[Hussein Ibish] War with Iran not inevitable

Now that the US has taken out Qassem Soleimani, arguably the most important military figure in the 40-year history of the Islamic Republic, conventional wisdom holds that Tehran must respond with extreme prejudice. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has promised “severe retaliation,” and his regime is putting out videos of thousands of Iranian mourners demanding vengeance.What might that mean? Many commentators -- and not only in Iran or the US -- are suggesting that a new war in the Middle

ViewpointsJan. 6, 2020

With US-Iran tension, Korea braces for oil price hike

Heightened tensions between the US and Iran may force South Korea to further lower its oil import reliance on the Middle East, according to industry watchers. As hostilities between the two nations escalated over the weekend, international oil prices have soared, stocks have fallen and prices for safe assets have soared. International benchmark Brent crude closed at $68.60 a barrel on Friday, up 3.55 percent, the highest level in six months. Gold rose 1.3 percent to $1,549 an ounce, the highest

IndustryJan. 6, 2020

[CES 2020] Samsung to produce microLEDs for homes

LAS VEGAS/SEOUL -- Under its mantra “Screen is Everywhere,” Samsung Electronics on Monday announced an expanded lineup of microLED screens aimed for mass production and commercial launch for homes in the second half of the year. A full lineup of Samsung’s highest-end self-emissive microLED display brand The Wall, including 75, 88, 93, 110 and 150 inches, will be mass-produced starting from the second half of the year, according to Samsung Visual Display President Han Jong-hee a

IndustryJan. 6, 2020

Korean stock market hit by US-Iran conflict

The Korean stock market was impacted by the intensifying geopolitical tensions between the US and Iran, with negative repercussions expected to continue, according to analysts Monday.Seoul’s benchmark bourse Kospi opened sharply low -- down 21.49 points, or 0.99 percent, from the previous session. The weak start continued through the day and it closed at 2,155.07. The tech-heavy Kosdaq also slipped 14.62 points, or 2.18 percent, to 655.31.Most large caps in the local market were in negativ

MarketJan. 6, 2020

FDI to Korea falls 13.3% to $23.3b

Data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy showed Monday that foreign direct investment to South Korea fell 13.3 percent on-year in 2019 to reach $23.3 billion of investment in total.According to the data, last year’s FDI pledged to Korea was the second-largest amount after the $26.9 billion reported in 2018. The ministry said 2018 saw the record-high FDI thanks to earlier-reported investments by firms prior to the government’s planned abolition of corporate tax benefi

IndustryJan. 6, 2020

[Herald Interview] Canadian envoy on Korea in the ’90s, the maturing of bilateral ties and future partnerships in AI

Canadian Ambassador Michael Danagher first came to South Korea in 1992 and began nearly three decades, on and off, of interaction with “fun and loving” South Koreans. After two stints here in the 1990s and 2000s, he came back as ambassador in September 2018. “For me it (the ambassadorial appointment) meant coming back to a place I was familiar with. I hoped I would have the best insight and the best ability to impact on our bilateral relationship,” Danagher, who is fluent

Diplomatic CircuitJan. 6, 2020

What Iran crisis could mean for N. Korea

Amid escalated tensions between the US and Iran, experts are mixed on how the situation in the Middle East will impact Washington’s military standoff with Pyongyang.  　North Korea’s state-run Korea Central News Agency on Monday ran its first report on the recent US killing of Qassem Soleimani, Iran’s top military general, four days after the incident. 　It said Soleimani was killed in a US missile attack in an airfield in Baghdad and quoted a phone conversation between Chin

Foreign AffairsJan. 6, 2020

How to allure Parisians? Marketing startup Ppanam has an answer

France, a beauty and fashion powerhouse, has been a hard nut to crack for many Korean cosmetics companies. Although local South Korean brands have spent a huge amount on marketing since the 1980s to gain traction there, they have seen little success. Making matters worse, social media has rapidly transformed marketing trends, meaning traditional marketing through TV commercials and offline stores are not as effective as before.Korean influencer marketing startup Ppanam’s CEO Ham Dong-hyuk

MarketJan. 6, 2020

[Monitor] South Koreans use 3.3b plastic cups per year

According to a report by Greenpeace last week, South Koreans used in total 23.5 billion plastic bags, 4.9 billion plastic bottles and 3.3 billion plastic cups in 2017.The amount of used plastic bags would cover 70 percent of the Korean Peninsula, the report said.The organization, however, noted that 62 percent of disposed plastic waste is recycled in Korea, compared to 40 percent in the European Union. But simply comparing the figures is not realistic, Greenpeace noted, explaining that the EU fi

IndustryJan. 6, 2020

Korean executives continue to deliver keynotes at CES

Chief executives of Korean companies continue to stand at the Customer Electronics Show’s podium for keynote speeches, offering glimpses into ongoing global trends in the electronics industry. This year, Samsung’s Consumer Electronics division CEO Kim Hyun-suk will deliver his keynote address on enhanced applications of artificial intelligence-powered customer electronics on Tuesday. In 2019, LG’s chief technology officer opened CES 2019 with a speech also centered on consumer

TechnologyJan. 6, 2020

PM nominee Chung’s confirmation hearing set to kick off

A confirmation hearing for Prime Minister nominee Chung Sye-kyun will begin Tuesday as the main opposition party questions the appropriateness of a parliamentary speaker taking the top government post. The six-term ruling party lawmaker and former National Assembly speaker will face two days of questioning to determine whether he is to replace Lee Nak-yon, who will return to the ruling Democratic Party to lead its April parliamentary election campaign. The main opposition Liberty Korea Part

PoliticsJan. 6, 2020

[News Focus] ESG drive of Korean banks in spotlight

Bringing both financial sustainability and transparency have been the focus of South Korean banks amid growing calls around the world for good corporate governance practices and increased predictability in the market.Companies here -- both financial and nonfinancial -- floated an almost combined $13 billion worth of environmental, social and corporate governance-linked bonds in 2019 alone, nearly double from the previous year’s corresponding figure of $7 billion, according to data provided

MarketJan. 6, 2020

44th Yi Sang Literary Award announcement postponed after writers refuse prizes

Korea’s prestigious Yi Sang Literary Award postponed its announcement of this year’s winners on Monday after three writers refused to accept their awards. “We decided to delay the awards due to writers’ refusals,” a representative of Munhaksasang, the awards’ organizer, said Monday. The Korean publishing company added that a revised schedule for the 44th Yi Sang Literary Award had not been decided yet.  The decision was made after two writers, Kim Geum-he

PeopleJan. 6, 2020

Lung cancer survival rates up in Seoul

Seven in 10 lung cancer patients who have undergone surgery at Asan Medical Center in Seoul have survived, the hospital said in a report.  The cardiothoracic surgery department at Asan Medical Center in southern Seoul said Monday the postsurgery survival rate of patients with lung cancer, the sixth most common cancer among Koreans, has improved markedly over the past decade. In the hospital’s study of around 7,500 lung cancer patients from 2002 to 2016, the five-year survival rate in

TechnologyJan. 6, 2020

US flies surveillance aircraft to monitor N. Korea amid tensions

The United States flew surveillance aircraft over the Korean Peninsula on Monday, an aviation tracker said, amid simmering tensions over possible provocative acts by North Korea after it warned of a "new strategic weapon."An RC-135W Rivet Joint of the US Air Force carried out operations over South Korea at 31,000 feet, Aircraft Spots tweeted.It added the flight took place Monday.    This type of aircraft was last spotted over the peninsula on Wednesday, according to the

DefenseJan. 6, 2020

Cheong Wa Dae replaces secretaries in organizational change

Cheong Wa Dae announced an organizational change and the replacement of some secretaries Monday as part of efforts to streamline its operations and put fresh vigor into state affairs.The measure was made public a day before President Moon Jae-in's formal New Year's address in which he will detail the direction of his policy this year.It also came as two senior officials are leaving Cheong Wa Dae apparently to run in the April 15 general elections. They are Youn Kun-young, director for the state

PoliticsJan. 6, 2020

KT plans to make AI available everywhere

Artificial intelligence-enabled products and services, including portable speakers, chatbots and robots, are already out there, serving customers in different industries and of different needs. Few of them, however, are offering truly practical benefits. AI speakers are still short of fully understanding human language while robot assistants deployed at public spaces often end up gathering dust due partly to their still clumsy speech and movement capabilities. KT, a Korean conglomerate that o

TechnologyJan. 6, 2020

Treasure to debut as first new boy band from YG in over 4 years

YG says the official debut of the revamped 12-piece boy band Treasure is on the way, marking the first boy band to debut from YG in over four years, since iKON in 2015.In a blog post on Monday, YG said the company is thankful for fans who have been waiting a long time, and added that new content is coming this month through multiple channels. Treasure consists of a dozen members who were put together after appearing on YG’s K-pop competition “Treasure Box,” which aired around a

K-popJan. 6, 2020

With Cherokee Trailhawk to debut this year, Jeep joins 10,000-unit club

American classic sport utility vehicle brand Jeep sold 10,251 units in Korea in 2019, joining the “10,000-unit club” here for the first time, the company said Monday. The 10,000-unit mark is a standard that measures whether foreign carmakers have made a safe landing here.According to Jeep, it saw a 35.1 percent increase in annual sales last year from the year prior, bringing it to seventh among foreign carmakers and second among imported SUV brands.  It is the first time for the

MobilityJan. 6, 2020

New conservative party gears up for elections

A new conservative party led by eight lawmakers who left the minor opposition Bareunmirae Party held their first supreme council meeting on Monday.Reps. Yoo Seong-min, Ha Tae-keung, Oh Shin-hwan and five others announced the launch of the party, tentatively named the New Conservative Party, on Sunday, vowing to represent younger, reform-minded conservatives. “The New Conservative Party has set sail for the rebuilding and revival of conservatives, not a division or failure of conservat

PoliticsJan. 6, 2020