• 

  Technology

  Google Korea under tax probe, signaling widening crackdown on foreign tech firms

  • Korea to impose expanded digital VAT on global tech giants from July 2019
  • Lawmakers propose bill on taxing Google, Amazon on ad, cloud service earnings in Korea
  • Minister mulls pan-government tax probe into foreign ICT companies

• 

  Finance

  Stock market on bull run on signs of trade war thaw

  South Korea’s stock market benchmark indexes were moderately higher Thursday on signs of abating trade strife between the United States and China. The top-tier benchmark Kospi inched up 0.6 percent higher than the previous trading day’s close, while the second-tier Kosdaq ticked up 0.8 percent. On the main bourse, foreign investors net purchased shares worth 484.4 billion won ($431.3 million). Domestic institutional investors net sold stocks worth 311.7 billion won, ending a net buying trend of

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  Social affairs

  Moon to enter midterm year amid economic, social polarization

  SEJONG -- President Moon Jae-in has finished the first 19 months of his 60-month tenure and will enter his third administrative year in two weeks.About 70 to 80 percent of South Koreans supported his administrative affairs last year. But Moon’s current approval rating has fallen to a record low, staying under 50 percent, according to polls conducted in recent weeks. Surveys by Realmeter, Gallup Korea and R&Search showed approval ratings of 49.5 percent, 49 percent and 47.9 percent, respectively,

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  North Korea

  Koreas to hold railway, road groundbreaking ceremony on Dec. 26

  The two Koreas agreed on Thursday to hold a groundbreaking ceremony for the modernization and reconnection of cross-border railways and roads this month, in accordance with the agreement reached between the two leaders in September. “As a result of an inter-Korean meeting (held Thursday), a consensus that the groundbreaking ceremony should be held on Dec. 26 at Panmun Station in North Korea’s border town of Kaesong was reached,” a statement released by the South’s Ministry of Unification said. I

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  North Korea

  ‘Two Koreas should sign peace treaty when NK achieves 50 percent of denuclearization’

  Government-funded think tank’s draft of hypothetical peace treaty sparks controversy

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  Social affairs

  [Weekender] Jjimjilbang: Sanctuaries of winter warmth

  Heated floors and hot steamed rooms of jjimjilbang welcome visitors keen to stay warm and cozy

NEWSMAKER

• Technology

  

  Kakao delays formal launch of carpool service after taxi protest death

  Kakao Mobility said Thursday that it will delay the formal launch of its carpool service that was initially slated for Monday, citing a need to engage in continued discussions with taxi drivers, the government and other industry stakeholders on the issue.The move came after a 57-year-old taxi driver burned himself to death in protest of Kakao’s carpool service plans Monday, shocking the public and driving up tensions between the company and taxi unions that have been staging fierce protests agai

LATEST NEWS

• Today

  

  North Korea

  S. Korea holds NSC meeting to discuss creating int'l air route between Koreas

  South Korea held a National Security Council (NSC) meeting Thursday to discuss ways to create an international air route linking the two Koreas, the presidential office said.    During the meeting of the council's standing committee presided over by Presidential National Security Advisor Chung Eui-yong, members shared the opinion that the new air route would increase practical benefits for not only the two Koreas but all airlines that will use it, Cheong Wa Dae said in a release. Presidential Na

• Today

  

  North Korea

  NK urges US to come to senses, stop sticking to sanctions

  North Korea's official news agency on Thursday strongly blamed the United States for the impasse in their nuclear talks, saying Pyongyang is waiting for Washington to come to its senses and take corresponding steps for its denuclearization measures, instead of sticking to sanctions.    "Prospects of relations between the DPRK and the US depend on when the US will wake up from its foolish thought," the Korea Central News Agency (KCNA) said in a commentary. "The exit will be for the US to build up

• Today

  

  Industry

  IATA expects higher net profits for Asia-Pacific airlines

  The International Air Transport Association (IATA) forecast that airlines in the Asia-Pacific region will post higher net profits next year on a rise in the number of travelers and lower oil prices, Korean Air Lines Co. said Thursday.     While expecting the global airline industry to post a net profit of $35.5 billion in 2019, up 4 percent from $32.3 illion a year earlier, IATA Director General and CEO Alexandre de Juniac said airlines in the Asia-Pacific region will report a net income of $10.

• Today

  

  Automode

  KDB completes $375m transfer to GM Korea via recapitalization

  GM Korea, the local unit of the US automaker, said Thursday that the state-run Korea Development Bank has completed recapitalization of $375 million as part of the rescue plan signed in late April, raising prospects of the automaker and its second-largest shareholder narrowing their differences on GM’s spinoff plan.This is the latest development amid ongoing talks between related parties after a Seoul court approved an injunction against the process related to GM Korea’s spinoff of GM Technical

• Today

  

  Foreign Policy

  ‘US wants working-level talks with N. Korea without conditions’

  The US wants to hold working-level talks with North Korea without set preconditions, a senior Korean government official said Thursday, amid Pyongyang’s continued silence in its denuclearization talks with Washington.  (Yonhap)“I heard that Washington’s position is ... that it wants to meet North Korea at working-level negotiations without any conditions and listen to what the North wants first,” the official said on condition of anonymity.Denuclearization talks between the US and North Korea ap

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SPOTLIGHT

• Music

  

  Fans protest Indonesia’s ban on Blackpink ad featuring miniskirted bandmates

  Fans protest Indonesia’s ban on Blackpink ad featuring miniskirted bandmates By Hong Dam-young Blackpink has become a household name in Indonesia, but fans were astonished recently when the country slapped a ban on a television ad featuring the singers in miniskirts. On Wednesday, Agence France-Presse reported that the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission had ordered 11 domestic TV stations to block the commercial on Tuesday, calling it indecent and saying it violated the Muslim country’s moral no

• 

  International

  Anti-Korean hate speech to be prohibited by law in Japan

  Municipal governments in Japan are moving forward with legislation to address hate speech. Although the laws protect people of all nationalities and ethnic backgrounds, it is Koreans in Japan who stand to benefit most as anti-Korean sentiment is prevalent throughout the nation.Tokyo’s Kunitachi City Council approved an ordinance on Wednesday banning discriminatory practices and hate speech.  (Yonhap)The bill specifically prohibits discrimination based on race, ethnicity, gender, occupation and s

• 

  Arts&Design

  SeMA holds retrospective of abstract artist Han Mook

  A 1994 documentary shows Han Mook starting his morning with a baguette on a small sofa in his small, shabby Paris apartment. Soon he gets dressed, walks out of the room and goes down a spiral stiarcase to his atelier where the late artist spent most of his time.  Han Mook’s 1989 work “Symphony of the Southern Cross” (SeMA)“Han Mook For Another Poetry-Order,” a retrospective of the artist at the Seoul Museum of Art, comprises some 130 pieces, including his major works, drawings and calligraphy. T

• 

  Soccer

  Son Heung-min wins fan vote for S. Korea's top goal in 2018

  Son Heung-min's goal against Germany at the 2018 FIFA World Cup has been voted South Korea's goal of the year by fans, the national football governing body said Thursday.The Korea Football Association said Son's goal in South Korea's stunning 2-0 win over Germany in a Group F match in Russia earned 20,448 out of 37,563 votes, or 54.4 percent, to win the top goal honors. This year's KFA fan vote on national football matches was held for 10 days from Dec. 3.Son Heung-min (Yonhap)With South Korea l

GRAPHIC NEWS

• 

EDITORIAL

• Not all new jobs are equal

  Quality of job growth must be scrutinized; short-term jobs an illusion

• Time for a real shift

  Urgent need to depoliticize to save economy

VIEWPOINTS

THE INVESTOR

• 

  Retail & Consumer

  Samsung C&T President Lee Seo-hyun likely to resign

  Lee Seo-hyun, president of Samsung C&T’s fashion division, is likely to step down from her post in an annual year-end reshuffle scheduled for this week, according to news reports on Dec. 12.She is the second daughter of Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee, and Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong’s sister.The Samsung C&T CEO is said to have notified the firm of her intention to resign and move on to focus on corporate social responsibility activities.In a recent board mee

• 

  Mobile & Internet

  Lawmaker calls for extended probe of Google

  Following the raid by Korea’s tax agency on the local unit of US tech giant Google on Dec. 12, as part of its efforts to investigate tax evasion charges linked to the firm’s video streaming service YouTube, a lawmaker from the ruling Democratic Party of Korea has insisted that the investigations should be extended to its headquarters in Mountain View, California.“Most of Google’s sales generated in Korea are considered as part of the headquarters’ revenue in the US, not the local

K-POP HERALD

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  3 quintessential winter ballads

• 

  ‘Encounter’ features Song’s crying scene

• 

  Hwasa stuns MAMAs in glossy red bodysuit

HERALD INTERVIEW

• Fashion

  

  ‘I do not paint to be an artist, but to make clothes’

  Designer Song Zio discusses economy of scale in fashion business

• 

  Music

  ‘I learned how to love my fate’: Sohee of Elris

  Sohee of Elris talks about how she climbed the ladder of the K-pop world, what makes her feel confident

• 

  Industry

  ‘Automation won’t reduce jobs but workers need to be protected in digital era’

  S. Korea’s segmented labor market hampers labor mobility, creates less competition

PHOTO NEWS

• Culture

  

  Time stops at way stations

  For South Koreans living in a country where the old is compulsively replaced with the new, finding a place that no longer serves its original purpose but has maintained its true form is a venture. Still, there are unexpected nooks in and near bustling Seoul where time seems to go very slow, allowing you to quietly evoke past memories. These are way stations.Way stations are relatively small train stations, set apart by the absence of a stationmaster and the lack of passengers. As time went by, n

VIDEO

• Social affairs

  

  Boiling water from pipeline rupture kills 1, injures dozens

  GOYANG, Gyeonggi Province -- When Kim, a worker at a diner, opened the door to look outside at around 8:40 p.m. Tuesday, she found the ground was flooded with hot water, and the air was thick with steam.“It was chaos. There was hot muddy water on the ground. And as we tried to evacuate the building, we could not see anything ahead of us because of the steam,” Kim, who only gave her surname, told The Korea Herald on Wednesday.“I cannot fully describe the fear. I thought to myself ‘This is how I’m

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FEATURES

• 

  Economy

  Korea’s 3rd phase of new towns: Remedy or repetition?

  SEJONG -- The average unit price of an old apartment complex built 31 years ago in Seocho-gu, Seoul, jumped to 1.64 billion won ($1.46 million) in November 2018 from 1.13 billion won in November 2016.The price increased 45 percent in only two years. Other apartment complexes in the district in southern Seoul and neighboring wards also saw their prices surge in the period.Although there have been signs of prices declining after reportedly peaking last summer, many households still appear skeptica

• 

  Technology

  Samsung to be reshaped centering on AI, auto parts and 5G

  Samsung Electronics’ year-end organizational restructuring focuses on three new businesses: artificial intelligence, vehicle components and the fifth-generation network, according to the industry on Wednesday.The tech conglomerate has worked on realigning current business divisions and units, and transfers of positions, all of which are to be completed by Thursday. While maintaining the current three divisions -- device solutions, IT and mobile communications, and consumer electronics -- each di

• 

  Industry

  Samsung BioLogics soars after avoiding delisting, but what’s next?

  Shares of Samsung BioLogics surged by as much as 26 percent Tuesday, following the Korea Exchange’s decision on Monday to resume their trading after deliberating the weight of local financial regulators’ conclusion that the company had breached accounting rules. 　After rallying throughout the day, the shares closed at 394,000 won ($349), raising the company’s market cap to 26.69 trillion won and making it the fifth-largest company listed on South Korea’s main bourse Kospi.The development came af

• 

  Industry

  Govt vows to promote ‘IP-based financing’ for tech SMEs

  KIPO, FSC will boost IP finance budget to W2tr by 2022

WEEKENDER

• Culture

  

  Survival guide: How to battle winter’s chill

  After a drizzly day in early December that pushed temperatures in Seoul well below minus 10 degrees Celsius, office worker Lee Ja-yoon, 30, finally finished preparing her house for the full-fledged winter chill likely to last at least through February. Lee started with her wardrobe. She took out the wool coats and replaced them with a long padded coat -- the ankle-length garments became ubiquitous in Korea during last winter’s biting cold -- as well as thermal underwear, fur-lined leggings and g