Latest News

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  Lotte's ecommerce wing adopts KT's AI-based smart logistics platform for efficient management SEOUL -- Lotte On, the ecommerce wing of South Korean retail giant Lotte Group, partnered with KT, the country's biggest telecom company, to adopt an artificial intelligence-based smart logistics platform. The smart platform will help Lotte's logistics services efficiently reduce carbon emissions by managing the routes and daily schedules of delivery trucks. AI and big data are widely used in the logistics sector to optimize the operation of facilities, transports, and manp 2023-02-01
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  Hybe's digital cartoon 'Dark Moon: The Blood Altar' garners more than 100 million views SEOUL -- "Dark Moon: The Blood Altar," a digital cartoon created by the agency of BTS and published by Naver Webtoon, the web cartoon wing of South Korea's top web portal service operator Naver, has gained more than 100 million views since it was released 13 months ago. The web cartoon entered the top five in seven language services including German, Spanish, English, and Chinese. The web cartoon depicts the story of a unique relationship between a teenage girl attend 2023-02-01
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  Samsung Electronics not to slash investment or production this year SEOUL -- Samsung Electronics has made it clear that it will not reduce investment or production this year in the face of its deteriorating performance and falling global demand for semiconductors. The clarification came on January 31 when Samsung, the world’s largest memory chip and smartphone maker, announced its disappointing earnings results for 2022. The company said that its sales hit an all-time high of 302.23 trillion won ($245.55 billion) last year, up 8.1 percent 2023-02-01
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  ​Bio-venture unicorn GI Innovation prepares for stock market debut SEOUL -- Bio-venture unicorn GI Innovation is preparing for the company's debut in South Korea's stock market in March. The bio-venture said it will submit registration document to the Financial Services Commission and start the listing process in February. The bio-venture unicorn has two main pipelines -- "GI-101," an immunotherapy agent, and "GI-301," an allergy treatment drug candidate. The company forged license agreements with Yuhan, a pharmaceuti 2023-01-31
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  BTS agency Hybe acquires AI audio technology startup Supertone SEOUL -- Targeting the artificial intelligence-based audio market, the agency of BTS has acquired Supertone, an AI voice synthesis technology startup in South Korea. Supertone's sound technology was used in Disney+'s drama series "Big Bet" to reproduce the voice of Choi Min-sik, a 60-year-old veteran actor who was playing a role of a young character in his 30s. Hybe said in a statement on January 31 that the company secured a 56.1 percent stake in Supertone by inv 2023-01-31
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  Joint research team develops high-performance electrode for EV and smartphone batteries SEOUL -- A joint team of researchers has developed a high-performance electrode for lithium-ion batteries that are commonly used in smartphones, laptops, and electric vehicles. The newly-developed anode, which is the positively-charged electrode, can significantly increase the performance of devices and the lifespan of batteries. Normally, lithium-ion batteries are produced by shaping the battery by coating and drying a mixture of active materials that chemically react to gene 2023-01-31
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  US utility company AEP to receive $86 mln worth of transformers from Hyundai Electric SEOUL -- Hyundai Electric, a domestic electrical equipment manufacturer and energy solution provider, has clinched an order worth 106.2 billion won ($86 million) to supply transformers to American Electric Power (AEP), a U.S.-based electricity utility company that oversees power distribution in 11 states. A total of 3,500 transformers crucial in power grids for residential areas will be provided to the U.S. company with some 5 million customers. Data cited by Hyundai Electric showe 2023-01-31
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  IMF slashes South Korea's 2023 economic outlook to 1.7 percent SEOUL -- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) lowered its 2023 growth projection for South Korea to 1.7 percent from its earlier figure of 2 percent. The fund made the 0.3 percentage-point downward revision in a quarterly update to its World Economic Outlook report released in Singapore on January 31. It also revised down its 2024 outlook for Korea to 2.6 percent from the previous prediction of 2.7 percent. The lowered projection is in contrast to the IMF’s upward revi 2023-01-31
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  [OPINION] Vietnam War: anniversary and legacies KENOSHA, Wisconsin -- The Vietnam War ended officially on January 27, 1973, with the signing of the Paris Peace Accords. The governments of North Vietnam, South Vietnam, and the United States, plus the revolutionary National Liberation Front (NLF, which included the military Viet Cong) were par 2023-01-31
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  Researchers develop non-EMP anti-drone technology ideal for urban environments SEOUL -- A team of researchers from a prominent state research institute has developed an anti-drone technology that can neutralize drones in mid-air without using electromagnetic pulse waves that can also damage nearby electronic devices. The technology can also be used for pinpointing enemy drones without risks of damaging ally unmanned aerial vehicles. Drones in urban areas can be really tricky to shoot down. Currently, the most effective way to take down a flying drone is to us 2023-01-31
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  KT Skylife releases lightweight electric wheelchair for vulnerable road users SEOUL -- KT Skylife, a satellite broadcasting provider affiliated with South Korea's major telecom company KT, rolled out a lightweight electric wheelchair that would help reduce the inconvenience of people with mobility problems. The smart wheelchair can travel up to 45 kilometers (27.9 miles) on a single charge and can be loaded into a small passenger car's trunk. The electric wheelchair weighing 30 kilograms (66.1 pounds) is called Auto Wheel. Using a Bluetooth-based con 2023-01-31
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  Industrial output falls 1.6% in December amid economic slowdown SEOUL -- Industrial production in South Korea decreased 1.6 percent in December 2022 from a month earlier as the manufacturing sector took the brunt of an economic downturn, according to data released by Statistics Korea on January 31. The fall was the steepest since industrial production declined 1.8 percent month-on-month in April 2020 following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. It came after industrial production increased 0.4 percent in November. Industrial productio 2023-01-31
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  Marine ministry to invest $295.1 mln to accelerate distribution of eco-friendly vessels SEOUL -- South Korea's marine ministry will inject 362.3 billion won ($295.1 million) into the private and public sectors in 2023 to accelerate the development and deployment of eco-friendly vessels that use liquefied natural gas, hydrogen, or electricity as their main source of fuel in a bid to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases by 50 percent in 2050, compared to the total amount (11.8 million tons) emitted by ships in 2017. Through a 30-year roadmap to go drastically red 2023-01-30
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  Domestic service industry suffers cumulative trade deficit of $252 billion SEOUL -- The domestic services industry needs to take measures to reduce its snowballing trade deficit, the Korea Enterprises Federation (KEF) said in a report on January 29. The KEF estimated the services sector’s cumulative trade shortfall at $252.9 billion (321.3 trillion won) between 2000 and 2021. The figure was in contrast to an average surplus of $727.3 billion for G-7 industrialized countries. South Korea’s loss was less than Germany’s shortfall of $ 2023-01-30
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  Nongshim's Shin Ramyun pop-up store captivates young spicy instant noodle lovers SEOUL -- Dressed in casual jackets and coats, young spicy food lovers flocked to an offline pop-up store filled with various games and products related to Shin Ramyun, a top South Korean brand of instant noodles well known for its spicy flavor. Despite the cold and rainy weather, some 50 people holding an umbrella visited the store where various items such as pop sockets and keyboard protectors with Shin Ramyun's brandmark engraved greeted them. Some of them took selfies with a sta 2023-01-30
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  14yr-old snowboarder Choi Ga-on breaks youngest record in Winter X Games' superpipe event SEOUL -- For the first time in the history of South Korea's winter games, a prodigy snowboarder named Choi Ga-on has grabbed a gold medal in a superpipe competition event at the Winter X Games, an annual extreme winter sports event, held in Aspen, Colorado. The 14-year-old also broke the record for the youngest medal winner of the event. The term superpipe refers to a competition event held in a large halfpipe structure used in extreme sports such as snowboarding and freestyle 2023-01-30
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  Lifting of indoor mask mandate unlikely to help improve consumer sentiment SEOUL -- South Korea’s lifting of the mask mandate for most indoor places on January 30 is unlikely to help speed up an economic recovery immediately. Economists said it is uncertain if the improved COVID-19 situation will be a shot in the arm for the slumping economy, pointing out that runaway inflation and high interest rates are still weighing on consumer sentiment. Soaring heating bills this winter and an anticipated hike in public utility charges are predicted to force 2023-01-30
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  South Korea's passenger car exports hit all-time high of $49 billion in 2022 SEOUL -- South Korea’s passenger car exports reached a record high of $49.02 billion last year, helped by rising global demand for eco-friendly models, according to the Korea Customs Service (KCS) on January 30. The sum represented a robust 15 percent increase from 2021. The number of exported cars climbed 10.1 percent year-on-year to 2.31 million units. The KCS said the upbeat performance was attributed to a surge in the shipments of environmental-friendly cars, a stabil 2023-01-30
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  KT's financial services wing partners with Mongolia's central bank to establish payment linkage system SEOUL -- BC Card, the financial services wing of South Korea's major telecom company KT, will work with the central bank of Mongolia to establish a payment linkage system between South Korea and Mongolia. Mongolians can use their national payment system using automatic teller machines in South Korea. According to data released by South Korea’s foreign ministry, 39,746 Mongolians were living in South Korea as of June 2022. A total of 113,864 Mongolian tourists visited Sout 2023-01-30
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  Online secondhand market Joonggonara and 7-Eleven officially launches safe offline trading service SEOUL -- Joongonara, South Korea's largest online secondhand market platform operated by Eugene Asset Management, and convenience store franchise 7-Eleven have kicked its safe offline secondhand trading service into full gear. The service was tested in the southern Seoul district of Gangnam earlier this month. According to the Korea Internet & Security Agency, South Korea's internet watchdog, the country has an online secondhand trading market standing at about 24 trill 2023-01-30