SPOTLIGHT

• Economy

  

  Average spending by foreign tourists to Korea tumbles in Q1

  Average spending by foreign tourists visiting South Korea has decreased to a level last seen 10 years ago, data showed Tuesday.According to the data from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization, foreign tourists coming to South Korea spent an average of $1,268 per person per trip in the first quarter of this year.  The figure is down 12.1 percent from $1,442 a year ago and marks the fourth quarterly decrease in a row.Average spending hovered around $1,

• Social affairs

  

  Incheon mayor apologizes for reddish tap water

  Incheon Mayor Park Nam-choon on Monday apologized for the city’s botched response to contaminated tap water and laid out a set of measures to tackle the problem. The cause of the reddish tap water was to be announced Tuesday.“I apologize that we did not have a crisis response manual for every case, we did not seek advice from experts and we did not have a response process in place,” Park said during the press conference. Incheon Metropolitan City will monitor the water qua

• Music

  

  Ex-YG head Yang may face police probe over snowballing drug and cover-up scandal

  Larger negative impact feared for broader K-pop industry

• World

  

  Earthquake in southern China kills 11 people, injures 122

  BEIJING — A strong earthquake that hit Sichuan province in southern China late Monday night killed 11 people and injured 122, the local government said.The Yibin city government posted the casualty toll on its social media accounts Tuesday morning. Xinhua news agency said rescue efforts were underway in the stricken area. The magnitude 6.0 earthquake collapsed a hotel in Changning county and damaged some roads, Xinhua said. Heavy rains were falling Tuesday morning.The Ministry of Emergency

LATEST NEWS

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  Automode

  Porsche Korea opens world’s 8th studio in Gangnam

  Porsche Korea, local unit of the German luxury carmaker, opened a new studio in Gangnam, southern Seoul, on Tuesday, in a bid to appeal better to younger customers.The new retail format introduced by the carmaker is the eight of its kind in the world and has been opened to provide a wide-ranging brand experience, from cars to custom-made accessories. “Porsche Korea will position ‘Porsche Studio Cheongdam’ as a cultural space where existing customers as well as potential cl

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  World News

  Egypt's ousted president Morsi dies in court during trial

  CAIRO — Egypt’s first democratically elected president, Islamist leader Mohammed Morsi who was ousted by the military in 2013 after a year in office, collapsed in court while on trial Monday and died, state TV and his family said.The 67-year-old Morsi had just addressed the court, speaking from the glass cage he is kept in during sessions and warning that he had “many secrets” he could reveal, a judicial official said. A few minutes afterward, he collapsed in the cage, th

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  North Korea

  Cheong Wa Dae says inter-Korean summit is not a must before G-20

  South Korea's presidential office publicly toned down its expectations for another inter-Korean summit Tuesday, a day after Beijing and Pyongyang announced this week's bilateral summit.Attending the Oslo Forum in the Norwegian capital last week, President Moon Jae-in expressed his desire to meet again with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un before US President Donald Trump visits South Korea at the end of June. Trump is due in Northeast Asia to attend the Group of 20 summit to take place in Osaka,

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  Social affairs

  Seoul to spend big on renovating public infrastructure

  South Korea plans to spend 32 trillion won ($27 billion) over the next four years to renovate old public infrastructure and carry out extensive safety inspections on them, the industry ministry said Tuesday.Under the project that will run from 2020 to 2023, the government plans to draw up comprehensive safety guidelines and renovate outdated infrastructure, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.  The move came as South Korea's social infrastructure facilities have deterior

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  Social affairs

  Police open probe into YG founder, B.I in suspected drug scandal

  SUWON -- Police on Monday opened an investigation into allegations that Yang Hyun-suk, founder of entertainment powerhouse YG Entertainment, attempted to cover up drug charges involving one of YG’s artists years ago.Yang resigned as CEO and chief producer of YG Entertainment on Friday after an informant claimed he attempted to deter a police probe into a suspected drug purchase by B.I, the songwriting leader of K-pop boy band iKON, in 2016.　　The Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency said

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  Technology

  Samsung, SK Telecom join hands for 6G R&D

  Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Telecom Co. said Tuesday they have agreed to work together to upgrade the performance of the commercial 5G network and develop technologies related to 6G.Samsung, which provides end-to-end 5G solutions ranging from modems and chipsets to smartphones, has been providing its equipment to South Korea's leading mobile carrier for the commercial rollout.  As SK Telecom is currently building additional base stations to expand nationwide coverage, the two companies f

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  Industry

  Samsung SDS vows to expand enterprise blockchain platform

  Samsung SDS Co. said Tuesday it will expand its partnerships with various industrial players to facilitate the convergence of its enterprise blockchain platform with other technologies and increase utlization.The IT service subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co. has been developing cloud-based blockchain technologies for use in the manufacturing, logistics, public sector, finance and health care sectors.  Samsung SDS said it has been working with local hospitals, insurance companies and digi

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  Defense

  Navy, Air Force conduct large-scale maritime rescue drills

  The Navy and the Air Force said Tuesday they have conducted large-scale joint search and rescue drills in waters off the east coast as part of efforts to bolster the country's disaster relief capabilities.The joint exercises took place based on a scenario in which the military responds to a major maritime accident that leaves a massive number of people at sea waiting for help.  The maneuvers were launched last year, though the Coast Guard joined the recent drills for the first time.Upon a d

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  North Korea

  Chinese President Xi to visit N. Korea this week: KCNA

  Chinese President Xi Jinping will make a state visit to North Korea this week, the North's state media reported Monday, marking his first trip to Pyongyang since becoming president.Xi is scheduled to pay a two-day visit to North Korea from Thursday at the invitation of its leader Kim Jong-un, according to the Korean Central News Agency.It will be the first visit by a Chinese leader to its communist neighbor in 14 years. Though Xi visited North Korea in 2008, he was China's vice president at that

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  North Korea

  White House on Xi's NK visit: Focus is on denuclearization

  WASHINGTON -- The world is focused on achieving North Korea's denuclearization, the White House said Monday in response to news of Chinese President Xi Jinping's upcoming visit to Pyongyang.Xi is to make a state visit to North Korea on Thursday and Friday, his first as China's president."Our goal is to achieve the final, fully verified denuclearization of the DPRK as agreed to by Chairman Kim," a White House official told Yonhap on background, referring to North Korea by its official n

GRAPHIC NEWS

OPINION

• Columnists

  

  US recovery turns 10

  This month marks the 10th full year of the US economic recovery that began in June 2009. Back then, a “trough” in business activity signified the end of the Great Recession that followed the 2007-08 global financial crisis. The current expansion has continued, uninterrupted, ever since.The best explanation for the length of this recovery is disappointingly simple: The Great Recession was the United States’ worst downturn since the 1930s. The deeper the hole, the longer it

• Columnists

  

  We are living in historic times. Or are we?

  If we are living through historic events, would we know?In 1965, Arthur Danto, a philosopher at Columbia University, argued that it is impossible to tell, when you’re in the midst of things, whether an event is going to be deemed “historic” by future historians. If something happens -- Russia successfully reclaims Crimea, for example, or Pete Buttigieg declares that he’s running for president -- its ultimate significance will be determined by causal chains that cannot pos

THE INVESTOR

• Startups & Investors

  

  Taxi-sharing app operator Kornatus snaps W1.2b funds

  South Korea’s taxi-sharing app operator Kornatus said on June 17 it has received 1.2 billion won ($1 billion) in early-stage round funding from domestic venture capital firms, just before the apps’ official launch. Investors in the round include newly founded VC Thoughts Become Things, as well as seasoned Bon Angels and SparkLabs Ventures.Related:Tada Premium gets approval amid controversyTaxi industry, Kakao Mobility reach breakthrough agreementCriticism grows over Kakao Mobility&rs

• Samsung

  

  Samsung Display continues to lead in mobile market: IHS

  Samsung Display, a subsidiary of tech giant Samsung Electronics, spearheaded the global smartphone display industry in the January-March period this year while Chinese display makers fast expanded their presence in the segment, according to global market research firm IHS on June 17.Samsung raked in $3.45 billion, accounting for 40.2 percent global market share. Its market share slightly decreased on-year from 46.8 percent, it still maintained a large gap with runner-up Japan Display, which took

• Mobile & Internet

  

  Expected hit games, BTS World lift Netmarble shares

  Netmarble, South Korea’s leading mobile game developer, saw its share price rise on June 17 amid high expectations on its new game lineup. Netmarble’s new mobile role-playing game Seven Deadly Sins: Grand Cross was released on June 4 in Korea and Japan and has become a bestseller. In Japan, it was ranked No. 3 app on Apple’s App Store and fourth on Google Play as of June 16. Japan’s game market, the world’s third-largest, where a player spends $446 on average higher

• Industrials

  

  SKT to develop 6G network tech with Nokia, Ericsson

  South Korea’s biggest mobile carrier SK Telecom said on June 16 it will develop the sixth-generation network technology with Nokia and Ericsson, as the Korean government seeks to enhance economic ties with Nordic countries. 　The telecom firm signed memorandums of understanding for research and development cooperation with the two companies based in Finland and Sweden. 　While there are still no technological standards for what constitutes a 6G network, and its preceding 5G network is only a

K-POP HERALD

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

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  LGBT support growing in K-pop

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  Trending K-pop: 10 hottest tracks of the week

HERALD INTERVIEW

• 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

• North Korea

  

  US-China trade war limits Seoul's ability to advance nuke talks

PHOTO NEWS

• Politics

  

  Cry for democracy still rings out in torture rooms

  Right next to the railroad of Namyeong Station in Seoul stands a tall, dark gray building with peculiar-looking windows -- so narrow only a single beam of light passes through. While one would never know from its exterior view, it carries a portion of the turbulent history of South Korea’s democracy that was earned through sacrifice. Constructed in 1976, the seven-story building was the office for the anti-communism investigation division under the National Police Agency, disguised as

VIDEO

• Social affairs

  

  Partisanship pauses for Lee Hee-ho’s funeral

• Industry

  

  Big buyer NHIS signals real estate market trend shift

• Fashion

  

  At 77, silver model dreams of big show

• Food

  

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

FEATURES

• Foreign Policy

  

  Experts call for cautious approach to Huawei row

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

• Economy

  

  Korea’s household debt-to-income to top 200%

  SEJONG -- The record household debt in South Korea is an Achilles’ heel when it comes to economic growth, as the financial liability of citizens is putting a damper on private consumption.Some market analysts say that Korea’s collective household debt is estimated to have topped 2,000 trillion won ($1.68 trillion). They claim the latest figure of about 1,500 trillion won, released by the Bank of Korea, does not include loans extended to the self-employed.In any case, the outstanding

• Politics

  

  Will Democratic Party defend its 82 seats in capital area?

  SEJONG -- The general election for the 21st National Assembly is coming up in about 300 days, and it will be a crucial moment when ordinary people get their chance to assess the Moon Jae-in administration.Currently, few people expect the results of the parliamentary election to mirror those of the 2018 local elections, when the ruling Democratic Party of Korea scored a landslide victory over its main rival, the Liberty Korea Party. According to a variety of pollsters, President Moon’s

• North Korea

  

  ‘Contributing to South Korean society in the way we can’

  North Korean defectors seek to return help they received; South Koreans raise awareness as neighbors