Nvidia confirms plan to produce next-generation GPUs through Samsung

Following speculations that Nvidia is planning to rely on Samsung Electronics to produce next-generation graphic processing units, the US tech giant confirmed Tuesday that it had reached an agreement for foundry cooperation with the world’s largest chipmaker. During a press conference in Seoul, Nvidia Korea chief Yoo Eung-joon said that its production of advanced GPUs will be conducted by Samsung Electronics with its 7-nanometer extreme ultraviolet process.“It is meaningful that Sams

TechnologyJuly 2, 2019

[Herald Interview] Aspiring entrepreneurs discuss startup ecosystem

From a student’s perspective, tech-savvy South Korea might be just the place to make a promising start as an entrepreneur.But it also has its limits, despite the unprecedented level of support and attention being paid to the startup ecosystem here, according to Korean students who took part in a two-day hackathon in Finland in June, jointly organized by the Seoul-based Korea Startup Forum and Helsinki-based Junction.Three of them sat down with The Korea Herald to talk about what&

TechnologyJuly 2, 2019

Impact of DMZ meeting on denuclearization remains unclear

The leaders of the two Koreas and the US on Sunday made history at the inter-Korean border, but the impact the gathering will have on denuclearization prospects remain unclear. The ruling Democratic Party welcomed the meeting, with its Floor Leader Rep. Lee In-young saying, “Following the (US-North Korea) working-level talks, denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and establishing peace will enter an irreversible situation.”Meanwhile, the main opposition Liberty Korea Party raised

North KoreaJuly 2, 2019

Seoul to host electric-car race ABB FIA Formula E next May

ABB FIA Formula E Championship, the world’s only electric-powered car race, will take place in Seoul in May next year, Formula E Korea said Tuesday. Dubbed Seoul E-Prix 2020, the championship’s 10th race in its sixth season will be held at Jamsil Sports Complex and on roads around the Olympic Park on May 3. Fourteen rounds will take place in 12 cities, finishing the race in London in July. Participating automotive firms include Audi, Jaguar, Nissan, DS, BMW, Mercedes-Benz a

MobilityJuly 2, 2019

Hong Kong protests may give Taiwan's leader a boost vs China

BEIJING (AP) -- Recent anti-government protests in Hong Kong are echoing in Taiwan, possibly giving the island's President Tsai Ing-wen a lift in her campaign to resist Beijing's pressure for political unification and win a second term in next year's elections. The demonstrations sparked by Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam's now-shelved push for unpopular extradition legislation have turned a glaring spotlight on China's "one country, two systems" framework for ruling the former Br

World NewsJuly 2, 2019

Far-right party says it will set up protest tents again at public plaza

A far-right opposition party said Tuesday it will set up protest tents again at a public plaza in central Seoul this week, heralding another possible clash with the city government and the district office.The Our Republican Party had illegally set up the tents at Gwanghwamun Square to call for the release of the jailed former President Park Geun-hye since May, pitting itself against the city government, which had ordered the removal. The party temporarily moved the tents to a spot in front of a

PoliticsJuly 2, 2019

Workforce for chips, display industries to reach 165,000 by 2027

The South Korean government projects that the nation’s future industries would require 165,000 workers by 2027, vowing to address skills shortages by training workers through higher education and public projects. On Tuesday, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said its survey results revealed a growing need for manpower in five future industries, including next-generation chips, advanced display panels, internet of things-based home appliances, augmented reality and virtual reality

IndustryJuly 2, 2019

[Herald Review] Good acting eclipsed by rookie directing in ‘The Culprit’

Both Song Sae-byeong and Yoo Sun are quality actors, but it has been quite some time since either of them benefited from a good script or decent directing. One more unfortunate example of this is the upcoming mystery thriller “The Culprit” by director Go Jung-wook, a jumbled pile of pretentious plots that are convoluted and confusing for all the wrong reasons. A twist for twist’s sake is never the right choice, a note that the director apparently didn’t get for his first

FilmJuly 2, 2019

Lawmaker says next Trump-Kim summit likely in January in Singapore

A ruling party lawmaker said Tuesday that the next summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is likely to be held early next year in Singapore.Rep. Lee Seok-hyun of the Democratic Party had predicted the surprise Trump-Kim meeting in Panmunjom on Sunday in a tweet the day before that said “a DMZ flash meeting will take place tomorrow afternoon.” The six-term lawmaker who sits on the parliamentary foreign affairs and unification committee wrote on Fa

North KoreaJuly 2, 2019

NK newspaper calls Japan 'malignant tumor' over plan to deploy missile defense system

North Korea's main newspaper denounced Japan as a "malignant cancer" of the region on Tuesday, blasting Tokyo's push to deploy missile defense systems that Pyongyang claims can be used to invade other countries.Referring to Japan's plan to set up a pair of US-developed Aegis Ashore systems in the country, the Rodong Sinmun said the systems target not only the Korean Peninsula but also China and Russia. In a commentary, the newspaper said the move is part of the country's broader scheme

North KoreaJuly 2, 2019

BTS' management company to move into new building

Big Hit Entertainment, the management agency for K-pop boy band BTS, said Tuesday it plans to move into a new 19-story office building in central Seoul next May in accordance with its business expansion plan.Big Hit and its affiliates will lease an entire building with 26 floors, including seven below ground, whose construction is to be completed in the Yongsan district by the end of this year, the company said."The office relocation has been planned in line with the company's rapid personn

EntertainmentJuly 2, 2019

Actor Lee Min-ho named as promotional envoy for Korean language education institutes

The government said Tuesday it plans to designate South Korean actor Lee Min-ho next week as a promotional ambassador to promote overseas institutes, established by South Korea, that offer foreigners Korean language courses and Korean culture activities.The culture ministry and the Seoul-based King Sejong Institute Foundation are scheduled to hold a ceremony in Seoul next Tuesday to mark the designation of Lee, an icon of "hallyu," or the Korean wave, as an envoy for the state-run King

PeopleJuly 2, 2019

546 N. Koreans defected to South during Jan.-June period: ministry

The number of North Koreans who defected to South Korea during the first half of this year totaled 546, the unification ministry said Tuesday.The figure was up from 487 recorded during the same period a year earlier, according to the ministry. The annual number of North Korean defectors peaked in 2009 with 2,914. The figures have averaged around 1,000-1,500 since North Korean leader Kim Jong-un took power in late 2011, the ministry said.Currently, more than 32,000 North Korean defectors are livi

North KoreaJuly 2, 2019

Minor parties urge ruling party to spur efforts not to derail electoral reform bill

The chiefs of three minor opposition parties called on the ruling party Tuesday to make efforts not to derail an election reform bill that the four parties jointly put on a fast-track in April.The minor opposition Bareunmirae Party (BP), the liberal Party for Democracy and Peace (PDP) and the leftist Justice Party (JP) urged the ruling Democratic Party (DP) to take the helm of a special panel tasked with handling political reform to enable the electoral reform bill to be passed by August. The fo

PoliticsJuly 2, 2019

[News Focus] ToolGen, Genexine seek to smooth path for merger

ToolGen and Genexine -- to be called ToolGenexine after merger -- held a strategy briefing for the media and investors earlier this week in an attempt to pacify their concerned shareholders.　The merger of the biotech companies, announced June 19, has stirred up mixed sentiments in the domestic bio industry. One side heralded it as a rare case of bio firms forging ties rather than the more common business model of a traditional chemical pharma firm acquiring a smaller biotech startup with innovat

IndustryJuly 2, 2019

[Diplomatic circuit] Korea, Japan, China to discuss ways to save crested ibis in Seoul

Experts and government officials from South Korea, Japan and China will gather in Seoul next week to discuss ways to improve the environment for the crested ibis, an endangered species, an international organization said Monday. The crested ibis, a species that had mainly nested in Northeast Asia and parts of Russia, is at the brink of extinction. It is listed as Korea’s National Monument No. 198, but was last seen in the wild in 1979.  In an effort to save the species, a trilateral c

Diplomatic CircuitJuly 2, 2019

S. Korea, WFP in discussion with US on sanctions exemptions for rice provision to N. Korea

South Korea is in close cooperation with the World Food Programme (WFP) to discuss sanctions exemptions with the United Sates over its plan to send rice aid to North Korea, a unification ministry official said Tuesday.  Last month, the unification ministry handling inter-Korean affairs unveiled a plan to provide 50,000 tons of domestically harvested rice to North Korea through the WFP, which will handle its delivery and distribution there.  Details on how and when the assista

North KoreaJuly 2, 2019

S. Korea-Japan relations heading to new low after Japan's retaliatory step

The long-fraught ties between South Korea and Japan are plunging to a new low, as their intractable historical issues are bleeding into the economic domain, with voices for reconciliation drowned out by domestic politics, nationalism and mutual distrust.On Monday, Tokyo blindsided Seoul by announcing that it would tighten restrictions on several key chemical exports to South Korea in an apparent response to last year's Supreme Court rulings here against Japanese firms over wartime forced labor.

Foreign AffairsJuly 2, 2019

Moon calls DMZ meeting end to N. Korea-US hostile relations

President Moon Jae-in said Thursday that North Korea and the United States have effectively declared an end to their hostile relations with the symbolic weekend meeting between their leaders at the inter-Korean border.Although they did not sign any document, their action was tantamount to a "de facto declaration of an end to hostile relations and the beginning of a full-fledged peace era," Moon stressed, speaking at a Cabinet meeting. He was referring to a meeting between US President

North KoreaJuly 2, 2019

[Newsmaker] Singer-actor Park Yoo-chun given suspended sentence for drug use

A local court sentenced Park Yoo-chun, an actor and former member of boy band JYJ, to 10 months in prison on Tuesday, suspended two years, for using an illegal drug.Suwon District Court in the city of Suwon, south of Seoul, also ordered the 32-year-old disgraced entertainer to pay a fine of 1.4 million won (around $1,203) and issued probation and treatment orders for him."Drug-related crimes should be harshly punished due to severe addiction and harmful effects on individuals and society,&q

Social AffairsJuly 2, 2019