• 

  North Korea

  Trump to N.Korea's Kim: 'Get rid of nukes'

  • Trump praises N.Korea's Kim as 'very open,' 'honorable'
  • Trump, Macron call for 'new' nuclear deal with Iran
  • Inter-Korean summit seen as tone-setter for Trump-Kim meeting

• 

  North Korea

  Moon-Trump summit likely for mid-May

  A South Korea-US summit meeting is being arranged for some time in May, before a planned meeting between the leaders of the US and North Korea, Cheong Wa Dae said Wednesday. Revealing that National Security Office chief Chung Eui-yong met with White House national security adviser John Bolton on Tuesday in the US, Cheong Wa Dae’s chief press secretary Yoon Young-chan said that a Seoul-Washington summit was a key agenda item in Chung’s meeting.  President Moon Jae-in and US President Donald Trump

• 

  Politics

  Opposition parties join hands to regulate internet portals

  Three opposition parties agreed to work on regulating large internet portals’ news service and comments sections in the wake of an opinion rigging scandal involving former ruling party members.In addition to editing and arranging news articles, Web portals in Korea show the number of clicks on each article, the rankings of the most searched keywords on a real-time basis, and places comments that get the most “likes” at the top of the comment box below the articles.The leaders and whips of the ma

• 

  Industry

  Officials seek evidence of alleged tax evasion by Korean Air owning family

  South Korea's customs service said Wednesday that it has opened a chat room in the country's dominant chat app Kakao Talk as part of its efforts to gather evidence over allegations that the members of Korean Air Chairman Cho Yang-ho's family smuggled luxury goods without paying duties.The Korea Customs Service said anyone can join the chat room with the click at the click of a link (open.kakao.com/o/g9vFEqL).The move came as Korean Air officials who tipped off the media about Cho family members'

• 

  North Korea

  Trump praises N.Korea's Kim as 'very open,' 'honorable'

  US President Donald Trump praised Kim Jong-un as "very open" and "very honorable" on Tuesday, adding the North Korean leader wants to meet "as soon as possible.""We are having very good discussions," Trump said, ahead of a summit with the mercurial Kim expected sometime before the end of June."He really has been very open, I think -- very honorable." A photo released by the North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the state news agency of North Korea, shows a meeting of the Political Bureau of t

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  Foreign Policy

  US mulls Adm. Harris as new amb. to South Korea: reports

  The United States is considering picking Adm. Harry Harris, the commander of US forces in the Pacific, as top envoy to South Korea, media reports showed Wednesday.Citing a high-ranking White House source, the Washington Post reported that Washington is mulling appointing Harris as the new ambassador to South Korea. He was nominated to become the next ambassador to Australia in February.  Adm. Harry Harris (AP)The ambassadorial post in South Korea has been vacant since US President Donald Trump t

NEWSMAKER

• North Korea

  

  A unified Korea? Leaders bring contrasting visions to summit

  Unification is an idea that moves most Koreans, North and South, on an emotional level.For some, especially young people in the South, it may not be a burning issue. Details like the costs, the risks and what specifically both sides stand to gain are rarely given much thought by anyone who isn’t an academic, politician or activist.]But when North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in meet on Friday, the prospect of unification, even if only in the abstract, will loom l

LATEST NEWS

• Today

  

  Automode

  GM expedites negotiation ahead of Q1 2018 earnings conference call

  Two days since GM Korea and the union narrowly avoided court protection, GM headquarters is speeding up its push to reach an agreement with the South Korean government for funds, in a bid to complete negotiations before Thursday evening, when its first quarter earnings conference call will be made.GM has reportedly, for the most part, agreed to accept the government’s request to stay in Korea for over 10 years along with reviving the state-run Korea Development Bank’s veto rights.KDB is GM Korea

• Today

  

  Economy

  Korea’s worsening unemployment goes against global trend

  Korea’s unemployment problem has continued to worsen in recent years, with all other major economies seeing their job markets tightening in keeping with robust growth.According to data from Statistics Korea and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the country’s unemployment rate rose from 3.5 percent in 2014 to 3.7 percent in 2017, while the average jobless rate of 34 OECD members dropped from 7.4 percent to 5.8 percent over the same period.What should be noted is that Kore

• Today

  

  Music

  Despite changes, Lovelyz is still Lovelyz

  Lovelyz“Healing”Loen Entertainment  Unlike many K-pop competitors that juggle genres and concepts under pressure to keep impressing fans, Lovelyz has rarely stepped out of its pink wonderland, seemingly completely immune to any teardrops or sadness in life. For the first time, the eight-piece K-pop darlings soaked up a small drop of pain in its break-up song “That Day,” a lead track from the recent EP “Healing.” The irresistible nature of those happy Tinker Bells, however, doesn’t seem to have c

• Today

  

  Industry

  Energy Minister ditches plan to produce solar power at home amid neighbors’ opposition

  South Korea’s Energy Minister Paik Un-gyu has reportedly ditched his plan to install a household solar power system at an apartment where he lives, in the face of opposition from neighbors in the same building.  Energy Minister Paik Un-gyu (Yonhap)Paik, a resident of an apartment in the affluent Gangnam-gu district in southeastern Seoul, had reportedly attempted to have the power-generating device attached to the apartment building. The 54-year-old minister of trade, industry and energy asked a

• Today

  

  Technology

  Naver ups regulation of news comment system after opinion-rigging scandal

  Naver, the operator of South Korea’s main portal website and search engine, on Wednesday rolled out a new set of restrictions for its online news comment system in light of burgeoning controversy over an opinion-rigging scandal that involved abuse of the system.　Naver has capped the number of times a user can click “agree” or “disagree” on a comment at 50 times within a 24-hour timeframe. Until now, there had not been any restrictions on the number of times a user could click “agree” or “disagre

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SPOTLIGHT

• Social affairs

  

  Korean rapper accused of ‘quasi-rape’

  Rapper Jeong Sang-su, a former participant of Mnet’s music survival program “Show Me the Money,” is being investigated by police on suspicion of sexually assaulting a woman, Ilsan Seobu Police Station said Wednesday. The 34-year-old rapper is accused of allegedly raping a woman, who was “too drunk to consent” at the victim’s house at dawn Sunday. The victim claimed to be too heavily intoxicated at the time to realize she had been sexually assaulted. Ilsan Seobu Police Station sent the case over

• 

  Film

  ‘Infinity War,’ a gift for loyal Marvel fans

  Gem of Marvel Cinematic Universe will leave fans craving more, non-fans scratching their heads

• 

  Industry

  Korean Air chairman accused of ‘excessive’ disciplinary action

  Embattled Korean Air Lines Chairman Cho Yang-ho is now under fire for ordering what some have viewed as “excessive” disciplinary action against cabin crew over a customer’s complaint. The complaint involving a chicken curry dish served during a flight follows Chairman Cho’s public apology for the latest “water rage” scandal involving one of his daughters Sunday, as he fired his two daughters Cho Hyun-ah and Cho Hyun-min from their senior executive posts for causing public uproar. Cho Hyun-ah was

• 

  Social affairs

  2-year jail term upheld for student bomber

  A Seoul appellate court on Wednesday upheld a two-year jail sentence for a graduate student who attacked a professor with a homemade bomb last year.According to the judges of the Seoul High Court, the defendant, a mechanical engineering student at Yonsei University in Seoul, had spent more than two weeks making a bomb from a coffee tumbler in June last year. The crime “is far beyond what society can tolerate and deserves strict punishment,” the judges explained in their sentence.The graduate stu

GRAPHIC NEWS

• 

EDITORIAL

• Blame game

  Revision of the Constitution is an urgent national task

• Mountain of allegations

  Probe by special counsel inevitable for online rigging scandal

VIEWPOINTS

THE INVESTOR

• 

  Automobiles

  'Hyundai, rethink the holding company'

  Elliott Management, the US activist fund run by billionaire Paul Singer, is pressing a proxy battle with Hyundai Motor Group, saying the Korean auto giant’s recent restructuring plans lack both business logic and benefits for minority shareholders.Early this month, Hyundai announced it would spin off module manufacturing and after-sales business of Hyundai Mobis, the car parts supplier, to merge them with Hyundai Glovis, the logistics unit, as part of efforts to streamline cross-s

• 

  Automobiles

  GM must stay in Korea for at least 10 years: KDB

  The Korean government is pulling out all stops to make sure an eat-and-run situation with GM Korea is avoided. State-run Korea Development Bank -- the second-largest shareholder of the carmaker -- has informed GM that it must stay in Korea for at least 10 years in order for it to pitch in for the restructuring expenses.(From left) GM Korea CEO Kaher Kazem, GM Executive Vice President Barry Engle and Rep. Hong Young-pyo of the ruling Democratic Party pose after announcing their ten

K-POP HERALD

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  Crush releases birthday EP

• 

  Lee Sung-kyung in ‘Girl Cops’

• 

  Wanna One wanna be boyfriend

HERALD INTERVIEW

• Economy

  

  Procurement sector should expand abroad: PPS administrator

  Considering the limited size and full saturation of the local market, outstanding procurement companies are being encouraged to create opportunities in overseas markets. And it is the government’s role to guide them to success, according to the chief of South Korea’s procurement office.“Our mission is not only to procure and manage material resources for the public sector, but also to sort out capable procurement providers from the private sector and help them expand into the global market,” Par

• 

  Diplomatic Circuit

  ‘Korea wise to embrace ASEAN’s unity-in-diversity mentality’

  “If we constantly hustle in hurly-burly, we lose sight of the big picture. In contrast, what took me by surprise during my Southeast Asia tenure is that people there often live harmoniously and beautifully together, while respecting group differences.”

• 

  Culture

  Artists duo fascinated by nomadism of island

  The Korea Herald interviewed Jane and Louise Wilson by e-mail. Following is an excerpt of the exchanges.The Korea Herald: What kind of project are you currently working on? Jane and Louise Wilson: We‘re here on Gapado Island to research a new photographic, film and sculpture project that will lead us to create a new installation and at the moment we have a working title “Undoings.” The work will inevitably represent an extension of our working practice already but we hope to eventually show the

PHOTO NEWS

• Culture

  

  Back to the Joseon era

  While time machines are the stuff of movies and fairy tales, it is possible to get a taste of what life was like in the Joseon era (1392-1910) at the Korean Folk Village in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, this spring.The living history museum is holding the “Welcome to Joseon” festival until June 24, under the pitch “Would you time travel to Joseon Dynasty with us?” vThe Korean Folk Village, which was once most commonly associated with school field trips, found a new lease of life in 2013 when it sta

VIDEO

• Food

  

  Naengmyeon, Korean cold noodles

  Bongmilga’s owner Kwon Hee-seung is one of a new breed of young chefs serving up Pyongyang-style naengmyeon, opening his small restaurant five years ago. Kwon’s personal love for Pyeongyang naengmyeon by Woo Lae Oak -- the oldest naengmyeon restaurant in Seoul, established in 1946 – inspired him with a mission to serve the best naengmyeon in the country. He turned his diner that specialized in makguksu -- a dish using noodles with more buckwheat content than those in traditional naengmyeong -- i

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• Another ‘Black Panther’ statue destroyed in Busan
• Korean Air chairman accused of ‘excessive’ disciplinary action
• 2 S. Koreans killed in Toronto van attack
• Korean Air faces investigation over unfair business practice
• Opposition parties join hands to regulate internet portals

FEATURES

• 

  Industry

  Korean Air faces investigation over unfair business practice

  Wife of chairman under police investigation over alleged verbal, physical abuse

• 

  Film

  ‘Burning’ a different kind of mystery: director

  The film genre of mystery drama by definition places some of its elements under cover, and that was the tone the people behind “Burning” sought to achieve.“It’s a mysterious movie,” said Lee Chang-dong, master auteur of Korean cinema known best for his award-winning 2010 film “Poetry,” at the promotional press conference for the upcoming film. “We could categorize it under the mystery genre, but it’s not just about that. The mystery could be expanded to a mystery about the world that we live in,

• 

  Technology

  Nexon targets blind spots in games with big data, AI

  With AI tech, Nexon strives to better understand, optimize users’ gaming experience

• 

  Social affairs

  Seoul neighborhoods become green energy leader

  Seoul pushes to increase number of energy self-sufficient villages, promotes renewable energy

WEEKENDER

• Culture

  

  Slurping cold bowl of nostalgia

  Cold noodle dish popular for the unique texture and taste, also tugs at the heartstrings of Koreans