SPOTLIGHT

• Social affairs

  

  Writer fined for tricking people into LGBT donations plans appeal

  Writer Eun Ha-sun speaks about her intention behind Facebook post with telephone number that misled people to donate toward LGBT causes

• Music

  

  ‘Produce 101’ star Jeon Somi to debut solo under YG subsidiary

  Jeon Somi, a winner of season one of the talent competition show “Produce 101,” will embark on a solo career in March 2019. (Mnet)Jeon debuted with the yearlong project group I.O.I following the season finale in April 2016. Comprising contenders who finished within the top 11, I.O.I enjoyed success, winning three new artist of the year awards at three of the major music awards at home: Golden Disc, Mnet Asian Music Awards and Seoul Music Awards.Previously signed with JYP Entertainment, Jeon did

• Social affairs

  

  Seoul to subsidize embedded chips for pets starting next year

  Microchip registration for pets will be available for 10,000 won at around 900 veterinary clinics in Seoul starting next year. Seoul City said Wednesday that it will provide subsidies for embedding microchips into companion animals, which usually costs between 45,000 won and 70,000. (Yonhap)The animal registration system designates serial numbers to companion animals. Microchips are then embedded into the pets, or owners receive collar-like external microchips that contain their information, so

• Film

  

  ‘Take Point’ delves into story of privatized military

  From James Cameron’s “Avatar” to “Ready Player One,” soldier of fortune characters have made frequent appearances in Hollywood blockbusters. But rarely does one become the subject of a Korean film.The upcoming action thriller “Take Point,” directed by Kim Byung-woo, features a pack of mercenaries operating within an international military corporation, working on an enormous project with potentially catastrophic ramifications.“When we think of combat action, we often think of soldiers. I wanted a

LATEST NEWS

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  World

  World wine output rises 13% after disastrous year

  　Global wine production rose 13 percent this year after a catastrophic 2017 marked by heat waves, early frost and hailstorms, the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) said.　The OIV estimated production at 279 million hectoliters this year, calling it one of the highest yields since 2000.　Following a congress in Punta del Este in Uruguay, the OIV said Italy was the world's top producer with 48.5 million hectoliters, followed by France with 46.4 million and Spain with 40.9 million.　Th

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  Foreign Policy

  Russian ship under US sanction yet to leave S. Korea: ministry

  A Russian-flagged vessel slapped with US sanctions against North Korea has yet to leave a South Korean port, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.  (Yonhap)The ministry’s response came following a Radio Free Asia report that the Russian ship Sevastopol had re-entered the port of Busan, based on its location shown by vessel tracking service Marine Traffic. “The ship did not re-enter the South Korean port. It has yet to leave the port for its own reasons,” a ministry official said. The South Ko

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  Industry

  Mirae Asset qualifies as private equity operator in China

  Mirae Asset Global Investments has become the first South Korean asset management company to qualify as a private equity fund operator in China, officials said Wednesday. Mirae Asset Global Investments websiteMirae Asset Overseas Investment Fund Management Shanghai, the Chinese office of Mirae Asset Global Investment, has registered with the Asset Management Association of China as a private fund management wholly foreign-owned enterprise.The Korean company became the 16th overseas financial com

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  Social affairs

  3 of 10 Koreans have experienced workplace bullying: survey

  Three out of 10 South Korean laborers have experienced sustained abuse at work, according to a survey conducted by a nationwide network of labor unions.In revealing the results at a press conference outside the National Assembly, the network of unions urged legal action to prevent workplace bullying. Labor activists protest in front of the National Assembly on Wednesday, demanding changes to the Labor Standards Act to address workplace bullying. (Yonhap)In the survey, which involved 1,078 adult

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  Theater

  Making Stravinsky visible

  Three choreographers take three Stravinsky pieces, bring them to life in movement

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  North Korea

  Koreas to hold meeting to discuss improving direct communications lines

  South and North Korea will hold a working-level meeting later this week to discuss ways to modernize underground cables set up across their border for direct phone and other communication lines, the unification ministry said Wednesday.The meeting, set for Friday at the joint liaison office in the North's border town of Kaesong, will focus on cooperation in replacing the current copper communications cables with fiber-optic cables, the ministry said. (Yonhap)Chung Chang-rim, a senior communicatio

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  Social affairs

  Over 400 teachers, staff disciplined for DUI in last 3 years in Gyeonggi Province

  Over 400 Gyeonggi Province teachers and school staff were disciplined for drunken driving in the last three years, according to a report from the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education.The report on the status of civil servants disciplined for driving under the influence showed that a total of 406 school teachers and staff in the province faced disciplinary action between 2016 and 2018 for drunk driving, for causing drunk driving accdents or refusing to take a breathalyzer test.  (Yonhap)An ele

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  Finance

  Chief financial regulator urges for more risk-bearing IPOs

  Financial Services Commission Chairman Choi Jong-ku said Wednesday more risk-bearing initial public offerings in the Korean stock bourse are prerequisites for a breakthrough in the growth of Korean companies, calling it an “elemental role of the capital market.”“Ordinary companies draw investments through a cooperation between banks and a capital market,” Choi said in a meeting with representatives of Korean securities firms. “Startups and budding venture companies are bearing risks, and the cap

• 

  Economy

  Moon’s policy weakens labor elasticity

  The Moon Jae-in administration’s misguided employment policy has precipitated the weakening of the Korean economy’s ability to create new jobs, experts say.According to the Bank of Korea, the country’s employment elasticity, which is calculated by dividing the rate of increase in the number of employees by the economic growth rate, is estimated to fall to a nine-year low of 0.11 this year. The higher the figure is, the more jobs are added by economic output.The central bank recently forecast tha

• Editorial

  Don’t politicize courts

  Judges effectively asking parliament to impeach their colleagues

GRAPHIC NEWS

OPINION

• Columnists

  

  Surge of woman politicians in post-Park Korea

  The end of the line for Park Geun-hye, the first and only woman president of South Korea, was feared to have a restraining effect on female politics for some time. Yet, new possibilities are seen for a surge of female politicians, with some new faces drawing the spotlight in the administration and legislature with remarkable individual talent and prowess.Female voices rise in our society amid the increasingly combative atmosphere of the #MeToo movement. Or conversely, women’s growing self-confid

• Columnists

  

  Russia, Japan could finally end WWII

  For decades, every sign Russia and Japan had made progress in talks on disputed territories and a post-World War II peace treaty turned out to be a false alarm. This time may be different: Both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe need a deal more than their predecessors did.Putin and Abe met in Singapore last week and agreed to speed up talks on a peace treaty their two countries negotiated after World War II but the Soviet Union refused to sign. The talks wil

THE INVESTOR

• Retail & Consumer

  

  Coupang secures US$2b from SoftBank

  Korean e-commerce giant Coupang said on Nov. 21 it has secured additional funds of US$2 billion from SoftBank Group. It had earlier received funding of US$1 billion from the Japanese conglomerate in 2015. The latest investment has been made by affiliate SoftBank Investment Advisers that funds “growing businesses run by disruptive innovators.” SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son(left) and Coupang CEO Kim Bom“The vision and leadership of Coupang CEO Kim Bom has made the company one of the mo

• Startups & Investors

  

  The Investor’s Choice 2018 to crown top startups on Nov. 28

  The Investor’s Choice 2018, an awards ceremony focused on promising startups hosted by The Korea Herald’s investment news platform The Investor, will be held on Nov. 28.The one-day event aims to celebrate startups that have demonstrated the highest level of innovation this year and seeks to encourage open discussions about startups that are breaking new ground here. The ceremony will kick off with opening remarks by Herald Corp. Chairman Jungwook Hong. Fleur Pellerin, co-founder a

• Startups & Investors

  

  [INTERVIEW] Plug and Play to nurture next unicorn in China through corporate matchmaking

  HANGZHOU, China -- When it comes to China’s booming fintech scene, the four tech titans Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent and JD.com -- known as BATJ -- dominate the industry. The widely adopted QR code-based mobile payment services by Alibaba-backed Alipay and Tencent-owned WeChat Pay are driving China to a cashless society, while e-commerce giant JD.com’s spin-off JD Finance provides consumer credit and wealth management services. China’s biggest search engine Baidu has also launched its

• Finance

  

  Mirae Asset bags fund manager license in China

  Korea’s Mirae Asset Management said on Nov. 21 it has acquired a wholly foreign-owned enterprise license in China, stepping up its efforts to make a foray in the world’s second-largest economy. The firm said its WFOE is registered as a private fund manager with the Asset Management Association of China, the local self-regulating body. It is the 16th foreign company to obtain the license and the first Korean company to be registered as a PEF manager. China opened up its funds marke

K-POP HERALD

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  Microdot apologizes for parents

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  ‘Twice Land’ to be released on Dec. 7

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  ‘K-pop graduate school’ opens its doors

HERALD INTERVIEW

• Television

  

  How Blair Williams ended up hosting family on South Korean TV

• Industry

  

  TMON envisions creating ‘online malling’ experience

• Foreign Policy

  

  ASEAN important for Korea’s peace as well as prosperity: ambassador

• Diplomatic Circuit

  

  Tapping Korean experience to tackle world’s development challenges

PHOTO NEWS

• Theater

  

  Making Stravinsky visible

  Three choreographers take three Stravinsky pieces, bring them to life in movement

VIDEO

• Education

  

  As flights stop, Korean students take Suneung test

• Technology

  

  Meet 'Faker': Korean League of Legends talent extraordinaire

• Television

  

  K-pop stars rock red carpet looks at 2018 MGA

• Music

  

  BTS on red carpet at 2018 MGA

FEATURES

• Economy

  

  Moon’s policy weakens labor elasticity

  The Moon Jae-in administration’s misguided employment policy has precipitated the weakening of the Korean economy’s ability to create new jobs, experts say.According to the Bank of Korea, the country’s employment elasticity, which is calculated by dividing the rate of increase in the number of employees by the economic growth rate, is estimated to fall to a nine-year low of 0.11 this year. The higher the figure is, the more jobs are added by economic output.The central bank recently forecast tha

• Finance

  

  Chief financial regulator urges for more risk-bearing IPOs

  Financial Services Commission Chairman Choi Jong-ku said Wednesday more risk-bearing initial public offerings in the Korean stock bourse are prerequisites for a breakthrough in the growth of Korean companies, calling it an “elemental role of the capital market.”“Ordinary companies draw investments through a cooperation between banks and a capital market,” Choi said in a meeting with representatives of Korean securities firms. “Startups and budding venture companies are bearing risks, and the cap

• Economy

  

  Global economy will slow down further in 2019: think tank

  KIEP forecasts 3.5 percent growth for world economy next year

• North Korea

  

  North Korean state media denounces S. Korea’s military procurement program

  　North Korea on Tuesday ratcheted up its criticism of South Korea’s military procurement projects and a recent joint exercise it undertook with the US Marines, but struck a different tone on Iran’s efforts to expand its military capabilities. 　In an editorial titled “Unjustifiable move,” the state-run Rodong Sinmun denounced the South Korean military, saying the South had damaged the inter-Korean detente by purchasing an air-refueling tanker and surface-to-air missiles and by holding a joint exe