South Korea’s Daewoong Pharmaceutical said Monday that Health Canada had granted marketing approval for its type A botulinum toxin drug Nabota, clearing the way for the product’s launch in North America.　Nabota has been approved by the Canadian drug regulator for the treatment of wrinkles in the forehead, according to the drugmaker. It is the first of Daewoong’s self-developed drugs to be approved for sales in a major global pharmaceutical market. The regulatory clearance comes three months afte

With widespread internet connectivity, high receptiveness to new technologies and a trend-conscious public, South Korea is arguably the optimal market for startups to introduce and test new tech-based services.Despite these opportunities, however, Korea can also be one of the most challenging places for startups due to rigid regulations that often shut down or limit the growth of new business models, such as those in high-growth sectors like smart mobility and financial technology.　This regulato

QLED TV ZONE -- The newly furbished QLED TV Zone at Samsung Digital Plaza in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, is displayed Sunday. Samsung Electronics has installed the QLED TV experience space at some 300 Samsung Digital Plaza locations nationwide to showcase the premium TVs’ superior display quality as well as unique features such as the “magic screen” and “magic cable.” (Samsung Electronics)

LG CNS, the information technology services unit of South Korea’s LG Group, said Thursday that it is spinning off its in-house venture Danbee, a developer of smart chatbot systems powered by artificial intelligence.Danbee was established as an in-house venture in January 2017 with just four employees. It was able to develop, test and perfect new chatbot technologies using LG CNS resources, while being given independent decision-making rights, LG said. (LG CNS)After a sufficient trial-and-error p

- 응답자 73%, 북한 ‘일부만 비핵화’ 혹은 ‘비핵화 약속 파기’ 예상- 문재인 정부 대북정책 지지 비율은 56.2%, 광주∙전라 비중高- 70%는 주한미군 주둔 찬성, ‘가장 신뢰되는 국가는 미국’ 응답 55.7%- ‘남북, 북미 정상회담 후 대한민국 안보위협 해소’ 응답 68.3%　　과반수의 한국인이 북한의 완전한 비핵화 약속은 이행되지 않을 것이라 생각하는 반면 문재인 정부의 대북정책은 지지한다는 여론조사 결과가 나왔다. 　　코리아헤럴드와 조원 C&I 가 전국 거주 19세 이상 남녀 1,000명을 대상으로 공동 진행한 ‘통일∙남북관계 여론조사’ 결과에 따르면 응답자의 약 73%가 북한의 완전한 비핵화 약속 이행에 대해 부정적인 입장을 밝혔다. 　　‘북한의 완전 비핵화 약속에 대해서 어떻게 생각하십니까’라는 질문에 대해 설문조사 응답자의 43.7%가 ‘일부만 비핵화 할 것이다’ 라고 답했고 29.3%는 ‘약속을 파기할 것이다 라고 답했다. ‘완전 비핵화 할 것이다’의 응답 비

IOT-POWERED BIKES -- A fleet of public bikes powered by internet of things technology are parked at a docking station in Sejong City on Monday. The GPS-equipped bikes, which will officially be available for use from Wednesday, can be unlocked and returned at any of the city’s 400 bike docking stations by using a smartphone app. (Yonhap)

Samsung Bioepis said Monday that it plans to soon start phase 1 clinical trials for its first new drug candidate in development with Japan’s Takeda Pharmaceutical, setting a fresh milestone in the South Korean drugmaker’s push into new drug development.The therapeutic candidate, SB26, also known as TAK-671, is an ulinastatin-Fc fusion protein to treat severe acute pancreatitis. It is the first result of the new drug development collaboration partnership signed by the two companies in August 2017

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles highlighting South Korea’s promising startups in the emerging sectors of digital health care and next-generation medical devices. This is the 21st installment. - Ed.In South Korea, laser eye surgery, performed as LASIK or LASEK, has become a common medical procedure over the past decade. But for many patients, improved eyesight comes at the cost of a new, debilitating side effect: dry eye syndrome. Dry eye syndrome, or DES, is a condition in wh

Bluehole, the South Korean game company behind the hit survival shooter game “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds,” said Friday that it had entered a strategic partnership with China’s Tencent Holdings to strengthen its footing in the global game market.Bluehole also said that Tencent had purchased a stake in Bluehole from Bluehole’s founding chairman, Chang Byung-gyu, as well as other early investors, confirming previous news reports that a deal was underway.Bluehole did not disclose the exact size o

The globally popular survival shooting game “Fortnite: Battle Royale” officially arrived in South Korea on Friday. “Fortnite” is now available on PlayStation 4 consoles and Android smartphones, with preparations underway for the game’s launch at PC cafes nationwide. The game’s launch and future service plans were formally announced by the Korean unit of US-based Epic Games on Friday during a press conference held in Seoul.(Epic Games Korea)“Fortnite” for PS4 can now be downloaded for free via th

Naver Webtoon, the digital comics platform operator under South Korean internet business giant Naver, on Thursday announced the launch of its new unit “Studio N,” which will take charge of translating popular webtoons into new films and drama series.Formed with 100 percent funding from Naver Webtoon, Studio N will work with media production companies to develop and release films and TV dramas based on the intellectual property of popular webtoons. Naver Webtoon CEO Kim Joon-Ku (Naver)The new sub

Kakao, operator of South Korea’s top-used mobile messenger KakaoTalk, said Thursday it posted record-high revenue in the second quarter, but its operating profit dropped 38 percent due to heightened marketing and investment costs.During the April-June period, Kakao’s revenue reached 588.9 billion won ($526 million), up 25.7 percent from the previous year. Operating profit in the quarter came to 588.9 billion won, down 38.2 percent on-year, the company said in its earnings report.Kakao attributed

Less than a year after entering South Korea, Chinese bike-sharing giant Ofo is preparing to pull out of the Korean market in a move that appears to be motivated by shifting market priorities, people familiar with the matter said Tuesday.Ofo recently began putting most of the Korea market employees on a “suspension” as part of a general layoff, as part of steps toward an exit from the market, an industry source with knowledge of the startup’s affairs told The Korea Herald.“Though it has yet to co

Kakao Friends, the character licensing and merchandising unit of South Korea’s mobile messaging giant Kakao, will debut in the US as an official sponsor of 2018 KCON LA, an annual Korean culture convention held in major cities worldwide.　Kakao IX, which operates the Kakao Friends character licensing business, said Tuesday that it is sponsoring the Los Angeles leg of KCON USA, an event that celebrates Korean pop culture ranging from music and dramas to movies and fashion.During KCON LA, Kakao wil

South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said Monday that it ordered a recall of 59 hypertension drugs containing valsartan produced by a local drug substance manufacturer, due to its inclusion of above-permitted levels of a chemical that could cause cancer.After an inspection of all valsartan locally produced or imported to Korea, the drug regulator found that some batches of valsartan produced by Daebong LS contained more than 0.3 ppm of N-nitrosodimethylamine, or NDMA, a chemical that c