Latest News

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  GS Retail partners with laundry service franchise to make foray into self-service laundry market SEOUL -- GS Retail, the operator of South Korea's convenience store franchise GS25, partnered with Cleantopia, a domestic laundry service franchise operator, to make a foray into the country's unmanned self-service laundry market. This is the first time for a major South Korean conglomerate to enter the laundry market where the majority of businesses are operated by private owners. According to the state statistical information service, South Korea's laundry market whic 2023-01-27
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  South Korea suffers trade deficit of $10.26 billion in the first 20 days of this month SEOUL -- South Korea posted a trade deficit of $10.26 billion in the first 20 days of this month, according to the Korea Customs Service (KCS). The sum is equivalent to 21.6 percent of last year’s trade shortfall of $47.23 billion. The deficit was attributed to a sizable fall in exports of key items such as semiconductors and petrochemical products. At the same time, imports rose considerably as the country brought in a greater amount of oil and gas from overseas. The KCS 2023-01-27
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  Science fiction film 'Jung-E' garners explosive popularity on Netflix SEOUL -- South Korean science fiction film "Jung_E," by Yeon Sang-ho, became the most watched content on Netflix's non-English chart. The film depicts a story of researchers striving to develop an artificial intelligence-based combat robot by cloning a brain of a female warrior named "Yun Jung-yi" to fight against enemies in the 22nd century. The global streaming service giant said that the South Korean film recorded some 19.3 million hours of viewing only t 2023-01-26
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  ​Unclaimed Lotto prizes top $33.54 billion won last year SEOUL -- Unclaimed Lotto prizes were estimated at 41.31 billion won ($33.54 million) last year, according to a report submitted by the Ministry of Economy and Finance to Rep. Kim Ju-young of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) on January 26. The sum offered by Lotto, the most popular lottery ticket in South Korea, included one of last year’s top prizes that was valued at 2.37 billion won, 23 cases of second prizes with 1.24 billion won, and 1,421 cases of thir 2023-01-26
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  KT teams up with Mongolian government for distribution of rare earth elements to S. Korea SEOUL -- KT, one of South Korea's three major telecom companies, will work with the Mongolian government to supply rare earth elements that would help many domestic sectors such as renewable energy, home appliances, and automotive parts to produce high-tech devices. KT will support Mongolia to carry out digital transformation projects in many different industries including medicine, finance, and media. Rare earth used as a crucial part of advanced devices are a set of 17 kinds 2023-01-26
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  Researchers develop four-legged robot capable of swiftly traveling through sandy grounds SEOUL -- Using an artificial neural network for reinforced learning, researchers from a prominent research institute have developed a quadrupedal (four-legged) robot capable of stably and swiftly traveling through sandy grounds like beaches and sand dunes. Because the legs of the dog-like robots dig into the sand and make them lose balance, the beach is one of the toughest terrains for multi-limbed robots to run through. While many autonomous robots on wheels or caterpillars are be 2023-01-26
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  Korean economy shrinks 0.4% in fourth quarter of 2022, dimming growth outlook for this year SEOUL -- The South Korean economy contracted 0.4 percent year-on-year in the fourth quarter of last year due to falling domestic consumption and exports amid sluggish global demand, runaway inflation and higher interest rates, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK) on January 26. The economic contraction was the first of its kind since the country posted a 3 percent negative growth in the second quarter of 2020 in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the fourth quart 2023-01-26
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  Virtual model Lucy to promote fashion items through live commerce show SEOUL -- Lucy, a 29-year-old virtual model created by the home shopping channel of South Korea's conglomerate Lotte, will appear in online shopping shows for bags and accessories designed by Vivienne Westwood, a global fashion brand based in London. The virtual influencer with more than 105,000 followers will interact with viewers through a monthly live commerce show on YouTube. Live commerce is a home shopping-like online service that enables two-way communication between shopp 2023-01-26
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  Autonomous vehicles to be deployed in southern city to provide paid shuttle service SEOUL -- A fleet of autonomous vehicles will be deployed to a self-driving car demonstration zone in Daegu some 249 kilometers (149 miles) south of Seoul to offer paid shuttle service. The self-driving cars will carry passengers on a circulation route through an industrial techno-valley area. South Korea's first paid shuttle service using autonomous vehicles was launched in western Seoul in December 2021. 42dot, a domestic self-driving technology startup, operated three autonom 2023-01-26
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  Number of Korean language learners steadily increases on state-run online learning service SEOUL -- The number of foreigners learning to speak Korean through an online classroom platform called "Online King Sejong Institute," run by the state-run King Sejong Institute, has reached 61,337, up 7.7 percent on-year. English speakers accounted for the largest portion with 11,683. Using PC or a mobile phone, anyone can take Korean classes after taking a level test through the online platform. Students can receive personal advice from their online instructors. For tho 2023-01-25
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  SK Telecom to upgrade AI service 'A.' through long-term memory technology SEOUL -- South Korea's top mobile carrier SK Telecom will upgrade its artificial intelligence service called "A." by adopting long-term memory technology to enable the AI secretary to remember its owner's crucial information for a long time. Users can form a strong friendship with the AI service as it can engage in a conversation without any difficulties even when humans bring back their old memories. A. (A dot) is a time-saving service that intelligently handles 2023-01-25
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  Shinsegae to open alternative meat store in premium food shopping mall located in Gangnam SEOUL -- The food product wing of South Korea's retail giant Shinsegae will open a store for its alternative meat product called "Better Meat" in a premium food store in Gangnam, the heart of fashion and trends, in southern Seoul. The retail giant saw a glimpse of success through Better Meat when some 13,000 customers visited a temporary pop-up store in Gangnam between July and December 2022. Alternative meat, also known as vegan meat, is made using plant-based ingr 2023-01-25
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  Falling semiconductor exports to take toll on economic growth SEOUL -- Falling exports of semiconductors are likely to lower the country’s economic growth to as low as 1 percent this year, according to a report released on January 25 by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI). The report predicted that if semiconductor exports decline 10 percent, the economic growth rate will drop by 0.64 percentage point. It also said that the growth rate will decrease further by 1.27 percentage points if semiconductor exports fall 20 percent. 2023-01-25
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  South Korean battery makers struggling to reduce reliance on China for key materials SEOUL -- Domestic manufacturers of electric vehicle batteries have made little progress in reducing their reliance on China for core materials, casting a dark cloud over exports of their products to the United States which discriminates against batteries made of Chinese materials under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). According to the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), South Korea imported $3.23 billion worth of lithium hydroxide, a core material for secondary batterie 2023-01-25
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  Convenience store chain CU releases meal kit brand using plant-based egg SEOUL -- Targeting South Korea's steadily growing vegan population, the country's top convenience store franchise CU released a vegan meal-kit brand using plant-based eggs. Alternative eggs created by processing mung beans, pumpkin, and soybean were included in food menus such as sandwiches. Meal kits, also known as home meal replacement (HMR) products, are convenient heat-and-eat food packages. They are favored by busy students and workers as they can easily complete the 2023-01-25
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  GS Retail makes foray into S. Korea's flower delivery service market using on-foot delivery platform SEOUL -- GS Retail, the operator of South Korea's convenience store franchise GS25, made a foray into the country's flower delivery service by forging a partnership with Songdo Flower Market, a flower wholesale marketplace located in Songdo located some 35 kilometers (21.7 miles) Seoul. The two companies will use GS Retail's on-foot delivery platform launched two years ago. According to the state statistical information service, South Korea had a 1.2 trillion won ($72.2 2023-01-25
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  ​[OPINION] President Yoon's diplomatic gaffes: Not so serious, but serious [This article was contributed by Sandip Kumar Mishra, an associate professor at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. NEW DELHI -- South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol triggered an unnecessary controversy over his remarks January 15 when he was on a four-day state visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He told Korean troops of the Akh unit stationed there that the UAE is a "brother country." He added “the security of our brother nation 2023-01-25
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  Seoul's surrounding province to install more than 76,000 EV chargers in 2023 SEOUL -- In a bid to speed up the distribution of electric cars, more than 76,000 electric vehicle chargers will be installed in Gyeonggi Province, that surrounds Seoul, this year. The number of registered electric cars in the province stood at 77,648 as of December 2022, but there were only 48,520 chargers. South Korea is striving to achieve net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050 by promoting the use of renewable energy and clean fuels. As of the third quarter of 2022, about 34 2023-01-24
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  Girl band Le Sserafim's dance song 'Antifragile' played more than 200 million times on Spotify SEOUL -- "Antifragile," the tile song of K-pop girl group Le Sserafim, has been streamed more than 200 million times for 96 days after its release on Spotify, the world's most popular music streaming service. The five-member band formed by Hybe's music label showcased young girls' firm stance to overcome various difficulties in life with a strong mentality through the dance song. According to Source Music, the title track was played more than 200 million times 2023-01-24
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  LG Uplus' canine psychology test platform attracts more than 150,000 dogs SEOUL -- For Dong, a dog personality analysis and training platform created by South Korea's mobile carrier LG Uplus, has attracted more than 150,000 registered dogs only six months after its launch. The operator of For Dong which provides personalized training programs depending on the pet's character will hold a special discount event to gain more users. For Dong provides a psychology test called "Dong Behavior Type Indicator (DBTI)." Pet owners can receive adv 2023-01-24