U.S. tech giant Apple Inc. said Saturday the iPhone 7 series is slated to reach the South Korean market on Oct. 21, and is set to compete with other local rivals in the high-end handset market.Apple said the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 plus, each with 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch displays, respectively, will officially set sail here, along with the wireless earphones, called Airpod.The local price for the devices, however, has not yet been announced by mobile carriers here. Industry watchers here have been e

Technology Oct. 8, 2016

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee saw his stakes value surpass 14 trillion won (US$12.5 billion) for the first time, data showed Saturday, as shares under Samsung Group soared after U.S. hedge fund Elliott Management urged the tech giant to split into two.According to the data compiled by industry tracker Chaebul.com, the combined value of shares held by Lee advanced 25 percent on Friday compared to the first trading session of 2016.Market watchers said the increase came after Elliott als

Oct. 8, 2016

Overturning an earlier decision, a U.S. appeals court on Friday reinstated a lower-court verdict that Samsung Electronics pay Apple US$120 million for violating three iPhone patents.In February, a three-member panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington ruled that Samsung did not infringe upon the patents on "quick links," "slide-to-unlock" and "auto-correct" technologies, and therefore does not need to pay $120 million ordered by a lower court.Apple appealed that de

Industry Oct. 8, 2016

The South Korean minister for veterans affairs expressed regrets over the public outcry that erupted over the decision to deploy an advanced U.S. anti-missile defense system on the Korean Peninsula."I feel very sorry over the controversies caused by the South Korean and U.S. governments' decision to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system," Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs Park Sung-choon said during Korean-American Friendship Night, an annual gathering of former a

Politics Sept. 22, 2016

Two U.S. Air Force B-1B strategic bombers this week made the closest-ever flight to North Korea to warn the communist country against any further provocations, the U.S. Pacific Command (USPACOM) said Thursday.North Korea conducted its fifth underground nuclear test on Sept. 9, despite international condemnations and sanctions imposed after the previous nuke detonation in January. The latest provocation came on the heels of the launch of three ballistic missiles four days earlier.   One of the tw

Defense Sept. 22, 2016

Union workers in the public sector held a massive rally in central Seoul on Thursday in protest of the government's push to expand a performance-based pay system, police said.About 2,000 members of the Federation of Korean Public Industry Trade Unions gathered in front of Seoul Station, according to police. The number of participants that the rally organizer said took part in the event stood at around 5,000.During the protest, the federation said its members will put utmost efforts towards preve

Social Affairs Sept. 22, 2016

The United States on Thursday threw its support behind World Bank chief Jim Yong Kim for a second term at the helm  of the multilateral development lender."I am proud to announce that today the United States has nominated World Bank President Jim Kim for a second term," said US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew in a statement."President Kim has used his first term to focus the World Bank on effectively addressing today's most pressing global development challenges in innovative ways, from ending extr

World News Aug. 25, 2016

Anti-terror police detained three people for questioning following raids overnight in the Belgian capital Brussels, prosecutors said Friday.The arrests took place as Belgium remains on high alert following deadly jihadist bombings in March and a machete attack against police officers a week ago."Three persons were arrested and taken for questioning," the federal prosecutor's office said in a statement, adding a judge would decide later Friday if there is enough evidence to keep them in custody.T

World News Aug. 12, 2016

Donald Trump backtracked Friday from his assertion that President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton founded the Islamic State group, saying he was just being sarcastic.As he often does, the Republican presidential nominee accused the news media of misconstruing something he said.In this case he targeted CNN, although his comments on the jihadist group and the president were picked up across the news spectrum."Ratings challenged @CNN reports so seriously that I call President Obama (and Clinton) "

World News Aug. 12, 2016

North Korea will hold a youth congress in Pyongyang on Aug. 26, its official news agency said Friday, as the country continues to rally support behind leader Kim Jong-un and solidify his one-man rule.The Central Committee of the Kim Il-sung Socialist Youth League decided to convene its 9th congress in Pyongyang later this month, the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The report did not specify the details of the event's schedule and venue.It will be the country's first congress for

North Korea Aug. 12, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] A South Korean worker hired by the world’s biggest shipbuilderHyundai Heavy Industries died on July 19 while working on a shipbuilding project for Norwegian oil company Statoil. The 55-year-old man, surnamed Shin, died after falling off scaffold at 2:20 p.m. He was taken to a nearby hospital, but was pronounced dead two hours later. He sustained injuries to his face and neck as well as fractures in his arms and both legs.This year alone, eight workers have lost their lives in occu

July 20, 2016