The demand for robotaxis, or self-driving cabs, could grow in the era of pandemics and social distancing as more people try to avoid getting in a vehicle with strangers. A number of startups and established automakers are racing to release test versions of fully driverless cars within this year. Boston Consulting Group recently suggested that the autonomous mobility and robotaxi industry would be worth $40 billion by 2030. In a bid to get a head start in the race, Hyundai Motor Group and US

A man who ran a website that names and shames sex offenders, murderers and child molesters was sent back to Korea on Tuesday, two weeks after he was nabbed in Vietnam on charges of violating the law on information protection. The man, in his 30s, is suspected of disclosing personal information of people accused of digital sex crimes, murder or child molestation via his “Digital Prison” website and Instagram. A 20-year-old university student died in a suspected suicide early last m

Sixty-three new COVID-19 cases were reported on Friday as the number of COVID tests conducted almost halved during the Chuseok holidays. The daily number of new cases has been in double digits for four days in a row since Sep. 25, spiked to 113 on Wednesday, and has been in double digits for the past two days. This is partly because the number of tests conducted fell by nearly half from 9,955 on Tuesday to 5,436 on Wednesday and 5,342 on Thursday. Of the 63 new cases reported on Friday, 32

Seventy-seven new COVID-19 cases were reported on Thursday, going back to two digits after a day’s spurt to 113, with disease prevention authorities on alert as Koreans travel around the country over Chuseok. Less cases were reported because much less people were tested on Wednesday, the first day of Chuseok holidays. A total of 5,436 COVID-19 tests were administered on Wednesday, about 45 percent less compared to 9,955 on Tuesday. The daily number of new cases shot up after mid-August

　 The daily number of newly confirmed COVID-19 cases nearly tripled to 113 on Wednesday, going into triple digits again as South Koreans began traveling for Chuseok holidays. 　The daily figure, released by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, had remained below 100 for four consecutive days, going down to 38 on Tuesday, the lowest since Aug. 11 (34 cases).　 　Newly confirmed cases began to rise sharply after mid-August, shot up to over 400 per day, and gradually declined.　 　The d

North Korea continued illicit maritime exports of coal and imports of petroleum products despite having stopped most trade due to the spread of COVID-19, according to international experts affiliated with the United Nations Security Council. North Korea only temporarily suspended coal exports between late January and early March, the panel of experts on the UNSC’s North Korea sanctions committee said in a midterm report published Sept. 28. “Satellite imagery provided by a member

The North Korean story about what led its officers to shoot a South Korean fisheries official who drifted into North Korean waters last week does not make sense, and the South Korean military acted appropriately, a US defense expert said Saturday. “The Republic of Korea military could not legitimately go into the North’s waters to retrieve him without North Korean approval, which likely would have taken hours to achieve,” Bruce Bennett, adjunct international and defense resear

The South Korean public official who was shot to death by North Korean officials Tuesday after going missing near the inter-Korean maritime border reportedly left no traces suggesting he may have intended to defect to the North. The Incheon Coast Guard said in a press briefing Thursday that the civilian did not leave any will or evidence of a planned defection to North Korea. The Coast Guard said it didn’t find his cellphone or any notes in the small cabin of the boat the civilian was on

What will the future of design look like in the coming decade? Eight innovators who are expanding the boundaries of design in various fields will speak about what they imagine the future and the role of design is at the Herald Design Forum. Israeli industrial designer Ron Arad, famous for his warm and humorous expressions using diverse materials including wood, metal and glass, is a pioneer of design art. He is the former head of the design products department at the Royal College of Art in Lond

The annual Herald Design Forum, hosted by Herald Corp., has entered its 10th year. Having started with the intriguing title “Design changes the world” in 2011, the design forum has connected the insights of world-renowned design gurus, and inspired many who believe in the power of design for the past decade. Seeking to become the Davos Forum of the art and design world, the Herald Design Forum has grown into Asia’s largest design knowledge platform. At this year’s design

The ruling party, the government and the presidential office agreed in a meeting on Thursday to give out 5 trillion won ($4.3 billion) of the 7.8 trillion-won extra budget to those severely affected by the COVID-19 epidemic before Chuseok next week. The money will go to small business owners who were hit hardest by the latest COVID-19 spread; people struggling due to weakened job security and lower incomes; and families having difficulties in childcare due to online schooling, Democratic Party

Over 23,000 videos of South Koreans hoping to reconnect with their kin in North Korea have yet to be sent across the border, according to government data released by a lawmaker on Wednesday. Ever since the South’s Unification Ministry delivered 25 “video letters” produced by South Koreans for their families in the North in 2008 as a pilot project, and put up 1,568 such clips as part of a digital museum for families separated since the 1950-1953 Korean War, not a single video

The Foreign Ministry has resumed mediation between one of its diplomats and a male staffer in New Zealand who accused the diplomat of groping him in late 2017. 　 The ministry said it has informed the purported victim of its mediation on the case, and is awaiting his reply.　 Under New Zealand labor law, an employee can seek a settlement for an employer’s misconduct against him through the help of a mediator.　 In this case, the administrative staffer, a New Zealander, is the employee, and

There is no discussion at the US State Department of withdrawing troops from South Korea, US Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs David Stilwell said Thursday. He made the remarks during a US Senate hearing after US Sen. Chris Coons asked whether the State Department could confirm that it was no longer considering pulling US troops out of South Korea -- a plan that was reportedly weighed by the Trump administration. Coons also asked Stilwell if he could assure the Senate tha

Over 4,000 delivery workers nationwide will refuse to sort the parcels from Sunday until their employers hire more people as delivery volumes pile up ahead of Chuseok next week. “The sorting part of the job is the biggest reason delivery workers report to work at dawn and have to deliver until late night,” a committee of labor and civic groups committed to preventing deaths of courier servicemen due to overwork said in a press conference on Thursday. “They sort the parcels f