Janssen Biotech, a unit of Johnson & Johnson, filed a suit against Samsung Bioepis in the United States alleging that the Korean company has violated its patent rights. The suit, filed to the US District Court of New Jersey on May 17, is seeking to block US sales of Samsung Bioepis‘ biosimilar of Janssen’s drug Remicade, which is used to treat autoimmune conditions including Crohn‘s disease and rheumatoid arthritis. Remicade is Johnson & Johnson’s top-selling drug. An employee works at the Samsu

E-Land Group closed a deal with MBK Partners to sell its home and living business for 700 billion won ($626 million), according to the company Sunday. The company will sell 100 percent of its shares in Modern House, a home and living brand that offers lifestyle products. The brand‘s operations will be officially handed over this month through a final contract. The brand, established in 1996, currently brings in sales of about 300 billion won each year. Modern House (E-Land)MBK Partners will cont

Korea Airports Corp. held an opening ceremony for a booth promoting the Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang and tourism to Korea at Tokyo Haneda Airport in Japan Thursday.  (From left) Park Sam-koo, chairman of the Visit Korea Committee, Nobuaki Yokota, president of Japan Airport Terminal Co., Sung Il-hwan, CEO of Korea Airports Corp., Isao Takashiro, chairman and CEO of Japan Airport Terminal Co. and Katsuji Doi, president and CEO of Tokyo International Air Terminal Corporation, attend the open

The tobacco industry is gearing up for a battle to capture the market for smoke-free alternatives to traditional cigarettes. Marlboro maker Philip Morris made the first move Wednesday with the announcement that its heated-tobacco system IQOS will be making its Korea launch on June 5. Based on research that the majority of smoking-related disease comes from the chemicals produced during combustion, IQOS focuses on delivering nicotine by heating tobacco and creating vapor using an electronic devic

Tobacco company Philip Morris Korea announced Wednesday that it will bring its smoke-free, heated tobacco product IQOS to Seoul on June 5, becoming the first mover in the next generation of tobacco products here.“Our vision is a smoke-free future,” Philip Morris Korea CEO Chong Il-woo said at a press conference at Banyan Tree Club and Spa in Seoul on Wednesday. Philip Morris Korea CEO Chong Il-woo speaks at a press conference held at the Banyan Tree Club and Spa in Seoul, Wednesday. (Philip Morr

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- When Korean water purifier company Coway first entered the Malaysian market in 2006, household water purifiers were something of a status symbol. Before Coway, the existing water purifier companies in Malaysia were selling the machines outright, rather than offering them at low-cost monthly leases.“The fact that we brought our Korean rental scheme here was important,” Choi Ki-ryong, the managing director of Coway in Malaysia, told The Korea Herald during an interview at

Game maker NCSoft’s highly anticipated mobile game “Lineage M” is set to be released June 21, according to the company Tuesday.At a showcase at The Raum in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, NCSoft Chief Publishing Officer Kim Taek-heon said that the new mobile game was “created to be like ‘Lineage.’” NCSoft Chief Publishing Officer Kim Taek-heon at a media showcase for “Lineage M” at The Raum Tuesday. (NCSoft)“Lineage M” is the latest in a series of games launched using the Lineage name, starting with a deskto

DAMANSARA, Malaysia -- In the early hours of a hot and humid Sunday, over 4,000 Malaysians gathered at Starling Mall in Damansara, adjacent to Malaysia’s capital, for the first-ever Coway Run. The crowd was a mixed bunch, from elite runners who came decked out in athletic gear to young mothers in hijabs pushing their strollers along the 5-kilometer course.South Korea’s largest water purifier maker’s first-ever marathon on May 7 was organized to raise awareness about the importance of clean water

Retail giant Shinsegae has decided to indefinitely delay its planned project to build a department store in Bucheon, adjacent to Seoul, according to the company Monday.The company was chosen in September 2015 by the city to build a shopping mall in a new cultural complex. However, the project faced fierce opposition from vendors in the area, who feared the new mall would take away from their business. (Yonhap)“After negotiating with the city of Bucheon, we had decided to change our original plan

Cosmetics that claim to protect the skin against damage caused by fine dust have been asked to provide evidence.According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on Friday, the agency is requesting that companies provide proof of cosmetics‘ ability to shield the skin against, or wash away, fine dust.  Fine dust blankets Seoul on Friday. (Yonhap)“The measure is designed to prevent misleading labeling or advertising by requiring companies to substantiate their claims,” a ministry official said.If

Philip Morris International is expected to announce the launch of its heated smokeless cigarette IQOS in Korea next week, according to industry sources.IQOS, which has already seen huge success in other markets including neighboring Japan, heats tobacco using a special device instead of burning tobacco, as in traditional cigarettes.  IQOS (Philip Morris International)The Korean launch of IQOS is expected to be officially announced through a press conference scheduled for May 17 with PMI Korea’s

Cosmetics companies in Korea are looking forward to streamlined central control over industry regulations under the newly elected president. During his campaign, President Moon Jae-in pledged to create a new plan for the development of the cosmetics industry that would integrate the regulatory and funding authority of various agencies, creating a more cooperative system to help cosmetics companies export to other countries. Moon previously pledged that he would create a system that would allow c

WASHINGTON -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met Wednesday with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson ahead of rare Oval Office talks with Donald Trump, whose firing of his FBI chief again put the spotlight on Moscow's alleged meddling in last year's US election.On Tuesday, Trump dismissed FBI Director James Comey, who was leading a probe into whether the Republican billionaire's campaign aides colluded with Russian officials to sway the November presidential election. Russian Foreign Mini

Veteran slugger Lee Seung-yuop became South Korean baseball's all-time leader in total bases on Wednesday, adding yet another milestone to his glowing resume.Lee hit a single off LG Twins' starter Cha Woo-chan in the seventh inning of their Korea Baseball Organization regular season game at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in Daegu, 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul.Lee Seung-yuop of the Samsung Lions takes batting practice at Masan Stadium in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, before a Korea Baseball

NEW YORK -- After a backlash over programming Netflix films, the Cannes Film Festival says it will, beginning next year, only accept theatrically released films for its prestigious Palme d'Or competition. In a statement Wednesday, the French festival said it has adapted its rule to require films in competition to be distributed in French movie theaters. The festival said it wanted to "reiterate its support to the traditional mode of exhibition of cinema in France and in the world."Cannes this ye

FULL MOON -- A full moon rises on Wednesday, the inauguration day of the nation's 19th President Moon Jae-in. (Bae Hyun-jung/The Korea Herald)

The following is an unofficial translation of President Moon Jae-in's inaugural address made on May 10, 2017.President Moon Jae-in (Yonhap)I am deeply grateful to all of you, the people, for your great choice. As the 19th President of the Republic of Korea, I take the first step today toward a new Republic of Korea. I sense a heavy responsibility endowed by the people. My heart is full of passion for building a country that we have never had. And my head is full of a blueprint to open a new worl

An attempt to lease out the remaining duty-free store licenses by tender at the new terminal at Incheon International Airport has failed again, as no duty-free operators made a bid, authorities and industry sources said Wednesday.The auction for licensing to run the apparel and accessories store at the second terminal (T2) at the hub airport that is expected to open later in the year has been put off for a second time due to a lack of tenders, according to Incheon International Airport Corp. and

Korea’s new president will not consider lowering the excise tax on cigarettes, according to a spokesman for the administration Wednesday.“Instead of lowering the tax, we are looking into the possibility of creating tax-free cigarettes for low income consumers,” Moon Jae-in’s spokesman Hong Ik-pyo told The Korea Herald on Wednesday. No timeframe has been set for the introduction of the lower-priced cigarettes, according to Hong. Cigarettes for sale at a convenience store (Yonhap)The excise tax on

Creating land about two-thirds the size of Seoul is not an easy job. Saemangeum Project, a mega project designed to turn a sea area into 283 square kilometers of reclaimed land, is the biggest land development in Korea so far. But to successfully complete the project, it must have a central authority to oversee it, in light of the overlapping authorities of related ministries and municipalities, said the head of the development agency.“It’s a structural problem,” Saemangeum Development and Inves