Chinese authorities have finally approved SK hynix’s acquisition of Intel’s NAND and SSD business, the company said Wednesday. Though SK hynix and Intel signed the $9 billion deal in October last year, it has been waiting for approval from China for more than a year due to tensions with the US. In the chip industry, to prevent one company from dominating the market, mergers and acquisitions require antitrust approval from the US, the European Union, South Korea, Taiwan, Brazil, t

South Korean director Erick Oh’s short animation “Namoo,” which means tree in Korean, on Wednesday made it onto the 94th Oscar shortlist after being nominated in the animated short film category. The Academy Awards will announce the final list of nominees on Feb. 9 and the awards ceremony will take place on March 27, 2022. Oh’s new animation follows the journey of a man’s life -- from beginning to end -- next to a tree that collects all of his memories. Oh creat

BAT Rothmans, the Korean business arm of British American Tobacco, is ramping up its recycling campaign in Korea to encourage people not to throw away used Glo devices, the company said Wednesday. The Seoul office of the London-based tobacco company said it has installed return bins for Glo tobacco heating devices at 50 convenience stores in cities nationwide with heavy foot traffic, with more to be added in the coming year. Customers can go to either a 7-Eleven, CU or GS25 convenience store

BTS has topped the albums category of Oricon’s annual ranking 2021 with its best-of album in Japan, “BTS, The Best,” according to the Japanese chart on Wednesday. 　 This is the first time an international group topped the list and the second time for an international artist. Michael Jackson was the only one to take the spot with “Thriller” in 1984. 　 The album debuted as No. 1 on its weekly album ranking (June 28) selling 782,000 copies in the first week of sales, a

Reflecting the growing popularity of Korean literature, 180 literary works were translated into 29 different languages with assistance from the Literature Translation Institute of Korea this year. This is the largest number of works translated in a year since LTI Korea was established in 1996. LTI Korea said the increased demand for Korean literature in overseas markets is also shown in the number of requests for translation support that it received this year. A total of 156 overseas publis

For most of the cast and staff of Netflix’s “The Silent Sea,” they jumped at the chance to join the production of the sci-fi thriller series, quickly overcoming any hesitancy.  “I think I was a little reluctant about starring in a Korean space-related project. Even after receiving the scenario, I was uncertain about the moon exploration series. But my attitude completely changed after watching the director‘s short film ‘The Silent Sea,’” B

South Korea on Wednesday became the 10th country outside of Europe to join the European Union (EU) law enforcement cooperation agency that fights terrorism and other international crimes, police said. The National Police Agency (NPA) joined Europol by signing a working-level agreement that was approved unanimously by the 27 EU nations on Oct. 6. The accession is an outcome of efforts by police to strengthen cooperation with Europe since 2017, officials said. Under the agreement, police can now

BRIGHTON -- Digital systems are critical to development and humanitarian activities, but they can expose some of the world’s most vulnerable communities to unforeseen risks. Recent examples from Afghanistan highlight these dangers. In September, it was reported that the UK Ministry of Defence had been involved in two separate data breaches, potentially compromising the safety of participants in the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy program, which is intended to protect people who h

One critical precondition would be to reduce inter-Korean conventional tensions　

Korea’s Constitutional Court to review COVID-19 pass

Presidential candidate of ruling party denies involvement, calls for special counsel probe

From Thursday, a Christmas market will be set up at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza until the end of the year to celebrate the festive season. Under the theme “The Christmas airport - Travel to Santa’s world,” a total of 40 stalls will be in operation from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m, at Allim Hall 2, located within the plaza. The 2021 Seoul Christmas Market at DDP displays and sells a variety of holiday-related products, including light ornaments and other home decor, as well as accessori

Key men close to chaebol chiefs stepping in to lead red-hot battery units suggest shift in business priority

South Korea’s antitrust watchdog announced Wednesday that it would fine SK Inc. and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won 1.6 billion won ($1.3 million) over allegations that his personal purchase in LG Siltron shares back in 2017 had violated the law. The decision was made a week after Chey had attended the Fair Trade Commission’s full-member session in person. Chey’s attendance was rare as the watchdog does not require the person involved to be present. Chey, in the session, claime

SEJONG -- South Korea and Vietnam agreed to bolster coordination on trade and development projects during a ministerial meeting in Seoul, Wednesday, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said. At the meeting, Korea’s Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Moon Sung-wook signed a memorandum of understanding with Vietnam’s Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien on urea supply. Under the deal, Korea will import up to 120,000 metric tons of urea from Vietnam per annum ov