Dedicated cat owners are behind the boom in South Korea’s pet care market, market research firm Euromonitor International announced Friday.The size of Korea’s pet care market is estimated to surpass 1.8 trillion won ($1.5 billion) in 2019, twice what it was eight years ago. For that, Euromonitor credited cat owners’ careful attention to their feline friends.Spearheaded by squeezable packages of semi-liquid snack food, the cat snack market in Korea has seen explosive growth since 2017, the Euromo

Industry April 26, 2019

The Asia News Network, an alliance of 24 media companies in 20 Asian nations, charted a new course for its future on the final day of its 20th anniversary board meeting Friday, at Lotte Hotel in Seoul.When ANN was founded in 1999, its founding members’ vision was to deliver news about Asia through Asian eyes. As the network marked 20 years of successful pan-Asian journalistic collaboration, its board gathered in Seoul to redefine ANN’s future vision and mission. ANN’s new tagline, “Bringing Asia

Industry April 26, 2019

The Asia News Network, an alliance of 24 media companies across 20 Asian countries, had its board members gather Thursday at Lotte Hotel in Seoul to celebrate the group’s 20th anniversary and discuss its future direction at a time of closer regional cooperation on political, business and cultural fronts.ANN was founded in 1999 with the founding members’ vision to deliver news about Asia through Asian eyes. “We know Asia better” has been the ANN’s longstanding motto.Chon Shi-yong, chief editorial

Industry April 25, 2019

Botulinum toxin producer Hugel has submitted a new drug application in China for its product, the company announced Wednesday.Hugel is to become the first Korean company to enter the greater China region, which includes mainland China and Taiwan. Hugel and its Chinese partner, Sihuan Pharm, completed phase 3 clinical trials in 2018 and submitted the application Wednesday after finalizing the paperwork. Hugel expects to receive marketing approval within the first quarter of 2020, as the standard

Industry April 24, 2019

 진행자: 임정요, Kevin Lee Selzer1. Jinju arson-murder attack reveals shortcomings of Korea’s mental health care기사요약: 진주 방화사건으로 5명이 숨지고 15명이 부상을 입었다. 이를 계기로 대한민국 정신보건 환경에 미흡한 부분을 돌아보게 된다.아이튠즈(아이폰): https://itunes.apple.com/kr/podcast/koliaheleoldeu-paskaeseuteu/id686406253?mt=2팟빵 (안드로이드): http://www.podbbang.com/ch/6638[1] Wednesday’s brutal arson and murders in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, which left five people dead and 15 others injured, put the spotlight on the glaring shortcomings in the cou

Podcast April 24, 2019

The three-day Nexon Developers Conference kicked off Wednesday at Nexon Korea’s headquarters in Pangyo Techno Valley, Gyeonggi Province. The NDC began in 2007 as an opportunity for Nexon Korea employees to share knowledge internally. It has since become Korea’s biggest conference for sharing knowledge on game development.  (Lim Jeong-yeo/The Korea Herald)

Industry April 24, 2019

Why don’t we see amputees in professional fields of work in South Korea? Where do all the patients who have lost limbs in an accident, or to diabetes, disappear here? Kang Yeoun-seung, 52, a rehabilitation medicine and certified ortho-prostheticts doctor, has grappled with this issue for long.According to the Ministry of Welfare data, the number of people with physical disabilities in Korea was over 1.2 million as of December. Those with visual or hearing impairment, brain lesions or cardiac dis

Industry April 21, 2019

South Korea’s antitrust regulator said Friday it will carry out an extensive review of the consumer regulations of game firms. The Fair Trade Commission has contacted 10 game companies here, including Nexon NCSoft, Blizzard and Riot Games, for their opinion.Both computer and mobile games’ clauses are subject to a review. Part of the sweeping reviews include, but are not limited to, clauses regarding underage users’ in-game purchases. (Pixabay)“Some news reports suggest that it may become easier

Industry April 19, 2019

The South Korean botulinum toxin company Medytox will launch a cosmetics brand and enter the market in 2020, the company said Friday.Medytox said Friday that its subsidiary Medytox Korea had acquired a 58.3 percent stake in cosmetics distributor Highwayone, which holds sales rights in Korea and throughout Asia for some 100 foreign brands, including the Polish label Ziaja and the German label Kneipp.  (Lim Jeong-yeo/The Korea Herald)The acquisition gives Medytox a distribution channel for cosmeti

Industry April 19, 2019

South Korea serves as the backbone of world’s 5G advancement, praised Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA)’s chairperson James. C. F. Huang, Thursday, at Lotte Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul.“Korea is the first in the world to succeed in the commercialization of the 5G network services. The country is the backbone of the 5G era,” Huang said. “I look forward to Korea and Taiwan’s collaboration in the areas of 5G, AI and IoT.”TAITRA chairperson James C. F. Huang (Lim Jeong-yeo/The Korea Her

Industry April 18, 2019

The controlling stake in South Korea’s biggest game company Nexon may end up in the hands of Walt Disney Co., a report suggested Wednesday. The anticipated price for the stake to go on sale is 15 trillion won ($13.2 billion), with premiums for business management rights on top of the Nexon Japan share price, which closed up slightly at 1,681 yen ($15) Tuesday, but slid to 1,558 yen as of 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.The Korean daily JoongAng Ilbo quoted the international banking industry as saying that N

Industry April 17, 2019

Downloads for Nexon’s new high-end mobile game, “Traha,” began Wednesday on Google Play and the App Store.Gamers can officially start playing Thursday, but Nexon decided to allow app downloads a day earlier to cut down on rush traffic.“Traha,” serviced by Nexon and developed by Moai Games, is welcomed with much anticipation by industry watchers, who expect it to become a hit with an in-game domain 16 times the area of the Seoul financial district of Yeouido, and with graphics “unrivaled” in clar

Industry April 17, 2019

The annual Bio Korea International Convention 2019 opens on Wednesday at Coex in southern Seoul, gathering researchers, developers and biopharmaceutical firms to discuss next technologies and innovation, organizers said Tuesday.The event, running through Friday, will feature talks on topics including immuno-oncology drug development, global business expansion strategies, cell therapies for incurable diseases and current and next-generation therapeutic antibodies. Participants will also share vie

Industry April 16, 2019

In a match that may sound unusual at first, there is a gaming company in South Korea that has been consistently contributing to the country’s cultural heritage preserving organization.The Korean arm of Riot Games has given over 5 billion won ($4.4 million) to the Cultural Heritage Administration here for the past seven years. The funds were spent on helping preserving palaces, heritage sites, and most recently for the recovery of a 102-year-old printing woodblock that had been lost for many year

Industry April 15, 2019

Riot Games Korea and SK Telecom on Thursday forged a strategic alliance to air the final match of League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) 2019 live on the latter’s platform Oksusu. The LCK Spring Final 2019 is slated for Saturday at Jamsil Arena in Songpa, Seoul. Fans can watch the game on SKT’s Oksusu’s sports channel.This partnership is not a one-off affair. SKT said it will work as LCK’s official 5G sponsor till end-2020, with exclusive rights to create virtual and augmented reality contents

Industry April 11, 2019