South Korea's antitrust regulator said Wednesday it has decided to impose a combined fine of 25.1 billion won ($21.2 million) on seven poultry-processing companies for colluding to fix prices of chickens. Harim Co. and six other companies colluded to fix prices and supplies of chickens to be used for "samgyetang," or Korean ginseng chicken soup, between July 2011 and July 2017, according to the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KTFC). Their price fixing led to a hike of chicken prices dur

South Korea's trade ministry on Wednesday called for the members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to hold discussions to prevent global environmental regulations, including Europe's new carbon policy, from hindering global free trade. The European Union announced earlier that it will adopt the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which is expected to be fully implemented in 2026 following a transition period of three years. "We need to hold multilateral discussions to avoid env

The state anti-corruption investigation office on Wednesday began a probe into National Intelligence Service Director Park Jie-won over allegations of political meddling ahead of the March presidential race. The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) announced that it booked Park on Tuesday on charges of allegedly violating the National Intelligence Service Act and the Public Official Election Act. Park has been accused by Yoon Seok-youl, former prosecutor general and a

South Korea's exports of agricultural products rose 12.3 percent on-year in the first nine months of 2021 on the back of the strong popularity of "hallyu," the Korean wave of pop culture, around the globe. Outbound shipments of foodstuffs came to $6.1 billion in the January-September period, compared with $5.5 billion posted a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.   Experts said the Korean Wave generated by K-p

Eight service members and a civilian worker for the military have tested positive for COVID-19, the defense ministry said Wednesday. Six Army members and two airmen, and the civilian employee for a unit affiliated with the ministry were confirmed to have been infected either after their recent vacation or developing symptoms consistent with the coronavirus. All of them were confirmed to be "breakthrough infections," as they were fully vaccinated, the ministry added. The latest cases ra

Police were found to have concluded an internal investigation into a case linked to a controversial development project near Seoul three months after receiving a probe request from the state anti-corruption commission without pressing any charges, a document showed Wednesday, with the project now being at the center of a massive political scandal. In a document submitted to main opposition lawmaker Rep. Kim Do-eup, the National Police Agency (NPA) said it assigned the case involving a land owne

Hanwha Techwin Co., a leading surveillance tech firm in South Korea, said Wednesday it will join forces with Azena, an Internet of Things company, and the country's telecommunications giant KT Corp. for artificial intelligence (AI)-powered video solutions. Under the partnership, Hanwha Techwin said its CCTV users will be able to easily add AI-powered video analytics tools to their products. Since CCTVs are built for different purpose for various locations, it is impossible to deliver all vid

Sales of imported vehicles in South Korea fell 6.6 percent in September from a year earlier due to fewer working days and supply glitch that stemmed from parts shortages, an industry association said Wednesday. The number of newly registered foreign vehicles fell to 20,406 units last month from 21,839 a year ago, the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA) said in a statement. "The monthly sales results are attributable to fewer working days due to the Chuseok h

South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co. took over half of the fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) market in the first eight months of the year, led by strong demand for its SUV model, industry data showed Wednesday. Hyundai Motor, the maker of the NEXO SUV, sold about 5,900 units in the January-August period, up 34.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from SNE Research. Hyundai accounted for 52.2 percent of the global FCEV sales over the cited period, far surpassing its Japanese

LG Electronics Inc. said Wednesday its Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) front camera co-developed with Daimler AG will be used in Mercedes-Benz C-Class vehicles. An ADAS front camera, usually tucked between the windshield and the rearview mirror, is considered the "eye" of a smart vehicle as it collects various traffic information. LG said its camera, powered by algorithms developed by its vehicle components solutions (VS) business unit, can provide various features, inclu

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases surged to over 2,000 again after three days on Wednesday following a long weekend, amid concerns over the spread of the pandemic ahead of another extended weekend. The country added 2,028 more COVID-19 cases, including 2,002 local infections, raising the total caseload to 323,379, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Daily infections rebounded after falling below the 2,000 mark on Monday and Tuesday on fewer tests. South K

LS Cable & System, South Korea's top wire and cable maker, said Wednesday it expects to win a 200 billion-won ($168 million) cable supply deal from Taiwan. LS Cable said it has been picked as the preferred bidder for the deal, and if the deal is signed, it will supply cables to a wind farm in Taiwan run by CSBC-DEME Wind Engineering by 2025. The wind farm, located in waters 50 kilometers off the west coast of Taiwan, will be able to generate up to 1 gigawatt of electricity, according to LS

Around a quarter of South Korea's mobile subscriptions were on 5G networks in August, data showed Wednesday, as new smartphone launches boosted user growth in the latest generation networks. As of end-August, there were 17.8 million 5G network users, accounting for 24.8 percent of the country's total 71.9 million mobile network subscriptions, according to the data from the Ministry of Science and ICT. South Korea has a population of 51 million, and some people have multiple mobile phones. The

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday as investor sentiment was uplifted by overnight gains on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 11.73 points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,973.90 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The key stock index got off to an upbeat start, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street that came after sharp losses the previous session. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.92 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq compos

South Korea's trade ministry on Wednesday expressed concerns over Washington's latest request to local chipmakers to share information on their supply chains amid growing concerns over the leak of major trade secrets. Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo met his US counterpart, Katherine Tai, in Paris on the sidelines of the council meeting of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), sharing opinions on various bilateral trade issues, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry