Articles by Kan Hyeong-woo
Kan Hyeong-woo
hwkan@heraldcorp.com-
[GLOBAL FINANCE AWARDS] Kyobo Life Insurance accelerates digital transformation drive
Kyobo Life Insurance, one of Korea’s biggest life insurers, has picked up speed in its digital transformation efforts this year by innovating its traditional businesses and securing future growth engines. According to Kyobo Life Insurance, the company reorganized its structure with a digital transformation, opening departments on digital strategy, digital new businesses and IT support. The life insurer also implemented Amazon’s Public Cloud services in order to cope with the para
Market Dec. 6, 2021
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Korean testing kit makers confident they can detect omicron
Amid worries over the omicron variant of COVID-19, Korean testing kit makers showed confidence in their equipment’s ability to detect the new virus variant, pushing up their stock prices again. GreenCross Medical Science said Friday that the effectiveness of its COVID-19 testing kit has been confirmed for the new omicron variant as well. In order to assess the validity of the result from its testing equipment, GCMS conducted the ‘in-silico’ experiment, which refers to a typ
Industry Dec. 3, 2021
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Drug Ministry cancels approval of 6 botulinum products
The licenses of six botulinum drugs will be revoked on Dec. 13, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced Thursday. The Drug Ministry said the drugs were being sold in the country without obtaining the state approval to sell them in the domestic market. The drugs are four of Hugel’s Botulax units and two of Pharma Research Bio’s ReNTox units. The Drug Ministry will also shut down Pharma Research Bio’s production for six months, citing that the biopharmaceutical firm&
Industry Dec. 2, 2021
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Korea to foster 89,000 more software talents by 2025
South Korea will foster 89,000 more people specialized in software technology by 2025 to cope with a shortage of digital talent in the future, the Ministry of Science and ICT said Thursday. Unveiling the government’s plan to support younger generations in times of digital transformation, the ministry said a total of 413,000 software professionals will be supplied over the next five years. The government’s original plan was to raise 324,000 software talents, but the expected demand
Technology Dec. 2, 2021
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Bio firms expand network, gain state project boost
The government’s Innovation-Communication Open Network (i-CON) project has been helping Korea’s small and medium-sized bio companies expand their networks and improve the quality of their products, according to the Korea Biotechnology Industry Organization. The organization is currently running the bio and health program of the i-CON project to support small and medium-sized enterprises to develop technology capabilities by using infrastructure and manpower owned by research instit
Industry Dec. 1, 2021
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Celltrion signs COVID-19 treatment supply contract with 9 European countries
Celltrion Healthcare has inked supply contracts for its COVID-19 antibody treatment Regkirona with nine European countries as of Monday, the company said Tuesday. Under the contract, Celltrion Healthcare, an affiliate of local biopharmaceutical company Celltrion, plans to roll out an initial supply of 150,000 vials of Regkirona to the countries before the end of the year. The amount is enough to treat 50,000 people. More supply orders of the antibody are expected to be placed in consideratio
Industry Nov. 30, 2021
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SK Square now 2nd-largest shareholder of Korbit
SK Square became the second-largest shareholder of Korbit, one of South Korea’s top four cryptocurrency exchanges, by investing about 90 billion won ($75.5 million) to acquire a 35 percent stake, the company announced Monday. The largest shareholder of Korbit is NXC, the holding company of local online game maker Nexon. SK Square expects that holding a stake of Korbit itself will increase the net asset value of SK Square, as the volume of cryptocurrency transactions has rapidly increase
Industry Nov. 29, 2021
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Korea’s bio technology exports nears $10b
The total value of South Korean biotech and pharmaceutical companies’ technology exports is expected to reach $10 billion for the first time this year, according to the Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Manufacturers Association. The country’s biotech and pharmaceutical companies’ technology exports amounted to 11.4 trillion won ($9.6 billion) as of Nov. 17, the KPBMA said Monday. As there were deals that did not disclose their contract values, the KPBMA expected the total
Industry Nov. 22, 2021
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Why politicians head to national cemeteries in election season
South Korea’s two presidential front-runners -- Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and Yoon Seok-youl of the major opposition People Power Party -- paid their respects at the Seoul and Daejeon national cemeteries soon after winning their parties’ primaries. “The state’s first duty is the security to protect the national community,” Lee said during his visit to the Daejeon National Cemetery on Oct. 11, a day after winning the primary. “Of
Politics Nov. 22, 2021
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In election season, the wrong hat could land you in prison
Supporters in MAGA hats have been a common sight on the campaign trail in the US in recent years, but in Korea that kind of promotion won’t wash. According to Korea’s Public Official Election Act, a hat bearing a campaign slogan candidate can lead to a fine or even jail if the wearer is not a candidate or on the campaign staff. This is one of several obscure clauses in addition to the more widely known rules such as prohibiting giving money out to voters, damaging candidates’
Politics Nov. 16, 2021
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[Us and Them] Korea’s division runs deeper than South and North
"When I met a new friend in Busan, he asked me where I was from. I said Gwangju and he called me a ‘Jeolladian.’ I did not know what it meant at first." A 20-something cellphone seller in Busan, S has lied about his hometown to his customers, not wanting to cause any unnecessary trouble. "My customers would ask me where I was from," he said. "I did not say that I was from Gwangju because I thought it would not benefit me in any way if I told them the truth
Social Affairs Nov. 15, 2021
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Living with COVID: ICUs near capacity amid new surge
Two weeks into Korea’s “living with COVID-19” scheme, the number of critically ill patients in intensive care is inching closer to the government’s threshold. The number of coronavirus patients undergoing intensive care treatment reached 483 as of Saturday, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. The figure is just short of the record high of 485 reported on the previous day. Of the 483 critically ill patients, 82.2 percent were over the age of 6
Social Affairs Nov. 14, 2021
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All high schools go remote ahead of Suneung
High schools across South Korea are turning to remote classes from Thursday to prevent the spread of the coronavirus among teenagers ahead of the country’s once-a-year college aptitude exam a week later. In the Greater Seoul area, where majority of COVID-19 infections have been reported since the beginning of the fourth virus wave in July, high school seniors switched to remote classes last Thursday. The Ministry of Education has made it clear that this year’s Suneung will take p
Social Affairs Nov. 10, 2021
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Businesses struggle with 'quarantine pass' system
A week into the government’s “living with COVID-19” drive, the “quarantine pass” system remains dogged by controversy. A full vaccination certificate, a negative PCR test result, or confirmation of exemption from vaccination, is required for entry to places deemed “high risk,” such as karaoke parlors, indoor sports centers, nightclubs and public bathhouses. “The number of customers already dropped after the fourth level of social distancing mea
Social Affairs Nov. 8, 2021
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Sim Sang-jung vows to put end to two-party system
The Justice Party’s presidential candidate, Sim Sang-jung, pledged Wednesday to put an end to the two-party system that has dominated South Korea’s political landscape for decades. “The rival structure between the progressives and conservatives has passed its expiration date. The two big parties have been in power for the past 30 years and become the front-runners of vested interests,” Sim said during a sit-down with reporters at the National Assembly. “In the b
Politics Nov. 3, 2021
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