonhap)Naver, the country’

• Industry

  

  South Korean duty-free sales fall for three months

  Sales of South Korean duty-free stores have fallen for three consecutive months since April, industry data showed, partly due to the Chinese government’s strengthened crackdown on Chinese shuttle traders or “daigongs.”According to the Korea Duty Free Association, combined sales at 48 local duty-free shops came to $1.41 billion (1.6 trillion won) in June, an about 5.17 percent drop from the previous month.  (Yonhap)Despite a sharp decrease in the number of foreign tourists following a diplomatic

• Economy

  

  Higher minimum wage feared to cut jobs for seniors

  Korea's minimum wage hike is feared to deal a harsh blow to jobs for elderly people as many of them are subject to the pay regulation, sources said Friday.The government jacked up the minimum wage by 16.4 percent to 7,530 won ($6.62) per hour on Jan. 1 this year, the biggest hike in nearly two decades. Next year's minimum wage has been set at 8,350 won, up 10.9 percent from this year.  (Yonhap)According to Statistics Korea, nearly 205,000 Koreans aged 55 or older were employed by the business fa