Samsung Electronics Co. on Tuesday released a new automotive image sensor as the tech giant eyes to expand its presence beyond the mobile sector. The ISOCELL Auto 4AC will be used for rear-view cameras and surround-view monitors of a vehicle and offer high-definition resolution images. Samsung's latest image sensor comes in an optical format of 1/3.7-inch with 1.2 million 3.0-micrometer pixels. Samsung said it applied CornerPixel technology for the first time, which will help reduce blind ar

South Korea said Tuesday it has agreed with HMM Co., the country's largest shipper, to provide shipping services to North America for agricultural exporters amid rising demand for cargo services that stemmed from the global economic recovery. Under the agreement, HMM will offer 265 TEUs of cargo space for agricultural and fishery products every month, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. TEU, or twenty-foot equivalent unit, refers to the unit of the capacity of a c

Lotte Chemical Co., a major South Korean petrochemical company, said Tuesday it will invest 4.4 trillion won ($3.8 billion) in the hydrogen business by 2030 to cut its carbon emissions and foster the new growth driver. The petrochemical unit of Lotte Group said it aims to generate 3 trillion won in annual sales and achieve 10 percent of its operating profits from the hydrogen business over the next decade. Lotte Chemical said it will pump out about 600,000 tons of clean hydrogen using its eco

KT Corp., a South Korean telecom giant, said Tuesday it will make millimeter wave (mmWave) 5G services available at a baseball stadium in a move to step up efforts to commercialize the technology. Although local mobile carriers offer 5G networks on the mid-band spectrum, they have yet to commercialize services on the high-band spectrum, also known as mmWave, which unlocks the fastest speeds on 5G. KT said it will showcase a range of 5G services that use the technology at KT Wiz Park in Suwon,

As the youngest club in the South Korean baseball league competing in their seventh season, the KT Wiz find themselves at the top of the standings at the All-Star break. The twist: The annual Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) All-Star Game isn't until July 24. The first half of the 2021 came to a screeching halt Monday, when the league announced it would suspend the season in light of five combined COVID-19 cases from the NC Dinos and the Doosan Bears. All games scheduled from Tuesday to Sunda

Seven newly enlisted soldiers at an Army boot camp have tested positive for the new coronavirus, bringing the total number of infections recently reported at the base to 95, the defense ministry said Tuesday. The enlistees at the Korea Army Training Center in the central city of Nonsan were confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 while in quarantine following the mass infection outbreak at the base last week, according to the ministry. Separately, an airman based in Seongnam, south of Seoul, tes

North Korea has conducted coronavirus tests on around 35,000 people so far but found no infections, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Tuesday, amid the global spread of the more contagious delta variant. According to the WHO's weekly report on COVID-19, 718 North Koreans underwent virus tests from June 25 to July 1, bringing the total number of tested citizens to 32,512, but none were found to have been infected. Of the 718 newly tested citizens, 127 people with symptoms turned out to b

LG Electronics Inc. on Tuesday unveiled a new delivery robot that can serve both indoor and outdoor environments as the South Korean tech giant tries to expand its competitiveness in the robotics sector. LG introduced its indoor-outdoor delivery robot at the 18th International Conference on Ubiquitous Robots in Gangneung, some 240 kilometers east of Seoul. The four-wheel robot boasts enhanced mobility as it can self-adapt to terrain changes. The company plans to test run the latest robot at

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases rose by more than 1,000 for the seventh consecutive day Tuesday, as worries ran high over a further uptick in new infections amid the fast spread of the more contagious delta variant and the summer season despite toughened virus curbs. The country added 1,150 new COVID-19 cases, including 1,097 local infections, raising the total caseload to 170,296, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The tally is slightly up from 1,100

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday, tracking overnight rallies on Wall Street that stemmed from optimism for strong corporate earnings in the second quarter. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 20.14 points, or 0.62 percent, to trade at 3,266.61 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The KOSPI got off to a bullish start despite concerns about the toughened social distancing measures in the greater Seoul area. Strong earnings reports by US financial giant

LG Electronics Inc. said Tuesday its TV factory in South Africa has burned down as rioters turned violent there. LG said its TV manufacturing and distribution facilities in Durban, eastern South Africa, were plundered Monday (local time) by protestors who are against the imprisonment of former President Jacob Zuma. "We've notified the South Korean Embassy and requested local authorities to mobilize their forces to extinguish the fire," a LG official said. "But we were told it is

South Korea will closely monitor the financial market as a flare-up in COVID-19 cases and the spread of more contagious virus variants could increase market volatility, a senior government official said Tuesday. First Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-weon said the government will beef up the monitoring of financial risks as the global economic recovery could be slowed due to the spread of the more transmissible delta variant, first identified in India. "As (economic) uncertainty, such as COV

K-pop sensation BTS' summery, up-tempo number "Butter" remained atop Billboard's main singles chart for the seventh consecutive week in the group's best chart record since its debut. ""Butter" is officially No. 1 on this week's #Hot100 chart for a seventh week," Billboard said on its Twitter account on Monday (US time). The septet's second English song drew 10.8 million US streams and sold 108,800 downloads in the week ending July 8, it said. The song also attract

Major South Korean insurers saw their mortgage loans grow at a fast clip over the past year on rising demand, industry data showed Tuesday. Mortgage lending by top life insurer Samsung Life Insurance surged 17.2 percent on-year to 21.3 trillion won ($18.6 billion) at the end of March this year. In the first quarter of the year alone, its home-backed loans surged by more than 1 trillion won. No. 2 industry player Hanwha Life Insurance saw its mortgage loans jump 17.3 percent on-year to 4.9 tril

A national commission on Monday set next year's minimum hourly wage at 9,160 won ($7.98) in a 5.1 percent on-year increase. The Minimum Wage Commission, which is composed of nine members each from labor, business and the general public, struck the agreement around midnight during a plenary session held at the government complex in Sejong. During the negotiations, the labor side had called for a significant increase from this year's 8,720 won, while the management side had called for a freeze,