Author: Jae young

August 1, 2025SEOUL – South Korea clinched a last-minute trade deal with the United States on Thursday, capping a looming blanket tariff at 15 percent and averting a steeper 25 percent rate set to take effect Friday. In return, Seoul agreed to a $350 billion investment package aimed at deepening economic ties with Washington.The new 15 percent tariff rate, described as “reciprocal,” aligns with terms recently accepted by Japan and the European Union. However, it marks a significant departure from the 2012 Korea-US Free Trade Agreement, effectively suspending the near-zero tariffs previously applied to key Korean exports.President Lee Jae Myung…

July 31, 2025SEOUL – The fierce rivalry between South Korean instant noodle giants Nongshim and Samyang Foods is flaring up again. This time, it’s over control of a closely guarded flavor secret: the soup base.Samyang Foods, the maker of the global hit Buldak noodle series, was the first to make a move, with a 60 billion won ($43 million) stock purchase deal currently in the works to acquire local sauce maker GnF.The local sauce manufacturer has long supplied powdered seasonings to major food companies, including Nongshim, Pulmuone and Ottogi. Last year, it posted 41.7 billion won in revenue and 3.2…

July 31, 2025SEOUL – A Korean green-card holder and resident of Texas was detained by US federal agents at San Francisco International Airport and held for eight days without access to legal counsel, an advocacy group said Wednesday.According to the National Korean American Service & Education Consortium, Tae-heung Kim, 40, is a Ph.D. student at Texas A&M University where he researches Lyme disease. He has lived in the US since the age of five, and was returning from South Korea after attending his brother’s wedding before being caught by federal agents.The group said the US government has not disclosed the…

July 31, 2025SEOUL – Despite chart-topping hits on Billboard and sold-out world tours across the US, Europe and Southeast Asia, K-pop’s grip on its home turf appears to be slipping.Industry experts are sounding the alarm over a growing disconnect between the genre’s global success and its dwindling influence at home — particularly as the domestic fanbase, once the engine of the K-pop phenomenon, shows signs of fatigue.At the heart of the issue is a conspicuous absence of breakthrough rookie girl groups in the first half of 2025. These groups have historically driven fandom growth and revitalized the market, but this…

July 31, 2025SEOUL – South Korea and the United States struck a massive deal to lower the US tariff on its imports from South Korea to 15 percent from 25 percent, in exchange for $350 billion of South Korean investment in the US, leaders of the two countries said Thursday.“We’ve overcome a major hurdle,” President Lee Jae Myung noted on his Facebook Thursday as he confirmed the deal, saying it had removed uncertainties on Korea’s export front.“Despite the tight deadline and challenging conditions, the government dealt with the negotiations, considering our national interest the top priority,” Lee also said. “By…

July 31, 2025SEOUL – South Korea’s life expectancy reached 83.5 years as of 2023, surpassing by 2.4 years the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s average of 81.1 years, a report released by the Paris-based organization showed Wednesday.The same OECD Health Statistics 2025 report released via South Korea’s Ministry of Health and Welfare showed that the country continues to report the highest suicide rate among OECD member nations, despite progress in life expectancy and health outcomes.Life expectancy refers to the average number of years a newborn is expected to live based on current mortality trends. Indicators also show improvements in…

July 30, 2025SEOUL – Jennie of Blackpink has signed with former Spotify global music head Jeremy Erlich’s newly launched Alta Music Group for US management, in a strategic move to expand her solo activities stateside.While the exact date of the contract signing has not been disclosed, it is expected to have taken place in July, as reports of the deal surfaced in the US on July 24.The agreement marks the first artist management signing for Alta Music, an independent, full-service company based in Los Angeles.Jennie will continue to operate under her label Odd Atelier, which clarified that Alta Music will…

July 30, 2025SEOUL – South Korea’s ruling bloc on Tuesday outlined plans to raise the corporate tax rate and expand the scope of capital gains taxation, signaling a U-turn from policies aimed at tax relief under the previous conservative Yoon Suk Yeol administration.Following a policy consultation held at the National Assembly in Seoul, the government and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea said they had agreed to raise the top corporate tax rate from the current 24 percent to 25 percent — the same level as in 2022, before former President Yoon’s administration lowered it by 1 percentage point.The corporate…

BEIJING – The relations between China and the Republic of Korea have evolved fast over the past more than three decades, marked by a substantial increase in trade and economic interdependence. Bilateral trade has surged by around 50 times since they established diplomatic ties in 1992, with China remaining the ROK’s largest trade partner for many consecutive years. The economic interdependence is also underscored by the fact that China received about 40 percent of the ROK’s technology exports as of the end of last year.China has always valued the mutually beneficial relationship with the ROK, describing the country as an…

July 30, 2025SEOUL – South Korea will begin offering free education and child care to all 5-year-olds by subsidizing preschool institutions from July, as a step toward the government’s plan to make preschool education universally accessible by 2027.The Ministry of Education announced Tuesday that the Cabinet had approved a 128.9 billion won ($92.6 million) allocation for the second half of the year. It aims to support approximately 278,000 children aged 5 who are enrolled in either kindergartens or day care centers nationwide.This funding is part of a broader push to gradually expand free education and care to children aged between…