Every morning, the smell of freshly baked pastries fills the air of the underground corridors connecting Line 2 and Line 4 of Sadang Station in Seoul. The pleasant smell is enough to make even the busiest Seoulite stop for a moment for a quick bite to-go.Such is the case for 30-year-old Lee Hye-in, who was waiting in line to make a purchase at the bakery inside Sadang Station on Wednesday. Various breads are on display at a bakery inside Sadang Station (Park Hyun-koo/The Korea Herald)“I stop by

Facebook said Thursday that it has expressed to South Korea’s state media regulator its willingness to carry out smooth negotiations with local internet service providers over sharing the costs of maintaining the quality and speed of Facebook’s data traffic-heavy services. 　Kevin Martin, vice president for mobile and global access policy at Facebook, met with Korea Communications Commission Chairman Lee Hyo-seong on Wednesday to discuss current issues concerning Facebook Korea and the broader in

South Korea’s Daewoong Pharmaceuticals said Thursday that its clinical trial plans for Nabota, the drugmaker’s botulinum toxin Type A, has been approved by China’s drug regulator, paving the way for the drug’s future launch in China.Daewoong said that its clinical trial application for Nabota has been approved by the China Food and Drug Administration. As a result, it will begin phase 3 trials for the drug this year, with aims to commercialize it in China by 2020.Daewoong Pharmaceutical’s China

FACEBOOK IN KOREA -- Kevin Martin, Facebook‘s vice president for mobile and global access policy, enters the government complex in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, to meet Korea Communications Commission Chairman Lee Hyo-seong and discuss local network providers’ claims that foreign internet giants fail to pay enough for the networks they use here. During the meeting KCC Chairman Lee Hyo-sung urged Facebook to pay Korean internet service providers network usage fees that reflect the amount of traffi

The International Vaccine Institute said Tuesday that the world’s first oral cholera vaccine packaged in plastic tube vials is now available for purchase by international procurement agencies and United Nations agencies.The oral cholera vaccine, named Euvichol-Plus, was developed by South Korean drugmaker EuBiologics based on a technology transfer from the IVI. The vaccine has officially arrived in the market after the first shipment of 2.45 million dosages were delivered to Zambia and Somlia on

South Korea’s video gaming giant Nexon is eyeing global success with its new open world mobile role-playing game “Durango: Wild Lands” as it pioneers a new genre in mobile gaming with hopes of enticing mobile gamers in both Asia and the West.　 “Durango: Wild Lands” is slated to officially open for play in Korea from Jan. 25 via Google Play and the Apple App Store, and arrive in global markets including North America within this year, according to Nexon. The upcoming mobile game was developed for

Naver, which operates South Korea’s most widely used portal website, has come under fire for removing certain “relevant search words” on its search engine, in what experts see is a value judgment between privacy protection and citizens’ “right to know.”　The news comes just months after Naver admitted to removing a negative article about a local sports organization from its main news tab upon the body’s request, sparking concerns over the internet giant’s transparency.Naver`s headquarters in Pang

In search of new partnerships and foreign investments, South Korean pharmaceutical companies have headed to the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference to promote their drug pipelines and business portfolios to global investors.The annual four-day event, which kicks off Monday in San Francisco, California, is the world’s largest and oldest annual health care symposium, which brings together the world’s top pharmaceutical firms and investors to seek out new drug candidates and technologies.The JP Morgan

　South Korean biotechnology firm Nature Cell said Friday that it has published clinical research showing that receiving multiple injections of the firm’s fat tissue-derived stem cells does not affect a person’s likelihood of getting cancer.　It is the first time that scientists have officially published a long-term clinical study showing that there is no meaningful correlation between fat tissue-derived stem cell injections and the onset of cancer, according to the company.　The research paper, ti

From steering wheels with built-in alcohol-detecting breathalyzers to a smart pillow that automatically adjusts itself to help mold a newborn’s head into the right shape, South Korean college students have been recognized for coming up with ideas for several new nanotechnology-based innovations that have yet to hit the market.South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT on Thursday awarded 10 student teams from local universities for winning a competition to present viable ways to apply Korea’s cur

South Korean video game giant Nexon Korea said Friday that it has tapped Lee Jung-hun, its Vice President of Business, to lead the company as its new CEO.Lee is slated to assume his new position this month, following board approval and related procedures. He will replace the outgoing CEO Park Ji-won, who will oversee Nexon’s global operations as its new Chief Operating Officer. Lee Jung-hun, who is set to become the new CEO of Nexon Korea this month (Nexon)Lee Jung-hun joined Nexon Korea in 2003

South Korea’s gaming industry closed a successful year in 2017, with mobile renditions of “Lineage” raising record sales while online games like “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds” shot their way to the international spotlight. Stepping into 2018, Korea’s leading game companies are once again preparing to entice overseas users with an array of new games, looking to new markets beyond their home turf.Nexon is kicking off the new year with two new mobiles games -- martial arts role-playing game “Yulga

The World Health Organization’s latest decision to classify gaming addiction as an official mental health disorder this year has ignited an international controversy. 　The issue is gaining particular attention in South Korea -- home to a strong gaming industry and an avid gaming population -- which has long been caught between the responsibility to fight adolescent game addiction and the need to promote the country’s thriving gaming sector.　Last week, the WHO revealed plans to recognize “gaming

Since dominating the mobile messaging space in Asia’s major markets, Tokyo-based Line has been looking to transform itself into an all-around “smart portal” that links users in both their offline and online worlds.　Central to Line’s O2O vision is Line Pay, the mobile payment service created by Line and operated by its subsidiary Line Pay.　Three years in, Line Pay is on track to creating a new ecosystem where users can make payments with the touch of a smartphone anywhere and at any time, accordi

South Korea’s representative biopharmaceutical business body called for expanded government funding toward biotech research and development in 2018, stressing that sustained R&D is central to the industry’s growth and success.　The Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-pharma Manufacturers Association stated that the Korean pharmaceutical industry is now on the verge of becoming a globally competitive force and that now is the time to focus on retaining this momentum.“For Korea’s pharma industry to become

South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on Thursday concluded that the level of chemical substances found in sanitary pads sold here are not hazardous to the human body. The conclusion came after the ministry conducted toxicity tests on sanitary pads, tampons, panty liners and diapers sold in Korea to check for levels of 74 volatile organic compounds such as cholorobenzene and acetone.“After conducting reviews and toxicity tests on 74 VOCs found in sanitary pads, we’ve concluded that thei

South Korea’s government and businesses have agreed to newly adopt “fast-track” approval procedures for next-generation medical devices whose success hinges on entering the market ahead of competitors.　They also agreed to push for new policies that would allow innovative medical devices to be certified on a global basis, as well as adopt a new “value-based” evaluation system for novel medical technologies with immediate value to society.The consensus was forged during an inaugural marathon polic

South Korea’s biopharmaceutical companies have had a mixed licensing record this year, with some striking major license-out deals and others losing their contracts over reporting issues related to clinical trials.　Last week, HanAll BioPharma — an affiliate of Seoul-based Daewoong Pharmaceutical — and Genexine both sealed licensing deals for their drug candidates with foreign pharma firms, raising market expectations for the two Korean drugmakers.HanAll Biopharma has licensed out the development

Reading a webtoon, or digital comics, has long been a passive experience. We read the story by scrolling down the screen of a smartphone. But this is on the verge of change in tech-forward South Korea, where the marriage of cutting-edge technology and web comics is creating a unique and interactive storytelling model that invites the reader into the picture -- in a literal sense.　Leading the push is Naver Webtoon, Korea’s biggest webtoon platform, operated by portal website Naver. It recently pa

South Korea’s representative internet business body on Sunday expressed regret over the US Federal Communications Council’s landmark decision to repeal net neutrality rules that had required internet service providers to offer equal access to all web content without discrimination.The Korea Internet Corporations Association released a formal statement citing “deep worries” over what they called negative consequences that the US FCC’s decision is expected to have on the global internet industry,