[Andy Mukherjee] Singapore’s homes get an anti-aging lift

Singapore is buying insurance against the ill-effects of Japanese-style population aging. With some luck, the cover will extend to the city’s property prices, too.The retirement age in the financial center will gradually rise to 65 from 62. Including the five additional years employers are required to provide to older workers willing to continue, albeit at a lower pay, Singaporeans’ sunset years will effectively start at 70. That will make the city home to some of the world’s o

ViewpointsAug. 21, 2019

14 Korean lawmakers to visit China next week

A group of 14 South Korean lawmakers will visit China next week for discussions on the Korean Peninsula situation and ways to fight the region's fine dust pollution, officials said Wednesday.The Korean lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties will attend the sixth meeting of South Korean and Chinese next-generation political leaders to be held at Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing from Aug. 26-28 under the sponsorship of the Korea-China Leaders Society and the Chinese People's Instit

PoliticsAug. 21, 2019

Samsung, SK hynix slip in chip sales in H1

South Korea’s two biggest memory chip makers Samsung Electronics and SK hynix slipped to second and fourth place, respectively, in a global ranking of chip sales due to price falls, a report showed Wednesday. The 2019 McClean Report released by market researcher IC Insights showed that the world’s leading semiconductor businesses reported over 30 percent declines in their sales for the first half of 2019. The combined sales of the top 15 chipmakers stood at $148.7 billion as of June,

TechnologyAug. 21, 2019

Samsung SDI holds environment-themed summer camp

Samsung SDI, a battery affiliate of Samsung Electronics, hosted a summer camp for about 500 children this month, providing opportunities to learn about the environment, the company said Wednesday. The camp, called the “Green Planet Environment School,” ran from Aug. 6 through 14, inviting kids from community children’s centers near the company’s headquarters. The camp’s curriculum included topics related to the environment, such as solar energy, climate change and e

TechnologyAug. 21, 2019

Defense minister dismisses N. Korea’s taunts, highlights strong defense posture

Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo said it was not worth listening to North Korea’s criticism of South Korea’s joint military exercises with the United States, and vowed that defense posture would remain strong. At a parliamentary defense committee meeting, Jeong also spoke of the usefulness of the controversial military intel-sharing agreement with Japan. “(The North) is using vulgar words (to criticize us), but I do not feel it is worth responding to its words one by one,&rdqu

DefenseAug. 21, 2019

Ikea Korea to open two more stores by first half of 2020

Home furnishing retailer Ikea Korea said Wednesday it will open two more stores in Korea by the end of the first half of 2020 and expand customer touchpoints within the capital. According to the Swedish furniture giant, Korea’s third Ikea store will open in Giheung, Gyeonggi Province, on Dec. 12. The first Ikea store to sit outside the Seoul and Gyeonggi Province metropolitan area, Ikea Dongbusan, will open in the first quarter of 2020.  “Thanks to the great support and int

IndustryAug. 21, 2019

Jeju Air aims for customer-oriented business growth

Jeju Air, the country’s top low-cost carrier in terms of sales, said Wednesday that it will continue to focus on a customer-oriented business strategy for its future growth, having introduced a new seat arrangement last month as part of those efforts.Called New Class and revealed in time for the July 4 launch of the Busan-Singapore route, the new premium service is designed for passengers who want more space between seats, the airline explained.  To offer this “premium economy c

IndustryAug. 21, 2019

Experts call for greater autonomy for financial firms in firewall regulations

Addressing growing calls in South Korea to ease firewall and outsourcing regulations, senior officials from global financial institutions on Wednesday highlighted the need to allow firms more choice in setting the scope of their data protection. Growth prospects of the financial sector have apparently been curbed by “stricter-than-necessary” legal barriers that restrict the transfer of information between certain financial parties and outsourcing regulations set by the financial auth

MarketAug. 21, 2019

‘Rain Room’ raises questions about control and agency

In “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,” Walt Disney’s famous eight-minute animation from 1940 based on a Goethe poem of the same name, Mickey Mouse takes a hold of the magical hat that his master left behind. The apprentice Mickey uses the magical hat to do his chores, but he soon falls asleep, only to wake up to waves of water filling the cavern. Mickey tries to stop the water with his hands, yet fails.Just when Mickey thought he was in control, disastrous consequences were on t

Arts & DesignAug. 21, 2019

Kang, Kono fail to mend fences

The foreign ministers of South Korea and Japan remained at odds in their bilateral meeting held in China on Wednesday, reiterating their respective stances on Tokyo’s wartime forced labor and trade curbs. Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and her Japanese counterpart, Taro Kono, met for 35 minutes on the sidelines of a trilateral meeting with their Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, in Gubei Water Town near the Great Wall in northern Beijing. “Kang strongly urged Kono to retract the country

Foreign AffairsAug. 21, 2019

US ready to resume talks with NK: Biegun

South Korean and US chief negotiators on North Korea met in Seoul on Wednesday to discuss how to push the denuclearization dialogue forward. On Wednesday, US Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun met with his South Korean counterpart, Lee Do-hoon.  “(We) discussed ways to achieve practical progress (in North Korean denuclearization talks),” Lee said, describing the current situation as an “important juncture” in restarting US-North Korea working-level

North KoreaAug. 21, 2019

Moon administration’s battle against fake news intensifies

With tech companies and governments around the world stepping up efforts to curb false content online, the South Korean government is also waging a battle against “fake news” amid recent economic and security challenges. 　The Moon Jae-in administration has pledged to eradicate what it perceives as misleading news content that could undermine economic and security prospects. The country’s media regulator and internet companies have voiced similar concerns, pledging to enhance ov

TechnologyAug. 21, 2019

[Newsmaker] Murder suspect shows no remorse as face revealed

The man who claimed to have murdered and dismembered a motel guest before dumping it in the Han River, said Wednesday he was not sorry to the victim at all, as he appeared for police questioning on the day his face and identity were made public. 　Jang Dae-ho, 38, who is suspected of murdering, dismembering and abandoning the victim’s body, said, “It is an incident in which a heinous criminal killed a scumbag, which means a bad guy killed a bad guy.”　“No matter how I think

Social AffairsAug. 21, 2019

Korea to inject W4.7tr next year into non-memory chips, AI, mobility

The government will spend 4.7 trillion won ($3.89 billion) next year to support the development of future industries as part of its effort to revitalize the nation’s sluggish economy, the finance minister said Wednesday.At a ministerial meeting in Seoul, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said the government would invest 3 trillion won in system semiconductors, bio-health and future mobility. The remaining 1.7 trillion won is to be set aside for data, fifth-generat

IndustryAug. 21, 2019

Mercedes-Benz Korea expands logistics center

Mercedes-Benz Korea, a local importer and distributor of German luxury cars, has expanded its logistics center in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, 150 kilometers south of Seoul, the company said Wednesday. The changes required a 35 billion won investment. The logistics center opened in 2014 and its space has doubled from 17,800 square meters to 30,500 square meters after the yearlong project. The expanded center can house about 50,000 kinds of spare parts, as compared with 28,000 before the expansion

MobilityAug. 21, 2019

Smilegate Stove brings VR games to Korean Army

Soldiers in Korea will be given virtual reality games to destress and unwind.Smilegate Stove, a Smilegate Group affiliate, said Wednesday it has begun providing VR games to soldiers at Camp 72 in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, in collaboration with telecom service KT, army-targeted leisure content provider K-Friends and VR content distributor Shilgam.  Some 80 VR games are provided at each of the two VR game booths installed at the Culture Complex at Camp 72. This is the biggest scale of availa

IndustryAug. 21, 2019

GE Healthcare’s AI aims to streamline hospital management in Korea

Medical device developer GE Healthcare on Wednesday introduced an artificial intelligence based hospital operation platform called “Clinical Command Center,”for the first time in Korea. Clinical Command Center streamlines the use of real-time data for more efficient patient care such as predicting forecasted demand, managing transfers between facilities, supporting efficient care progression, and discharge planning.   The machine-learning AI is being displayed at the K-Hosp

IndustryAug. 21, 2019

Government to ‘double’ radiation checks on food imports from Japan

The government said Wednesday it would introduce stricter inspections of food imports, following a lawmaker’s report that elevated levels of radioactive isotopes were detected in food products from Fukushima over the past five years.Rep. Kim Kwang-soo, who serves on the National Assembly’s Health and Welfare Committee, said Monday that 16.8 metric tons of Japanese processed food imported between 2014 and the first half of this year were found to have contained levels of radioact

Social AffairsAug. 21, 2019

Singapore Airlines launches new mobile application

Singapore Airlines said Wednesday it will launch an updated mobile application to enhance customer experience. The app, set to be released in September for Apple iOS users, will have three new features that provide convenience for passengers. It is being released between July and September for Android users.  English-only feature Capture & Discover matches users’ travel plans with destinations to provide relevant information. Translation Assistance provides real-time voice transla

TechnologyAug. 21, 2019

New drama series featuring BTS' growth story being produced

A new drama series featuring the growth story of global K-pop band BTS is under production to be aired next year, the head of the band's music label said Wednesday."With a view to launch it in the second half of 2020, (we) are preparing a drama series based on BTS' (musical) universe," Bang Si-hyuk, CEO of Big Hit Entertainment, said in a briefing on the firm's corporate vision. The CEO said the drama series will go back in time to the moment when the seven BTS members first met as a t

PerformanceAug. 21, 2019