Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee, who died Sunday at the age of 78, was an innovative businessman who led Samsung to the top of the world.　 In the second half of the 20th century, South Korea belatedly started industrialization and struggled to catch up with the advanced economies of the West. Products made in Korea were seen in the global market as cheap second- or third-class imitations.　 When he took the helm of Samsung Group at the age of 45 in November 1987 after his father, the founder of th

China has made much of the 70th anniversary of its troops entering the 1950-53 Korean War to send a warning to the US with tensions between the two superpowers at their highest in decades. South Korean and the US-led UN coalition forces were pushed back to the 38th parallel dividing the peninsula after China weighed in on the side of North Korea. In his speech Friday marking the anniversary, Chinese President Xi Jinping said what China hails as a victory in the war, essentially fought to a blo

With more deaths reported to be possibly connected to flu vaccinations, health authorities said that a direct connection between the deaths and the flu vaccines has not been confirmed. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said the current situation is not so serious as to suspend flu vaccinations. Nevertheless, concerns about the safety of seasonal flu shots are not diminishing, as reports of potential flu shot fatalities are increasing. The number of deaths suspected of being linke

In its long-overdue audit report made public Tuesday, the Board of Audit and Inspection said the economic viability of the country’s second-oldest nuclear reactor was unreasonably undervalued in determining its early closure. The Wolsong-1 reactor in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, was shut down last year, earlier than scheduled, by the state-run Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., which cited the negative assessment on the profitability of the facility’s continual operation.

Lamentable deaths of parcel couriers are occurring in succession. According to a coalition of 67 civic groups and labor unions formed to improve their working conditions, a courier of Hanjin Express, identified as Kim (36), was found dead at his home in Seoul on Oct. 12. Kim used to complain to those around him about his long work. In a text message sent to his colleagues on Oct. 8, four days before his death, he said: “I will be home by 5 am and I have to eat, wash and go to the termin