In South Korea, marijuana is a strictly banned substance. Even when the purpose is clearly medical, using and importing the herb in any form is a criminal offense. But this is set to change, as local drug regulators are moving to legalize some forms of medical marijuana.　Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said Wednesday that it had set out to amend the narcotics law to legalize the import of selected drugs made with chemicals extracted from marijuana that have been officially approved for

South Korea’s Daewoong Pharmaceutical said Wednesday that it has promoted the safety and efficacy of its botulinum toxin product Nabota that is approaching US approval during IMCAS Asia 2018, an annual aesthetic surgery and cosmetic dermatology conference, held in Bangkok, Thailand.　At the conference, dermatology professionals who had taken part in the clinical trials for Nabota held in the US, Europe and Canada stressed how Nabota has strong clinical evidence proving its efficacy and safety, ac

Armed with high-tech social infrastructure and a digital-savvy public familiar with blockchain and cryptocurrencies, South Korea is cut out to become the world’s first country to demonstrate a real decentralized economy at work, experts at the Beyond Blocks Seoul Summit said Tuesday.　Korea has potential to become the ideal “test bed” for new decentralized apps running on blockchain and cryptocurrencies, said Simon Sejoon Kim, CEO of Korea-based cryptocurrency fund Hashed, during a keynote speech

Line Corp., the Japan-based mobile messaging company under South Korean internet giant Naver, announced Monday that its cryptocurrency exchange BitBox has officially begun operation.　BitBox is a cryptocurrency exchange based in Singapore. It will be operated by Line Tech Plus, a Singapore-based company under Line and LVC Corp., a Line Group subsidiary focusing on cryptocurrency and blockchain businesses.BitBox currently handles 30 or more cryptocurrencies including bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoincash

Chinese electronics giant Xiaomi announced the launch of its latest budget smartphone Redmi Note 5 in South Korea on Monday, brought to local consumers for the first time in partnership with Korea’s two-largest telecom companies SK Telecom and KT.The release of the Redmi Note 5 was announced at a rare launch event hosted by Xiaomi and its local distribution partner G-mobi Korea in Seoul on Monday, a move that hints at the Chinese tech firm’s newfound resolve to ramp up its presence in the Korean

SUWON, Gyeonggi Province -- Samsung Electronics is ready to become a first mover in ushering in the new era of fifth-generation network systems with 5G network equipment technologies that sit above the competition, according to the chief of Samsung’s network equipment business.　“Right now, Samsung is really becoming a ‘first-mover’ in 5G, a technology that will bring new value to the world,” Kim Young-ki, head of Samsung Electronics’ network business division, said in a press conference Friday a

SK Holdings, the parent company of South Korea’s third-largest conglomerate SK Group, announced Thursday that it has acquired a 100 percent stake in AMPAC Fine Chemicals, a US-based contract manufacturer of active pharmaceutical ingredients.　SK Holdings said in a disclosure that it is paying $455 million to its overseas affiliate Alchemy Acquisition Corp. to facilitate the stake purchase from Fine Chemicals Holding Corp., the parent company of AMPAC Fine Chemicals.The acquisition is expected to

Google on Thursday announced the formal launch of its in-car infotainment application Android Auto in South Korea, brought in partnership with local mobile messaging giant Kakao and Hyundai Motor Group.　Arriving in Korea three years later than other markets, Android Auto is an in-car infotainment system that brings features available on Android smartphones -- such as navigation, calling, music and mobile messaging -- into a car’s dashboard in an optimized format. The Korean version of Android Au

South Korea will be hosting a string of global blockchain technology conferences this month, including the inaugural Korea Blockchain Week aimed at bringing together blockchain experts and investors from around the world to discuss the distributed ledger technology and its future.　Kicking off the list is the Korea Blockchain Summit taking place on Thursday and Friday of this week. It is the first Seoul-based event organized by the India-based non-profit Global Blockchain Foundation.The two-day c

South Korean startup 3billion, which specializes in gene sequencing and analysis for rare disease patients, said Wednesday that it raised 3 billion won ($268 million) in Series A funding.　The latest funding round was led by the Korea Development Bank and venture capital firms The Wells Investment and JW Asset, according to the startup. 3billion is also currently backed by Digital Healthcare Partners, a local digital health startup accelerator.3billion plans to use the newly raised funds to expan

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 20th installment. - Ed.Parenthood involves many surprises and hardships, but for Joshua Han, the biggest challenge in raising his children was managing their atopic dermatitis, a skin condition that is common but has yet to find a permanent cure.Atopic dermatitis, also called atopic eczema, is a chronic c

Kolon TissueGene, the US-based biopharma unit of South Korea’s Kolon Group, said Tuesday that it will initiate phase 3 trials of its new osteoarthritis drug Invossa around September, with plans to submit a biologics license application to the US drug regulator by end-2021.　The firm is hoping to get the drug approved in the US as a “disease-modifying osteoarthritis drug,” or DMOAD, by proving through clinical trials that it not only alleviates pain and improves joint function, but also improves j

LG CNS, the information technology services unit of South Korea’s LG Group, launched a smart access card system on Tuesday to cater to the access control needs of large enterprises.The IT service provider introduced an automated access card-issue machine that will save time when checking in visitors, by digitalizing the verification and card issue process.(LG CNS)Visitors usually have to visit the information desk, present an ID card, receive a temporary pass and attach stickers to their smartph

Philips Korea announced Tuesday that South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has approved its digital pathology solution, the Philips IntelliSite Pathology Solution, for diagnostic use in the country.Pathologists in Korea can now use the digital pathology technology from Philips to assess and diagnose clinical histology cases digitally, instead of with a microscope, with the aim to enhance laboratory efficiency and quality, the firm said. (Philips Korea)“MFDS approval for the Philips Inte

RECORD GRAIN PRICE HIKE – A shopper looks around the grain section at a supermarket in Seoul, Sunday. On the day, Statistics Korea said that the country’s average grain price increased 19.8 percent in the first half of 2018, compared to the same period the previous year. It marks the biggest hike in grain prices since the state-run statistics agency began tracking the figures. (Yonhap)