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☆ Hong Kong bourse’s profit pop looks passive
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Thomas Shum | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

HONG KONG, April 27 (Reuters Breakingviews) - What does a stock exchange operator do when equity markets are weak and interest rates are high? Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (0388.HK) posted a 28% year-on-year profit pop on Wednesday, largely propelled by stellar investment returns as opposed to its core business. Sustained weakness in equities trading and initial public offerings could augur tougher times ahead if transaction volumes don’t come back soon. Though Hong Kong’s IPO pipeline is better than many, with over 90 applications as of the end of March, the issue sizes are restrained. Net profit amounted to HK$3.4 billion ($434 million), up 28% from a year ago, with revenue and other income rising 19% year-on-year to HK$5.56 billion.

☆ Americans Corpuz, Yin sit atop Chevron leaderboard heading into final round
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

April 22 (Reuters) - Americans Allisen Corpuz and Angel Yin charged up the leaderboard to share a one-shot lead at 10-under par after a pair of near-flawless performances in the third round of the Chevron Championship on Saturday. "Been playing really solid these last three days," the 25-year-old said in a televised interview. "I've just been trying to tell myself, you know, get more comfortable in contention, just keep learning from every experience." "It was one of those days -- everything felt so easy and everything felt in sync," she said in a televised interview. The second round of the tournament wrapped up early on Saturday after organisers were forced to halt play due to darkness.

☆ South Korean millennials and Gen Z are raging against the idea of a 69-hour workweek. They are tired, having fewer babies, and are even working themselves to death.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Nidhi Pandurangi | Reena Koh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The South Korean government wants to increase the workweek to 69 hours. The 69-hour limit relates to a six-day workweek, while the 80.5-hour limit is applicable for a seven-day workweek, according to South Korean outlet Han Kyeo Re. In 2020, 14 delivery couriers in South Korea died of overwork stemming from increased deliveries during the COVID-19 pandemic, Reuters reported, citing a union representative. Notably, the culture of long working hours and death linked to overworking is not specific to South Korea. However, the government is trying to disconnect longer working hours from low birth rates.

☆ Trump and his sons say his indictment makes the US like a 'third world' country, but plenty of other democracies have prosecuted ex-leaders
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Trump and his sons are decrying his indictment as a sign the US is now a "third world" country. But other democracies across the world have prosecuted, convicted, and even jailed former leaders. Trump's sons offered similar takes, portraying the charges against the former president as a political attack orchestrated by his opponents. Trump is the first former US president to be criminally charged, and his indictment comes amid a period of historic political polarization. The researchers said that in "mature democracies, prosecutions can hold leaders accountable and solidify the rule of law."

☆ South Korea tried to push an almost 70-hour work week, but was forced to rethink after millennials and Gen Z protested
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

South Korea is rethinking a 69-hour work week proposal after millennials and Gen Z protested. At present, companies must limit overtime work to 12 hours per week, according to measures introduced in 2018 by Yoon's predecessor. South Korea is infamous for its long working hours, with the average citizen working for 1,915 hours in 2021, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Many Korean workers have lost their lives to "Gwarosa" — a Korean word for death by overwork, as the country's working hours exceed the average across the world. "Workers should be allowed to work 120 hours a week and then take a good rest," he said, per the Korea Times.

☆ The Next Frontier in Farming? The Ocean.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Somini Sengupta | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +10 min

For centuries, it’s been treasured in kitchens in Asia and neglected almost everywhere else: Those glistening ribbons of seaweed that bend and bloom in cold ocean waves. Far beyond South Korea, new farms have cropped up in Maine, the Faroe Islands, Australia, even the North Sea. But even as its champions see it as a miracle crop for a hotter planet, others worry that the zeal to farm the ocean could replicate some of the same damages of farming on land. “Seaweed is not going to replace all plastic, but seaweed combined with other things can tackle single use plastic,” he said. Seaweed farms are a far cry from the rows of corn and wheat that make up monoculture farming on land.

☆ South Korea's parliament votes to impeach minister over Halloween crush
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SEOUL, Feb 8 (Reuters) - South Korean lawmakers voted on Wednesday to impeach the interior minister over his responses to a deadly Halloween crush, setting the stage for him to become the first cabinet member ousted by the legislature. The Democrats and other opposition parties had pushed for expulsion of the interior minister, Lee Sang-min, urging him to take responsibility for botched responses to the crush. A presidential official said there was no evidence that the minister had severely violated the constitution or any law. In 2017, President Park Geun-hye became South Korea's first elected leader to be expelled from office when the Constitutional Court upheld her impeachment. The court dismissed an impeachment motion in 2004 for President Roh Moo-hyun.

[1/3] Women ride on an escalator past a couple wearing masks to avoid contracting the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at a shopping mall in Seoul, South Korea, January 30, 2023. The lifting of the face-covering rules in the majority of indoor locations is South Korea's latest step in easing COVID rules as new cases show signs of a slowdown. People are still required to wear the masks in public transport settings and in medical facilities. But many citizens also said they will still wear masks with the pandemic not fully over. The easing of rules come about three years after South Korea reported its first outbreak of COVID infection on Jan. 20, 2020.

☆ Hundreds evacuated as fire burns makeshift homes in Seoul
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

A fire destroyed about 60 makeshift homes in a densely packed neighborhood surrounded by some of the wealthiest streets of South Korea’s ultramodern capital Friday. Firefighters extinguished the flames in Seoul’s Guryong village within about five hours, and no injuries or deaths were reported. Shin Yong-ho, an official at the fire department of Seoul’s Gangnam district, said rescue workers have searched areas affected by the fire but all residents were believed to have safely evacuated. Photos showed firefighters fighting the flames under thick, white smoke covering the village as helicopters sprayed water from above. Kim Ah-reum, an official at the Gangnam district office, said around 500 residents evacuated to nearby facilities including a school gym.

☆ Some 500 people are evacuated from fire in South Korea shanty town
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, Jan 20 (Reuters) - About 500 people were evacuated on Friday after fire broke out in a shanty town in the South Korean capital, Seoul, fire authorities said. The fire erupted at 6:27 a.m. (0927 GMT) in Guryong Village in southern Seoul, which is home to more than 660 households. [1/4] Smoke rises from a fire at Guryong village, the last slum in the glitzy Gangnam district, in Seoul, South Korea, January 20, 2023. Plans for redevelopment and relocation have made little progress amid a decades-long tug of war between land owners, residents and authorities. Seoul said Mayor Oh Se-hoon visited the village and asked officials to draw up measures to relocate families affected by the fire.

☆ UAE pledges to invest $30 billion in South Korea, president's office says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/5] Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, receives Yoon Suk Yeol, President of South Korea and Kim Keon-hee, First Lady of South Korea, upon their arrival for a state visit reception, at Qasr Al Watan, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, January 15, 2023. Mohamed Al Hammadi/UAE Presidential Court/Handout via REUTERSSEOUL, Jan 15 (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has decided to invest $30 billion in South Korea's industries, South Korea's presidential office said on Sunday, as the two countries seek to expand economic cooperation. The investment decision was announced as South Korea's President Yoon Suk-yeol met his UAE counterpart, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, in Abu Dhabi during a four-day state visit, Yoon's office said. "We have decided a $30 billion investment based on the trust on South Korea which keeps promises under any circumstances," Yoon's office quoted the UAE president as saying. Seoul's finance ministry said the $30 billion investment would be led by sovereign wealth funds, including Mubadala Investment Company.

☆ South Korea's Yoon warns of ending military pact if North violates airspace again, Yonhap reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, Jan 4 (Reuters) - South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said on Wednesday he would consider suspending a 2018 inter-Korean military pact if North Korea violates its airspace again, Yonhap news agency reported, citing his press secretary. Yoon made the comment after being briefed on countermeasures to North Korean drones that crossed into the South last week, calling for building an "overwhelming response capability that goes beyond proportional levels," Yonhap said. Yoon has criticised the military's handling of the drone incident, in part blaming the previous administration's reliance on the 2018 pact banning hostile activities in the border areas. "He also called for accelerating the development to produce stealth drones this year and quickly establishing a drone killer system," Kim said, according to Yonhap. Reporting by Hyonhee Shin; Editing by Tom Hogue and Gerry DoyleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ South Korea says it is in talks over joint planning and implementation of U.S. nuclear asset operations
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, Jan 3 (Reuters) - South Korea and the United States are discussing joint planning and implementation of operations involving U.S. nuclear assets to counter North Korea's threats, Seoul's presidential office said on Tuesday. The statement came shortly after U.S. President Joe Biden said the United States was not discussing joint nuclear exercises with South Korea, contradicting earlier remarks by South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol in an interview with a local newspaper. "In order to respond to the North Korean nuclear weapons, the two countries are discussing joint ways to share information on the operation of .U.S-owned nuclear assets, and joint planning and joint execution of them accordingly," Yoon's press secretary, Kim Eun-hye, said in a statement. Kim said President Biden "had no choice but to say 'No'" because he was simply asked if the two countries were "discussing nuclear war games," whereas joint nuclear exercises can only be held between nuclear weapons states. Reporting by Soo-hyang Choi; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Gerry DoyleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

SEOUL/WASHINGTON, Jan 3 (Reuters) - South Korea and the United States are discussing joint planning and implementation of U.S. nuclear operations to counter North Korea, Seoul's presidential office said on Tuesday, although U.S. President Joe Biden said there would be no joint nuclear exercises. The statement came shortly after Biden said the United States was not discussing joint nuclear exercises with South Korea, seeming to contradict earlier remarks by South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol in an interview with a local newspaper. Yoon's press secretary, Kim Eun-hye, said Biden "had no choice but to say 'No'" because he was simply asked if the two countries were "discussing nuclear war games," whereas joint nuclear exercises can only be held between nuclear weapons states. "In order to respond to the North Korean nuclear weapons, the two countries are discussing ways to share information on the operation of U.S.-owned nuclear assets, and joint planning and joint execution of them accordingly," Kim said in a statement. Neither side has finalised the timing of the planned tabletop exercises, but they would take place "in the not-too-distant future" and cover scenarios beyond nuclear situations, the official said.

☆ South Korea must respond to N.Korea despite its nuclear arms - Yoon
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"We must not fear or hesitate because North Korea has nuclear weapons," he said. Monday's intrusion triggered criticism in South Korea of its air defences. Yoon chided the military, in particular its failure to bring down the drones while they flew over South Korea for hours. South Korea responded on Monday by sending drones over North Korea for three hours. South Korea will also expand its drone capabilities to three squadrons.

☆ BTS fandom tech firm Weverse reaches beyond K-Pop
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Joyce Lee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"We are a fandom business," Weverse President Joon Choi told Reuters. The app also currently has more than 80 teams of artists represented including BTS, and about 8-9 million monthly active users. However, Weverse users' 'superfan' qualities make engagement in those services turbo-charged, Choi said. Users are based in more than 200 countries and only about 10% of the app users speak Korean, Choi said. Top 5 countries Weverse users are from include Japan, Indonesia, Mexico, the United States and South Korea.

☆ Park Seo-joon joins cast of 'The Marvels,' among growing list of Korean talent joining Disney projects
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Korean actor Park Seo-joon will star in the upcoming superhero movie “The Marvels” to be released in July 2023. He joins a growing roster of Korean talent that is joining Disney-backed content and was one of many Korean names dropped Wednesday at a Disney content showcase in Singapore. Earlier this month, “Squid Games” star Lee Jung-jae was announced as joining Star Wars series “The Acolyte,” for Disney +. So too did Japanese director Miike Takashi, whose Korean-made series “Connect” Disney+ will upload early next month. Disney has announced plans to green-light 50 local shows in the Asia-Pacific region by the end of 2023 and is keen to catch up with Netflix in the scale of its Korean content roster.

☆ South Korea's LGBTQ community confronts crushing headwinds in fight for equality
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Michael Mitsanas | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

NBC News spoke with South Korean lawmakers, human rights organizations and dozens of LGBTQ South Koreans in three of the country’s largest cities: Seoul, Daegu and Busan. Most say a bill that would outlaw discrimination against all minority groups — including the LGBTQ community — is the critical first step toward legal equality. The documentary filmmaker turned progressive lawmaker calls herself an advocate for this country’s LGBTQ community. This, he added, “includes South Korea.”While support for a comprehensive nondiscrimination bill is strong in South Korea, Jang concedes that the odds of one passing, at least in the near future, are slim. The country’s conservative president and People Power Party oppose a comprehensive nondiscrimination bill, while the left-leaning Democratic Party has expressed lukewarm support.

☆ Tencent: China resumes streaming South Korean content after six-year suspension
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Story Reuters | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

A Chinese streaming platform has resumed distributing South Korean content after suspending it for nearly six years, South Korean officials said on Tuesday, in what Seoul called a sign of Beijing’s readiness to improve ties. A South Korean presidential official linked the timing of the gesture to a recent summit between South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Chinese President Xi Jinping met with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol in Bali, Indonesia, November 15, 2022. Relations between South Korea and China have been frayed in recent years following the installation in South Korea of the THAAD system in 2017 to better counter North Korea’s evolving missile threats. China had argued that THAAD’s powerful radar could peer into its airspace, and reacted by sharply cutting trade and cultural imports with South Korea, in a major blow to bilateral ties.

☆ China resumes streaming South Korean content after six-year suspension
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Printed Chinese and South Korean flags are seen in this illustration, July 21, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationSEOUL, Nov 22 (Reuters) - A Chinese streaming platform has resumed distributing South Korean content after suspending it for nearly six years, South Korean officials said on Tuesday, in what Seoul called a sign of Beijing's readiness to improve ties. A South Korean presidential official linked the timing of the gesture to a recent summit between South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Relations between South Korea and China have been frayed in recent years following the installation in South Korea of the THAAD system in 2017 to better counter North Korea's evolving missile threats. China had argued that THAAD's powerful radar could peer into its airspace, and reactd by sharply cutting trade and cultural imports with South Korea, in a major blow to bilateral ties.

☆ In Halloween crush, South Koreans see young people being failed again
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Soo Youn | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

Then they placed white chrysanthemums on a memorial altar for the 156 mostly young victims of the Halloween crowd crush, and wrote condolences for scores of people who had departed this life decades too soon. Older generations, she said, failed them like they failed the costumed partygoers on Oct. 29. “Why couldn’t the police have gotten there sooner?”South Koreans across the country are asking the same questions. On Monday, Yoon apologized for the crowd crush, vowing to improve police and safety management systems and hold accountable anyone found responsible. The anti-Yoon protests have been going on for weeks with a heavy police presence, including the night of the Halloween crush, which has also angered critics, as has Yoon’s move out of the official presidential residence into a luxury apartment building.

☆ The golden age of globalization is clearly over, says Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Su-Lin Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

"The golden age of globalization that we experienced in the last 30 years since the end of the Cold War has ended clearly and we are entering a new era, a new era that will be marked by greater geopolitical contestation," said Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesThe golden age of globalization has ended and a fundamental change to the way the world works is underway, said Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong. "Where previously the logic was, countries do not have to be friends to do business with one another. In fact, the hope was that the more we trade and invest in each other, we will tamp down geopolitical rivalry," Wong said. "The generation of Chinese born perhaps in the last generations, many of them idealized America and the American way of life.

☆ Siberia will be full of investment opportunities in the next 3 decades if you can get in right after the war, says a fund manager who manages $7 billion in assets
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Investing in Russia after the war with Ukraine could present a surpising upside, said an investor. That's thanks to vast farmlands in Siberia, said Cheah Cheng Hye, co-CIO of Value Partners Group. They will be a food superpower," said Cheah Cheng Hye, co-chief investment officer of Value Partners Group, an asset management firm that manages about $7 billion in assets. Over two-thirds of Value Partners' clients are based in China and Hong Kong. Moreover, China has not condemned Moscow over the Ukraine war.

☆ S.Korea's Yoon says 'untrue' media reports damage alliance amid hot mic controversy
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol takes part in a wreath laying ceremony at the National War Memorial in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada September 23, 2022. REUTERS/Blair GableSEOUL, Sept 26 (Reuters) - South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said on Monday "untrue" media reports over his remarks threatened to damage relations with the United States after he was caught cursing on a hot mic during his visit to New York last week. read moreIn the highest profile controversy, Yoon was caught cursing on a hot mic as he left an event in New York on Wednesday after a brief chat with U.S. President Joe Biden. "What an embarrassment ... if these bastards refuse to approve it in parliament," Yoon told Foreign Minister Park Jin in a video aired by South Korean broadcasters, which went viral on social media. His press secretary, Kim Eun-hye, dismissed the allegations, saying Yoon was referring to the South Korean parliament without mentioning Biden.

☆ Gaffes, controversy overshadow S.Korea's Yoon trips to U.N., London
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Amr AlfikySEOUL, Sept 23 (Reuters) - A series of gaffes and controversies is overshadowing South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol's first major overseas tour, sending his ratings plunging and inviting scathing criticism from some lawmakers even within his own party. This week, Yoon visited London for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth and then New York in his first U.S. trip to attend the U.N. General Assembly, before arriving in Canada on Thursday. His press secretary, Kim Eun-hye, dismissed the accusation, saying Yoon was referring to the South Korean parliament without mentioning Biden. Yoon and Biden had planned informal talks in New York, but ended up having just a 48-second chat at the Global Fund. Yoon's office said that was a "Plan B" due to changes in Biden's schedule, and said they also met in London when Yoon raised the EV subsidies issue.

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