South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on Wednesday sealed a partnership with humanitarian aid organization World Vision to develop joint campaigns and education programs to help children follow healthy diets and form good eating habits.Under the new collaboration, the two organizations will work together to enhance children’s diets, jointly hold educational programs on children’s nutrition and promote the importance of children’s food safety.“Through this partnership, we expect to impro

Industry March 8, 2017

South Korean mobile carrier KT has partnered with Nonghyup Life Insurance to introduce a new digital health care-based insurance program that offers benefits to a customer based on his or her fitness achievements tracked by wearable devices.The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding Wednesday, agreeing to merge KT’s Internet of Things technology and big data management capabilities with Nonghyup Life Insurance’s insurance package planning and marketing expertise. A woman wearing a fi

Technology March 8, 2017

China has reportedly stopped issuing new service licenses to South Korean games in an apparent retaliation against Seoul’s latest preparations to install a US missile defense system in Korea.　　According to Korean media outlets Tuesday, the Chinese government informed local game publishers earlier this month that it would no longer issue licenses — which a company needs in order to service a game in China — for Korea-made games.　The measure is “likely related to Korea’s deployment of the Terminal

Technology March 7, 2017

Line Friends, the character merchandising unit of Naver-owned mobile messenger Line, will open its first official store in the US at Times Square in New York City in July, the company said Monday.The upcoming store, spanning 430 square meters, will be located on 1515 Broadway, which houses the renowned “Lion King” musical.It will be the first-ever large-scale Asian character brand store to open in the US and will also commemorate the one-year anniversary of Line’s public listing on the New York

Technology March 7, 2017

The UK High Court of Justice has judged that two patents held by AbbVie on its top-selling arthritis treatment Humira are invalid, ruling in favor of Samsung Bioepis, which had challenged the patents as it seeks to commercialize a biosimilar version of Humira in Europe in as early as 2018.The London-based court, which handles intellectual property disputes, ruled last Friday in favor of Samsung Bioepis and its partner Biogen, invalidating AbbVie’s two secondary patents on Humira. The ruling also

Industry March 6, 2017

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles highlighting South Korea’s promising start-ups in the emerging sectors of digital health care and next-generation medical devices. This is the third installment. – Ed.DAEJEON — A medical device startup born from an applied physics lab at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology is out to introduce a next-generation 3-D microscope that uses light to observe living cells in real time.Founded in 2015, Tomocube has developed a new hol

Technology March 5, 2017

South Korean pop musician Psy plans to showcase a new album in April, marking his first release since December 2015.　YG Entertainment said the South Korean rapper has also finished filming the accompanying music video. Singer Psy (Youtube)　The rapper-producer became a global sensation with his track “Gangnam Style” in 2012. Psy also gathered popularity with other songs including “Gentleman,” “Hangover” and “Daddy.”　The music video for “Gangnam Style” boasts more than 2.7 billion views on the pop

Performance March 4, 2017

LG Electronics Co. of South Korea said Saturday it will update two of its smartphone models -- the G4 and V10 -- with the latest operating system (OS), reversing its earlier decision.　It cited the “respect for consumers‘ rights to choose.”　LG plans to offer the upgrade of the OS with Android 7.0 for the V10 in the second half of this year and for the G4 in the third quarter. The schedule applies to phones sold in South Korea, with consumers abroad to be notified of a separate schedule later.　The

Technology March 4, 2017

South Korea‘s embassy in China said Saturday it has launched a special team to cope with Beijing’s latest economic retaliation against the country, which poses potential threats to its nationals.　The embassy said the team held its first meeting on Friday to share ideas on protecting South Koreans in China, including tourists and students, as well as companies. (Yonhap)　China has been expressing strong hostility toward South Korea‘s decision to deploy an advanced U.S. missile defense system in th

Diplomatic Circuit March 4, 2017

The weekly rallies that have become a constant feature of Seoul life are expected to gain further traction Saturday as the Constitutional Court nears its ruling on President Park Geun-hye‘s impeachment.　The president’s opponents, who launched the candlelight rallies soon after her corruption scandal emerged in October, are set to stage their 19th protest in Gwanghwamun Square to demand her ouster. Her supporters, meanwhile, will hold their 16th rally in front of nearby City Hall to call for her

Social Affairs March 4, 2017

North Korea bristled Friday at U.S. moves to consider relisting the communist nation as a state sponsor of terrorism, warning that Washington will pay dearly for “groundless accusations.”　The U.S. State Department has begun a review of the possibility of adding the North back to its list of states sponsor of terrorism in the wake of the Feb. 13 killing in Malaysia of Kim Jong-nam, the estranged half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.Pyeongyang (Yonhap)　Malaysian police have determined t

North Korea March 4, 2017