The Korea Herald

Korea to raise defense budget 3.6% to W38.8tr

Dec 3, 2015

The country’s defense budget is set to hike 3.6 percent to 38.8 trillion won ($33.3 billion) next year on the back of an increase in salaries and production costs of utility helicopters and other weapons systems. Overall, more than 27.1 trillion won was allotted for force operations, while some 11 trillion won will be spent to advance defense capabilities such as by continuing the establishment of the Kill Chain and the Korea Air and Missile Defense preemptive strike systems slated to be complet
Bingsu-makers rush to Southeast Asian market

Dec 3, 2015

Korea’s summertime treat, an icy bowl of red bean-heaped bingsu, is aiming to become Southeast Asia’s all-time favorite as a growing number of dessert shops tap deeper into the market. Thai customers enjoy dessert at Sulbing’s first Thai location in Siam square, Bangkok. (Sulbing)The bingsu craze has swept across Seoul in recent years. Shops offering the shaved ice dessert, from bingsu specialty stores to coffee chains and even fast-food chains, have mushroomed on seemingly every street corner.
‘League of Legends’ redefines e-sports in Korea

Dec 2, 2015

Korea’s enthusiasm for online games may have started with “StarCraft” decades ago, but the fever ― now called e-sports ― has continued to evolve with “League of Legends.”Since its debut in 2011, League of Legends, more widely dubbed “LoL,” has become one of the world’s most popular online games. It is also the highest-earning game that raked in $1 billion last year, according to SuperData, a market research firm. Fueling the global sensation, among other things, are its immensely popular profess
Coupang founder has 'unrelenting focus': investor

Dec 2, 2015

SAN FRANCISCO ― All it took was one phone call in 2009 for Silicon Valley investor Jai Choi to put his money on a fledgling start-up called Coupang.Its founder, Bom Kim, had just dropped out of Harvard Business School with three or four months’ worth of data in hand. He envisioned transforming e-commerce starting in his native Korea through a systematic approach to sales, operations and customer service. Judging by the sharp way Kim answered their questions, Choi recognized his unique understand
Shinhan Bank launches unmanned ID system

Dec 2, 2015

Shinhan Bank has launched a new digital banking system that allows users to authenticate themselves without visiting a bank window.The bank’s move reflects the ever-intensifying competition in the mobile banking sector, as well as the entry of Internet-only banks next year.The bank presented Wednesday “Sunny Bank,” a mobile platform that allows users to open an account through mobile authentication, and Digital Kiosk, an unmanned digital bank window with biometric authentication function ― ident
[Newsmaker] New dad Zuckerberg vows to give away Facebook fortune

Dec 2, 2015

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) ― Facebook cofounder Mark Zuckerberg announced Tuesday he is a dad and pledged to give away his fortune to make the world a “better place” for baby daughter Maxima and others.In a letter to Maxima posted on his Facebook page, Zuckerberg and wife Priscilla Chan said they were going to give away 99 percent of their company shares ― estimated value $45 billion ― during their lives in an effort to make a happy and healthy world. Max Chan Zuckerberg is held by her parents, Mark Z
Korean fathers can get longest paid leave in OECD

Dec 2, 2015

South Korea offers the longest paid paternal child care leave among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, according to the organization’s 2015 report.Based on the OECD family database, Korean fathers were entitled to up to 52.6 weeks of paid leave in 2014, well above the OECD average of nine weeks. Japan and France followed with 52 and 28 weeks, while nine offered no specific paid leave for fathers at all.Countries with shorter paid leaves generally paid higher wa
Entrepreneurs raise awareness of elderly poverty in Korea

Dec 2, 2015

A group of entrepreneurs in Seoul aims to repay the sacrifices of their grandparents’ generation by raising funds and awareness for elderly Koreans in poverty.Korea is confronting a demographic crisis as it struggles to support its rapidly aging population. Nearly half of Korean over-65s are living in poverty, while data this week showed that more Koreans over 50 are delaying retirement than ever before as they bear financial responsibilities to support both their parents and children. The elder
False decorum creates farce in ‘Rumors’

Dec 2, 2015

If attempts to save face at your workplace can sometimes seem extreme, they are nothing compared to the lengths that the characters go to in order to keep up appearances in a play to hit the stage in Ulsan this weekend.In Neil Simon’s “Rumors,” to be put on by the Industrial Theatre Troupe, the first guests arrive for an anniversary dinner, only to find the host has been shot dead. But in their desperation to look decent they do the unthinkable ― hiding the body and hosting the party themselves.
College tie-up opens doors for CLASH charity shows

Dec 2, 2015

Charity concert series CLASH has linked up with Seoul’s Hoseo Art College to host a hip-hop show in aid of Korean Unwed Mothers Families Association on Saturday.Headlining show is “Show Me the Money” season two winner Soul Dive, which has since collaborated with actor So Ji-sub on his EP “18 Years.” Other acts include Rhyme-A-, Born Kim, Ignito, Suda Jaengi and Insane Deegie. CLASH is held regularly in aid of four charities on a rotational basis, with this show in aid of KUMFA, an organization s
Small regional jets to take off next year

Dec 2, 2015

Fifty-seat regional jets are set to take to the skies here from the first half of 2016, shortening travel times while offering fares on par with bullet train tickets. Korea Express Air employees mark the delivery of the ERJ-145 passenger jet, produced by Brazilian aircraft maker Embraer, at Yangyang International Airport in Gangwon Province. (Yonhap)The country’s low-cost carrier uSKY Air and air taxi firm Korea Express Air are waiting for the government’s approval to begin commercial flight ser
U.S. promises ‘maximum possible’ KF-X help

Dec 2, 2015

Washington will provide the “maximum possible” support for Seoul’s initiative to develop fighter jets, the State Department said Tuesday, amid skepticism over the project’s prospects following the U.S.’ refusal to hand over core technologies. The department has denied export licenses for the four technologies conditionally promised last year to be transferred by U.S. defense giant Lockheed Martin, citing its national technology protection policy. The four are critical in crafting integrated syst
Mercedes-Benz Korea aims to double SUV sales

Dec 2, 2015

MUJU, North Jeolla Province ― Mercedes-Benz Korea will strengthen its product line of sport utility vehicles by 2017 in an effort to continue its growth momentum, according to the new CEO on Tuesday. “SUV is an important contributor to the company’s growth with the current share of sales of approximately 7 percent. We expect that this will double by the end of 2016,” Dimitris Psillakis, the head of Mercedes-Benz Korea, makes a presentation on the firm's growth vision during the SUV media test-d