President purchased the micro SUV for his own use to add weight to a new private-public job creation project

Daniel Cho, a 27-year-old Korean American violinist, has been appointed as concertmaster at the Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra. String ensemble Sejong Soloists announced Wednesday that Cho had been selected as the concertmaster of the orchestra through an audition attended by the orchestra members and conductor Kent Nagano. The orchestra based in Hamburg, Germany was founded in 1828. Nagano has been leading the orchestra as its chief conductor since September 2015. The American conduct

To respond to the growing pressure to meet net-zero pledges, steelmakers around the world must work together to find ways to decarbonize steelmaking, mostly likely with the use of hydrogen, the chief of South Korea’s top steel manufacturer said Wednesday. Hosting the Hydrogen Iron & Steel Making Forum 2021, the world’s first international forum on hydrogen steelmaking, Posco Chairman Choi Jeong-woo highlighted the need for urgent, concerted action as an industry and an open pla

South Korea’s Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo expressed concern over the US request on Korean chipmakers to disclose sensitive information about technology, clients and inventories, during his meeting Tuesday with US counterpart Katherine Tai, officials in Seoul said Wednesday. Yeo, who is currently attending a council meeting of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development in Paris, held bilateral talks with the US trade representative, where he relayed such opinion from local

South Korean stocks fell nearly 2 percent Wednesday, while the Korean won fell to a 14-month low against the US dollar amid ongoing investor concerns over the debt crises of Chinese property developers and the impasse in the US Congress on raising the debt limit. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 53.86 points, or 1.82 percent, to close at 2,908.31 points, the lowest finish since Dec. 30 last year. Trading volume was moderate at about 887.63 million shares worth some

South Korean drugmaker SK Bioscience announced Wednesday the company has updated its capacity reservation contract with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations. Under the new agreement, CEPI can use part of SK Bioscience’s Andong production facility until 2022 for manufacturing COVID-19 vaccines. 　 SK Bioscience’s factory in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, currently has a total of nine production lines that can produce drug substances for COVID-19 vaccines. Of the to

Authorities in Mexico ordered a recall of a Buldak, or “fire chicken,” ramen product for misleading customers with its label, despite having “no trace of chicken” in it. The Office of the Federal Prosecutor for the Consumer announced the recall decision Monday there, concerning Buldak Ramen Cheese and 11 other instant noodle products from across nine manufacturers.  It targets a total of 129,937 packets distributed on shelves throughout the country. Included wer

Convenience store chain Seven Eleven has partnered with a local mobility software startup to use drones for product delivery, the company announced Wednesday. According to Seven Eleven, it will develop systems and infrastructure for delivery drones with Pablo Air, with plans to launch a pilot run later this year. The firm will open a new location outside of the greater Seoul area, possibly in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province, which will act as a base for the drone’s first test flight. The

Unity Korea on Wednesday vowed to grow together with game developers as well as creators in media and entertainment sectors, offering services that go beyond the conventional gaming realm. During a press conference to mark its 10th anniversary, the Korean branch of the California-based 3D game company introduced a webtoon tablet that allows artists to draw duplicating scenes as an example of its digital solutions for creators. Dr. Frost, a piece uploaded on Naver Webtoon, illustrated massive

South Korea has confirmed 3,213 more cases of four major contagious variants of the new coronavirus over the past week, including 3,209 of the highly transmissible delta variant, health authorities said Wednesday. The number of new delta variant cases accounted for 99.9 percent of new variant cases reported last week, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The tally indicates the delta variant is the dominant strain of coronavirus in South Korea, making it more diff

Lawmakers question validity of 5 billion-won severance pay to representative’s son

Price hike this year surpasses annual gains observed in post-Asian financial crisis in early 2000s

Shinhan Financial Group said Wednesday it has decided to invest 18 billion won ($15.1 million) into three startups offering cutting-edge technologies as part of its bigger plan to boost the group’s digital capabilities. Three startups that attracted the funding include Galaxy Corp. which owns intellectual property rights to virtual characters for metaverse platforms as well as Xinapse, an artificial intelligence technology-based startup. Shinhan plans to collaborate with the firms to e

SK E&S Co., the energy unit of South Korean conglomerate SK Group, said Wednesday it will team up with US fuel cell maker Plug Power Inc. to make a foray into the Asian hydrogen market. The two companies struck a deal to establish a 51:49 joint venture company, nine months after SK E&S and SK Inc., the group's holding firm, invested 1.6 trillion won ($1.5 billion) to acquire a 9.9 percent stake in Plug Power.   The joint venture will build a factory to produce key component

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Wednesday the government is expected to log a larger-than-expected surplus in tax revenue this year as the economic recovery gathers pace. In July, the government forecast the country is expected to collect 314.3 trillion won ($264 billion) in tax revenue for this year, up 31.5 trillion won from its earlier forecast of 282.7 trillion won. But the National Assembly Budget Office forecast a larger surplus, saying that the country may record excess tax revenue of