Lee Dong-won (third from right, front row), CEO of the Convention and Exhibition Center, launches a “mask united” campaign with staff and executives amid the coronavirus outbreak, to contribute to the recovery of the Korean economy and ensure the safety of visitors at Coex in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on Tuesday. (Yonhap) (khnews@heraldcorp.com)

The geopolitical upheavals we are witnessing today underline the urgency with which the European Union must find its way in a world increasingly characterized by raw power politics. We Europeans must adjust our mental maps to deal with the world as it is, not as we hoped it would be. This is a world of geostrategic competition, in which some leaders have no scruples about using force, and economic and other instruments are weaponized. To avoid being the losers in today’s US-China competi

The coronavirus crisis represents the single biggest challenge for Xi Jinping since he became general secretary of the Communist Party of China in 2012. Individuals and families across China are living in fear. Multiple Chinese provinces are under virtual lockdown. The virus has brought significant parts of the economy to a grinding halt, as firms instruct their employees to work from home. Politically, the blame game bounces between local authorities in Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, and

The death of a young Chinese doctor who was silenced by authorities when he tried to warn about the outbreak of the coronavirus has lit up the country’s social media with outrage. By Friday, references to the death of whistleblower Li Wenliang from the virus had been viewed 270 million times on Weibo, one of the biggest social media platforms in China. The public is so angry that Chinese censors haven’t yet shut the topic down. This 34-year-old ophthalmologist from Wuhan, who left

The Korea Herald is publishing a regular contribution series written by senior investment strategists at Standard Chartered Group Wealth Management. -- Ed. After a stellar 2019, investors are naturally asking themselves whether the strong performance can continue in 2020. Trying to answer this is difficult as different perspectives provide different answers. Our approach to this challenge is to start with a historical, quantitative lens before trying to figure out why the current situation mi

In April 2003, I was evacuated from my post teaching English in Guangzhou, China, at the height of the SARS epidemic. I was 23. While transiting in Chicago on my way home to Philadelphia, I called my parents. That’s when they informed me that they were not coming to pick me up. Convinced that I was going to be “patient zero” for an American outbreak of SARS, they told me to take a cab to my sister’s apartment, where they intended to lock me up for 10 days with only a bag

With the on-going outbreak of the novel coronavirus (2019n-CoV), concerns have been rising over the impact it will have on the country’s overall exports that have only just begun to show signs of rebounding. Looking back at the Severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak in 2003, the growth in Korea’s overall exports slowed down in the short term but did not hamper the yearly performance. In the whole of 2003, Korea’s exports surged 19.3 percent on-year. By month, the increas

To start one’s business, it takes an average of eight days to go through the administrative process, costing an average of 4.9 million won ($4,125) in South Korea, a report by the Korea Economic Research Institute under the Federation of Korean Industries showed. The administrative process was relatively expedient in three steps, lower than the average 5.1 steps among the member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Expense on the administrative process

South Korea’s health care solutions developer MiCo BioMed claimed Wednesday it has developed a rapid molecular diagnostic system to detect the novel coronavirus with high sensitivity within an hour. The Konex-listed company founded in 2009 said the system can immediately confirm the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) to be used at airport and port quarantine sites beyond health care centers. The company developed 30 different kinds of high-risk pathogen diagnostic kits with the Korean Cente

Fluorescent reflective cloaks and school bag covers are showcased at Lotte Mart’s Seoul Station branch in Jung-gu, central Seoul, on Wednesday.  The number 30 signifies the 30-kilometer-per-hour maximum travel speed limit in all school zones.  The products will be available at 110 branches nationwide from Thursday.  (khnews@heraldcorp.com)