Most Popular
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Ex-presidential official’s leaked phone call rattles conservative bloc
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Pay debate plagues foreign nanny pilot
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35% of S. Koreans view unification 'unnecessary'
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Slew of top K-pop stars ready to return from military
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S. Korea, US clinch 2026-30 defense cost-sharing deal in pre-election push
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[Reporter’s Notebook] Was Netflix film opening BIFF really a bad thing?
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N. Korean leader's sister derides Seoul's Hyunmoo-5 missile as 'useless'
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Controversial cult leader’s sentence reduced to 17 years
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Concerns raised over chronic labor shortage at state-run center for digital sex crime victims
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[KH Explains] Is private equity giant MBK a risk-taker or renegade?
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[Herald Interview] Resources diplomacy takes time, patience: ambassador
In the wake of the CNK International stock-rigging scandal, South Korea’s so-called “resources diplomacy” has become a point of contention due to the high risks and low efficiency in searching for oil and other energy resources overseas.Questions were raised whether Korea’s signing of an MOU with the United Arab Emirates early last year to develop three oil fields in Abu Dhabi was overblown, because neither side has announced the signing of an official deal yet.However, resources diplomacy takes
Foreign AffairsFeb. 26, 2012
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[Herald Interview] Philippine envoy welcomes speedy return for migrant workers
The Philippine ambassador has welcomed revised laws to help migrant workers renew their employment contracts here, but has also called for amnesty for those who have already overstayed their visas. While Luis T. Cruz said South Korea and the Philippines shared the common goal of “the rights and welfare of the workers,” he also called for further improvements to the law on Korea’s Employment Permit System. EPS allows Korean employers to hire temporary foreign workers for jobs they have not been a
Foreign AffairsFeb. 26, 2012
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[Herald Interview] Korea needs to be more assertive on Japanese rule
The rights of Korean victims of Japan’s colonial rule to seek compensation remain intact, said Park In-hwan, the new chief of the Prime Ministerial commission on investigating issues regarding forced labor during Japan’s occupation of Korea.“The rights of the individuals to seek compensation still stand. No comfort woman said entrusted their rights to the Korean government and no-one waived these rights,” Park said.“Even some Japanese lawyers agree to this. All conscientious people agree to this
Social AffairsFeb. 21, 2012
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[Herald Interview] LS Group taps into emerging markets
Chairman John Koo says companies’ social contribution is mandatory investmentLS Group, unrivaled in Korea for industrial cables and electrical systems, is aggressively expanding abroad with a focus on green businesses, such as smart grid, renewable energy, electric car parts and resource development. With LS Cable & System and LS Industrial Systems as its two main pillars, LS has grown into the nation’s 13th largest conglomerate in terms of asset value in the nine years since it spun off from LG
IndustryFeb. 20, 2012
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[Herald Interview] Koo champions LS Group’s expansion, shared growth
Chairman says LS is fattening investment in Silicon Valley to find business modelThe following is a transcript of The Korea Herald’s interview with LS Group chairman John Koo. ― Ed.KH: How do you forecast the domestic and international management environment this year or for the next few years?Koo: I expect a time of extreme volatility as the global economic cycle accelerates. Increased uncertainties due to the eurozone debt crisis and instability in the Middle East will raise the volatility of
IndustryFeb. 20, 2012
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[Herald Interview] Performing arts congress to focus on ‘cultural shifts’
ISPA CEO David Baile says Korean arts scene ‘progressive’The month of June will be an exciting month for Korea’s performing arts scene as the International Society for the Performing Arts (ISPA) Congress will held in Seoul for the first time. The six-day event will bring some of the most influential performing arts figures together here, including Sydney Opera House’s chief executive Richard Evans, New York Philharmonic Orchestra’s executive director Zarin Mehta and Singapore’s Esplanade CEO Be
PerformanceFeb. 14, 2012
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[Herald Interview] KLTI reaches out to global literary market
Translation institute’s new director Kim stresses importance of international promotion of Korean literatureMore international networking and aggressive marketing are needed to better promote Korean literature overseas, said the newly appointed director of Korea Literature Translation Institute on Wednesday.“What local critics consider as an exceptional piece of literary work here may not be regarded the same way overseas,” Kim Seong-kon told The Korea Herald in his office in Samseong-dong, Seou
BooksFeb. 9, 2012
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[Herald Interview] Reviving past glory
Former Uzbekistan coach aims to help Korea win boxing gold in LondonHe can’t speak a word of Korean, and knows little about this country, but former Uzbekistan boxing coach Mars Kuchkarov says his current goal is to take the Korean national boxers to the London 2012 Olympics.His name may not be familiar to most people here, but the former Uzbekistani national team coach is one of the biggest names in boxing. Now, 55, Kuchkarov has established himself over the past two decades as a master of boxi
More SportsFeb. 9, 2012
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[Herald Interview] KLTI reaches out to global literary market
Translation institute’s new director Kim stresses importance of international promotion of Korean literatureMore international networking and aggressive marketing are needed to better promote Korean literature overseas, said the newly appointed director of Korea Literature Translation Institute on Wednesday.“What local critics consider as an exceptional piece of literary work here may not be regarded the same way overseas,” Kim Seong-kon told The Korea Herald in his office in Samseong-dong, Seou
BooksFeb. 9, 2012
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[Herald Interview] Choi Min-sik returns as layered villain
‘Nameless Gangster’ star says every character is complex, especially the bad guysIt’s quite fascinating to meet Choi Min-sik in person. For those who have never met this prolific actor off-screen, it’d be hard to imagine him as someone so down to earth and “normal.” On top of everything else, his face is that of the gruesome serial killer in “I Saw the Devil,” and the child murderer in “Sympathy for Lady Vengeance.”In real life, however, Choi is a fan of popular girl group Girls’ Generation, lov
FilmFeb. 1, 2012
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[Herald Interview] ‘Korea-Japan business activity recovering’
Biz association chief says FTA would make bilateral economy strongerBusiness cooperation between Seoul and Tokyo is getting stronger and closer as more and more Japanese companies are setting up operations in Korea, a top Japanese business leader said. “We thought that in Japan, our supply chain was perfect, but the earthquake and tsunami made our perfect supply chain a disaster. So Japanese companies started to think about diversifying the supply chain,” Tsutomu Awaya, chairman of Seoul Japan C
Jan. 30, 2012
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[Herald Interview] Professor casts new light on Seoul Fortress Wall
For Song Inho, an architecture professor of the University of Seoul, the most propitious place in the capital is an area extending from the peak of Mount Inwang to its northern ridge. On the summit of the mountain behind the presidential office, he can get a clear aerial view of the ancient fortress wall that encircles Seoul.In the fortress wall, he also sees a thick layer of the 600-year history of the capital.Fascinated by the magnificent landscape, he wants to share the beauty of the cultural
Social AffairsJan. 20, 2012
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[Herald Interview] ‘Seoul should protect N. Korean defectors in China by law’
Activist says food aid to Pyongyang almost never reaches N. Korean residentsRobert Park, a Korean-American human rights activist and missionary imprisoned by Pyongyang from late 2009 to early 2010, said the South Korean government should provide diplomatic protection to North Korean refugees who have defected to China.“These refugees are citizens of Korea and if they’re sent back to North Korea, they are going to be tortured and executed,” Park told The Korea Herald on the phone.He declined to m
North KoreaJan. 11, 2012
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[Herald Interview] ‘Songs just happen like acorns falling from a tree’
Irish musician Rice is Jan. 11 concert soldoutWith Guinness and Westlife among the very few Irish things that have made it to Korea, and the singer’s face rarely shown on TV, a fan of Irish singer Damien Rice may pride him/herself on being “a classy minority.” Minor fandom, however, is hardly a suitable term for a musician who sold out some 1,600 seats in just a few hours, despite modest promotion activities and relatively expensive tickets priced at 132,000 to 165,000 won (about $150).In an e-m
PerformanceJan. 2, 2012
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[Herald Interview] Lawmaker seeks to turn ideas into reality for public
This is the fourth in a series of interviews with first-term lawmakers. ― Ed.Politics is about turning theory into policy and thus dreams into reality, says a biologist-turned-lawmaker.Rep. Bae Eun-hee, before joining the ruling Grand National Party in 2008 as a representative chosen by proportional representation, was chief executive officer of Regen Biotech, a biotechnology venture company.“I never thought of myself as a politician before I heard President Lee Myung-bak say that policies must
PoliticsDec. 30, 2011
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[Herald Interview] Chinese young chairman plans to make golf World Cup success
HAIKOU, China -- The chief organizer of the World Cup of Golf believes the event’s popularity will take off in the years to come. “The World Cup is not as popular as other sports. For instance golf in China is only 25 years old. But it means there is a lot of room to grow,” said Ken Chu, chairman of Mission Hills Group.The biennial global competition started in 1954 in Canada with seven nations competing. In 1995, just a year after Mission Hills’ establishment, the Chinese golf club hosted the c
More SportsNov. 27, 2011
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[Herald Interview] Not the same old Colombia
There is a new and positive feeling in the air at the Colombian Embassy, not only because of the Colombian president’s visit but also because of plans to heighten overall relations with Korea.The once-small embassy has doubled in size to welcome three new attaches who will work to promote science an
Foreign AffairsSept. 13, 2011
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[Herald Interview] New start for figure skating
First foreign coach trains Korean national team for Sochi 2014It’s a Thursday morning in Taeneung, northern Seoul, and the 10 a.m. training session is well under way. A group of figure skaters are working out at the national ice skating rink. “Come on, let’s move,” their instructor Sergei Astashev u
More SportsSept. 13, 2011
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[Herald Interview] Standards body keen on Korea’s smart grids
Korea’s growing technological prowess and the business community’s brisk participation in standardization works will help expand global markets for smart grids, executives of the Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers’ Standards Association said.The standards body is a unit within the IEEE,
IndustrySept. 8, 2011
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[Herald Interview] Pole vault legend Bubka praises Daegu Worlds
DAEGU -- Korea’s first ever World Championships in Athletics, which concluded on Sunday after nine days of competition, will provide a “bright future” for Korean athletics, according to athletics legend Sergey Bubka.In his pole vaulting career, Bubka won six Worlds titles, set 35 world records, and
Sept. 4, 2011