Rapper talks about why he sits at the intersection of hip-hop and rock; hints at upcoming album

SEJONG – Economic policymakers are moving to tame consumer prices under their assessment that inflationary pressures would continue this month, Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-weon said Friday. Several policy measures set to be taken include making price tags of food products at large-scale dining franchises publicized and extending fuel tax redemption. “Prices of dining out increased by 5.5 percent in January on-year. This marked the highest growth (in almost 13 years) since 5.

South Korean stocks edged up on Friday after choppy trading amid expectations of a US-Russia meeting next week about the standoff over Ukraine. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 0.43 point, or 0.02 percent, to close at 2,744.52 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 506 million shares worth some 8.4 trillion won ($7 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 622 to 225. Institutions bought a net 103 billion won and reta

Shinsegae International will launch a limited-edition electric bike in collaboration with Super73, US-based electric motorbike manufacturer. By limited edition, they mean only two in the world. The company‘s signature gorilla character JRilla, designed after Shinsegae heir Vice Chairman Chung Yong-jin, is the bike‘s mascot. The product even has its own narrative: JRilla, originally from Mars, opted for an electric bike in favor of both the environment and style while navigating h

South Korea’s daily COVID-19 cases surpassed the 100,000 mark for the first time since the country reported the first COVID-19 infection in January 2020. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the country added 109,831 new COVID-19 infections during the 24 hours of Thursday. The total caseload came to 1,755,806. Daily infection numbers have been surging due to the omicron wave. On Jan. 26, the country added 13,004 new infections, the first time that the country&

Zackdang, operator of beauty video platform Zamface, said Wednesday it raised 4.5 billion won ($3.76 million) from Hi Investment Partners and Daesung Private Equity in January. With the fresh investment, the company’s cumulative investment has reached 11 billion won. Zamface saw its number of cumulative subscribers surpass 1.8 million in only 2 1/2 years since its launch in January 2019. Millennial- and Generation Z-females take up the lion’s share, or 94 percent, of its user base,

South Korea has decided to partly ease current social distancing curbs, the government announced Friday. Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said the current 9 p.m. curfew for dining out at restaurants and other businesses will be pushed back by an hour to 10 p.m. Kim, however, noted that the government will keep the six-person limit on private gatherings. The change will become effective from Saturday to March 13. Kim noted further changes can also take place, depending on how the omicron wave develo

Global DRAM shipments dropped nearly 6 percent in the fourth quarter from three months earlier, a report showed Friday, amid sluggish demand from manufacturers that had hoarded up the key consumer electronics component over continued chip shortages. DRAM shipments during the October-December period were valued at $25 billion, down 5.8 percent globally from the previous quarter, according to the data provided by industry tracker TrendForce. Declining purchasing momentum, it said, also led to a dr

KT, South Korea’s largest telecommunications firm by sales, will pay a total of $6.3 million to the US Securities and Exchange Commission to resolve charges for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, an SEC announcement showed Friday. The SEC ordered the Seoul-based firm to pay $3.5 million in civil payments and $2.8 million in disgorgement and prejudgment interest within a month, more than two years after the US authorities started their investigation. KT was accused of insuffici

President Moon Jae-in on Friday stepped up calls for the National Assembly to swiftly approve an extra budget bill, citing "desperate" hardship facing small merchants hit by the COVID-19 restrictions. "As the situation of small merchants and self-employed people is desperate, the National Assembly should actively cooperate to resolve the difficulties of people's livelihoods by approving an extra budget bill as soon as possible," Moon told a meeting with his aides earlier in t

Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea's biggest carrier, said Friday it will use more environmentally friendly aviation fuel on its Incheon-Paris route as part of efforts to join global efforts to reduce carbon emissions. The move to use the so-called sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for the route comes as Europe and the United States are leading efforts to build SAF production facilities and supply the fuel to cut greenhouse gas emissions from flights. "The company has decided to adopt SAF on t

Minor presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo will resume campaigning this weekend after attending the funerals of two campaign workers who died in an accident this week, an official said Friday. Ahn of the centrist People's Party suspended his campaign activities after a local campaign chief and a bus driver were found dead inside a campaign vehicle on Tuesday apparently due to gas poisoning from a generator powering an LED screen. Ahn attended the party member's funeral Friday morning and will tr

Main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol is leading his ruling party rival Lee Jae-myung with 41 percent public support against Lee's 34 percent, a survey showed Friday. Yoon of the conservative People Power Party gained 4 percentage points from last week, while Lee of the liberal Democratic Party lost 2 percentage points, according to the poll conducted on 1,007 adults from Tuesday to Thursday by Gallup Korea. The gap between Yoon and Lee was outside the margin of error of plus or m

The labor ministry on Friday raided an air conditioning component manufacturer in the southern city of Changwon over suspected violations of the workplace disaster prevention law after 16 workers were diagnosed with acute poisoning with a hazardous substance. The raid into Doosung Co. came after acute chloroform intoxication was reported in the 16 workers showing liver function problems after they were exposed to as high as six times the normally permitted level of the chemical during a product

South Korea's military has successfully conducted a low-temperature flight test on a light-armed helicopter under a plan to complete its development by year's end, the state arms procurement agency said Friday. The LAH helicopter went through a nine-week evaluation program ending earlier this month in Yellowknife, Canada where the temperature dips to around minus 32 C in winter, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA). The program included test-flying the chopper some