Lisa of Blackpink will visit fans in Asia for the first time on her own in November, according to a local media report Wednesday. She will be hosting fan meetups in the region with plans to visit Singapore, Bangkok, Jakarta, Kaohsiung and Hong Kong in mid-November, the report said. The artist, as a solo act, won the Best K-Pop Award from the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards with “Rockstar” earlier this month and is set to headline the Global Citizen Festival in New York this weekend. &l

South Korea's prosecution is facing a dilemma over the high-profile luxury Dior bag case involving first lady Kim Keon Hee, as the investigation review committee for the nation's top prosecution body gave the upper hand to the pastor who wishes to be indicted in the graft case in hopes of bringing the first lady to the court. A 15-member independent review committee for the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Tuesday night recommended that Korean-American pastor Choi Jae-young be indicted for his allege

After completing his annual bestselling series “Trend Korea” for the upcoming year, Seoul National University professor Kim Rando lamented that "grandeur has disappeared." Next year, Kim explained, will mark a shift from the grand to the details, with an emphasis on paying attention to small details and subtle differences. Now in its 17th year, the "Trend Korea" series forecasts consumer trends for the upcoming year through 10 key predictions, with allusion to the

Korea Water Resources Corporation, or K-water showcased Wednesday its cutting-edge "super gap" technologies and a range of innovations to tackle water-related risks at the 3rd Asia International Water Week in Beijing, marking a significant step toward securing leadership in the global water technology market. At the six-day event, K-water, Korea's state-run water management agency, hosted a special session focused on climate change and the advancement of digital water management w

Despite the South Korean government increasing the quota of non-professional work visas to an all-time high this year, less than 30,000 have actually been recruited so far, data from the Ministry of Employment and Labor showed Wednesday. As of July, 29,316 foreign nationals were issued the E-9 visa for non-professional employment this year, according to the ministry data submitted to Rep. Kim Ui-sang of the ruling People Power Party. A total of 13,102 workplaces have received permits to hire wor

Seoul shares ended more than 1 percent lower Wednesday to end their six-day winning streak as investors were disappointed with a new stock index to be launched next week. The local currency rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index declined 1.34 percent, or 35.36 points, to 2,569.32. Trading volume was moderate at 441.8 million shares worth 11.4 trillion won (US$8.6 billion), with losers outnumbering winners 516 to 355. Retail investors and institutions bought a

The Korean equity market reacted to the launch of an index developed to address domestic companies' undervaluation with investors showing a preference for stocks included in the new index. Following the Korea Exchange’s unveiling of the Value-up Index, comprised 100 Korean stocks with stellar corporate value, on Tuesday, those that made the list, including Samsung Electronics and SK hynix showed a strong start in Wednesday morning trading. SK hynix and Samsung Electronics had gained

LG Innotek said Wednesday that it has developed the industry’s first artificial intelligence that detects defective raw materials for its chip substrates. The new system, combining AI-based material information and image processing technologies, has already been adopted for the company’s production process. More recently, it has been used to upgrade the product quality of value-added chip substrates, including the flip-chip ball grid array. With chip substrates becoming increasingly

A pair of 35-year-old twin brothers were convicted after one impersonated the other to take an exam that is part of the official recruitment process for the Financial Supervisory Service. The younger brother who orchestrated the fraud received a prison sentence, while the older brother who took the test as his proxy was given a suspended sentence. Judge Kang Ji-yeop of Namyangju District Court on Monday sentenced the younger brother to one year in prison on charges of the obstruction of business

French writer Sylvie Germain has been named the recipient of the 13th Pak Kyongni Prize, the award’s organizers announced Wednesday. The award, an annual international literary award established in 2011 to honor the legacy of novelist Pak Kyong-ni (1926-2008), recognizes novelists worldwide who have made a significant impact on the literary landscape while preserving its intrinsic value, according to the Toji Cultural Foundation. Pak is best known for her monumental "Toji (The Land),&

School sexual assaults at record high with 'deepfakes,' cyberbullying

Rift observed between supporters of Yoon, Han within ruling party

Rwandan foreign minister says Korea-Africa summit affirms strategic partnership between Seoul and Kigali

By Steve Brice August started off poorly for investors. Peak to trough, global equities fell 9.2 percent, with the losses accelerating in the first three days of August when they lost 6.4 percent. While equity markets have recouped almost all the early-August losses, the earlier sell-off is naturally leading to a lot of questions about how investors should respond to such weakness. Are such sell-offs short-term buying opportunities or are they signs of more sinister things to come? The mistake m