South Korea headlines
Korea Times · South Korea · 2026-09-19T13:02:04+00:00
WASHINGTON — Influential U.S. billionaire investor Warren Buffett stepped down as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, the conglomerate announced Friday. The news brings to an end the revered investor's more than half a century of running the group, which he turned into a financial behemoth. Buffett's resignation is "effective immediately," although he will remain a member of the board of directors as chairman emeritus, Berkshire Hathaway said in a statement. Buffett's son Howard Buffett will take over as chairman, the statement added. The 96-year-old had announced plans last year to retire from leading the business group. Berkshire Hathaway, a former small textile company, has grown over the years into a gigantic conglomerate under Buffett's leadership, and is now worth over $1 trillion on Wall Street -- a first for an American group outside the tech sector. Today, his conglomerate owns dozens of businesses, from Duracell batteries to U.S. insurer Geico, and shares in carefully selected companies, from Coca-Cola to Bank of America. "Father Time always wins. He has, however, been generous with
Korea Times · South Korea · 2026-09-19T13:02:04+00:00
LONDON — Revenge has rarely been so stylish. A striking black dress worn by the late Princess Diana on the day her estranged husband publicly admitted adultery is going up for auction at Sotheby’s, with a presale estimate of up to $300,000. First, the “revenge dress,” as it has become known, is going on an international tour, testament to the enduring global fascination with Diana almost 30 years after her death. The garment, which went on public display Friday at Sotheby’s in London, was worn by Diana on June 29, 1994, the broadcast date of an interview in which the then-Prince Charles acknowledged infidelity. Diana, who knew the revelation was coming, chose to wear the figure-hugging, off-the-shoulder silk dress by Greek designer Christina Stambolian for a gala at London’s Serpentine Gallery. Morgane Halimi, Sotheby’s global head of handbags and fashion, said Diana chose the “beautiful and powerful outfit” as a way to seize control of her own story. “She always used fashion as a way of expression, but this time (it) was a way to communicate her personal expression of
Korea Times · South Korea · 2026-09-19T13:02:04+00:00
LOS ANGELES — California Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order Friday directing state officials to explore the feasibility of imposing a mandatory "kill switch" for the most advanced AI models. Newsom, widely seen as a possible Democratic presidential contender in 2028, said he was making the move because U.S. President Donald Trump was doing nothing on the issue. The Republican leader this week dismissed fears over AI as a hoax and is urging U.S. AI companies to keep advancing in order to stay ahead of China in developing the novel technology. California is home to Silicon Valley and the AI firms at the forefront of the sector. "The federal government's abject failure to create any form of meaningful AI oversight or accountability should alarm every American, especially when AI CEOs themselves are begging for regulation," Newsom said in a statement. "We're not waiting to act — we're going to speed up our work on substantial and responsible AI oversight before it's too late." The order comes days after dire warnings from industry insiders about the threat the technology poses
Korea Times · South Korea · 2026-09-19T13:02:04+00:00
HENRICO, Va. — In-person voting for this year’s midterm elections began Friday, ushering in the final six weeks for Americans to decide which party they trust to lead Congress through a cost-of-living crisis, a prolonged war in Iran and other pressing issues. Election administrators say they are prepared and confident the vote will be accurate and secure. Nevertheless, President Donald Trump has continued efforts to denigrate certain voting methods and reshape how elections are run, through court challenges, an expansive federal hunt for noncitizen voters and a pressure campaign to force election officials to share sensitive voter data. Friday marked the start of early voting in Virginia. Voters in a few other states, including Minnesota and South Dakota, can cast absentee ballots in person, typically at a local election office or voting center. More expansive early voting is scheduled to begin in those and other states in the coming weeks. At a voting location in Fairfax, Virginia, 18-year-old college student Sanya Singhal was among the first to vote early in person Friday morning,
Korea Times · South Korea · 2026-09-19T13:02:04+00:00
FRANKFURT — The prospect of a new global interest rate-tightening cycle is coming into view as some of the world's top central banks raise rates and signal more may be needed to tame inflation fuelled by the Iran war. Key rates are already much higher than the rock-bottom levels from the last hiking cycle that began in 2022. But central bankers are under market pressure to show that they are prepared to raise them further to tame inflation expectations and rein in long-term bond yields at multidecade highs. The Bank of Japan became the latest big central bank to tighten on Friday, following rate increases by the Federal Reserve two days before and the European Central Bank last week. The Bank of England left rates unchanged this week but flagged that inflation pressures could require further action. "Our policy phase has changed," BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda said as the bank signalled it was prepared to keep pushing up borrowing costs. The moves, while formally independent of each other, reflect a shared concern among policymakers that higher oil and gas costs resulting from the Iran war ra
Korea Times · South Korea · 2026-09-19T13:02:04+00:00
NEW YORK — Wall Street was mixed on Friday as benchmark U.S. Treasury yields topped 5 percent, and crude prices reversed earlier gains but remained above $100 per barrel, keeping inflation worries front and center. Investors approached the end of a week that was essentially split in two: first, restless anticipation in the days before the U.S. Federal Reserve's widely expected interest rate hike, and then the aftermath of that decision. A semiconductor rally helped the Nasdaq evade the broader selloff, which pulled the S&P 500 and the Dow marginally lower. The S&P 500 is on track to end the session with a weekly loss, while the tech-laden Nasdaq is on course to end nominally higher than last Friday's close. The blue-chip Dow is headed for its biggest weekly percentage decline since March. Inflation concerns remained prominent as crude prices stayed above $100 per barrel, but they paused their upward climb after China, at the request of Saudi Arabia, asked Iran to limit attacks by Houthi rebels on Saudi oil infrastructure. Soaring oil prices have sent diesel prices to record levels, whic
Korea Times · South Korea · 2026-09-19T13:02:04+00:00
SEATTLE — President Lee Jae Myung’s proposal to expand South Korea’s maritime security role in the Strait of Hormuz while ruling out involvement in the war represents a “realistic and constructive” contribution, but may not be enough to satisfy U.S. President Donald Trump, a U.S. expert said. Scott Snyder, president and CEO of the Korea Economic Institute of America (KEI) and a longtime scholar of South Korea-U.S. alliance and security issues, said Lee’s approach is consistent with how South Korea has responded to similar U.S. requests in the past. “Something along those lines represents a realistic and constructive offer from South Korea, but by President Trump’s logic such a limited contribution may not pass muster,” Snyder told The Korea Times. Lee said Friday that South Korea would not deploy troops or military assets in a way that would involve the country in the war, while confirming that Seoul is considering strengthening the role of the Cheonghae Unit to protect Korean commercial vessels, oil shipping routes and citizens. Snyder noted that South Korea responded
Korea Times · South Korea · 2026-09-19T13:02:04+00:00
WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump has extended an executive order that would impose a fee of $100,000 for H-1B non-immigrant visas by another year, the White House said on Friday. U.S. employers seeking to hire skilled foreign workers can use the federal government's H-1B visa program for a fee, allowing tech and other professionals from abroad to work in the United States for a few years. Trump, who has pursued an aggressive immigration crackdown, has criticized the program and wants to permanently raise the fee from between $2,000 and $5,000 to at least $100,000, though the attempt has faced legal challenges. A Boston-based appeals court is reviewing a June decision by a federal judge who deemed the higher fee imposed by the Trump administration illegal and blocked the government from collecting it. Another court is considering whether a judge properly rejected a challenge to the fee by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the largest U.S. business lobbying group. Trump's initial order for a fee hike, first released in September 2025, was set to expire this month. It did not apply to
Korea Times · South Korea · 2026-09-19T13:02:04+00:00
WASHINGTON — U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent plans to discuss artificial intelligence (AI), trade, rare earths and economic issues when he meets with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in New York City this weekend, according to a source familiar with his plans. The discussions are significant because the U.S. and China are the two major forces driving development of advanced AI tools and the global adoption of the technology. Rare earths play a crucial role in the manufacturing of technology. Bessent, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and He will meet on Sunday in New York ahead of a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on September 24 in Washington, Greer's office said in a statement. "The Trump Administration will continue to pursue balanced trade with China by monitoring the implementation of recent commitments, optimizing trade in non-sensitive goods, and improving market access for American farmers, manufacturers, and workers," Greer said in the statement. Bessent said in a separate statement that he expects the discussions to cover
Korea Herald · South Korea · 2026-09-19T11:50:12+00:00
The National Museum of Korea held the finals of its nationwide artifact costume contest Saturday, bringing together 25 finalist teams dressed as cultural artifacts from different periods and regions of Korean history. Participants in the “2026 Dress Like a Museum Exhibit” gathered at the museum in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, with some traveling from as far as Gyeongsang and Chungcheong provinces. Some contestants painted themselves in gold and carried handmade artifact costumes measuring more than two me
Korea Herald · South Korea · 2026-09-19T07:50:20+00:00
Saudi Arabia warned of a “hostile aerial threat” and issued a string of emergency alerts across the kingdom, including in its capital, late Friday and early Saturday. Also Saturday, Iran’s state TV reported that a man was executed after being convicted on charges of spying for Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad. Alerts sound across Saudi Arabia for aerial threat Saudi Arabia warned of a “hostile aerial threat” after issuing a string of emergency alerts across the kingdom late Friday and early S
Korea Herald · South Korea · 2026-09-19T07:14:16+00:00
Jeju’s haenyeo culture is marking 10 years since its inscription on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, with the annual Jeju Haenyeo Festival opening Saturday to commemorate the milestone. The 19th Jeju Haenyeo Festival is being held through Sunday around the Jeju Haenyeo Museum in Gujwa-eup under a theme reflecting on the decade since the UNESCO designation. Haenyeo are female divers from Jeju Island who harvest seafood by free-diving without oxygen tan
Korea Herald · South Korea · 2026-09-19T07:00:00+00:00
Korea’s beloved, chewy rice cakes are stepping into a new era as makers reimagine the traditional treats with unexpected flavors, playful forms and contemporary recipes designed to win over a younger generation. Among the latest creations is pizza seolgi, a savory take on the traditional steamed rice cake known as seolgi tteok, topped with tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, olives and pepperoni. Young people have flocked to Jeil Tteok at Seoul's Myeonmok Market, after word spread that the viral sn
Korea Herald · South Korea · 2026-09-19T07:00:00+00:00
Train fares reimbursed in full, some 80,000 lodging discount coupons and up to 30,000 reward points for drivers heading to rural counties are just some of the offers lined up for travelers in Korea over the next two months. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization launched the campaign Tuesday. Running through October and November under the slogan "Autumn deep, travel light," the program bundles transportation, accommodation and package-tour discounts with r
Korea Herald · South Korea · 2026-09-19T07:00:00+00:00
With Korea’s Thanksgiving holiday, Chuseok, just around the corner, the season for gift-giving is in full swing — and this year, traditional Chuseok staples are getting a contemporary makeover. Fruit and meat remain perennial favorites for the harvest holiday, while nuts, cooking oils, seafood and everyday foods such as Spam continue to fill gift boxes. But for those looking beyond such familiar choices, this year’s offerings bring something different. A new crop of specialty gift sets is reimag
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