Articles by Jo He-rim
Jo He-rim
herim@heraldcorp.com-
Beijing to merge chemicals giants: Bloomberg
BEIJING (AFP) -- Beijing is planning a mega-merger of chemicals giants Sinochem and China National Chemical Corp. in a massive deal that would reshape the chemicals industry, Bloomberg News reported Friday. The companies together would control assets worth more than $100 billion, it said. The deal comes as authorities attempt a vast restructuring of China's economy intended to weed out inefficient, debt-saddled firms by forcing them to combine with healthier rivals or face bankruptcy.But the tra
World News Oct. 14, 2016
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East Sea labeled ‘Sea of Japan’ in int’l school textbooks
Over 70 percent of the textbooks used at international schools here labeled the East Sea -- the body of water between South Korea and Japan -- as the “Sea of Japan,” research showed Friday, leading the government to start a correction campaign. The Ministry of Education conducted a survey of the textbooks used at 47 international and foreign schools in the country from Aug. 16 to Sept. 2 and found that 24 of 33 textbooks had used only the term Sea of Japan. The nine others had both terms written
Social Affairs Oct. 14, 2016
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Korea has lowest ratio of doctors among OECD members
(Yonhap)South Korea has fewer medical doctors per person than other members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a lawmaker revealed Friday. According to Health Ministry data released by Rep. Nam In-soon of The Minjoo Party of Korea, Korea ranks last in terms of the number of doctors, along with Mexico, in the OECD’s ranking of 28 member states. The nation had 2.2 doctors per every 1,000 people as of 2014. Austria has the highest ratio of doctors at 5.1 for every 1,000 p
Social Affairs Oct. 14, 2016
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Police to deploy team to investigate deaths of nationals in Philippines
South Korea decided Thursday to dispatch four police investigators to the Philippines to participate in the local authorities’ probe into the deaths of three Koreans in the country. “We decided to send four professional examiners to the country. The matter has been settled with the Philippines national police” an official at the Korean National Police Agency said. The investigation team includes three police detectives and a forensic expert for gun analysis, the official added.(Herald DB)Two man
Social Affairs Oct. 13, 2016
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Seoul metro proposes to raise age limit for free subway rides
Seoul’s metro operator is seeking to raise the age limit for free subway rides, citing the growing number of elderly passengers and its impact on the firm’s already-weak balance sheet, a lawmaker revealed Wednesday. In a petition submitted to the Finance Ministry on Sept. 7 and released by Rep. Shim Jae-chul of the ruling Saenuri Party, Seoul Metropolitan Rapid Transit Corp. asked the government to adjust the minimum age of passengers entitled to free rides from the current 65 to 70. It also pr
Social Affairs Oct. 12, 2016
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Seoul vows tougher actions against illegal fishing boats
South Korea will introduce stronger measures, including naval gunfire and shock tactics, to combat illegal Chinese fishing in its waters, the government said Tuesday. The measures also involve the active usage of force and firearms such as cannons and crew-served weapons to deal with unauthorized vessels poaching in Korean waters, the government announced after an emergency meeting held at the government complex in Seoul earlier in the day. The move comes after a Chinese fishing vessel attacked
Social Affairs Oct. 11, 2016
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Restaurants, hotels expect sales drop after anti-graft law: poll
Small business owners in Seoul expect a sales decline due to a sweeping anti-graft law that took effect two weeks ago, a poll shows. According to the survey, released Tuesday by the Seoul Credit Guarantee Foundation, 15.6 percent of the small corporations and micro-enterprise owners polled said that their businesses would be affected by the law, with 70.2 percent of them forecasting a grim outlook.By industry, accommodation and restaurants had the highest number of respondents anticipating an im
Social Affairs Oct. 11, 2016
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Truckers go on strike, but no major disruptions reported
Unionized cargo truck drivers started a general strike midnight Monday, but no major disruptions were reported as of early afternoon due to lower than expected participation. Local authorities and the industry are on high alert for a possible crisis in freight handling nationwide, as a separate strike by rail workers has been hampering railway transportation for the past two weeks. “Cargo transportation is processing smoothly despite the strike,” said a task force team under the Transport Minist
Social Affairs Oct. 10, 2016
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Chinese fishing boats sink a Korean coast guard vessel
South Korea on Sunday filed a protest against China after two Chinese boats illegally fishing in Korean waters sank a Korean coast guard boat in their attempt to flee. According to Incheon Coast Guard, the vessels, assumed to be 100-plus ton steel ships, on Friday deliberately crashed into an Incheon coastguard’s 4.5-ton speed boat, which was patrolling the area for illegal fishing in waters off Incheon in the western side of the peninsula, and fled the scene. A 50-year-old marine officer fell i
Social Affairs Oct. 9, 2016
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Second-language helps multicultural children identify as Korean: study
Using both languages of the parents helps children from multicultural families to identify as Koreans, research revealed Sunday. “Many multicultural families in Korea seem to believe that sticking to the Korean language and Korean culture helps their children better adjust here and develop a Korean identity. But our findings tell otherwise,” said Woo Young-kyeong, a senior researcher at Korea Internet and Security Agency, and Kim Eun-ha, a professor at Dankuk University, in a paper published in
Social Affairs Oct. 9, 2016
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Typhoon death toll rises as restoration gets under way
Thousands of soldiers, public servants and relief workers were deployed Thursday to southern regions devastated by the most powerful typhoon to hit Korea in October. With gusts of up to 56.5 meters per second, Typhoon Chaba ravaged southern parts of the Korean Peninsula on Wednesday, leaving at least seven dead and three others missing as of 1 p.m. Thursday. The government, pledging swift restoration of the stricken areas, was considering designating them as special disaster zones, the industria
Social Affairs Oct. 6, 2016
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Agricultural Minister receives cheap loan from Nonghyup: lawmaker
Agricultural Minister Kim Jae-soo borrowed money from a local bank run by the farmers’ cooperative at an unusually low interest rate, a lawmaker revealed Wednesday. According to Rep. Wi Seong-gon of The Minjoo Party of Korea, the minister’s mortgage from Nonghyup Bank carries an interest rate of 1.42 percent, which is sixth-lowest among the bank’s entire 800,000 mortgages. The ten receiving the lowest interest rates had been given a rate range of 1.28 percent to 1.49 percent.Kim received a mortg
Social Affairs Oct. 5, 2016
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At least 5 dead, 5 missing after Typhoon Chaba hits Korea
At least five people died and five more are missing after Typhoon Chaba swept through the lower part of the Korean Peninsula on Wednesday, the safety ministry said. Jeju Island and the southwestern cities of Busan and Ulsan were most severely hit as the typhoon unleashed strong gusts of 47 meters per second and heavy downpours of as much as 600 millimeters between Tuesday and noon Wednesday. Vehicles parked at the Seocheon riverside are washed away after a typhoon hit in Gyeongju, North Gyeongs
Social Affairs Oct. 5, 2016
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[Editorial] Added risks
South Korea’s economy involving the capital market averted shocks in September as the Federal Reserve again delayed its policy to raise the key interest rate. But the US monetary issue still remains a big uncertainty for the local market.Further, two more external factors are aggravating uncertainty at the start of the fourth quarter: the crude oil issue centered on production in the Middle East and the Deutsche Bank woes in Europe.Earlier this week, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Count
Editorial Sept. 30, 2016
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[Antony Davies, James R. Harrigan] Fed’s near-zero rates can’t last forever
The Federal Reserve has held interest rates at near zero for so long that many have forgotten that near-zero rates are not normal. And when we finally do return to normal, there’s going to be a very large bill to pay.To help hold interest rates so low for so long, the Fed has increased bank reserve balances by 20,000 percent over the past decade, flooding financial institutions with enough reserves that borrowing money, literally, costs almost nothing. The Fed’s target interest rate, the federal
Viewpoints Sept. 30, 2016
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