South Korea will open a fashion-culture fair this week to help local brands make inroads into overseas markets, the government said Monday.Hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and co-organized by the Korea Creative Content Agency and Council of Fashion Designers of Korea, "Fashion KODE 2017 S/S" is set to take place from Oct. 18-21 at J-Gran House in central Seoul.The annual fair bridges local fashion designers and international buyers. In the sixth edition, a total of 16 brands

Arts & Design Oct. 17, 2016

An international court handling Cambodia's mass killings in the 1970s could be a precedent for punishing the North Korean leadership for its crimes against humanity, a judge said Monday.Meeting with reporters, Baik Kang-jin, the South Korean judge at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), said that the formation of an independent court like the ECCC would be a likely option to bring to justice those responsible for the human rights violations in the North."If a war crimes t

Foreign Affairs Oct. 17, 2016

A South Korean-born U.S. K-pop star has taken his entry ban case to the Seoul appellate court, seeking to regain his right to freely visit his country of origin, his lawyer said Monday.The legal representative of Steve Yoo, more widely known as his Korean name Yoo Seung-joon here, told Yonhap News Agency on the phone, "We've found some of the district court's ruling refutable, which will be fought again in the appellate court."The 39-year-old singer had enjoyed immense popularity among K-pop fan

Oct. 17, 2016

Nine people, including actor Yoo Ah-in, actress Jun Ji-hyun and director Ryoo Seung-wan, have been voted by local teenagers as the most popular film industry figures in South Korea.The Korea Youth Film Festival announced on Monday winners in nine categories of awards for film people who shined the most over the past year. The winners were chosen in an annual poll jointly carried out by Cast Me, an online human resources platform for films, as a unit event for the festival.Yoo and Jun, who respec

Oct. 17, 2016

Sales at South Korean department stores advanced around 10 percent on-year in the first three days of a nationwide shopping event, industry data showed Sunday, helped by an increase of Chinese tourists visiting the country.Lotte Department Store, a major chain, said its sales jumped 12.1 percent in the first three days of the Korea Sale Festa, which kicked off Thursday, compared with the similar period last year when South Korea celebrated the Korea Grand Sale.The event aims to connect the retai

Industry Oct. 2, 2016

The U.S. military is expected to move one of its operational Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) batteries from Texas to South Korea to better counter Pyongyang's evolving nuclear and missile threats, local sources said Sunday.Government sources said Washington is considering moving a battery from Fort Bliss to Seongju by late 2017 as part of an agreement with Seoul. The move will involve the deployment of the AN/TPY-2 radar and associated equipment, a command and communications unit, an

Defense Oct. 2, 2016

Rice prices are stabilizing in flood ravaged areas of North Korea, after they soared following problems with distribution, a media report said Sunday.Citing a report by Japanese media outlet Asia Press, U.S.-based media Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported that a kilogram of rice in Musan, North Hamgyong Province, was selling for 4,300 North Korean won, with the same amount of corn trading for 1,300 won. This is down from 8,000 won for rice and 2,000 won for corn traded in the same county earlier in t

North Korea Oct. 2, 2016

South Korea's exports of automobiles trailed that of Mexico through August this year, the latest data showed Sunday, as overall weak demand from emerging markets and domestic labor strikes hurt output.Hyundai Motor Co., Kia Motors Corp., GM Korea Co. and other manufacturers shipped 1.69 million cars over the January-August period, down 14.4 percent from a year earlier, the data compiled by the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association showed. In contrast, that of Mexico edged down 2.7 percent o

Industry Oct. 2, 2016

Samsung Electronics Co. is anticipated to post relatively stable earnings for the third quarter, industry watchers said Sunday, despite the worldwide recall of the Galaxy Note 7 phablet caused by defective batteries.According to the data compiled by industry tracker FnGuide, the South Korean tech giant is set to post an operating profit of 7.5 trillion won (US$6.79 billion) over the July-September period, down 6 percent from 8 trillion posted a quarter earlier. The company's sales are estimated

Industry Oct. 2, 2016

A revision of the parliament law to clearly stipulate the speaker's duty to remain neutral may emerge as a way to resolve the latest deadlock at the National Assembly, political pundits said Sunday, as the public is growing impatient over prolonged discord that has disrupted normal proceedings.There has been a rising debate over the political neutrality of National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun, with the ruling party claiming the speaker's recent actions intentionally gave support to the oppos

Politics Oct. 2, 2016

North Korea and China are showing signs they are trying to improve bilateral relations that have cooled following Pyongyang's fifth nuclear test last month, diplomatic sources said Sunday.Observers said senior officials from the two countries took part to mark National Day that celebrates the founding of the People's Republic of China on Oct. 1, 1949.The top envoys of the two countries took part in the celebratory events that took place in Pyongyang and Beijing, observers in the Chinese capital

North Korea Oct. 2, 2016