-
East Asia
S. Korea eyes extra budget of less than 7 tln won: finance minister
South Korea’s finance minister said Wednesday he expects to introduce a supplementary budget worth less than 7 trillion won (US$6.1 billion) to boost domestic demand and create jobs. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki told reporters that the size of the extra budget has not been confirmed yet, but he expects that…
Read More » -
East Asia
Seoul cancels construction permit for new Japanese Embassy building
The construction permit for a new Japanese embassy building in central Seoul has been revoked due to construction delays, municipal officials said Wednesday. Seoul’s Jongno Ward Office said it notified the Japanese Embassy on March 4 of the cancellation of the building permit issued in 2015. The revocation came as…
Read More » -
East Asia
Scholar discovers original copies of 1919 Swiss resolution calling for Korean independence
A South Korean scholar said Wednesday he has discovered the original copies of a resolution adopted at the 1919 International Socialist Conference in the Swiss town of Lucerne that show the Korean provisional government’s diplomatic efforts to call for Korean independence from Japan. Although the resolution itself has been known…
Read More » -
East Asia
Keep Moving
(In memory of Jokowi’s National Secretary Mohamad Yamin) On March 22, 2019, on my way from Jakarta to Yogyakarta, I heart the news: Yamin died at 2 pm in the afternoon at Majalengka. He was supposed to organize a campaign in Yogyakarta for President Jokowi, on March 23. For the…
Read More » -
East Asia
Personal pension savings rise 4.9 pct in 2018
South Korea’s personal pension savings rose 4.9 percent last year from a year ago, thanks to robust demand for nest eggs after retirement, data showed Tuesday. The nation’s personal pension savings reserves stood at 135.2 trillion won (US$118.2 billion) in 2018, up 6.4 trillion won from a year earlier, according…
Read More » -
East Asia
Debate brews in S. Korea over political donations on social media
A conservative politician known for relentless attacks on his rivals appeared in a livestream video to mark his YouTube channel hitting 10 million views just one month after its opening in December last year. Hong Joon-pyo, former chief of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP), unleashed a barrage of…
Read More » -
East Asia
More than 470 homes damaged, 800 people displaced following deadly blaze
More than 470 houses were confirmed to have been burned, with more than 800 residents displaced in a devastating forest fire that raged through east coastal regions last week, government data showed Monday, as more damage has been discovered after the blaze was brought under control. The fire, which started…
Read More » -
East Asia
President Moon to meet Trump ahead of apparent talks with N. Korea
President Moon Jae-in will visit the United States this week for talks with President Donald Trump that will focus on ways to restart denuclearization negotiations with North Korea, officials from Seoul’s presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Tuesday. Moon will head to Washington on Wednesday for his two-day visit. He…
Read More » -
East Asia
N. Korea to focus on securing Tokyo Olympic spots: sports minister
North Korea will concentrate all its forces on securing 2020 Tokyo Olympic spots this year, a pro-North Korea newspaper in Japan reported Friday, citing Pyongyang’s sports minister. The Chosun Sinbo said that North Korean Sports Minister Kim Il-guk unveiled the communist state’s 2019 objectives in sports at its National Olympic…
Read More » -
East Asia
S. Korea: two years on, Internet-only banks bring about changes to financial sector
In the two years since the launch of the country’s first Internet-only bank, South Korea’s banking sector has moved towards digitalization to better satisfy customers’ growing appetite for convenient and diverse financial experiences. As new Internet-only banks get ready to set sail next year, competition in the industry is expected…
Read More »