All posts tagged: South Korea

Samsung shareholders vow legal action over tentative union deal

Samsung shareholders vow legal action over tentative union deal

Published by Sam Flores

UNION VOTE Samsung memory chips are found in everything from consumer electronics to computer processors – with its next-gen, high-bandwidth models used to scale up AI data centres. Samsung in April said first-quarter operating profit soared roughly 750 per cent year-on-year, while its market capitalisation topped $1 trillion for the first time this month. The prospect of a strike had raised concern over the economic impact on South Korea, where semiconductors account for about 35 per cent of exports. The labour union said Wednesday that all of its members – around 70,000 staff – would participate in a vote on the tentative deal to be held between May 23 and May 28. The government hailed the outcome of last-hour negotiations, which were mediated by the labour minister. The tentative deal introduces a new bonus pool for employees in the chip division, equivalent to 10.5 per cent of the division’s business performance, with no payout cap. Of the total bonus pool, 40 per cent will be allocated across the division as a whole, while 60 per …

Starmer apologises for ‘slip of the tongue’ in announcing deal with North Korea

Starmer apologises for ‘slip of the tongue’ in announcing deal with North Korea

Published by Sam Flores

Sir Keir Starmer has apologised to MPs after mistakenly suggesting the Government had struck a trade deal with Pyongyang. Defending his record on the international stage, the Prime Minister told MPs he had “been negotiating serious trade deals” during his premiership, including with North Korea. But he later stood up and laughed as he told the Commons: “I’ve just been handed a note saying that I inadvertently said we did a trade deal with North Korea rather than South Korea. “That would be breaking news and not very good. “So, before I’m referred to the Privileges Committee, can I correct the record in that regard? It was a slip of the tongue but a pretty unfortunate one.” MPs last month rejected a Conservative bid to refer Sir Keir to the Commons Privileges Committee by 335 votes to 223, majority 112. The vote took place after opposition allegations the Prime Minister misled Parliament when he said “no pressure existed” in the process of appointing Lord Peter Mandelson as the UK’s ambassador to the US. Sir Keir …

Labour, love and loneliness: Korean workers sent to Germany still carry the cost of sacrifice

Labour, love and loneliness: Korean workers sent to Germany still carry the cost of sacrifice

Published by Sam Flores

Hyun Wo-so is buried in Germany’s Krefeld city, where the former coal miner spent most of his life. On his gravestone, the words his children asked to inscribe in Korean are simple and final: “I love you” and “Rest in peace”. “My father is from the silent generation – a generation that is not able, maybe, to say: “I love you” to the children, but they show it in a different way,” his son Martin Hyun told CNA. That private farewell captures the life of a man whose story is shared by tens of thousands of South Koreans who left home in the decades after the Korean War, bound for West Germany – as it was known then – in search of work, dignity and a way out of poverty. While their labour helped power South Korea’s rise from devastation to prosperity, these workers – now in their 70s, and many poor and ill – say they feel they have been forgotten. HUMAN COST The three-year Korean War, sparked by North Korea’s attack on South Korea in …

China’s He to Hold Trade Talks With US Delegation in South Korea

China’s He to Hold Trade Talks With US Delegation in South Korea

Published by Sam Flores

SHANGHAI, May 10 (Reuters) – ⁠Chinese ⁠Vice Premier ⁠He Lifeng will lead ​a delegation to South ‌Korea for trade ‌negotiations with ⁠U.S. ⁠counterparts on May 12-13, China’s Ministry of ​Commerce said on Sunday. The discussions will follow ​consensus reached during prior calls ⁠and meetings ⁠between the ⁠two nations’ ​top leaders, including their meeting ​in ⁠Busan in October, and will focus on economic and trade ⁠issues of mutual concern, according to a ⁠statement published by the ministry on its website. U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to visit China this week and the White House ⁠has invited a scaled-back CEO delegation to accompany Trump to Beijing, Reuters ​reported, citing sources. (Reporting by ​Shanghai Newsroom) Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters. Source link

South Korean ship in Strait of Hormuz hit by unidentified object, ministry says

South Korean ship in Strait of Hormuz hit by unidentified object, ministry says

Published by Sam Flores

SEOUL: The stern of a bulk carrier operated by South Korean shipper HMM was struck by an unidentified object on May 4 while stranded in the Strait of Hormuz, the foreign ministry said on Sunday (May 10) following an on‑site inspection of the vessel on Friday. A week ago, Seoul reported a blast and fire aboard the same vessel – the HMM Namu – in the strait, while anchored near the United Arab Emirates. No one was harmed in the incident. US President Donald Trump said at the time that the incident was caused by an Iranian attack. Seoul was investigating the incident, and the vessel was towed to a port in Dubai after the blaze on Monday. It was not certain what the object was, the ministry said, and authorities said debris would be collected at the site for analysis. Trump urged South Korea to join a currently suspended US-led effort dubbed “Project Freedom” to secure shipping through the strait following the incident. Iran’s embassy in South Korea denied responsibility for the attack. It …

Former Korean Prosecutor Convicted in Lee Ufan Painting Bribery Case

Former Korean Prosecutor Convicted in Lee Ufan Painting Bribery Case

Published by José Betancourt

A former South Korean prosecutor who allegedly tried to buy political influence with a painting by Lee Ufan has now been convicted on appeal, in a case that adds disputed authenticity claims surrounding a $95,000 artwork to a conventional bribery scandal involving the former first lady of Korea. The Seoul High Court this week overturned an earlier acquittal of former senior prosecutor Kim Sang-min, finding him guilty of violating South Korea’s anti-corruption law after prosecutors argued he gifted a Lee Ufan painting to former first lady Kim Keon Hee in exchange for political support ahead of the country’s 2024 parliamentary elections.  Related Articles According to The Chosun Daily, Kim Sang-min allegedly gifted the work From Dots (No. 800298), valued at 140 million won, or roughly $95,500, while seeking help securing a nomination from the conservative People Power Party. The appeals court sentenced him to two years in prison, suspended for three years, on the bribery charges, while also handing down a separate one-year suspended sentence tied to illegal political donations.  What pushed the case into strange territory was the question of …

South Koreans gear up to roar on football team from rival North | Football News

South Koreans gear up to roar on football team from rival North | Football News

Published by Sam Flores

Naegohyang Women’s FC will play the Suwon FC Women on May 20 in the Asian Champions League in a six-year first. Published On 8 May 20268 May 2026 Hundreds of South Koreans will cheer for a North Korean women’s football team when it makes a rare trip across the border for a continental semifinal this month. North Korea’s Naegohyang Women’s FC will play the South’s Suwon FC Women on May 20 in the Asian Champions League. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list It will be the first time that a North Korean sports team has played in the South since 2018. The countries technically remain at war because their 1950-53 conflict ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty. South Korean civic organisations are rallying groups of volunteers to roar on Naegohyang, with one predicting that more than 1,000 may end up backing the North Koreans at the match in Suwon city. The groups support reconciliation between North and South Korea and often organise activities to promote their cause. There will be no …