Brian Bae, 40, recently wrote on his Facebook wall, “I can’t believe it’s the 20th anniversary of the launch of Diablo -- yet more evidence that I’ve become an ajae.” Diablo is a popular role playing video he had taken up as a college student. Now he is the father of two children and holds a senior position at his company. A few years ago, he might have been called “ajeossi,” an appellation for middle-aged men in Korean, but his youthful fashion style

Nov. 25, 2016

South Korea’s largest carmaker Hyundai Motor aims to sell 100,000 units of its new Grandeur, a company executive said at the official launch event Tuesday. “Before we began receiving preorders three weeks ago, I was worried because of the prolonged economic recession and end of benefits for the individual consumption tax and competition,” Lee Kwang-guk, an executive vice president of Hyundai Motor, told the media. ”But the record-breaking preorders have made me confiden

Companies Nov. 22, 2016

  The number of workers 50 years old and above hit the 10 million mark in Korea for the first time in the second quarter this year, as the aging population is reluctant to leave the workforce amid longer life expectancy, government figures showed Monday. In the second quarter this year, there were 10.08 million senior workers, adding 272,000 more than the same period from the previous year, according to Statistics Korea.  In the third quarter, the tally decreased to 10.02 million

Social Affairs Nov. 21, 2016

 TOKYO -- US Tesla’s electric vehicles are about to hit the South Korean market with its flagship store set to open in Starfield Hanam, located some 20 kilometers east of Seoul, as early as the end of November. Tesla’s debut in the country has lagged behind other neighboring countries such as Japan and China. The electric-car maker opened its first showroom in Japan in October 2010 and in China in November 2013. In Korea, Tesla started to receive preorders in August. Tesla’s media representative

Mobility Nov. 20, 2016

The two previous models of Hyundai’s premium brand Genesis have been popular as corporate cars among executives, but this might change with the launch of the G80 Sport, a speedy luxury sedan unveiled in October. According to the company, 71.3 percent of the 500 preorders taken between Oct. 6 and 31 were made by those in their 30s and 40s, while 7 percent were by those in their 20s.The shift in the vehicle’s popularity among younger consumers might be due to its hip design, which drew hordes of y

Mobility Nov. 6, 2016

The snowballing scandal of Choi Soon-sil, President Park Geun-hye’s confidante, is seen spilling over to the financial industry, as eight banks submitted banking records of Choi and her aides amid allegations preferential loans might have been given to Choi and her associates. Eight commercials banks handed over transaction records and other information regarding Choi and other individuals involved in the massive corruption and manipulation of the government affairs scandal as requested by prose

Nov. 2, 2016

South Korea’s industrial output and consumption shrank in September, government data showed Monday, reflecting the nation’s dire economics situation. The impact from sluggish exports, the Galaxy Note 7 recall, Hyundai Motor strike and Hanjin Shipping bankruptcy were felt on the indexes of industrial output and consumption in September, according to data released by Statistics Korea. The index of all industry production in September decreased by 0.8 percent from the previous month

Oct. 31, 2016

South Korea needs to ramp up its efforts to protect intellectual property rights in its combat against illicit trade, two experts who came to Seoul to attend the 2016 Korea-EU Intellectual Property Rights Conference, hosted by the European Chamber of Commerce in Korea, told the Korea Herald earlier this month. A team led by Chris Clague, senior editor of the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), had published the Illicit Trade Environment Index prior to the event hosted by the European Chamber of

Industry Oct. 30, 2016

SK Telecom and Hana Financial Group launched a joint venture focusing on mobile financial services, the companies said in a press release Sunday. The joint venture, Finnq, was established with a starting capital of 50 billion won ($43 million) with SK Telecom holding a 49 percent stake while Hana owns the remaining 51 percent.  The new venture will be backed by SK Telecom’s advance mobile platform technology and big data analysis capability, as well as Hana’s vario

Companies Oct. 30, 2016

The top 10 percent of South Korea’s highest income earners account for 44.9 percent of the country’s total income as of 2012, according to data from the International Monetary Fund and The World Wealth and Income Database. This makes South Korea the No. 2 country among major economies in terms of income inequality, only after the US, where the top 10 percent of income earners make up 47.8 percent of the country’s total income. South Korea’s income equality is worsening rapidly. It jumped 15.6 pe

Oct. 27, 2016