The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles delving into the economic policies and tasks expected of the new Moon Jae-in administration. This is the seventh installment -- Ed.Electric vehicles could get a boost with the launch of the Moon Jae-in administration, which has vowed to foster environment-friendly cars as a new economic growth engine.“I will put forth all efforts to promote electric vehicles, autonomous cars, renewable energy and other new growth industries” then presidential c

The main opposition Liberty Korea Party is promising tough hearings for President Moon Jae-in’s personnel choices, raising issues against ministerial candidates ahead of the first hearing Wednesday.“The president personally making the announcements cannot hide the essence (of personnel selection) that is their (the nominees) qualifications and suitability,” Liberty Korea Party policy committee chief Rep. Lee Hyun-jae said.(Yonhap)Claiming that the Democratic Party of Korea had in the past focuse

South Korea’s state-run Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute recently lost a long-running patent lawsuit against China’s Huawei Technologies in the United States, sources told The Korea Herald on Monday. According to the US District Court for the Southern District of California, Judge Cathy Ann Bencivengo dismissed last month a wireless patent suit filed by ETRI’s litigation agent SPH America against Huawei in 2013. A dismissal of a case means the plaintiff’s lawsuit is terminat

Shares of Hyundai Motor, the nation’s largest carmaker, and its affiliates, continued to rally Monday amid high market expectations of the South Korean conglomerate’s possible revamp of its governance structure.Share prices of Hyundai Motor closed at 170,000 won ($152) on Monday’s trading, a 8.8 percent increase from a week ago. Kia Motors and Hyundai Mobis also saw their share prices surge 5 percent and 11 percent, respectively, from a week ago. (Yonhap)The rallies have followed President Moon

Following his nomination by President Moon Jae-in on Sunday as deputy prime minister for the economy and finance minister, Kim Dong-yeon said his main objectives will be to revitalize the country’s lagging economy by increasing the effective tax rate and adding more jobs.“I think the next five years will be our last chance to save the economy,” Kim said during a press conference at the Government Complex in Gwacheon on Sunday.“In the short term, we will concentrate on int

KT said Monday it would move to provide free Wi-Fi roaming services for KT subscribers when they travel to China and Japan. The mobile carrier said it proposed its partners China Mobile and NTT Docomo to cooperate on the free service at the Strategic Cooperation Framework Agreement conference held in Sichuan province, China, on Monday.  (Yonhap)SCFA is a consultative body among the three Northeast Asian mobile carriers, established by KT in 2011. KT aims to launch the free Wi-Fi service by the e

SK Telecom aims to commercialize two flagship connected car technologies in the second half of this year, the mobile carrier announced Monday. The No.1 telecom business said it will unveil the T RemotEye Vehicle to Everything, known as V2X, and the Remote Advanced Driving Assistance System, or Remote ADAS, at the upcoming World IT Show on Wednesday.  Models test an alarm service by the Remote ADAS in a Socar vehicle on Monday in Seoul. (SK Telecom)The two technologies are under development with

South Korean banks and credit card firms might face difficulty in raising their fees, as the financial authorities began reviewing President Moon Jae-in’s pledges to adopt a new regulation to toughen rules on financial fees, industry sources said Monday.Moon, who believes in big government and its larger role in the market, had vowed to “adopt a system to evaluate the legitimacy of financial fees,” according to the booklet of his election pledges.  The Financial Services C

Debate is heating up here on whether and how to reshape the government’s trade bodies to cope with mounting external pressures.During his campaign, President Moon Jae-in vowed to transfer the trade functions of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.He said the decision by his predecessor Park Geun-hye to remove trade functions from the Foreign Ministry was “wrong,” siding with the view that the measure weakened the country’s ability

How do we perceive the world? Information in the external world, i.e., sensory information, needs to be actively processed in the brain to be transformed into a “percept.” Sensory processing (computation of sensory stimuli in the brain) is the gateway to sensory perception, and efficient sensory processing is required for the perceptual behavior of the animal. How do our brain circuits execute this amazing function? We answer this question by studying cortical circuits that control animal percep

South Korea on Monday extended congratulations on Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's re-election last week, expressing hopes for a boost for bilateral relations.Rouhani secured 57 percent of the vote in Iran's presidential election on Friday, winning a second term as president. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (EPA-Yonhap)South Korea "congratulates President Rouhani on his re-election," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement."Our government hopes Iran, on the opportunity of the late

The chief of President Moon Jae-in's de facto power transition team on Monday reiterated job creation as their top priority, as they began operations to flesh out policy visions and tasks for the new liberal administration.Kim Jin-pyo, the head of the state affairs planning advisory committee, also said that it will draw up a five-year state management plan by the end of next month and report it to the president in early July. Kim Jin-pyo, the head of the state affairs planning advisory committe

President Moon Jae-in will attend a memorial ceremony for late President Roh Moo-hyun, his dear friend and reason for starting politics. Tuesday marks the eighth anniversary of Roh’s death by suicide. Moon had served as his presidential chief of staff. Moon, who took office the morning after his election victory on May 9, is taking Monday off, his office said Sunday. “President Moon went down to his Yangsang house (in South Gyeongsang Province) today and is currently staying there,” spokesperson

There is nothing singular about a newly elected president enjoying public affection during the honeymoon period, but the popularity of South Korea‘s new president is rather peculiar. What captivates the hearts of President Moon Jae-in’s supporters, or fans, is the person himself rather than his political ideals and statecraft skills. His affectionate nickname “Inie” or in-words such as “Moon-tem” or “Inie goods” -- referring to popular merchandise related to him -- have made the president someth