[News Focus] Monthly payouts for jobless soar 97% since 2015

SEJONG -- The number of South Koreans, who have been “de facto” out of work, has surpassed the 3 million mark.The extended unemployment figures, as specified by Statistics Korea’s Employment Supplementary Index III, includes “underemployed” workers, such as temporary employees who work fewer than 36 hours a week and want full-time employment, as well as seasonal workers who are out of work for part of the year. The standard unemployment rate stayed at 3 percent, wit

Social AffairsOct. 10, 2019

Activists urge Japan to avoid Fukushima in Tokyo Olympics

South Korean civic groups on Thursday kicked off a global campaign against potential radiation risks during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, demanding that Japan ban Fukushima food products and cancel games at the Japanese city."We launch an international campaign to protect thousands of athletes and visitors at the Tokyo Olympics from radiation risks and to stop the Japanese government from using the Olympics as a tool" to conceal lingering damages from the Fukushima nuclear crisis, the envir

Social AffairsOct. 10, 2019

Herald Design Forum asks world: ‘Do we need another planet?’

In an era some are calling the “Anthropocene,” marked by significant human impact on Earth’s geology and ecosystems, mankind may be facing an imminent decision about the future of this blue marble. Global warming, exhaustion of natural resources and worldwide pollution may be spelling out an inconvenient truth necessitating interstellar travel for solutions.The annual Herald Design Forum opened Thursday with a rather provocative question: “Do we need another planet?&rdquo

CultureOct. 10, 2019

BTS' J-Hope becomes 1st BTS soloist to land on Billboard singles chart

J-Hope, a dancer and rapper of K-pop superband BTS, has become the first of the band's seven members to land on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart with a solo song, chart results showed Thursday.J-Hope's "Chicken Noodle Soup," featuring American diva Becky G, a fashionable revival of American musician DJ Webstar and rapper Young B's street hip-hop song of the same name in 2006, landed at 81st on the Hot 100 for the week of Oct. 12, according to Billboard's website.The feat was achieved

PerformanceOct. 10, 2019

S. Korea to build 3 hydrogen-powered cities by 2022

South Korea will build three hydrogen-powered cities in extended efforts to promote hydrogen energy in Asia's fourth-biggest economy, the transport ministry said Thursday.  In a three-year project headed by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the government plans to build pilot hydrogen-powered cities by 2022, the ministry said in a joint statement with related ministries and government agencies.   "We are planning to select three cities by the end of this yea

IndustryOct. 10, 2019

KITA chief to visit US to expand economic partnership

Korea International Trade Association said Thursday its Chairman Kim Young-ju is slated to visit the US next week to expand economic and trade cooperation. He will be accompanied by executives of eight Korean companies, including Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor, Posco and Hyosung during his four-day visit starting Monday. Kim will meet with Kelly Ann Shaw, Trump’s special assistant and senior director for international trade, to highlight the importance of the two nations as a secu

IndustryOct. 10, 2019

Rebidding for third internet-only bank kicks off amid lack of interest

Financial authorities on Thursday began to accept applications for a second round of bids for a preliminary license to operate the nation’s third internet-only bank, according to the Financial Services Commission.Unlike the first round earlier in the year, however, concerns are mounting that market expectations may have soured, as only one consortium confirmed its bid on the first day.“The business license for a new internet-only bank is the FSC’s top priority task for the seco

MarketOct. 10, 2019

[Herald Design Forum 2019] Daimler art director puts spotlight on empathy in future mobility

Alexander Mankowsky, art director at leading German carmaker Daimler, said Thursday that empathy should be the priority in future mobility so that companies can roll out innovative automated vehicles capable of interacting with pedestrians.“If we have to talk about ethics, we need to talk about what is human. What are we humans? How would you like to be? That process is always for people. We need to see what we are and what do we want to be,” Mankowsky said at Herald Design Forum 201

Arts & DesignOct. 10, 2019

Hyundai partners with US-based AI startup for digital map technology

Hyundai Motor’s open-innovation business has inked a partnership with US-based fleet management software company Netradyne to create digital maps necessary for autonomous driving technologies, Hyundai Motor America said Thursday. Hyundai Cradle, the automaker’s wholly owned venture capital arm, said its partnership and investment in Netradyne would help the firm build a high-definition map for level-three advanced driver assistance systems, according to Hyundai Motor America. Under t

MobilityOct. 10, 2019

Michael Govan emphasizes importance of cultural diversity

Michael Govan, director of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, on Thursday talked about the importance of cultural diversity when managing an art museum, at the Herald Design Forum 2019.“To survive in an increasingly globalized society, we need to understand each other’s cultures,” Govan said. “We have arts of all time and places. We have 150,000 objects for our collections and one and a half million people come to see this. We also have 4,000 education programs to show

CultureOct. 10, 2019

Samsung Display officially invests W13.1tr in world’s first QD display

Samsung Display on Thursday announced it will invest a total of 13.1 trillion won ($10.9 billion) in establishing the world’s first production line for quantum dot-based display panels over the next five years. The investment plan that has been highly anticipated by industry watchers makes it official that Samsung will switch from the current liquid crystal display-focused display technology to self-emissive quantum dot technology for large-size displays. President Moon Jae-in added weight

TechnologyOct. 10, 2019

[Herald Design Forum 2019] Shaping environment friendly future with creativity

Dutch designer Daan Roosegaarde believes that it may be possible to turn space waste into light in the near future. The artist leads projects that use technology to raise awareness on environmental issues while maintaining esthetics. Based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, the artist is the leader of Studio Roosegaarde, a social design lab comprising 20 engineers, designers and artists.Taking the podium at the Herald Design Forum 2019 on Thursday at Grand Hyatt Seoul, Roosegaarde delivered a lectur

Arts & DesignOct. 10, 2019

‘Everyone has something to give back’

“It’s not hard at all to have a conversation with you right now, but if you had just gone for a week without any food, I assure you, you might not be so easy to talk to,” said Michael Kim, who founded the nonprofit organization Korea Legacy Committee four years ago to fight poverty among senior citizens here.  He was responding to questions on whether such support merely ends up perpetuating the problems of underprivileged elderly. “I won’t ever say the KLC wil

Social AffairsOct. 10, 2019

Starbucks Korea to expand charity-focused stores from 2020

Starbucks Korea said Thursday that it will strengthen its focus of business operation in Korea by opening more “community stores” that donate a portion of sales to the community via charity programs, working with nonprofit organizations. According to Starbucks Korea CEO David Song, the country’s second community store will open in the first half of 2020. The move comes as part of the franchise’s effort to expand Starbucks’ “humanism-based positive impact&

IndustryOct. 10, 2019

Korea Herald to host Biz Forum on corporate risks, solutions

With the global trade wars intensifying and threatening to undermine economic growth, companies across the world are facing growing challenges. The trade wars have hurt the South Korean economy, denting business sentiments and complicating crisis management.Amid this rapidly changing business environment, The Korea Herald is hosting a forum Friday to discuss the growing corporate risks and possible solutions. The theme of the event is “Korea in crisis: How to survive in an era of trade war

IndustryOct. 10, 2019

Police say innocent man may have been jailed for 1980s Hwaseong murder

SUWON, Gyeonggi Province -- Police are examining the possibility that they may have charged the wrong man 30 years ago for a rape and murder that occurred in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province.The Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency said in a briefing Thursday morning that Lee Chun-jae, who has confessed to a series of similar killings, might be responsible for the eighth of 10 rape-murders that took place between 1986 and 1991, for which a different man was convicted.The rape and murder of a 13-ye

Social AffairsOct. 10, 2019

34 Koreans murdered in the Philippines 2014-2018

A total of 98 South Korean nationals were murdered overseas between 2014 and 2018, a third of them in the Philippines, Foreign Ministry data showed Thursday.According to the ministry data submitted to Democratic Party of Korea Rep. Park Byeong-seug, 34 South Koreans were murdered in the Philippines over the five-year period.  Park, a member of the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs recently called in the Philippine ambassador over a 2016 kidnap-m

Social AffairsOct. 10, 2019

Navy seeking to secure nuclear-powered submarines for self-defense capabilities

The Navy said Thursday it has been running a task force on the potential construction of nuclear-powered submarines as part of efforts to bolster its nuclear deterrent and boost defense capabilities."With longer-term perspectives to have nuclear-powered submarines, we have been running a task force of our own," the Navy said in a report presented to lawmakers for a parliamentary audit."As the matter will be decided in accordance with national policy, the Navy will work closely wit

DefenseOct. 10, 2019

Railway workers to go on strike Friday

Railway workers are set to begin a three-day strike Friday to press their demands for higher pay and better working conditions. The government plans to deploy substitute workers and alternative forms of transportation to minimize disruption, as the walkout is expected to cut passenger and cargo train operations by 20 percent and 60 percent, respectively.The 19,000-member Korean Railway Workers' Union decided to strike early last month, after its negotiations with the Korea Railroad Corp. broke d

Social AffairsOct. 10, 2019

[Herald Design Forum 2019] Actress, model, environmental activist Gong Hyo-jin opens up about inner conflict

Award-winning South Korean actress Gong Hyo-jin, who has also made a name for herself as a popular fashionista, shared her inner conflict as an environmentally conscious fashion model, encouraging the public to take small steps every day to save the environment.“I have a nickname, ‘fashionista.’ Part of my job as a model is to convey, ‘Isnt’ this pretty? Would you like to purchase one?’ But since I saw this data, I have been experiencing an inner conflict, inn

Arts & DesignOct. 10, 2019