Nuri, South Korea’s first domestically made satellite launch vehicle, lifted off from the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, at 5 p.m. Thursday. The launch vehicle, weighing 200 metric tons, is now on its maiden flight to put a 1.5-ton dummy into low orbit some 600-800 kilometers above the Earth. Korea Aerospace Research Institute says it will know if the launch is a success around 30 minutes after liftoff. Designed and built entirely using Korean technology and

Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s leading maker of smartphones and memory chips, was ranked fifth among the world’s top 100 corporate brands for the second year in a row, according to a consulting firm Thursday. The brand value of South Korea’s IT giant was estimated at $74.6 billion this year, increasing 20 percent from $62.3 billion last year, according to the list of 100 Best Global Brands announced by US-based Interbrand. This is the highest gain observed since 2013 an

Despite policymakers’ assurance of home prices having reached their peak, the government appears to have set tax revenue on a scenario of housing values rising further next year. Rep. Yoo Gyeong-joon of the main opposition People Power Party on Thursday, quoting a state-funded study, said that the government’s tax revenue next year has been drafted based on its own estimation of housing prices in Seoul and the surrounding area growing 5.1 percent, According to the study conducted

KB Financial Group Inc. on Thursday reported its third-quarter net profit of 1.3 trillion won ($1.1 billion), up 9.3 percent from a year earlier. The company said in a regulatory filing that it posted 1.78 trillion won in operating profit for the quarter, compared with 1.41 trillion won a year ago. Sales rose 56.4 percent to 16.47 trillion won. The operating profit was 7.1 percent higher than the average estimate, according to the survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap New

South Korean battery maker Samsung SDI Co. said Thursday it has began its test run of a cathode-producing factory, jointly set up with a local cathode manufacturer. The EcoPro EM factory, located in Pohang, 374 kilometers southeast of Seoul, will conduct the test run until the end of this year before starting the mass-production of cathode from the first half of next year. Cathode is a key component that determines the capacity and average voltage of a lithium-ion battery. Samsung SDI and E

Merck, the German science and technology group, on Thursday celebrated the fifth anniversary of its M Lab Collaboration Center in Songdo, Incheon. The M Lab Collaboration Center is a research facility established to support local pharmaceutical and bio industry experts with hands-on and virtual training. “Since its establishment in 2016, our Songdo M Lab Collaboration Center has supported more than 100 biopharmaceutical and biotech customers including Samsung Biologics, Celltrion and SK

South Korean stocks closed lower Thursday after a choppy session, as the hopes for economic recovery is balanced against concerns about fast inflation. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 5.8 points, or 0.19 percent, to close at 3,007.33 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 871 million shares worth some 10.3 trillion won ($8.7 billion), with loser outnumbering gainers 563 to 297. Foreigners bought a net 42 billion won

For Han So-hee, 26, taking a role in the Netflix series “My Name” made her improve as an actor with a wide range. “I thought the audience, including my fans, wanted to see the sides of Han So-hee that are already very familiar to them with the previous dramas like ‘The World of the Married’ and ‘Nevertheless’. But I wanted to find and show different sides of Han So-hee,” the actor said during an online interview with a group of reporters Wednesday

Korea getting more visitors from US than China, Japan, Taiwan in 2021

For those who were disappointed by the cancellation of regional festivals amid COVID-19, this weekend will be a great opportunity to experience South Korea’s regional specialties while walking through Seoul’s Gyeongbokgung. As part of the Royal Culture Festival, an exhibition consisting of seven special zones on the palace grounds showcases products from different regions of the country. Visitors can take Instagramable photos while enjoying 2,142 art pieces from 27 teams of artists

Seven out of 10 restaurants in South Korea serve kimchi made in another country, said a local research institute in a report released Thursday. According to the Korea Foodservice Research Institute, which looked into the country of origin of food ingredients used at 976 restaurants across the country, 40 percent of the surveyed use kimchi made outside of Korea. Another 28 percent use both locally made and imported kimchi while 31.2 percent stick to Korean made kimchi. Most of the imported

Korean pianist Lee Hyuk failed to win a trophy at the 18th Chopin International Piano Competition. Lee, 21, who was one of 12 finalists, did not make the list of awardees announced by the Polish Chopin Institute on Thursday. The competition, held every five years, was postponed from 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, more than 500 pianists signed up for the competition and some 87 contenders made it to the main competition. Lee was the only Korean contender among the 12 finalists

Eight out of 10 young Koreans are currently investing in stocks, funds, cryptocurrencies and other assets, and their main purpose behind making such investments is to buy a home, a survey showed Thursday. According to the survey conducted by insurance agency Rich Planner Consulting Co. on 1,000 Koreans in their 20s and 30s, 88.2 percent of them answered they are investing in stocks. Nearly 35 percent said they are trading cryptocurrency. For the purpose of investment, 42.2 percent of young in

The Seoul city government said Thursday it will file complaints with police against all participants in a labor rally called by a militant umbrella union a day earlier on charges of violating the infectious disease prevention act. On Wednesday afternoon, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) staged a massive rally in central Seoul for about two hours as part of a one-day general strike to bring labor issues to the fore in the runup to the 2022 presidential election. About 27,000 union

US ambassador to UN condemns launch as “reckless provocations,” calls for enforcement of sanctions