A new COVID-19 variant called omicron has put the world on notice, prompting nations to close borders and reinstate restrictions. While fear seems to prevail, not all are pessimistic. Some scientists say this new mutation may be a blessing in disguise, our best chance to put an end to this devastating pandemic. The theory goes like this: The virus, with 32 mutations on the spike protein alone, twice as many as delta, may have been optimized to infect, but not to kill. In essence, more like

The licenses of six botulinum drugs will be revoked on Dec. 13, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced Thursday. The Drug Ministry said the drugs were being sold in the country without obtaining the state approval to sell them in the domestic market. The drugs are four of Hugel’s Botulax units and two of Pharma Research Bio’s ReNTox units. The Drug Ministry will also shut down Pharma Research Bio’s production for six months, citing that the biopharmaceutical firm&

Speculations grow over junior Chey’s role at battery spinoff from SK Innovation

Incheon Airport on Thursday forecast its debt ratio to spike to nearly 70 percent this year due to a plunge in flight operations and travelers amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The airport operator said in a press conference that flight operations are likely to have dropped 19 percent from last year, and travelers by 70 percent on-year. The downturn has hurt revenue, as the airport’s sales stood at 490.5 billion won ($416 million), a 55 percent drop from last year. The airport sought to respo

Former presidential adviser says political talks at highest level essential to forge efforts on cross-border project

The 2021 IoT Korea Online Business Meeting held by National IT Industry Promotion Agency from Nov. 2-4 wrapped up with several agreements reached by participating firms. Nearly 370 business meetings were arranged over the three days at the Pangyo 2nd Techno Valley Corporate Support Hubs. Small and medium-sized IoT companies in Korea have been seeking routes into overseas markets and have been doing so at large global trade shows every year. However, due to the pandemic, online export confere

Presidential nominee hopes for continued partnership of Korea and US at AMCHAM meeting, promising to ease regulations

Business leaders who planned and built a metaverse platform have written a book on the subject of the metaverse -- a virtual world that incorporates augmented reality and avatars, among other things, in parallel to the physical world. Choi Jin-young, CEO of The Korea Herald; Ryu Seong-taek, CEO of Hyundai Futurenet, an affiliate of Hyundai Department Store; and Song Min-jae and Choo Sun-woo, CEOs of Meta Factory, co-authored “The Metaverse Management,” based on their discussions as

Postponed assessment to transfer OPCON to Seoul to begin next fall

The wall of a secondhand bookstore that enjoyed brief media attention in July for its politically provocative murals has generated yet more controversy this week, when a new painting by the artist Tanksy appeared, depicting the various scandals of the Democratic Party of Korea’s presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung. In what has been described by organizers as an “art battle,” Tanksy’s participation lifted a wooden panel covering a mural by graffiti artist Ninbolt, whic