Articles by Son Ji-hyoung
Son Ji-hyoung
consnow@heraldcorp.com-
Energy minister ditches plan to install solar panels at home amid neighbors’ opposition
South Korea’s Energy minister Paik Un-gyu has ditched a plan to install a household solar power system at his home apartment, in the face of opposition from neighbors in the same building. Energy minister Paik Un-gyu (Yonhap)Paik, a resident of the affluent Gangnam district in southeastern Seoul, attempted to have the power-generating device attached to the apartment building several weeks ago, according to the ministry. The 54-year-old minister of trade, industry and energy asked a local admin
Industry April 25, 2018
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Customs authorities take to instant messengers to keep anonymity of Korean Air whistleblowers
South Korea’s customs authorities have taken to instant messengers KakaoTalk and Telegram to help whistleblowers anonymously share evidence of the embattled Hanjin owner family’s breach of the law. (Yonhap)Incheon Main Customs, a local unit of the Korea Customs Service in charge of major international airports in Incheon and Gimpo, started an “open chat room” on the nation’s popular messenger app KakaoTalk on Tuesday, through which users can share evidence with all participants in the chat room.
Industry April 25, 2018
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SC Bank Korea’s airline card rewards users with bonus flight to SE Asia
Standard Chartered Bank Korea’s newly-released airline miles credit card with efficient options that can reward a user free flight tickets to destinations like Southeast Asian nations, in return for spending at least 2 million won ($1,900) each month for a year.Launched in March, the new credit card dubbed “Plus Mile” offers at most bonus 3.5 miles to fly Asiana Airlines or bonus 3 miles with Korean Air, both per 1,000 won spending. This means those spending 2 million won
Market April 24, 2018
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Komsco to hold global forum on future of mints industry
South Korea will bring together the world’s 46 manufacturers of coins, medals and banknotes this week to discuss the future of the minting industry amid the emergence of new technologies across the globe. The state-run coin and bank note manufacturer, Korea Minting and Security Printing & ID Card Operating Corp. (Komsco), will host the biannual Mint Directors Conference from Monday to Thursday, the organizers said Sunday. The upcoming event will mark the 30th of its kind and the second
Market April 22, 2018
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[Weekender] Slurping cold bowl of nostalgia
Many Asian countries have long been home to cold noodle dishes, and in contemporary times, they have become a popular way to fight the heat during summer. And in Korea, naengmyeon is the cold noodle dish of choice to fight the humid summer. Long lines of people brave the heat outside for at least 30 minutes to get into Seoul’s top restaurants for cold noodles -- their decades of history keeping them popular despite their unfashionable locations in run-down inner-city areas. A typical bowl of na
Culture April 20, 2018
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Raonsecure aims for US operation momentum with RSA presentation
Raonsecure, a biometric technology solution provider to financial firms in South Korea, offered a theater presentation at RSA Conference 2018 in San Francisco, California, highlighting the “momentum for overseas business in America,” the company said Thursday. Raonsecure‘s presentation was made on Wednesday along with some 30 companies at the conference. Raonsecure was the only Korean company to be invited by US company Intel to give presentation. (Raonsecure)The 30-minute session involved an o
Technology April 19, 2018
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Financial reform loses momentum on FSS leadership void
Recent political rows surrounding the chiefs of the Financial Supervisory Service are expected to put the brakes on the Moon Jae-in administration’s ambitious financial reform drive, while leaving the financial regulator struggling in a leadership void. Speculations, meanwhile, quickly spread Tuesday after the resignation of former lawmaker and civic activist Kim Ki-sik, on who would be the next candidate, and whether Cheong Wa Dae would still take a chance with a non-bureaucrat. Kim offer
Market April 17, 2018
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Lee Min-ho promotes aronia berry tonic pouches by KGC
Since April 2016, Lee Min-ho has been an ambassador for state-run Korea Ginseng Corp.’s tonic product Good Base: Red Ginseng & Aronia. Now serving his compulsory military term, Lee has maintained his stint for a third year representing the company’s tonic with extracts of aronia berry, known as “king‘s berry” or “Europe’s equivalent to ginseng.” A KGC official explained that it is allowed by law to use promotional pictures taken prior to enlistment until the termination of a contract. Lee Min-h
Industry April 16, 2018
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[Kosdaq Star] Fine dust woes boost Winix momentum
This is the 54th in a series of articles analyzing major companies traded on the tech-heavy Kosdaq market. -- Ed. Living with fine dust has become a new norm for South Koreans, with pedestrians wearing masks and outdoor sports events often being canceled due to poor air quality. Fine dust checking apps bring yet more scientific ways to accurately measure the levels, not to mention air purifiers becoming a requisite for indoors.But with the government struggling to deal with the dust problem and
Market April 15, 2018
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FSS chief urges asset management firms to secure retail investor trust
The Financial Supervisory Service Gov. Kim Ki-sik on Friday stressed the need to secure retail investors’ trust in investment funds held by public, in a meeting with chief executives of asset management companies in South Korea, according to the watchdog. In a closed-door meeting with CEOs of 15 asset management companies that took place in headquarters of the Korea Financial Investment Association, Kim also called on the CEOs to boost the returns of their pension funds and strengthen inte
Market April 13, 2018
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Prices of crypto tokens fluctuate upon ICOs on Bithumb
The prices of cryptocurrency tokens severely fluctuated immediately after being listed on South Korea‘s cryptocurrency exchanges including Bithumb, Thursday.The price of encrypted tokens Mithril and Aelf surged 11,100 percent and 90 percent, respectively, within 30 minutes after Bithumb announced the listing of the tokens at 6 p.m. Thursday. The gains also immediately evaporated. Upon the initial coin offering at 6 p.m. Thursday, Mithrill traded at 250 won (23 cents) per token on Bithumb.
Market April 13, 2018
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FSS investigates nonbanking firms’ hiring irregularities
The Financial Supervisory Service on Thursday launched inspections targeting nonbanking financial companies in South Korea, following its probe on the banking industry. The targets of the probe include 25 life insurance companies, 31 damage insurance firms and eight card companies, as well as savings banks and securities firms.The FSS will reportedly look into evidence of gender discrimination in the employment process and personal ties between applicants and high-ranking officials of companies.
Market April 12, 2018
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Securities firms fined for failing to identify Samsung chairman assets
South Korea‘s four securities firms have been slapped with a combined 3.4 billion won ($3.2 million) in fines for their failure to identify and verify assets owned by bedridden Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee under false-name accounts, watchdogs said Thursday.The amount of the fine equals 55 percent of face value of Lee’s financial assets under the accounts not owned by the chairman, which came to 6.2 billion won as of August 1993. The four companies -- Mirae Asset Daewoo, S
Market April 12, 2018
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[Herald Interview] Banksalad relieves financial information overload
The Korea Herald is publishing a series of interviews on promising startups in the financial technology industry. This is the 13th installment. - Ed.Despite having easy access to thousands of financial products in South Korea, as one of the world’s most wired countries, consumers often find most of them irrelevant and largely fail to figure out which offers the biggest financial advantage. In a bid to simplify the myriad of choices, former owner of a street food vender Kim Tae-hoon co-foun
Market April 12, 2018
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Watchdog chides Samsung Securities for internal control void, begins inspection
South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service on Monday began an investigation into Samsung Securities over it lacking internal controls to detect or correct a computational input error that caused slipshod dividend payments over 40,000 times larger than intended.The watchdog denounced the firm for its “severe” systemic flaw that enabled erroneously created virtual stocks to be traded like real assets.At a press conference Monday to unveil its plans to look into the fourth-larges
Market April 9, 2018
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