SPOTLIGHT

• World News

  

  Texas police officer charged with murder for shooting black woman

  WASHINGTON (AFP) -- A white policeman who shot dead a black Texas woman as she played video games at home with her young nephew has been charged with murder, police said Monday.Aaron Dean gunned down 28-year-old Atatiana Jefferson from outside her Fort Worth property in the early hours of Saturday as she approached a window to investigate noises outside.The incident, less than two weeks after a white policewoman was jailed for killing a black man in his apartment in nearby Dallas, has spark

• Film

  

  Zoe Kravitz to play Catwoman in new 'Batman' film

  LOS ANGELES (AFP) -- US actress Zoe Kravitz will play Catwoman in the new "Batman" film starring Robert Pattinson, a Warner Bros. source told AFP on Monday.Kravitz, who recently starred in HBO's hit TV drama "Big Little Lies" and is the daughter of rock musician Lenny Kravitz, will portray the whip-wielding cat burglar who is both Batman's foe and love interest in the comics. She follows A-listers such as Halle Berry, Anne Hathaway and Michelle Pfeiffer in portraying Catwoman

• Social affairs

  

  Kazakh man suspected of hit-and-run extradited to Korea

  A Kazakhstan national who fled the country after allegedly hitting a 7-year-old boy in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, with the vehicle he was driving was extradited to South Korea on Monday and handed over to Jinhae Police Station.The suspect, whose name is being withheld, is accused of a hit-and-run accident at around 3:30 p.m. on Sept. 16, resulting in serious injuries to the victim. He fled to his home country via Uzbekistan the next morning.He was an undocumented immigrant and did not

• Music

  

  K-pop superband SuperM tops Billboard 200

  Brand new K-pop act SuperM topped a main Billboard chart upon its debut in the United States, according the chart result re-released on Monday.The supergroup's first release, "SuperM: The 1st Mini Album," debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart for the week of Oct. 19, making the septet the first K-pop band to do so following global phenomenon BTS, Billboard said.The achievement was made only two weeks after the group's official release on Oct. 4."The set ... launches w

LATEST NEWS

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  Defense

  S. Korea, US stage more combined marine exercises this year

  South Korea and the United States carried out more combined marine exercises in 2019 than in previous years, the Marine Corps said Tuesday.The allies conducted 24 rounds of the Korea Marine Exercise Program this year, up from 11 in 2018 and 17 in 2017, the service said in a report presented to the National Assembly for an audit. Next year, the two sides are planning to hold 22 rounds of the KMEP drills, it added. The exercise is designed to bolster defense of South Korea's northwestern border is

• 

  North Korea

  FIFA president to watch inter-Korean football game in Pyongyang

  FIFA President Gianni Infantino has flown to Pyongyang to watch a match between South and North Korea for the World Cup qualifier on Tuesday, a government official here said. “The president flew to Pyongyang via his chartered plane to watch the South-North soccer game,” an official at the Unification Ministry told reporters. On Monday, 55 people from South Korea, including 25 players, arrived in Pyongyang for the Group H match in the second round of the Asian qualification for t

• 

  Foreign Affairs

  New top envoy to US formally assumes post

  South Korea's new ambassador to the United States, Lee Soo-hyuck, has been formally appointed and will leave for Washington to take office next week, the foreign ministry said Tuesday.  The appointment came after the US gave its diplomatic consent to Lee's nomination, about two months after President Moon Jae-in named the diplomat-turned-lawmaker to be his new ambassador for the US.   Lee is expected to leave for Washington next Thursday, the ministry said.  Lee served a

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  Soccer

  N. Korea promises to provide S. Korea with footage of Pyongyang World Cup qualifier

  North Korea agreed to provide South Korea with a video of an inter-Korean World Cup qualifier to be held on Tuesday in Pyongyang, a unification ministry official said, after Seoul's push to televise the match live fell through.The North promised to give the video to the South's delegation before it departs from Pyongyang on Wednesday afternoon after the match to be held at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. The delegation is scheduled to arrive back home via Beijing early Thursday. South Korea had pushed for li

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  Industry

  BEANPOLE eyes global expansion through brand renewal

  Samsung C&T Corp., a construction and fashion unit of Samsung Group, said Tuesday that it aims to accelerate the global expansion of its fashion brand BEANPOLE through renewal efforts.Celebrating its 30th anniversary, BEANPOLE announced its renewal move to rebrand as a "heritage" brand that embraces South Korea's unique culture and sentiment. "BEANPOLE will be reborn as a heritage brand based on our country's unique culture and sentiment," creative director Jung Ku-ho tol

• 

  North Korea

  $4m frozen in Chinese Taipei due to sanctions on N. Korea

  Taiwan has frozen millions of dollars worth of assets as it carried out sanctions on North Korea aimed at preventing the spread of weapons of mass destruction, a recent report said.The implementation of targeted financial sanctions for North Korea has resulted in 81 freezing actions worth over $3.96 million, according to the Mutual Evaluation Report on Chinese Taipei released by the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering on Monday.   "Chinese Taipei authorities have highlighted an

• 

  North Korea

  S. Korea seeks Russia's support for N. Korea's denuclearization

  South Korean National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang has asked Russia to persuade North Korea to rid itself of nuclear weapons and promote economic projects with Seoul and Moscow.Moon made the request to Valentina Matviyenko, chairwoman of the Russian Federation Council, on Monday as they met after attending the 141st assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Belgrade, Serbia. He referred to a visit to Russia on Oct. 23-24 by a delegation of North Korea's parliament, known as the Presidium of

• 

  World News

  US trio win Nobel Economics Prize for work on poverty

  STOCKHOLM (AFP) -- A trio of Americans on Monday won the Nobel Economics Prize for their work in the fight against poverty, including Esther Duflo, the youngest-ever economics laureate and only the second woman to win the prize.Duflo -- a 46-year-old French-American professor who has served as an advisor to ex-US president Barack Obama -- shared the Nobel with her husband, Indian-born Abhijit Banerjee and fellow American Michael Kremer "for their experimental approach to alleviating global

• 

  World News

  US slaps sanctions on Turkey as Syrian regime returns to north

  WASHINGTON (AFP) -- The United States slapped sanctions on Turkey Tuesday as it demanded an end to its deadly incursion against Syrian Kurdish fighters, accusing its NATO partner of putting civilians at risk and allowing the release of Islamic State extremists.The actions came hours after regime troops returned for the first time in years to parts of northeastern Syria, invited by Kurdish fighters desperate for protection as the United States pulls out.President Donald Trump took extraordinary m

• 

  North Korea

  N. Korea's SLBM launch hurt nuclear talks with US: ex-US envoy

  A former US envoy for North Korea said Monday that Pyongyang's recent test of a submarine-launched ballistic missile ruined its chances of reaching a nuclear deal with Washington in Sweden earlier this month.Joseph Yun, who served as US special representative for North Korea policy until early last year, spoke at a forum after fresh working-level denuclearization negotiations between the United States and North Korea broke down in Stockholm on Oct. 5.The talks had resumed for the first time sinc

GRAPHIC NEWS

OPINION

• Viewpoints

  

  Five unpopular policies the US should adopt

  Not every good policy is going to be popular. Sometimes either the public, activists or the commentariat -- or all three -- just get something wrong. This can happen for ideological reasons, or simply because of a lack of information. I’m more optimistic than most pundits, in that I think the public usually gets at least the outlines broadly right. But there are a few issues where the tide of opinion simply seems to be against me. Here are a few:No. 1. The Trans-Pacific PartnershipThe TPP

• Viewpoints

  

  Whither nuclear-arms control?

  Is nuclear-arms control unraveling? The 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty has collapsed, the 2015 Iran nuclear deal is teetering, and North Korea has continued to expand its nuclear and ballistic missile arsenal. Worse, it is unclear whether the United States will stick with the New START Treaty when it expires in 2021. That agreement limits (at 3,000) the number of strategic weapons Russia and the US have pointed at each other.Fortunately, history offers some solace. During and afte

THE INVESTOR

• Stocks & Bonds

  

  Lime Asset fund freeze might take years, spills to W243.6b trade finance

  Top officials of Lime Asset Management vowed to normalize liquidity of the fund’s portfolio assets worth a combined 846.6 billion won ($713.2 million) in a plan that might take more than a year for some of its end-investors to have their money back, at a press conference held Oct. 14.On the same day, the troubled investment house -- South Korea’s largest hedge fund by assets under management to date -- announced a freeze of its multimanager trade finance fund for pooled investments i

• Samsung

  

  Samsung SDI vows to improve safety of battery storage products

  Battery maker Samsung SDI said Oct. 14 that it will adopt a new fire control solution for its new and existing energy storage systems.The safety measure involves using chemicals and materials that can prevent flames from spreading from one battery cell to another. “Samsung SDI will make all-out efforts to guarantee the safety of the firm’s ESSs,” said Kwon Young-no, chief financial officer of the company, during a briefing in Seoul.“The implementation of the new fire

• Startups & Investors

  

  Startup Gikuin Company secures W4b fund for plant-based meat

  Plant-based meat developer and startup Gikuin Company announced Oct. 14 that it had secured 4 billion won ($3.38 million) in series A round funding from multiple investors.According to the company, the investors included Primer Sazze Partners, SG Dinehill, Michigan Venture Capital, A Ventures and Yellowdog. Including the recent funding, the Korean startup has received 4.6 billion won so far.Over the past year and a half, Gikuin Company has worked to develop a meat alternative called “Unlim

• Retail & Consumer

  

  Starbucks Korea mulls new headquarters

  Starbucks Korea is mulling a move of its headquarters, leaving the current offices at a Shinsegae Group building, industry sources said on Oct. 14. Starbucks Korea, which has more than 1,260 outlets in Korea, is reviewing a plan to move to State Tower Namsan, owned by Mirae Asset Global Investments, as it seeks more space. The coffee chain has been occupying an area at Westin Chosun Hotel, owned by retail giant Shinsegae Group, since 2005 when Starbucks Korea had slightly more than 100 stores.&n

K-POP HERALD

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  BTS writes history with Arab fans at Riyadh concert

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  ATEEZ gears up for first full-length album

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  Mnet launches another audition show amid Produce 101 controversy

HERALD INTERVIEW

• Social affairs

  

  ‘Korea should stop funding coal power in Indonesia’

• Foreign Affairs

  

  Time to focus on people to create sustainable community with ASEAN

• People

  

  ‘What is Korean is what is most global’

• People

  

  ‘Better working conditions for staff lead to better service’

PHOTO NEWS

• Culture

  

  Racecourse Park in Gwacheon

  Gwacheon, just south of Seoul, is South Korea’s horse-racing capital. At the Racecourse Park Subway Station, the compound of the Korea Racing Authority, the country’s sole race administrator, boasts the nation’s largest thoroughbred flat tracks with a 450-meter home stretch and two grandstands accommodating over 70,000 people. Originally built for the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, it covers more than 1.1 million square meters, with two artificial sandy tracks, sable areas for

VIDEO

• Politics

  

  Politics of ‘head shaving performance’

• Industry

  

  Mobile orders and unmanned serving: Robot restaurant lands in Seoul

• Food&Beverage

  

  Trendy treats on offer at Seoul Dessert Fair 2019

• Industry

  

  How far are we from printing hearts for transplant?

FEATURES

• Economy

  

  Portion of optimists over economy stays at 13%: poll

  SEJONG -- A variety of polls show that the public disapproval rating for President Moon Jae-in now outstrips his approval rating.According to a survey from Gallup Korea, the portion of respondents who expressed negative opinion toward the president, exceeded the supporters for him for the sixth consecutive week since August.In the pollster’s latest survey, conducted on Oct. 1-2, 51 percent of the 1,000 citizens polled expressed disapproval of Moon’s performance, while the approval ra

• Social affairs

  

  2 in 5 South Koreans aged 50 or over

  Number of 50s-and-above up 47% in the last decade, while population growth stays at 4.3%

• Economy

  

  Real estate mortgages hinder economic growth

  Outstanding loans to household sector up 49% in 5 years

• Politics

  

  Prosecution reform stands at crucial crossroads

  4,000 Korean professors and researchers at home and abroad demand urgent reformation