DRAM prices stabilize but yet to rebound

Average prices for DRAM widely used for PCs and solid-state drives have stabilized for a second straight month, raising expectations for a rebound in the coming months, according to the industry on Wednesday. Market researcher DRAM eXchange said the price of 8-gigabit DDR4 mainly used for PCs stood at $2.94 on Sept. 30, unchanged from the end of August. The 128-Gb multiple-level cells going into SSDs and USB drives was $4.11 last month, at the same level from the previous month.  It marked

TechnologyOct. 2, 2019

Q&A: SuperM answers big questions before its debut this week

After weeks of teasing fans with numerous clips, photos and announcements, SuperM is finally stepping into the music scene later this week.The group’s ultimate goal, according to its producer, S.M. Entertainment founder Lee Soo-man, is for the West and the East to become one and create what he calls a “culture universe.”Naturally, the group is focusing on the US market, with their debut record release due Friday, swiftly followed by a performance outside the Capitol Records Tow

K-popOct. 2, 2019

Samsung Next invests in quantum computing startup

Samsung Next has invested in a quantum computing startup spun off from a Harvard institution, in a move seen as the conglomerate’s preparations for next-generation computing, according to the industry on Wednesday. The startup investment arm of Samsung Electronics said on its blog that it has invested $2.7 million in Aliro Technologies with a group of investors including Flybridge Capital Partners. The latest investment was financed by its Q Fund, created last year to invest in innova

TechnologyOct. 2, 2019

Hashed invests in Ethereum scalability project

　　South Korea’s blockchain fund Hashed said Wednesday it has invested in a project to boost the Ethereum blockchain system’s scalability to accelerate the development of decentralized applications across industries. 　Called Skale Network, the project has raised $17.1 million so far to launch its mainnet by the fourth quarter of this year. Various accelerators worldwide have participated in the project, including ConsenSys Labs, Multicoin Capital, Recruit Holdings and Winklevoss Capit

TechnologyOct. 2, 2019

[Newsmaker] Democratic Party pushes to review college admissions of children of senior public officials

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea is pushing for special legislation to look into possible irregularities into the college admissions of the children of lawmakers and senior public officials.The minor opposition Justice Party and Bareunmirae Party and ruling Democratic Party Chairman Lee Hae-chan had earlier proposed an inquiry into how all legislators’ children obtained their university admissions, to which the main opposition Liberty Korea Party agreed.The rival parties had difference

PoliticsOct. 2, 2019

Mobile driver license to be available early next year

Instead of carrying a driver’s license, residents of South Korea will be able to prove their driving qualification via a smartphone app next year. Korean National Policy Agency said Wednesday it had agreed with the country’s three major mobile carriers to develop a driver license verification system. SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus will introduce the platform as early the first quarter of next year.  People will be able to store their driver license on the app after registering it t

BusinessOct. 2, 2019

Japan OKs 7 shipments of industrial materials under restriction to S. Korea

Japan has approved only seven shipments of sensitive industrial materials under restriction to South Korea since the neighbor implemented its export curbs in July. Seoul's trade minister said Wednesday.In July, Tokyo abruptly adopted strict regulations on South Korea-bound exports of three industrial items -- fluorine polyimide, resist and hydrogen fluoride -- vital for the production of chips and displays.In a parliamentary audit session, Seoul's Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee said Japan has give

Foreign AffairsOct. 2, 2019

South Korea braces for typhoon as Mitag batters Jeju

Typhoon Mitag hit Jeju Island on Wednesday, bringing 100-250 millimeters of rain to most parts of the southernmost island. Floods and damage have been reported in the eastern part of Jeju. More than 250 flights to and from the island have been canceled. As of 10 a.m. Wednesday, a wind shear alert has been in effect at Jeju Airport.  Eight houses have partially collapsed in the southeastern area of the island, and 25 people have been rescued from them. Three people have been treated for mino

Social AffairsOct. 2, 2019

Online shopping hits record high in August

The total value of goods purchased via online shopping in South Korea hit a record high in August, government data showed Wednesday, in the latest sign that a growing number of people are using computers and mobile devices to buy things, ranging from clothes to electronic goods.The total value of online transactions reached 11.25 trillion won ($9.3 billion) in August, the highest level since Statistics Korea started collecting data on online shopping in January 2001. From a year earlier, the val

EconomyOct. 2, 2019

Daewoong’ BTX gains European approval

Daewoong Pharmaceutical’s botulinum toxin Nuceiva was greenlighted by the European Commission for commercialization, Daewoong said Wednesday. US’ Evolus, the exclusive partner of Daewoong, plans to roll out Nuceiva in Europe from 2020 as forehead wrinkle smoothening treatment. Nuceiva is known as Navota in Korea and Jeuveau in the US.  Daewoong put emphasis on having made inroads to both US and Europe markets, which together account for approximately 70 percent of the world&rsqu

IndustryOct. 2, 2019

Stingy pitching staff to face best slugging team for KBO's wild card

The 2019 postseason in South Korean baseball will begin this week with a wild-card game between one of the league's top pitching staffs and its best slugging club. The LG Twins, which finished at 79-64-1 (wins-losses-ties), will host the NC Dinos (73-69-2) at 2 p.m. Thursday at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul. As the higher seed, the Twins will have two cracks at trying to win or tie one game to advance to the next stage.  If the Twins claim Thursday's game or end up in a tie after 15 innings,

BaseballOct. 2, 2019

Serial murder suspect confesses to 14 murders, 30 rapes

SUWON, Gyeonggi Province -- The police announced Wednesday that Lee Chun-jae, 56, has admitted he was a serial killer 30 years ago and responsible for more unsolved crimes.He has confessed to nine rape-murders that took place between 1986 and 1991 in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, as well as five additional murders and about 30 rapes and attempted rapes, the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency said in a press briefing Wednesday.Three of the five additional murders appear to have occurred aroun

Social AffairsOct. 2, 2019

Super Junior, Kang Daniel join lineup of Busan's annual K-pop concert

The organizer of the Busan One Asia Festival, a major annual K-pop concert in the city of Busan, on Wednesday announced the final lineup of its 2019 event, which includes Super Junior, NU'EST and Kang Daniel.BOF 2019 is scheduled to run from Oct. 19-25 at Busan's Hwamyeong Ecological Park, Haeundae Beach and the Busan Cinema Center, as well as other public areas in South Korea's biggest port city, 450 kilometers southeast of Seoul.  The festival's three main events -- the K-pop Concert, Hip

PerformanceOct. 2, 2019

Asia's top film festival opens in shadow of 'Parasite'

BUSAN (AFP) -- Organisers of Asia's top film festival, which opens in Busan this week, warn that a surge of global interest in the critically acclaimed South Korean movie "Parasite" masks a damaging underinvestment in local independent cinema.Bong Joon-ho's darkly comic tale of class war in the Seoul suburbs won the Palme D'or for best film at Cannes and is firming as an Oscar favourite next year, in what would be the first ever win for a Korean film.It has been sold to 192 internation

FilmOct. 2, 2019

Cheong Wa Dae says N. Korea seems to have fired SLBM

South Korea's National Security Council expressed strong concern Wednesday about North Korea's test of what is believed to be a submarine-launched ballistic missile.In connection with North Korea's firing of a projectile earlier in the day, the NSC is placing "weight on the possibility" that it was a SLBM test, Cheong Wa Dae said.It was giving a briefing on the results of an emergency NSC standing committee session, presided over by Chung Eui-yong, head of the national security office.

DefenseOct. 2, 2019

Tomorrow X Together to release 1st full album this month

K-pop rookie band Tomorrow X Together, also known as TXT, will release its first full-length album this month, its management agency said Wednesday.The upcoming record, "The Dream Chapter: Magic," set for release on Oct. 21, is TXT's second music release since the five-piece band debuted with "The Dream Chapter: Star" in March. The new album is also the second edition in the band's first "The Dream Chapter" album series that follows "the story of boys pursuing

PerformanceOct. 2, 2019

N. Korea's official paper blames Seoul's 'betrayal' for stalemate in inter-Korean ties

North Korea's official newspaper blamed South Korea's "betrayal behaviors" for the current stalemate in inter-Korean relations, urging Seoul to "return to basics" and respect the spirit of last year's summit agreements.The criticism came a day after North Korea said that Pyongyang and Washington agreed to resume working-level talks after months of impasse following their February summit, raising cautious hopes that progress in the upcoming talks could help the stalled inter-K

North KoreaOct. 2, 2019

Former YG chief undergoes second questioning about gambling charges

Yang Hyun-suk, the scandal-ridden former CEO of YG Entertainment, was summoned by police for a second time Tuesday and underwent questioning until shortly after midnight about suspicions he had habitually gambled while abroad and committed foreign exchange law violations.Yang Hyun-suk, an idol-turned-K-pop guru who once led one of the biggest K-pop management firms, left the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Intellectual Crime Investigation Team in northern Seoul around 12:10 a.m. Wednesday, 14

Social AffairsOct. 2, 2019

S. Korea confirms 2 more African swine fever cases

South Korea confirmed two more cases of African swine fever on Wednesday, raising the number of disease outbreaks to 11 in just two weeks amid strenuous disinfection efforts across the country.After a lull for the past four days, the new ASF cases were reported in Paju, north Gyeonggi Province, bordering North Korea, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.The ministry said it is testing another suspected ASF case reported in the same county. Of the confirmed cases, five

Social AffairsOct. 2, 2019

Trump denounces impeachment inquiry as a 'coup'

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- Donald Trump on Tuesday denounced the impeachment inquiry threatening his presidency as a "coup," as his administration pushed back hard against the investigation.Trump's comments came after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pressed to prevent or delay five former or current State Department staffers from testifying in the investigation probing accusations that Trump abused his office by seeking dirt from Ukraine on a 2020 election rival."As I learn more and more

World NewsOct. 2, 2019