SPOTLIGHT

• Social affairs

  

  High-profile spycam scandal fuels debate over protection of suspect’s identity

  Incident involving actress Shin Se-kyung and Apink’s Yoon Bo-mi fuels debate over spycam crimes and legal protection of suspect’s identity

• Industry

  

  Louis Vuitton the most-counterfeited foreign brand in S. Korea: report

  Louis Vuitton was the most frequently counterfeited foreign brand in South Korea over the past five years, a report showed on Saturday.According to data from the Korea Customs Service, government regulators uncovered imitation Louis Vuitton products valued at 183.1 billion won ($163.99 million) between 2014 and June this year, which is the largest value among counterfeited foreign luxury brands.  (Yonhap)The value assessment was in terms of genuine Louis Vuitton goods.Given that more than 41.1 b

• North Korea

  

  3 endearing moments of South Korean presidential couple on Paektusan

  The candid interactions between South Korea’s presidential couple of Moon Jae-in and Kim Jung-sook are endearing in every way, and what their impact would be on their North Korean counterparts Kim Jong-un and Ri Sol-ju one could only surmise. Moon and his wife don’t put on a stuffy show for the camera. Their open dialogue invites the general public to see them more as the friendly neighborhood couple than distant rulers of the nation. Here are three moments that drew attention:"Here, let me tidy

• North Korea

  

  Will Kim Jong-un go up Jeju Island’s Hallasan?

  South Korean President Moon Jae-in had his wish granted Thursday, when he went up Paektusan in North Korea. The question now is whether North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will go up the South’s tallest mountain during his expected trip to Seoul this year. Paektusan is the highest mountain in the North, at about 2,750 meters above sea level, while Hallasan is around 1,950 meters. Abundant folklore and legends involving mythical creatures revolve around both mountains Moon is an avid hiker, whose mou

LATEST NEWS

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  International

  After North Korea, Trump targets Iran with ‘maximum pressure’

  UNITED NATIONS (AFP) -- One year after mobilizing the international community against North Korea, Donald Trump is trying to force another arch enemy to the negotiating table by targeting Iran with a similar campaign of “maximum pressure.”　But if North Korea‘s leader Kim Jong Un has seen his standing with the US president transformed in the 12 months since Trump’s United Nations debut, theprospects of Hassan Rouhani undergoing a similar transformation appear far from clear.　In his debut speech b

• 

  International

  EU announces legal entity to maintain business with Iran

  The European Union said Monday it would set up a legal entity to preserve oil and other business with Iran, in a bid to evade US sanctions after President Donald Trump withdrew from a nuclear agreement.　(Yonhap)The European Union and Iran, along with Russia and China, said they were determined to “protect the freedom of their economic operators to pursue legitimate business with Iran” in a statement issued after high-level talks at the United Nations. (AFP)

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  Industry

  Samsung Electronics tipped to log record Q3 profits on solid

  Samsung Electronics Co. is expected to post a record operating profit of 17.2 trillion won (US$15.4 billion) in the third quarter, backed by firm demand for memory chips, market sources said Tuesday. 　The consensus by major brokerage firms marks an 18.5 percent on-year increase in the tech behemoth‘s profit for the July-September period. The revenue is forecast at 65.2 trillion won, up 5.1 percent from a year ago. 　The company is expected to release its third-quarter earnings preview next Friday

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  Music

  K-pop boy band BTS at UN

  K-pop boy band BTS at UNKorean pop singers BTS attend the UN Youth Strategy Conference at United Nations headquarters during the 73rd United Nations General Assembly in New York. (Yonhap)(AP-Yonhap)(AFP-Yonhap)(UPI-Yonhap) (Reuters-Yonhap)

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  Politics

  Ivanka invited by minister to visit Seoul again

  WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- US President Donald Trump's daughter and adviser, Ivanka, has been invited to visit South Korea a second time to promote the two countries' ties, a US spokesperson said Monday.The invitation was extended by South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, who, along with Ivanka Trump, is currently attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Ivanka Trump is greeted by President Moon Jae-in in New York on Monday. (Yonhap)"Given the positive reception @IvankaTrump

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  Politics

  Moon seeks int'l support for inter-Korean ties in meeting with UN chief

  NEW YORK (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in sought to rally international support for his efforts to denuclearize North Korea and improve his country's ties with the communist state Monday in a meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. "President Moon expressed gratitude to the UN secretary-general for expressing his support and urging international attention every time there is an important change in conditions on the Korean Peninsula, such as an inter-Korean summit, North

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  North Korea

  Moon, Trump discuss 'corresponding measures' for NK denucelarization

  NEW YORK (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US President Donald Trump on Monday discussed possible ways to reward North Korea for its denuclearization measures that will apparently include a second US-North Korea summit."The leaders agreed to continue communicating closely about corresponding measures," said Kim Eui-kyeom, a spokesman for South Korea's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae.US President Donald Trump speaks to the news media during a bilateral meeting with South Korean

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  Politics

  Moon’s approval rating surges after Pyongyang Summit

  President Moon Jae-in’s approval rating in South Korea has jumped into the 60 percent range since the recent inter-Korean Summit in Pyongyang with the North’s leader, Kim Jong-un. According to a local poll conducted by Realmeter on Monday, Moon’s approval rating was 61.9 percent, up 8.8 percentage points from a week earlier. The weekly surveys involved 2,507 adults and were carried out throughout the nation from Sept. 17 through Friday. (Yonhap)Only 32.3 percent of respondents answered that Moon

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  Social affairs

  Two BMW cars catch fire in S. Korea

  Two BMW diesel vehicles on the German automaker’s recall list have caught fire in less than two days in South Korea, authorities said Monday. A BMW 520d caught fire shortly before Monday noon while going up a hill in Pyeongchang, 180 kilometers east of Seoul, local police and fire authorities said.   (Yonhap)The fire was extinguished within 10 minutes and no casualties were reported as the driver and three other family members had escaped immediately, they noted.On Sunday, another BMW 520d caugh

• 

  North Korea

  Unification minister vows support for separated families

  South Korea’s unification minister said Monday the government will beef up efforts to reconnect families separated for decades since Korean War in various ways in the follow-up negotiations with North Korea. Cho Myung-gyon was speaking to a group of divided families who jointly celebrated the Chuseok holiday at Imjingak park in Paju, just south of the demilitarized zone separating two Koreas.  (Yonhap)“For both South and North Korea, the problem of divided families is an urgent task that can’t b

GRAPHIC NEWS

OPINION

• Columnists

  

  Israeli-Palestinian peace process is dead

  This month commemorates two pinnacles for the benign, naive superpower that was America, both involving our now-lost role as Middle East peacemaker. Forty years ago, President Jimmy Carter brokered the Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt; and 25 years ago, President Bill Clinton presided over the signing of the Oslo Accord between Israel and the Palestinians. As we looked this week at the old photographs of beaming American presidents grandly mediating between adversaries, what was happe

• Columnists

  

  Malaysia at 55

  Was it only 55 years ago when Malaysia was formed on Sept. 16, 1963?　On that day, I was super proud to witness at the parade ground in Jesselton (today Kota Kinabalu) the formation of an independent nation, joining Sabah and Sarawak with the 11 states of Malaya. One forgets easily today that it was a time of grave uncertainty, when the Philippines had a claim on North Borneo and Indonesian President Sukarno was actively against the idea of Malaysia.　At the middle age of 55 years, an individual c

THE INVESTOR

• Economy

  

  S. Korea’s economic uncertainty hits highest in 15 months: data

  The uncertainty concerning South Korea’s economic growth and economic policies reached the highest level in 15 months, global data showed Sunday.　According to the Economic Policy Uncertainty Index, Asia’s fourth-largest economy recorded 155.15 in July, the highest since 165.4 in April last year.　The global index, conducted on 20 key economies across the world, also reached the highest since March last year, standing at 227.77, data showed.　The index, developed by three US-based ec

• Retail & Consumer

  

  Market Kurly operator secures W67b investment

  Kurly, operator of popular grocery delivery service Market Kurly, on Sept. 20 announced that it has closed its Series C round having raised 67 billion won (US$60.03 million). “Our Series C round includes around 50 billion won from a consortium led by Sequoia Capital and DST Global,” a Kurly spokesperson told The Investor. The company added that it has also secured funds from investors who had invested in previous rounds, including SEMA Translink Investment and Korea Investment Par

• Samsung

  

  Samsung's cooktops get high scores from U.S. Consumer Report

  Samsung Electronics’ gas and induction electric cooktops received the highest scores from the U.S. Consumer Report, industry sources said on Sept. 23.Samsung's gas cooktops -- 30-inch and 36-inch models -- were picked as two of five top-performing models for this year, they said.The report lauded Samsung’s 30-inch NA30K7750TS/AA model an expensive but worth the price for its Wi-Fi-enabled connection with smartphones, as well as Bluetooth function. 　The 36-inch NA36K7750TG/AA model

• Samsung

  

  Two Samsung Group affiliates sell stake in Samsung C&T

  Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance and Samsung Electro-Mechanics have announced that they will sell their stake in Samsung C&T, a key group affiliate at the center of the conglomerate’s complex cross-shareholding structure. According to their regulatory filings on Sept. 20, Samsung Fire & Marine will sell its 1.37 percent stake for 328.5 billion won (US$294 million), while Samsung Electro-Mechanics will sell its 2.61 percent stake for 642.5 billion won.The move comes amid Samsung Gro

K-POP HERALD

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  BTS bids happy Chuseok in US

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  BTS gives a speech at UN

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  Jennie looks breathtaking in photo shoot

HERALD INTERVIEW

• Arts&Design

  

  Decorating a home, suggesting a lifestyle

• Foreign Policy

  

  ‘Denuclearization efforts on peninsula opportunity for nuclear free world’

• Diplomatic Circuit

  

  Le Havre, an ideal partner in maritime industry, public decentralization

• Technology

  

  Bluehole charms global audience with mobile strategy game ‘Castle Burn’

PHOTO NEWS

• Music

  

  (Photo News) K-pop boy band BTS at UN

  K-pop boy band BTS at UNKorean pop singers BTS attend the UN Youth Strategy Conference at United Nations headquarters during the 73rd United Nations General Assembly in New York. (Yonhap)(AP-Yonhap)(AFP-Yonhap)(UPI-Yonhap) (Reuters-Yonhap)

VIDEO

• Industry

  

  Lee Jae-yong’s lip balm ‘closed’ before camera

• North Korea

  

  Kim vows to visit Seoul, dismantle nuke, missile sites

• North Korea

  

  Moon Jae-in attends mass games in Pyongyang

• North Korea

  

  Moon enthusiastically received in Pyongyang

FEATURES

• Industry

  

  US FDA delays approval of GC Pharma’s IVIG-SN again

  South Korean biopharma company GC Pharma said Friday that the US Food and Drug Administration has delayed the approval of the firm’s immunodeficiency drug IVIG-SN, demanding additional data related to the drug’s manufacturing procedures.The company had initially expected the US FDA to grant final approval for IVIG-SN, short for human normal immunoglobulin G for intravenous administration, this month.The company noted that the drug’s safety and efficacy are solid, as the product is already being

• Industry

  

  Korea permits 2-year regulatory sandbox period for novel ICT innovation

  The National Assembly on Thursday passed a bill that grants a regulatory sandbox for new businesses in the information and communication technology sector, a development that is expected to speed up the adoption and commercialization of next-generation technologies in Korea. The bill to amend the Special Act on Promotion and Vitalization of Convergence of Information and Communications Technology was passed into law on Thursday, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT.The changes include th

• Social affairs

  

  Death of puma triggers public protest against zoos in South Korea

  The recent death of a puma, killed by police after it escaped from its enclosure in a Daejeon zoo, has triggered a wave of criticism concerning animal rights abuses in South Korea, with some saying all zoos in the country must shut down.　　The puma, named Bbo-rong, was shot to death Tuesday, about four hours after it escaped its enclosure at Daejeon O-World through a door left unlocked by staff at 4:50 p.m. While the search was ongoing, all Daejeon residents were advised to stay indoors.　　Authori

• North Korea

  

  What is the story behind Mansudae Art Studio in Pyongyang?

  South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s visit to Pyongyang’s Mansudae Art Studio has been creating a buzz at home and overseas -- even after a UN official said the visit did not violate UN sanctions that ban international transactions with the North Korean art establishment.　So what do we know about the studio and why has it been banned by the UN?　The Mansudae Art Studio was founded in 1959. It is believed be one of the largest art production studios in the world, with some 4,000 workers. Among its