Latest News

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  SGC Energy to convert Vietnam's coal power plants to biomass-based generating facilities SEOUL -- SGC Energy, a green energy solution provider in South Korea, will work with a Vietnamese power engineering consulting firm to carry out projects to convert coal power plants into biomass-based generating facilities. The partnership was made followed by Vietnam’s state project to phase out coal power generation which accounts for 40 percent of the country's total power supply. Biomass is a renewable organic material based on plants and animals. It is used as fuel 2023-03-16
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  ​South Korea to inject $228 bln to create mega-sized semiconductor cluster by 2042 SEOUL -- In a bid to beef up the country's competitiveness in the global semiconductor sector, South Korea will invest 300 trillion won ($228.7 billion) to create the world's largest semiconductor research and development center complex in Yongin City south of Seoul by 2042. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy revealed the "National Advanced Industry Promotion Strategy" at the Emergency Economic and Livelihoods Council, chaired by President Yoon Suk-yeol on 2023-03-16
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  Mars Auto's self-driving solution to be demonstrated through cargo trucks in S. Korea SEOUL -- A self-driving solution developed by Mars Auto, a South Korean autonomous truck developer, will be used for freight transport service through urban roads that connect Seoul and the southeastern province of Gyeongsang. The level 3 self-driving system with seven cameras and a minicomputer can detect driving environments and autonomously control cargo trucks. The current law does not allow autonomous commercial cargo transport services between different cities and provinces. 2023-03-16
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  South Korea's theme park & amusement fair to be held in KINTEX in July SEOUL -- "2023 Korea Theme Park & Amusement Fair" (KAAFAIR), one of South Korea's largest annual theme park exhibitions, will be held in KINTEX in Ilsan northeast of Seoul for three days in July. Various companies from South Korea and the global theme park and amusement park industries will participate in the event. After its first successful event held in the southern port city of Busan in 2020, KAAFAIR will be held for the first time in three years for three day 2023-03-16
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  Sales of fashion items at W Concept's offline stores increase 30 percent year-on-year SEOUL -- Sales of 65 brands at offline stores run by W Concept, the online fashion platform wing of South Korea's retail giant Shinsegae, increased 30 percent between January 2022 and January 2023, compared to same period a year ago. The company, which attracted many young female consumers through its online platform, has showcased three offline stores targeting young consumers who like to express themselves with unique apparel items. W Concept said in a statement on March 16 t 2023-03-16
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  [SUMMIT] President Yoon heads to Japan for summit meeting with Prime Minister Kishida SEOUL -- South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol has departed for a two-day visit to Japan to attend a summit meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio. Yoon and his delegation including staff members departed from Seoul Airport in Seongnam south of the capital city on an Air Force presidential jet at around 9:50 a.m. (0050 GMT) on March 16. After arriving in Japan, Yoon's first schedule will be to attend a meeting with South Korean residents in Tokyo before participatin 2023-03-16
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  [SUMMARY] Daily News Selection by Aju Daily on March 15, 2023 The following stories are the daily summary of news in South Korea on March 15. SEOUL -- Grandson of ex-President Chun Doo-hwan accuses family of corruption A former president's grandson, Chun Woo-won, referred to his grandfather as a "slaughterer." The family of Chun Doo-Hwan, ex-President of South Korea, who brutally put down a pro-democracy rebellion in 1980, has been accused of using funds from stashed assets by the former president’s grandson. The gr 2023-03-15
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  [OPINION] Germany is a Positive as well as Powerful Leader KENOSHA -- On March 3, Chancellor Olaf Scholz of united Germany visited with President Joe Biden at the White House. The visit brought no public disagreement. Some misguid 2023-03-15
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  S. Korean President to have dinner with Japan's Prime Minister at Omurice restaurant during summit SEOUL -- President Yoon Suk-yeol will visit Japan on March 16 for two days to meet Japan's Prime Minister Kishida Fumio for a summit meeting. The two leaders will engage in discussions to find solutions to improve bilateral relations and have dinner at an Omurice restaurant in Ginza, Tokyo's shopping district filled with department stores and restaurants. It would be the first visit by a South Korean president to Japan in about four years since ex-President Moon Jae-in attended 2023-03-15
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  ​American battery startup ONE opens South Korean office SEOUL -- American battery startup Our Next Energy, backed by Bill Gates and BMW, has set up an office in South Korea. The CEO of the South Korean office is Shazad Butt, the Chief Operating Officer of the battery startup. Aju Daily found through its news covering process that Our Next Energy (ONE) chose to nest inside an information technology industry center in Hwaseong southwest of Seoul. The American startup is busily moving to start a business in South Korea. The company had rec 2023-03-15
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  KT to work with camping service startups for outdoor autonomous robot delivery business SEOUL -- South Korea's major telecom company KT will work with camping service startups to provide autonomous delivery robot services at various campsites. Camping has been rising in popularity in South Korea, especially among people in their 30s and 40s. According to data released by South Korea's statistics office, the number of campers skyrocketed to 6.8 million in 2020 from 5.3 million in 2019. The national statistics office predicts that the number of campers surpass 2023-03-15
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  ​Hyundai Motor company becomes world's third-largest carmaker: market data SEOUL -- South Korea's Hyundai auto group has become the world's third-largest carmaker, thanks to the motor group's clean energy vehicles including electric vehicles which became popular in major car markets in North America and Europe, investor relations data released by various car companies showed. Also, increased sales of Hyundai's luxury car brand Genesis played a vital role in boosting the company's global recognition around the world. Hyundai entered the 2023-03-15
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  Bio-venture firm GI Innovation hopes to be listed in S. Korean version of NASDAQ SEOUL -- As a promising unicorn in South Korea's bio-venture sector, GI Innovation aims to be listed on KOSDAQ, the South Korean version of the U.S stock market NASDAQ. At an initial public offering briefing held on March 13, the bio-venture company unveiled its scheme to transfer five additional technologies by 2028. During the briefing session, the company's CEO Rhee Byung-geon proudly introduced GI-SMART, a smart screening system capable of detecting optimal dual fusion 2023-03-14
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  [COLUMN] 'Study-in-rural-village' education project creates 'hometown' for future generations SEOUL --​ "It could not be more perfect." It was a comment from Yun Si-hu, a fifth-grade student who transferred from a school in Seoul to a Woldeung Elementary school in Suncheon some 294 kilometers (182 miles) south of the capital city. His words were the most comforting to people like me who are in a situation where we have to contemplate the effi 2023-03-14
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  Nongshim to establish strawberry smart farm infrastructure in Saudi Arabia SEOUL -- A consortium led by Nongshim, a major food company in South Korea, will build strawberry smart farms in Saudi Arabia. The Middle Eastern country has been relying on imported strawberries due to the lack of agricultural land and water. A smart farm is an automated indoor farm capable of automatically analyzing the temperature, humidity, and amount of sunlight using the internet of things (IoT) technology. Farmers can grow plants without having to worry about weather conditi 2023-03-14
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  Hyundai signs term sheet to acquire GM car factory in India SEOUL -- Hyundai Motor is pushing to acquire a foreign car factory in India for the first time since entering the Indian market in 1996. The company aims to increase its annual production to around 900,000 units and surpass the current leader Maruti Suzuki to take the top spot in the world's fourth-largest car market. According to data released by Statista, a global market analyst firm, India's automobile market is rapidly growing at an annual average growth rate of about 3 2023-03-14
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  Lotte's home shopping channel selects human influencers to promote virtual model Lucy SEOUL -- The home shopping channel of Lotte Group has selected human influencers who will be in charge of managing Lucy, a 29-year-old virtual model with some 104,000 followers on Instagram. Based on actual experience, the human managers will plan various types of content for the virtual influencer who made a debut as an online shopping show host in 2022. Lucy, created by synthesizing a face with an image of a real person, has interacted with viewers through live commerce shows. Sh 2023-03-14
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  Thriller series 'The Glory' maintains explosive popularity despite director's bullying allegations SEOUL -- Although the director of "The Glory" has admitted his bullying allegations during his teenage years, it has not affected the content's global popularity. The South Korean thriller series has become the second-most watched content on Netflix through its second part which includes episodes from nine to 16, only three days after its release. According to Flixpatrol, a Europe-based Netflix content ranking service, the second part of The Glory, released on March 1 2023-03-13
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  KAIST selected by the government to establish R&D center for high-tech military drones SEOUL -- The Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST) was selected by the South Korean government to establish a research and development center for high-tech military drones. About 49 billion won ($37.5 million) will be invested in the construction and operation of the R&D center. The prominent state-operated research institute said in a statement on March 13 that KAIST was selected by the Korea Research Institute for Defense Technology Planning and Adv 2023-03-13
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  Almost half of S. Koreans think opposition leader Lee Jae-myung should resign: survey SEOUL -- A survey showed that almost half of South Koreans think Lee Jae-myung, the chairman of the main progressive opposition Democratic Party of Korea, should resign. In February 2023, a state prosecutor's office sought an arrest warrant for Lee over corruption allegations that involve land development projects and suspicious donations from corporations. In a survey of 1,064 South Koreans aged 18 or older, conducted by pollster Hangil, about 48.6 percent said Lee should resi 2023-03-13