The Korea Times

'Korea's rapid change poses great challenges to foreign firms'

HMP Law Chairman Hwang Ju-myung, center, answers during a Q&A session in Fleishman Hillard's Asia Pacific Leadership session in Seoul, Wednesday.By Oh Young-jin Today's Korea presents a unique set of challenges to foreign firms, thanks to a changing business environment, so they should understand the market better if they want to prosper in one of the world's most-vibrant economies, says a noted lawyer who has long advised foreign firms. In a speech Wednesday, Hwang Ju-myung, chairman of HMP Law, first talked about Korea's history of compressed development and its side effects. “Korea has a “can-do spirit” that lives in most Koreans,” Hwang told representatives of Fleishman Hillard, a global public relations firm, at its Asia Pacific Leadership session in Seoul. “This first came to the foreground in the 1970s and '80s, when the Korean economy developed enormously.“Now Korea is infused with the spirit of the 'Candlelight Revolution' that forced President Park Geun-hye out of office. Korean young people look at people like me and those of a simil

Jan 23, 2019By Oh Young-jin

'Korea's rapid change poses great challenges to foreign firms'

Society

PHOTOS 65 become naturalized Koreans in ceremony

A student takes an oath before Justice Minister Park Sang-ki during the naturalization ceremony at National Hangeul Museum, Monday. Korea TimesBy Oh Young-jinSixty-five people became naturalized Koreans in the first certificate-giving ceremony at Seoul's National Hangeul Museum, Monday. The highlight was the new Koreans' pledge of allegiance, promising to observe the Constitution and fulfill their duties and responsibilities as Korean citizens."Thanks to your joining Korea as citizens, your love of the country, diverse experience and unique stories will make Korea larger and bigger," President Moon Jae-in told them in a video message. Of the 65, 33 were ethnic Koreans in China, 17 were Vietnamese, five were Filipinos and three were Russians.The ceremony was in accordance with a National Assembly revision stating that naturalization certificates must be conferred in public. Some of the new Koreans who were naturalized on Monday. Korea TimesThe new citizens read a pledge of allegiance during the naturalization ceremony Monday. Korea TimesA new citizen receives a certificate of naturali

Jan 22, 2019By Oh Young-jin

65 become naturalized Koreans in ceremony [PHOTOS]

Society

Illegal aliens in Korea up 42 percent

Illegal aliens are rounded up by immigration officials in Korea. YonhapBy Oh Young-jin The number of foreigners staying in Korea illegally exceeded 350,000 last year, up 41.5 percent from the previous year, according to the Ministry of Justice. The conservative Chosun Ilbo cited unidentified sources to indicate that an increase in the minimum wages was related to the rise.But the ministry shot down such a correlation, one official telling the paper, “Rather than the minimum wage rise, a more plausible factor is a wider opening for foreigners to come and visit last year through the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.” In 2017, illegal aliens numbered about 251,000. In 2010, they numbered 169,000, meaning the number has doubled in 10 years. Previously, most illegal aliens were those who overstayed their one-year work visa but some argue that last year many came to Korea on a visit and found jobs, being lured by better wages. Those making this argument cited a 58 percent rise in those who overstayed their short-term tour visit from 160,000 to 264,000 on a year-to-year basis. For th

Jan 22, 2019By Oh Young-jin

Health

Nine measles cases in Gyeonggi areas

A rash is one measles system.By Oh Young-jinMore cases of measles have been reported, with the latest in areas adjacent to Seoul. Twenty-six cases have been confirmed. According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Monday, eight confirmed cases were in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, over the weekend ― five toddlers and infants, with the remaining three among their parents. One case was discovered in Siheung, also in Gyeonggi Province. The first case was reported in Daegu, on Dec. 17.The 26 cases included 15 aged four or under, with parents and medical staff making up the rest. The KCDC said the virus originated from Southeast Asia but none of the confirmed cases had records of traveling to the region recently. An investigation is under way.In Taegu alone, the number of people who may have had contact with the patients numbered 7,000 with 3,000 having passed the incubation period. The remaining 4,000 need mentoring. In the Gyeonggi areas, about 450 people are estimated to have had contact with the patients, but the number could rise. Measles is a highly contagious infect

Jan 21, 2019By Oh Young-jin

Measles infections spreading; 8 newly test positive

Politics

Where were you when coach raped national skater?

Short-track speed skaters continue to train amid allegations that their coach raped some of them. YonhapBy Oh Young-jin A national skater claims her coach had been repeatedly raping her since when she was 17. Other skaters then accused the same coach of sexually assaulting them also. Their stories might never have been heard because the skaters were under constant pressure to stick to a code of silence. The whistleblower won two Olympic gold medals, one in Sochi, Russia, in 2014 and the second in PyeongChang, last year. In hindsight, it looks like taxpayers were paying the coach to be a rapist. But the nation cheered and was happy for the skater's golden performance. What does all this make us, the people? Considering that others knew about this sexual abuse ― including people who run the nation's sports community ― we as a nation are forced to be an accomplice in this dirty crime. Cheering for the skater, we are reduced to being a conniving bystander on the borderline of collective sadism. There are cases of state-run “farming” of athletes in Russia and East Germany

Jan 18, 2019By Oh Young-jin

Where were you when coach raped national skater?

Shows & Dramas

SBS's fasting diet - another gimmick?

A woman says intermittent fasting has helped her control weight. SBS screen captureBy Oh Young-jinTwo years ago, it was MBC, a major broadcaster, which triggered and fed the “fat diet” fad by airing a special arguing that one could lose weight and get healthy by eating fat-rich meat only. Now SBS, another TV outlet, has shown a health documentary virtually promoting “intermittent fasting” as a way to lose weight. In the documentary aired Sunday, a woman claimed she lost 16 kilograms by alternating fasting and eating after her weight soared to 70 kilograms due to post-partum complications. “I tried all kinds of diets ― one for eating sweet potatoes only or a Danish-type diet type of lots of vegetables and fish,” she said. “All failed.” At present, she eats from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and fasts for the remaining hours.SBS plans a follow-up program. Recently, “Unbelievable Freedom,” a book by an American couple about their successful diet, has been published with the cover showing photos of the couple before and after. Very few reme

Jan 14, 2019By Oh Young-jin

Health

Eight measles cases reported near Daegu

Measles-caused rashBy Oh Young-jin At least eight cases of measles and 31 cases of RSV (respiratory syncytial virus), a viral infection that afflicts newborns, have been reported in Gyeongsan and the adjacent Daegu region.According to Gyeongsan health authorities Friday, four infants and toddlers who contracted measles were found to have visited the same pediatrician, while three of four adult patients went to the same clinic.Measles is an airborne disease that is easily spread by the coughs and sneezes of infected people. Symptoms include a rash, runny nose, fever and inflamed eyes. Authorities advised people to contact them immediately if they believe they have come in contact with an infected person or think they are infected. At an institute that provides midwifery services in Daegu, 31 babies were diagnosed with RSV that, if not properly treated, can develop into life-threatening illnesses.

Jan 11, 2019By Oh Young-jin

Global Community

Some Asian nations feel betrayed by Korea for close ties with Vietnam

South Korean Park Hang-seo, who coaches Vietnam's national football team, receives birthday congratulations from Vietnamese fans at an airport in the United Arab Emirates on Jan. 4, as he arrives for the Asian Cup 2019. Park is treated as Vietnam's national hero, leading Korean football fans to support his team fervently. This, together with Korea's excessive focus on the country in terms of investment and tourist arrivals, has alienated the rest of ASEAN countries from Korea. YonhapBy Oh Young-jinSouth Korea's New Southern Policy, aimed at boosting ties with ASEAN nations, is backfiring because it is focused on Vietnam at the expense of the other nine members, Hankook Ilbo reported Thursday from Hanoi. The Korean newspaper, the sister paper of The Korea Times, quoted an ASEAN source as saying: “Korea is preoccupied with Vietnam. If this doesn't change, the other members' interests and goodwill toward Korea will cool down.” The source said the ASEAN nations have looked to Korea as a counterbalance to China and Japan that have too much influence on them. ASEAN has emerged

Jan 11, 2019By Oh Young-jin

Some Asian nations feel betrayed by Korea for close ties with Vietnam

Others

VIDEO 'Religious repression in China is getting worse'

Two European human rights experts recently visited Jeju Island to meet members of the Church of Almighty God, who claim to have fled religious persecution in China.Massimo Introvigne, an Italian sociologist of religion, and Rosita Soryte, a former Lithuanian diplomat and president of the International Observatory for Religious Liberty of Refugees, sat down with Korea Times Digital Managing Editor Oh Young-jin in Seoul to discuss the issues with regard to the asylum seekers and religious freedom in China.

Jan 9, 2019By Oh Young-jin

'Religious repression in China is getting worse' [VIDEO]

North Korea

Papal visit to North Korea still uncertain

Pope Francis stands next to a candle decorated with the faces of Syrian children suffering from war. He was delivering the Angelus noon prayer from his studio window overlooking St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on Dec. 2, 2018. AP-YonhapBy Oh Young-jin A guessing game is going on about whether Pope Francis will visit North Korea next year.The latest round has been triggered by reports on the Voice of America (VOA), the U.S. government-funded international radio broadcaster, that the pope will not visit North Korea next year.Then, Yonhap News, the South Korean government-funded news service, reported that the VOA's report could not be entirely trusted. “The Vatican is making a hidden effort to create a consensus with North Korea about the Pope's visit next year,” Yonhap quoted an unnamed source as saying over telephone. It is not clear whether the source is employed at the Vatican or is a South Korean diplomat there. Yonhap said that in October, when President Moon Jae-in visited the Vatican, the Pope told him he would unconditionally visit the North, once Pyongyang invit

Dec 10, 2018By Oh Young-jin

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