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Lee Hyo-sik

Korea Times Finance Reporter

Lee Hyo-sik is Finance Desk editor at The Korea Times. He manages finance-related stories on macroeconomics, banks, stocks, bonds, crypto etc. He is passionate about covering what's happening in Korea's financial industry and explaining it to both Korean and non-Korean readers. You can reach him at leehs@koreatimes.co.kr. Your insights and feedbacks are always appreciated.

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South Korea

Pharmacists want Viagra sale without preion

By Kim Rahn Pharmacists are planning to ask the government to allow the sale of Viagra and Xenical without prescription. The Korean Pharmaceutical Association said Friday that it plans to demand the government change some prescription medicines into non-prescription ones. The move came two days after the government unveiled a plan to allow the sale of 44 non-prescription medicines at convenience stores and supermarkets by designating them as “non-drugs.” “We plan to demand the status of Viagra and Xenical be changed into non-prescription drugs at a policy-setting meeting next Tuesday,” an association official said. The subcommittee of the Central Pharmaceutical Affairs Council, comprised of doctors, pharmacists and officials representing the public, will hold a second policy-setting session next week. The domestic sale of the erectile dysfunction treatment drug Viagra was 38.7 billion won ($35.5 million) last year, and that of the obesity treatment drug Xenical and similar generic drugs, 13.4 billion won. The official said some of the obesity treatment medicines

Jun 17, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik
South Korea

Row deepens over investigation rights

Prosecution vs. police By Kim Rahn The prosecution and police are on a head-on collision course over the rights to initiate investigations, with the National Assembly moving to write a bill to empower the police amid a dispute over reforming the prosecution. Police are demanding that a clause should be included in the law governing the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office to give them a mandate to initiate investigations independent of the prosecution. They are also calling for the abolishment of the clause in the law obliging them to investigate under the supervision of prosecutors as stipulated in the Criminal Litigation Law. The escalating conflict comes as the bipartisan task force for judicial reform tentatively agreed on the need to revise related laws. Currently, only prosecutors have the right to launch, supervise and complete investigations and then to indict suspects. The task force has decided to establish a clause allowing police the independent right to launch investigations, while maintaining the prosecution’s right to supervise it. In reality poli

Jun 17, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik
South Korea

Head of regional culture promotion unit kills himself

The head of Jeonnam Cultural Industry Promotion Agency, suspected of embezzling employees’ salaries and receiving bribes from private firms, was found dead in an apparent suicide, Friday. According to police, Kim Ki-hoon, 47, was found dead in his apartment in the southwestern city of Muan, South Jeolla Province, by one of the agency’s employee, surnamed Lee, early Friday morning. Lee told police that he visited the apartment to check on Kim because he did not show up at the office. Police said Kim apparently took his own life by inhaling fumes from burning brown coal, or lignite, on a barbecue grill at the apartment, adding no suicide note was found. He has been heading the agency since July 2008 when it was launched by the South Jeolla Provincial Government as part of its efforts to help local businesses develop and commercialize a wide range of cultural content. Kim has been under investigation on charges of embezzling employees’ wages and receiving money from private firms in return for favors. Police suspect that he may have decided to commit suicide under mou

Jun 17, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik
South Korea

Corporate-owned sports cars outlaws on road

By Lee Hyo-sik A number of imported fancy sports cars purchased under corporate names are found to have largely been used by company owners and their family members for personal use. Many of the drivers are also found to have violated traffic rules and defaulted on penalty payments. According to data submitted to Rep. Ahn Hong-joon of the governing Grand National Party by the National Police Agency, Thursday, drivers of 294 sports cars registered under various corporate names were breaking a wide range of traffic rules and have been given a combined 850 tickets for violations over the past three years. Of the 850 tickets, 23.5 percent, or 200, have still not been paid, Rep. Ahn said. Some of the cars are Porsches, Ferraris, BMWs and Mercedes-Benzes. By company, Hanwha Corp. came out on top as several Porsche and Mercedes-Benz sports cars the firm owned were cited for traffic violations a total of 61 times. The driver of a Porsche Cayenne, owned by Malpyo Industrial, a maker of shoe polish, received a speeding ticket and broke other traffic laws on 28 occasions, whil

Jun 16, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik
South Korea

Students parody video annoys SNU

By Lee Hyo-sik Seoul National University (SNU) has asked Naver and other Web portals to remove a parody video produced by protesting students from their domains, saying the satirical video defames the school’s reputation. An official from the SNU administration said Thursday that the school had requested major Web portals stop posting the video, named the ``Freedom of Chancellor’s Office.’’ ``Our legal department raised the possibility that the video may have damaged the university’s reputation as it mocks SNU President Oh Yeon-cheon and the administration as a whole,” the official said. He said one unidentified major portal has already removed the controversial clip from its bulletin boards, cafes and online community sites. On June 8, a group of SNU students, who have been staging a sit-in protest occupying the school’s administrative building since May 30, uploaded the clip on YouTube and some other local Web portals, ridiculing the university’s plan to incorporate itself. It is a parody of the music video, ``Itawon Freedom,’’ produced by popular pop group UV.

Jun 16, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik
Travel & Food

Hotels offer one-more-night promotion

This is the sixth in a series featuring hotels that offer a ``one more night promotion,’’ under which guests who stay for three or four nights are given a one-night complementary stay. The series will introduce three hotels at a time biweekly. A total of 36 hotels across the country will be presented over the next six months. This is part of a nationwide campaign to promote the ``2010-2012 Visit Korea Years.’’ ― ED. Danyang Tourist Hotel In commemoration of the ``2010-2012 Visit Korea Years,’’ the Danyang Tourist Hotel in Danyang County, South Chungchong Province, offers foreign guests who stay three nights or more, one extra night free of charge. The offer is valid through Dec. 31, 2011, but the promotion is not available from July 15 to Aug. 21. The price for a standard room is 69,000 won on weekdays and 98,000 won on weekends, including tax. For more information please call 82-43-423-7070 or go to www.danyanghotel.com. Mayfield Hotel In commemoration of the ``2010-2012 Visit Korea Years,’’ the Mayfield Hotel in Seoul offers special benefits to guests who vi

Jun 16, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik
Travel & Food

Saipan -- ideal summer getaway for families

By Lee Hyo-sik About this time many think about where to go for the upcoming summer vacation. If you are single, it is relatively easy because all you need to do is pick a place to spend a week-long getaway. But if you are married with children, it is a different story as you have to satisfy everyone. Husbands may want to hone their golf skills, wives desire luxurious spa and massage treatments, while children are eager to engage in a range of outdoor activities. If that is the case, there is a perfect place that meets everyone’s needs: Saipan, a tropical paradise offering magnificent beaches, crystal clear blue waters, shopping, a wide range of ethnic food, and a multitude of recreational activities. Located in the Northern Marianas, Saipan is just four hours by airplane from Korea, with Asiana Airlines operating nine weekly flights between them. It is one of three major islands of the Marinas along with Tinian and Rota, which offer visitors unique tropical island life and hospitality. Saipan became part of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mari

Jun 16, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik
South Korea

Asiana opens lounge for disabled

By Lee Hyo-sik Asiana Airlines has opened a lounge exclusively for the physically disabled at Incheon International Airport to better serve a growing number of disabled travelers. The company is the first airline to do so among domestic carriers. During an opening ceremony for the “Hansarang” Lounge, Wednesday, Asiana Airlines CEO Yoon Young-doo said its disabled customers can now take plenty of rest in a comfortable setting before flights. Hansarang means “one love” in Korean. At the ceremony, the firm also donated 10 wheelchairs to the Incheon Community Rehabilitation Center. ``Lounge users can also check in while in the Hansarang Lounge, which will make travel more convenient. We are happy that we will be able to upgrade our services for physically-challenged customers in wheelchairs,’’ Yoon said. The CEO said the airline will make all-out efforts to differentiate customer services from those of other airlines in order to provide customers with the best-quality services. In 2010, nearly 50,000 air travelers in wheelchairs either entered the country or went abroa

Jun 15, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik
South Korea

No. of secondary school students to drop by 30% in 2020

By Lee Hyo-sik The number of middle and high school students here will shrink by 30 percent in 2020 from this year as more Koreans are choosing not to have children, according to a recent academic paper. It is also projected that the number of elementary school students will decline by as much as 17 percent over the same period, adding the nation should increase the number of teachers by 5,000 every year, despite the falling number of students, to provide the same quality of public education as advanced countries do. A Hanyang University research team, led by Prof. Lee Young of the department of economics and finance, said given the rapidly falling birthrate, Korean middle and high school students will total 2.64 million in 2020, down 30 percent from the current 3.81 million. The number of elementary students is also expected to drop by 16.9 percent to 2.59 million in 2020 from this year’s 3.12 million. In 2012, the figure will dip below 3 million for the first time since the government began tallying related statistics in 1965. However, the research team said the co

Jun 15, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik
South Korea

Cellphone use big dilemma at school

By Lee Hyo-sik Cellular phones are one of the biggest distractions in classrooms, the No. 1 enemy teachers want to eliminate. But they are foes teachers find hard, if not impossible, to beat, as their use is backed not only by students but parents as well. Whether to allow students to bring mobile phones to school and how much freedom should be granted have been a huge dilemma facing primary and secondary schools across the nation. Complicating the highly touchy issue is the lack of a uniform guideline set by the education authorities. With no clear-cut directives from the authorities, schools have drawn up their own rules but they are still creating conflict among all interested parties. Most teachers seek to make rules more stringent for students to talk or send text messages on mobile phones, while students want greater freedom in line with recent initiatives to respect students’ rights. Many parents also want their children to go to school with mobile phones. “Many students use cell phones during class, sending text messages. It’s a big headache. Of course, most te

Jun 15, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik
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