South Korea’s leading status in the intellectual property sector will serve as an indispensable tool in attaining the country’s economic visions, such as innovative growth, job creation and fair market order, according to the chief of the intellectual property office here.“South Korea’s development pace in intangible intellectual assets has already outpaced its economic growth,” Sung Yun-mo, commissioner of the Korean Intellectual Property Office, told The Korea Her

Economy July 4, 2018

A special presidential panel on Tuesday announced its fiscal reform plan, in accordance with the Moon Jae-in administration’s recently renewed pledge to reduce income disparity and achieve income-led growth.The blueprint, raising the tax burden on owners of high value houses and multiple homes, was taken as a signal that the progressive government -- which has largely been preoccupied with North Korean issues throughout its first year -- shall henceforth place more focus on “economic

Economy July 3, 2018

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of interviews with experts in the intellectual property sector. This is the 18th installment. -- Ed. In an era where the cultural content industry has become a pivotal engine for growth, public awareness should evolve accordingly to perceive copyright infringement of creative work as a serious hurdle to technological innovation and sustainable revenue, according to a cultural content policy expert here.“When it comes to copyright protection, South Korea is

Industry June 24, 2018

South Korea’s largest steelmaker Posco on Friday announced its shortlist of five final candidates for the group’s chairman position.The list comprises the group’s incumbent and former top officials, including Posco Daewoo CEO Kim Young-sang, former Posco Chief Operating Officer Kim Jin-il, incumbent President and COO Oh In-hwan, Vice President Chang In-hwa and Posco Chemtech CEO Choi Jung-woo, according to the company. From left: Posco Daewoo CEO Kim Young-sang, former Posco Chief Operating Offi

Industry June 22, 2018

Global credit rating agency Fitch on Friday presented a stable outlook for South Korea’s economy this year, maintaining the country’s sovereign credit rating at the current “AA-” level, the company said in a press release.The decision came in a balanced evaluation of Seoul’s robust external finances and strong macroeconomic capacities, as well as its challenging factors such as its peninsular volatility, rapid population aging and slowing productivity.“Geopoli

Economy June 22, 2018

The prosecutors’ latest search and seizure of the Fair Trade Commission was purportedly to look into its suspected backscratching ties with top-tier business groups and to check on potential power abuse by the antitrust watchdog. But the abrupt action was also viewed as a chronic power struggle between the prosecution and the FTC -- often dubbed “prosecutors in the economic realm” -- over the latter’s expansive range of rights concerning fair trade rule violations.On the

Economy June 21, 2018

Global credit rating agency Moody‘s Investors Service said Wednesday that uncertainty related to the geopolitical risks on the Korean Peninsula persists even after the recent series of summits and peace mood concerning North Korea.“The key constraining factor restriction to South Korea’s credit rating is its geopolitical risk,” Christian de Guzman, vice president and senior credit officer at Moody’s, said in a press conference held in Seoul.“The fact that the

Market June 20, 2018

South Korea’s notable economic advancement over recent years was largely attributable to its conglomerate-led and export-oriented growth model, backed by sound fiscal and monetary policies and intense investment into physical and human capital, according to an international report.Asia’s fourth-largest economy, however, has also exposed some chronic structural weaknesses such as market monopolization by conglomerates, discrimination in the job market, and elderly poverty. In a b

Economy June 20, 2018

The Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol on Tuesday underlined that the key factors in the nation’s upcoming policy rate decisions should be growth and inflation indexes, dismissing concerns that Washington’s recent signals to accelerate its monetary tightening cycle will press Seoul to follow suit.While sidestepping direct remarks, his defensive tone regarding the nation’s economic capacity empowered speculations that Seoul will freeze its policy rate next month and delay

Economy June 19, 2018

While South Korea’s employment indexes continued to struggle amid controversies on increased minimum wage, the job decreasing rate turned out to be the most drastic for the primary labor force age clusters in their 30s and 40s, data showed Sunday. The number of newly employed people in their 40s stood at 669.7 million in May, down 88,000 from the same period last year and marking a decline for 31 consecutive months, according to data released by Statistics Korea.This was the longest period

Economy June 17, 2018

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of interviews with experts in the intellectual property sector. This is the 17th installment. -- Ed. In an age of technology convergence and interactive communication, it is inevitable that major content platforms such as YouTube should attempt to deviate from the conventional concept of copyright so as to encourage individual creative activities.Such a flexible approach, however, should never mean lesser recognition or compensation for content creators, e

Industry June 17, 2018

As the United States carried out its anticipated rate hike this week, South Korea faces mounting pressure to keep pace with the momentum amid prolonged slow growth and chronic household debt.In a largely defensive gesture, key fiscal and monetary officials here said that the impact of the US rate hike would be limited, though they vowed anticipative measures for the potential consequences of the faster-than-expected rate hike timeline that has been signaled. “The Fed’s latest rate hi

Economy June 14, 2018

Taking place in the sophomore year of the Moon Jae-in administration and at the height of pivotal peninsular dialogue, the June 13 local and parliamentary by-elections -- dubbed the “mini-general election” -- ended in a landslide victory for the ruling progressive party, reflecting the political sentiment here.The ruling Democratic Party of Korea grasped 14 of the 17 metropolitan mayor and governor posts in Wednesday‘s local elections, while the main opposition Liberty Korea Party secured only t

Politics June 13, 2018

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea on Wednesday won most of the parliamentary seats at the June 13 by-elections, confirming its position as the leading political party. This year‘s set of local and parliamentary by-elections were dubbed the “mini-general elections,” and seen as a crucial step leading to bigger political events in the coming years, including the general and presidential elections.While the victorious ruling party is set to enjoy greater political momentum, the opposition camp i

Politics June 13, 2018

Taking place in the sophomore year of the Moon Jae-in administration and at the height of pivotal peninsular dialogue, the June 13 local and parliamentary by-elections -- dubbed the “mini-general election” – have functioned as an intermediary gauge for political sentiment here.While Moon’s ruling party focused on securing more parliamentary seats for the sake of policy leverage, the largely conservative and fractured opposition camp has seen the event as restructuring momentum ahead of bigger fi

Politics June 13, 2018