The Korea Herald

Full-timers in 50s become the most active workforce

Jun 13, 2011

The portion of the workforce in their 50s has frequently exceeded that in their 30s in the past two years, as the country quickly becomes an aging society.Statistics Korea said Monday that the number of baby boomers working in their 50s had exceeded the number of workers in their 30s four times since October 2009, when the older group outnumbered the younger workers for the first time. The proport
K-pop drives hallyu craze: survey

Jun 13, 2011

English speakers favor Super Junior, French and Spanish are Big Bang fansKorean pop, or K-pop, is driving the Korean Wave abroad and Asian women in their 20s make up the majority of overseas hallyu fans, a survey found on Monday.The Korea Tourism Organization conducted the online hallyu survey on 12,085 non-Korean visitors from 102 countries to its website (www.visitkorea.or.kr) from May 11 to May
President vows to end practice of offering favors to ex-officials

PoliticsJun 13, 2011

President Lee Myung-bak on Monday stressed he would root out the widespread practice among government officials and judges of giving favors to their retired colleagues.The “jeon-gwan-ye-woo” practice, which means giving “honorable treatment to former officials,” refers to the custom of private companies offering high-paying jobs to retired senior government officials in exchange for their connecti
Sohn suggests meeting with Lee this month

PoliticsJun 13, 2011

The opposition leader and president may meet in an inter-party summit as early as this month to discuss pending economic issues concerning people’s livelihoods here. “Students and parents are out in the streets, asking for a tuition cut, and we may not blame them because they are indeed under great economic strain,” said the main opposition Democratic Party chairman Sohn Hak-kyu at the party’s Sup
Lee meets religious leaders after detente with Buddhists

PoliticsJun 13, 2011

President Lee Myung-bak met with religious leaders Monday, a week after South Korea’s largest Buddhist sect announced that it was normalizing relations with the government after half a year of standoff over a budget dispute.It marked the first time that Lee has met with Ven. Jaseung, head of the Buddhist sect Jogye Order, in more than a year. Jogye’s relations with the government have been tense a
[Herald Interview] ‘Potential for Korea, China, Japan immense’

Foreign affairsJun 13, 2011

Shin says trilateral secretariat to drive global influence of three as a groupWith South Korea playing the role of a middleman, the Korea, China and Japan cooperative secretariat has the potential to be a global economic giant capable of wielding influence in Asia and beyond, the first secretary-general of the institution said. “These are three already influential nations we are talking about. Can
Smoking ban at Seoul squares effective

Social affairsJun 13, 2011

Seoul City’s anti-smoking campaign in downtown squares, which kicked off this month, is largely being obeyed, with the total number of violations standing at just 15 as of Monday. The city banned smoking at three plazas in central Seoul from June 1, imposing a fine of 100,000 won ($92) on smokers. The three squares ― Chunggye, Gwanghwamun and Seoul Plaza ― are frequented by about 30,000 people eve
Ministry probes mystery disease

Social affairsJun 13, 2011

The government is keeping a close watch on three members of a family reportedly suffering from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.The disease is thought to be similar to the mysterious virus which recently killed three pregnant women.According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an agency under the Ministry of Health and Welfare, a 32-year-old woman and her 6-year-old daughter, bot
‘Average office worker enraged 3 times a day’

Social affairsJun 13, 2011

Over 90 percent of office workers regularly want to vent frustration at work, a new survey has found.According to the survey of 1,434 office workers by online recruiter SaramIn, 94.7 percent of those questioned felt the urge to express rage at their workplace. And they felt angry an average of 3.4 times a day. The biggest cause of indignation was having to take full responsibility for something th
Bonjour Korea, hallyu waves over France

CultureJun 13, 2011

K-pop charms Paris, but more support needed for Korean cultureCultural center takes lead in promoting hansik, Korean artsPARIS ― This is a fast-paced city where new trends come and go in the blink of an eye. The fashion capital of the world is also a city that welcomes new ideas and artists from across the globe.And, now it seems that the Korean Wave, or hallyu, has captivated the French capital:
'U.S. intercepted N.K. ship suspected of carrying military contraband'

North KoreaJun 13, 2011

The United States recently intercepted a North Korean ship suspected of carrying military-related contraband, causing the vessel to eventually sail back home, a U.S. official said Monday.The remarks by Gary Samore, special assistant to U.S. President Barack Obama, came after local media reported that the North Koreans turned back after apparently sensing their cargo would be inspected if they stop
Hanwha, Merck sign license deal on biosimilar drug

IndustryJun 13, 2011

Hanwha Chemical Corp., the country’s leading petrochemical firm, said on Monday it has reached a license agreement worth $720 million for its arthritis biosimilar with Merck Sharp & Dohme Research Ltd., a subsidiary of U.S. drugmaker Merck & Co.Under the deal, the two companies plan to develop and commercialize the drug candidate named HD 203 together. Merck secures its sales rights in all countri
Korea Aerospace Industries celebrates its first export

IndustryJun 13, 2011

Korea Aerospace Industries on Monday held a reception marking the export of its T-50 trainer jets to Indonesia.The T-50 is the country’s first supersonic jet developed in collaboration with the U.S. defense giant Lockheed Martin. The project took 2 trillion won ($1.8 billion) and 13 years to produce the T-50. T-50. (Korea Aerospace Industries)Under the $400 million contract, signed last month, wi
Foreign carmakers’ market share rises to 6.5%

TransportJun 13, 2011

Foreign carmakers saw their combined market share in Korea climb by 1 percentage point over the past year.They captured 6.5 percent of the local market with sales of 42,700 vehicles between January and May, up from 5.5 percent with 34,318 units during the corresponding period of last year.In May, the foreign carmakers posted 6.8 percent market share by selling 8,777 units, according to the automot
Korea ramps up efforts to detect offshore tax evaders

Jun 13, 2011

Korea is stepping up efforts to ferret out people and businesses engaged in offshore tax evasion schemes by directly investigating foreign financial accounts, the tax office said Monday.The National Tax Service said it will carry out the investigations in cooperation with tax authorities in foreign countries that have been cited for becoming tax havens for Korean nationals and companies. Individua