SouthKorea

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  Busan presents itself as suitable UN partner to build prototype of sustainable floating city SEOUL -- Busan, a main maritime gateway in South Korea, hopes to participate in a United Nations project to build sustainable floating cities which have been presented as a solution to ensure climate resilience. The port city was enthusiastic, saying it would seek to conclude a partnership agreement early with UN-Habitat, a UN agency responsible for sustainable urban development. In a video conference with Victor Kisob, the deputy executive director of UN-Habitat, on August 5, May 2021-08-06
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  Economic groups regard S. Korea's energy transition roadmap as excessive SEOUL -- A draft road map presented by a special presidential committee contained a broad national goal to achieve net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050 in response to a global agenda for fighting climate change. Economic groups acknowledged the need for specific action plans but opposed any radical steps that could undermine the competitiveness of South Korean industries. The committee chaired by Yun Sun-jin, a Seoul National University professor, serves as the control tower 2021-08-05
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  Excavation confirms world’s largest dolmen as Bronze Age graveyard SEOUL -- South Korea's largest Bronze Age dolmen discovered in 2007 during the construction of a residential development zone has been officially recognized as a graveyard, not an altar, ending years of debate in the academic community over its purpose. The dolmen in Gimhae is 7.3 meters long, 5.0 meters wide, and 4.0 meters thick, and weighs 350 tons. Gimhae City said on July 30 that the dolmen in Gusan-dong turned out to be a graveyard built around the 1st century BC. Through 2021-08-02
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  S. Korea to lead international standardization of green hydrogen production technology SEOUL -- South Korea will lead the international standardization of green hydrogen production technology. The country’s standards agency predicted that the standardization will boost South Korea’s presence in the global hydrogen economy. Green hydrogen does not generate greenhouse gases during its production process. It is created using a water electrolysis technique based on renewable energy sources. Many hydrogen companies have adopted water electrolysis technologies t 2021-07-30
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  S. Korea approves fast-track commercialization of artificial corneal transplant SEOUL -- South Korea’s drug ministry paved a way for a new treatment of corneal disorders by approving artificial corneas as an innovative medical device for the first time. The ministry said the device will provide new treatment opportunities for patients suffering from severe eye problems which can lead to blindness. Through a series of evaluations, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety designates innovative medical devices with better capabilities than conventional equipment 2021-07-29
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  ​S. Korea launches state project to create disaster risk map for land creep SEOUL -- South Korea will create a digital disaster risk map for land creeping, which is the slow downslope movement of soil layers due to the influence of groundwater and external impacts in the mountain slope. There were no latest figures, but some 35 land creep cases were reported in 2018. While devastating landslides occur on the top layer of soil to sweep down the mountain slope at fast speeds, a land creep phenomenon literally takes place at a creeping speed. Trees and other i 2021-07-28
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  S. Korea to demonstrate smartphone alarm service to warn citizens about nearby sex offenders SEOUL -- South Korea will demonstrate a smartphone alarm service that can warn users about the presence of nearby sex offenders. When a person shakes his or her smartphone three times, location information will be uploaded onto a control tower so that monitoring agents can look for offenders wearing digital ankle bracelets in the vicinity of 20 meters (65 feet). According to the Ministry of Justice, there are some 4,830 sex offenders wearing ankle bracelets equipped with a GPS track 2021-07-26
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  S. Korea to build pyrolysis recycling center for ocean waste at southern port city SEOUL -- South Korea will build a recycling center that uses the pyrolysis technique to break down plastic ocean waste into fuel. The center will be built at the southern port city of Tongyeong, which has one of the country's biggest fish resources. About 50 percent of ocean waste in South Korea is composed of fishnets and buoys made of plastic. Fishnets that are lost or abandoned cause damage to the marine environment. A pyrolysis process breaks down plastics and vinyl to conve 2021-07-20
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  S. Korea earmarks $35.38 bln investment by 2030 in battery industry SEOUL -- In a bid to take the upper hand in the global battery war, South Korea will spend some 40.6 trillion won ($35.38 billion) by 2030 on securing an unchallengeable production base and the release of next-generation products ahead of China and other countries. The government pledged full support for the development of technologies. The strategy was unveiled in a rally chaired by President Moon Jae-in at the battery plant run by LG Energy Solution (LGES), the battery-making 2021-07-08
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  S. Korea launches project to establish AI-based smart sewer system SEOUL -- South Korea has selected some 33 locations to set up artificial intelligence-based smart sewerage systems in a bid to prevent overflowing and reduce sewer smell and gases that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. Sewer gases are a byproduct that builds up during the breakdown of natural human waste inside a sewer system. Such gases include hydrogen sulfide and ammonia that cause awful smells. Research data showed that sewer gases contribute to greenhouse gas emissions wh 2021-07-07
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  S. Korea embarks on development of eco-friendly fishing boats powered by hybrid engine SEOUL -- South Korea has launched a state project to develop an eco-friendly and power-efficient hybrid propulsion system for small coastal fishing boats that would generate positive environmental benefits, reduce maritime greenhouse gas emissions and improve the working environment of fishermen. The most probable design is a combustion engine combined with battery power. With an injection of 28.9 billion won ($25.5 million) until 2025, a consortium led by the state-run Korea Instit 2021-07-06
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  S. Korea raises obligatory mixing ratio of biodiesel for automotive diesel engines SEOUL -- South Korea revised rules on the obligatory mixing ratio of biodiesel for automotive diesel engines. Biodiesel is made by chemically reacting lipids such as animal fat, soybean oil, or some other vegetable oil with alcohol, producing a methyl, ethyl, or propyl ester. It is usually blended with petrodiesel typically to less than 10 percent since most engines cannot run on pure biodiesel without modification. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said that a bill to revi 2021-06-22
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  Government green campaign reactivated to kick out disposable cups in Jeju SEOUL -- Starbucks will join a government green campaign to kick out disposable cups on South Korea's southern resort island of Jeju. The campaign began in 2018 when coffee shops in Seoul were ordered to provide mug cups or renewable cups for customers drinking inside. However, the ban was lifted temporarily in 2020 due to a COVID-19 pandemic. The environment ministry signed a cooperation agreement with Jeju Island, Korea Airports Corporation, Starbucks, SK Telecom (SKT), CJ Log 2021-06-02
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  New launchpad for S. Korea's space rocket put into final testing at state space center SEOUL -- A new launchpad for South Korea's three-stage space rocket was put into final testing after engineers erected a qualification model at a state space center. Various performance verification tests will be carried out for one month for the launchpad that would be used for an actual flight model in October. The certification test for the newly constructed second launch pad with a height of 48 meters began at the Naro Space Center in the southern coastal town of Goheung, ac 2021-06-01
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  KAERI verifies low enriched uranium fuel at Belgian high-performance nuke reactor SEOUL -- South Korean and Belgian nuclear research bodies will conduct joint research to verify the performance of high-density low enriched uranium nuclear fuels at a high-performance research reactor. Upon successful verification, the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) will be qualified to export nuclear fuel. KAERI said it would work with Belgia's nuclear research institute, SCK CEN, on a five-year study to verify the performance of high-density low-enriched ura 2021-06-01
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  ​S. Korea starts construction of greenhouse-type smart farm in Kazakhstan SEOUL -- South Korea has started the construction of a greenhouse-type smart farm in Kazakhstan. The smart farm optimized for tough climate environments such as heavy rain and snow will be used as a demonstration site for the promotion of South Korean smart farm technologies to the global market. A smart farm is an automated indoor farm. Because it protects crops from the outside environment, farmers can stably grow plants without having to worry about bad weather and vermin. Resear 2021-05-25
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  [FOCUS] Seoul unafraid of China's retaliation in pushing for free missile development SEOUL -- South Korea was apparently unafraid of a potential backlash from China in securing U.S. consent on the termination of a 42-year-old missile pact to push for the free development of long-range weapons that could destroy inland targets across the Yellow Sea. The ostensible reason was an ever-growing international race to develop space technologies. It was attributable to a U.S. strategy to check China and establish a triangular security alliance as deterrence against Beijin 2021-05-24
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  Seoul to commercialize smart street poles for enhanced safety SEOUL -- After a three-month demonstration, Seoul has chosen to increase the number of smart street poles that would improve the safety and convenience of citizens. Such poles can be used for other purposes such as base stations for lifesaving drones and disaster-monitoring posts. The demonstration of 26 smart street poles equipped with lights, free WiFi service broadcasting devices, various internet of things (IoT) sensors, and closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras began in cr 2021-05-20
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  Firefighters develop light fire hose reel backpack for mountain operation SEOUL -- A backpack equipped with a light fire hose reel has been developed for operations in mountainous areas. The backpack containing a 100-meter-long hose weighs only nine kilograms (19 pounds). ​Commercialization will be done by the end of 2021 for deployment at fire stations. To put out fires in mountains or alleyways between buildings where fire trucks cannot reach, firefighters should carry 200-meter-long fire hose reels that weigh 56 kg each. The fire hose consists of short 2021-05-20
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  S. Korea reveals roadmap for development of smart logistics technologies SEOUL -- South Korea has revealed a roadmap to accelerate the development and commercialization of smart logistics service models. Demonstration complexes will be set up to test services such as autonomous parcel delivery and automated logistics center management systems. The roadmap comes on the heels of quick growth in the domestic parcel logistics market. According to data released by the National Logistics Information Center, South Korea's private parcel logistics market sto 2021-05-20