SPOTLIGHT

• Social affairs

  

  Search continues for missing girl on Gangjinsan

  Police on Wednesday said they have expanded their search for a teenage girl who went missing Saturday afternoon, as no one has reported seeing her alive for the past five days. Search and rescue teams consisting of some 600 police officers have been searching for the girl since 8 a.m. Wednesday, with the help of heat-sensing helicopters and police dogs. According to Jeonnam Provincial Police Agency on Monday, the 16-year-old failed to return home after leaving for her part-time job around 2 p.m.

• Film

  

  ‘The Witch’ an interesting attempt, but clunky delivery

  Park Hoon-jung is a great creator of stories. As a script writer, he has come up with compelling stories: of corruption in the justice system in “The Unjust”; of a man who became a monster to kill the monster in “I Saw the Devil”; and of a man’s struggle between his morality and friendship in a gangster world in “New World.”But he is just not very gifted when it comes to storytelling. His latest work, “The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion,” falls flat on its attempt to depict the dilemma between in

• Music

  

  BTS producer Bang Si-hyuk joins Variety’s list of international music leaders

  Bang Si-hyuk, CEO of Big Hit Entertainment and producer of BTS, has joined Variety’s list of international music leaders for 2018. The list by the US magazine recognized 23 figures in the global music industry who are currently “driving music consumption with creativity, acumen, and passion” and companies “best poised to forge into a promising future.”  Bang Si-hyuk (Big Hit Entertainment)Introducing Bang as one of the “game changers,” the magazine chronicled his feats as a producer of BTS, stat

• Finance

  

  Bithumb freezes accounts after W35b of cryptocurrencies stolen

  Bithumb, South Korea’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange in trade volume, said Wednesday it would suspend transactions in user accounts after some 35 billion won ($31.6 million) worth of assets were stolen.The financial loss stemmed from “abnormal outside access” that occurred from Tuesday night until Wednesday morning, its spokesperson said.  (Yonhap)“(Bithumb) will suspend all money deposits or withdrawals, until we secure the stability of the service,” read the announcement Wednesday mor

LATEST NEWS

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  North Korea

  Kim meets Xi again before wrapping up two-day China visit

  North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met again with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday before he wrapped up a two-day visit to Beijing, China’s state media reported. During his third visit to China in less than three months, Kim had two rounds of meetings with Xi to discuss Pyongyang-Beijing relations and the denuclearization issue.“The two leaders had an in-depth conversation over tea in a cordial and friendly atmosphere” at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, Xinhua news agency said. Citing Kim’

• 

  North Korea

  China ties sanctions on N. Korea with denuclearization process

  China will link easing or removing sanctions on North Korea with progress in denuclearization, a Chinese government official said Wednesday, as the North’s leader Kim Jong-un made another visit to Beijing this week.In their talks Tuesday, Kim and President Xi Jinping focused on improving bilateral relations and ridding the Korean Peninsula of nuclear weapons, the official told a group of South Korean journalists on the condition of anonymity.“An improvement in the China-North Korea relationship

• 

  Soccer

  Putting Sweden defeat behind, S. Korea polish up tactics for Mexico

  Trying to rise from their opening match loss to Sweden, South Korea on Monday conducted their first tactical training for the upcoming match against Mexico behind closed doors. South Korea will face Mexico at Rostov Arena in Rostov-on-Don on Saturday for their second match in Group F. South Korea suffered a 1-0 defeat to Sweden in their group opener, while Mexico stunned defending champions Germany with a 1-0 win. Only the first 15 minutes of training was opened to the press as the players pract

• 

  Social affairs

  Tackling youth, gender and housing in South Korea

  Writer and activist Hong Hye-eun shares why young Koreans lack ‘fundamental human right’ to housing

• 

  Finance

  Geopolitical risks persist on Korean Peninsula: Moody‘s

  Global credit rating agency Moody‘s Investors Service said Wednesday that uncertainty related to the geopolitical risks on the Korean Peninsula persists even after the recent series of summits and peace mood concerning North Korea.“The key constraining factor restriction to South Korea’s credit rating is its geopolitical risk,” Christian de Guzman, vice president and senior credit officer at Moody’s, said in a press conference held in Seoul.“The fact that the first-ever US-North Korea summit was

• 

  Social affairs

  No. of deaths in bicycle accidents rises 11.5%

  　The number of people killed in bicycle accidents here last year rose 11.5 percent from a year ago, apparently due to an increasing number of elderly cyclists and riders not wearing protective gear.　From 2013 to 2017, the number of accidents involving bicycles came to 28,739, while 540 bicycle riders died in accidents and 30,357 others sustained injuries. The number jumped from 4,249 in 2013 to 6,920 in 2015, then dropped to 5,659 in 2017.　However, the number of bicycle accident deaths decreased

• 

  Technology

  Hyundai Motor partners with Audi to boost fuel cell electric vehicles

  Two leading automakers collaborate to open new market for hydrogen-powered cars beyond pure electric vehicles

• 

  Social affairs

  Marriage immigrant women in Korea vulnerable to financial abuse: study

  Foreign-born women who moved to South Korea upon marrying Korean men are often subjected to financial abuse by their spouses and in-laws, a new government study showed Wednesday.　The study, organized and released by the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, came to the conclusion after surveying 920 foreign-born women married to South Korean nationals last year. 　The largest proportion of the surveyed women, 42.4 percent, came from Vietnam, followed by China (29.4 percent) and the Philippin

• 

  Economy

  S. Korea’s macroeconomic policy had effect on growth: OECD report

  Concerns persist on conglomerate monopolization, low productivity, employment inequality

• 

  Industry

  Asiana Airlines runs outreach program targeting women in Vietnam

  Asiana Airlines said Tuesday it has opened a fourth employment training course targeting women in Vietnam, which will take place over the next six months.  Asiana Airlines Managing Director Cho Young-suk (sixth from left) and the Embassy of Korea in Vietnam’s Consul General Lee Mi-yeon (seventh from left) pose for a photo in Hanoi, Vietnam, Wednesday. Asiana AirlinesSince 2015, the South Korean airline has been providing job training sessions for Vietnamese women in the low-income bracket. The p

GRAPHIC NEWS

OPINION

• Columnists

  

  Complete dismantlement ... of conservative politics

  South Koreans hoped US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un would start concrete steps toward “CVID” -- the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula -- in the historic meeting in Singapore last week. That hope was seemingly dashed in a vague 400-word joint statement, which failed to contain practical measures to attain the goal.　They saw CVID in another major event the following day, the quadrennial regional elections here to pick provi

• Columnists

  

  Working 52 hours a week

  A life with evenings. It’s a “Konglish” expression, but essentially it means a life that guarantees leisure time in the evenings. It is a dream for a lot of Koreans, who are known to be chronic workaholics by either choice or force. Among countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Korea is always near the top in terms of hours of work. And now, under revised laws, this dream is on the brink of coming true. A myriad of problems face one of the biggest lifestyle change

THE INVESTOR

• LG

  

  LG Electronics CEO to talk about AI vision at IFA

  LG Electronics CEO Cho Seog-jin, and Park il-pyeong, CTO of the firm, will deliver opening keynote speeches at the IFA electronics trade fair to be held from Aug 31 to Sept. 5 in Berlin, according to the Korean tech giant on June 20.It will be the first time for top LG executives to take the stage at the trade show to give opening remarks.RELATED:LG CEOs to gather to discuss future strategyUnder the theme of “Think Wise. Be Free: Living Freer with AI,” Cho’s speech will be focused

• Stocks & Bonds

  

  Fantagio stocks slump as Gold Finance Korea offloads stake

  Korean entertainment agency Fantagio’s stock price dropped on June 20, after its biggest shareholder Gold Finance Korea sold 18.7 percent of its shares.On June 20, Fantagio stocks closed at 694 won (US$0.63), dropping 11.03 percent from 780 won a day before. The company’s stock price started to slump on June 11 due to the concerns of unstable management triggered by the stake sale of Gold Finance Korea, the local unit of Chinese conglomerate JC Group -- it now owns 31.3 percent st

• Industrials

  

  Jin Air CEO quits over alleged concealment of engine problem

  The head of Jin Air has quit over allegations that he forced a pilot to go ahead with a flight last year despite an engine problem.　The budget carrier unit of Korean Air said Kwon Hyuk-min resigned on June 19 for personal reasons.　The resignation came four weeks after employees of Korean Air claimed that the No. 1 engine of a B777-200 jet would not shut down despite a pilot’s efforts to turn it off after landing at Guam on Sept. 19 last year.　The plane, however, left for Incheon a

• Deals

  

  Kakao eyes acquiring Fund Online Korea

  Kakao Pay, Korea’s top mobile messenger firm’s payment service, is joining the race to purchase Fund Online Korea, a local fund supermarket operator, in an attempt to expand its financial service offerings, according to industry sources on June 20. Six firms have shown interest in taking over Fund Online Korea, including Kakao Pay, KG Inicis and other fintech firms. The approximate deal size is unknown. Fund Online Korea is planning to receive letters of intent by early next month

K-POP HERALD

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  Shawn promises collabo with BTS

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  ‘Gopchang craze’ Hwasa on ‘I Live Alone’

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  Jennie sends scent from France

HERALD INTERVIEW

• Finance

  

  Diversifying channels for foreign worker remittances

• Diplomatic Circuit

  

  Grasping Chinese market with educator’s insight

• People

  

  Violist with a big heart

• Entertainment

  

  KHAN’s silver lining

PHOTO NEWS

• Travel

  

  Welcome to Black Pink’s ‘Square Up’ house

  If you’ve ever wondered how Lisa of Black Pink was showered by money with a bill-shooting gun in the “DDU-DU DDU-DU” music video, check out Black Pink’s “Square Up” pop up house.Located in the busy street of Hongdae area in Mapo-gu in Seoul, the house, renovated from the previous “Black Pink House,” is full of hands-on experiences related to the band’s recent “Square Up” EP. The pink-and-black set features four different squares, and The Korea Herald took a look to give readers a sneak peak of w

VIDEO

• Fashion

  

  Private perfume pioneer aims to bring solace through scents

• Soccer

  

  South Korean team trains for World Cup in Russia

• Food

  

  Satisfying sweet tooth with red beans, patbingsu

• Culture

  

  Small bookstores draw book lovers with specialty-driven curation

FEATURES

• Defense

  

  Suspension of scheduled joint drill feeds speculation over other regular exercises

  With South Korea and the US canceling a large-scale joint military drill slated for August, speculation is rising over the prospect of other training drills scheduled to follow the suspended Freedom Guardian exercise. 　In the past years when North Korea conducted nuclear and missile tests, a series of bilateral and trilateral military exercises took place even after the scheduled command-post Freedom Guardian exercises ended. 　While the allies’ militaries have stressed that no decision has been

• Technology

  

  Hyundai Motor partners with Audi to boost fuel cell electric vehicles

  Two leading automakers collaborate to open new market for hydrogen-powered cars beyond pure electric vehicles

• Economy

  

  S. Korea’s macroeconomic policy had effect on growth: OECD report

  Concerns persist on conglomerate monopolization, low productivity, employment inequality

• Social affairs

  

  Former South Korean president’s daughter accused of ‘gapjil’ by her ex-drivers

  Roh So-young, director of a contemporary art gallery in Seoul and the daughter of former South Korean President Roh Tae-woo, has been accused by her former drivers of ‘gapjil,’ a Korean term that refers to abuse of subcontractors and employees by those in powerful positions.　According to local news reports, Roh Soh-young, 57, allegedly verbally abused her ex-drivers, for things such as not having any chewing gum ready in the car. One former driver claimed that Roh insulted him over unexpected tr