SPOTLIGHT

• Technology

  

  How much economic impact has Google’s Android OS had in Korea?

  By Sohn Ji-young

  South Korea is one of the world’s most wired countries where close to 90 percent of the population owns a smartphone, with a large number of them made by the country’s tech giant Samsung Electronics. As Samsung’s devices run on Google’s Android operating system, the open source software has undoubtedly had a significant impact on Korea’s digital economy. The question is -- exactly how much economic value has it really generated for local businesses and users?　Google Korea has sought to answer th

• Social affairs

  

  Fight over woman results in attempted murder charge

  By Kim Min-joo

  A 53-year old man has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly assaulting another man who had been drinking with his girlfriend.Samsan Police Station in Incheon said early Tuesday that an arrest warrant has been requested for the suspect on charges of attempted murder.On Sunday, the suspect allegedly broke into his girlfriend’s house after she told him on the phone that she was drinking with another man. The other man, when put on the phone with the woman’s boyfriend, allegedly said, “

• Music

  

  ‘TVXQ Week’ heralds phase 2 of duo’s career

  By Yoon Min-sik

  They’re back.Having started off as teenage heart-throbs before blossoming into artists of international fame, the duo of U-Know Yunho and Max Changmin appeared before the public as TVXQ on Monday, the first time since being discharged from the military.“We’ve been introduced as ‘K-pop kings, and I’m really starting to feel the weight of such an expression. I’m happy to be back and to be able to greet you all as TVXQ,” U-Know Yunho said at a press conference held at Hotel Shilla in Seoul on Monda

• Industry

  

  Sanitary pads face safety checks after claims of health problems

  By Lim Jeong-yeo

  A range of South Korean female sanitary pads is to undergo a government safety inspection as users raised claims Sunday of hormonal disruption after using the product.Users of Lilian pads have raised claims online that their periods were ending faster than before and with less amount of blood. An anonymous user who claimed to have used the Lilian pads for over a year said her vaginitis had worsened during the time. Promotional image for Lilian sanitary padsTaking note of the spread of negative f

LATEST NEWS

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  Defense

  Remains found on US warship that collided off Singapore: US Navy

  Divers searching for 10 missing sailors on a US destroyer that collided with a tanker off Singapore have found human remains, the commander of the US Pacific Fleet said Tuesday.   The US Navy has announced a fleet-wide global investigation following the latest deadly warship collision, the second in two months.   "The divers were able to locate some remains in those sealed compartments during their search today," Admiral Scott Swift told reporters, referring to a search by divers of compartments

• 

  Economy

  S. Korea says no agreement reached with U.S. on possible

  South Korea and the United States reached no agreement on possible amendments to their free trade pact, Seoul's top negotiator said Tuesday.   The U.S. demanded that Seoul and Washington quickly begin negotiations on amending the free trade agreement (FTA), citing a spike in its goods trade deficit with South Korea after the pact went into effect, Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong said.   Still, South Korea did not agree with the unilateral U.S. proposal, Kim said, noting any decision should be made

• 

  Automode

  New GM Korea head to meet with labor union

  Kaher Kazem, the newly appointed CEO of GM Korea, met with unionized workers of the company ahead of his inauguration next week, the company said Tuesday. At the meeting, the new local head is expected to ask the labor union for cooperation in improving the company’s competitiveness.Kazem will head GM India until the end of this month. He will begin his post as the new CEO of the Korean unit on Sept. 1, following James Kim.“The new CEO is currently going back and forth between India and Korea to

• 

  North Korea

  Diplomacy is “stronger, powerful” to resolve standoff with NK: US Pacific Commander

  The top US military commander in the Asia-Pacific region said Tuesday that the diplomatic approach is the “stronger and more powerful” means to resolve the standoff with North Korea, adding such efforts should be backed by credible military capability. “Diplomatic maneuver has to be applied first and diplomacy is stronger, effective and more powerful if it is backed by credible military power,” said Adm. Harry Harris, commander of the US Pacific Command, during a press conference at Osan Air Bas

• 

  Social affairs

  Gangnam murderer ordered to pay W50m to victim‘s family

  A Seoul court on Tuesday ordered a man who was convicted of murdering a young woman last year at a public bathroom near Gangnam Station in Seoul to compensate her bereaved family for their mental and physical distress.  Mourners march in tribute to the 23-year-old victim killed at a uni-sex public bathroom near Gangman Station last year during a memorial event held in Gangnam, southern Seoul, in May.(Yonhap)The Suwon District Court’s Seongnam branch ruled that the 35-year-old man, surnamed Kim,

• 

  Finance

  Finance Minister vows to keep nation’s debt under W700tr

  South Korea’s top fiscal policymaker said in parliament on Tuesday that the government would keep the annual government debt under 700 trillion won ($616.7 billion) in 2017, amid concerns over rising government expenditure. Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon (right) sits in a parliamentary budget committee meeting Tuesday. (Yonhap)In a meeting of the National Assembly’s Special Committee on Budget & Accounts, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs a

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  Technology

  Samsung invests W5 bn in Cyworld

  Samsung Electronics reportedly invested 5 billion won ($4.4 million) in South Korea’s first-generation social networking service Cyworld as part of efforts to enhance its artificial intelligence business, according to the company on Tuesday.The company confirmed Samsung Venture Investment Corporation, an affiliate on startup investment, recently made an investment in Cyworld, although it declined to reveal the exact amount of the investment.   Screenshot of Cyworld twitter pageAccording to media

• 

  Automode

  Carmakers say industry backtracking on labor dispute

  South Korea‘s auto industry has been backtracking on high cost and low productivity triggered by continuing labor disputes, CEOs of carmakers and partmakers said Tuesday.At a seminar held by Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association, the profit structure of the industry has been deteriorating due to rising labor costs despite the country suffers from declining auto production and exports. The escalating tension between the management and the labor over pay raises has made not only Korean carmak

• 

  Automode

  SsangYong Motor’s Rexton Trans-Eurasia Trail team travels Silk Road

  ON SILKROAD -- A team of SsangYong Motor’s Rexton Trans-Eurasia Trail team travel parts of the Silk Road in eastern China that links Asia and Europe. Kicking off from Beijing on Aug. 11, the team is set to travel 18 cities in seven countries all the way to Europe, or about 10,000 kilometers, before its European debut in Frankfurt on Sept. 12. (SsangYong Motor)

• 

  National

  South Korean egg scandal

  　Only about 10 percent of eggs, or 4.5 million, subject to recall for possible contamination with harmful pesticides have been seized by the authorities as of Tuesday, officials said, suggesting that the majority of them may have already been bought or consumed. 　A total of 52 poultry farms in South Korea were found to have used insecticides not permitted for poultry farming, including fipronil, in a nationwide examination conducted between Aug. 15 -18. All eggs produced from July 1, estimated t

GRAPHIC NEWS

OPINION

• Columnists

  

  Declaration of independence from Confucianism

  By Kim Seong-kon

  Recently, I read the controversial book “Confucius Must Die for This Nation to Live” by Professor Kim Kyung-il. The book is a de-facto declaration of independence from Confucianism, which has been the predominant and prevalent philosophy in Korean society for the past 600 years. In the book, the author strongly asserts that all social evils and chronic problems in Korean society stem from Confucianism. According to Kim, both China and Japan abandoned Confucianism a long time ago, but Korea unwis

• Columnists

  

  Peaceful, but not peaceful march

  By Lee Jae-min

  The June 24 incident should have never happened. This is the type of thing that wouldn’t happen in a country of law and order -- much less in a globalized metropolitan city like Seoul. Roughly 3,000 demonstrators “encircled” the US embassy in downtown Seoul marching with shouts and fist-raising, cutting off passage from the diplomatic compound to main streets. Demonstrations are part of daily life in Seoul, but such encircling (with the euphemism of “Human Belt”) has never happened in Seoul. Nor

THE INVESTOR

• Retail & Consumer

  

  IQOS hands-on: Heat, instead of burn

  [THE INVESTOR] Editor’s note -- A few of us at The Investor tried out Philip Morris’ IQOS smokeless cigarettes. Here’s a product review. First of all, what is IQOS, or I Quit Ordinary Smoking? For those who don’t know, the device consists of a charger, a holder and of course, cigarettes. The holder goes into the charger, and when it’s ready to go, you stick specially designed cigarettes called “heets” or “heatsticks” into the end of the holder. After that, it’s the same as smoking a normal cigar

• Bio & Medicine

  

  Celltrion could attract W300b with KOSPI relisting

  [THE INVESTOR]  Celltrion could attract 300 billion won (US$264 million) of fresh investment if it shifts from secondary bourse KOSDAQ to the benchmark KOSPI, a local securities firm said on Aug. 22.The possible KOSPI transfer will enable the biotech firm to join the KOSPI 200 Index, a capitalization-weighted index of 200 Korean stocks, offering access to passive index tracker funds and exposing it to more active stock pickers. “Celltrion’s KOSPI relisting is a matter of time because there seem

• Automobiles

  

  FTC chief urges Hyundai to tackle governance structure

  [THE INVESTOR] Korea’s new antitrust chief said he has been discussing with Hyundai Motor Group to revamp its complex governance structure, calling it a risk for Korea’s largest auto group. In a recent interview with Reuters, Korea Fair Trade Commission Chairman Kim Sang-jo said the family-owned Hyundai’s cross-shareholding structure -- headed by Chairman Chung Mong-koo -- has caused a “big governance risk” for Hyundai, urging the firm to resolve the issue as soon as possible. “Many people, incl

• Samsung

  

  Samsung Galaxy Note 8 ditches ATL batteries

  [ET NEWS] Samsung Electronics has decided to ditch batteries from its long-time Chinese partner ATL for its flagship phones following the massive recall of the fire-prone Galaxy Note 7 last year, according to industry sources on Aug. 21. The upcoming Note 8 that will be unveiled this week in New York uses 3,300mAh batteries produced by Samsung SDI and Japan’s Murata Manufacturing. Batteries of the Note 7 phones are tested at a Samsung lab.This is the second time that Samsung is ditching ATL batt

K-POP HERALD

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  EXO to hold Gocheok dome concert again

• 

  Song-Song couple presents to DOTS co-star

• 

  Park Seo-joon exudes charisma

HERALD INTERVIEW

• Film

  

  Actor Jang Dong-gun once thought himself unattractive

• Technology

  

  Neofect eyes global lead in smart rehabilitation device market

• Culture

  

  Jung Saem-mool explains what goes into flawless K-beauty

• Social affairs

  

  Korea should open door to immigrants, but with well-advised policy

PHOTO NEWS

• Culture

  

  Lotus flower, miracle of unwavering purity

  By Korea Herald

  Nothing is more divine than this immaculate and pure flower. Gazing into its large colorful blossoms that rise high above broad green leaves, you’ll be drawn to their blithely beautiful figures, and even find yourself unburdened from worldly cares. The lotus, which comes to its beautiful full bloom in the summer, is a flower that defies logic. With its roots deep in the murky pool, the flower slowly emerges toward the surface and bursts out of the water to reveal its fragrant petals, bearing no

VIDEO

• Social affairs

  

  Campaign on to spread basic floating skills, curb drowning deaths

• Social affairs

  

  Coin-op game arcades struggle to find appeal beyond nostalgia

• Social affairs

  

  Gay pride parade in Seoul draws record number

• More sports

  

  Stephen Curry thrills fans, hosts youth clinic on Korea trip

FEATURES

• Finance

  

  Banks sway between recruitment and downsizing

  By Bae Hyun-jung

  Major banks are holding off their second-half employment notice, pressed between their financial need for downsizing and the Moon Jae-in administration‘s drive for job creation.While the central bank and a partially state-controlled bank vowed to expand recruitment, most commercial banks prolonged their ambiguous silence, apparently reluctant to make pre-emptive moves.The Bank of Korea said Tuesday that it will hire 70 new employees in the latter half of the year, increasing its recruitment by s

• Social affairs

  

  Human rights watchdog examines care facilities for signs of abuse

  By Bak Se-hwan

  The National Human Rights Commission of Korea announced Monday that it will release human rights abuse data from local care facilities that serve people with physical and mental disabilities.(Yonhap)In a joint national survey conducted by the watchdog and three activist groups, some 292 care facilities users nationwide have been interviewed since last month on whether they have experienced abuse. “The in-depth research is part of our effort to look into possible violations of human rights among

• Music

  

  DJ duo Garenz hopes to fill clubs with own music

  By Hong Dam-young

  The Korea Herald is introducing Korean singers, musicians and actors poised to join the next wave of top stars in a twice monthly series. -- Ed.

• Politics

  

  Political parties experience internal frictions in push for reform

  By Jo He-rim

  Three months into the new Moon Jae-in administration, political parties across the aisle are experiencing internal friction as they push for reforms before local elections slated for June next year. Ruling Democratic Party of Korea lawmakers are divided over their chairwoman’s plan to establish a committee to improve the party, and change nomination rules for the local elections.Rep. Choo Mi-ae, the party leader, said current party regulations should be changed to allow the nominations of new fi