SPOTLIGHT

• Technology

  

  Harman CEO: Samsung will outdo Google, Amazon with AI speaker

  By Song Su-hyun

  Samsung, Harman accelerate cooperation on new AI platform

• Music

  

  ‘Culture President’ reigns once again with BTS

  By Hong Dam-young

  Pop icon Seo Taiji shows he’s still got it after 25 years

• Industry

  

  Note 8 price soars as competition heats up

  By Shin Ji-hye

  Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Note 8 is expected to be priced higher than 1 million won ($892) in South Korea for the first time among the company’s premium phones. Analysts predicted the prices of premium smartphones would continue to soar as handset makers competitively add advanced specifications to their devices and the industry enters a super cycle. Samsung’s mobile chief Koh Dong-jin recently changed his earlier estimation, saying, “The price of the Note 8 is likely to surpass 1 million won

• 미분류

  

  What permanent establishment means to multinational companies

  By Korea Herald

  Ask a Lawyer is a regular column written by attorneys at Yoon & Yang LLC on various legal aspects of the Korean life or business. The content provided here is general legal information, not legal advice on a specific situation. -- Ed.

LATEST NEWS

• 

  Industry

  Corporate M&As in Korea surge in H1

  Corporate mergers and acquisitions by South Korean firms more than tripled in the first half of this year as a global economic recovery encouraged companies to expand their business spheres, the antitrust watchdog said Monday.The value of reported M&As reached 41.5 trillion won ($36.6 billion) in the January-June period, up sharply from 13 trillion won tallied a year earlier, according to the Fair Trade Commission. The number of merger cases also edged up to 215 from 209 over the cited period. F

• 

  Economy

  Korea's mobile purchases hit record high in July

  Purchases made through mobile devices in South Korea hit a fresh record high in July as smartphones are widening their presence in the world's most wired country, government data showed Monday.Mobile transactions through smartphones and tablets reached a record 4.01 trillion won ($3.6 billion) in July, up 35.1 percent from a year earlier, according to data from Statistics Korea.The total amount of mobile transactions accounted for an all-time high of 62 percent of all online purchases made in Ju

• 

  Social affairs

  Annual ‘Operation Chromite’ reenactment event canceled due to NK provocations

  INCHEON -- An annual event to reenact "Operation Chromite," a US-led operation during the Korean War, has been called off in the aftermath of the latest North Korean missile and nuclear tests, the event's host city said Monday. Since 2008, the port city of Incheon, west of Seoul, and the Navy have jointly reproduced the event by mobilizing military troops and equipment to mark the historic amphibious operation led by US Gen. Douglas MacArthur. Conducted on Sept. 15, 1950, what is also called the

• 

  Industry

  T'way Air opens 2nd route from Jeju Island to Japan

  T'way Air Co., one of South Korea's six budget carriers, said Monday it has opened the second route from Jeju Island to Japan, a move to strengthen services on its non-Chinese routes. Using the 189-seat B737-800 passenger jet, T'way Air began services on the Jeju Island-Tokyo route Saturday, the low-cost carrier said in a statement. In late June, the company kicked off flights between the resort island and Osaka. This photo provided by T`way Air shows one of its B737-800 jets. (Yonhap)T'way Air

• 

  North Korea

  Moon, Abe agree to up pressure on NK to 'a whole new level'

  South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed Monday to bring the toughest measures possible against North Korea on "an entirely different level" in response to its latest nuclear test deemed the most powerful so far, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said. Moon had a 20-minute telephone conversation with Abe earlier in the day to discuss ways to respond to Pyongyang's latest nuclear test on Sunday, Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Park Soo-hyun told reporters. It i

• 

  Automode

  Hyundai, Kia's sales slow down in Chile on strong won

  Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's two biggest carmakers, saw their sales growth in Chile slow down this year due to the won's strength, a state-run trade promotion agency said Monday. In the January-July period, Hyundai's sales in the Latin American market grew 11 percent on-year to 17,276 vehicles, while Kia's sales grew 5 percent to 16,341 units. Their sales growth rates were lower than those of rivals, such as Toyota Motor Corp. and General Motors Co., according to the Kor

• 

  North Korea

  S. Korea‘s parliament adopts resolution denouncing NK nuke test

  South Korea's parliament on Monday passed a resolution strongly condemning North Korea for its latest nuclear test and urging the government to craft "strong, effective measures" in response.The National Assembly endorsed the resolution with 163 votes and seven abstentions a day after Pyongyang conducted a test of what it claims is a hydrogen bomb mountable on an intercontinental ballistic missile."The Republic of Korea's National Assembly will never tolerate any attempt to escalate tensions on

• 

  Economy

  Regulator to cut interest on overdue debt, premiums of indemnity medical insurance

  South Korea's top financial regulator said Monday it will cut the interest on overdue debt and the premiums of indemnity medical insurance in line with the government's policy of easing the financial burdens for low-income earners. Choi Jong-ku, chairman of the Financial Services Commission, also said the FSC will actively encourage insurance firms to return unclaimed insurance benefits worth 7.6 trillion won ($6.71 billion) to customers.  Financial Services Commission Chairman Choi Jong-ku (Yon

• 

  Finance

  S. Korean stocks down late Monday morning on NK threat

  South Korean stocks traded lower late Monday morning apparently as investors sought after safer assets on Pyongyang's sixth nuclear test staged over the weekend.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 16.47 points, or 0.7 percent, to 2,341.22 as of 11:20 a.m.On Sunday, Pyongyang announced it had successfully conducted a test of a hydrogen bomb that can be mounted on an intercontinental ballistic missile. (Yonhap)Market behemoth Samsung Electronics shed 0.56 percent, and top chipmake

• 

  Politics

  Parliament fails to set up vote for disputed court nominee

  South Korea's parliament failed Monday to set up a vote on the disputed Constitutional Court Chief nominee amid an opposition party's legislative boycott over an arrest warrant against the head of a local broadcaster.Under a cross-party understanding last week, the National Assembly was set to vote on Kim Yi-su on the day. But the main opposition Liberty Korea Party opposed the vote with the splinter Bareun Party following suit. The People's Party, in turn, demanded the vote be postponed.On Satu

GRAPHIC NEWS

OPINION

• Columnists

  

  Travel barriers are worst of new Cold War

  By Bloomberg

  The latest loop in the escalation of US-Russia hostilities is probably the dumbest and the most damaging: The two countries are introducing de facto travel restrictions for each other’s citizens, choking off the friendliest, most human channel of communication between them. It’s the biggest step back into the Cold War era that the two governments have taken yet.The State Department has stopped issuing visas in Yekaterinburg, Vladivostok and St. Petersburg, a response to Russian demands for drast

• Columnists

  

  Baekbeom and NK human rights

  By Robert Park

  “It is definitely not good politics to interfere too much with the individual’s life. ... That it is extremely unnatural and dangerous to drag people along by orders of a single individual or of a few is all too well proven by the misfortunes that befell Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany.” - Kim Koo (1876-1949), “My Wish”A “chinilpa” (collaborationist with Imperial Japan) he wasn’t. Neither was he especially fond of the monarchy which antedated Japan’s stealthy routing of Korea, having been judged

THE INVESTOR

• Automobiles

  

  Genesis G70 to debut in US early next year

  Hyundai Motor gave media a peek at its luxury marque Genesis’ all-new sports sedan G70, with plans to release the car in the US early next year. “We are planning to launch Genesis G70 in the North American market sometime early next year,” said Hwang Chung-yul, senior vice president at the Genesis Project Management Center, at a media preview held in Seoul on Sept. 1. “We will gradually roll out the car in other regions.” Prior to G70 global debut slated for Sept. 15, Hyundai unve

• The Investor

  

  [DECODED X] An exodus?

  The Sept. 1 issue of The Investor's blockbuster newsletter DECODED X is out. Check out some of the highlights.AN EXODUS? 　There are rumors of Samsung Electronics moving to the US, more specifically, California. Samsung, of course, is refusing to say anything, but according to industry sources, the company is considering relocating overseas. On top of Lee Jae-yong getting a 5 year sentence, the new government comes with an assortment of regulations for conglomerates. And it’s not j

• Economy

  

  North Korea claims successful test of H-bomb warhead for ICBM

  North Korea on Sept. 3 conducted its sixth nuclear test, claiming that it was now capable of producing intercontinental ballistic missiles fitted with thermonuclear warheads.Pyongyang’s latest provocation that comes in face of international condemnation and sanctions, applied even by its traditional ally China. In a “critical announcement” held at 3:30 p.m., North Korea’s state media claimed that the test was a “complete success of a hydrogen warhead for ICBM.” South Koreans watch

• Mobile & Internet

  

  Apple plans to launch 6-inch screen iPhone next year

   Apple has started the development of a 6-inch OLED iPhone with aims to launch the largest-ever screen iPhone next year, industry sources said on Aug. 31.The largest iPhone available now is a 5.5-inch LCD model. Sources said Apple plans to launch two OLED iPhones next year -- a 5.85-inch and 6.46-inch models. The 5.58-inch is the same size screen of the upcoming iPhone 8 this year. Apple has started development work with Samsung Display, the sole OLED supplier, and other parts makers ea

K-POP HERALD

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  BTS to hold 1st dome concert in Japan

• 

  Nam-gil, Ah-joong slip through time

• 

  Park Bo-gum in tug of war with girlfriend

HERALD INTERVIEW

• Culture

  

  BBC journalist Francine Stock talks about Korean films’ richness, complexity and honesty

• Industry

  

  ‘Smartphone OLED will face oversupply by 2020’

• Industry

  

  ‘Korea needs stronger botulinum toxin regulations’

• Diplomatic Circuit

  

  Planning for smart, sustainable future with Singapore

PHOTO NEWS

• Culture

  

  Chinatown in Incheon, still at the heart of Korea-China ties, history

  By Son Ji-hyoung

  A gold-embellished, red-lacquered pailou, or Chinese arch, looms over a street on the shore of South Korea’s port city of Incheon.The blue-colored board attached to the 11-meter high structure reads Zhonghuajia, Chinese for ‘Chinese avenue,’ marking the entrance to Incheon Chinatown, the largest Chinatown in the nation. For over 130 years, Incheon Chinatown has been standing as the only officially recognized one of its kind in Korea since 1884, when Joseon Dynasty leased parts of Incheon to Qing

VIDEO

• Social affairs

  

  Extended Deoksugung Stonewall Walkway unveiled

• People

  

  Meet Korean Billy, the internet sensation of 2017

• Culture

  

  Slimy ‘liquid monsters’ captivate Korean adults

• Industry

  

  Beauty meets IT for customized experience

FEATURES

• Finance

  

  Analysts forecast downward North Korea risks in Kospi

  By Son Ji-hyoung

  Security tension is most likely to return to focus in South Korea’s stock markets this week following the North’s sixth nuclear test Sunday, further dampening investors’ sentiment.A 5.7 magnitude tremor was detected in northeastern North Korea on Sunday at around 12:29 p.m., which North Korea claimed to be a test of a hydrogen bomb that can be loaded into its intercontinental ballistic missile.(Yonhap)“The news would bring noise in investor sentiments and stock markets in South Korea and the Uni

• Defense

  

  Army to investigate ‘mystery deaths’

  By Yeo Jun-suk

  　On an afternoon in February 1998, Army 1st Lt. Kim Hun was found dead inside an underground military outpost along the border with North Korea. A gunshot wound was found on the right side of his head and a 9mm Beretta pistol was near his body. 　The South Korean military determined that the then-25-year-old Army officer had committed suicide. But questions and doubts have mushroomed that he may have been murdered because of no apparent motive for suicide and evidence of a physical fight inside t

• Industry

  

  ‘6 in 10 Koreans do overtime every other day without extra pay’

  By Kim Min-joo

  Korea’s salaried employees work an average of 2 1/2 days overtime per week, a poll showed Friday.Employment-related portal JobKorea -- citing its recent survey of 1,013 office workers -- alleged that an average worker puts in 2 1/2 days of overtime per week. The survey also showed that only 37.7 percent of the respondents are compensated properly for the extra hours.When asked whether “Overtime work should be taken for granted” 69.9 percent of the respondents said “No.” Also, 63.9 percent of the

• Industry

  

  Korea’s air transport deficit marks record high

  By Shim Woo-hyun

  South Korea’s air transport deficit marked a record high in the first six months of this year, largely due to a dramatic decline in Chinese tourists, as well as an increase in the number of Koreans traveling outside of the country, central bank data showed Sunday. The deficit of Korea’s air transport reached $248.6 million between January and June. In the previous six-month period, the figure had reached a surplus of $216.7 million, according to data compiled by the Bank of Korea. (Yonhap)Korean