South Korean contents enjoyed robust demand overseas in 2020, defying the overall decline in exports and tepid growth in the domestic market, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism data showed on Monday. A 2021 research study on the cultural content industry which encompasses 11 sub-areas showed that the exports in 2020 jumped 16.3 percent to $11.92 billion from the previous year. “Exports...

South Korea's main stock index plunged to a 13-month low Monday, as investors dumped local stocks ahead of the US Federal Reserve's policy meeting this week. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi dived 42.29 points, or 1.49 percent, to close at 2,792 points. The Kospi closed below the 2,800-point mark for the first time since Dec. 23, 2...

People who have been hospitalized due to adverse events and allergic reactions to COVID-19 vaccines are exempt from the country’s vaccine pass mandate, starting on Monday. According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, the government will grant the exemption if people have received hospital treatments within six weeks after they received their first dose of COVID-19...

SEJONG -- Consumer prices of groceries and transportation in Korea climbed fastest in a decade in 2021, which have posed aggravated burden on households amid the pandemic, state data showed Monday. These two items were found to have led the instability in overall consumer prices last year, despite the Bank of Korea’s interest rate hikes twice in August and November. According to Statistics Kore...

Hanwha Q Cells said Monday that its CEO Lee Ku-hyung has been appointed the 14th chairman of the Korea New and Renewable Energy Association, a business lobby with some 420 member companies. Lee, who joined Hanwha Group in 1990, has served key positions at the group’s solar solutions unit Hanwha Q Cells, formerly Hanwha SolarOne, since 2011 and was promoted to the top position in September last y...

When the battery of the car was below 50 percent, the TMAP infotainment system notified both verbally and visually about the car’s battery charging levels and several locations of charging stations nearby. The Polestar 2 features Level 2 autonomous driving. But compared to Tesla’s autopilot function, the Polestar system felt less effective in detecting lanes when curbing. When it came to the in...

BEIJING , Jan. 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- CGTN's Liu Xin reached out to Tonga's Legislative Assembly Speaker Lord Fatafehi Fakafanua after volcanic eruptions and tsunami pounded the Pacific Island nation, for an update on the situation. CGTN was among the first Asian media outlets to speak to him. In her live interview, Liu Xin focused on the humanitarian aspect of the crisis and what was ...

With the election looming, the response from theaters has been lukewarm thus far. “We are having a hard time as multiplex theaters are reluctant to screen a political film, which can be seen as biased,” Kim said. “After watching our film some said they don’t think that it is biased but we are still having some difficulties finding theaters to release our film.“ “Candlelight Revolution” will hit...

FINTECH BANK to spread its wings with its digital banking foray LABUAN, Malaysia , Jan. 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- FINTECH BANK LTD (FBL), a Labuan-based commercial bank licensed by the Labuan Financial Services Authority (Labuan FSA), has started to serve a large and rapidly expanding international clientele. The bank will be the first seamless business and fintech industry-friendly commercia...

Following Lee’s Sunday post, Shin Na-ri, deputy spokesperson for the People’s Party election committee, made an official announcement that said “Lee, filled with his own inferiority complex, should immediately stop his immoral and absurd statements.” “Everyone knows who wanted unification more in the Seoul mayor election last year,” Shin said, referring to the then-candidate, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-h...

The Korean government has so far unveiled plans to spend 880 billion won ($737.5 million) this year for financial aid, in the country where tech titans Samsung and SK hynix is poised to spend a combined 55 trillion won in 2022. It is unclear how much government spending would entail for future tax breaks starting next year. Lee of Seoul National University said the law “will allow the experts to...

South Korea’s imports of beer recorded an all-time low last year, amid a nationwide boycott of Japanese beer and other products, data showed Monday. According to the Korea Customs Service, imports of beer decreased by 1.7 percent on-year to $223.1 million last year. The figure surpassed the record-low imports of $181.5 million in 2016. The list of major beer import countries last year includes ...

GS Engineering and Construction said Monday it has signed a memorandum of understanding with California-based SG H2 to supply modules that will be used to construct green hydrogen plants. The renewables project, led by SG H2 Energy’s special purpose company SG H2 Lancaster LLC, is expected to produce 11 tons of green hydrogen in Lancaster, California, an amount that can fuel 1,700 mid-size hyd...

Presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party on Monday stressed the need to adopt strict measures to push North Korea’s denuclearization, and vowed to strengthen national defense, saying it is the key to prosperity and peace on the Korean Peninsula. Announcing his 20 election pledges on diplomacy and defense policies -- four on North Korea, 11 on diplomacy and f...

South Korea’s central bank said Monday that it has successfully completed the pilot testing of issuance and distribution of digital currency. The Bank of Korea has wrapped up the first phase of its two-part mock testing of the central bank digital currency in December and has been carrying out the second phase “smoothly.” Once the second phase wraps up in June, the BOK plans to start discussion...