Presidential nominee Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea firmly distanced himself from the Moon Jae-in administration, accusing it of being reckless and failing to address the difficulties of Koreans during the pandemic. During a TV debate held Thursday among four major presidential candidates, Lee said the Moon administration had made small business owners shoulder the burden ...

From Seoul to Seattle, the soaring cost of coffee beans is trickling into the cups of consumers. Some of the world’s biggest roasters and sellers of coffee are upping menu prices, having flagged that customers would be paying more as beans began to surge last year. Higher wages and other costs have also added to the rising charge for a daily cup, which is in turn increasing the inflationary pres...

Galloping through forest atop a white horse, Kim Jong-un stars in a new North Korean propaganda video that touts his economic leadership but ignores a recent spate of sanctions-busting missile launches. Pyongyang started the year by conducting a record seven weapons tests, including firing its most powerful missile since 2017, raising fears Kim could restart long-range or nuclear testing. But t...

South Korea defeated the Philippines 2-0 on Thursday to reach the final of the top Asian women's football tournament for the first time. Cho So-hyun and Son Hwa-yeon had a goal apiece to help South Korea knock off the Philippines in the semifinals of the Asian Football Confederation Women's Asian Cup in India. South Korea will face the winner of the other semifinal match scheduled for Thursday,...

Rapper Beenzino was featured in Japanese female band Chai’s remix album, agency Beasts & Natives announced Thursday. The Nagoya-based Japanese quartet was formed in 2012. Its debut EP, “Hottaraka Series,” from 2015 ranked No. 36 on Spotify’s UK top 50 chart. Its second studio album “Punk” from 2019 was picked as “Best New Music” by Pitchfork, an online American music publication. The rock...

A consortium led by Lotte Ventures, a startup investment unit of South Korea’s No. 5 conglomerate Lotte Group, injected $11 million into Soelect, a North Carolina-based firm that manufactures next-generation materials for electric vehicle batteries. According to the Soelect Thursday, the consortium, comprised of Lotte Ventures, General Motors Ventures and KTB Network, will support the US startup...

The proposed combination of Eurosport's UK business with BT Sport would bring together major long-term rights and world-class sports broadcast and digital capabilities NEW YORK and LONDON , Feb. 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) confirms that it has entered into exclusive discussions with BT Group to create a new sport venture in the UK by combining its Eur...

As a self-made idol group in the music scene, the rapper line of the band -- Hyunsuk, Yoshi and Haruto -- once again listed themselves as composers and lyricists for their parts. Hyunsuk also wrote the words and tunes for “BFF,” while Yedam made “Darari” and directed the recording of the song. “The Second Step: Chapter One” comes out on Feb. 15 and has sold over 600,000 copies in preorders in ei...

By Kim Arin ( arin@heraldcorp.com )

SEJONG -- The nation’s tax authority said Thursday that it has launched a full-fledged investigation into people engaging in irregular transfers of assets to their children. The action is aimed at turning up the heat on people, who sought to evade gift taxes by transferring their homes to children at prices lower than those on the trading market, according to the National Tax Service. Over the ...

Han Kyung-rock of Crying Nut poses before an interview with The Korea Herald at Jebi Dabang in Seoul, Jan 24. Park Hyun-koo/The Korea Herald How many people can claim to have an entire festival dedicated to their birthday, and while they are still living to boot? Since 2005, rocker Han Kyung-rock, the bassist of iconic punk band Crying Nut, who is also known as Captain Rock, has been celebratin...

South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong on Thursday expressed deep disappointment and protested against Japan’s recent decision to seek a UNESCO World Heritage List designation for the gold mine on the island of Sado, which is associated with the wartime abuse of Korean laborers, in his first phone call with his Japanese counterpart, Yoshimasa Hayashi. Their conversation came just days afte...

Hanwha Defense announced Thursday that it will export the K9 self-propelled howitzer and other support vehicles to Egypt in a 2 trillion won ($1.6 billion) deal, the largest-ever supply deal for the locally-developed weapons system. Under the deal, the firm plans to supply the K9 howitzers, the K10 ammunition resupply vehicles and the K11 fire control vehicles. Technology transfer is also includ...