The ASEAN countries, including Singapore, can be a neutral platform upon which to build entrepreneurship in North Korea and facilitate inter-Korean economic ties in a stable and consistent manner, the head of Choson Exchange said Tuesday.Speaking at The Korea Herald Biz Forum in Seoul, Geoffrey See, founder and CEO of the organization, said he hopes that Singapore and ASEAN can play a role in bringing about the gradual integration of both Koreas’ economies and with North Korea’s transition to a

Government, business leaders discuss ways to strengthen Korea-ASEAN ties at The Korea Herald Biz Forum

Unionized workers at GM Korea Co. voted Tuesday to go on strike to protest the carmaker's plan to establish a separate R&D corporation. In the two day vote that began Monday, 78 percent of the 10,234-member GM Korea union agreed to a walkout as a sign of opposition to the R&D entity plan, which they see as an initial step to shut down its car manufacturing operations in South Korea.They expressed concerns that GM will, in the long run, only maintain a research facility in the country. The compan

South Korean users of Google Play's application store spent a total of $11.2 billion over the past 10 years, making Asia's fourth-largest economy the third most lucrative market, a report showed Tuesday.(Yonhap)Google Play, originally known as Android Market, has provided games, applications and other content from its Android store since October 2008.Japan topped the list with a combined user spend of $25.1 billion, followed by the United States with $19.3 billion, according to the latest report

On the Bar is a regular column written by attorneys at Yoon & Yang LLC on various laws and regulations that affect running a business in Korea. The content provided here is general legal information. -- Ed.Since the EU General Data Protection Regulation took effect in May, Korea has promoted the use of personal data, which is a major asset in the “fourth industrial revolution,” while amending or preparing to amend the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Inf

Facing a wave of mobile-first digital transformation, traditional media contents like recorded video, comic books and studio albums give way to live-streaming video services, webtoons and digital songs. Southeast Asian countries are no exceptions from such digital transformations, both posing challenges and heralding new opportunities to Korean business entities, Lee Sung-min, research associate at the state-led Korea Culture and Tourism Institute, told audience at a business forum hosted by The

To spotlight the significance of South Korea-ASEAN relations, The Korea Herald hosted the “The Korea Herald Biz Forum: ASEAN and New Asia” at Shilla Hotel in Seoul for four hours on Tuesday morning.More than 200 prospective investors, diplomats, and business executives from Korea and the 10 ASEAN nations attended the forum to increase the strength of their partnerships. The forum started with Deputy Secretary-General Aladdin D. Rillo’s presentation on the overview of the ASEAN economy. The follo

Countries in region eager to pursue technology cooperation

Moody's Investors Service, a global credit rating agency, on Tuesday said it expected Hyundai Motor Group's financial leverage to improve over the next 18 months on increasing profitability.(Yonhap)The financial status of Hyundai and Kia, South Korea's two biggest carmakers, will improve gradually over the next one and a half years, helped by improving sales in China, higher utilization rates in their US plants and the launch of new models, Moody's said in a report. "This improvement will be dri

South Korea's nuclear safety commission on Tuesday approved the restart of a nuclear reactor that was shut down six months ago.The 650-megawatt Kori No. 2 reactor in the southern port city of Busan went offline on April 17 for routine inspections. (Yonhap)The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission said it has repaired two cracks on the outer surfaces of an auxiliary building and another building that houses the nuclear fuel.The Kori No. 2 reactor is expected to operate at full capacity on Friday

With Southeast Asia becoming the center stage for South Korean businesses in expanding their global presence, retail conglomerates like Lotte, Shinsegae and CJ have been successfully tapping into the markets.Lotte Group has focused its investments on its retail arm Lotte Shopping’s entrance to the Indonesian market. According to the company, the Indonesia market accounts for 17 percent of total sales earned from overseas Lotte Group businesses.Lotte Mart’s Batam outlet in Indonesia (Lotte Shoppi

Seeking new opportunities amid intensifying competition and a shift in the industrial and manufacturing landscape, South Korean businesses are jumping into new markets in the ASEAN region in line with the government’s diplomatic push to strengthen ties there.Seeking to make the most of amicable bilateral relationships and the popularity of Korean culture in the region, “Korea Inc.” has set its eyes on ASEAN, a region full of emerging markets brimming with passion for economic development. Rising

South Korea’s biggest network operator SK Telecom announced Monday the company had succeeded in the first call in a test bed using commercial fifth-generation equipment by Samsung Electronics. To reach the goal of commercializing the world’s first 5G services through mobile routers as early as in December, the two Korean mobile operator and equipment manufacturer are speeding up technological preparations for the launch.The first call refers to the final procedure of testing smooth data transfer

A federation chaired by former officials used to collect money, find jobs for retirees from conglomerates

Southeast Asia is increasingly emerging as an important market for South Korean companies, particularly in light of the of the Moon Jae-in government’s “New Southern Policy” that aims to elevate Korea’s ties with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and India.And with shifting geopolitical relations, South Korea’s economy is expected to play a bigger role in the years ahead in bridging the Northeast Asian market with markets in Southeast Asia.With this, The Korea Herald is hosting its inau