The Korea Herald

‘Access to innovative talent essential for global business’

May 1, 2016

To leap forward in the global marketplace, firms must attract diverse talents capable of engineering “what’s next” and disrupting “business as usual,” a leading Canadian computer scientist said. “The key to innovation is access to a pool of technical, creative and entrepreneurial talents that allows companies to target the global market from the get-go,” Paul Salvini, chief executive officer of Accelerator Centre, told The Korea Herald last week. “The city of Waterloo, Canada, where I work, has
Park embarks on first state visit to Iran

May 1, 2016

TEHRAN -- South Korean President Park Geun-hye embarked on the country’s first state visit to Iran on Sunday to tap into the promising market of the Middle East, joined by the largest-ever business delegation.President Park Geun-hye (Yonhap)This is the first time that a South Korean president is visiting the country since the two forged diplomatic ties in 1962. The trip comes 107 days after international sanctions were lifted on Iran after a landmark nuclear agreement in January this year. The r
Park leaves for Iran for talks with Rouhani

May 1, 2016

South Korean President Park Geun-hye left for Tehran on Sunday on a historic trip meant to boost political and economic relations between the two countries.Park is set to meet with her Iranian counterpart, Hassan Rouhani, on Monday in the first meeting between the leaders of the two countries since the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations in 1962. The summit will set the tone for relations at a time when the Islamic Republic has emerged as a promising market following the lifting of i
China, Japan hold FM talks to improve strained ties

Apr 30, 2016

The foreign ministers of China and Japan held bilateral talks in Beijing on Saturday with the aim of improving ties strained by territorial and historical disputes. Meeting Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Beijing is willing to develop a "healthy and stable" relationship with Tokyo, according to a statement released by China's foreign ministry. But, Wang told Kishida that China would judge Japan's hope to improve relations with China by its actions,
President Park to depart for Iran to seek opportunities

Apr 30, 2016

South Korean President Park Geun-hye will leave for Iran on Sunday to help South Korean businesses expand into the Middle East's least-tapped market, Cheong Wa Dae said.Park is the first South Korean president to visit Iran since the two countries formed diplomatic ties in 1962. Her trip that will last through Wednesday comes after a landmark nuclear pact between the United States and Iran that has led to the alleviation of international sanctions on the Islamic country.In Iran, Park and her cou
U.S. will lose leverage in Asia if it pulls troops out of S. Korea: U.S. congressman

Apr 30, 2016

The U.S. will lose much of its leverage in Asia if it pulls troops out of South Korea, a U.S. congressman said Friday, criticizing Donald Trump's suggestion that the U.S. should end defense support for allies unless they pay more."If we pull out of the Pacific and we, you know, take our troops out of Korea and take our troops out of Japan, then we lose much of the leverage," Rep. Peter King (R-NY) said on CNN. "It certainly, you know, it weakens the leverage we have against China and it, in effe
S. Korea avoids U.S. currency manipulator designation, put on monitoring list

Apr 30, 2016

The U.S. Treasury Department put South Korea, China, Japan, Taiwan and Germany on its "monitoring list" for foreign exchange policies Friday, but none was designed as a currency manipulator."Korea has a significant bilateral trade surplus with the United States and a material current account surplus," the epartment said in the Report on Foreign Exchange Policies of Major rading Partners of the United States."Treasury estimates that during the second half of 2015 through March 2016, the Korean a
S. Korea endorses revised ordinance to tighten travel bans for conflict-laden countries

Apr 28, 2016

South Korea on Thursday endorsed a revision to the enforcement ordinance of the Passport Act to further tighten its travel bans on several conflict-laden countries, including Iraq and Syria, a move aimed at ensuring the safety of its citizens.The revision was endorsed during a Cabinet meeting presided over by President Park Geun-hye.The previous ordinance carried a clause stipulating that South Korean citizens can enter those war-prone countries only when they have to conduct humanitarian activi
Korea, Japan, China hold talks on Arctic affairs

Apr 28, 2016

South Korea, Japan and China held their first high-level talks on Arctic affairs in Seoul on Thursday, seeking to expand areas of trilateral cooperation to jointly tackle regional and global challenges including climate change.The first Trilateral High-Level Dialogue on the Arctic was held in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Seoul, led by South Korean Arctic Affairs Ambassador Kim Chan-woo and his Japanese and Chinese counterparts Kazuko Shiraishi and Ma Xinmin.During a trilateral sum
Polish Day to jazz up downtown Seoul

Apr 24, 2016

The Polish Day -- celebration of the Central European country’s culture, literature and products -- will be held at the Cheonggye Plaza in Seoul on May 1 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Organized by the Polish embassy, the venue will feature tourism information, information on education opportunities in Poland and works of Polish Nobel laureates, poet Wislawa Szymborska (1923-2012) and physicist-chemist Maria Sklodowska-Curie (1867-1934). An exhibition on the life of Curie will be held at Ewha Womans Uni
EU marks Paris climate agreement signature

Apr 24, 2016

Coinciding with Earth Day -- an annual event celebrated worldwide on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection -- the European Union delegation to Korea hosted a reception Friday to mark the signing of the Paris climate agreement at the United Nations General Assembly by over 120 countries. The historic accord, which was agreed upon in Paris last December, was also signed on the same day Friday at the New York headquarters, paving the way for its entry into force. “Today, we a
Ecuador urges Korea's aid after earthquake

Apr 24, 2016

The Ecuadorian Embassy in Seoul is reaching out to Korea for pressing humanitarian support to facilitate relief and reconstruction efforts following the catastrophic earthquake that shook the country on April 16. During a press conference Friday, Ecuadorian Ambassador Oscar Herrera Gilbert underlined the cataclysmic events that struck his country. The quake has claimed over 600 lives, resulted in 150 missing persons and 8,400 injured people. On April 16, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit Ecuador’s
‘Steadfast sanctions key to N.K. denuclearization’

Apr 24, 2016

To prevent North Korea’s nuclear and missile provocations and force the regime to denuclearize, the international community must apply sanctions steadfastly and extensively, according to a former senior U.S. diplomat. Robert Einhorn, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and former special adviser to the U.S. Secretary of State for nonproliferation and arms control, stressed that the world must share “a sense of urgency” in pressuring the recalcitrant regime. “Given the North’s insistence o
Obama's royal holiday: Lunch with queen, dinner with princes

Apr 22, 2016

LONDON (AP) -- Most people send a card, call, or post on Facebook for someone's birthday, but President Barack Obama went the extra mile on Friday -- thousands of miles, actually -- to deliver 90th birthday greetings to Queen Elizabeth II over lunch at Windsor Castle.Britain's oldest and longest-serving monarch celebrated her birthday a day earlier, the same day Obama arrived in the evening for what likely is the final visit here of his presidency. So the two heads of state sat down for an only
At least 10 killed in airstrikes in northern Syria

Apr 22, 2016

BEIRUT (AP) -- At least 10 people were killed Friday when airstrikes hit several rebel-held neighborhoods in Syria's contested northern city of Aleppo and neighboring Idlib province, anti-government activists said. Aleppo, Syria's largest city and former commercial center, has seen sporadic clashes since the February 27 cease-fire, as government troops advanced, boxing in opposition-held areas from all sides except for a corridor from the northwestern edge of the town. The Britain-based Syrian O