South Korean art master Park Seo-bo confirmed that he would not allow his works to be produced as NFTs, or nonfungible tokens, stressing that digital art belongs to a new generation. Park made his stance known on social media Thursday amid growing attention to the digital art trend, saying people had asked him whether he was interested in tokenizing his works. Park’s paintings are highly popular in the market, and some of his 1.3-meter-by-1.6-meter works have sold for more than 400 mil

South Korea marked a record high for a third consecutive day in the number of COVID-19 patients admitted to hospitals’ intensive care units, amid the country’s phased return to normal. According to a situation report from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, 475 COVID-19 patients were undergoing intensive care treatment as of Thursday at midnight, on top of the 4,178 patients who were hospitalized but did not require intensive care. In Seoul, which accounted for abo

Battles loom large over timing, scope of investigation, ahead of presidential elections

Main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Seok-youl met with the top US diplomat for East Asia and a US senator Friday, saying a firm alliance between the two countries has become ever more important. The meeting with US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink and US Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) was held at the People Power Party's headquarters as part of their separate visits to Seoul. "I can't stress enough the importance of the South Korea-US alli

President Moon Jae-in on Friday emphasized independence and political neutrality of state auditors as he appointed a new head of the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI). The appointment of Choe Jae-hae, a former senior official at the BAI, came about two months after Moon nominated him to lead the key state agency. During an appointment ceremony, Moon stressed the importance of independence and political neutrality of the audit agency and asked Choe to ensure the discipline of public officia

JEONJU -- An appeals court upheld prison sentences for five illegal immigrants from Vietnam for attacking each other with weapons in a fight over unpaid wages at an apartment complex in the southwestern city of Jeonju earlier this year, court records showed Friday. The incident happened on April 12 when a 33-year-old Vietnamese punched and stabbed a 39-year-old coworker in an apartment complex parking lot in Jeonju, about 245 kilometers southwest of Seoul. One of the three other Vietnamese han

The Korea Automotive Technology Institute, or Katech, has agreed to work together with the UK-based automotive consultancy firm Horiba Mira on the early commercialization of autonomous vehicles, the agency said Friday. Katech Director Heo Nam-yong and Horiba Mira’s Chief Commercial Officer Roisin Hopkins agreed to pursue joint research and development on future vehicle technologies, signing a partnership agreement at the Horiba Mira headquarters in Nuneaton, England, Thursday (Greenwich

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon was admitted to an emergency room Friday due to a sudden acute stomachache, officials said. Oh moved to the hospital at 11:30 a.m. after experiencing pain while on the way to an event organized by the Korea Senior Citizens Association in Seoul, city officials said. The mayor canceled all scheduled public events for the rest of the day, officials said. Oh had been scheduled to attend a foreign investment consultation meeting organized by Seoul City Hall in the afternoon.

The campaign of ruling party presidential nominee Lee Jae-myung on Friday released photos of Lee holding his wife's hand as she was taken to a hospital in an ambulance earlier this week. Kim Hye-kyung, the wife of the Democratic Party nominee, was admitted to a hospital in Seongnam, south of Seoul, on Tuesday after sustaining injuries from a fall at their home, according to the party. Lee canceled his campaign activities that day, saying he wanted to be by her side. "This shows Lee Jae-m

The South Korean breakout hit "Squid Game" has emerged as a big contender in the US year-end awards season, possibly to become the first Korean-made TV series winning a trophy at prestigious awards ceremonies. Starting in late fall, the highly competitive race for great TV shows and movies of the year is the biggest celebration for the US entertainment industry eying for the Emmys and Oscars next year. In the past two years, the American awards season unprecedentedly caught the eyes

A South Korea-US nuclear planning group and the conditional redeployment of US tactical nuclear arms can be policy options for the next Seoul government to address North Korea's evolving nuclear threats, a local think tank said Friday. In a 175-page research report, the Korea Research Institute for National Strategy (KRINS) made policy suggestions for the next government to be launched in May next year, as concerns persist over Pyongyang's steady focus on its nuclear and missile programs. The

South Korea is monitoring the possibility of North Korea holding a major event to celebrate the 10th anniversary of leader Kim Jong-un's rise to power, Seoul's unification ministry said Friday. Kim assumed power in December 2011, following the sudden death of his late father and former leader Kim Jong-il.  "North Korea has not announced a plan for such a commemorative event as of now, but we will continue monitoring related moves as there are some needs for one to strengthen interna

K-pop girl group TWICE will release its third studio album, titled "Formula of Love: O+T=<3," on Friday, its management agency said. Presales of the album reached 700,000 units, about 200,000 more than its previous release and last EP "Taste of Love," according to JYP Entertainment. The group said the name "Formula of Love: O+T=<3" expressed the group's relationship with its fandom ONCE in the form of a simple math equation using the initials of the fandom a

Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Co., the non-life insurance arm of Samsung Group, reported a 42.2 percent rise in its third-quarter earnings amid a fall in accident-linked insurance payments amid tightened social distancing rules. Net income came to 278.15 billion won ($235.5 million) during the January-September period, compared with a net profit of 195.56 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. The improved bottom line is attributable to a fall in loss ratio