Latest News

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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
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  Eight overseas Korean restaurants designated as outstanding eateries for popularizing Korean food SEOUL -- The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs designated outstanding Korean restaurants in foreign countries based on 21 requirements including food quality, hygiene, and contribution to the popularization of Korean dishes. The ministry provides recognition awards for selected restaurants as well as financial support. On January 26, the ministry designated eight restaurants with the state-run Korean Food Promotion Institute. Jeongsik Jeongsik is a New York-based 2023-01-27
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  National pension fund to be depleted in 2055, two year earlier than previously predicted SEOUL -- South Korea’s national pension fund for salaried workers is expected to be depleted completely in 2055, 14 years after it begins to record a deficit, according to a committee evaluating the financial soundness of the fund. The finding said that the depletion will come two years earlier than the committee’s previous calculation conducted five years ago, if the current pension scheme remains unchanged. The panel, affiliated with the Ministry of Health and W 2023-01-27
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  LS Electric clinches $39.7 mln order to build railway signaling system in Taiwan SEOUL -- LS Electric, a power solution provider affiliated with South Korea's LS Group, has clinched an order worth $39.7 million from Taiwan's railway operator to build a railway signaling system that provides various operation conditions for moving trains. Through the establishment of the safety system, the company aims to secure its foothold in the Southeast Asian market. The railway signaling system is crucial for locomotive engineers as it ensures that there is enoug 2023-01-27
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  ​S. Korea to invest $215 mln into five-year development project for AI technologies for everyday environments SEOUL -- South Korea will invest some 265 billion won ($215 million) for a five-year project that aims to develop artificial intelligence technologies that can be utilized by people in their everyday environments. AI used in various sectors including the administrative, legislative, judicial, and public sectors will eventually help boost the country's AI technology capability. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo held the second National Data Policy Committee meeting on January 25 and r 2023-01-27
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  South Korea's kimchi imports hit record high of $169.4 million last year SEOUL -- South Korea’s imports of kimchi, a traditional Korean side dish made of fermented cabbage, hit a record high of $169.4 million last year, according to the Korea Customs Service (KCS). The sum marked a 20.4 percent increase from 2021. The surge of kimchi imports was attributed to soaring inflation which made consumers prefer cheaper products from China. Locally made kimchi products became expensive due to high prices of cabbage and other ingredients. The increase 2023-01-27
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  Researchers develop AI technology capable of predicting cardiovascular events for stroke patients SEOUL -- Researchers have developed an artificial intelligence-based solution capable of predicting the risk and date of cardiovascular events, which can cause serious damage to the heart muscle, in patients who previously had a stroke. Cardiovascular events, which result in physical disability and even death, are known to take place after suffering from a severe brain attack. A stroke is a severe brain disease that happens when the blood vessels supplying blood to the brain are bl 2023-01-27
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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