Samsung Electronics Co. aims to expand the use of its seventh generation V-NAND chip solutions, a senior executive said Tuesday, as the South Korean tech giant eyes to bolster its technology prowess in the memory sector. In the second half of the year, the world's leading memory chip maker will introduce a new consumer solid state drive (SSD) product based on its seventh generation V-NAND chip that boasts the smallest cell size yet in the industry, according to Song Jai-hyuk, head of Samsung's

Greenhouse gas emissions fell by 7.3 percent last year from 2019, the first time there has been a decrease for two consecutive years, the environment ministry said Tuesday. The ministry's Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Research Center said total emissions last year are estimated at 648.6 million tons, down 7.3 percent from 2019, and down 10.9 percent from 2018, when the level of emissions was the highest at 727.6 million tons. The decrease was caused in part by less economic activity amid the CO

Unionized tower crane operators on Tuesday began a general strike nationwide over safety fears, putting nearly 90 percent of domestic construction sites at risk of being halted. The operators belonging to the Korean Construction Workers' Union (KCWU) went on strike, accusing the government of failing to take sufficient measures to protect citizens and construction workers despite a recent spate of accidents involving tower cranes. The KCWU, affiliated with the militant Korean Confederation of

The Supreme Prosecutors Office (SPO) on Tuesday refused to accept reform measures pushed by the justice ministry and aimed at curbing prosecutors' investigative power. The decision was made during a meeting convened by Prosecutor General Kim Oh-soo the previous day with senior prosecutors to discuss the ministry's reform plan, the SPO said. The office said in a statement that it "is not acceptable" that the ministry tries to curb direct investigations by prosecutors and requires them

In preparing for two remaining matches in the second round of the Asian qualifying for the next World Cup, South Korean defensive back Kim Min-jae said Monday he wanted to string together two more clean sheets. He may well have been speaking for the rest of his team, with South Korea set to face the heavy underdogs Sri Lanka on Wednesday. It will be the second of three qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup to be staged at Goyang Stadium in Goyang, just northwest of Seoul. The kickoff is 8 p.m

K-pop act BLACKPINK has achieved another YouTube milestone, with the music video for its song "Boombayah" racking up 1.2 billion views on YouTube. The 2016 hit broke the milestone at 10:29 a.m. Tuesday, becoming the four-piece act's third music video to break the 1.2 billion mark, according to YG Entertainment. The record came nearly five years after the all-female band released its debut single album "Square One" with the two tracks "Boombayah" and "Whistle&

Three Korean battery makers are set to showcase their next-generation battery products and technologies at a major industry fair to get ahead in the toughening competition in the fast growing electric vehicle battery market, the companies said Tuesday. LG Energy Solution Ltd., Samsung SDI Co., and SK Innovation Co. will introduce their latest battery products and sustainable business models at InterBattery 2021, which runs from Wednesday to Friday at the Convention & Exhibition Center in so

President Moon Jae-in said Tuesday his upcoming participation in the Group of Seven (G-7) summit would serve as an opportunity to upgrade South Korea's diplomacy. He is scheduled to attend the three-day session to open Friday in Britain, the first major in-person multilateral summit since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. South Korea is not a member of the club of the world's most industrialized nations, but Moon is joining the meeting as a guest, along with the leaders of Australia, Indi

Unionized workers at SsangYong Motor Co. have voted to accept a proposal for unpaid leave and a wage cut as part of self-help the financially troubled company is struggling to stay afloat with self-help measures, the company said Tuesday. In a vote held on Monday and Tuesday, SsangYong workers agreed to the company's offers of a two-year unpaid leave to half of it 4,700 employees, an extension of lower wages and suspended welfare benefits until June 2023, the company said in a statement. Ssang

South Korea's oceans ministry said Tuesday it has added three additional species to the list of protected marine organisms in line with efforts to join the international move to conserve the ecosystem. The newly included species are the olive ridley sea turtle, killer whale and false killer whale, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. Under the South Korean marine ecosystem law, those who hunt protected organisms can face imprisonment of up to three years or a fine of 30 million w

All-male K-pop act 2PM will release a new album this month, coming back from a near five-year hiatus after its members completed their military service, the group's management agency said Tuesday. The six-member group's seventh full album, titled "Must," will drop on June 28, JYP Entertainment announced on its official social media accounts. Its most recent album was its sixth studio album, "Gentlemen's Game," released in September 2016. With the exception of Thai-America

North Korea faces a serious humanitarian crisis due to food insecurity and limited health care, aggravated by global sanctions and the coronavirus, an international nongovernmental organization has said. According to the latest Inform Severity Index report compiled by the Geneva-based Assessment Capacities Project (ACAPS), North Korea faces a "high" level of humanitarian crisis severity. This represented the second-highest level of a six-tier crisis evaluation scale. The report also

South Korea's top internet portal operator, Naver Corp., said Tuesday that it has invested 40 billion won ($36 million) in a total of 70 startups -- mostly early-stage tech firms under its accelerator scheme that started in 2015. The investment was made over the past six years since the tech giant created D2 Startup Factory, an accelerator for tech startups under its arm. Naver has supported promising entrepreneurs with advanced technological skills since 2015. Naver said the startups were ab

Samsung Display Co., a major display panel maker in South Korea, is on track to produce its next-generation displays in the second half of the year, industry insiders said Tuesday. Samsung Display is set to release pilot products of the quantum-dot (QD) display for TVs and monitors this month and send them to its clients for further testing, according to the sources. The affiliate of Samsung Electronics Co. earlier revealed that it aims to launch its QD displays in the second half of the year

South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution Ltd. said Tuesday it has struck a deal to buy a 7.5 percent stake in an Australian chemical company for 12 billion won ($10.8 million) for a stable supply of critical metals used in electric vehicle batteries. LG Energy Solution, the wholly owned subsidiary of LG Chem Ltd., said it agreed to buy new shares issued by Queensland Pacific Metals (QPM), which produces nickel and cobalt, key materials for lithium-ion batteries. QPM is the 100 percent own