Chinese authorities have finally approved SK hynix’s acquisition of Intel’s NAND and SSD business, the company said Wednesday. Though SK hynix and Intel signed the $9 billion deal in October last year, it has been waiting for approval from China for more than a year due to tensions with the US. In the chip industry, to prevent one company from dominating the market, mergers and acquisitions req...

South Korean director Erick Oh’s short animation “Namoo,” which means tree in Korean, on Wednesday made it onto the 94th Oscar shortlist after being nominated in the animated short film category. The Academy Awards will announce the final list of nominees on Feb. 9 and the awards ceremony will take place on March 27, 2022. Oh’s new animation follows the journey of a man’s life -- from beginning...

BAT Rothmans, the Korean business arm of British American Tobacco, is ramping up its recycling campaign in Korea to encourage people not to throw away used Glo devices, the company said Wednesday. The Seoul office of the London-based tobacco company said it has installed return bins for Glo tobacco heating devices at 50 convenience stores in cities nationwide with heavy foot traffic, with more t...

Boy band Onewe will come back with its second EP “Planet Nine: Voyager” on Jan. 4, announced agency RBW Entertainment on Wednesday, uploading a poster with an image of Saturn that resembled the letter “o.” It has been seven months since its first EP “Planet Nine: Alter Ego,” which included songs that were all written by the bandmates. On Tuesday, the band teamed up with Oneus, another mal...

LTI Korea added that increased interest in Korean literature is due to Hallyu’s ever-growing global influence as well as quality translations. These changes are partially due to several Korean writers like Yun Ko-eun and Ma Yeong-shin winning international awards, LTI Korea said. In July, Yun’s novel “The Disaster Tourist” became the first in Korea to win in the Crime Fiction in Translation Dag...

Gong Yoo, who previously made his Netflix debut with a brief appearance on “Squid Game,” was honored to take part in this project. “Unique setting, interesting scenario and amazing cast aside, I was personally interested in a dystopian world and stories about the near future,” said Gong. “I was disappointed that Korean contents were lacking in diversity, where similar stories and genres were con...

South Korea on Wednesday became the 10th country outside of Europe to join the European Union (EU) law enforcement cooperation agency that fights terrorism and other international crimes, police said. The National Police Agency (NPA) joined Europol by signing a working-level agreement that was approved unanimously by the 27 EU nations on Oct. 6. The accession is an outcome of efforts by police t...

BRIGHTON -- Digital systems are critical to development and humanitarian activities, but they can expose some of the world’s most vulnerable communities to unforeseen risks. Recent examples from Afghanistan highlight these dangers. In September, it was reported that the UK Ministry of Defence had been involved in two separate data breaches, potentially compromising the safety of participants in ...

Seoul has stressed time and again that its approach to North Korean issues are in sync with that of the US, but the allies appear far apart on Moon Jae-in administration’s latest play -- declaring the end of the Korean War. The Biden administration essentially prefers to discuss an end of war declaration as a part of a broad and comprehensive process toward complete denuclearization and permanen...

South Korea’s Consitutional Court is set to review whether the COVID-19 pass is constitutional. The Constitutional Court said Tuesday evening its full bench of nine justices would review the constitutionality of the pass’s enactment. The court’s full bench is usually summoned when a case is deemed to hold legitimacy. The COVID-19 pass, or vaccine pass, was implemented nationwide on Dec. 13 and ...

A second key figure in the Daejang-dong land development scandal has been found dead, 11 days after another key figure also died. The deceased, Seongnam Development Corp.’s development chief Kim Moon-ki, was among those prosecutors were questioning as part of their investigation into the development project, which took place while now-presidential candidate Lee Jae-myeong was mayor of the city. ...

From Thursday, a Christmas market will be set up at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza until the end of the year to celebrate the festive season. Under the theme “The Christmas airport - Travel to Santa’s world,” a total of 40 stalls will be in operation from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m, at Allim Hall 2, located within the plaza. The 2021 Seoul Christmas Market at DDP displays and sells a variety of holiday-relat...

The latest battlefield for the nation’s top three battery makers -- LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI and SK On -- is their new leaderships. High-profile executives, including a chaebol scion, have stepped in to nurture the battery-making units of LG, Samsung and SK as new growth engines. The Korean trio has seen a surge in battery output capacity this year amid soaring demand for electric vehicle...

South Korea’s antitrust watchdog announced Wednesday that it would fine SK Inc. and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won 1.6 billion won ($1.3 million) over allegations that his personal purchase in LG Siltron shares back in 2017 had violated the law. The decision was made a week after Chey had attended the Fair Trade Commission’s full-member session in person. Chey’s attendance was rare as the watchd...

SEJONG -- South Korea and Vietnam agreed to bolster coordination on trade and development projects during a ministerial meeting in Seoul, Wednesday, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said. At the meeting, Korea’s Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Moon Sung-wook signed a memorandum of understanding with Vietnam’s Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien on urea supply. Under...