SPOTLIGHT

• Social affairs

  

  High-profile spycam scandal fuels debate over protection of suspect’s identity

  Incident involving actress Shin Se-kyung and Apink’s Yoon Bo-mi fuels debate over spycam crimes and legal protection of suspect’s identity

• Industry

  

  Louis Vuitton the most-counterfeited foreign brand in S. Korea: report

  Louis Vuitton was the most frequently counterfeited foreign brand in South Korea over the past five years, a report showed on Saturday.According to data from the Korea Customs Service, government regulators uncovered imitation Louis Vuitton products valued at 183.1 billion won ($163.99 million) between 2014 and June this year, which is the largest value among counterfeited foreign luxury brands.  (Yonhap)The value assessment was in terms of genuine Louis Vuitton goods.Given that more than 41.1 b

• North Korea

  

  3 endearing moments of South Korean presidential couple on Paektusan

  The candid interactions between South Korea’s presidential couple of Moon Jae-in and Kim Jung-sook are endearing in every way, and what their impact would be on their North Korean counterparts Kim Jong-un and Ri Sol-ju one could only surmise. Moon and his wife don’t put on a stuffy show for the camera. Their open dialogue invites the general public to see them more as the friendly neighborhood couple than distant rulers of the nation. Here are three moments that drew attention:"Here, let me tidy

• North Korea

  

  Will Kim Jong-un go up Jeju Island’s Hallasan?

  South Korean President Moon Jae-in had his wish granted Thursday, when he went up Paektusan in North Korea. The question now is whether North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will go up the South’s tallest mountain during his expected trip to Seoul this year. Paektusan is the highest mountain in the North, at about 2,750 meters above sea level, while Hallasan is around 1,950 meters. Abundant folklore and legends involving mythical creatures revolve around both mountains Moon is an avid hiker, whose mou

LATEST NEWS

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  North Korea

  Kim Jong-un and his ‘finger heart’

  THE SHAPE OF HIS HEART -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his wife Ri Sol-ju, along with South Korean officials, pose for cameras with the so-called “finger heart” gesture against the backdrop of Cheonji Lake on top of Mount Paekdu on Sept. 20. The related photos, describing the last day of the inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang last week, were released by Seoul’s presidential office Cheong Wa Dae on Sunday. (Cheong Wa Dae)

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  Politics

  Moon leaves for New York to attend UN General Assembly

  Moon to directly deliver North Korean leader’s message to Trump

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  Economy

  Record number of people give up on job seeking: data

  A record-high number of job-seekers have given up on finding a job, amid a feeble employment market and slowing economic growth, government data showed Sunday.The monthly average number of “discouraged job-seekers” -- referring to those with no signs of job seeking for at least four weeks over the past year -- stood at 510,000 as of end-August, up 5.4 percent from the same period last year, according to Statistics Korea. This was also the highest figure since the government started collecting da

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  Social affairs

  Illegal immigrants on rise: data

  The number of foreign nationals staying in South Korea illegally increased by nearly 100,000 on-year to surpass 330,000 this year, government data showed Sunday.According to the data by the Ministry of Justice, 330,005 foreigners were staying in the country without a valid visa as of July, up 97,834 from 232,171 logged July of last year.The data -- which showed the number of illegal aliens over the past 10 years -- was submitted to the National Assembly.  (Yonhap)The annual average number of rep

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  World News

  World leaders at UN look for progress on N.Korea, brace for Trump

  UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) - North Korea and Iran will dominate this week's gathering of world leaders at the United Nations, where President Donald Trump will be firmly in the spotlight as he continues to upend global diplomacy.After warming up to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and ditching the Iran nuclear deal, the unpredictable Trump takes the podium on Tuesday to face foes and increasingly uneasy allies at the UN General Assembly.On Wednesday, he will for the first time chair a Se

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  Social affairs

  No. of foreign students in S. Korea on rise: data

  The number of foreign students enrolled in South Korea surged this year with the portion of those from China falling below 50 percent, a tally from a state-run educational body showed Sunday.The number of foreign students registered at South Korean universities and graduate schools rose 14.8 percent from a year earlier to 142,205 as of April, according to the National Institute for International Education, which is affiliated with the education ministry. (Yonhap)By country, the largest number of

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  Social affairs

  Millions of S. Koreans head to their hometowns for Chuseok holiday

  Millions of South Koreans began the annual mass migration to their hometowns on Saturday to spend the major traditional holiday of Chuseok with their family members. As a major traditional holiday, Chuseok, the Korean equivalent of Thanksgiving, serves as a chance for family members to get together to give thanks and pay tribute to their ancestors by preparing a meal and visiting graves. Chuseok is celebrated on Aug. 15 in the lunar calendar, which falls on Monday this year, with the holidays ru

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  North Korea

  Trump says he received 'beautiful letter' from NK leader

  United States President Donald Trump said he received "a beautiful letter" from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un this week, stressing "very good" relations between the two sides.  In his speech in Missouri at a campaign rally on Friday (US time), Trump said, "Chairman Kim Jong-un sent me a beautiful letter two days ago," though he did not elaborate on details.The remarks came less than two weeks after the White House said Trump received a written message from Kim, in which the North Korean leader

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  North Korea

  Trump says he won't rush into any deal with N. Korea

  United States President Donald Trump has said he will not be hasty in making any deals with North Korea, stressing "very good" relations with the communist country's leader.In his speech in Missouri at a campaign rally on Friday (US time), Trump said, "Chairman Kim Jong-un sent me a beautiful letter two days ago," though he did not elaborate on details.Pointing to the release of Americans who had been detained in the North and the return of remains of American soldiers who went missing during th

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  North Korea

  N. Korea again designated as a food-deficit country

  A United Nations agency has listed North Korea as a food-deficit country in need of external assistance, a US broadcaster reported Saturday.In its latest report, the Food and Agriculture Organization put the communist country on a list of 39 countries that need external food assistance, calling for 641,000 tons of crops to be imported to sustain the people, according to the Radio Free Asia. Farmers plant rice on a paddy in South Hwanghae Province in North Korea on May 22, 2018. (Yonhap)This year

GRAPHIC NEWS

OPINION

• Columnists

  

  Israeli-Palestinian peace process is dead

  This month commemorates two pinnacles for the benign, naive superpower that was America, both involving our now-lost role as Middle East peacemaker. Forty years ago, President Jimmy Carter brokered the Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt; and 25 years ago, President Bill Clinton presided over the signing of the Oslo Accord between Israel and the Palestinians. As we looked this week at the old photographs of beaming American presidents grandly mediating between adversaries, what was happe

• Columnists

  

  Malaysia at 55

  Was it only 55 years ago when Malaysia was formed on Sept. 16, 1963?　On that day, I was super proud to witness at the parade ground in Jesselton (today Kota Kinabalu) the formation of an independent nation, joining Sabah and Sarawak with the 11 states of Malaya. One forgets easily today that it was a time of grave uncertainty, when the Philippines had a claim on North Borneo and Indonesian President Sukarno was actively against the idea of Malaysia.　At the middle age of 55 years, an individual c

THE INVESTOR

• Economy

  

  S. Korea’s economic uncertainty hits highest in 15 months: data

  The uncertainty concerning South Korea’s economic growth and economic policies reached the highest level in 15 months, global data showed Sunday.　According to the Economic Policy Uncertainty Index, Asia’s fourth-largest economy recorded 155.15 in July, the highest since 165.4 in April last year.　The global index, conducted on 20 key economies across the world, also reached the highest since March last year, standing at 227.77, data showed.　The index, developed by three US-based ec

• Retail & Consumer

  

  Market Kurly operator secures W67b investment

  Kurly, operator of popular grocery delivery service Market Kurly, on Sept. 20 announced that it has closed its Series C round having raised 67 billion won (US$60.03 million). “Our Series C round includes around 50 billion won from a consortium led by Sequoia Capital and DST Global,” a Kurly spokesperson told The Investor. The company added that it has also secured funds from investors who had invested in previous rounds, including SEMA Translink Investment and Korea Investment Par

• Samsung

  

  Samsung's cooktops get high scores from U.S. Consumer Report

  Samsung Electronics’ gas and induction electric cooktops received the highest scores from the U.S. Consumer Report, industry sources said on Sept. 23.Samsung's gas cooktops -- 30-inch and 36-inch models -- were picked as two of five top-performing models for this year, they said.The report lauded Samsung’s 30-inch NA30K7750TS/AA model an expensive but worth the price for its Wi-Fi-enabled connection with smartphones, as well as Bluetooth function. 　The 36-inch NA36K7750TG/AA model

• Samsung

  

  Two Samsung Group affiliates sell stake in Samsung C&T

  Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance and Samsung Electro-Mechanics have announced that they will sell their stake in Samsung C&T, a key group affiliate at the center of the conglomerate’s complex cross-shareholding structure. According to their regulatory filings on Sept. 20, Samsung Fire & Marine will sell its 1.37 percent stake for 328.5 billion won (US$294 million), while Samsung Electro-Mechanics will sell its 2.61 percent stake for 642.5 billion won.The move comes amid Samsung Gro

K-POP HERALD

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  BTS bids happy Chuseok in US

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  Footage of Zico’s N. Korea performance

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  Jennie looks breathtaking in photo shoot

HERALD INTERVIEW

• Arts&Design

  

  Decorating a home, suggesting a lifestyle

• Foreign Policy

  

  ‘Denuclearization efforts on peninsula opportunity for nuclear free world’

• Diplomatic Circuit

  

  Le Havre, an ideal partner in maritime industry, public decentralization

• Technology

  

  Bluehole charms global audience with mobile strategy game ‘Castle Burn’

PHOTO NEWS

• Social affairs

  

  Chuseok travel rush begins Friday

  The Chuseok travel rush began Friday in Korea as about 36 million travelers head to their hometowns. As of 1 p.m. Friday, a trip from Seoul to Busan took five hours and 20 minutes by car; two hours and 40 minutes to Gangneung; four hours and 10 minutes to Gwangju; four hours and 34 minutes to Daegu; and four hours and 40 minutes to Mokpo, according to Korea Expressway Corp.A survey by the Korea Transport Institute predicted that the traffic volume of cars leaving Seoul and heading back to the ci

VIDEO

• Industry

  

  Lee Jae-yong’s lip balm ‘closed’ before camera

• North Korea

  

  Kim vows to visit Seoul, dismantle nuke, missile sites

• North Korea

  

  Moon Jae-in attends mass games in Pyongyang

• North Korea

  

  Moon enthusiastically received in Pyongyang

FEATURES

• Industry

  

  US FDA delays approval of GC Pharma’s IVIG-SN again

  South Korean biopharma company GC Pharma said Friday that the US Food and Drug Administration has delayed the approval of the firm’s immunodeficiency drug IVIG-SN, demanding additional data related to the drug’s manufacturing procedures.The company had initially expected the US FDA to grant final approval for IVIG-SN, short for human normal immunoglobulin G for intravenous administration, this month.The company noted that the drug’s safety and efficacy are solid, as the product is already being

• Industry

  

  Korea permits 2-year regulatory sandbox period for novel ICT innovation

  The National Assembly on Thursday passed a bill that grants a regulatory sandbox for new businesses in the information and communication technology sector, a development that is expected to speed up the adoption and commercialization of next-generation technologies in Korea. The bill to amend the Special Act on Promotion and Vitalization of Convergence of Information and Communications Technology was passed into law on Thursday, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT.The changes include th

• Social affairs

  

  Death of puma triggers public protest against zoos in South Korea

  The recent death of a puma, killed by police after it escaped from its enclosure in a Daejeon zoo, has triggered a wave of criticism concerning animal rights abuses in South Korea, with some saying all zoos in the country must shut down.　　The puma, named Bbo-rong, was shot to death Tuesday, about four hours after it escaped its enclosure at Daejeon O-World through a door left unlocked by staff at 4:50 p.m. While the search was ongoing, all Daejeon residents were advised to stay indoors.　　Authori

• North Korea

  

  What is the story behind Mansudae Art Studio in Pyongyang?

  South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s visit to Pyongyang’s Mansudae Art Studio has been creating a buzz at home and overseas -- even after a UN official said the visit did not violate UN sanctions that ban international transactions with the North Korean art establishment.　So what do we know about the studio and why has it been banned by the UN?　The Mansudae Art Studio was founded in 1959. It is believed be one of the largest art production studios in the world, with some 4,000 workers. Among its