South Korean shares closed nearly flat Wednesday as investors took a wait-and-see approach over the global economic slowdown and the US central bank's monetary tightening. The Korean won went up against the US dollar. After a choppy session, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) inched down 0.2 point, or 0.01 percent, to 2,718.69 points. Around 1.7 billion shares worth some 12...

Lawmakers from the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and an ex-naval officer pushed for the family of a fisheries official killed by North Korea to admit that the deceased was attempting to defect to the North, the official’s brother claims. The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries official went missing during a patrol on Sept. 21, 2020, and was shot dead and set ablaze at sea by North Korean troops ...

From May 1, schools in Korea will resume normal operations under new guidelines. Schools will adapt “normalcy attendance” measures, meaning face-to-face classes will be held and online classes will be reserved for special circumstances. Extracurricular activities, such as field trips and group events, will be allowed. Self-testing routines will be dropped, too. The mask mandate, however, will b...

The band took another step closer to stardom by remaking A$ton Wyld’s “Next Level” in May 2021. The remixed version of the track transformed the “Fast & Furious” movie soundtrack into hip-hop-based beats, creating back-to-back hits. The records set by the K-pop act spoke to its rising popularity. The band logged “Next Level” on the Billboard K-pop 100 chart for the first time and sat at No. 33. ...

The pressure to accelerate the digitalization of industries as a result of the coronavirus has spread to the real estate sector. Using big data, the industry is automating the buying, selling and leasing of homes and office spaces instead of traditional real estate transactions through agencies. But some important information-gathering still has to be done by humans, according to the CEO of a loc...

The Jeonju film festival organizer’s decision to screen “The Red Herring,” a documentary about the beleaguered ex-Justice Minister Cho Kuk, at the festival that kicks off next week has sparked controversy. Those who are critical of the screening and the film said that it is inappropriate to present a film that takes Cho’s side after a court found that his wife had forged documents in their daugh...

Eliso Virsaladze, a Georgian pianist, was originally set to perform last year but had to postpone the recital due to a finger injury. She will finally take the stage on Nov. 24 at Kumho Art Hall Yonsei in western Seoul. Dang Thai Son, a Vietnamese Canadian pianist and educator, was the first Asian winner of the 10th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in 1980. He will embark on a fiv...

The Democratic Party has pulled out all the stops to ensure that the bill to strip prosecutors of their investigative powers can go through, despite escalating conflicts with the prosecution and opposition parties. Rep. Min Hyung-bae on Wednesday left the Democratic Party and became an independent, a move that would allow the party to push the controversial bill through referral to the agenda co...

SK ecoplant said Wednesday that it will begin producing glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) bars as an alternative to steel bars. SK ecoplant will be the first to make GFRP bars made from elements extracted from used plastic bottles, which the company named “KEco-Bar.” Manufacturing GFRP bars does not involve using scrap iron limestone, thus reducing carbon emissions by more than 50 percent c...

South Korea’s Foreign Minister nominee Rep. Park Jin of the People Power Party met Wednesday with Sung Kim, US Special Representative for North Korea, and agreed to maintain an “impenetrable alliance” when the incoming government takes over. In their closed-door meeting, the minister nominee stressed how the series of missile launches by North Korea posed a “serious threat” not only to the Korea...

KAIST said the fiber-based WOLEDs displayed strong lighting performance and reliable color index as well as stable durability in terms of sweat resistance, pressure resistance and biocompatibility. “As we developed an essential technology that was missing in the field of electronic fiber display, we expect that it will allow the realization of high-quality electronic fiber display,” said Hwang Y...

A key mergers and acquisitions dealmaker at Samsung Electronics has recently been relocated to join an in-house think tank, fueling speculation about the tech giant’s long-awaited “mega deals” in chips or other growth driver sectors. According to industry sources on Wednesday, Ahn Joong-hyun, an executive vice president at Samsung’s business support task force, was promoted to president last wee...

The leadership of the Democratic Party of Korea has ruled out Reps. Song Young-gil and Park Ju-min from the Seoul mayoral candidate selection, sparking an internal feud over whether it was fair to exclude key figures without undergoing primaries. The internal nomination committee of the liberal party decided late Tuesday to exclude Song and Park from the list of possible nominees in the upcoming...

Accenture Research study indicates that 77% of Asia Pacific youth aspire to work in the green economy within the next 10 years SINGAPORE , April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Three out of four young people in Asia Pacific aspire to get a green job within the next decade, outpacing youth elsewhere in the world in gravitating towards careers – and organisations – that have an environmentally sus...