LG CNS ditches ID card for facial recognition system

LG CNS, the information and communication technology solutions affiliate of LG Group, has adopted artificial intelligence-based facial recognition technology to boost its security. The company said Tuesday that it has rolled out facial recognition devices on its 26 points of entry at its headquarters within LG Science Park in Magok, Seoul. LC CNS collaborated with AI startup SenseTime to develop the biometric entry service. The service can verify captured faces with images in its databas

IndustryFeb. 11, 2020

Online shopping more popular amid coronavirus scare: analysts

South Koreans are increasingly favoring shopping online for daily necessities due to safety concerns over the spread of a new strain of coronavirus, analysts said Tuesday. "Shopper sentiment has grown more against offline shopping," said SK Securities Co. analyst Lee So-joong, after people later diagnosed with the new coronavirus recently visited a hypermarket chain and duty-free shops. Online shopping has grown in recent weeks after the South Korean authorities announced the first

IndustryFeb. 11, 2020

Oscar-winning 'Parasite' gets biggest-scale British screen release for Asian title

SEOUL/LONDON -- The Oscar-winning Korean film "Parasite" is getting the widest-ever theatrical release for an Asian title in Britain. The black comedy was officially released last Friday and is now showing on 1,554 screens in some 100 theaters across Britain. Tickets for several showings of "Parasite" sold out in the opening weekend, and the news of the film's victories at the Oscar is further boosting the film's appeal to British audiences. "Parasite" picked

FilmFeb. 11, 2020

Doorbell song, chapaguri from 'Parasite' become talk of town

With the Oscar-winning film "Parasite" creating a lot of buzz throughout the world, a short catchy song and a recipe from the sensational movie are also sweeping the internet. The so-called Jessica jingle is a line that the character Ki-jung, played Park So-dam, sings with her brother Ki-woo (Choi Woo-sik) in order to remember her false identity before ringing the doorbell of a rich family's house. In the movie, the wily siblings sweet-talk the affluent Park family into employing th

FilmFeb. 11, 2020

Carmakers partially restart production following resumption in China

Carmakers in South Korea said Tuesday they have partially resumed vehicle production that was halted due to parts shortages caused by the new coronavirus outbreak, on resumed supply of parts from China. Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp., the country's two biggest carmakers, said they restarted production at their domestic plants Tuesday, mainly using auto components shipped from Southeast Asia. "Some parts from Southeast Asia arrived at the plants Monday and our South

MobilityFeb. 11, 2020

New coronavirus fuels 1,236% jump in overseas purchases of masks, hand sanitizers

Since the outbreak of the new coronavirus, more and more South Koreans are shopping online for protective items from overseas sites. According to the Korean branch of the international shopping support site Malltail, orders for sanitary products from overseas sites jumped 1,236 percent in the period between Jan. 20 to Thursday, compared with the same period last year. The most popular item was hand sanitizer, with sales surging 6,243 percent during the cited period. Face masks and hand soap

ConsumerFeb. 11, 2020

Korea's PC market grows 7% in 2019 on Windows 10 transition: data

South Korea's PC market grew 7 percent last year from the previous year on the back of the Windows 10 transition in the commercial market, industry data showed Tuesday. Domestic PC shipments totaled 4.55 million units in 2019, up 7.2 percent from 2018, according to the data by market researcher IDC Korea. Of the total, desktop shipments accounted for 2.19 million units, up from 1.93 million units in 2018, while laptop shipments increased slightly from 2.31 million units to 2.35 million units

IndustryFeb. 11, 2020

Korea's exports jump 69.4% in first 10 days of Feb.

SEJONG -- South Korea's exports jumped 69.4 percent in the first 10 days of February, mainly due to rising shipments of cars and semiconductors, customs data showed Tuesday. The country's exports stood at $10.7 billion in the Feb. 1-10 period, compared with $4.38 billion in the same period last year, according to the Korea Customs Service. By product, exports of cars and semiconductors soared 114.5 percent and 37.8 percent, respectively. However, the average daily exports -- which reflect

EconomyFeb. 11, 2020

US flies patrol plane on apparent mission to monitor N. Korea

A US maritime surveillance plane has flown over South Korea this week, an aviation tracker said Tuesday, in the latest in a series of US surveillance operations apparently aimed at monitoring North Korea. According to Aircraft Spots, a P-3C plane of the US Navy was spotted over South Korea on Monday. The operation came just days after North Korea quietly marked the 72nd anniversary of its army's founding without a military parade. "Army-Building Day," which commemorates the 1948 e

North KoreaFeb. 11, 2020

S. Korea to send 3rd evacuation flight to virus-hit Wuhan Tuesday night

South Korea is set to send a third evacuation flight to the new coronavirus-hit Chinese city of Wuhan on Tuesday night to bring back about 170 of its citizens and their Chinese spouses and immediate family members, officials said. The chartered plane is expected to depart from Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, at around 8:45 p.m., arrive in Wuhan late at night and return to Gimpo International Airport in western Seoul on Wednesday morning. The evacuation mission comes less than a

Social AffairsFeb. 11, 2020

N. Korea exported $370m in coal in violation of sanctions last year: report

WASHINGTON -- North Korea exported some $370 million worth of coal last year in violation of United Nations sanctions, a UN panel of experts was quoted as saying in a draft report Monday. The transactions were largely carried out via illicit ship-to-ship transfers between North Korean vessels and Chinese barges, according to a report that is to be submitted to the UN Security Council committee overseeing North Korea sanctions implementation, Reuters said. UN Security Council resolutions ban N

North KoreaFeb. 11, 2020

S. Korea reports 1 more case of novel coronavirus, total now at 28

South Korea on Tuesday confirmed one more case of the novel coronavirus, bringing the total here to 28 with four of them discharged after being fully recovered. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said the latest patient is a 30-year-od Chinese woman who is an acquaintance of the country's third confirmed case. The Chinese national had been placed into a self-quarantine before being diagnosed, the public health agency said. The KCDC said the third patient, a Korean na

Social AffairsFeb. 11, 2020

Trump does not want another summit with Kim before election: CNN

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump told his advisers that he does not want another summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un before the November presidential election, CNN quoted two sources as saying Monday. The report comes as denuclearization negotiations between the two countries have stalled since the unfruitful second summit between Trump and Kim in February 2019. "And as Trump focuses on his re-election campaign his appetite to engage on the issue has waned," CNN repor

North KoreaFeb. 11, 2020

High-profile N. Korean defector to run in S. Korea's spring election: party

Thae Yong-ho, a former North Korean diplomat who defected to South Korea in 2016, plans to run in the April 15 general elections here as a member of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP), a party official announced Monday. Kim Hyong-o, head of the LKP's election candidate selection panel, said Thae has joined the conservative party for a race in a Seoul constituency and not in pursuit of a National Assembly seat from proportional representation. "I think he would probably be the fi

PoliticsFeb. 10, 2020

Moon congratulates 'Parasite' on winning 4 Oscars

President Moon Jae-in sent a congratulatory message Monday to Bong Joon-ho and his "Parasite" team for the historic Oscar success of the South Korean film, saying it has given South Koreans pride and courage as they try to overcome the challenges of the novel coronavirus outbreak. The president wrote in an official letter that his government will "be with our movie people" so that they can engage in imaginative filmmaking free from worry. He was apparently reaffirming his

FilmFeb. 10, 2020

Controversy rekindled over Hwacheon ice fishing festival

An ice-fishing festival in Hwacheon has reignited controversy over animal abuse for its cruel killing of mountain trout, with the environment minister denouncing it as a “human-focused” event at the cost of animals’ lives. On Monday, bestselling novelist Lee Oi-soo, who lives in Hwacheon, Gangwon Province, and is an honorary ambassador for the festival, criticized the comment made last week by Environment Minister Cho Myung-rae. “Are chickens being raised in a free and

Social AffairsFeb. 10, 2020

Virus patient takes precautions, prevents spread

South Korea’s 17th confirmed case of the new coronavirus is being highlighted as a successful example of containment efforts after all of his close contacts tested negative. The Korean man, 37, came down with a fever on Jan. 26, two days after arriving here from Singapore. When he visited a hospital in Guri, Gyeonggi Province, he was initially sent to the emergency room as he had not recently been in China.  An emergency physician isolated the man in a negative-pressure room,

Social AffairsFeb. 10, 2020

Oscars yield to Bong Joon-ho and ‘Parasite’

Auteur Bong Joon-ho of “Parasite” has become the first South Korean director to win an Oscar, and he has broken down barriers in a big way with four trophies, including the festival’s most coveted award -- for best picture. At the 92nd Oscars on Sunday night, Bong received four Oscars for “Parasite” -- best international feature film, best original screenplay, best director and best picture. It turns out the Korean movie had been making history not just for its ho

FilmFeb. 10, 2020

Did he cough? Medical chief in hot water over gesture on TV

The chief of the state-run National Medical Center found himself in hot water on Monday over a cough-like gesture he made a day earlier on a TV program that discussed the new coronavirus, which has infected 27 people here. President Chung Ki-hyun allegedly made a fist and coughed into his left hand, against the advice of the country’s health protection agency. The Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommends coughing into one’s sleeve to help stop the spread of germs.

Social AffairsFeb. 10, 2020

[Graphic News] Majority of low-income families attendcultural events

　A record number of families in the lowest-income bracket - more than five out of every 10 - paid at least one visit to cultural and art events last year, government reports showed. 　According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute, 51.7 percent of families with a monthly income of 1 million won ($840.70) or less attended at least one cultural event in 2019, sharply up from 42.5 percent on-year. 　The corresponding figure for 2016 was 30.9

Social AffairsFeb. 10, 2020