Philips Korea provides digitalized diagnosis system for Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital

Philips Korea, the local unit of Dutch health care giant Philips, said Monday it has been providing a digital pathology system that aids diagnosis of cancer for the Catholic University of Korea’s St. Mary’s Hospital since last month. The system, dubbed “Philips IntelliSite Pathology Solution,” allows the hospital’s pathology team to obtain accurate diagnosis results through a digitalized method. The team is able to manage patients’ tissue slides in the fo

IndustryJuly 8, 2019

Rival parties to send delegation to Japan over Tokyo’s export curbs

Rival parties agreed Monday to send a delegation to Japan this month as part of efforts to help resolve the problem of Tokyo’s export curbs over a historical issue.They also decided to adopt a parliamentary resolution during the ongoing extraordinary session that calls on Japan to retract the apparent retaliatory measure.The agreement came at a meeting of National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang and the floor leaders of three political parties.“Moon proposed sending a bipartisan deleg

Foreign AffairsJuly 8, 2019

Moody's keeps its rating on South Korea at Aa2

Global rating agency Moody's Investors Service said Monday that it is maintaining its rating on South Korea at "Aa2" with a stable rating outlook.  Moody's rating for Asia's fourth largest economy has been Aa2, the third-highest level on the company's table, since 2015, when the rating agency upgraded it from Aa3.  "The Government of Korea's (Aa2 stable) credit profile balances the country's very strong economic and fiscal fundamentals against high exposure to event

EconomyJuly 8, 2019

Police chief vows thorough probe into assault on Vietnamese woman

South Korea's police chief on Monday expressed regrets over a recent assault on a Vietnamese woman by her Korean husband and vowed to conduct a thorough investigation into the case.Min Gap-ryong, commissioner general of the Korean National Police Agency, made the remarks during his talks with To Lam, Vietnamese minister of public security, in Seoul.The high-profile case made headlines in both countries over the weekend, after a video went viral of a 36-year-old Korean man punching and kicking hi

Social AffairsJuly 8, 2019

Young S. Korean delegation to embark on historical field trip to China

A team of 100 South Koreans are set to embark on a train journey across China to visit historical sites linked to the Korean government-in-exile against Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule, the foreign ministry said Monday.The field trip, titled "Korea-China Friendship Caravan," comes as part of the government's broader efforts to commemorate the centennial of the establishment of the Korean Provisional Government in Shanghai that fought for the country's independence. This year also marks t

Foreign AffairsJuly 8, 2019

Pianist Son Yeol-eum to make BBC Proms debut

Pianist Son Yeol-eum is set to make her BBC Proms debut later this month. Son is to perform Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 15 in B flat major with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Omer Meir Wellber on July 23 at London’s Royal Albert Hall. BBC Proms, hosted by the British public service broadcaster, is an eight-week summer music festival founded in 1895. Orchestral concerts mainly take place at the Royal Albert Hall, while chamber music concerts take place at Cadogan Ha

PerformanceJuly 8, 2019

N. Korea yet to respond to Seoul's invitation to int'l swimming event

North Korea has not responded to South Korea's invitation to join an international swimming event set to kick off later this week, the unification ministry said Monday.South Korea and FINA earlier invited North Korea to the biennial 2019 FINA World Championships to be held from Friday to July 28 in Gwangju and Yeosu, its two southern cities. FINA is the French abbreviation of the International Swimming Federation. "We have nothing new to share with regard to the issue of the North's partici

North KoreaJuly 8, 2019

Parliamentary speaker mulls sending delegation to N. Korea

National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang is expected to push for sending a delegation of lawmakers to North Korea in a bid to lay the groundwork for an inter-Korean parliamentary meeting, officials said Monday.Moon plans to propose the idea to North Korea this week in a shift from his plan for an immediate inter-Korean parliamentary event, according to the parliamentary officials. Moon will hold a press conference Friday to mark the first anniversary of his inauguration."A parliamentary meet

North KoreaJuly 8, 2019

[Warren Fernandez] Forging community ties, one friendly gesture at a time

Singapore is well known for its Third to First World economic transformation, its efficient, effective Government, as well as for being a very fine, clean and green city.The annual Shangri-La Dialogue, when defence chiefs from many countries gather on the island to thrash out the geopolitical issues of the day, is also well established.Now, thanks to Singapore's President Halimah Yacob, the Republic might also come to be recognised for its painstaking efforts over the years to foster a society w

ViewpointsJuly 8, 2019

Samsung to release low-end Galaxy M20 in S. Korea

Samsung Electronics Co. said Monday it will release its Galaxy M20, a low-end smartphone, in South Korea to target budget costumers.The Galaxy M20 will go on sale via Samsung's online mall and other e-commerce marketplaces, including Gmarket and Auction, for 220,000 won ($187.30) on July 15.  Ahead of its official launch, the unlocked smartphone will be sold on the local fashion online shopping mall Musinsa, Samsung said. The device has a 6.3-inch display with a minimum bezel and packs a du

IndustryJuly 8, 2019

KEPCO to sell stakes in 2 affiliates to improve financial health

The Korea Electric Power Corp. plans to sell stakes in its two affiliates, officials at the state-run utility company said Monday, in a bid to improve its financial status.The two affiliates are KEPCO Engineering & Construction Co. and Korea Electric Power Industrial Development.  In a report submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission in April, KEPCO said it plans to sell a 14.77 percent stake in KEPCO E&C and all of its shares in KEPID to pay off debts and enhance manag

IndustryJuly 8, 2019

National pension fund's total assets exceed 700 tr won

The total assets under management by South Korea's state pension fund exceeded the 700 trillion won ($596 billion) mark for the first time three decades after its birth, data showed Monday.The milestone comes 31 years after Asia's fourth-largest economy launched the income support program with its assets being equivalent to 37 percent of the country's gross domestic product, according to the data compiled by the National Pension Service, the fund's operator.As of Friday, the fund's assets stood

EconomyJuly 8, 2019

S. Korea to send rotational troops to South Sudan

A new contingent of South Korean troops will be deployed to South Sudan later this month to carry out UN peacekeeping operations, the Army said Monday. A send-off ceremony took place in Incheon, west of Seoul, for more than 280 rotational troops to serve at the Hanbit unit in the African country for eight months.They are the 11th batch of troops to be sent there since South Korea began deployment in 2013, the Army said, adding that some of them will depart for the country later in the day, while

DefenseJuly 8, 2019

S. Korea urges Japan to lift export restrictions

South Korea's finance minister on Monday pressed Japan to withdraw its export restrictions on key semiconductor materials as the Japanese move could have a negative impact on the global economy.Hong Nam-ki, the minister of economy and finance, said Japan's export restrictions run counter to the principles of the World Trade Organization.The comments came days after Japan began to tighten regulations on exports to South Korea of high-tech materials essential for the production of semiconductors a

EconomyJuly 8, 2019

Corporate debt sales hit record in H1

Sales of South Korea's corporate bonds hit a record high in the first half of the year, as low interest rates prompted companies to sell more debt, data showed Monday.  The corporate debts floated in the January-June period, including bank bonds and asset-backed securities, stood at 48.8 trillion won ($41.5 billion), up 12.7 percent from a year ago, according to the data by the Korea Financial Investment Association.  It was the largest corporate offerings on a half-year basis, th

EconomyJuly 8, 2019

[Newsmaker] Senior journalist accused of taking upskirt photo in subway

A senior editorial member of broadcaster SBS resigned Monday over suspicion he secretly took a photo of the lower part of a woman’s body in a subway station, according to the TV station.　The broadcaster accepted the resignation of Kim Sung-joon, 55, who had been one of its top news anchormen.　The Yeongdeungpo Police Station booked Kim without detention on suspicion that he took the photo without the woman’s knowledge at Yeongdeungpo-gu Office Station at around 11:55 p.m. Wednesday.&n

Social AffairsJuly 8, 2019

[Exclusive] LG’s health unit eyes acquisition of biopharma Hugel

LG Household & Health Care, an affiliate of LG Group that manufactures cosmetics and household goods, has considered acquiring South Korean botulinum toxin maker Hugel as part of efforts to expand its “cosmeceutical” business, sources told The Korea Herald on Sunday. The LG affiliate was seeking financial investors early this year to acquire the domestic biopharmaceutical firm, which is developing patch-type BTX, an innovative alternative to the conventional injection form of the

IndustryJuly 8, 2019

Chaebol chiefs to meet Moon, top policymakers over Japan’s ‘chip moves’

Amid intensifying fears over Japan’s retaliatory moves against Korea, leaders of major South Korean conglomerates were invited to a private meeting with top policymakers on Sunday to discuss countermeasures, according to reports. Economy and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki and Kim Sang-jo, presidential chief of staff for policy, were to meet Hyundai Motor Executive Vice Chairman Chung Euisun, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and LG Group Chairman Koo Gwang-mo, Yonhap News Agency reported, citin

IndustryJuly 7, 2019

[Feature] Hanawon: Helping NK defectors settle better in capitalist South

Since the two Koreas separated in 1953, about 33,000 North Koreans have taken the life-risking, circuitous journey to the other side of the border, seeking to escape hunger and oppression in their homeland.In order to reduce unfamiliarity and help the North Korean defectors stand on their own in the capitalist South, the government here established the Settlement Support Center for North Korean Refugees, commonly known as Hanawon. Almost all North Korean defectors undertake a 12-week course at H

North KoreaJuly 7, 2019

Samsung Electronics VP heads to Japan amid export curbs on chips materials

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong traveled to Japan on Sunday, apparently to meet with local business leaders and discuss Seoul's response to Tokyo's retaliatory limits on exports of high-tech materials.Japan said last week it would tighten regulations on exports of materials used in chips and smartphone displays to South Korea amid a widening dispute over Koreans who were forced to work for Japanese companies during World War II. Samsung Electronics and other chipmakers are experie

IndustryJuly 7, 2019