Latest news with #Cho
Mint
a day ago
- Business
- Mint
Korean Air Chairman Calls for Political Stability, Tariff Cuts
South Korea's next government should prioritize making a trade deal with Washington that shields the aviation industry from tariffs, the head of the country's largest airline said. Korean Air Lines Co. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Cho Won-Tae, speaking before voters head to the polls on Tuesday to choose a new government, said he expects the outcome to lead to stability and predictable governance, no matter who wins. A lack of political leadership over the past several months has 'been troubling, especially with the economic situation globally,' said Cho, 49, who also heads Hanjin Group, one of the country's largest family conglomerates. Regardless of the vote's outcome, a trade deal for the export-focused nation would help achieve 'some future and predictability and plan what to do next.' The national vote comes after a turbulent period for Seoul following a failed marshal law declaration by the then-president Yoon Suk-Yeol, and the subsequent impeachment of various interim leaders. Trade Expectations Korean Air is anxious for the aviation industry to be shielded from the threat of US tariffs. Not only is it a large buyer of Boeing Co. and Airbus SE aircraft, but it also makes parts for the US planemaker and its European rival, putting it in the crosshairs of any levies. 'This is very important to Korean Air as well. Historically aviation wasn't part of the tariffs. Now its going to cause a lot of confusion to business,' said Cho, speaking at the International Air Transport Association annual meeting. The airline group's aerostructures business makes parts including the wing tips for 737 Max and Airbus A320neo, and the 777 and 787 raked wing tips. It also produces part of the fuselage for the A330. Korean Air said it has seen sharp decreases in cargo demand from China to the US. Air freight is a key revenue line for the company as one of the world's largest cargo operators. Passenger demand has meanwhile been steady, including in the closely watched premium business and first class cabin. The Korean Air and Hanjin Group chief also said the airline would be the first to restart overflights to Russia should there be a resolution with Ukraine and a change in US-led sanctions. Cho said the airline has placed a order of less than 10 aircraft as an undisclosed customer for freighter planes, though he declined to name the manufacturer. The purchase will cap off a buying spree involving more than 100 Airbus and Boeing jets in recent years. ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Korea Herald
3 days ago
- Politics
- Korea Herald
S. Korea, Japan, Australia hold trilateral talks to discuss security, cooperation
Senior defense officials of South Korea, Japan and Australia held trilateral talks Sunday to discuss the regional security situation and ways to strengthen their cooperation, the South's defense ministry said. Deputy defense minister for policy Cho Chang-rae and his Japanese and Australian counterparts; Taro Yamato, director general for defense policy and Hugh Jeffrey, deputy secretary of strategy, policy and industry, met on the sidelines of the of the Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual defense forum held in Singapore. Last year, the three countries held their first-ever meeting of defense ministers on the occasion of the security forum held in the city-state. This year, Cho attended the gathering instead of acting Defense Minister Kim Seon-ho who skipped it ahead of the June 3 presidential election. In addition to the trilateral meeting, Cho held a series of bilateral meetings with senior defense officials from Canada, Japan, the Philippines, Poland and Singapore, to discuss defense and arms industry cooperation, according to the ministry. Cho and Yamato, the Japanese defense official, reaffirmed the importance of their bilateral and trilateral security cooperation with the United States, in the face of North Korea's evolving nuclear and missile threats and deepening military cooperation with Russia. In talks with Polish deputy defense minister Pawel Zalewski on Saturday, both sides touted their arms industry cooperation involving exports of the K9 self-propelled howitzer and agree to closely cooperate on expanding their defense exchange and cooperation, the ministry said.
Korea Herald
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Pianist Cho Seong-jin cancels performances in Europe due to medical issues
Korean pianist Cho Seong-jin has canceled three performances in Europe this week due to medical issues. His concerts scheduled for Sunday at Tivoli in Copenhagen, Denmark; Tuesday at the Ruhr Piano Festival in Germany; and Wednesday at the Conservatorio di Musica Giuseppe Verdi in Milan, Italy, have been canceled due to "urgent non-invasive surgery," according to the organizers. His recital in Singapore on June 9 at the Esplanade Concert Hall is set to take place as scheduled, according to the concert hall as of Sunday. Cho is set to embark on a national tour in South Korea starting on June 12 in Incheon and then moving through major cities including Seoul, Seongnam in Gyeonggi Province, Daegu, and Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province. On June 22, he will take the stage for the opening concert of the Busan Concert Hall to perform Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5, the 'Emperor,' with the Asia Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Chung Myung-whun.
Korea Herald
6 days ago
- Business
- Korea Herald
South Korea must brace for slow growth, invest in AI to survive, experts warn
A financial risk strategist and an AI scholar on Thursday warned that South Korea must brace for a prolonged low-growth era, urging businesses and individuals to prepare for structural changes in the economy — from the fragmentation of global trade to the explosive rise of artificial intelligence. Speaking at the Global Business Forum hosted by The Korea Herald in Seoul, Cho Bong-hyun, executive vice president of IBK Insurance, said Korea is entering a structural downturn that may resemble Japan's lost decades and warned that the country can no longer rely on past growth formulas to stay competitive. 'We are not just facing a cyclical slowdown,' he said. 'We are entering a new normal of low growth, and it will be long-term.' Cho pointed to persistent inflation in the US, the likelihood of extended high interest rates and a slowing Chinese economy as external risks. But he emphasized Korea's internal vulnerabilities as even more urgent. 'Domestic demand is weak, household debt remains high and the housing market is unlikely to rebound even with monetary easing,' he said. 'Asset prices are entering a correction phase.' On the structural front, Cho highlighted the looming demographic crisis. "Starting in 2025, Korea will see a steep decline in its working-age population. This will shake the foundations of our pension, labor and financial systems,' he said. 'It may sound pessimistic,' Cho added, 'but preparing for the worst-case scenario is wiser than clinging to outdated assumptions.' To respond to these complex transitions, Cho urged Korean businesses to embrace what he called 'dynamic balancing,' the ability to alternate between outward expansion and internal consolidation depending on global and domestic conditions. 'Now is not the time for blind expansion or excessive risk aversion,' he said. 'We need companies to be nimble, and capable of both advancing outward and consolidating inward, depending on shifting conditions.' Yet flexibility alone, he said, is not enough. 'In a time of low growth, innovation isn't just a choice. It's the only way forward.' Meanwhile, Choi Jae-boong, a mechanical engineering professor at Sungkyunkwan University, said the next three years would be decisive for Korea's future in AI. 'AI development is accelerating like a revolution,' Choi said. 'After three years, the pace will slow. You must act now.' He cited the explosive growth of US-based AI firms, noting that the combined market capitalization of the top seven US AI companies surged from $13 trillion in 2024 to over $17 trillion in 2025. 'In contrast, Korea's largest company is worth only $400 billion,' he said. 'We must ask ourselves — are we part of the future or not?' Still, Choi said Korea has a unique strength: its world-class hardware and manufacturing capabilities. He pointed to Samsung Electronics and SK hynix as key suppliers of high-bandwidth memory chips used in AI training, including models such as ChatGPT. 'These firms are already powering the AI engines of today,' he said. 'No AI runs without hardware, and that hardware often starts in Korea.' He added that while countries like China may have scale, they lack the geopolitical trust necessary to be a reliable partner in global supply chains. 'The US needs partners who are both technologically capable and politically aligned. Korea fits both criteria,' Choi said. To seize that opportunity, Choi emphasized, Korea must escape its bureaucratic mindset. 'Too often, innovation is paralyzed by questions like: 'Who will take responsibility if it fails?'' he said. 'But while we hesitate, others are already building.'
USA Today
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
John Cho's cheesy Captain has space fling in 'Murderboat' soap opera 'Sanctuary Moon'
John Cho's cheesy Captain has space fling in 'Murderboat' soap opera 'Sanctuary Moon' 'The Rise & Fall of Sanctuary Moon' is the bad show within Apple TV+ series 'Murderbot' Show Caption Hide Caption 'Murderbot' has John Cho, Clark Gregg, DeWanda Wise: 'Sanctuary Moon' John Cho, DeWanda Wise, Jack McBrayer and Clark Gregg star in "Rise & Fall of Sanctuary Moon," the cheesy show within Apple TV+ series "Murderbot." There were a few caveats to the swaggering starship captain role offered to John Cho, who played Starfleet officer Hikaru Sulu in three "Star Trek" movies. First, Cho's captain would appear in "The Rise & Fall of Sanctuary Moon," an over-the-top sci-fi soap opera that takes place entirely within the Apple TV+ action comedy series "Murderbot" (new episode streaming May 23). The tawdry soap is the favorite show consumed by the titular trash-TV-loving security robot, Murderbot (Alexander Skarsgård). Second, he would lead a ridiculous crew, including a wildly wigged Navigation Officer (Jack McBrayer) and an insanely mutton-chopped Lieutenant (Clark Gregg) who accuses his leader of sleeping with an iridescent Navigation Unit (DeWanda Wise). Still, Cho was compelled to board the project with his longtime "American Pie" collaborators Chris and Paul Weitz. "It was framed like I would be the captain in a soap opera that Murderbot is obsessed with," says Cho. "I said, 'It's just so stupid, I have to do it.' Stupid is one of my highest compliments, by the way." Alexander Skarsgård's 'Murderbot' role Full body waxing was a 'completely stupid choice' in preparation Stupid is what Cho boldly does in "Sanctuary Moon," after joining his new crew on the Toronto "Murderbot" set to shoot the separate drama. Wise, who starred in "Fatherhood" with the Weitz brothers, brought her soap opera love and obsession of shows-within-shows to play the mysterious Navigation Unit. "My 'Sanctuary Moon' joke was, 'I'm still a lead character, right? I'm just a lead character in this show within the show,' " says Wise. Wise planned to go campy full-robot for the mysterious bot character. But the "She's Gotta Have It" star found out that she would be uttering lines like, "I'm a navigation unit, not a sex-bot" with a sense of forlornness. "They were like, 'We're gonna play it for real and sincerely, with sprinkles of comedy,'" says Wise, who tried to keep a straight face during interstellar emoting. "All of these guys are so funny that 89% of the job was not ruining the take by laughing. It was like, don't be the one." The space soap opera is mentioned in the source material, Martha Wells' popular sci-fi series "The Murderbot Diaries," But "Murderbot" creators fleshed the concept out for a twisted multi-episode space adventure that veers immediately off-kilter with the affair accusation. The madness continues to spin out of control in further "Sanctuary Moon" episodes throughout the "Murderbot" series. It turns out the rakish Captain can spout inspirational lines like "Boldness is on!" and enjoy cocktails later, not to mention partaking in an anti-regulation affair. Cho insisted on eyeliner, and that's his own hair. "There was spray, there was gook, it got volumnized," says Cho. "They went big." But not as big as the performance. "We weren't asking John to act badly," says executive producer Paul Weitz. "We just asked him to emote beyond the realms of what most people think is good. And he did that very well." Skarsgård insisted that his longtime friend McBrayer take the project. "Yeah, that's my fault," the Swedish actor admits. "We thought it would be fun." McBrayer gamely agreed to don the "birds nest of a wig" on the multi-colored set he says "looks like a confetti cannon threw up." He let the proposed idea of adding a face tattoo die for practicality's sake (too long in the makeup chair). The "30 Rock" actor appreciated how soap opera impacts Murderbot, who begins saying lines like "Boldness is on!" "Murderbot absorbs the ridiculous 'Sanctuary Moon' dialog and interactions and incorporates them," says McBrayer. "Just like people are learning how to behave based on TikTok trends." Cho, who insists his "Star Trek" movie captain Chris Pine is "most likely blissfully unaware" of his project, loved the fromage fest. He's not just hoping for a "Murderbot" Season 2 and more episodes (which Apple has not greenlit yet). Cho wants a full-on "Sanctuary Moon" show. "My wife tells me that I have a real soft spot for performances that other people call cheesy," says Cho. "From Day 1, I kept telling the Weitzs to please let me do this show somewhere. That was just too much fun."
