SouthKorea

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  Provincial government to develop and demonstrate interchangeable battery packs for electric bikes SEOUL -- A provincial government in South Korea will establish a testbed for interchangeable battery packs used in electric bikes as part of a scheme to go completely carbon-zero by 2050. Replaceable battery packs will be provided through sharing stations where bike riders can easily change cell packs in less than a few minutes. Interchangeable battery pack systems for electric bikes, scooters and mopeds are developed across the world to solve urban transport problems and reduce th 2022-04-06
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  Seoul to accelerate commercialization of low-carbon tech through support for SMEs SEOUL -- To accelerate the commercialization of low-carbon emission technologies, Seoul will offer a support package including subsidies and technical support for small and medium-sized enterprises that research and develop eco-friendly technologies. In 2021, the capital city launched a pilot project to nurture small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) specializing in material recycling to solve urban problems caused by discarded batteries including high-performance lithium batte 2022-04-06
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  Seoul to nurture global beauty and fashion industry through 168 mln dollar project SEOUL -- Seoul will carry out its five-year plan to secure its foothold in the global fashion and beauty market through a 204 billion won ($167.9 million) project. More beauty and fashion-related jobs and companies will be created and various business advantages including tax benefits, loans and incentives will be provided. Seoul houses four world-class beauty product makers -- LG Household, Amore Pacific, Able C&C and Clio Cosmetics. The capital city also has cosmetics startup 2022-04-05
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  S. Korea's biodegradable thread on sale as fishing line material in U.S. market SEOUL -- Fishing lines made of biodegradable plastic thread produced by a South Korean company are on sale in the United States through Amazon and other channels. Biodegradable fishing lines contribute to preventing marine pollution and ghost fishing, an aquatic phenomenon in which animals get caught by nylon nets that were abandoned or lost. Because of their extremely tough characteristics, fishnets made of nylon become "ghost nets" that damage fish stock and vessels. Aba 2022-03-30
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  State project launched to develop AI gait analysis platform for criminal investigation SEOUL -- South Korea launched a state project to develop an advanced gait analysis system for scientific criminal investigations, based on artificial intelligence and deep learning, nearly nine years after related technology was demonstrated by a British expert who played a crucial role in catching a criminal. In 2013, a criminal ran away after throwing a firebomb at the home of a former intelligence agency chief in Seoul, but investigators failed to identify him due to the poor ima 2022-03-28
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  [FOCUS] New president Yoon makes strong push to revitalize nuclear power industry SEOUL -- With weeks to go before taking office, South Korea's next president Yoon Suk-yeol is making an early push to revitalize South Korea's struggling nuclear power industry, risking a strained relationship with his predecessor who has prioritized the establishment of infrastructure for renewable energy sources such as solar panels and wind farms, as well as a hydrogen economy during his five-year term to achieve net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050. Much of Yoon&# 2022-03-25
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  Seoul to open chef incubator to help millennials and Gen Z start food businesses SEOUL -- Seoul City will start a chef incubation project to nurture trainees in their 20s and 30s who wish to start their own food businesses. Through the free, four-month incubation project, young South Koreans will learn how to operate restaurants, create recipes and use delivery platforms to accelerate sales. Due to strict government social distancing guidelines prompted by a coronavirus pandemic in 2020, the average monthly sales of domestic restaurants were 27.3 million won ( 2022-03-25
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  Two consortiums launched to develop core components for small satellite launch vehicle SEOUL -- The development of core components for a small satellite launch vehicle gained speed after the government selected two more consortiums involving private companies, research institutes or schools, as part of South Korea's broad space program aimed at catching up with frontrunners in the world's civilian-led space market. South Korea unveiled a 10-year "Space Pioneer" project in 2021 to spend some 211.5 billion won ($174 million) on raising the localization 2022-03-23
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  S. Korea to legalize utilization of recycled seashell waste to produce limestone and cosmetics materials SEOUL -- South Korea will legalize the utilization of recycled seashell wastes to produce alternative materials for limestone and cosmetics products. Currently, fishery byproducts including oyster shells, seashells and abalone shells are only allowed to be used as construction raw materials and fertilizers. About one million tons of seashells are abandoned in South Korea every year. The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said in a statement on March 23 that the newly revised law will 2022-03-23
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  S. Korea presents action plan to develop lunar probe for space mission SEOUL -- South Korea presented an action plan to develop a lunar lander weighing more than 1.5 tons that would carry out scientific research on the surface of the moon in the 2030s. The project is to begin in 2024 after a preliminary feasibility study. The Ministry of Science and ICT would form a working group of industry-academic experts to conduct research on a lunar lander and draw up strategies and detailed plans by August 2022. It is a follow-up project to launch a lunar orbi 2022-03-22
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  Southern seaside county to demonstrate duck-chasing drone system to protect blood clam farms SEOUL -- The southern seaside county of Goheung will develop and demonstrate an artificial intelligence-based drone system to chase off wild ducks that damage blood clam farms. Gohueng County is South Korea's largest blood clam production area with an annual production capacity of about 500 tons. Blood clams, also known as blood cockles, contain hemoglobin in their soft tissues. However, despite their gruesome look, the blood-dripping clams are enjoyed across South Korea as a w 2022-03-17
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  Seoul to demonstrate AI care call service to look after single elderlies SEOUL -- An artificial intelligence-based care call service will be demonstrated in a southern Seoul district to look after vulnerable single elderlies. The voice robot will regularly call old people to monitor their health and notify their human caregivers in case of an emergency. The number of single-person households has been rapidly increasing in South Korea with a population of about 52 million. Data released by the national statistics office in 2021 showed that 1.6 million ar 2022-03-14
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  Energy road map faces inevitable modifications under new conservative government SEOUL -- South Korea's energy roadmap pushed by President Moon Jae-in to achieve net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050 in response to a global agenda for fighting climate change faces inevitable modifications as his successor regards renewable energy as an auxiliary means for nuclear power plants. President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, who scored a narrow victory in presidential voting on March 9, has criticized Moon's "nuclear-exit" policy of phasing out nuclear powe 2022-03-14
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  Seoul to promote domestic indie fashion brands using virtual promotion agent SEOUL -- Seoul will pick a virtually-created intern agent to promote various indie fashion brands at a fashion and art plaza in central Seoul. The virtual human will also work as an ambassador of Dongdaemun district, South Korea's fashion and tourism hub. Virtual influencers have been used to promote products and brands of popular companies in South Korea targeting Seoul to open chef incubator to help GS25 to issue NFTs for student's popular riceball snack to arouse nostalg 2022-03-11
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  S. Korea's next first lady proposes modest social activities to help underprivileged SEOUL -- The scandal-stricken wife of president-elect Yoon Suk-yeol broke her intended silence during her husband's election trail to issue a humble message defining the duty of her role as the first lady and proposed social activities to help those in the shadow of growth and the underprivileged. "I will help the president-elect faithfully carry out the calling given by the people, to the best of my poor ability by his side," Kim Keon-hee said in a message released b 2022-03-10
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  Conservative opposition candidate Yoon elected as president in close race SEOUL -- Yoon Suk-yeol, a prosecutor-turned politician from South Korea's conservative main opposition party, vowed to put national unity as the top priority of his policy after he was elected as president in a thrillingly close race that revealed a gap between generations, genders and regions. It was the closest race in South Korea's election history with Yoon coming from behind to defeat Lee Jae-myung by a margin of 0.73 percent. After ballot counting was completed, Yoon 2022-03-10
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  [VOTE] Presidential candidates Yoon and Lee locked in tight race SEOUL -- Low murmuring of voices and bustling of jackets filled two separate theaters where South Korean ruling and opposition party lawmakers gathered to watch the counting of ballots after exit polls showed split results. The race has become too close to predict. Members from the ruling Democratic Party (DP) and the conservative opposition People Power Party (PPP) largely remained calm and whispered to each other with serious faces. Some smiled and patted fellow lawmakers' 2022-03-09
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  [VOTE] Exit polls show nip and tuck match between ruling and opposition candidates SEOUL -- South Korea's presidential race became unpredictable with exit polls showing different results between ruling party candidate Lee Jae-myung and main opposition candidate Yoon Suk-yeol. They are predicted to garner less than 50 percent of the vote. Yoon of the conservative main opposition People Power Party is predicted to win 48.4 percent by a narrow margin of 0.6 percent over Lee of the ruling Democratic Party who is expected to collect 47.8 percent, according to a joi 2022-03-09
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  [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
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  [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