The past two weeks have been a rollercoaster ride for WeMakePrice, the country’s leading domestic deal-of-the-day online site. The country’s most-visited social commerce website operator was at the peak of its business earlier this year, eyeing the acquisition of a local competitor and labeling global retail juggernauts Alibaba and Amazon market competitors, but soon fell to the very bottom after facing a state crackdown for business malpractice. The Ministry of Employment and Labor on Monday sa

The National Assembly is set to enact what will be the nation’s toughest-ever law against corruption, which has been held back by political bickering and vested interests for nearly four years. The so-called Kim Young-ran bill was passed by a parliamentary subcommittee last week and is expected to be put to a final vote at a plenary session next month. Under the new law, which will take effect in January 2016, public servants and their families will be punished when they receive 1 million won ($

An underdog politician running in the main opposition’s chairmanship election next month could be the long-term solution for the party’s persistent factionalist problems even if he loses, analysts and party insiders said Thursday.Rep. Lee In-young of the New Politics Alliance for Democracy will challenge the favorites Reps. Moon Jae-in and Park Jie-won in the in-house chair election on Feb. 8. But Lee may play the role of spoiler as votes from the two-term lawmaker’s main political support base

One of the two political heavyweights running in the main opposition party’s chairmanship election early next month will likely win, but neither are fit to resolve the party’s persistent infighting, a cause of the party’s recent decline, experts said.Reps. Moon Jae-in and Park Jie-won are strong contenders for the New Politics Alliance for Democracy’s chairmanship, to be determined through a vote by party officials on Feb. 8. The new leader will oversee the party in the 2016 general election and

CEO vows to keep platforms, devices open

LAS VEGAS ― New technology is getting more personal. So personal, it is moving to connect and analyze our movements, our health, our brains and our everyday devices.Welcome to the so-called Internet of Me.One of the major themes at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is connecting thousands of objects that people use each day ― clothing, cars, light bulbs and home appliances.But the challenge facing developers is making that information useful, and the CES is increasingly se

Caught between the nearly-doubled price of cigarettes and toughened smoking-related regulations, an increasing number of smokers are changing their smoking habits by cutting back or opting for electronic cigarettes.The Korean parliament in September agreed to raise retail prices of cigarette packs to 4,500 won ($4.07), up from 2,500 won. The measure was put into effect on New Year’s Day, and its impact was immediate and resounding.As of Sunday, corner stores across Korea have started selling ind

A monthlong drama that started with a flight delay over a packet of macadamia nuts continued Wednesday, when an arrest warrant was issued for Cho Hyun-ah, a former Korean Air executive accused of violating aviation safety law and obstructing the flight crew in their duties.Cho, the eldest daughter of Korean Air chairman Cho Yang-ho, became the first female chaebol scion to be held in a detention center.But the “nut rage” scandal spread to other members of the Cho family, after prosecutors reveal

President eyes economic reforms to win public support before lame duck status sets in

KUALA LUMPUR ― Malaysian mogul Tony Fernandes, who transformed a floundering carrier into Asia’s biggest budget airline, faces his first major crisis after an AirAsia plane went missing Sunday with 162 people on board.AirAsia is credited with starting a revolution in the skies of Southeast Asia and has seen spectacular growth under Fernandes’ low-cost, low-overheads model despite intense competition.The ebullient tycoon is one of Asia’s most visible entrepreneurs, carving out an image that has s

The head of Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power apologized Sunday over the recent internal data leaks at the country’s nuclear reactors and a gas leak at the construction site of an atomic reactor that killed three workers.The executive also tried to reassure the public, stressing that all of its plants were safe from cyberattacks. “The cyberattacks have been persistent but I assure you that the nuclear plants are being safely guarded,” said Cho Seok, chief executive of the KHNP, the operator of the n

Japan’s push for a greater security role is gaining traction as security hawk Shinzo Abe began his third term as prime minister Wednesday by renewing his push to revise the war-renouncing Constitution.Buoyed by a landslide victory on Dec. 14, the nationalist leader has been seen intensifying his campaign to make Japan a “normal state” with a full-fledged military, which has been hamstrung by the “pacifist” Article 9 of the postwar constitution.In the face of an assertive China and confrontationa

After the U.S. officially blamed North Korea last week for the cyberattack on Sony Pictures, Pyongyang’s cybercapabilities and growing threats from them came into the spotlight.The communist state has nearly doubled the number of its cyberwarfare operatives to around 5,900 over the last two years, military authorities in the South estimate, as Pyongyang seeks to strengthen its asymmetric military capabilities.Through a series of educational facilities based in the North and abroad, Pyongyang has

U.S. president urged to strongly respond to cyberattack, pressured to improve N.K. ties

LOS ANGELES ― The devastating cyberattack on Sony Pictures could see the Hollywood studio lose hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue and incur massive recovery costs, experts say.The cancellation of “The Interview,” which President Barack Obama called a “mistake,” has significantly escalated the potential losses of last month’s hack, Hemanshu Nigam of the SSP Blue cybersecurity consultancy told AFP. In all, he said, the crisis would lead to “a loss of income of $500 million.”The film about