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Mon, June 25, 2018 | 20:53

Opinion > Reporter's Notebook >

[Reporter's Notebook] Should Korea be hostile to foreign businesses?

The European Union's latest publication of the list of 17 non-cooperative tax jurisdictions must come as a surprise to foreign enterprises that have complained about difficulties doing business in Korea. According to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, Wednesday, the EU regarded Korea's tax benefits to foreign businesses investing in free economic zones and foreign investment zones as a kind of preferential tax regime, which means it is wrong to offer more benefits to foreign companies than Korean ones. The EU's claim is utterly opposed to what foreign businesspeople have long complained o...

Reporter's Notebook | 2017-12-06 16:01

Seoul protests EU tax haven blacklist

[Reporter's Notebook] A baseball player and son of tycoon

A hitter strikes out with three strikes in baseball. So, they usually become more careful and focused as the strike count goes up. The lesson of “three strikes and you're out” isn't, however, likely to apply to Kim Dong-seon, the third son of Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn.

Reporter's Notebook | 2017-11-22 15:37

[Reporter's Notebook] E-sports changing face of global game show

BUSAN - For those who prepare for an international game show, decreasing presence of computer online games in Korea in recent years came as a major concern. It coincides with the explosive growth of smartphones as a popular gaming platform, Mobile games are easy to access regardless of time and space. But on the other hand, small screens of mobile devices were considered out ...

Reporter's Notebook | 2017-11-19 16:53

[Reporter's Notebook] Why Naver keeps bashing Google?

The heated dispute between Naver and Google, triggered by a remark by the former’s founder Lee Hae-jin during the parliamentary audit last month, seems to have reached a plateau. For the past five days, Google Korea has not responded to Naver’s urge to open its gains in the Korean market and to jointly receive external verification on the fairness of their respective search e...

Reporter's Notebook | 2017-11-14 17:42

[Reporter's Notebook] Name change won't fix spy agency

The internal reform task force of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) Monday announced a set of measures that will restrict the spy agency to collecting intelligence for national security, not politically motivated surveillance. The measures are in line with President Moon Jae-in’s pledge to ban the spy agency from collecting information about domestic affairs - a functio...

Reporter's Notebook | 2017-11-14 15:49

North Korea - usual suspect in cyberattacks

North Korea’s cyber warfare capability has become a worldwide concern. The North has been accused of being behind numerous cyberattacks on the websites of government agencies and financial institutions. We tend to regard the North as the prime suspect whenever the systems of banks and public organizations are hacked here. In many cases, however, it is difficult to find eviden...

Reporter's Notebook | 2017-11-03 17:03

[Reporter's Notebook] Can Korea imitate China?

One of the telltale signs reminding foreign visitors they are in China is that they do not have access to global online platforms such as Google and Facebook. While expressions such as “I can’t use Google anymore” and “I can’t post on Instagram” mean they are simply away from these online services, they also complain of China’s exclusion of itself from the international information and communications technology industry.

Reporter's Notebook | 2017-10-24 16:56

[Reporter's Notebook] 'America-first' policy to face backlash

U.S. President Donald Trump could find himself in a quandary over his protectionist stance, reaping unintended consequences. A series of protectionist measures - better known as “America-first” in his own words - are coming from Washington, raising fears that bombastic campaign pledges regarding Trump’s trade agenda are becoming a reality. Last week, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) voted 4-0 in favor of a request by Whirlpool for trade sanctions on washing machines made by Samsung and LG Electronics. Earlier this month, Seoul also had to accept U.S. pressure to begin negotiatio...

Reporter's Notebook | 2017-10-10 17:14

[Reporter's Notebook] Residents unaware of Telecom World

BUSAN -- The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Telecom World 2017 ended its “unsuccessful” four-day run, Thursday. The Swiss-based organization returned to the port city with its information and communication technology (ICT) event, following ITU Telecom Asia 2004 and the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference in 2014. However, this year it did not live up to its billing as...

Reporter's Notebook | 2017-09-29 14:58

[Reporter's Notebook] Lock&Lock deal stirs up controversy

Lock&Lock founder and CEO Kim Jun-il has come under fire over his recent decision to sell the 39-year-old Korean company to Affinity Equity Partners (AEP), one of Asia’s largest private equity firms (PEF) based in Hong Kong. The Seoul-based plastic container maker announced last Friday it signed a contract with the PEF to sell a 63.56 percent share held by the CEO and his fam...

Reporter's Notebook | 2017-08-27 16:32

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