Samsung Electronics Co. said Wednesday it will launch its mobile payment service, Samsung Pay, in Russia, Thailand and Malaysia later this year, bringing the service to a total of 10 countries. The South Korean tech giant said it will form a partnership with Mastercard to offer a simplified online payment and express checkout solution through its digital payment service Masterpass, starting early next year.Samsung announced the plan at Money 20/20, a major fintech conference, held in Las Vegas.

Technology Oct. 26, 2016

Any effort to get North Korea to give up its nuclear program "is probably a lost cause" and putting a cap on the regime's nuclear capabilities is the "best we could probably hope for," the US intelligence chief said Tuesday."I think the notion of getting the North Koreans to denuclearize is probably a lost cause. That is their ticket to their survival. I got a good taste of that when I was there about how the world looks from their vantage and they're under siege and they're very paranoid," Dire

North Korea Oct. 26, 2016

South Korea and France will invest a combined 3 billion won ($2.65 million) in the coming three years to develop self-driving technology, the trade minister here said Wednesday.In a Seoul forum, the two sides agreed on the project to jointly study traffic jam assistant technology, which helps a car drive itself in traffic-jam conditions, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.Each country will fund 500 million won every year over the next three years, it added.Leading auto compa

Technology Oct. 26, 2016

Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on Wednesday urged the parliament to focus efforts on handling next year's budget plan on time, adding South Korea is currently facing challenging economic conditions."We are concerned over the negative impact on the production and export of key products such as handsets and automobiles, amid the troubles in the smartphone industry as well as strikes staged by railroad and automaker workers," Hwang said during a budget session at the parliament."Amid slowing exports

Politics Oct. 26, 2016

Leading technology companies gathered for South Korea's major electronics show on Wednesday to showcase their smart gadgets, consumer electronics, mobile applications and smart electric vehicles.Hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the 47th Korea Electronics Show 2016 kicked off at COEX in southern Seoul to run until Saturday, presenting 1,500 booths for 500 companies at home and abroad.  Visitors play games at a gaming zone at Korea Electronics Show 2016 held at COEX in Seoul o

Technology Oct. 26, 2016

Japanese shareholders of a holding firm for South Korean conglomerate Lotte Group Wednesday voted in favor of keeping Lotte Group chief in his current position as he promised reform measures to restore the South Korean retail giant's image dented by a corruption investigation. Shin Dong-bin attended a meeting of Lotte Holdings shareholders at its Tokyo headquarters, one day after making a public apology and announcing a series of measures to improve the group's opaque governance structure at a p

Industry Oct. 26, 2016

The number of mobile phones being used in North Korea came to 3.24 million as of July last year, a US broadcaster reported Wednesday, citing the US Central Intelligence Agency's recently updated version of the World Factbook.The Voice of America said the North's mobile phone subscriptions per 100 residents came to 13, securing 142nd place on the list of the 217 countries surveyed in the factbook.South Korea, ranked 27th in the world, has 58.93 million mobile phones and 120 subscriptions per 100

North Korea Oct. 26, 2016

돈 걱정은 평생 하지 않아도 되는 억만장자는 어떤 라이프 스타일을 누릴까? 　　영상 공유 플랫폼 유튜브의 ‘부유한 라이프스타일 (Rich Lifestyle)’ 채널에 지난 9월 게재된 이 영상은 바로 이 내용을 다루며 2백만 조횟수를 기록했다. (사진=유튜브)　　약 40분 분량의 이 다큐멘터리는 세계에서 내로라하는 부자들을 근접에서 관찰한 사람들의 인터뷰를 담고 있다.　　다큐멘터리 내용에 따르면 억만장자들에겐 요트가 정말 중요하다. 　　자신의 요트보다 더 큰 요트를 가진 부자를 만나면 굉장히 예민하게 반응한다는 것이다. 　　이들은 호텔 같은 요트 내부를 관리하는 인력에 ‘슈퍼리치’ 갑부만을 위한 식재료 공급업자, 꽃 장식 플로리스트 등 디테일까지 모두 신경 쓴다고 한다.　　보트파티를 가지는 날에는 6가지 코스요리에 최고급 샴페인, 순금 식기를 놓고, 런던에서 DJ를, 프랑스 파리에서 무용수를 불러온다고 한다.　　(khnews@heraldcorp.com)　

한국어판 Oct. 26, 2016

Despite the high season, flower sales in South Korea have tumbled more than 20 percent in October from a year ago, data showed Wednesday, apparently due to the implementation of a draconian anti-corruption law.According to the data by the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp., flower transactions came to 1.96 million bunches in the first 24 days of this month, down a whopping 22 percent from the same period a year earlier. A flower grower destroys unsold chrysanthemums at a farm in Yongin, Sou

Industry Oct. 26, 2016

President Park Geun-hye on Tuesday admitted leaking confidential documents including key presidential speeches to scandal-ridden confidante Choi Soon-sil and made a public apology, reluctantly breaking a long silence over the issue."Since the last (presidential) election, Choi has offered me her opinion on how my election speeches or campaigns are reaching out to the people,” Park said in an urgent press briefing in the afternoon.(Yonhap)“Even after taking office, I have sometimes received her h

Politics Oct. 25, 2016

The most difficult long-term challenge confronting South Korea is population aging, which will likely weigh on the government by raising the overall spending on social welfare, the head of an international organization said Tuesday.Angel Gurria, secretary-general of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, asked Seoul to make efforts to better use older workers, saying that the wage peak system is a "positive" step to that end."Perhaps the most difficult is population aging," G

Oct. 25, 2016