Forever Living aims to appeal to Korean customers with high-quality aloe vera products

Arizona-based aloe vera manufacturer Forever Living aims to appeal to Korean customers with high-quality products and marketing of its aloe vera-based health and diet supplements.Forever Living -- the largest aloe vera retailer in the world with 4 trillion won ($3 billion) in annual sales -- entered Korea in 1988.The company has a presence in dozens of countries, with its aloe vera products ranging from cosmetics to health and diet supplements.  It also runs Forever Nutraceutical, a researc

IndustryAug. 4, 2019

How will import process change with Japan’s whitelist exclusion of Korea?

South Korean manufacturers of cutting-edge electronic components are likely to face increasing costs and burden of securing hi-tech materials and parts from Japan following the decision to remove the country from its whitelist of entrusted trade partners. Korean companies that purchase any of the 1,115 items designated as strategic materials from Japan will now be required to submit extra documents including export approval, the final users’ covenants and reasons for imports.  As many

IndustryAug. 4, 2019

BTS Jimin sets new record with 3 songs with 50m streams on Spotify

Jimin of boy band phenomenon BTS has become the first Korean singer to have three songs on Spotify to each surpass 50 million streams.Seven months after “Intro: Serendipity” and “Lie” hit 50 million streams on Spotify, Jimin has extended his record and set a new high-water mark for Korean singers with “Serendipity (Full Length Edition).” No other Korean act has achieved two songs with 50 million streams on Spotify since Psy pulled off the feat with “Gang

PerformanceAug. 4, 2019

S. Korea struggles to attain 2% range GDP growth this year

In light of the trade conflict with Japan and other external risks, concerns are mounting that South Korea’s economic growth this year may fall below 2 percent at worst, lower than the range of 2.2-2.5 percent forecast by the government and the central bank.The state-run think tank Korea Institute for International Economic Policy said in its recent report that Japan’s export restrictions would reduce Korea’s gross domestic product by 0.27-0.44 percentage point. The report

EconomyAug. 4, 2019

[Herald Review] ‘Ghost Walk’ delves into life through eyes of a specter

What does it mean for someone to live? To lead a life that is beyond mere survival, to bring meaning to a moment of fleeting existence on Earth?Yu Eun-jeong explores the existential question in her first feature film, the cleverly-directed and poignant “Ghost Walk,” through the eyes of someone who is no longer among the living.The film follows Hye-jeong (Han Hae-in), a factory worker whose provincial life is devoid of any fun, challenges, or emotional stimulation, shutting herself do

FilmAug. 4, 2019

South Korean man arrested in Hong Kong on suspicion of illegal protest

Amid mass protests in Hong Kong objecting to a controversial extradition law, a South Korean man in his 20s was arrested for allegedly participating in an illegal protest, South Korean authorities said Sunday.This is the first time a South Korean national has been arrested since pro-democracy demonstrations began in the semiautonomous region in June.According to South Korea’s Consulate General in Hong Kong, Hong Kong police are interrogating the man, who was arrested at around 2 a.m. Sunda

Social AffairsAug. 4, 2019

Tech firms expand mobile payment services offline

Seeking to introduce a series of advanced mobile payment services targeting the offline market this year, tech companies are up for heated competition over the smartphone-based payment market here.Dominant Korean internet portal Naver said last month that it would soon launch a mobile payment system available at local stores and restaurants. Combined with its incumbent Naver Pay mobile payment platform, offline service “Table Order” is expected to launch in the third quarter of this

TechnologyAug. 4, 2019

S. Korea to expand state budget to cope with Japan’s trade curbs

The ruling party, government and presidential office on Sunday vowed to add at least 1 trillion won ($833 million) to next year’s state budget, in an effort to expand fiscal space amid escalated trade tension with Japan.They also agreed to kick off a task force to promote the manufacturing competitiveness of local parts, components and equipment, to make up for the loss of Japanese imports.  “The government should swiftly execute the corresponding amount from the (recently appro

MarketAug. 4, 2019

S. Korea, US to begin joint military drills Monday

South Korea and the United States will stage joint military drills as scheduled despite warnings from North Korea, the South Korean military authority said Sunday.The joint drills will begin Monday with a computer-simulated command post exercise (CPX) to cope with any emergency on the Korean Peninsula and last for half a month, according to the authority.After the CPX, the allies will spend the remaining 10 days intensively verifying Seoul's capabilities for its envisioned retaking of wartime op

DefenseAug. 4, 2019

Main opposition warns its lawmaker who showed up drunk at National Assembly

Main opposition Liberty Korea Party Chairman Hwang Kyo-ahn has issued a warning to Rep. Kim Jae-won, who stirred up controversy after answering questions on the extra budget under the influence of alcohol, the party said Sunday.Kim, chairman of the parliamentary special committee on budget and accounts, showed up drunk at the National Assembly near midnight on Aug. 1 and answered reporters’ questions about the supplementary budget. “It has been confirmed that Rep. Kim Jae-won drank o

PoliticsAug. 4, 2019

Koreans hold candlelight vigil to protest Abe government

Some 680 civic groups held a candlelight vigil over the weekend in protest of the Japanese government’s decision to take South Korea off a list of preferred trading partners and to call on Tokyo to apologize for war crimes it committed in World War II.According to organizers, a Japanese civic group also sent its support, backing the protest against the Abe government’s escalation of conflict with Korea. Some 15,000 people took to the streets to join the candlelight vigil in swelterin

PoliticsAug. 4, 2019

Police to focus on areas with large foreign populations in safety push

Police are expanding efforts to improve safety in neighborhoods with large foreign-born populations.The Korean National Police Agency rolled out additional plans for improving safety in areas with large number of non-citizens on Sunday, including a data analytics project using cellphone data. The announcement follows an earlier move on March 17, when the agency said it would apply crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) to 19 districts with high populations of non-citizens, includi

Social AffairsAug. 4, 2019

Korean victim of Japan’s WWII sex slavery dies, survivor number down to 20

A Korean woman who was forced into sexual slavery for Japanese soldiers during World War II died Sunday.The Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan said Sunday the woman had died earlier in the morning. The funeral will be held in private as per her and her family’s wishes. She is the fifth surviving South Korean sex slavery victim to die this year. This brings to 20 the number of former sex slaves registered with the government. Gender Equality Minis

Social AffairsAug. 4, 2019

Model warns of legal action against rumors over video with Kangta

Racing model Woo Joo-ahn will take legal measures against people spreading false rumors about her on the internet following a recent incident involving her ex-boyfriend, singer-songwriter Kangta.“I will take legal action against those spreading false stories, libelous comments, insulting rumors,” Woo said on Instagram on Sunday.“(The legal action) will cover the three main portals, Instagram and major online communities,” Woo added. On Thursday, Woo, 29, mistakenly upload

PerformanceAug. 4, 2019

Japan’s auto parts makers fined W92b over price fixing, reported to prosecutors

Japan’s four-largest automobile parts makers were fined a combined total of 92 billion won ($76 million) by South Korea’s antitrust watchdog for fixing the prices of auto parts, officials said Sunday. According to the Fair Trade Commission, four Japanese car parts firms had fixed prices in collusion when selling alternators and ignition coils to local automakers for 10 years. The four companies included Mitsubishi Electric and Hitachi Automotive Systems, which were fined 80 billion w

IndustryAug. 4, 2019

Repeat sex offender sentenced to life for rape, murder of neighbor

A 41-year-old man surnamed Kang was sentenced to life in prison for rape and murder of a neighborhood woman.The Supreme Court on Sunday confirmed the life sentence and 200 hours of sex offender treatment program given by lower courts.Kang was arrested in May last year for forcibly taking a 59-year-old woman he met in an elevator to his home, then sexually assaulting and strangling her to death.“The defendant previously served over 10 years in prison for three different sex offenses. In vie

Social AffairsAug. 4, 2019

Beauty store chain fined over unfair biz practice

South Korea's antitrust regulator said Sunday that it has fined CJ Olive Networks Co. 1 billion won ($837,000) for violating the fair transactions law.The operator of Olive Young, a leading health and beauty store chain, is accused of returning goods worth about 4.1 billion won to its suppliers without justifiable reasons between January 2014 and July 2017, according to the Fair Trade Commission. The law stipulates that a large franchise and retail business operator should not return goods witho

IndustryAug. 4, 2019

Adopted Koreans return for international conference

Over 550 international adoptees and family members attended the International Korean Adoptee Association’s 15th anniversary gathering last week at Lotte Hotel Seoul. The first official IKAA Gathering in Seoul was held in 2004 following IKAA’s establishment that same year. However, the gathering itself has earlier foundations, with the International Gathering of the First Generation of Korean Adoptees held in Washington in 1999. This year, three generations of adult Korean adoptees fr

Social AffairsAug. 4, 2019

Typhoon Francisco forecast to pass through Korean peninsula

Typhoon Francisco, the season's eighth typhoon, is forecast to land on South Korea's southern coast on Tuesday night, the weather agency said Sunday. The typhoon was moving northwest at a speed of 25 kilometers per hour from about 1,310 kilometers east-southeast of Kagoshima, Japan, as of 9 a.m., the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said.Francisco was classified as "small" with a central pressure of 990 hectopascals (hPa). The maximum sustained wind speed near its center was 8

Social AffairsAug. 4, 2019

40% of listed firms' share prices hit 52-week low on Japan's export curb

Nearly 40 percent of South Korea's shares listed on the main and secondary markets saw their share prices hit a 52-week low after Japan announced an export curb against Asia's No. 4 economy in July, data showed Sunday.The number of companies whose share prices hit a 52-week low since July until Friday reached 975 from both markets, making up 43.3 percent of the combined listed firms, according to the figure compiled by the bourse operator Korea Exchange (KRX). From the 900 firms listed on the ma

EconomyAug. 4, 2019