An annual international peace forum kicked off in PyeongChang, Gangwon Province, on Tuesday for a three-day run to discuss peace, inter-Korean relations and ways that the upcoming Winter Youth Olympics in 2024 could serve as an opportunity for peace on the divided Korean Peninsula. 　 Under the slogan of “Peace, Here and Now!,” the PyeongChang Peace Forum brings together global leaders, scholars and experts in the city of PyeongChang, which hosted the Winter Olympics in 2018. The ev

Korean startup Watcha on Tuesday announced the launch of Watcha 2.0 this year, including plans to provide webtoons and a music streaming service on its video streaming platform. “We think this year is the year to take a leap forward. We have to prepare for our next 10 to 20 years,” Watcha CEO Park Tae-hoon said during a media event held Tuesday in Yeouido, Seoul. “We are aiming to reach 100 million global subscribers by 2030,” Park added. Watcha’s chief operati

South Korean banking groups are opening more offline asset management centers exclusively for the nation’s superrich, while closing regular branches and replacing them with mobile and artificial intelligence-based services. On Tuesday, Shinhan Financial Group said it upgraded and rebranded two of its wealth management centers in Seoul to focus on providing exclusive banking services for its clients with personal assets of over 10 billion won ($8.3 million). The wealth management centers

Lee wants to return with more interesting characters

Top comedian Yoo Jae-suk is facing backlash in China after remarks made on the latest episode of MBC’s hit variety show “Hangout with Yoo.” Yoo’s Chinese fan club Yooniverse announced Monday evening that the group has decided to disband and end its operation. According to a post on the fan club’s official Weibo channel, the fan club plans to stop its operation because Yoo and the fans’ “directions are different.” No details were offered for the

Dunamu & Partners, the investment arm of Korea’s blockchain firm Dunamu, said Tuesday it has invested a combined 100.3 billion won ($83.9 million) in a total of 46 startups over the past three years. Dunamu said artificial intelligence and data startups make up almost half of the beneficiaries it has funded, while others in the fields of gaming, fintech, blockchain and digital healthcare are key recipients. Many of the startups showed strong performance in elevating corporate valu

Rozy, the first virtual social media influencer in South Korea, has made her debut as a singer by dropping her first single, “Who Am I,” at Tuesday noon. The song, a medium-tempo ballad, talks about the troubles of being a virtual human. Its warm melody and Rozy’s captivating and refreshing voice adds emotional depth to the song. The lyrics speak of the worries about the 22-year-old’s identity, repeatedly asking herself who she really is. The three-minute song also as

Talks of a campaign merger of presidential candidates Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party and Ahn Cheol-soo of the minor opposition People’s Party continue, despite Ahn withdrawing his initial proposal for merger talks. On Tuesday, Ahn continued his criticism of Yoon, who “fled” from a proposal to compete in a two-way primary to decide on a unified candidate. “I made the suggestion to hold a public primary (for a campaign merger) to Yoon. But (Yoon)

Market volatility escalated Tuesday on news that Russia ordered troops into separatist-held eastern Ukraine, dragging down the nation’s stock indexes as well as virtual assets and sparking concerns that the geopolitical unrest is likely to expand short-term uncertainty in the financial market. The benchmark Kospi ended lower Tuesday as investors raced to dump risky assets, falling to 2,706.79, down 1.35 percent or 37.01 points from Monday’s closing. The Kospi, which has seen i

South Korea's central bank said Tuesday that it will closely monitor the development of escalating tensions in Ukraine on concerns that the geopolitical risk could increase market volatility and negatively affect the domestic economy. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday ordered the deployment of troops to two breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine after recognizing their independence, which raised the possibility of Russia invading Ukraine, dampening hopes for a diplomatic solution. Policym

‘Korea to actively participate in peace efforts as responsible member of international community’

SK ecoplant said Tuesday it has acquired TES, a Singapore-based electronic waste recycling company, for $1 billion as part of efforts to expand its presence in the burgeoning waste management market. The construction arm of SK Group said it signed a deal to buy a 100 percent stake in TES from Navis Capital Partners, a private equity firm, in Singapore on Monday. TES supplies waste management solutions for electronic devices and components to major IT equipment manufacturers. Its services inc

Street views of all 14,699 alleyways in Seoul, including those of narrow back alleys unavailable even in commercial road view services, will be available within the first half of this year, the city government said Tuesday. The city government created 53,715 images of the alleys over the past two years to offer the complete street views of every alley that even online map services by major internet portals like Naver and Daum have not provided so far, officials said. Street views of 10 districts

Presidential nominee Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea claimed that the South Korean won is close to becoming a reserve currency, a comment that was immediately met with a huge uproar and mocked. During a presidential debate Monday, Lee said he is aware of a report that South Korea is close to seeing its local currency become a reserve currency like the US dollar, which will enable the country to increase its budgetary spending and raise the national debt level without worri

BOOK DONATION -- Korean Council on Latin America & the Caribbean President Shin Soong-chull poses with Chilean Embassy in Seoul Chargé D´affairs, Counsellor Gustavo González. The Chilean Embassy in Seoul donated Pablo Neruda‘s books to the Korean Council on Latin America & the Caribbean Monday in celebration of 60 years of Chile-Korea diplomatic relations. Chilean poet-diplomat and politician Pablo Neruda, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971, is know