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[Editorial] Confirmation criteria

EditorialMay 28, 2017

The prospects for Prime Minister nominee Lee Nak-yon are cloudy, with opposition parties refusing to adopt the confirmation hearing report for him.The sticking point was a false address registration his wife made.It is one of five irregularities President Moon Jae-in pledged to use as yardsticks to tell eligible from ineligible candidates for public office.False address registration involves moving in a certain district on paper while living elsewhere. It is an illegal act usually committed to f
New chairman ensures smooth sailing for Hyosung

IndustryMay 28, 2017

When Hyosung disclosed its first-quarter earnings report on April 25, analysts poured out reports on how the company’s profits exceeded market expectations, and its stock price surged 8 percent the next day.The world’s largest spandex maker’s net profit jumped 27 percent on-year to 161.1 billion won ($143.9 million) in the first three months. Most of additional earnings came from profits from fiber, industrial materials, expanded production capacities for polypropylene and more efficiency in the
Under new leadership, Hyosung takes on the world

IndustryMay 28, 2017

When Hyosung joined the so-called “1 trillion won club,” a league of Korean companies that made 1 trillion won in operating profit last year, the market response was unanimous -- that it didn’t happen by chance.Over the past 20 years, Hyosung, the dominant South Korean conglomerate focusing on fiber and chemicals, has undertaken a series of restructuring efforts and steadily invested overseas to cut costs while continuing research and development at home. Its top market position in key products
Moon’s policy planner slams chaebol as priority to change

EconomyMay 28, 2017

Slamming the conglomerates for resisting change, the Moon Jae-in administration’s de-facto transition team chief said Sunday that it was the chaebol that must first reflect on themselves to change the society.“Those that enjoy the most vested interests in our country are the chaebol. … In order to properly reform the society and achieve social harmony, chaebol’s self-reflection must come first,” said Kim Jin-pyo, chairman of the State Affairs Policy Planning Commit
Hyundai, Kia car owners experience circuit driving

TransportMay 28, 2017

Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors, South Korea’s top two automotive companies, held an event for customers to drive their cars around a circuit over the weekend, the companies said Sunday.Some 140 owners of the two automakers’ vehicles participated in the Korea Speed Festival Track Day at the Inje Speedium Circuit located in Gangwon Province, Hyundai Motor Group, said. Owners of Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors vehicles took their rides out for a spin around the Inje Speedium Circuit over the weekend. Hy
[Photo News] Mercedes-Benz Korea hosts charity run

TransportMay 28, 2017

BENZ CHARITY RUN -- Dimitris Psillakis (left), CEO of Mercedes-Benz Korea, exchanges high fives with the participants of Give ‘N Race, the first charity marathon hosted by Mercedes-Benz Korea, through which the automaker raised donations worth 200 million won ($179,000) at the Banpo Riverside Park, Seoul, Sunday. (Mercedes-Benz Korea)
Automakers most trusted to develop self-driving tech: survey

TransportMay 28, 2017

Amid rising competition between automotive and IT companies to take the lead in securing autonomous driving technology, consumers expressed more trust in self-driving technology developed by conventional automakers, a survey showed Sunday.　Out of the 5,045 people surveyed across five countries -- the US, the UK, Italy, Germany and France -- 30 percent answered they trust autonomous driving technology put together by auto firms, according to the survey complied by Inrix, a US-based connected car
Parties gear up for nomination hearings

PoliticsMay 28, 2017

The parliamentary confirmation hearings on the new administration’s first batch of ministerial-level candidates are to kick off Monday as opposition parties step up the offensive on President Moon Jae-in’s choices. Staring with the hearing on Suh Hoon, who has been tapped to head the National Intelligence Service, on Monday, Moon’s Cabinet choices including Kang Kyung-hwa and others will come under scrutiny in the National Assembly. Suh already faces a host of allegations. The main opposition Li
Ruling party pleads for Assembly approval of PM

PoliticsMay 28, 2017

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea on Sunday implored the opposition parties to approve Prime Minister nominee Lee Nak-yon as they turn up the heat on President Moon Jae-in. “I implore the opposition parties to accept the president’s intentions in the broad sense and to cooperate in passing the motion on Prime Minister nominee Lee Nak-yon,” Democratic Party floor leader Rep. Woo Won-shik said, suggesting that National Assembly and the presidential office collaborate in drawing up standards for
Safeware to release wearable airbag-connected safety platform by end of year

TechnologyMay 28, 2017

Startup Safeware announced on May 22 that it will release a protective airbag system equipped with a wearable, Internet of Things-enabled safety platform in the second half of 2017. The system is currently under development. After the new product undergoes IoT application tests and trial runs, the company expects to release it sometime at the end of the year. A test version of the product will be featured at the World IT Show, hosted by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, starting
Stratio’s portable spectrometer selected as Kickstarter “Project We Love”

TechnologyMay 28, 2017

Startup Stratio announced on May 18 that its portable spectrometer LinkSquare, which is currently being sold on Kickstarter, was selected as a “Project We Love” on May 15 by Kickstarter staff. Stratio’s Kickstarter campaign will be held until June 8.LinkSquare is a portable spectrometer that provides information on the test subject’s color and molecular composition by measuring its reactions to both visible and near-infrared radiation. The product currently featured on Kickstarter is targeted at
Hankook NFC gets 3 billion won Investment from Japan

TechnologyMay 28, 2017

Hankook NFC, headed by Richard Hwang, announced on May 17 that it attracted an investment of 3 billion won ($2.6 million) from Japan’s Miroku Jyoho Service and signed a service partnership agreement with the company on May 16. Hankook NFC is a startup company that has developed a mobile payment and authentication system based on NFC (near-field communication) technology. This investment is the first foreign investment that Hankook NFC has attracted so far. Last year, the company secured domestic
Cheong Wa Dae apologizes for prime minister nominee's flaws

PoliticsMay 26, 2017

Cheong Wa Dae on Friday apologized for the ongoing dispute over flaws found in some of the Cabinet nominees tapped by President Moon Jae-in, seeking to ease the partisan conflict over the qualifications of Prime Minister nominee Lee Nak-yon.The presidential office, however, maintained its former stance that such flaws were not serious enough to disqualify the nominees and called for the parliamentary confirmation hearing committee to be flexible. Prime Minister nominee Lee Nak-yon (Yonhap)“Elect
[Noah Feldman] Lessons from Turkey’s slide toward dictatorship

ViewpointsMay 26, 2017

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has dropped the final fig leaf of democracy, announcing this week that the state of emergency will continue until Turkey achieves “welfare and peace.” The state of emergency, introduced with some justification after the failed coup in July 2016, allows Erdogan to rule by decree, sidelining both the legislature and the constitutional court. By extending it indefinitely, Erdogan is making explicit what had been implicit for months: He’s now officially a dicta
[W. Raphael Lam, Alfred Schipke] Asian economy prepares for choppy seas

ViewpointsMay 26, 2017

The outlook for Asia and the Pacific is the strongest in the world, but it is shrouded by challenges at home and abroad, according to the latest International Monetary Fund report for the region. The April 2017 report, Regional Economic Outlook for Asia and Pacific: Preparing for Choppy Seas, says policy stimulus continues to support strong domestic demand in China and Japan in the near term, which is good for other economies in Asia as well. Broader global conditions are also favorable. Growth