[THE INVESTOR] The fallout of Hanjin Shipping, the world’s 7th largest shipping line, is dealing a severe blow to the economy of Korea’s southern coast area where regional sustainability depends mostly on maritime transportation.With more than 60 Hanjin cargos denied or blocked at 44 ports in 23 countries and the government belatedly drawing up contingency plans, industry observers say this latest fiasco following the shipper’s court protection filing would undermine the overall confidence in th

[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s whisky market is facing a dark age, in light of sluggish demand for strong liquors and pricey bars serving high-end foreign liquors.Today, major whisky brands are seeking ways to revitalize Korea’s lackluster whisky sales, which fell by 38 percent from 2008 to 2015. In lieu of such efforts, Diageo, the world’s largest distiller and producer of major whisky brands including Johnny Walker and Windsor, said it can help solve this problem by benchmarking Japan.Cho Kil-so

President Park Geun-hye on Sunday called for greater business cooperation with Egypt, particularly in the Middle East nation's infrastructure development field, her office Cheong Wa Dae said.During her summit with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Park also expressed hope that the two nations can keep up the momentum to realize the full potential for the development of their "mutually complementary" partnership. Their meeting was held on the sidelines of the summit of the Group of 20 adva

President Park Geun-hye officially approved the appointment of two Cabinet ministers and a Supreme Court justice through an electronic endorsement system on Sunday, her office Cheong Wa Dae said.Her approval for incoming Culture Minister Cho Yoon-sun and Agriculture Minister Kim Jae-soo came amid objections from opposition parties that have called them unfit for the Cabinet posts, citing their alleged ethical lapses and other issues.  This combined photo shows new Culture Minister Cho Yoon-sun (

The South Korean government said Monday it has decided to maintain the existing price ceiling for the controversial anti-graft law that will go into effect in late September, despite rising concerns that the new policy will weigh down spending in certain industries.The remark came as the anti-graft law aims to limit the price of gifts exchanged among public officials, journalists and private school faculty at 50,000 won ($44.50). This will effectively ban them from receiving pricey agricultural

Two American figure skaters have applied for South Korean citizenship with an eye on competing at the 2018 Winter Olympics here, officials said Monday.The Korea Skating Union said Alexander Gamelin, an ice dance partner for South Korean Min Yu-ra, and Themistocles Lefttheris, a pairs partner for South Korea's Ji Min-ji, have submitted their applications for fast-track naturalization to the Korean Olympic Committee.The two teams have been skating together at the International Skating Union events

A recent United Nations Security Council statement condemning North Korea's provocations is balanced and comprehensive, the Chinese foreign ministry's spokesperson said Monday, urging against any tension-escalating actions."Signals the UNSC has sent out are comprehensive and balanced," Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in a regular briefing, referring to the U.N. council's recent press statement. The Chinese reaction followed the UNSC's statement unanimously approved by its

South Korea's ruling party on Saturday lambasted its rival party lawmakers' plan to visit China next week to discuss the country's plan to deploy a U.S. missile defense system, saying that it is a "shame to our politics" and urging them to call off the trip right away.  Political circles here have been divided over the government's decision unveiled in July to place a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery on Korean soil by end-2017 to counter North Korea's evolving nuclear and missile thre

Angola has submitted its action plan on how to implement sanctions imposed on North Korea in line with the United Nations Security Council's push to punish Pyongyang for its nuclear and missile development, U.S.-based media outlets said Saturday.Angola, known to have maintained friendly ties with the North for over 40 years, recently submitted the 4-page-long implementation report, according to the Voice of America and Radio Free Asia.In the report, the African country cited bans on exports of a

BANGKOK (AP) -- Thailand's stagnating economy is unlikely to get much of a boost from a referendum Sunday on a new constitution proposed by the military government, which took power in a 2014 coup. A ``yes'' vote could, however, tamp down some of the uncertainty that has plagued the country over the past half-decade of instability. An update on how Thailand's economy is faring under military rule:THE OUTLOOK: Government spending and tourism are keeping growth afloat despite weak exports and plun

TOKYO (AP) -- Japan has protested to China after six Chinese coast guard vessels approached disputed East China Sea islands accompanying a fleet of hundreds of Chinese fishing boats. Japan's Foreign Ministry said in a statement it summoned Chinese Embassy officials after Japan's coast guard spotted the vessels Saturday along with a fleet of 230 Chinese fishing boats swarming around the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands. China also claims the islands.Japan is demanding the ships leave the area.

The U.S. Department of Commerce has decided to impose nearly 61 percent in duties against hot-rolled steel flat products imported from South Korea's steel giant POSCO, a source said Friday.The decision is expected to deal a blow to the Korean steel industry, heavily dependent on the U.S. market. The department has set anti-dumping and countervailing duties for POSCO products at 3.89 percent and 57.04 percent, respectively, for a total of 60.93 percent duties.It also decided to impose a total of

North Korea has summoned its consuls stationed in Shenyang in order to investigate recent mass defections of restaurant workers at the North's state-run restaurants in China, a U.S.-based media report showed Saturday.In April, a group of 13 North Korean employees at a Pyongyang-run restaurant in the Chinese eastern port city of Ningbo defected to South Korea en masse. In June, three more North Korean restaurant employees working in China escaped to Seoul.The diplomats called in to Pyongyang in e

The South Korean delegation to the Rio de Janeiro Olympics was greeted by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the opening ceremony Friday. South Korea was the 52nd country to appear in "Parade of Nations" in accordance with the Portuguese alphabet. With the sabre fencer Gu Bon-gil, the 2012 Olympic champion in the men's team event, carrying the national flag, Ban, a South Korean native, gave the delegation a standing ovation from the stands.South Korea, with Korea Football Association Presiden

South Korean shares are expected to move upward in the coming week on the back of foreign buying on eased concerns over a U.S. interest rate hike and recovery in crude oil, but the gains will be limited by institutional selling, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 2,017.94 points on Friday, up 0.08 percent from a week ago. The index started on a positive note as weak U.S. economic growth data lowered the odds of an interest rate hike to reach this yea

South Korea's three mobile carriers -- SK Telecom Co., KT Corp., and LG Uplus Corp. -- said Saturday they began taking preorders for Samsung Electronics Co.'s latest Galaxy Note 7, which is expected to hit the local market later this month.South Korean customers can preorder the smartphone on the operators' web sites. Preorders for the newest Galaxy phablet can also be made at the mobile carriers' local retail stores.The Galaxy Note 7 with 64GB of capacity is priced at around 988,900 won (US$880

Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and a visiting U.S. House lawmaker reaffirmed Monday that the alliance between Seoul and Washington will remain firm, Seoul's foreign ministry said."The S. Korea-U.S. alliance remains firm more now than at any other time amid growing threats such as missiles and nukes," Yun said during a meeting with Rep. John B. Larson (D-CT).Yun also expressed the hope that the two countries would further strengthen ties in a comprehensive way, according to the ministry.The minist

The emerging technology augmented reality is showing immense potential in the digital world especially after the success of “Pokemon Go,” a location-based AR mobile game.AR, in fact, is nothing new. But the game has brought the technology another step closer to reality, pushing companies and governments to commercialize AR by integrating it with unique content.In movies and science fiction, AR -- the incremental technology from virtual reality that can be further developed into holograms -- has

The Korean economy has hit a wall. Conventional management methods have run their course. Aging systems, where corporate owners run their businesses with employees accustomed to their ironclad control, no longer work and are making it difficult to find new opportunities and growth in this digital age.This is where Christopher Han comes in with SAP Design & Co-Innovation Center in Pangyo.Christopher Han, vice president of Design & Co-Innovation Center (Park Hyun-koo/The Korea Herald)The DCC chief

[THE INVESTOR] Faced with economic challenges from slow growth, market restructuring and an aging population, China is expected to negatively affect the prospects of the Korean economy in the mid to short term, said Brian Jackson, a senior economist at IHS, a global business analytics provider. “China’s slowing growth by itself is a negative for Korea, given Korea is exposed to Chinese domestic demand, supply chains, and the same global factor impacting China – sharply slower growth in global tr