SouthKorea

• 
  [VOTE] S. Korea goes ahead with presidential election despite COVID-19 SEOUL -- It's like a quiet museum hallway with a dozen people standing in an orderly manner and wearing face masks and disposable gloves to prevent the spread of COVID-19 as they wait for their turn to cast ballots. Mixed emotions were clearly seen in their eyes to pick their favorite who will become South Korea's next president for a five-year term. The polling booth in southeastern Seoul was very quiet about 1:00 p.m. (0400 GMT) on March 9 with voters walking in and out as 2022-03-09
• 
  [PROFILE] Lee Jae-myung seeks presidency in hopes of lowering social barriers SEOUL -- Lee Jae-myung is a former human rights lawyer who has built his administrative career serving as city mayor and provincial governor to become a ruling party presidential candidate. He has inherited the liberal political philosophy of the late president Roh Moo-hyun who pushed for inter-Korean rapprochement, economic justice, and fundamental reform in South Korea's legal system. In an election pledge booklet, Lee said the March 9 presidential election should become an 2022-03-09
• 
  [PROFILE] Yoon Suk-yeol is unpliable political novice who portrays himself as symbol of faireness SEOUL -- Yoon Suk-yeol is an unpliable political novice who started his political career just months after he resigned as South Korea's chief public prosecutor in March 2021 at the height of his unbending rejection of a presidential order to reform the hierarchical structure of his organization. Born in Seoul in 1960 to a relatively wealthy family, Yoon studied law at Seoul National University. His father was a statistics professor at Yonsei University. During his school days, 2022-03-09
• 
  [SKETCH] Final presidential race campaign events draw thousands of people in central Seoul SEOUL -- Presidential candidates -- Lee Jae-myung and Yoon Suk-yeol engage in the final events of South Korea's 20th presidential race campaign in central Seoul on March 8, one day before the voting day. Thousands of people gathered to show support for candidates. 2022-03-09
• 
  Vestas makes foray into offshore wind power market in S. Korea SEOUL -- Vestas Wind Systems A/S, a Danish wind turbine company, made a measured foray into South Korea's offshore wind power generation market despite uncertainties caused by unexpected political wrangling over an ambitious push by the southeastern industrial port city of Ulsan to become a green energy mecca in Northeast Asia. Vestas signed a business agreement on March 7 with Ulsan City, Ulsan Port Authority and Sejin Heavy Industries, a ship component manufacturer, to jointly 2022-03-08
• 
  Busan to upgrade outdated subway safety screen doors SEOUL -- South Korea's southern port city of Busan will replace outdated safety screen doors with a new model. The protective doors installed on subway stations provide safety for passengers and station workers. Safety screen doors automatically open when a train arrives at a platform and close just before the train leaves. According to data released by Seoul, an annual average of more than 30 lives were lost on the capital city's subway platforms due to safety accidents an 2022-03-04
• 
  New regulations worked out to expedite use of fuel recycled from plastic waste SEOUL -- South Korea will expedite the use of recycled fuels made from plastic waste for the production of petrochemical products and materials by enforcing new regulations. Recycled fuels are produced through a pyrolysis method involving extreme heat and pressure to break down plastics into oil. The Environment Ministry said it would give a 40-day grace period before revising a law governing waste materials to help companies work out new measures for pyrolysis. Previously, pyrolys 2022-03-03
• 
  Seoul demonstrates drone smart poles to monitor illegal parking and traffic congestion SEOUL -- Seoul City has started the demonstration of two smart poles equipped with surveillance drones for the first time in the country. The drones will monitor illegal parking and traffic congestion. Smart poles will provide a charging station for drones. Smart poles are smart city street light facilities equipped with artificial intelligence (AI)-based closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras, free WiFi, internet of things (IoT)-based sensors. They can detect abnormal activiti 2022-03-02
• 
  ​S. Korea to provide $150 mln subsidies to accelerate adoption of electric bikes SEOUL -- South Korea's environment ministry will accelerate the adoption of electric motorbikes through an 18 billion won ($150.3 million) project in 2022. Subsidies will be provided for some 20,000 electric motorbikes and scooters. The project targets the country's rapidly growing food delivery service market with some 350,000 delivery workers. Some 30,000 food delivery workers ride gasoline engine motorcycles in Seoul. However, electric motorbikes are shunned by deliveryme 2022-02-28
• 
  Researchers develop high-performance solid polymer battery technology for electric vehicles SEOUL -- A state research body in South Korea has developed an innovative polymer technology that can accelerate the commercialization of high-performance and stable all-solid-state batteries for electric vehicles. For commercialization, the institute will transfer its technology to Energyn, a domestic battery equipment manufacturer. All-solid-state batteries can have a higher energy density than lithium-ion batteries. Solid-state batteries enable faster charging, higher voltage and 2022-02-25
• 
  Researchers develop efficient method to recycle discarded plastics into raw materials SEOUL -- A state-run research body in South Korea has developed a cost-effective and low-energy method to chemically decompose discarded plastics at ambient temperature. Unlike the conventional method which generates lots of carbon emissions, the new method returns plastics to pre-synthesis raw materials without consuming too much energy. The Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT) said that its research team has developed a depolymerization technology that can comp 2022-02-24
• 
  S. Korea to secure aerospace-related carbon material technologies by investing $418 mln SEOUL -- South Korea earmarked some 500 billion won ($418.1 million) through a four-year state project to secure independent core technologies related to carbon materials with ultra-light and high-intensity features which are used for aircraft wings, satellite projectiles and space probe fuselages. Carbon materials that take many different forms including graphite, carbon fiber, carbon nanotube, graphene and fullerene have been applied to electronic, electromagnetic, electrochemical 2022-02-18
• 
  Seoul to provide subsidies for 27,000 EVs in 2022 to boost adoption of eco-friendly cars SEOUL -- To accelerate the adoption of eco-friendly cars, Seoul will provide subsidies for 27,000 electric vehicles in 2022. The city government will focus on the popularization of eco-friendly vehicle types that are closely connected to people's livelihood such as electric bikes, electric school buses and electric taxis. Since 2009, Seoul embarked on a plan to widely adopt electric vehicles (EVs) and set up charging infrastructure for future eco-friendly vehicle users. In 2010 2022-02-14
• 
  Seoul to establish local logistics centers for improved efficiency and employment SEOUL -- Seoul City will demonstrate local community-based logistics centers on idle spaces nearby residential areas including apartment complexes. The parcel delivery centers will ease the work burden of some 30,000 parcel delivery workers by providing last-mile parcel delivery services. Last-mile is a term used to describe the final leg of the delivery process. The community-based logistics centers will help parcel deliverymen save time by locally hiring last-mile deliverymen who wil 2022-02-14
• 
  Seoul to start commercial operation of autonomous vehicle-hailing service SEOUL -- South Korea's capital city will launch a commercialized autonomous vehicle-hailing service. A total of four self-driving vehicles will be deployed to cover two different routes of 5.3 kilometers (3.2 miles) and four kilometers. Self-driving cars can be hailed from any location on the circulation routes using a designated smartphone app. The capital city's commercial autonomous shuttle service is part of Seoul's plan to introduce at least 50 autonomous vehicle 2022-02-09
• 
  S. Korean consumers choose perfumes over color makeup to express themselves : consumer data SEOUL -- The perfume sales of the department store wing of South Korea's retail giant Lotte Group have recorded an annual average growth rate of 40 percent since the first outbreak of COVID-19 in South Korea in early 2020. The department store said more consumers choose perfumes over color makeup products to express their unique identities. Currently, wearing a face mask is compulsory inside office buildings, public transport and other indoor and outdoor public facilities. Lott 2022-02-09
• 
  S. Korea to develop 100-ton-class liquid-propellant rocket engine aiming for moon SEOUL -- Through a 49.6 billion won ($41.4 million) state project, South Korea's science ministry will develop a 100-ton-class liquid-propellant rocket engine to send a probe to the moon. While solid-propellant rockets are used in military armament or as light launch vehicles because of their simplicity and reliability, liquid-propellant rockets offer more efficiency and precise control. Liquid-fueled rockets are mostly used to shoot satellites or projectiles into an orbit or f 2022-02-08
• 
  ​S. Korea to release blueprint for universal adoption of RPA solutions in administrative sector SEOUL -- South Korea will reveal a blueprint that would help the government accelerate the adoption of robot process automation solutions specialized in processing simple and repetitive tasks such as punching in numbers into spreadsheets and sorting data by categories. Robot process automation (RPA) solutions are regarded as a key component for digital transformation, a worldwide industrial trend that turns old-fashioned businesses based on paperwork and manual data sorting into a m 2022-02-08
• 
  Busan recycles living trees to create green spaces called 'tree bank' SEOUL -- Using living trees that were donated or retrieved from construction areas, the southern port city of Busan has created green spaces called "tree banks" that can also help the city government reduce operational costs and store carbon. Busan has been operating the tree bank project since 2021. The project can reduce particulate matter, microscopic dust particles that generate various diseases by penetrating into a lung. The tree bank project can also lower the gene 2022-02-08
• 
  S. Korea demonstrates robot chefs at boot camp to help military cooks SEOUL -- South Korea's defense ministry tested four different types of robot chefs to reduce the burden of military cooks and risks of safety accidents. Currently, some 24 human military cooks are in charge of some 3,000 soldiers' meals at the country's largest army boot camp in Nonsan some 154 kilometers (96 miles) south of Seoul. South Korea currently has about 550,000 young men serving their mandatory military service. Every able-bodied South Korean male aged 18 to 2 2022-02-07