중국의 수도 북경의 한 롯데마트 상점, 화요일 저녁. 　북경에 오랫동안 거주한 외국인이 찍은 비디오를 보면, 평소대로라면 붐벼야 할 롯데마트가 텅텅 비어있다. 　“고객 수 보다 헬멧쓰고 바통을 든 보안요원들 수가 더 많았다”고 말한 익명을 요구한 외국인은 지금의 상황이 “몇년 전 반일 감정이 고조되었던 상황을 떠올리게 한다,” 고 덧붙였다. 　썰렁한 롯데마트안에 직원들은 유니폼 대신 일반 사복을 입고 있었으며, 롯데마트 입구에는 에서 팔에 안장을 한 자원봉사자들이 열 명 정도 서있었다고 상황을 전했다. 　자원봉사자들이 어떤 목적으로 롯데마트입구를 지키고 있는지 알 수는 없지만, 폭력 등과 같은 만약의 사태를 대비해 있는 것으로 보인다고 외국인은 말했다. 북경에 거주중인 30대 사무직에서 일하는 중국인 천 밍씨는 상황이 생각보다 심각한 거 같긴 하지만, 심한 폭력사태는 일어나지 않고 있다며, “사람들이 한국화장품가게에 가서 소동을 피운다고 들었다“고 전했다. 천씨는 정부에서 이제 냉정

About 5,000 households have so far moved into a new city in Iraq, developed by Hanwha Engineering and Construction, the South Korean firm said Tuesday. Hanwha E&C has been building new houses and infrastructure for a project worth $10.1 billion in the new town in Bismayah, 10 kilometers southeast of Baghdad, since mid-2016. The construction of the Bismayah project is about 32 percent completed. Hanwha has so far collected $3.7 billion in construction fees from the Iraqi government for the new ci

Even though some observers foresee a renegotiation of the South Korea-US free trade agreement, which went into effect five years ago today, experts here and in the US said the bilateral deal has benefitted both countries, perhaps even more so the US.After almost six years of bumpy negotiations, the South Korea-US FTA, also known as the KORUS FTA, went into effect on March 15, 2012. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Tuesday the KORUS FTA has proven to be a win-win deal by cushioning

The ouster of former President Park Geun-hye has cleared political uncertainty in South Korea, but growing external risks might pose threats to the nation’s economy amid the two-month leadership vacuum leading up to the next election, the central bank and local economists warned Sunday. Following Park’s impeachment Friday, Korea’s economy now faces five major threats, according to the Hyundai Research Institute: uncertainty over US President Donald Trump; retaliation over the deployment of a US

To most, yesterday’s newspapers, used stamps or emptied pay envelopes are trash. But they can become pieces of history when collected over a period time, even more so in the era of digitalization. Song Sang-cheon, Lim Il-tae and Lee Chong-chan -- three unrelated men in their 70s -- have one thing in common; they each have a hobby of collecting a certain type of item for more than 50 years. Song Sang-cheon, a newspaper and periodicals collector (Park Hyun-Koo/The Korea Herald)Song Sang-cheon has

After being given the green light to spin off its non-shipbuilding businesses at a shareholders’ meeting on Feb. 27, Hyundai Heavy Industries and the newly formed affiliates are now focusing on boosting their businesses ahead of a fresh start next month, the company said Wednesday.  Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI)Despite concerns that were initially raised by the labor union and local community of Ulsan, where HHI is based, the spin-off plan was supported by 386.67 million votes, 98 percent of th

Foreign investors continued a buying spree on shares of South Korea’s listed companies in February for the third consecutive month, pushing up their holdings of local stocks to a record high, the country’s financial watchdog said Tuesday. Foreign investors bought a net 658 billion won ($573 million) in shares on the local stock market in the month. Their holdings of local stocks of listed companies reached a record high of 503.4 trillion won at the end of February, accounting for 31.8 percent of

Wi Sung-ho, the newly appointed CEO of Shinhan Bank, the nation’s largest lender by assets, said Tuesday he aims to expand the bank’s global presence and digitalization in order to consolidate the No. 1 position in a quickly changing business environment. After his appointment was officially confirmed at the general shareholders meeting, Wi told reporters he aims to make 20 percent of the bank’s net profits from overseas by 2020, up from the current 12 percent. He picked Vietnam, Japan, Indonesi

Hanjin Shipping, once South Korea’s largest shipper, is set to be delisted from the local bourse Tuesday, while newly established SM Line Corp. will begin its first service Wednesday. Shares of Hanjin Shipping closed at 12 won ($0.01) Monday, plunging 68 percent from the previous trading day. It was the last day of the seven trade days that the country’s bourse operator Korea Exchange allowed investors to sell off Hanjin stocks.  A Hanjin Shipping Co. terminal in the port city of Busan shows no

Commax, a developer of home automation systems, was recently named one of the six “time-honored” companies by the state-run Small and Medium Business Administration for maintaining its business for 49 years in the country where the average business life cycle for small and medium manufacturers is only 11 years.The SMBA said while the US has 12,780 companies that are more than 100 years old, South Korea has only seven.Among companies with more than 45 years of business history, the organization p

China’s reported ban on travel agencies on selling tour programs to South Korea is expected to take a toll on South Korean tourism and retailers here who rely on Chinese tourists. The China National Tourism Administration reportedly called in two dozen travel agencies in Beijing and instructed them to stop selling South Korean tour programs including group packages and services for individual tourists, according to news reports Thursday and Friday. Some sources said the ban was spreading to othe

Malaysia has canceled its visa waiver arrangement with North Korea amid a diplomatic spat over the assassination of the half brother of the North's leader, a news report said Thursday.The cancellation will take effect on March 6, after which North Koreans entering Malaysia will be required to obtain a visa, Malaysian news agency Bernama quoted the country's deputy prime minister, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, as saying. He cited national security as the reason.This marks Malaysia's first tangible action t