Britain's Treasury chief is set to deliver an upbeat message on the economy when he unveils the new budget Wednesday _ but remain cautious on new spending amid uncertainty over the exit from the European Union.    Philip Hammond said he will outline his plan for the 2017-18 fiscal year laying out what the government believes will be the foundations for a "stronger, fairer, better Britain'' outside the EU.    The caution over spending in the long term comes despite an improvement in the governmen

    Film director Hong Sang-soo and Kim Min-hee, best actress at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival, will next week make their first public appearance together in Korea since their extramarital scandal broke last June, according to a PR agency Wednesday.   Hong and Kim will attend the South Korean press screening of "On the Beach at Night Alone" next Monday at the Lotte Cinema in Seoul's northeastern district of Gwangjin, the film's PR agency Movement said. The two will hold a Q&A sessi

A Seoul court on Wednesday banned conservative civic groups from holding violent rallies near the home of Independent Counsel Park Young-soo who led the investigation into impeached President Park Geun-hye until last week.   The special prosecutor sought a preliminary injunction to stop them from holding rallies near his apartment complex, as the protesters used such intimidating expressions as "Kill Park Young-soo!"    The Seoul Central District Court partially accepted his request and prohibit

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

BEIJING (AFP) - China will raise defence spending by “around seven percent” this year as it guards against “outside meddling” in its disputed territorial claims in Asian waters, a top official said Saturday.　“We call for a peaceful settlement through dialogue and consultation (of the disputes). At the same time we need the ability to safeguard our sovereignty and interests and rights,” said Fu Ying, spokeswoman for the National People‘s Congress, the Communist-controlled parliament.　“In particul

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

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

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

South Korea’s Constitutional Court, which is currently reviewing the presidential fate of Park Geun-hye, may issue a final ruling next week, political watchers said Saturday.　They said the court will apparently seek to deliver the verdict before Acting Chief Justice Lee Jung-mi retires on March 13, as her departure will added another vacancy on the originally nine-member bench. (Yonhap)　　There have been eight judges since January when then Chief Justice Park Han-chul retired.　Some cited the cour

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un probably killed his half brother in a bid to cement his status as true royal blood, as his birth remains a weak point of his legitimacy, a high-profile defector said Saturday.　The latest killing of Kim Jong-nam, the first son of late former leader Kim Jong-il, with lethal VX nerve agent has shocked the world, raising speculation that the North‘s leader ordered the murder to strengthen his reign of terror.Kim Jong-nam (Yonhap)　Thae Yong-ho, a former ranking North K

South Korea's tourism industry is on alert as China has set out to prevent its people from traveling to Korea in protest against Seoul's deployment of a high-tech U.S. anti-missile battery, industry sources said Friday.    On Thursday, Beijing told major travel agencies in the country to stop selling tours to Korea in what is seen as its latest retaliatory act against Seoul pushing ahead with stationing the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system.A group of Chinese tourists. Yonhap  

China promised to faithfully implement U.N. Security Council sanctions imposed on North Korea and also renewed its commitment to working for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, the foreign ministry here said Friday.   China made the promise in a telephone conversation between its top nuclear envoy Wu Dawei and his South Korean counterpart Kim Hong-kyun, according to the ministry.   During the telephone talks arranged at the request of China, both discussed North Korea and the threat po

 The special team of state prosecutors that began the investigation into the presidential influence-peddling scandal will take back the probe from the independent counsel team and continue it, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office said Friday.   The independent counsel team, led by Park Young-soo, wrapped up its 70-day investigation Tuesday after delving into a broad range of corruption allegations surrounding President Park Geun-hye and her friend Choi Soon-sil.   "Prosecutor-General Kim Soo-nam orde