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[Editorial] Prolonged silence

EditorialNov 23, 2020

North Korea has kept silent on the outcome of the US presidential election on Nov. 3 in an apparent indication that it is at a loss how to deal with the incoming Joe Biden administration. In previous US presidential votes, it usually took a couple of days for the North to mention or issue a statement on the results. Apparently, Pyongyang wanted to see the reelection of President Donald Trump, who has boasted of his friendly relations with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Trump and Kim have tri
[Diana’s Table] Shrimp wrap with spicy mustard dressing

Food&BeverageNov 21, 2020

This is my interpretation of a traditional Korean dish called chilled shrimp salad with seasonal vegetables. Usually, shrimp is mixed with cut bamboo shoots, Asian pears, cucumbers and jellyfish. Depending on the availability of seasonal vegetables, we add carrots, bell peppers or mushrooms. As shrimp is considered an expensive delicacy, it is a popular dish for special occasions such as birthdays and holidays. As a chilled dish, it is usually served in the summer. But, I like to make this di
[Monitor] Price gap widens for planned towns around Seoul

IndustryNov 20, 2020

Despite the two towns having been planned and built around the same time in the early 1990s, the price gap between apartments in Bundang and Ilsan is getting wider each year, showed a report by KB Kookmin Bank’s real estate services platform Liiv On and real estate information service 10000-Lab. Bundang and Ilsan are among the five “new town” projects announced in 1989 by the Roh Tae-woo administration to help with real estate price stabilization and housing supplies. The comm
[Editorial] Airport politics

EditorialNov 20, 2020

A government panel’s decision on a state project to expand Gimhae International Airport into an air travel hub in the country’s southeast is unconvincing and contradictory.　 The panel said Tuesday that the new, larger Gimhae International Airport will have no problems in serving as a gateway airport for the southeastern provinces in light of capacity but that the project requires a fundamental review, meaning it will effectively be scrapped. 　 It gave a lame excuse for the need for
[Monitor] Huawei losing out in global smartphone market

TechnologyNov 19, 2020

Due to the US sanctions on Huawei, which have cut off the Chinese smartphone maker from chip supplies, the company has decided to sell its mid-range phone brand Honor, according to reports Tuesday. Considering the current shares of the global smartphone market, Huawei that had claimed a 14 percent share as of the third quarter of 2020 would fall behind its rivals like Samsung Electronics. Honor’s phone shipments accounted for 25 percent of Huawei’s total shipments. Meanwhile, Sa
[Editorial] Narrowing stance

EditorialNov 19, 2020

At a press conference this week, US President-elect Joe Biden affirmed his administration would seek to take the lead in setting the rules for trade in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond, not leaving the work to China. He said the US, which makes up 25 percent of the world’s economy, needed to be aligned with other democracies so that it could “set the rules of the road instead of having China and others dictate outcomes because they are the only game in town.” His remarks ca
Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine 95% effective in its last-stage trial

IndustryNov 18, 2020

Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine candidate was 95 percent effective during its last-stage trial, Reuters reported Wednesday, adding that the drugmaker will soon apply for emergency authorization in the United States. Reuters said that the efficacy of the vaccine developed by Pfizer and its German partner BioNtech was consistent across age and ethnicity demographics, meaning that the drug could be used to boost immunization broadly for people across the globe. No major side effects were reported
[Monitor] Asiana Airlines turns into surplus in Q3

IndustryNov 18, 2020

Asiana Airlines said Monday that its operating profit for the third quarter of this year was estimated at 5.8 billion won ($5.24 million), based on separate financial statements. Asiana Airlines, which suffered an operating loss of 45.1 billion won during the same period last year, turned the corner into a surplus. (khnews@heraldcorp.com)
[Editorial] Excessive measures

EditorialNov 18, 2020

Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae is facing criticism for ordering ministry officials to seek to enact a law to force suspects to disclose the passwords for their mobile phones. The order appears to target Han Dong-hoon, a senior prosecutor currently being investigated in what Choo calls as a typical corrupt relationship between the prosecution and the press. Han is charged with colluding with Lee Dong-jae, a former cable TV news reporter, to pressure a jailed businessman to reveal incriminating in
[Contribution] NTS strives to broaden access to tax statistics

EconomyNov 17, 2020

On Sept. 24, the National Tax Service held an opening ceremony at its Seoul Regional Office for the Seoul branch of NTS Data Lab. This is the first offshoot of the NTS Data Lab, which has been in operation in the city of Sejong since 2018. The NTS Data Lab is a secured facility whose main purpose is to promote research that may inform tax policies. It gives researchers access to microdata that had been used to compile national tax statistics for further analysis. Most of the data held by NTS
[Monitor] Bus fare jumps 120-fold in 50 years

IndustryNov 17, 2020

Korea Price Information Corp. on Monday released data that showed how the basic prices for major items used in the daily lives of Seoul residents has changed over the past five decades. According to the report, the basic bus fare for a one-way trip in Seoul cost 10 won in 1970. It has since increased to 1,200 won as of this year, a 120-fold jump. The basic fare for a taxi increased from 60 won 50 years ago to 2,800 won in 2020. (khnews@heraldcorp.com)
[Slawomir Sierakowski] Trump’s departure puts mini-Trumps in the wilderness

ViewpointsNov 17, 2020

Joe Biden’s election as president of the United States has seriously weakened authoritarian and populist governments around the world. For independent global powers like Russia, Brazil and Turkey, Donald Trump’s departure need not amount to a complete tragedy. But for the current governments of Poland, Hungary and Serbia -- and perhaps Boris Johnson’s United Kingdom, too -- it is a veritable disaster. Not surprisingly, each of these smaller players has greeted Biden’s el
[Editorial] Worsening unemployment

EditorialNov 17, 2020

South Korea extended the streak of job losses to eight months in October, amid the prolonged coronavirus pandemic crisis, according to government data released last week. The number of employed people in the country shrank by 421,000 from a year earlier to 27.09 million last month. The jobless rate rose by 0.7 percentage point on-year to 3.7 percent, the highest figure for October in two decades. The number of unemployed people here stood at 1.03 million last month, up 164,000 from a year earli
[Monitor] Korea to have world’s 10th-largest airline

TransportNov 16, 2020

According to global aviation industry statistics released by the International Air Transport Association, Korean Air stood at No. 18 among airlines worldwide in terms of revenue-passenger kilometer, a measure of the distance traveled by all the passengers. Asiana Airlines, another flag carrier of South Korea, came in at No. 32. If Korean Air successfully acquires Asiana Airlines as planned, it would rise to 11th place. In terms of the number of international transport passengers, the acqui
[Kent Harrington] America’s alliances after Trump

ViewpointsNov 16, 2020

America’s allies should be forgiven if they are confused about where American foreign policy is headed. Who isn’t, given the go-it-alone recklessness of Donald Trump’s presidency? Over the past three years, Trump has sowed strategic chaos, and his foreign policy, if one can call it that, brought new meaning to incoherence. President-elect Joe Biden will be better almost by default. But has Trump changed America so much that the world cannot count on it ever being normal again?