In a bid to respond more swiftly to changes in the global business environment, South Korean asset managing giant Mirae Asset Financial Group said Wednesday that it has appointed new executives at affiliates as part of a new shake-up. Two chief executive officers -- Choi Chang-hoon and Lee Byeong-seong -- were named as the new chiefs of Mirae Asset Global Investments as part of the firm’s efforts to accelerate innovative growth. “Celebrating the 25th anniversary of the group&rsquo

A boy was reportedly injured from biting into fried chicken that had a metal screw in it, sold from a local franchise. According to local media reports Wednesday, the boy, 12, had to have two teeth pulled out after a screw found inside a chicken wing became stuck in his gums.  The chicken was reportedly from a major Korean fried chicken franchise brand. Included in the media reports were a photo of the boy’s bloody gums and a doctor’s note showing the boy had two of his te

Representatives of Hyundai Motor Group and Seoul National University pose for photographs after the two organizations signed an agreement to establish a joint battery research and development center at SNU’s campus in Gwanak-gu, southern Seoul, Wednesday.  Hyundai Motor will invest more than 30 billion won ($25.4 million) over 10 years into the research center to develop next-generation batteries with significant improvements in driving range and charging time. From left are SNU Pres

The Daesan Foundation announced the four winners of the 29th annual Daesan Literary Awards on Wednesday. The organization founded by Kyobo Life Insurance awards winners in four categories, recognizing the best poetry, novel, drama or literature review and translated work. The award for best translated work is given to English, French, German and Spain translations, one for each year in sequential order. Poet Kim Eon won the award for “Dear Blank Paper,” which describes the self-con

Nationwide shortage of diesel exhaust fluid set to disrupt cargo delivery

The 47th Seoul Independent Film Festival will be screening films mostly created since the beginning of COVID-19 last year. “The largest number of films ever were submitted this year. A total of 1,550 films were submitted,” said SIFF director Kim Dong-hyun during a press conference Wednesday. “We had the largest number of submitters last year so I thought the number would decrease this year. Especially since last year was not an easy time to make films,” Kim said. &ldq

Samsung Group’s leader Lee Jae-yong will have to pay a 70 million won ($59,200) fine for illegal use of propofol, an anesthetic medication, judicial sources said Wednesday. The fine was finalized as both prosecutors and the defendant have not filed an appeal by Tuesday, the last day of the seven-day window to appeal the court order. The Seoul Central District Court last week ordered Lee to pay the fine and an additional forfeiture of 17 million won for violating the Narcotics Control Act

South Korean conglomerates managed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 9.3 percent over the past two years, according to a report on Wednesday, suggesting they face a tough task in meeting the government’s 2050 carbon neutrality target. CEO Score, a corporate tracker based in Seoul, said major companies in the country curbed more than 46 million tons of greenhouse gas output in 2020, compared to 2018 figures. The calculation is based on emissions data from 197 companies in South Kore

Lotte Group is commemorating what would have been the 100th birthday of its late founder Shin Kyuk-ho by publishing his memoirs, giving out scholarships and funding for startups, holding a concert, and opening a memorial hall in the Lotte World Tower in Jamsil, Seoul. On Monday, Lotte unveiled a bronze bust of Shin and a memorial hall displaying media and historical records of the conglomerate’s history, a replica of Shin’s office in the early days, his old shoes, reading glasses, p

South Korean stocks closed more than 1 percent lower Wednesday as investors seek clues on the timeline for the tapering with the US Federal Reserve meeting this week in focus. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 37.78 points, or 1.25 percent, to close at 2,975.71 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 649 million shares worth some 12.3 trillion won ($10.4 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 684 to 187. Foreigners

President Moon Jae-in arrived in Budapest on Tuesday to hold a series of summit talks with the leaders of the so-called Visegrad Group: Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia. It will be the second gathering between South Korea and the four Eastern European countries. On Thursday, the president will hold multilateral and bilateral meetings with the prime ministers of the Visegrad nations. On the sidelines of the meetings, a business forum, a first of its kind, also will be held to explo

The risk of Korea entering a long-term economic recession is relatively low as Asia’s fourth-largest economy is likely to gradually recover from the pandemic under the “living with COVID-19” strategy, experts said Tuesday. “Many worry that the Korean economy would suffer long-term recession due to huge government debt. But the country is on the move to actively recover from the pandemic by taking its first step, lowering the social distancing measures,” said Lee K