SPOTLIGHT

• Social affairs

  

  Insect found inside IV fluid bag given to 5-month-old

  Health authorities are investigating an intravenous fluid bag with an insect inside that was found at a hospital in Seoul on Sunday while being administered to a five-month-old child. Parents of the infant, who was hospitalized for urinary stone treatment at Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital in western Seoul, found what appears to be a tiny insect floating inside the plastic bag connected to the child, at around 8 p.m. Sunday. It was about 14 hours after the young patient began receiving f

• Finance

  

  S. Korea to assure credibility of economy during NY summit

  Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon set to meet with foreign investors in New York amid heightend tensions over North Korea threats.

• Industry

  

  Hanjin Group chief grilled by police

  Hanjin Group’s chief executive was questioned by police Tuesday regarding allegations that he used company funds to renovate his private home.Cho Yang-ho, who heads the group that runs Korean Air, appeared at the National Police Agency for questioning. He told reporters before the session that he would “fully cooperate with the investigation.” Cho Yang-ho, Hanjin Group’s chief executive, appears for questioning at the National Police Agency in Seoul on Tuesday. (Yonhap)Cho is suspected of using

• Industry

  

  Avocado imports increase dramatically in South Korea

  South Korea’s imports of avocados have dramatically increased in recent years, riding on the surging popularity of the fruit for its versatility in cooking and health benefits, industry data showed Tuesday.According to data compiled by the Korea Customs Service, the amount of avocados imported last year reached 2,915 tons, a sixfold surge compared to 457 tons in 2010.  (123RF)The figure is expected to reach almost 5,000 tons by the end this year, the data also showed. Korean retail giant Lotte M

LATEST NEWS

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  Industry

  Diageo Korea to roll out special whisky packages for Chuseok

  Diageo Korea said Tuesday it would offer specially packaged versions of its whisky brands in celebration of the upcoming Chuseok holiday.The company’s 20 kinds of whisky including Johnnie Walker, Windsor and Bell will be gift packaged and some will come with promotional cups. The recently relaunched Johnnie Walker Aged 18 Years will also be introduced to Korea for the first time. The 18-year-old whisky is priced at 129,000 won ($114) per 750-mililiter bottle. (Diageo Korea)There will also be a h

• 

  World News

  ‘The man who saved the world’ dies in Russia

  MOSCOW (AFP) - Stanislav Petrov, a Soviet military officer who is widely credited with helping prevent a nuclear war with the United States, has died aged 77, his son told AFP on Tuesday. Petrov, whose extraordinary story was told in a documentary titled “The Man Who Saved the World”, received several international awards, was honoured at the United Nations and met Hollywood superstars such as Robert De Niro and Matt Damon.Yet Petrov lived in a small town outside Moscow and died in relative obsc

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  Social affairs

  Korea to build control tower to manage renewable energy

  South Korea will establish a centralized “control tower” to manage its renewable energy policies and prepare backup facilities for solar and wind power plants for stable power supply, a government panel said Tuesday. The government plans to increase the ratio of renewable energy from the current 1.9 percent to 20 percent by 2030, with details on how to reach the target to be included in the energy road map to be announced within this year. For efficient management of energy demand and supply, th

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  Politics

  Lawmakers divided over establishing powerful corruption watchdog

  The National Assembly is divided over a proposal to establish a new investigation agency to watch over senior officials, amid concerns over its powerful authority. According to the proposal unveiled Monday, the new body would have precedence over the existing investigative arms, the prosecution and police. It would be able to hire 30 to 50 prosecutors and 50 to 70 investigators, which means the size of the new entity could grow to up to some 120 members at most. The three-year term agency chief

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  Automode

  Hyundai could become world’s No. 1 with FCA merger: report

  Market rumors are circulating that Hyundai Motor is looking to acquire the world’s seventh-largest auto manufacturer Fiat Chrysler Automobiles despite the automaker’s vehement denial. And a local analyst said Tuesday that Korea’s largest auto company would leap forward to become the world’s No. 1 if the deal goes through.Lee Jae-il, an analyst in charge of automobiles at Eugene Investment & Securities, said in a report that Hyundai Motor would benefit from the acquisition due to an expanded port

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  World

  Global hunger rises for first time in decade

  　Hunger is on the increase across the globe once again after a decade of declines, a UN report said.　Most of the world‘s hungry people are in Asia and Africa, with 520 million and 243 million, respectively. But proportionally Africa is hardest hit, with 20 percent of people not having enough food -- in Asia the ratio is 11.7 percent, according to the report.　Overall, the number of chronically hungry people rose to 815 million, or 11 percent of the world's population, in 2016. The figure represen

• 

  Foreign Affairs

  Korean leader to attend UN assembly, hold bilateral talks

  NEW YORK -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in is set for a series of bilateral talks with other global leaders in New York on Tuesday, following his participation in the opening of the UN General Assembly.The new South Korean leader will begin the second day of his four-day visit here with a meeting with International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach, in which he is widely expected to call for stepping up of joint efforts between his country and the IOC to ensure a successful 2018 Winter Oly

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  Arts&Design

  Syrian artists find ways to express war’s impact

  Seoul exhibition of shows artists overcoming obstacles to communicate with world

• Editorial

  China's two faces

  Beijing’s self-contradictory positions complicate N. Korea crisis

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  Film

  Busan film fest ticket sales to open next week

  Ticket sales for Korea’s largest film event, the Busan International Film Festival, will begin next week. Tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies will be available online at www.biff.kr at 6 p.m. on Sept. 26. They cost 20,000 won ($17.75) each. The opening and closing films this year are Korean director Shin Su-won’s “Glass Garden” and Taiwanese director Sylvia Chang’s “Love Education.” It is the first time both the festival’s opening and closing films are helmed by female directors. 　 A

GRAPHIC NEWS

OPINION

• Columnists

  

  Digital freedom and digital servitude

  The beauty of this glass rectangle is its ability to connect us to anyone, anywhere and anytime. It has freed us from the physical confinement of geographical space. The problem with this shining gadget is also its ubiquitous connectivity: it has freed others as well to reach us anytime and anywhere. The past 10 years of the smartphone, its cousin tablet and second cousin wrist band have brought about revolutionary changes in our lives. The connectivity has made virtually everything available at

• Columnists

  

  Vanishing Korean Diaspora and their writings

  Last week, I attended the third International Congress of Writers Writing in Korea held at Gyeongju under the auspices of the international P.E.N. Korea Centre. The conference, which brought together 50 writers from all over the world, including both Korean-heritage and non-heritage writers, turned out to be a huge success. At the meeting I met professor Kim Jong-hoe who is an expert on Korean Diaspora. Professor Kim has been traveling to many countries on behalf of Kyung Hee University to award

THE INVESTOR

• Bio & Medicine

  

  Samsung BioLogics overtakes Lonza in market cap

  Samsung BioLogics’ stock price has more than doubled since its market debut last November to take on the segment leader Switzerland’s Lonza in terms of market value.Stocks of the contract drug manufacturing arm of Samsung Group closed at 338,000 won (US$298.85) on Sept. 19, pushing its market capitalization above 22.36 trillion won. In comparison, Lonza’s market cap sits at 18.77 Swiss Franc (22.12 trillion won).The Korean CMO’s stocks have continued to rally as investors are bett

• Samsung

  

  Samsung Galaxy Note 8 sells 270,000 units on 1st weekend

  Tech giant Samsung Electronics’ latest flagship Galaxy Note 8 has been picking up traction with robust initial sales in Korea, industry data showed on Sept. 18.The nation’s three major mobile carriers -- SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus -- received 200,000 new subscribers for the Note 8 on Sept. 15 when the phone hit shelves, and 70,000 new subscribers the next day.Related:New iPhones fail to impress investors Samsung Note 9 will be foldable: mobile chiefThe combined 270,000 new s

• Deals

  

  Race heats up for SK Encar acquisition

  Four Korean private equity firms have joined the race to acquire SK Encar, SK Group’s used car business, according to news reports on Sept. 19. STIC Investment, Hahn & Company, Keistone Partners and Medici Investment reportedly submitted their bids for the deal. SK Holdings and Samil PricewaterhouseCoopers, the deal adviser, plan to shortlist bidders this week and give a month for due diligence. Related: SK to sell SK Encar in car-sharing pushThe deal price is expected to range fr

• Management

  

  Korean Air chief summoned on embezzlement charges

  Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Yang-ho appeared before police investigators on Sept. 19 to face questioning over his alleged misappropriation of company funds.Cho, who is also chairman of Korean Air, the nation's largest air carrier, showed up at the National Police Agency in Seoul as a criminal suspect facing possible charges of breach of trust. Cho Yang-hoHe refused to take any questions from reporters, only saying that he will “fully cooperate with the investigation.” Cho, 68, is su

K-POP HERALD

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  BTS breaks record, topping 73 iTunes charts

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  Song Joong-ki’s fans make donation

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  Kim Jae-joong to become photographer

HERALD INTERVIEW

• Industry

  

  ‘Samsung wants to bring idea of Silicon Valley project to Korea’

• Film

  

  Empathy without exploitation

• Economy

  

  ‘Forests are Korea’s largest resource’: minister

• Social affairs

  

  Rohingya in Korea calls for more pressure on Myanmar

PHOTO NEWS

• Culture

  

  Cosmos in full bloom

  Visitors take in the view of a cosmos field in Guri, Gyeonggi Province, on Tuesday prior to the local festival’s opening. A yearly celebration of the season’s blooms, “Guri Cosmos Festival 2017” will take place for a three-day run from Friday.By Park Hyun-koo (phko@heraldcorp.com)

VIDEO

• Defense

  

  Seoul carries out missile drill targeting NK’s nuclear sites

• Social affairs

  

  Cheonan-Nonsan Expressway collision results in 11 casualties

• Social affairs

  

  Extended Deoksugung Stonewall Walkway unveiled

• People

  

  Meet Korean Billy, the internet sensation of 2017

FEATURES

• Arts&Design

  

  Syrian artists find ways to express war’s impact

  Seoul exhibition of shows artists overcoming obstacles to communicate with world

• Social affairs

  

  Tension mounts over upcoming pro-LGBT event at Haeundae beach

  The first LGBT festival to take place in Busan this weekend is hiking up tensions between pro- and anti-LGBT groups, according to Haeundae Police on Tuesday.The possibility of clashes between the two groups is putting local police on high alert. The festival will start at 10 a.m. Saturday at Haeundae beach. There will also be a parade that begins at 4 p.m. and will go around adjacent areas before ending at Gunam-ro Culture Square, which leads back to the beachfront.                              

• Social affairs

  

  Four people found dead in suspected suicide pact

  Four people were found dead inside a guesthouse room near Gyeongpo lake in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, Tuesday. The four are suspected to have gassed themselves to death in a suicide pact as a nitrogen tank and plastic bags were found in the room.The men and women were initially found dead by the owner of the guesthouse who entered the room after the scheduled check-out time.The police are investigating how the four people, who have little in common in terms of age and place of residence, ended

• North Korea

  

  Misinterpreted Trump tweet causes online chaos amid NK tensions

  Cheong Wa Dae on Monday urged South Korean media outlets to be cautious in reporting matters that concern national security and North Korea, ahead of President Moon Jae-in’s departure for New York.Reports had misinterpreted US President Donald Trump’s tweet mocking the North Korean leader and the country’s fuel shortages. The tweet, however, was misinterpreted by some South Korean news organizations as being criticism of Moon’s hopes for closer economic cooperation among the South, the North and