SPOTLIGHT

• Social affairs

  

  Assault victim demands stern punishment for 7 assailants

  Only two of seven middle and high school students accused of assaulting a female peer in May have been ordered to transfer schools or put on a 10-day suspension, fueling debate on lenient penalties among victims of assault. According to news reports, the alleged assailants attacked a girl in the open streets of Gangnam, southern Seoul, because they did not like her “attitude.” They then allegedly dragged her to the rooftop of a building where they assaulted her for around four hours.  Pictured i

• Music

  

  K-pop singer to open Korean restaurant in Paris

  K-pop singer Jung Joon-young, 29, will try his luck at running a Korean restaurant in none other than the culinary connoisseur city of Paris.Jung will open Maison de Coree next year, according to his agency, C9 Entertainment, Tuesday. Prior to a full-fledged launch, Jung will test the waters with a pop-up store at 80 Rue des Tournelles in the third arrondissement in Paris from Oct. 29 to Nov. 17. At Jung’s side will be chef Lee Jun of Seoul’s Michelin one-star contemporary cuisine restaurant Soi

• Social affairs

  

  Seoul taxis to accept QR code payments from January

  Passengers in Seoul will be able to pay for a taxi by scanning a QR code from a mobile app, starting in January.The Seoul City government said on Tuesday that it would put standards in place for “taxi QR code contactless payment,” which will be an option in some 70,000 taxis. (Yonhap)While offline payments in Korea typically use a “static QR code” method, a “dynamic QR code” method will be used for Seoul taxis.With the “dynamic” method, QR codes can be created in real time to reflect fares based

• Film

  

  ‘Unstoppable’ to look, feel like Ma Dong-seok

  To those familiar with both Korean and US cinema, the comparison between Ma Dong-seok and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson comes pretty naturally, just as “Get Out” producer Jason Blum drew the parallel during his recent visit to Busan.“I’ve heard, and it’s a tremendous honor,” Ma said, during a press conference for upcoming action flick “Unstoppable” in Seoul on Tuesday.From what director Kim Min-ho and other creative minds behind the action flick let on, “Unstoppable” looks to be a film that feels li

LATEST NEWS

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  Politics

  Opinion-rigging blogger’s group aimed to take over conglomerate to implement economic democracy theory: investigators

  A power blogger, who is standing trial on opinion-rigging charges, and his economic organization aimed to “promote economic democracy by taking over a conglomerate and creating a social community from the profit earned,” investigators said Tuesday. In the hearing of Kim Dong-won, nicknamed “Druking,” and members of his organization, the independent counsel team led by Huh Ik-bum revealed documents and testimony from the group.  (Yonhap)Kim, with his group, has been indicted for manipulating thou

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  North Korea

  Hundreds of Chinese group tourists return to S. Korean duty-free stores

  Hundreds of Chinese group tourists visited major duty-free shops in Seoul on Tuesday on a scale unseen since Beijing's censure of South Korea last year over the deployment of a U.S. anti-missile system on its soil.   Some 820 employees from Chinese cosmetics firm Anya visited a Shilla Duty Free store in Seoul. The Chinese tourists, who arrived in South Korea on Saturday for a five-day trip, also visited Shinsegae Duty Free and SM Duty Free on the same day.   "It is the first time since March of

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  North Korea

  Transit fees for trans-Korea gas pipeline estimated at over 200 bln won: KOGAS

  South Korea may have to pay around 200 billion won (US$175.9 million) annually for transit fees to North Korea if it imports Russian natural gas via a trans-Korea pipeline, an estimate by the state-run gas firm showed Tuesday.   The Korea Gas Corp. (KOGAS) calculated the transit fees at the request of Rep. Kwak Dae-hoon of the Liberty Korea Party, as the long-sought-after project has reappeared amid a mood of rapprochement on the Korean Peninsula.   KOGAS and Russian gas giant Gazprom have resum

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  Social affairs

  Autumn blooms in pink nationwide

  Pink muhly grass and crimson kochia bushes entrance Koreans

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  Technology

  Samsung expands campaign to cut plastic use

  Samsung Electronics and its affiliates will engage in a groupwide campaign to reduce use of plastics and disposables at the workplace to join global moves of cutting plastic consumption and protect the environment, the company said Tuesday. The electronics unit said the current campaign at the company, Samsung SDS and Samsung Electro-Mechanics will be expanded to Samsung Display, Samsung SDI, Samsung C&T and Hotel Shilla. At the affiliates’ cafeterias, plastic and vinyl materials for takeout foo

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  Technology

  LG Chem breaks ground for second EV battery plant in Nanjing

  LG Chem broke ground for an electric vehicle battery plant in Nanjing, China, its second EV battery production facility, to aggressively expand into the Chinese market, the company announced Tuesday. The new three-story factory will be built on a 200,000 square meter plot in the Binjiang Economic Development Zone, with a plan to start operations late next year. The company will inject a total of 2.1 trillion won ($1.9 billion) into the new facility by 2023 with an aim to secure an annual capacit

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  Business

  Online malls losing visitors

  　Online shopping sites are losing visitors, whose numbers have fallen some 14 percent over the past two years, industry data showed.　The six major online shopping malls had 77.97 million visitors in September, down from 83.86 million in the same month last year. Compared with 90.89 million in September 2016, the latest figure represents a 14.2 percent drop.　Of all the companies, TMON showed the biggest decline during the two-year period, with a loss of 25.6 percent. This was followed by 11st, wh

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  Industry

  Samsung BioLogics Q3 operating profit down 55.7% on production changes

  Samsung BioLogics said Tuesday that its third-quarter operating profit fell 55.7 percent on-year to 10.5 billion won ($9.23 million), attributing the decline to production changes at two of its biologics manufacturing plants.The company’s revenue in the July-September period reached 101.1 billion, down 19.4 percent from the previous year. The drop in revenue was also accredited to production changes at the firm’s No. 1 and No. 2 plants. Samsung BioLogics headquarters in Songdo, Incheon (Park Hyu

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  Industry

  Industry visit to Samsung BioLogics

  SONGDO VISIT -- Participants of the 17th World Korean Business Convention, an annual event celebrating the achievements of overseas Korean businessmen and traders and exploring new business opportunities, listen to a presentation at Samsung BioLogics’ headquarters in Songdo, Incheon, Tuesday. The theme of this year’s World Korean Business Convention is “United Hansang.” Hansang means “Korean merchants” in Korean. (Yonhap)

• 

  Columnists

  Pain and rain in Spain

  If you go to a foreign country without knowing about the country’s language and culture, you might feel hopeless and at a loss. Suddenly, you will find yourself in an unfamiliar environment, if not hostile, where you instantly become a hearing-impaired and verbally challenged person. Unable to communicate with others, you will be embarrassed and frustrated because you will not be able to understand others or make others understand you. If you are a politician or a diplomat, who is accompanied by

GRAPHIC NEWS

OPINION

• Columnists

  

  Pain and rain in Spain

  If you go to a foreign country without knowing about the country’s language and culture, you might feel hopeless and at a loss. Suddenly, you will find yourself in an unfamiliar environment, if not hostile, where you instantly become a hearing-impaired and verbally challenged person. Unable to communicate with others, you will be embarrassed and frustrated because you will not be able to understand others or make others understand you. If you are a politician or a diplomat, who is accompanied by

• Columnists

  

  Our clothes could be made in the USA again

  Europeans and Americans have grown used to buying clothes made in Asian countries. But apparel industry sourcing executives are sure that’s changing: By the middle of the next decade, much more of our clothes will be made closer to home.China and Bangladesh are the two biggest suppliers of apparel to Europe. In the US, China and Vietnam are the top two import sources. But almost a quarter of apparel-sourcing executives who participated in a study by McKinsey and Germany’s RWTH Aachen University

THE INVESTOR

• Retail & Consumer

  

  Philip Morris launches new IQOS devices in Korea

  Philip Morris Korea on Oct. 23 unveiled two new versions of its heat-not-burn smoking devices -- IQOS 3 and IQOS 3 Multi. “Based on customer feedback, we improved features like performance, design and durability,” Philip Morris Korea Managing Director Chong Il-woo said during a press conference in Seoul.  Philip Morris Korea Managing Director Chong Il-wooThe company emphasized that IQOS 3 can be charged 40 seconds faster than the previous version, IQOS 2.4+ that took over four min

• Mobile & Internet

  

  Naver’s services still inaccessible in China

  Korean internet giant Naver’s blogging and Cafe community services are inaccessible in China since last week, with speculation rift that the authorities have clamped down. The services, which have not been accessible since Oct. 16, are still not available for local users as of Oct. 23, according to Naver.“The latest connection issues in China have nothing to do with internal technical problems,” said a spokesperson from the Korean internet firm. “It is hard to verify the reasons.”

• Blockchain

  

  BlockShow Asia to be held in Singapore in Nov.

  BlockShow Asia 2018, one of blockchain industry’s most acclaimed conferences, will be held in Singapore on Nov. 27-Dec. 1. The blockchain event takes place at the Marina Bays Sands Hotel as a sideline event of the Asia Blockchain Week, scheduled for the same period.“Blockchain as a technology can no longer be ignored, and there is hardly anyone whose life will not be touched on this planet by its unlimited potential,” said an official from BlockShow, organizer of the BlockShow Asi

• Retail & Consumer

  

  YG invests W4b in M Corset

  The investment arm of Korea’s leading entertainment powerhouses YG Entertainment has invested 4 billion won (US$3.52 million) in apparel firm M Corset, according to sources on Oct. 23.YG Investment has invested by buying convertible bonds issued by M Corset.Established in 1999, M Corset is known for selling US-based Hanes Brands’ Wonderbra here after buying distribution rights in 2009. The brand became popular after aggressive advertisements done by former Victoria’s Secret superm

K-POP HERALD

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  Kim Hyun-joong faces tough questions

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  Singer opens Korean restaurant in Paris

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  Online troll harassing Seolhyun found guilty

HERALD INTERVIEW

• Automode

  

  Volvo CE president highlights Korea as global excavator hub

• Music

  

  Unmasked by a mask

• Education

  

  Toronto education leads way in ‘Second Machine Age’

• Music

  

  Jung Eun-ji says she sings to comfort herself

PHOTO NEWS

• Culture

  

  Street styles we noticed at 2019 S/S Seoul Fashion Week

  The shows are amazing at the 2019 S/S Hera Seoul Fashion Week, but the fun spills out to the streets. Brightly dyed hair was a visible trend at Dongdaemun Design Plaza on Friday, alongside see-through blouses, neon tops and transparent plastic bags.Oversized jackets, baggy pants, leopard print and fashionable eyewear also drew attention.  (Lim Jeong-yeo/The Korea Herald) (Lim Jeong-yeo/The Korea Herald) (Lim Jeong-yeo/The Korea Herald) (Lim Jeong-yeo/The Korea Herald) (Lim Jeong-yeo/The Korea He

VIDEO

• Music

  

  Seoul Fashion Week KYE show draws K-pop celebrities

• Music

  

  K-pop ads taking over Seoul subway

• Social affairs

  

  Sunfull Internet Peace Prize goes to Japanese anti-hate speech network, online activist

• Automode

  

  Adding an artful touch to CSR: Han Sung Motor focuses on coloring Seoul, nurturing young artists

FEATURES

• Technology

  

  Samsung expands campaign to cut plastic use

  Samsung Electronics and its affiliates will engage in a groupwide campaign to reduce use of plastics and disposables at the workplace to join global moves of cutting plastic consumption and protect the environment, the company said Tuesday. The electronics unit said the current campaign at the company, Samsung SDS and Samsung Electro-Mechanics will be expanded to Samsung Display, Samsung SDI, Samsung C&T and Hotel Shilla. At the affiliates’ cafeterias, plastic and vinyl materials for takeout foo

• Industry

  

  Lawmakers divided over inter-Korean economic cooperation

  60% of Korean companies doing business overseas willing to invest in the North

• Automode

  

  Ulsan strives to become global hydrogen leader

  Ulsan starts first pilot operation of hydrogen city buses, aims to have 300 more by 2030

• Social affairs

  

  How teen feminism is changing school uniforms in South Korea

  　When Jeong Ji-eun was in her high school, in the early 2000s, one of her close friends pierced her tongue. The friend, who had hated having to wear her school uniform all the time -- she especially found the stiff fabric of her blouse unbearable --, wore a red-color tongue ring, which almost looked like a candy in her mouth. “That’s what I first thought, too -- that she was having her candy,” Jeong, now a 32-year-old professional in Seoul, told The Korea Herald. “Until it was caught by our teac