Cheong Wa Dae called Sunday on North Korea to conduct a joint investigation with South Korea into the recent killing of a South Korean fisheries official and to reopen the bilateral military communication line for related work. Cheong Wa Dae made the statement shortly after President Moon Jae-in had an emergency security-related ministers' meeting on the incident. Briefing media on the results of the 90-minute session, Suh Choo-suk, deputy director of the national security office, said the gov

Opposition lawmakers are stepping up attacks on President Moon Jae-in over North Korea‘s killing of a South Korean civil servant, aiming to frame the incident as a case of mishandling, or even neglecting duty, by the top office. 　 Five members of the People Power Party took turns holding a one-person protest outside Cheong Wa Dae, each staging an hour-rally with a sign that read “President Moon Jae-in, where are you now,” denouncing the president and the government for a &rdqu

LG Chem, South Korea’s leading chemical company, is pushing ahead with its environmental corporate social responsibility vision “Green Connector.” The chemical company’s new CSR vision is dedicated to help conserve biodiversity, foster green education, expand use of renewable energy and support eco-friendly social enterprises. The company said it will newly recruit around 20 students to work with local ecologists on the ecosystem of Bamseom, a pair of uninhabited isle

Journey to solar power biz to get further boost in state-led green initiative

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun renewed warnings Sunday against illegal anti-government rallies planned by some conservative groups, amid worries that the mass gatherings could undercut the nation's fight against the new coronavirus. During a session of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters, Chung vowed to take a zero-tolerance policy against any unsanctioned demonstrations on the Oct. 3 National Foundation Day, warning illegal participants will face immediate arrests. Rega

An independent investigative body under the US International Trade Commission submitted a written opinion in favor of LG Chem, which filed a motion in August accusing SK Innovation of destroying crucial evidence in the ongoing patent lawsuit between the two battery giants. According to the USITC on Sunday, the Office of Unfair Import Investigations said it “supports” LG Chem’s motion requesting sanctions against SK Innovation. In the written letter, OUII said that SK Inno

Korean entertainment behemoth S.M. Entertainment is changing to adapt to the contactless era while utilizing its intellectual properties. “Like how Disney achieved an IP empire, K-pop will overcome this (pandemic) situation and become a genre that forms an IP empire in the music industry,” said S.M. Entertainment co-CEO Lee Sung-soo on Friday in his speech at MU:CON Online 2020. MU:CON is a four-day international music industry annual gathering organized by the Korea Creative Cont

The National Museum of Korea’s “The New National Treasures of Korea” exhibition has been extended for two weeks. The largest-ever show of national treasures opened on July 22 and will now be shown through Oct. 11. The new schedule was announced on Friday along with the Sept. 28 reopening of the facility. The exhibition organizer explained that it decided to extend the exhibition‘s run as not many people had an opportunity to enjoy the show because the museum was shut

The first season of Netflix original drama series “The School Nurse Files” was released Friday, bringing Chung Se-rang’s fantasy novel “School Nurse Ahn Eun- young” to life in over 190 countries around the globe. The highly anticipated drama series reached the top of the list of most popular TV shows on Netflix in Korea upon its release, according to data analytics firm FlixPatrol. The six 50-minute episodes of the first season of “The School Nurse Files&rd

Majority of companies point to coronavirus as biggest factor affecting global value chain

South Korea on Sunday officially requested North Korea join a joint investigation into the killing of a South Korean fisheries official by North troops last week and reopen a military communication line for the exchange of information. 　 Cheong Wa Dae made the announcement after President Moon Jae-in presided over an emergency security-related ministers’ meeting regarding the incident in the afternoon. The top office has also requested China’s support in the search of the dead man&

Korea Investment & Securities, a Seoul-based brokerage house, said Sunday that it has started selling a new product to indirectly invest in equities of global companies dedicated to infrastructure projects in developed countries. The new product is a feeder fund of the Global Listed Infrastructure Fund by Sydney-based First Sentier Investors. Local investment firm Kiwoom Asset Management is an underlying manager of the structured investment product. The product for South Korean end-inves

Kia Motors Corp. said Sunday three assembly line workers at one of its domestic plants tested positive for the new coronavirus, and a decision on whether to suspend the plant's operations will be made soon. "The plant is not in operation as it is Sunday. The company will make a decision on whether to (temporarily) halt the Sohari plant in Gwangmyeong tomorrow," a company spokesman said over the phone. Kia, the country's second-biggest carmaker, halted the operations of the Sohari pla

The Seoul city government said Sunday it will redesign Gwanghwamun Square and the road around it in an effort to transform the square into a city-center park with more trees and flowers. The sweeping plan calls for removing the western side of the 10-lane Sejongro boulevard to expand the Gwanghwamun Square currently located in the middle of the road, while expanding the eastern-side boulevard to accommodate traffic on both sides. Finalization of the plan has been delayed as activists and other

The nation’s largest automaker, Hyundai Motor, said Sunday that it had unveiled new cars and technologies targeting China at the 16th Beijing International Automotive Exhibition, which kicked off a day earlier. The automaker said it showcased a technology brand, called “H Smart+,” exclusively for China. The space consists of three areas: a clean field that focuses on electric cars and hydrogen cars, a connected field showing connectivity technology such as Baidu 3.0 and B