[Photo News] LG Tech Fair

LG Electronics Science Park President Park Il-pyung speaks during the opening of Spark 2024, LG's festival combining culture and tech, at LG Science Park in Seoul on Monday. The company kicked off the three-week event with its first LG Tech Fair, bringing together tech experts from eight LG affiliates including LG Electronics, LG Chem and LG Energy Solution, and others to discuss future technologies and share insights. (LG Corp.)

IndustryAug. 26, 2024

Homeplus achieves strong sales increase with summer promotion

South Korean discount chain Homeplus said Monday it saw a significant sales increase during it latest promotional event, which featured discounts on meat, vegetables and fruit, targeting peak demand in the summer vacation season. The event, which ran from July 25 to Aug. 11, resulted in growth across both physical stores and online. According to the company, sales at Homeplus' five major branches surged by over 50 percent, with some branches seeing sales increases of up to 90 percent. Meanw

CompaniesAug. 26, 2024

GI Innovation partners with MSD for new cancer drug combination

South Korean biotech company GI Innovation announced Monday a new partnership with Merck Sharp & Dohme, a subsidiary of pharmaceutical company Merck & Co., to test its drug GI-102 in combination with MSD’s anti-PD-1 therapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab) for treating patients with immunotherapy-resistant liver cancer, melanoma and renal cell carcinoma. This marks GI Innovation’s second collaboration with MSD, building on their earlier work for GI-101A. The trial will specifically t

CompaniesAug. 26, 2024

Korean hospital ordered to pay W423m for US national's death

A Seoul court has ordered a local hospital to pay 423 million won ($319,993) to the family of a US national who died from a pulmonary embolism shortly after a hip replacement surgery in 2019, legal sources said Monday. The Seoul Central District Court recently delivered the ruling nearly five years after the bereaved family filed a damages suit against the hospital for negligence that resulted in death. The incident happened in August 2019 when the man, who was a 59-year-old American civilian em

Social AffairsAug. 26, 2024

Mattress blamed for intensifying fatal hotel fire in Bucheon

The proximity of a mattress to the source of last week's deadly fire at a hotel in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, appears to have significantly contributed to the rapid spread of the blaze, authorities investigating the case said Monday. The preliminary investigation suggests an electrical fault in the air conditioning unit as the likely cause, with sparks igniting the nearby sofa and the mattress. Fire authorities suspect that overheating or dust in the aging device precipitated the fault. Ca

Social AffairsAug. 26, 2024

Coupang hosts global hackathon to seek innovative solutions

E-commerce giant Coupang announced Monday the company became the first domestic distributor to co-host a global hackathon event. Dubbed as "Hackseoul," the event, held on Saturday and Sunday, brought together some 200 software developers from 10 countries, including the US, Canada, Uzbekistan and India, at the company's headquarters in Songpa-gu, Seoul. AngelHack, a US-based company that has organized numerous hackathon events since 2011, designed the overall contest. The event wa

IndustryAug. 26, 2024

Tajikistan holds cultural day to share heritage with Korea

The Embassy of Tajikistan in South Korea announced Monday that it hosted a special event dedicated to celebrating Tajikistan Cultural Day, while strengthening cultural exchanges between the two nations. The event also marked the publication of the Korean edition of "Tajiks in the Mirror of History: From Aryans to Samanids," a book authored by Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon. Rahmon’s book reportedly offers an in-depth exploration of the history and cultural development of the

IndustryAug. 26, 2024

Celltrion gets European approval for Stelara biosimilar

South Korean biopharmaceutical firm Celltrion announced Monday that it has received the European Commission’s final approval for Steqeyma, a Stelara (ustekinumab) biosimilar used to treat various autoimmune conditions. Steqeyma, or CT-P43, has been approved for use in all indications of reference product Stelara, including plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis and Crohn's disease, following recent approvals in Korea and Canada in June and July, respectively. According to market resear

CompaniesAug. 26, 2024

20th JIMFF to kick off next week, features 98 music films

The 20th Jecheon International Music & Film Festival will kick off Sept. 5 for a six-day run, with a program combining contemporary music and cinema and live concerts. Under the slogan of “Superascendo,” which means “to transcend” in Latin, the festival will screen 98 movies from 37 countries and hold music concerts by 26 performers. The slogan represents JIMFF’s commitment to advancing into a new era, reflecting on its 20 years of history while looking forward

FilmAug. 26, 2024

Kim Jong-un hoping for Trump’s re-election: ex-North Korean envoy

Tae Yong-ho, who was Pyongyang’s envoy to the UK before seeking asylum in South Korea in 2016, said North Korean leader Kim Jong-un would want US presidential nominee Donald Trump to win in November. “What Kim Jong-un wants more than anything at this moment is for Trump to win the US presidential election and for the trilateral security cooperation of South Korea, Japan and the US -- a Biden era legacy -- to become obsolete,” Tae told The Korea Herald on Sunday. Trump, speaking

PoliticsAug. 26, 2024

[Community Discovery] Bringing the vibe back: Yongsan strives to revive Itaewon

Choi Jeong-kyu, CEO of Jonny Dumpling, a Shandong-style dumpling restaurant located in Itaewon, Yongsan-gu, central Seoul, reflects on the challenging days his business has faced since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the tragic crowd crush incident nearly two years ago. The local restaurant, well known for its half-moon-shaped dumplings, faced a significant decline in customers over the past four years. However, it has gradually regained its footing after being selected as one of 30 rep

Social AffairsAug. 26, 2024

Opposition party accuses Yoon govt. of 'submissive' diplomacy with Japan

The main opposition Democratic Party accused the Yoon Suk Yeol administration on Monday of engaging in "submissive" diplomacy with Japan by appointing pro-Japan figures to key positions and removing public installations depicting the easternmost islets of Dokdo. "Since the start of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, we have seen continued pro-Japan submissive diplomacy and a desperation to erase history," DP floor leader Park Chan-dae said during a supreme council meeting. &qu

PoliticsAug. 26, 2024

Top prosecutor vows to respect investigation review panel in first lady's case

Prosecutor General Lee One-seok said Monday that he will respect the upcoming conclusion by a panel of external private experts on first lady Kim Keon Hee's luxury handbag case. Lee made the remarks after referring the case to the investigation review committee, an external body that deliberates on investigations of high public interest, last Friday. Earlier that week, he was briefed that an investigation team from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office decided not to seek charges ag

Social AffairsAug. 26, 2024

Yoon to meet ruling party leadership this week

President Yoon Suk Yeol will host a dinner meeting with the leadership of the ruling People Power Party later this week, party officials said Monday. PPP leader Han Dong-hoon, floor leader Choo Kyung-ho, five Supreme Council members, and the party's policy chief are expected to attend the meeting on Friday, according to party officials. During the meeting, Yoon and the party leaders are expected to discuss key policy issues ahead of the regular National Assembly session, which is set to beg

PoliticsAug. 26, 2024

11 mpox cases reported this year with no new virus strain

Eleven mpox cases have been reported so far this year in South Korea, but all detected cases were the less deadly Clade II variant, health authorities said Monday. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said the latest case was reported last month, adding that health authorities have bolstered screening at borders to cope with the deadly new variant. South Korea reported 151 mpox cases last year. The majority of patients were males aged 20 to 40 in the greater Seoul area, with cl

Social AffairsAug. 26, 2024

S. Korea, US to hold 7th round of talks on defense cost sharing this week

South Korea and the United States will hold their seventh round of negotiations in Seoul this week to determine Seoul's share of the cost for stationing the US Forces Korea, officials said Monday. The talks are set to take place from Tuesday through Thursday, led by the chief negotiators — Lee Tae-woo of South Korea and Linda Specht representing the United States — as the allies work to renew the current six-year deal, which will expire at the end of next year. Under the Special

DefenseAug. 26, 2024

N. Korean leader oversees suicide drones test, calls for more production

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has overseen a performance test of various drones, calling for the development and production of more suicide drones to enhance war preparedness, state media reported Monday. Kim supervised the test organized by the Drone Institute of the Academy of Defence Sciences on Saturday, according to the Korean Central News Agency. In the test, the drones flew along various preset courses and correctly identified and destroyed the designated targets, as they have missions

North KoreaAug. 26, 2024

Seoul shares open higher on US rate cut hopes

South Korean shares opened slightly higher Monday amid growing hopes for a US rate cut. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) added 2.85 points, or 0.11 percent, to 2,704.54 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The increase follows sharp gains on Wall Street, prompted by remarks from US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell that hinted at the start of US rate cuts in the near future. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 1.14 percent to close at 41,175.07 Friday (US time), with

MarketAug. 26, 2024

[Herald Interview] Oh My Girl presents soothing music to bring listeners comfort

K-pop summer queens Oh My Girl return Monday with their 10th EP, “Dreamy Resonance,” led by “Classified,” a fresh track that brings something new to the table. “It’s a dreamy and lyrical music, which is quite different from our popular summer songs that involve energetic rhythm. This song conveys a message of comfort to those who need someone by their side for support. As you would see in the music video for the song, we are portrayed as dolls that comfort chi

K-popAug. 26, 2024

[Graphic News] Singapore tops passport power rankings, Korea secures 3rd place

Singapore has once again claimed the title of the world's most powerful passport, according to the Henley Passport Index. Singaporean citizens can enjoy visa-free access to 195 countries, maintaining the city-state's top position from 2023. France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Spain share the second spot, offering visa-free access to 192 destinations out of 227. Meanwhile, an unprecedented seven-nation group holds the third position, with citizens from Austria, Finland, Ireland, Luxemb

World NewsAug. 26, 2024