A dozen Pacific-rim nations agreed to an historic trade pact that would cut trade barriers on items ranging from cars to rice, setting up a potentially contentious ratification vote before a skeptical U.S. Congress.After a week of final talks in Atlanta, an agreement has been reached on completion of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a pact more than five years in the making designed to boost commerce among nations that produce 40 percent of global economic output, said Akira Amari, a Japanese econ

The BBC is pushing to open a Korean language service, possibly in the middle of next year, to help North Koreans “hear the truth and better engage with the world,” a BBC journalist told The Korea Herald.Daniel John Damon, who is working on the establishment of the shortwave radio service, said that the program would mainly target North Koreans who have been deprived of access to outside information.“(The BBC) has a reputation for being reliable, and we have many sources of information. We want N

Ruling Saenuri Party Rep. Suh Chung-won, a key loyalist to the president, collided with embattled party chairman Rep. Kim Moo-sung on Monday, highlighting the escalating factional tug-of-war over who will take control of the party’s nominations for next year’s general election. Taking aim at Kim’s remarks during a media interview, the seven-term lawmaker accused the party chair of seeking to sway public opinion to turn candidate nominations in his favor and of unilaterally attempting to determin

　Now into its third year, the Great Korean Beer Festival is holding two back-to-back events this month.　“This is our fifth event,” Kang Da-mi, co-CEO of the festival’s organizer Media Paran, said of this month’s first event, slated to run from Oct. 8 to 11 in conjunction with the Gangnam Festival.　The sixth beer fest will function as a “Craft Beer Zone” within the Itaewon Global Village Festival from Oct. 17 to 18, according to Media Paran. The Great Korean Beer Festival will hold two events thi

Portugal’s ruling center-right coalition won a general election Sunday seen as a referendum on its austerity policies, although it may not hold onto its absolute majority in parliament, near-complete results showed.Portuguese Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho waves to supporters following the announcement of the results of Portugal`s general election in Lisbon on Sunday. (AP-Yonhap)Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho’s “Portugal Ahead” coalition took 39.16 percent of the vote, according to resul

　Many eyes are now on tech giant LG Electronics, which is seeking to become a game changer with the latest top-tier smartphone V10 after  disappointment in sales for its leather-clad G4 smartphone.　Global news outlets and blogospheres have been complimenting LG’s new phone boasting one-of-its-kind features including the world’s first dual front-facing cameras, a secondary display, a durable, sturdy body fortified with stainless steel and silicon, and, last but not least, the relatively affordabl

SAMSUNG HIGHLIGHTS CIRCULAR WEARABLE -- Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics sets up a circular event venue in Seoul where customers can get hands-on experience with the tech firm’s latest round-face smartwatch, the Samsung Gear S2. (Samsung)

LG CHEM TO PROMOTE GREEN ENERGY CAMPAIGN -- Chemicals and battery maker LG Chem said Monday that it would work with the Seoul Metropolitan Government and charity organization Community Chest of Korea for green energy initiatives aimed at encouraging the use of environmentally-friendly technologies in people’s daily lives. (LG Chem)

TECH MEETS COMMERCE -- IT solutions developer SK Planet said Monday it would hold Tech Planet, an annual IT developers meeting, at Lotte Hotel World in Seoul on Wednesday. The IT conference with the theme “convergence between technology and online-to-offline commerce,” will highlight the rising O2O businesses and technologies deployed, or to be utilized, in the commerce sector. More than 20 speakers from tech firms such as Google, Facebook, PayPal, eBay, and Samsung Electronics will deliver spee

NEW SAMSUNG GEAR AVAILABLE AT KT STORES-- KT, one of leading mobile carriers in Korea, started selling Samsung Electronics’ new smartwatch Samsung Gear S2 on Friday at its retail stores across the nation. (KT)

Loc & All, operator of mobile navigation application Kimgisa, gained momentum in its navigation service when it was acquired by mobile messenger and Web-portal operator Kakao in May this year. Mobile navigation app Kimgisa. (Loc & All)Since then, the real-time navigation service has been on the rise, and some statistics unveiled by the operator prove it. The average daily use of the mobile app during this year’s Chuseok holiday from Sept. 26 to 28, surpassed 10 million, and the app’s use during

  LG V10 UNVEILED -- LG Electronics unveils its latest premium smartphone, the V10, at the Lincoln Center in New York on Thursday. The V10 will be released next month through major U.S. mobile carriers, including Verizon, AT&T and TMUS. (LGE)

  COLLABORATION TO NURTURE IOT -- Korean wireless carrier LG Uplus and chipmaker Qualcomm have pledged to work together to cultivate small- and medium-sized firms in the Internet of Things sector by investing a total of $500,000 over the next two years. Kim Sun-tae (left), chief technology officer of the Korean mobile carrier, and Derek Aberle, president of the San Diego-based chipmaker, pose at the signing ceremony of an memorandum of understanding for their collaboration in Seoul on Thursday.

SKT MOVING ON UP -- Korean mobile carrier SK Telecom and telecom equipment supplier Ericsson succeeded in test-running the so-called Uplink MU-MIMO technology, which improves upload speeds by an average of 40 percent. (SKT)

　Attention is being paid to whether South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics will accept an internship proposal by the co-founder of Chinese handset maker OnePlus.　Carl Pei, the co-founder of the Chinese smartphone maker, caused a stir when he wrote in one of his blog posts Wednesday that he wanted to work as an intern for Samsung.Carl Pei, cofouder of Chinese smartphone maker OnePlus. (@getpeid)　“Seriously. I would be honored to learn from your team (Samsung) about how you’ve been able to sc