The tax investigation and safety inspection facing Lotte Group in China this week has sparked concerns Friday that the neighboring country is pressuring Korean companies in retaliation over South Korea‘s decision to deploy a US advanced missile defense system here. The Chinese government has not revealed the reason behind the large-scale inspection, but analysts believe it is linked to the decision by Lotte Group to host the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system on a Lotte-owned golf

Companies Dec. 2, 2016

South Korea’s consumer prices continued to rise more than 1 percent for the third consecutive month amid the soaring prices of agricultural goods. Prices of agricultural products jumped 7.9 percent from a year earlier, with prices of kimchi ingredients skyrocketing. Cabbage and radish prices soared by 82.1 percent and 120.7 percent, respectively, from a year earlier.  The service sector, which weighs most heavily on the consumer price index, rose 1.8 percent on-year, led by increase

Dec. 1, 2016

Korea’s Industrial output fell for the second consecutive month in October, falling 0.4 percent from the previous month, data released by Statistics Korea showed Wednesday. Sluggish demand and exports for mobile phones and automobiles dragged down the production index, according to the statistics agency. Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho, who is also deputy prime minister, warned of the increased downward risks of Korea’s economy during a meeting of economic policymakers Wednesday. &ldqu

Industry Nov. 30, 2016

Ford’s luxury car division Lincoln Motor launched the all-new 2017 Lincoln Continental in Korea on Wednesday. The premium sedan is the 10th generation of the Lincoln Continental, reintroduced at a motor show in 2015 after a 13-year hiatus. The first generation was made as a holiday car for then-Ford president Edsel Ford in 1939. “Ford grew more than 150 percent in the five years in Korea. With the launch of the Lincoln Continental, we plan to accelerate the growth,” Kumar Galhotra, president of

Companies Nov. 30, 2016

  Chang Hye-jin, a double Olympic gold medalist in archery, was named the country's top female athlete of the year Tuesday.Chang took the highest honor at the 2016 Korea Woman Sports Awards in Seoul. The 29-year-old archer won gold medals in both the individual and team competitions at the Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics in August.South Korean archer Chang Hye-jin celebrates after winning the gold medal in the women`s individual archery competition at the 31st Summer Olympic Games at Sambodromo i

Sports Nov. 29, 2016

  South Korea's defense chief on Tuesday called on South Korean and U.S. troops to enhance their joint readiness to better cope with threats posed by North Korea.Defense Minister Han Min-koo made the comments during his first visit to a South Korean brigade in Dongducheon and the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division in Uijeongbu, both near the border with North Korea. The two units form the Republic of Korea-U.S. Combined Division.U.S. Forces Korea Commander Gen. Vincent K. Brooks also joined the inspecti

Diplomatic Circuit Nov. 29, 2016

South Korean prosecutors on Tuesday sought heavy prison terms for those responsible for toxic humidifier sterilizer products that claimed many lives in the country.In the final hearing at the Seoul Central District Court, prosecutors have asked the court for a 20-year prison term for Shin Hyun-woo, a former CEO of Oxy Reckitt Benckiser, the Korean unit of a British household goods maker."The accused is the root cause of the massive tragedy," the prosecutors said. "We have no choice but to punish

Companies Nov. 29, 2016

Rep. Han Jeoung-ae of the main opposition Democratic Party (Yonhap)The South Korean parliament's labor committee on Monday approved a bill which bans employers from requiring job seekers to provide a headshot and information such as their weight and height.It also seeks to prohibit the "discriminatory" practice of requiring information about an applicant's birthplace, religion, marital status, assets and family details on application forms.Violators will be slapped with fines of up to 5 million

National Nov. 29, 2016

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles on the moves made by the companies and governments of South Korea, China and Japan in entering the new industry 4.0 era. This is the first installment. -- Ed. Beijing’s InnoWay, Osaka’s Knowledge Capital and Pangyo’s Gyeonggi Center for Creative Economy and Innovation are hotbeds of innovation in East Asia. These sites are where Korea, China and Japan are pinning their hopes for the fourth major upheaval in manufacturin

Industry Nov. 29, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics is expected to announce the final results of its probe into the fire-prone Galaxy Note 7 within the year, industry sources said on Nov. 29.On Nov. 11, the Korean tech giant launched a new round of investigation to find out the cause of several fires and explosions related to the bigger-screen phone together with product safety authorities and experts both in Korea and the US. Right after the first recall issued in September, the company pinpointed faulty batter

Industry Nov. 29, 2016

The South Korean government said Tuesday it will ban sales of six models by three foreign automakers, accusing them of fabricating reports to win sales approval from the local government.The Ministry of Environment said it detected defects in the certification documents of 10 vehicle models from the local units of Nissan, BMW and Porsche.Among them, six models -- the Infinity Q50 and Qashqai from Nissan, the X5M from BMW and the Macan S Diesel, Cayenne S E-Hybrid and Cayenne Turbo from Porsche -

Industry Nov. 29, 2016

In a conference co-hosted by government and private organizations Tuesday, ocean experts urged stronger efforts from governments and businesses to combat unsustainable and illegal fishing across the region. Co-hosted by the Korean Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Environmental Justice Foundation and World Wide Fund for Nature, the two-day conference began in Seoul under the title, “Building Ocean Health: Sharing Experience to Move Toward Sustainable Fisheries Management.” 　 &ld

Business Nov. 29, 2016

With its aging population, South Korea should look to Japan for lessons and opportunities that can be applied to its health care industry, a government trade promotion agency said in a report Monday.  The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency said in its global strategy report titled, “The Fourth Industrial Revolution Era: Japan’s Medical and Health Care Industry,” that Japan is making an all-out push to strengthen the global competitiveness of its health care i

Industry Nov. 28, 2016

The world’s two leading electric vehicle makers, Tesla Motors and BYD Auto Co, are set to hit the Korean market within this year. But questions remain over whether they can shake up the world‘s 10th-largest auto market that suffers from the sluggish EV sales. The total sales of eco-friendly cars saw a growth of 68 percent in the first 10 months of this year with a total of 53,631 units sold. But 94 percent of the total were hybrid cars with the rest being plug-in hybrid EVs, pure E

Mobility Nov. 27, 2016