SPOTLIGHT

• Politics

  

  Liberty Korea Party chairman in hot seat over comments about son’s job qualifications

  Chairman says he did not lie, as his son has higher qualifications

• Social affairs

  

  Police question Psy over suspicions regarding YG head

  Police have questioned Psy regarding suspicions that Yang Hyun-suk, founder and former chief producer of YG Entertainment, procured prostitution for businesspeople. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s investigation unit said during a press briefing Monday that it had questioned the singer for about nine hours, from 5 p.m. on June 16 to 2 a.m. the next day.  Psy was called in as a witness in the investigation into YG Entertainment, which is suspected of having procured prostitution

• Entertainment

  

  Cannes-winning 'Parasite' becomes most-watched Korean film in France

  "Parasite," winner of the Palme d'Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival, has set a new record in admissions in France among Korean films released there, the film's overseas distributor said Monday.     As of Saturday, the comedy-thriller by Bong Joon-ho had drawn 681,122 moviegoers since its French release on June 5, CJ ENM said.      The ticket sales are the highest for any Korean film released in the European country, surpassing the previous record

• Music

  

  Chungha releases first self-composed song on new album 'Flourishing'

  K-pop diva Chungha on Monday released her fourth EP, "Flourishing," whose title track is the first song she has composed.    The fourth track, "Flourishing," is a trap soul number written in English that sends out a message of self-confidence.     The fifth song on the EP, and its main track, "Snapping," is an intense, seductive number that diverges from Chungha's previous summer singles such as "Love U," a track off "Blo

LATEST NEWS

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  Finance

  Finance chief asks banks to increase lending to smaller firms

  South Korea's finance minister on Monday asked heads of major banks to increase lending to small and medium-sized firms as part of efforts to boost the economy.    Hong Nam-ki, the minister of economy and finance, said it would be good if banks extend loans to smaller firms by taking into account their technology and growth potential, even if their collateral is not enough for borrowing.     He made the comments to reporters after a meeting with the heads of 18

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  Social affairs

  Man uses stolen IDs to supply 5-year sleeping pill binge

  A man, 33, was booked on suspicion of misusing other people’s personal information to obtain sleeping pills, Busan police said Monday.According to the Busan Seobu Police Station, the man obtained a total of 6,157 zolpidem pills over the past five years, starting in April 2014, having made 232 visits to 10 hospitals in Busan.  Police say he received the prescriptions in his friends’ names and took an amount exceeding the advised dosage, which is one pill per day.Zolpidem is a psy

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  North Korea

  US nuke envoy to visit Seoul on Thursday: sources

  US Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun will arrive in Seoul this Thursday for  talks with his South Korean counterpart and other officials, days before the planned visit to Seoul by US President Donald Trump, diplomatic sources said Monday.    Officials in Seoul and Washington are at the final stage of making arrangements for the nuclear envoy to visit Seoul from that day, according to the sources familiar with the matter. He last visited Seoul in May. 

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  World News

  No. of nuclear warheads worldwide declines

  　The overall number of nuclear warheads in the world has declined in the past year but nations are modernizing their arsenals, a report said.　At the start of 2019, the United States, Russia, Britain, France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea had a total of some 13,865 nuclear weapons, according to estimates in a new report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. That represents a decrease of 600 nuclear weapons compared to the start of 2018.　But at the same time all

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  Automode

  Hyundai Motor to deliver 2,000 Ioniqs to Singaporean taxi firm

  South Korean auto giant Hyundai Motor said Monday it will deliver additional units of Ioniq hybrid to a Singaporean transportation company, prolonging its lead as vehicle supplier in the local market.Confirming its contract with ComfortDelGro, Hyundai Motor will be supplying 2,000 units of Ioniq gasoline hybrid vehicles, 1,500 units by the end of this year and the remaining within the first half of next year, officials said.The Singaporean company, which is the largest transportation business op

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  Politics

  North Korean boat spills over to political arena

  Main opposition calls for parliamentary probe in a turnabout from 2012

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  Travel

  Major tourist spots on Jeju Island to raise entrance fees starting July

  Two of Jeju Island’s most famous tourist spots and natural heritage sites, Seongsan Ilchulbong and Manjanggul, will begin charging higher entrance fees starting next month.The Jeju World Natural Heritage Center said Sunday that general admission to Seongsan Ilchulbong, a volcanic peak formed by hydrovolcanic eruptions, will be increased from 2,000 won ($1.73) to 5,000 won. Tickets to Manjanggul, a huge cave created by basalt lava flows, will double in price from the current 2,000 won, the

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  Economy

  Average age of first-time homebuyers climbs in heated market

  Koreans purchase first home at average age of 43.3

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  Television

  Restaurant mogul amasses 1.8m subscribers in 12 days

  With just 16 videos, one YouTuber gained 1.8 million subscribers and 20 billion views in less than 12 days.Those are stats one might expect from K-pop stars, who often get millions of subscribers right away. But this channel belongs to 52-year-old food specialist and restaurant entrepreneur Paik Jong-won. Paik is the founder and CEO of Theborn Korea, Korea’s biggest food franchise, which operates 1,300 restaurants under more than 20 chains. He became a TV personality in 2015 when he a

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  Social affairs

  Prosecution zeroes in on Hanbo Group chief

  The prosecution is closing in on Chung Tae-soo, the former head of the now-defunct Hanbo Group who absconded after being convicted of embezzlement, with his son’s extradition to South Korea on Saturday. The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office reportedly had identified Chung, who was believed to have died, as having been in Kyrgyzstan until recently, and pushed to have him extradited to Korea. It plans to release more information about him this week.  　Chung was sentenced to 15 years in

GRAPHIC NEWS

OPINION

• Columnists

  

  American power without wisdom

  In Greek mythology, it was prophesied that Zeus’s first wife Metis, the goddess of wisdom, would bear a son who, equipped with his mother’s cunning and his father’s power, would eventually overthrow the king of the gods. To protect his position, Zeus swallowed the pregnant Metis whole. The prophesied usurper-son was never born.The qualities of metis (cunning wisdom) and bie (raw power) fascinated the ancient Greeks. At some moments, they revered the former, embodied by Odysseus

• Columnists

  

  Measures against Huawei signal digital ‘divorce’

  It is a cliche to say that we live in a digital age, with many countries upgrading to become knowledge economies. There is supposedly a digital divide, between those who have access to digital knowledge and skills, and those who don’t. But what has emerged with recent action against Huawei Technologies suggests that the World Wide Web may be splintered into four or more digital networks that are firewalled against each other. This situation stems from geopolitical rivalry, mixed up with te

THE INVESTOR

• Startups & Investors

  

  Entrepreneurs should learn how to hire and fire: Altos Ventures

  YEOSU, South Jeolla Province -- For a startup to grow further, entrepreneurs should learn how to hire decent team members and fire bad apples, said Han Kim, managing director of Silicon Valley-based venture capital house Altos Ventures on June 21.“When we make a decision to engage in a follow-up funding round for our portfolio startups, the most critical factor is the entrepreneur’s capability to bring in more talent, along with the courage to remove employees or board members who ar

• Startups & Investors

  

  Expat-run startup out to empower asylum seekers, sustain their careers

  Over 70 million refugees are estimated to have spread across the world as of 2018, the highest level in seven decades, according to the UN Refugee Agency.An expat startup entrepreneur based in Seoul is out to mitigate the level of wasted human talent due to war, terror and persecution that forces people to migrate.Setting off ripples through the world could be his forthcoming project in South Korea to allow the displaced to generate income using their own set of professional skills instead of ma

• Samsung

  

  USITC probes Samsung over touch screen tech patents

  South Korea’s Samsung Electronics and six other global tech giants are being investigated by the US International Trade Commission following allegations that they violated patents in their touch-controlled mobile devices, computers and components, according to industry sources on June 23.The USITC disclosed on its website that it will launch an investigation over allegations that certain touch-controlled devices imported to the US have violated Section 337 of the US Tariff Act.The complain

• Economy

  

  Moon’s new policy aide vows to promote fair economy, income-driven policy

  President Moon Jae-in’s new secretary for policy, who earned the nickname “chaebol sniper” for his decade-long shareholder activism, vowed to keep his stance of promoting income-led growth, innovation and a fair economy. At a farewell meeting as chief of Fair Trade Commission, he told reporters he is open to dialogue with conglomerate chiefs while drawing a clear line saying that incumbent Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki will keep his role as control tower on economic policies.&nb

K-POP HERALD

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  Meet man hoping to break boundaries with Monsta X

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  Holland’s summer/Pride playlist: 8 songs to check out

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  Super Junior’s Kyuhyun would choose Changmin as travel buddy

HERALD INTERVIEW

• Book Review

  

  Behind making of Baek Hee-na’s latest picture book

• Technology

  

  S. Korea's top IP official vows to create user-friendly patent system

• Music

  

  Young composer-conductor excited about Seoul-Paris premiere

• Finance

  

  KIS Vietnam to become first foreign brokerage to launch covered warrants in Vietnam

PHOTO NEWS

• Fashion

  

  Seoul -- an open runway where life and fashion coexist

  Raised aisles stretch out under the glare of the spotlight, chic models parade up and down the catwalk, top-notch designers give brusque last-minute directions, and front-row celebrities flaunt their outfits for the cameras.This is how runways are often perceived by the general public -- sophisticated yet disconnected from everyday life.But what if fashion shows broke out of the conventional frame and models posed in the streets, under natural light and at eye level with the audience? Every part

VIDEO

• Food

  

  Tender, sweet spareribs at Seongsu-dong

• Social affairs

  

  Partisanship pauses for Lee Hee-ho’s funeral

• Industry

  

  Big buyer NHIS signals real estate market trend shift

• Food

  

  Trip back to ’90s: visiting ‘seagull meat alley’ in central Seoul

FEATURES

• Economy

  

  Korea’s 2019 growth may fall to 10-year low

  SEJONG -- Two major economic indices under the Moon Jae-in administration have plumbed to new lows since the nation was hit by the 2008-09 global financial crisis.Those are the growth of gross domestic product in the first quarter and the current account balance in April 2019.South Korea suffered a contraction of 0.4 percent in GDP during the January-March period on a quarter-to-quarter basis.This was the worst quarter-on-quarter GDP performance since the first year of the Lee Myung-bak governme

• Politics

  

  Financial regulator still not in list for Sejong relocation

  SEJONG -- It has been more than six years since the Ministry of Economy and Finance moved from Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, to Sejong Self-Governing City. 　Nonetheless, some former functions of the ministry remained in Seoul after it handed over its financial industry policy authority to the Financial Services Commission in 2008, when the former Lee Myung-bak government took office. Since then, the FSC has been in charge of both supervisory policy and financial industry policy. The commissi

• National

  

  Chinese raids hit North Korean defectors’ ‘Underground Railroad’

  A decade after leaving her family behind to flee North Korea, the defector was overwhelmed with excitement when she spoke to her 22-year-old son on the phone for the first time in May after he too escaped into China.While speaking to him again on the phone days later, however, she listened in horror as the safe house where her son and four other North Korean escapees were hiding was raided by Chinese authorities.“I heard voices, someone saying ‘shut up’ in Chinese,” said

• Foreign Policy

  

  Experts call for cautious approach to Huawei row

  Seoul finds itself pressured by both US and China on Chinese 5G equipment