I’ll admit it. From the very beginning, I was kind of in love with WeWork. I loved the concept, I loved how everything felt new, how everything felt casual but still systematic and last but not least, I was delighted at the makeovers it gave to office buildings that were once as dilapidated as a beat-up pillow. cap: Inside WeWork Designer ClubIn particular, I was ecstatic about the interior decorations which were subtly modern American and reminded me of my childhood in New York. At the same tim

South Korean biopharmaceutical firm Samsung Bioepis Co. will spend 180.4 billion won ($159.7 million) to build a new research and development center, its parent company said Thursday.The investment cost accounts for 36.44 percent of the company's capital at the end of 2017, Samsung BioLogics, a biopharmaceutical unit of South Korea's top conglomerate Samsung Group, said in a regulatory filing."The construction of the R&D facility is intended to strengthen competitiveness," the company said.(Sams

The government, taxi businesses and a shared mobility operator agreed Thursday to permit app-based carpooling services during morning and evening commute hours.Taxi associations have been strongly opposed to the introduction of carpooling services by Kakao Mobility, the operator of South Korea's largest taxi-hailing app, claiming it will put their business in jeopardy.Under the agreement reached by a consultation body involving the ruling party, the government, taxi businesses and Kakao Mobility

ICT Ministry pledges to foster data economy, invest 580 billion won for space industry

The concept of the “sharing economy” has caught on in Korea, but not as much as the enthusiasts had imagined. Uber, the most controversial example, was unable to enter for legal reasons, and others such as Airbnb-like house-sharing services are still fumbling to overcome regulatory hurdles. In a way, coworking spaces are the lone shining star in the sector, with experts predicting the trend to continue for years. A big part of the reason is because of the steady growth of knowled

Monthly data usage by smartphones surpassed 400,000 terabytes for the first time in January, according to data from the Ministry of Science and ICT, boosted by growing use of video streaming services and mobile games. The data traffic amounted to 403,812 TB in January, up 1.5 percent from the previous month, the data showed. The January figure increased 28.7 percent on-year, and marked a 17-fold increase from usage in January 2012, the data showed. Data traffic on smartphones that support LTE, o

　South Korea’s direct purchases from foreign countries rose 31 percent in 2018 from a year earlier on rising consumer demand for cheaper and higher quality products, customs data showed.　South Korean shoppers bought a total of $2.75 billion worth of foreign goods directly via overseas internet shopping malls in 2018, compared with $2.11 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Korean Customs Service.　The number of overseas direct purchases jumped 37 percent on-year t

Automaker turns to ASEAN, India instead

South Korean steel giant Posco said Thursday it has decided not to pursue the acquisition of a local electric vehicle parts maker, saying that it does not fit into its battery business.The company was eyeing KCFT, formerly known as LS Mtron, which manufactures copper foils and flexible copper clad laminates for lithium-ion batteries. “For expanding our secondary battery business, we had reviewed (the feasibility) of acquiring the copper foil maker, but decided not to pursue the case anymore beca

The global trend of drinking less but better has led to a boom of single malt whiskey in Asian markets, including South Korea, according to a global brand ambassador of Glenfiddich. “The world is seeing a drink-less-but-better trend now, and it is exciting for us in the single malt world,” said Struan Grant Ralph in an interview with The Korea Herald during his trip to Seoul last week.  Struan Grant Ralph, a global brand ambassador of Glenfiddich (Glenfiddich)“Korea is an exciting (market) for u

South Korean firms Daewoong Pharmaceutical and Celltrion Pharm are injecting funds to increase the capacity of their research and development facilities and production plants, despite some concerns that the hefty investments could weigh down their operations.Daewoong, the latest member to join the club of pharma firms with 1 trillion won ($887 million) annual sales, said that it would invest 70.5 billion won from May 31 this year to July 31, 2023, to build a connected collaboration and developme

Samsung Electronics has filed for a patent related to a cordless television with the World Intellectual Property office, raising expectations that the tech titan could have embarked on developing wireless TVs. According to the patent revealed by WIPO on Thursday, Samsung submitted a patent for a wireless power transceiver and display in March last year. An image showed a transceiver that looked like a sound bar was attached to the rear of a TV, while showing a separate power transmitter.  (Samsu

LG Chem announced Thursday it plans to issue corporate bonds worth 1 trillion won ($885 million). The Korean firm said it decided to increase the initially planned 500 billion won of corporate bonds to 1 trillion won after carrying out “demand forecasting” for institutional investors this week. (LG Chem)The demand from investors stood at a total of 2.64 trillion won, the largest since Korea adopted the demand forecasting system in 2012, the firm said. By segment, it plans to issue 160 billion wo

Niro, Kia Motors’ environment-friendly sports utility vehicle launched in 2016, made a comeback Thursday, featuring a new driving assistance system and upgraded design with bold, futuristic feels.The New Niro’s new safety features include Kia’s driving assistance program brand Drive Wise. It was developed by the automaker to offer options including stop-and-go capability for the adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping assist functions.Kia said the lane following assist function will work on all

Company claims increased use of digital devices leading to early farsightedness in 30s