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

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