Latest News

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  Researchers develop radiation-resistant low-electricity non-volatile memory chip component SEOUL -- A South Korean research team has developed a non-volatile memory chip component that consumes very little electricity and endures radiation levels similar to the primary cosmic radiation and atmospheric radiation which can damage the electronic parts of high-altitude aircraft or space crafts. Cosmic radiation, also known as primary cosmic rays, is charged particles that travel from astrophysical sources such as the sun with enormous amounts of energy. Atmospheric radiation 2023-02-28
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  Billboard includes genius idol incubator Min Hee-jin in 'The 2023 Women in Music' list SEOUL -- Min Hee-jin, a genius idol incubator who has planned concepts for K-pop superstar band NewJeans, was included in Billboard's list of influential women in the music industry. Min who has nurtured various SM Entertainment groups including Girls' Generation, f(x), and EXO was picked as the chief brand officer for ADOR, a subsidiary label of the agency of BTS. Min is currently in charge of nurturing rookie artists and producing music at ADOR. At SM Entertainment, she b 2023-02-28
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  Anti-drone system to be established in S. Korea's central city of Daejeon SEOUL -- In an effort to efficiently handle unexpected threats caused by drones, South Korea's central city of Daejeon will build an anti-drone system for state-run agencies. After the establishment of the prevention system, the city will demonstrate its aerial surveillance functions. Anti-drone systems are mostly used to detect drones and fire interference radio waves that can neutralize them before the aerial vehicles reach the country's key facilities. According to South 2023-02-27
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  Non-consumption expenditure accounts for 26.5% of total household spending in 2022 SEOUL -- Non-consumption household expenditure including tax and interest payments accounted for more than a quarter of entire household spending last year, the Korean Statistical Information Service (KOSIS) said February 27. The average non-consumption household expenditure was estimated at 951,000 won ($719) in 2022, up 8 percent from a year before, according to the KOSIS affiliated with Statistics Korea. The sum represented 26.5 percent of total average household spending of 3.5 2023-02-27
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  [SUMMARY] Daily News Selection by Aju Business Daily on February 27, 2023 The following stories are the daily summary of news in South Korea on February 27. SEOUL -- Zelenskyy claims that Ukraine will benefit from South Korea's military assistance Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, has stated that his nation will benefit from South Korea's military assistance in its conflict with Russia. He has expressed hope that Korea will be able to deliver this support. Zelenskyy made the comments during a speech in Kyiv commemorating the f 2023-02-27
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  Mcdonald's Korea to collaborate with girl band NewJeans for promotion of new menu SEOUL -- The South Korean office of McDonald's will collaborate with NewJeans, a girl group formed by ADOR, a subsidiary label of the agency of K-pop superstar BTS, to promote its new menu. The five-member band has captivated global fans through dance songs such as Attention, Ditto, and OMG. McDonald's Korea said in its Instagram post: "Curious about a crispy burger which NewJeans is looking for? 3/2 Coming Soon!" A photo of the girl band was also posted on the co 2023-02-27
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  ​Korean-built No. 3 reactor starts commercial operation in UAE's Barakah nuclear plant SEOUL -- The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has launched the commercial operation of the third reactor of the Barakah nuclear power plant built by South Korea, the Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) said February 26. The operation started February 24, eight months after the UAE issued an operating license and completed the process of inserting fuel rods into the reactor in June 2022, according to the state-run unitality company. The Barakah plant, located 270 kilometers west of Abu 2023-02-27
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  ​South Korea faces vicious cycle of snowballing trade deficit, falling won, high inflation SEOUL -- The South Korea economy is likely to slip into a vicious cycle of a snowballing trade deficit, a weakening Korean won against the U.S. dollar, and soaring inflation. According to the Korea Customs Service, the country suffered a trade deficit of $18.63 billion (24.56 trillion won) so far this year until February 20. The sum was 2.7 times the $6.98 billion shortfall the country posted a year before. In the first 20 days of February, the deficit was estimated at $5.98 bi 2023-02-27
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  BTS' main dancer J-Hope to roll out solo single 'on the street' in March SEOUL -- BTS member J-Hope will release his solo single before starting his mandatory military service in South Korea. The 29-year-old composed the song titled "on the street" which is a place where he first started to dream of becoming an artist. "The title 'on the street' refers to j-hope's roots—street dance—from which his dream to become an artist began, and the path the artist and fans will continue to walk together," said Big Hit th 2023-02-27
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  Kakao's AI development wing to kick-start $7.6 mln fund to commercialize hyperscale AI SEOUL -- Kakao Brain, the artificial intelligence development wing will kick-start a fund worth up to 10 billion won ($7.6 million) during the first half of 2023 to commercialize the company's AI-based image generation application. Hyperscale AI refers to AI technologies and techniques at a massive scale to solve complex problems and process an enormous amount of data. Hyperscale AI is often used in natural language processing and AI-based image generation. AI image generat 2023-02-27
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  ​[Weekly Stock Market] Overall foreign buying trend is likely to continue SEOUL -- The benchmark Korea Stock Price Index (KOSPI) ended at 2,423.61 last week, down 1.13 percent from a week before, as the index was predominantly pressured by foreign selling. For the first time this year, on a weekly basi 2023-02-26
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  Malaysia signs $920 million deal to buy South Korean light jet fighters SEOUL -- The Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), South Korea's sole aircraft maker, has secured a deal worth $920 million (1.2 trillion won) to deliver 18 light fighter jets called "FA-50" to Malaysia starting in 2026. KAI said in a press release February 24 that FA-50 was selected as the preferred bidder by Malaysia's defense ministry among six light fighters that include Russia's MIG-35, Turkey's Hurizet and India's Tejas. Malaysia has become the fourt 2023-02-24
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  KEPCO suffers record operating loss of $25 billion in 2022 due to soaring fuel prices SEOUL -- The state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) said February 24 that it suffered a record operating loss of 32.63 trillion won ($25.02 billion) last year, prompted by soaring fuel prices and a slow pace of electricity rate hikes. The loss was more than five times the company's 2021 operating loss of 5.84 trillion won. In the last three months of last year alone, KEPCO incurred a 10.76 trillion won loss, hitting an all-time high quarterly figure. KEPCO said that i 2023-02-24
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  S. Korea launches working group to discuss intellectual property issues regarding AI-generated images SEOUL -- South Korea has launched a working group composed of experts from various sectors to discuss issues regarding intellectual property rights over artificial intelligence-generated images. Thanks to the development of AI technologies, anyone can generate artificial images to match their preferences. However, generated images are based on datasets of pictures and drawings created by human artists. AI-generated image services became popular during the last few years as they off 2023-02-24
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  Science research institute UNIST to create vegetable garden on campus SEOUL -- A vegetable garden with various plants, a pond, and plant-based food items will be created at a science and technology university in the southeastern industrial city of Ulsan. The state institute, which earlier created an experimental living lab using energy from human excrement, aims to establish infrastructure for a carbon-neutral campus. The Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) said in a statement that the institute has partnered with a local bank, 2023-02-24
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  Researchers find operating principle of key protein in RNA generation process SEOUL -- For the first time in the world, a team of researchers from South Korea's Institute for Basic Science has found the key operating principle of Dicer, also known as endoribonuclease Dicer, a protein crucial to the generation of micro RNA and RNA therapeutic agents. The findings could help researchers analyze the cause of various cancers and develop RNA-based drugs. Dicer is an enzyme that cleaves double-stranded RNA into short double-stranded RNA fragments called mi 2023-02-24
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  ​Two bar associations fined $7.7 million each for membership ban on legal service platform SEOUL -- South Korea's two bar associations were slapped with a fine of 10 billion won ($7.7 million) each for banning their members from joining LawTalk, an online platform that connects users and lawyers. On February 23, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) decided to impose the fine on the Korean Bar Association (KBA) and the Seoul Bar Association (SBA), stating that their ban has hindered "free and fair" competition in the legal market. The antitrust regulat 2023-02-24
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  Busan-based software company develops AI solution capable of monitoring container loading condition at ports SEOUL -- Seoahn SNC, a software company based in South Korea, has developed an artificial intelligence-based solution capable of monitoring whether containers are properly stacked at a port facility. Incorrectly stored containers can cause various safety accidents as they may collapse because of gales. The technology created by the software company in the southern port city of Busan automatically is designed to analyzes container loading conditions using light detection and ranging 2023-02-24
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  ​Real household income drops 1.1% in fourth quarter of last year amid soaring inflation SEOUL -- South Korea's real household income fell 1.1 percent year-on-year in the fourth quarter of last year, affected by runaway inflation, according to Statistics Korea on February 23. The statistical office said that average nominal household income increased 4.1 percent to 4.83 million won in the last three months of 2022 from a year before. However, inflation-adjusted real household income dropped 1.1 percent, following a 2.8 percent fall in the third quarter of last year 2023-02-23
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  Naver's travel reservation service becomes S. Korea's second-most used travel service provider: survey SEOUL -- A travel reservation service, operated by South Korean web service giant Naver, has become the country's second-most used online travel service provider with a usage rate of 19 percent in 2022. The largest online travel service provider with a 22.9 percent usage rate was Yanolja, which also owns Interpark, a popular online ticket reservation service company. Naver, which was kick-started as a web portal service in 1999, is now South Korea's largest web service prov 2023-02-23