Mercedes-Benz Mobility Korea introduces long-term car rental program

Daimler Mobility -- a subsidiary of Daimler Group, which owns Mercedes-Benz -- officially kicked off operations in South Korea on Tuesday, offering a long-term car rental program. Mercedes-Benz Mobility Korea is the first of its kind globally and the fourth entity of the Daimler Group to launch operations in Korea. The company said it will offer a tailor-made mobility product under its concept of “mobility at your fingertips.”“We will offer one- to five-year long-term

MobilityDec. 3, 2019

Sephora opens 2nd beauty shop in downtown SeoulGlobal cosmetics chain

Sephora said Tuesday it has opened a second shop in South Korea in a popular retail area of central Seoul to attract fashion-savvy locals and foreign travelers.Sephora's second shop landed in Myeongdong, known as a cosmetics mecca, following its first shop that debuted in the posh district of Gangnam in October.   Sephora said it will target foreign travelers, especially Chinese, in partnership with Lotte Department Store by featuring hundreds of cosmetics, skincare, body and fragrance

IndustryDec. 3, 2019

Naver takes top place in stock conversion price ranking

Naver, South Korea’s No. 1 internet portal, ranked first among all stocks listed on the main bourse in terms of conversion prices, according to the Korea Exchange on Tuesday.The conversion price of Naver was 8.57 million won ($7,220) based on Monday’s closing price of 171,500 won per share. That was followed by SK Holdings, the holding firm of Korean conglomerate SK Group, with 6.4 million won and Samsung C&T, the construction and fashion unit of Samsung Group, at 5.02 million wo

MarketDec. 3, 2019

73% of Korean workers say they have leftover leave

With less than a month remaining until the end of the calendar year, more than 70 percent of South Korean office workers appear to still have unused annual paid leave, a survey showed Tuesday.Online recruiting company JobKorea surveyed 1,451 employees and found that merely 27 percent of respondents had used up all of their annual leave. Among the other 1,065 respondents with remaining annual leave, 61 percent said they would not be able to use the rest of their annual vacation time. By

EconomyDec. 3, 2019

[Herald Interview] China’s No. 1 aesthetic laser firm sees Korea as bridge to Asian markets

Israeli company Alma Lasers, a leading player in China’s skin rejuvenation market, is undertaking an aggressive expansion into South Korea, viewing the country as a strategic market for its brand image. “Korea is a very important market. Being here is not only for revenue -- this is a market that we believe is a bridge to other markets in Asia,” said Lior Dayan, CEO of Sisram Medical, Alma’s parent company, in a conference call interview with The Korea Herald. “When

IndustryDec. 3, 2019

3 more financial instutions end support for coal projects

Three South Korean financial institutions -- DB Insurance, Korean Teachers’ Credit Union and Public Officials Benefit Association -- said Tuesday they had decided to stop coal project financing in order to support the global efforts to tackle climate change. The move by the financial institutions, who have a combined $73 billion of assets under management, comes after two local public pension funds -- Korea’s Teachers’ Pension and Government Employees Pension Service, with $22

IndustryDec. 3, 2019

S. Korea offers to repair Mount Kumgang resort facilities, but NK insists on complete removal: official

South Korea has offered to repair some worn-out facilities at North Korea's Mount Kumgang resort, but Pyongyang is insisting on its demand for the removal of all facilities built by the South, a unification ministry official said Tuesday.The North has demanded the South tear down all facilities it had built at the mountain resort as part of a joint tourism project, saying the country will build a new international tourist destination of its own. It has also threatened to destruct them unilateral

North KoreaDec. 3, 2019

Still long way to go for income-led growth: Cheong Wa Dae panel chief

The head of presidential committee on South Korea's income-driven growth strategy said Tuesday the government's related initiative faces a long road before achieving full-fledged accomplishments despite some nascent positive indications.Boosting the wages and income of ordinary households here is a key economic policy of the liberal Moon Jae-in administration, which seeks the "innovative and inclusive" development of Asia's fourth-biggest economy."The Moon Jae-in government has be

PoliticsDec. 3, 2019

[Newsmaker] Welfare minister apologizes for controversial comment on child-on-child sexual abuse

The Ministry of Health and Welfare apologized Tuesday for a comment from the minister regarding a child-on-child sexual abuse case that has drawn public outrage. Welfare Minister Park Neung-hoo said Monday morning that a recent incident of a prepubescent child’s molestation of another child at a kindergarten in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, was part of “natural behavior over stages of development.”“But it poses a problem when that behavior is expressed in excess,” he

Social AffairsDec. 3, 2019

NK warns end-of-year deadline is drawing near for US to present new negotiating proposal

North Korea said Tuesday that a year-end deadline is drawing near for the United States to come up with a new proposal in their nuclear negotiations, warning it is entirely up to Washington what "Christmas gift" it wants to get.In a statement, Ri Thae-song, vice minister in charge of US affairs, also accused Washington of talking about dialogue aimed only at earning time without taking any corresponding measures to Pyongyang's denuclearization steps."The DPRK has done everything t

North KoreaDec. 3, 2019

[Newsmaker] Former President Park to return to detention center from hospital

Former President Park Geun-hye is expected to be sent back to a detention center as early as Tuesday, after 2 1/2 months in a hospital for shoulder treatment, sources said.The 67-year-old, jailed in March 2017 over a massive corruption case, underwent an operation for a rotator cuff tear at Seoul St. Mary's Hospital in mid-September. She has since received rehabilitation treatment. "(She) will be discharged at 2:00 p.m. today," said Hong Moon-jong, co-chair of Our Republican Party, a r

Social AffairsDec. 3, 2019

S. Korean negotiator stresses reason, fairness in defense cost-sharing talks

South Korea’s chief negotiator in defense cost-sharing talks with the United States said Monday that the two sides should share the burdens in a fair and reasonable manner within the current framework.“Ultimately, the most important principle is that the negotiations must contribute towards the Korea-US alliance and joint defense posture,” Jeong Eun-bo, the top envoy to the Special Measures Agreement negotiations, told reporters as he arrived at Washington’s Dulles Intern

Foreign AffairsDec. 3, 2019

Loans by insurance firms up 4.6 % in Sept.

Loans by insurance companies in South Korea rose 4.6 percent in September this year from a year earlier, data showed Tuesday.Outstanding lending by insurance firms totaled 229.3 trillion won ($193 billion) as of Sept. 30, compared with 219.1 trillion won during the same period of last year, according to the data released by the Financial Supervisory Service.Loans extended to households edged up 0.5 percent on-year to 120.4 trillion won, while their corporate lending increased 9.6 percent to 108.

MarketDec. 3, 2019

Online shopping purchases continue to rise in October

Purchases made using the Internet and mobile devices in South Korea continued to show solid growth in October, government data showed Tuesday, demonstrating the popularity of smartphones, fast delivery and convenient payment options with local shoppers.The total value of transactions made with computers, smartphones and tablets reached 11.8 trillion won ($9.9 billion) in October, up 17.3 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea. The sharp rise was attributed to in

IndustryDec. 3, 2019

US flies another spy plane over S. Korea: aviation tracker

A US reconnaissance aircraft again flew over the Korean Peninsula, an aviation tracker said Tuesday, the latest in a series of near-daily flights to monitor North Korea amid concern Pyongyang could undertake additional provocations after last week's rocket firings.The plane, believed to be an E-8C nicknamed JSTARS, was spotted in skies above the peninsula, Aircraft Spots said on its Twitter account without specifying the exact time of the operation. It also did not upload a related photo showing

DefenseDec. 3, 2019

[News Focus] Number of centenarians in Korea tops 20,000

SEJONG -- The number of people over the age of 70 is rapidly increasing in South Korea, which was dubbed an “aged society” two years ago, according to standards set by the United Nations.Further, the number of people aged 100 or over has also posted the highest growth among all age groups over the past decade.There were 20,102 centenarians in Korea as of November -- the highest so far -- as per the monthly demographic data of the Ministry of Interior and Safety, with 4,812 men and 15

Social AffairsDec. 3, 2019

Recent BMW vehicle fires unrelated to EGR system

South Korea's transport ministry said Tuesday that six recent cases of fires in BMW vehicles were not caused by problems in exhaust gas recirculation coolers and pipes.The Transportation Safety Authority is looking into what caused fires in six BMW models -- 328i, 5GT, 640d, 525d, 320d and X6 -- from October to November.  "The government will make a thorough investigation into the cases to find out what exactly caused fires in the six models," the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure

IndustryDec. 3, 2019

Top US diplomat cites allies' growing capabilities amid defense cost-sharing talks with S. Korea

WASHINGTON -- The top US diplomat for East Asia said Monday that he sees opportunities for further cooperation with South Korea and Japan as the two countries' capabilities have grown "exponentially" in recent decades.The comment by David Stilwell, US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, comes as Seoul and Washington have been negotiating the terms of a new deal on sharing the costs for the stationing of 28,500 American troops in South Korea.The fourth round

Foreign AffairsDec. 3, 2019

S. Korean negotiator hopes for 'win-win' burden-sharing deal with US

WASHINGTON -- South Korea's top negotiator in defense cost-sharing talks with the United States said Monday that he believes the two sides will be able to strike a "win-win" deal based on their common understanding of the bilateral alliance.Jeong Eun-bo, the top envoy to the Special Measures Agreement negotiations, made the comment upon arriving at Washington's Dulles International Airport ahead of the fourth round of talks slated for Tuesday and Wednesday.The previous round of talks i

Foreign AffairsDec. 3, 2019

NK leader visits Samjiyon ahead of year-end deadline for nuke talks with Washington

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un celebrated the completion of a newly-built urban township near the birthplace of his late father, state media reported Tuesday, in a visit that could suggest a major policy announcement is forthcoming.Kim attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony of the Township of Samjiyon County on Monday, the official Korean Central News Agency reported. KCNA photos showed Kim and top aides cutting a red ribbon to open the "the ideal town for the people" near the birthplace

North KoreaDec. 3, 2019