The value of property assets owned by Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) was estimated at 8.6 trillion won ($7.2 billion) as of 2020, data showed Thursday, as lawmakers urged the state-run utility firm to promptly sell idle assets to improve its profitability. The amount marked a 9.5 percent increase from 7.8 trillion won in 2016, according to the data released by Rep. Eom Tae-young of the main opposition People Power Party during a parliamentary audit. The value of property assets that are not

In celebration of its 15th anniversary, cable channel tvN is scheduled to kick off the new Saturday-Sunday drama series “Jirisan” on Oct. 23, the company announced in a press release Wednesday. The mystery thriller centers around visitors and forest rangers working in Jirisan National Park, the largest national park in Korea. Top actor Jun Ji-hyun, or Gianna Jun, plays ranger Seo Yi-gang. Her last TV project was SBS’ “Legend of the Blue Sea” in 2016. Actor Ju Ji-h

BUSAN -- Four jurors for the Busan International Film Festival’s New Current Award -- Deepa Mehta, Jang Joon-hwan, Jeong Jae-eun and Cristina Nord -- expressed high anticipation for a breakthrough film this year during a press conference held at the KNN theater in Busan on Thursday. BIFF’s New Current Award is given to the two best feature films by new Asian directors presenting their first or second feature, in the New Currents section. The two winners receive $30,000. Eleven films

The Korean Pension Association, a group of experts conducting research on the nation‘s public and private pension systems, on Thursday held a joint seminar with the Finnish Center for Pensions based in Helsinki, Finland, a research institute dedicated to developing the nation’s earnings-related pension scheme. Titled “International Symposium on the Pensions of South Korea and Finland: Demographic Challenges and Future Responses,” the event was aimed at providing expert k

More government support is required to address poverty among the nation’s older adults, a lawmaker said Thursday. According to the most recent data from Statistics Korea revealed by Rep. Ko Young-in of the Democratic Party, the poverty rate for people aged 66 and older was 45 percent in 2019 as compared with 10.72 percent for people under 66. When the nation’s population was divided into 10 income brackets, almost half of senior citizens were in the bottom two, with 29.42 percent

In a decade, people aged over 39 up from 47% to 57%

South Korea’s top financial regulator has pledged to reexamine a deal involving technology giant Naver during the parliamentary audit, highlighting a relentless push for a nationwide tech crackdown. On Wednesday, Financial Services Commission Chairman Koh Seung-beom said he would “examine the feasibility of the deal,” referring to a share-for-share exchange deal between internet giant Naver and investment bank Mirae Asset Securities four years prior. The pledge comes amid c

The global craze over “Squid Game,” Netflix’s original Korean drama series, is adding momentum to the fast-growing South Korean media and entertainment market. Tving, the country’s leading streaming service provider run by entertainment and media firm CJ ENM, recently set out to lure investments from private equity funds at home and abroad, in partnership with Nomura Securities, according to industry sources Thursday.  Tving plans to sell its new shares worth 300 b

Thirteen people affiliated with US Forces Korea (USFK), including six service members, have tested positive for the new coronavirus upon their arrival here, the US military said Thursday. Three service members, three family members and a civilian employee arrived here on commercial flights via Incheon international airport, west of Seoul, while three other troops arrived at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of the capital, on US government chartered flights, according to USFK. T

On Sept. 12, Goyang City unveiled a new tourist attraction after weeks of painting: a mural of K-pop star RM of boy band BTS. The rapper grew up in Ilsan, a district within Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, on the outskirts of the capital. In August, Goyang City Hall said it was partnering with the artist’s fandom, MoNiJunNi, on a special project to celebrate his 28th birthday. The city and MoNiJunNi jointly announced that they would paint an 18-by-12-meter mural on the side of the Goyang Touris

A major umbrella labor union on Thursday renewed its threat to go on a general strike later this month in an effort to put a spotlight on labor issues ahead of next year's presidential election. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), one of the country's two umbrella labor organizations, said it will stage a strike and a massive rally on Oct. 20 as "the first step to break the solid system of exploitation." The KCTU aims to launch a walkout involving all its 1.1 million me

President Moon Jae-in called Thursday for greater efforts to curb global warming and greenhouse gas emissions, saying the Earth is getting warmer at a much faster speed than expected. Moon made the remark in a video message to a forum of environment ministers from Asia-Pacific countries held in Suwon, 46 kilometers south of Seoul, saying the Asia-Pacific is an environmentally vulnerable region where 40 percent of all natural disasters, such as typhoons and drought, took place in 2019. "Pl

First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun and the US special envoy for Iran, Robert Malley, held phone talks Thursday to discuss cooperation over negotiations to restore the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal, the foreign ministry said. Multilateral negotiations in Vienna to revive the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) aimed at curbing Tehran's nuclear program have remained stalled since June, though Iran has shown its readiness to return to dialogue soon. Choi reiterated South Korea's commit

The South Korean economy is likely to lose its upward momentum and grow less than 3 percent in 2020 amid slowing exports and waning pandemic-related stimulus, a private think tank said Thursday. The Hana Institute of Finance predicted Asia's fourth-largest economy to expand 2.8 percent next year, down from this year's growth estimate of 3.9 percent. "The Korean economy is expected to post solid growth on strong domestic demand stemming from looser social distancing measures," said the