The leadership of Lee Jun-seok, the young and unconventional chairman of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), has taken a major blow from a protracted power game with the party's leading presidential contender Yoon Seok-youl that has created unexpected ruptures and bad blood within the party. The relationship between the two has been on shaky ground from the get-go since Yoon, previously an independent, joined the party in late July when Lee was away from the party headquarters on a bu

Unification Minister Lee In-young urged North Korea on Wednesday to come back to the negotiating table within this year, voicing concerns that upcoming political events in the region could slow down the peace process with Pyongyang. During his keynote speech at a symposium in Seoul, Lee stressed the importance for the two Koreas and the US to resume dialogue before the end of this year to bring "sustainable peace." "It is highly likely that the momentum for the peace process on

Disgraced former K-pop superstar Park Yoo-chun has been embroiled in a dispute over a double contract with his new agency. The singer and actor, who was also a member of K-pop group JYJ, announced his official retirement from show business after he was convicted of drug charges in 2019. Since last year, however, he has resumed his entertainment career, dropping a new album and holding fan meetings overseas. Recielo, which signed an exclusive contract with Park in January for his career resump

This has been an unusual season in South Korean baseball in more ways than one, and the absence of former major leaguers from overseas at the top of batting stats leaderboards has been especially noticeable. Gone are the days when foreign hitters dominated major hitting categories such as home runs, hits and RBIs in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO). Through Tuesday's action, Jose Pirela of the Samsung Lions has been the only foreign bat of note. In his first KBO season, Pirela is tied wit

KT Corp., a major South Korean telecom operator, said Wednesday it has joined hands with the country's top science university KAIST to develop a hyperscale artificial intelligence (AI) language model. The telecom operator plans to commercialize the model, which uses massive computing infrastructure for natural language processing, in the first half of next year, with hopes of powering its services, such as smart speakers and AI call centers. The Electronics and Telecommunications Research Inst

South Korean steelmakers appear to be in the final stage of negotiations with shipbuilders over prices of thick steel plates, people familiar with the matter said Wednesday. Posco, the country's largest steelmaker, has reportedly proposed a hike in the prices of thick steel plates -- a key material that accounts for about one-fifth of shipbuilding costs -- to 1.15 million won ($980) per ton. The offer marked a sharp increase from the first half of this year when thick steel plates were sold at

The webcomic arm of South Korea's top portal operator, Naver Corp., said Wednesday it will expand cooperation with the agency of K-pop sensation BTS and other companies to create new original content. Webtoon Entertainment said it will create various locally made webcomics and other kinds of intellectual property (IP) content based on BTS and other K-pop artists under their management company, Hybe Co. "We aim to expand and grow our storytelling content into the core of the entertainment

South Korea aims to create around 1,800 companies that specialize in new 5G services in the next five years, the ICT ministry said Wednesday, to boost adoption of promising technologies powered by the latest generation networks. While the country commercialized 5G in 2019, companies have yet to fully harness the blazing fast networks that could power upcoming tech services, such as remote-controlled factories, self-driving vehicles, and 3D holograms. The ICT ministry said it aims to boost the

Eleven newly enlisted soldiers at an Army boot camp have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said Wednesday, in yet another cluster infections reported at the country's largest training camp for new recruits. The soldiers at the Korea Army Training Center in the central city of Nonsan were confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 after one of them first developed symptoms starting Monday, according to the ministry. The soldier who first showed symptoms joined the camp

The real estate investment trust (REIT) unit of SK Group, South Korea's No. 3 conglomerate, said Wednesday it will carry out an initial public offering in September. SK REIT said it will sell 46.5 million shares to investors in the planned IPO, whose specific date has yet to be unveiled. Its public offering price has been set at 5,000 won ($4.26) per share, with the company seeking to raise about 233 billion won through the IPO. After a demand forecast session for institutions on Aug. 23-24,

South Korean superband BTS has landed at No. 19 on this week's Billboard 200 chart with its latest Japanese compilation album. "BTS, the Best" came in at 19th place on Billboard's main albums chart refreshed Tuesday (US time), renewing the group's best first week ranking on Billboard for any of its Japanese-language album. The previous high was No. 43 made by the band's 2018 Japanese studio album "Face Yourself." Last year, the seven-piece band ranked 115th with its fourth

First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun has met with Senegal's President Macky Sall and discussed efforts to boost bilateral cooperation in health security, economy and other areas, the foreign ministry said Wednesday. Choi paid the courtesy call on Sall while visiting the African nation Tuesday and Wednesday in the second leg of his weeklong trip that includes Morocco and Nigeria. At the meeting, Sall asked South Korea to make special efforts to ensure equitable access to coronavirus vaccin

South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co. said Wednesday it will reduce production at its US plant this week due to a chip shortage. Hyundai Motor will cut vehicle production at the Alabama plant from Tuesday to Friday (US time) over a lack of semiconductor parts, a company spokesman said over the phone. The Alabama plant halted operations for one week last month due to the same problem. From January to July, Hyundai's vehicle sales rose 22% to 2.34 million units from 1.92 million in the year-ago perio

South Korea will try to spend up to 80 percent of its defense budget for local sourcing under a "Buy Korea Defense" project aimed at boosting local industries and securing key technologies, officials said Wednesday. Under the project, set to be introduced this month, the country plans to spend 80 trillion won ($68.3 billion) out of 100 trillion won earmarked for defense capabilities improvement projects by 2026 on local research and development, production and other domestic procureme

Netflix, which made its Korean market debut in 2015, has been enjoying the first mover's advantage in the country, with a leading 7.9 million monthly active users as of June. It has spent $700 million on South Korean projects, creating 80 Korean-language originals, like the megahit historical zombie thriller "Kingdom," over the past years. The US streamer underwent rapid growth throughout last year as the pandemic-fueled demand for stay-at-home activities. To strengthen its foothold