The National Assembly on Wednesday passed next year’s budget of 386.4 trillion won ($342.3 billion) after days of bipartisan wrangling. Along with the budget, the Assembly endorsed five economy-related bills fervently pushed by the government as key to preparing for further economic slowdown.The revised budget is 300 billion won less than the original plan submitted by the government. The budget for publishing state-authored textbooks and subsidies for the panel to investigate the 2014 Sewol sin

National Dec. 2, 2015

A traditional Korean tug-of-war folk game had its name added to UNESCO’s intangible heritage list Wednesday, jointly with three other Asian countries with similar traditions. Tugging rituals and games, proposed by South Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines, gained status as UNESCO-recognized traditions of humanity during the 10th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage held in Windhoek, the capital of southwest African country Namibia. 

Culture Dec. 2, 2015

Understanding the emotional reaction of the consumer is crucial in both the beauty and tech industries, experts said at the Seoul Design Forum, which took place Wednesday at Dongdaemun Design Plaza.During the beauty session, makeup artist Seo Su-jin, CEO of cosmetics brand S2J, spoke on the globalization of Korean beauty products and the distinctive characteristics of different foreign markets. Seo, who has been working in China as the chief makeup artist for various TV programs, asserted that “

Latest News Dec. 2, 2015

LG OLED TV IN NYC -- LG Electronics said Wednesday that it would run a roadshow to display its high-end organic light-emitting diode TVs at Grand Central Station in Manhattan. The event will be held until the end of this month. (LGE)

Technology Dec. 2, 2015

GEAR S2 POP-UP STORE FOR HOLIDAY -- Samsung Electronics said Wednesday it would operate a pop-up store for its smartwatch Gear S2 during the year-end holiday season in Garosu-gil, Seoul, a street brimming with upscale coffeehouses and clothing shops. (Samsung)

Technology Dec. 2, 2015

Facing a looming battle with global media behemoth Netflix, mobile carrier SK Telecom said Wednesday it would invest around 5 trillion won ($4.3 billion) in beefing up its media platform business for the next five years. The investment plan came on the heels of the firm’s announcement of acquiring CJ Hellovision, the nation’s largest cable TV operator and an affiliate of CJ Group.The Korean mobile carrier unveiled its plan earlier last month to merge its wholly owned Internet TV operator SK Broa

Technology Dec. 2, 2015

Samsung Electronics’ new mobile business chief Koh Dong-jin vowed to maintain the company’s leadership in the world’s smartphone market despite market concerns about competition from rivals.Entering Samsung’s head office in Seocho-dong, Seoul, on Wednesday, the new president of the mobile communications business -- a smaller unit under the firm’s IT and mobile communications division -- told reporters that Samsung’s smartphone unit is “not at the end of its rope.” He also pledged that he would m

Technology Dec. 2, 2015

Samsung Electronics on Tuesday named Koh Dong-jin, executive vice president in charge of mobile R&D, as the new mastermind of the company’s flagship mobile business division amid its recent struggle for profitability. 　A surprise appointment, the 54-year-old engineer’s replacement of the current mobile chief Shin Jong-kyun, 60, hinted at a generational shift in the Korean tech giant’s top brass. “Shin will focus more on long-term strategy and foster new growth businesses,” the company said in a

Technology Dec. 1, 2015

CULTURAL DIPLOMACY -- LG Group chairman Koo Bon-moo (center) attends a jazz concert Monday in Seoul to mark the 50th anniversary of ties between Korea and Japan. Koo said he wished for the two nations to strengthen their relations through cultural exchanges. (LG Group)

Technology Dec. 1, 2015

COLLABORATION FOR 5G -- LG Uplus said Tuesday that it had set up a research and development center for 5G network technology where it would work together with local and global network equipment firms on projects for the next-generation network technology. (LG Uplus)

Technology Dec. 1, 2015

　LG Display said Friday it would invest a whopping 10 trillion won ($8.7 billion) in building a new plant for organic light-emitting diode displays in Paju, Gyeongi Province.　The firm’s recent investment plan is part of its initiative, which was announced in August, to invest 10 trillion won in projects to foster businesses for OLEDs along with liquid crystal displays over the next three years.　The nation’s leading display manufacturer will first pour 1.84 trillion won into the construction of a

Technology Nov. 27, 2015

As digital disruption is accelerating across all industries, top market leaders will be outgunned by challengers quick to adapt to a digitization wave, according to a Cisco executive.Presenting a recent report about technological disruption and future business models at Cisco’s office in Songdo, west of Seoul, Thursday, Ross Fowler, president of the U.S. firm’s Digital Transformation and IoE (“Internet of Everything”) Acceleration in Asia-Pacific and Japan, said that "four out of top 10 companie

Technology Nov. 26, 2015

CHIPPING AWAY -- Samsung Electronics said Thursday it had started mass production of the world’s first 128-gigabyte DDR4 module for enterprise servers and data centers. The new DDR4 boasts the industry’s largest capacity and highest energy efficiency of any DRAM module. (Samsung Electronics)

Technology Nov. 26, 2015