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☆ K-pop agencies mostly struggled in third quarter — but 2025 may bring financial recovery
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-18 | by ( Lim Hui Jie | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

JYP Entertainment's boy group Stray Kids attends the 2024 SBS Music Awards Summer in Seoul. The K-pop industry has been seeing a slowdown due to declining album sales and the inactivity of record-breaking groups such as Blackpink and BTS. Members of BTS have been serving their mandatory military service, while Blackpink only announced to reunite as a group in 2025. Streaming revenue, at least during the first half of this year, has been unable to cover the loss from album sales. For the third quarter, just Babymonster — a rookie group — and solo artist Lee Seunghoon released material.

Persons: Blackpink, Hwan, wook Lee, Jang Jeong Min, Minha Choi, Yeonghoon Kang, —, Lee Seunghoon Organizations: JYP, Imazins, BTS, SM Entertainment, JYP Entertainment, YG Entertainment, Yuanta Securities, Samsung Securities, YG, NH Securities Locations: Seoul, U.S

☆ A K-pop star was photographed kissing a woman. Fans decided he should be fired for it.
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-22 | by ( Larissa Gao | Larissa Gao Is An Associate Social Newsgathering Reporter Based In Hong Kong. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

Within two days of his return, SM Entertainment said Seunghan was out again, leading fans to post triumphant videos showing them dancing in front of the funeral wreaths. “Many fans, mostly international fans, want him back in the group.”SM Entertainment did not respond to an emailed request for comment. “He made those teenage mistakes.”This is far from the first time that K-pop idols have fallen afoul of fans for having personal relationships. In March, Karina from Aespa, another SM Entertainment group, apologized for letting fans down after Korean media revealed her relationship with actor Lee Jae-wook. International fans are less invested in K-pop stars both emotionally and financially, said Stephanie Choi, a faculty expert on K-pop music at the University at Buffalo.

Persons: Seunghan, ” Seunghan, Shotaro, Anton, ” Tarryn McMurray, Arianna, ”, Jung, Yeon, “, RIIZE, sunbae, Yuki Shu, ” Hye Jin Lee, ” Lee, “ We’re, Karina, Aespa, Lee Jae, EXO’s Chen, HyunA, Dawn, ’, ” McMurray, Stephanie Choi Organizations: SM Entertainment, Getty, NBC News, Annenberg School for Communication, Journalism, University of Southern, Pentagon, Cube Entertainment, University at Buffalo, USC Locations: Korean, Seoul, Japan, United States, South Korea, British, Wisconsin, Seunghan, University of Southern California

☆ Inflation in South Korea will remain 'quite stable' going forward, economist says
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-11 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailInflation in South Korea will remain 'quite stable' going forward, economist saysJin-Wook Kim, Korea chief economist at Citi Research, says he's not see a weakening in South Korea's economic growth in the coming quarters.

Persons: Jin, Wook Kim, he's Organizations: Citi Research Locations: South Korea, Korea

☆ ‘Twisters’ chose not to mention climate change. Here’s why
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-16 | by ( Thomas Page | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +18 min

CNN —Like its titular tornados, “Twisters” blasts through a lot in its 122-minute runtime. Generally, scientists are the least certain about the connection between tornadoes and climate change as it’s unclear how warming temperatures are changing storms themselves or the outbreaks. Cathy, a local farmer, gripes that storms and floods are becoming more frequent, and the price of wheat more expensive, while stopping short of citing climate change. However, for a film populated by scientists and clued-in citizens to not mention climate change is a little like the twisters themselves: there’s a hole at the center. !”“Making a ‘Twisters’ movie in Tornado Alley during storm season, tornado season, it’s kind of perfect.

Persons: Glen Powell’s brawn, –, “, Lee Isaac Chung, “ We’ve, ”, Javi, Anthony Ramos, Kate, Daisy Edgar, Jones, ” Lee, Maura Tierney’s, Cathy, that’s, Lee, Glen Powell, Mark L, Smith, Joseph Kosinski, it’s, we’re, Kevin Costner, Yorgos, Matt Smith, Fabien Frankel, Anya Taylor, Joy, Max, George Miller, Chris Hemsworth, Samsik, Kang, ’, Nicola Coughlan, Luke Newton, Guy, Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt, David Leitch, stuntmen, Jane Schoenbrun, Justice Smith, Brigette Lundy, Paine, Josh O'Connor, Idris Elba, Adam Pally, Hao Xuande, Sandra Oh, Chan, Henry Cavill, Alex Pettyfer, Guy Ritchie's, Guy Ritchie, Jerry Bruckheimer, Isabella Rossellini, Kristen Stewart, she's, Denis Villeneuve, Frank Herbert's, Jessica Chastain, Austin Butler, Ambika Mod, Leo Woodall, Molly Manning Walker, Bryan Cranston, Matthew Vaughn, Ava DuVernay, Aunjanue Ellis, Taylor, Paul Mescal, Andrew Scott, George Clooney, Pedro Alonso, Penelope Cruz, Laura Garello Ferrari, Adam Driver, Michael Mann, Emma Stone, Bella Baxter, Willem Dafoe, Mark Ruffalo, Ramy Youssef, Imelda Staunton, Dominic West, Ncuti Gatwa, Paul King, Hugh Grant's Oompa, Napoleon, Vanessa Kirby, Ridley Scott, Nicolas Cage, Emerald Fennell, Jacob Elordi, Priscilla, Sofia Coppola, Elvis Presley, Kitty Green, Justine Triet, Sandra Hüller, Palme, Ryu Seungryong, Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan, Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr, Margot Robbie, Ken, Greta Gerwig, Mattel, Tom Cruise, Christopher McQuarrie, Simon Pegg, Scarlett Johansson, Jason Schwartzman, Adrien Brody, Jeffrey Wright, Wes Anderson, Celine Song, Greta Lee, Halle Bailey, Javier Bardem, Kim Woo, Seung, Cho Ui, seok, Jan de Bont’s, ” Glen Powell, Melinda Sue Gordon, Ramos, Powell, everybody’s weirdly, ” Powell, Tyler Owens, “ I’m, anyone’s Organizations: CNN, ”, Universal Pictures, Warner Bros ., CNN CNN, Ungentlemanly, “ Locations: Midwest, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Korea, Modena, Palme d'Or, “

☆ Blackpink’s Jennie apologizes for vaping indoors after public backlash
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-10 | by ( Catherine Nicholls | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Jennie Kim, a singer in the K-pop supergroup Blackpink, has apologized after a video of her vaping indoors sparked a backlash across South Korea. Though the footage was taken down from Kim’s channel, a clip of her vaping spread across the internet. Others stuck by the celebrity and posted their support, noting that it is a personal choice whether or not to vape. We hope to prevent this from reoccurring in the future.”K-pop stars regularly face immense public scrutiny under the spotlight. In March, singer Karina apologized to her fans after it was revealed that she was in a relationship with actor Lee Jae-wook.

Persons: Jennie Kim, vaping, Kim, ”, Karina, Lee Jae, Yonhap Organizations: CNN, YouTube, Chosun Ilbo, South Locations: South Korea, Kim’s, reoccurring, South Korean

☆ ‘The Sympathizer’ star on how he ‘never felt rooted’ to his Vietnamese heritage until landing lead role
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-28 | by ( Rochelle Beighton | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Set in the 1970s as the Vietnam War draws to a close, Xuande embodies The Captain, an unnamed double agent for the Viet Cong operating within the American-backed South Vietnamese army. ‘It’s my life’Chinh, known for her role in “The Joy Luck Club,” portrays a refugee mother to a South Vietnamese Major (Phanxine) who is forced to flee to the US. Drawing parallels with her own life, she was born during the Vietnam War and was forced to evacuate at the age of 15. A unique casting challengeCasting the role of The Captain was a critical and challenging task for casting director Jennifer Venditti and her team. Xuande’s response to an international casting call immediately caught their attention with an impressive audition tape.

Persons: Viet Thanh Nguyen, “, Park Chan, ” Xuande, Xuande, ”, Robert Downey Jr, “ Oppenheimer, Sandra Oh, Fred Nguyen Khan, Toan Le, Vy Le, Nguyen Cao Ky Duyen, Alan Trong, ‘, Chinh, Joy, Sofia Mori –, –, It’s, ” Oh, Jennifer Venditti, Don McKellar, Xuande familiarized, Chan, we’d Organizations: CNN, HBO, Warner Bros ., Viet, Opportunity, Hollywood, Joy Luck, South Locations: Vietnam, United States, Saigon, Sydney, Australia, South Vietnamese, Los Angeles, South Korea, Hollywood, Viet

We've put together everything you need to know about the show, including a trailer, details on when it airs, and how to watch The Sympathizer without cable. ET / 12 a.m. PT on HBOHow to watch The Sympathizer in the USThe Sympathizer airs Sunday at 9 p.m. Max with ads (Monthly Plan) Formerly HBO Max, now just Max, this streaming service is the US home of premium content from HBO and Warner Bros. Shop at MaxHow to watch The Sympathizer in the UKThe Sympathizer will eventually air through Sky in the UK, but the series won't be available until next month. This is where you'll be able to find lots of HBO content since HBO Max/Max is not available in the UK.

Persons: Robert Downey Jr, We've, Viet Thanh, Sandra Oh, Susan Downey, Park Chan, Don McKellar, we've, Max, HBO Max, it's, you'll Organizations: Business, HBO, Hoa, Warner Bros, Sky, Sky Atlantic, Max Locations: Viet, Vietnam, Vietnamese, Los Angeles, ExpressVPN

☆ ‘The Sympathizer’ review: Robert Downey Jr. heads down the rabbit hole of the Vietnam War
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-14 | by ( Brian Lowry | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The fortuitous timing of having a series produced by and featuring newly minted Oscar-winner Robert Downey Jr. tumbles down a very strange rabbit hole in “The Sympathizer,” a darkly satirical look at the Vietnam War and its aftermath. Each episode begins with dated-looking credits that evoke the 1970s, a promising Quentin Tarantino-ish conceit that, given what follows, sets expectations too high. As constructed, it’s a rather heavy-handed approximation of the fate Vietnam experienced in the pull of the war, which doesn’t make the Captain’s increasingly surreal arc any more compelling. Strangelove,” assuming that was the intent, than a means of maximizing the star’s presence without really heightening its impact. “The Sympathizer” is hardly the first project to funnel the contradictions of the Vietnam War through an exaggerated lens (“Apocalypse Now” being a prime example), but except for a few bracing sequences the execution only clouds that vision.

Persons: Robert Downey Jr, Downey, can’t, Park Chan, ”, Don McKellar, Quentin Tarantino, Duy Nguyen, Fred Nguyen Khan, Peter Sellers, “ Dr, Strangelove, Sandra Oh, David Duchovny, “ Organizations: CNN, Viet Thanh, CIA, HBO, coy, Credit Downey, Warner Bros . Locations: Vietnam, Viet, Saigon, what’s, “

☆ Robert Downey Jr.'s 'showboating' performances in 'The Sympathizer' are polarizing critics. Here's what reviews are saying about HBO's new series.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-12 | by ( Palmer Haasch | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The series follows an agent referred to only as the Captain (Hoa Xuande), who's half-Vietnamese and half-French. Aligned with North Vietnam, he's embedded within the South Vietnam army. Critics have generally praised the series, particularly Xuande's performance and Park's direction (in addition to showrunning duties, he directs the first three episodes). Here's a breakdown of where some reviewers stand ahead of the series premiere on HBO Sunday evening. AdvertisementVariety's Alison Herman says that splitting Downey into parts both "deploys and diffuses" the impact of his celebrity on the series.

Persons: Viet Thanh Nguyen's Pulitzer, Hoa, Critics, —, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Chan, Don McKellar, he's, Robert Downey Jr, Xuande, Hopper Stone, Alan Sepinwall, IndieWire's Ben Travers, Tran Bui, Beth Dubber, weren't, Robert Downey's, Laura Sirikul, Sirikul, Variety's Alison Herman, Herman, Christopher Nolan's, Oppenheimer, Nick Schager, Downey, Sandra Oh, Park Chan, Nguyen's, Judy Berman, Rory Doherty, lauds, Doherty, Inverse's, Fred Nguyen Khan, Duy Nguyen, Sepinwall, IndieWire's Travers, Richard Lawson, Schager, Thanh, Fair's Lawson, Marina Fang Organizations: HBO, Viet Thanh, Service, Downey, Stone, Daily Locations: Viet, North Vietnam, Vietnam, United States, Korean

☆ Aespa’s Karina: K-pop star ends relationship weeks after it sparked a fan backlash
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Jessie Yeung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —After apologizing last month for a new relationship that angered some particularly animated fans, K-pop star Karina is once again single – highlighting the long-standing challenges of dating in the fervid fanspace of Korean entertainment. Karina, of the girl group Aespa, and actor Lee Jae-wook have broken up after going public five weeks ago, according to South Korean news agency Yonhap, citing statements from the pair’s respective representatives. Lee’s agency, C-JeS Studios, said he had ended the relationship to focus on work, “leaving them as colleagues who support each other,” Yonhap reported. In the past, K-pop stars who went public with their relationships have faced heavy public backlash, sometimes impacting their professional careers and contracts. There have been some signs of change in recent years, with attitudes slowly shifting among both fans and agencies.

Persons: Karina, Lee Jae, Yonhap, “, ” Yonhap, ”, Lee, wasn’t, Jisoo, Ahn Bo, hyun, “ I’m, commenter Organizations: CNN, South, JeS, Chosun Ilbo Locations: South Korean

☆ North Korean TV censors British gardening show host’s jeans
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-27 | by ( Jack Guy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —North Korea’s state broadcaster, KCTV, has blurred out a pair of jeans worn by veteran British TV host Alan Titchmarsh as part of the country’s censorship of foreign fashion and culture. Nam Sung-wook, a professor of North Korean Studies at Korea University in Seoul, told CNN that the censorship shows North Korea is strictly implementing the newly adopted Reactionary Ideology and Culture Rejection Act. “The act aims to prohibit North Korean residents from imitating foreign countries in various aspects, including how they’re dressed and speak,” he said. “They have had campaigns against anti-socialist culture since at least the early 1990s,” said Ward. Foreign materials like books and movies are banned, often with severe punishments for those caught with black market contraband.

Persons: Alan Titchmarsh, KCTV, ”, Titchmarsh, “ I’ve, Nam Sung, Peter Ward, Kim Jong Il, “ Organizations: CNN, BBC, North Korean Studies, Korea University, Sejong Institute, “, Korean Central News Agency, United Nations Locations: Korea’s, British, Seoul, Korea, South Korea, Soviet Union, North Korea

☆ Aespa’s Karina apologizes to K-pop fans after relationship reveal sparks backlash
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-07 | by ( Jessie Yeung | Yoonjung Seo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Seoul, South Korea CNN —Are K-pop stars allowed to love? Under Karina’s apology post on Wednesday, the comment section was flooded with fans rallying in support. “No idols (K-pop stars) should apologize for dating in 2024,” one top comment read. And while there were messages of support there, too, there were plenty of disgruntled fans who weren’t satisfied with Karina’s apology. “Other fans pointed out that Karina’s apology hadn’t mentioned the status of her relationship – speculating that was simply confirmation they were still dating.

Persons: Karina, Lee Jae, wook, ”, “, Hyuna, Dawn, Jisoo, Ahn Bo, hyun, Aespa, hadn’t Organizations: South Korea CNN, Chosun Ilbo, Entertainment, Triple H, CNN, Twitter Locations: Seoul, South Korea, Asia, Instagram, Japan, Weibo

☆ We're very interested in Saudi Arabia, says South Korean machine parts manufacturer
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-08 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailWe're very interested in Saudi Arabia, says South Korean machine parts manufacturerLee Dong Wook, president and CEO of HD Hyundai XiteSolution, says it'll be watching India's elections, which bring "lots of uncertainty right now."

Persons: Lee Dong Wook, it'll Organizations: Hyundai Locations: Saudi Arabia, Korean

As Open AI employees celebrated the return of CEO Sam Altman with a five-alarm office party , OpenAI software engineer Steven Heidel was busy publicly rebuffing overtures from Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff. Heidel was one of more than 700 OpenAI employees who's threatened exodus halted a would-be mutiny at one of Silicon Valley's most important AI companies. He was previously a scientist at Facebook AI Research and worked as a member of Google Brain under supervision of Prof. Geoffrey Hinton and Ilya Sutskever. Alec Radford: Radford was hired in 2016 from a small AI company he founded in his dorm room. Tao Xu : technical staff, worked on GPT4 and WhisperChristine McLeavey : technical staff, with contributions to music-related productsChristina Kim : technical staffChristopher Hesse : technical staffHeewoo Jun : technical staff, researchAlex Nichol : technical staff, researchWilliam Fedus: technical staff, researchIlge Akkaya: technical staff, researchVineet Kosaraju : technical staff, researchHenrique Ponde de Oliveira Pinto : technical staffAditya Ramesh : technical staff, developed DALL-E and DALL-E 2Prafulla Dhariwal : research scientistHunter Lightman : technical staffHarrison Edwards : research scientistYura Burda : machine language researcherTyna Eloundou : technical staff, researchPamela Mishkin : researcherCasey Chu : researcherDavid Dohan : technical staff, researchAidan Clark : researcherRaul Puri : research scientistLeo Gao : technical staff, researchYang Song : technical staff, researchGiambattista ParascandoloTodor Markov : Machine learning researcherNick Ryder : technical staff

Persons: Sam Altman, Steven Heidel, Marc Benioff, Heidel, Altman, Mira Murati, Murati, Brad Lightcap, Lightcap, Jason Kwon, Kwon, Wojciech Zaremba, Geoffrey Hinton, Ilya Sutskever, Alec Radford, Radford, OpenAI, Peter Welinder, He's, Github Copilot, Anna Makanju, Andrej Karpathy, OpenAI's, Michael Petrov, Petrov, Greg [ Brockman, Miles Brundage, Brundage, John Schulman OpenAI, Srinivas Narayanan, Scott Grey, Grey, Bob McGrew, Research Che Chang, Lillian Weng, Safety Systems Mark Chen, Frontiers Research Barret Zoph, Peter Deng, Jan Leike Evan Morikawa Steven Heidel Jong Wook Kim, Tao Xu, Christine McLeavey, Christina Kim, Christopher Hesse, Heewoo, Alex Nichol, William Fedus, Henrique Ponde de Oliveira Pinto, Aditya Ramesh, Hunter Lightman, Harrison Edwards, Yura, Tyna, Pamela Mishkin, Casey Chu, David Dohan, Aidan Clark, Raul Puri, Leo Gao, Yang, Giambattista Parascandolo Todor Markov, Nick Ryder Organizations: Business, BI, OpenAI, Khosla Ventures, Facebook, Research, Google, Tesla, U.S . Department of Energy, Oxford University, Safety Systems, Frontiers Research Locations: Albania, Canada, OpenAI

☆ Emails reveal how Amazon and Google tap friends in government to influence policies. Critics say there's too much 'coziness' with Big Tech.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

When you work as a Big Tech lobbyist, there's a good chance you're already friends with someone in government. In 2022, 82.4% of Amazon lobbyists and 81.3% of Alphabet lobbyists previously held government jobs, according to data from OpenSecrets. "Big Tech uses its special revolving door access to furtively push for rigged trade policies," Warren wrote. The emails are limited to correspondence with Amazon and Google lobbyists and do not include communications with representatives of other tech companies. Big Tech critics say this access to policymakers is not granted to the public or civil-society groups, and that's why Warren and others have called for more transparency.

Persons: there's, Sen, Elizabeth Warren, Katherine Tai —, Warren, Tai, Andrea Boron, Mary Thornton, Karan Bhatia, Google's, Byun, Jillian DeLuna, Thornton, Bhatia, Kate Kalutkiewicz, USTR, Maria Langholz, Trump, Biden, Amazon's Thornton, Ethan Holmes, Joe Biden, Jonathan Ernst, That's, José Castañeda Organizations: Big Tech, United States Trade Representative, Google, Amazon, Amazon Web Services, YouTube, Amazon Prime, Spotify, Canada's, Demand, Prosperity, Reuters Locations: Big, Asia, China, Bali, Tokyo

Seoul, South Korea CNN —South Korea’s Constitutional Court has upheld a law banning same-sex relations in the military, citing a threat to combat-readiness, in a judgment decried by the local LGBTQ community as a disappointing setback. “Even if sexual acts are consensual” they risk “causing serious harm to preserving the fighting power of the nation’s armed forces, if committed (while on duty),” it added. But the group said it was encouraged by the comments of the dissenting judges, who warned against deeming sexual acts between same-sex couples as abnormal. The dissenting judges said there is “no reason” to differentiate between consensual sexual acts by same-sex soldiers and heterosexual ones. With a mandatory military service imposed on almost all able-bodied men between the age of 18 and 28, South Korea has one of the world’s largest active armies.

Persons: ”, Boram Jang, scuffles, Hong Joon, pyo Organizations: South Korea CNN, Constitutional, Amnesty, National Health Insurance Service, South Korea’s, Seoul Queer Culture, Christian, Daegu Queer Culture Locations: Seoul, South Korea, Asia, South, Daegu

☆ How ‘Moving’ became Disney+’s first big Korean hit
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( Jane Sit | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Following the success of “Squid Game” on Netflix and “Pachinko” on Apple TV+, “Moving” has landed Disney+ its first Korean hit. “Moving” is a thriller following the fates of low-profile Korean superheroes and their families. Ahead of the awards on October 8, CNN caught up with Ryu to discuss his character, why he thinks the show has resonated with a global audience, and his big hopes for a second season. Korean-style superheroesIn "Moving," actor Cha Taehyun plays a character who has the ability to generate electricity. The actor says the focus on family helps “Moving” resonate with international audiences.

Persons: Kang, Ryu Seungryong, Ryu, Cha Taehyun, Jang Ju, “, ” Ryu, ”, we’re, dote, you’re, don’t, ” That’s, Ryu, “ Kang Organizations: CNN, Netflix, Apple, Disney, Hulu, Star Wars, Marvel, Busan, Film Locations: Asia Pacific, South Korea’s, South Korea, Park Chan, Hulu

☆ Opinion: Russell Brand’s accusers deserve our support
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Opinion Holly Thomas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

It was also the first time that Brand, who was suspended and then resigned amid the backlash, suffered serious consequences. Brand’s 2007 autobiography “My Booky Wook” details accounts of him spitting in a sex worker’s face and smashing another’s phone into a wall. And as one of Brand’s accusers has claimed, those who pulled the strings weren’t just willing to overlook sinister behavior — they bent over backward to accommodate it. He created a mythology around them, at a cultural moment when women were being villainized in a particularly demeaning, sexual way. If they were ever tempted to turn against him, they’d be forced to interrogate why they hadn’t done so sooner.

Persons: Holly Thomas, Katie Couric, CNN —, ”, Russell Brand, Holly Thomas Holly Thomas The, Brand, “, ” Brand, bin Laden, Brand’s, lothario, Sir Jimmy Savile, Savile, he’d, Johnathan Ross, Andrew Sachs, Sachs, Georgina Baillie, Baillie, he’s Russell Brand, he’s, they’d Organizations: Katie Couric Media, CNN, Sunday Times, The Times, Holly Thomas Holly Thomas The Times, Brand, Metropolitan Police, The Sunday Times, Ardent, MTV, BBC, Times, BBC Radio, HarperCollins Locations: London, Northampton, British

☆ Exclusive: South Korea asks banks to prepare $4 bln to support credit union - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Seunggyu Lim | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

An official at the Financial Services Commission confirmed that banks had been asked to prepare liquidity through repurchase-agreement facilities to aid MG Community Credit Cooperatives, but did not comment on the amount. Depositors were lining up last week to withdraw funds from a branch of MG Community Credit Cooperatives after local media reported a rise in non-performing loans tied to real estate projects. Woori Bank, Hana Bank, Shinhan Bank, KB Kookmin Bank and NongHyup Bank had been asked to make financing available to MG Community Credit, although the actual amount extended to the credit union would depend on deposit withdrawals, the sources said. The sources added that each of the banks was asked to prepare 1 trillion won of financing, or 5 trillion won in total ($3.84 billion), as potential support. MG Community and the five banks did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Persons: Kim Jin, 1,302.7800, Seunggyu Lim, Jihoon Lee, Ed Davies, Edmund Klamann Organizations: Financial Services Commission, Community Credit Cooperatives, MG Community Credit Cooperatives, Woori Bank, Hana Bank, Shinhan Bank, KB Kookmin Bank, NongHyup Bank, MG Community Credit, MG Community, Community, Interior Ministry, Bank of, Ministry of Finance, Citi, Jungdo, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, Namyangju, Seoul, Bank of Korea, Gangwon

SEOUL, June 30 (Reuters) - A South Korean chip executive imprisoned over industrial espionage charges rejected allegations he had sought to build a copycat chip factory in China with sensitive information developed by Samsung Electronics. Choi is in custody at a detention centre in Suwon, a city south of Seoul where Samsung has its headquarters. Neither Foxconn or companies contracted build the Samsung plant were accused of any wrongdoing. A NAND flash chip is a storage chip that retains data even when a device is turned off, unlike a DRAM chip which loses data when the power is off. "What we were planning to build was a R&D fab and there is no R&D fab at (Samsung's) Xian plant.

Persons: Choi Jinseog, Choi, Taiwan's Foxconn, aren't, Foxconn, Kim Pilsung, XIAN Choi, Roh Hwa, Kim, Heekyong Yang, Josh Ye, Ben Blanchard, Miyoung Kim, Lincoln Organizations: Samsung Electronics, Reuters, Prosecutors, Samsung, Hai Precision Industry Co, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, Korean, China, KS, Xian , China, Suwon, Seoul, Xian, Qingdao, South, Hong Kong, Taipei

☆ Netflix CEO says $2.5 bln Korean investment won't exploit local talent
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

South Korea has created some of the Californian company's biggest shows, which have become synonymous with the broader international success of the country's cultural exports and spurred it to announce a $2.5 billion investment in Korean content in April. Don Kang, Netflix's vice president of Korean content, said the company was planning to expand its content investment to films and non-fiction, after previously focusing on series. On Wednesday, Sarandos met with celebrated South Korean director Park Chan-wook and film students and said telling stories from other countries, not just Hollywood, was his "most proud decision". South Korea has produced four of Netflix's 10 most-watched non-English language series, including "Squid Game", "The Glory" and "Extraordinary Attorney Woo". But as Netflix is by far the biggest streaming platform in South Korea, there are also concerns over its dominance.

Persons: Ted Sarandos, Sarandos, Don Kang, Scanline, Han Duck, Park Chan, Woo, 1,293.1100, Hyunsu Yim, Ed Davies, Sam Holmes Organizations: Netflix, Korea Radio Promotion Association, Eyeline Studios, South, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, South, Korea, Seoul, South Korea, Eyeline Studios Korea, United States

[1/5] TANAKA whose real name is Kim Kyung-wook, speaks during an interview with Reuters in Seoul, South Korea, May 16, 2023. Now Kim exemplifies the changing attitudes of young Koreans as ties with Japan thaw. DEMAND REBOUNDThe quarrels are being left behind as the enthusiasm of young Koreans fuels a sharp rebound in demand for Japanese consumer products. That compared with a 90% drop in imports of Japanese beer in 2019, when the intensifying feuds made it an early target of a sweeping boycott. "China is clearly less preferred than countries like the United States and Japan," Kim said, citing Beijing's curbs on freedom in Hong Kong and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Persons: TANAKA, Kim Kyung, Kim Hong, Ji, Jeong, Tanaka, idolises, I've, it's, Kim, Fumio Kishida, Yoon Suk, James Kim, Hyonhee Shin, Heekyong Yang, Jimin Jung, Daewoung Kim, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: Reuters, REUTERS, South, Korea's, Relations, Asahi Group Holdings, Costco, Hankook Research, Asan Institute, Policy Studies, Thomson Locations: Seoul, South Korea, Ji SEOUL, South Korean, Japan, Tokyo, Korean, China, Russia, North Korea, United States, Hong Kong

☆ China lodges serious representations with South Korea over joint statement with U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, April 28 (Reuters) - China expressed "strong dissatisfaction" to South Korea over its joint statement with the United States about the need for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, a foreign ministry statement said on Friday. Department of Asian Affairs Director-General Liu Jinsong met with South Korean Embassy Minister Kang Sang-wook on Thursday evening to emphasise China's stance on Taiwan and urged South Korea to strictly adhere to the "One-China" principle, the ministry said. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is on a six-day visit to the United States, during which Yoon and President Joe Biden held talks that covered tensions between China and Taiwan and Chinese military activities in the South China Sea. In a South Korea-U.S. joint statement, the presidents stressed the need for peace in the Taiwan Strait and said they opposed "any unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the Indo-Pacific, including through unlawful maritime claims, the militarization of reclaimed features, and coercive activities." Reporting by Liz Lee; Editing by Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ South Korean court recognises spousal coverage of state insurance for same-sex couple -Yonhap
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, Feb 21 (Reuters) - A South Korean court on Tuesday recognised spousal coverage of state health insurance for a same-sex couple in a landmark verdict, overturning a lower court's ruling that said the union cannot be considered a common law couple under current law, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported. The plaintiff, So Sung-wook, filed a suit against the National Health Insurance Service in 2021 after the state health insurer denied his rights to receive spousal coverage despite granting such rights to other common law couples. But the appellate court said the spousal coverage system under the state health insurance scheme is not just for families as defined by law, and not granting the rights to same-sex couples was discrimination, Yonhap reported. Protecting the rights of minorities is the "biggest responsibility" of the court as the "last bastion" of human rights, the court added. Telephone calls by Reuters to the National Health Insurance Service seeking comment went unanswered.

☆ Factbox: Key nominations for the 2023 BAFTA Film awards
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Best Actor, Musical or Comedy, Colin Farrell, The Banshees of Inisherin holds an award on stage at the 80th Annual Golden Globe Awards® at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, CA, U.S., on Tuesday, January 10, 2023. Earl Gibson for the HFPA/© HFPA/Handout via REUTERSLONDON, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Nominations for the annual BAFTA Film Awards were announced on Thursday. Britain's top film award ceremony will be held in London on Feb. 19. Below is a list of the nominees in the main categories:BEST FILM"All Quiet on the Western Front""The Banshees of Inisherin""Elvis""Everything Everywhere All At Once""Tár"OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM"Aftersun""The Banshees of Inisherin""Brian And Charles""Empire of Light""Good Luck to You, Leo Grande""Living""Roald Dahl's Matilda The Musical""See How They Run""The Swimmers""The Wonder"DIRECTOREdward Berger, "All Quiet on the Western Front"Martin McDonagh, "The Banshees of Inisherin"Park Chan-wook, "Decision To Leave"Dan Kwan, Daniel Scheinert, "Everything Everywhere All At Once"Todd Field, "Tár"Gina Prince-Bythewood, "The Woman King"LEADING ACTRESSAna de Armas, "Blonde"Cate Blanchett, "Tár"Viola Davis, "The Woman King"Danielle Deadwyler, "Till"Emma Thompson, "Good Luck to You, Leo Grande"Michelle Yeoh, "Everything Everywhere All At Once"LEADING ACTORAustin Butler, "Elvis"Brendan Fraser, "The Whale"Colin Farrell, "The Banshees of Inisherin"Daryl McCormack, "Good Luck to You, Leo Grande"Paul Mescal, "Aftersun"Bill Nighy, "Living"SUPPORTING ACTRESSAngela Bassett, "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever"Hong Chau, "The Whale"Kerry Condon, "The Banshees of Inisherin"Jamie Lee Curtis, "Everything Everywhere All At Once"Dolly De Leon, "Triangle of Sadness"Carey Mulligan, "She Said"SUPPORTING ACTORBrendan Gleeson, "The Banshees of Inisherin"Barry Keoghan, "The Banshees of Inisherin"Ke Huy Quan, "Everything Everywhere All At Once"Eddie Redmayne, "The Good Nurse"Albrecht Schuch, "All Quiet on the Western Front"Micheal Ward, "Empire of Light"ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY"The Banshees of Inisherin""Everything Everywhere All At Once""The Fabelmans""Tár""Triangle of Sadness"ADAPTED SCREENPLAY"All Quiet on the Western Front""Living""The Quiet Girl""She Said""The Whale"FILM NOT IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE"All Quiet on the Western Front""Argentina, 1985""Corsage""Decision To Leave""The Quiet Girl"DOCUMENTARY"All That Breathes""All the Beauty and the Bloodshed""Fire of Love""Moonage Daydream""Navalny"ANIMATED FILM"Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio""Marcel the Shell with Shoes On""Puss in Boots: The Last Wish""Turning Red"ORIGINAL SCORE"All Quiet on the Western Front""Babylon""The Banshees of Inisherin""Everything Everywhere All At Once""Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio"Reporting by Marie-Louise GumuchianOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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