LG debuts Chromebook for education market

LG Electronics said Sunday it has launched a brand-new laptop, Chromebook, to target the growing education market, the size of which is expected to increase five times in three years. According to the consumer electronics firm, the 11-inch laptop offers a touch screen and can be utilized as a tablet as it bends backward. Weighing just 1.44 kilograms, the laptop is available for 690,000 won ($567). The cheap price was possible as the laptop doesn’t require an expensive Windows operating

March 6, 2022

Samsung joins Russia sanctions, donates $6m to Ukraine

Samsung Electronics has suspended its shipments to Russia and donated $6 million to Ukraine, according to industry sources Sunday. The South Korean tech giant has become the latest multinational firm to join comprehensive sanctions against Russia, where the market has crashed and the value of the ruble has plummeted. Despite its export embargo on Russia, Samsung Electronics will still operate its local factories there. “Shipments to Russia have been suspended due to the current geopol

March 6, 2022

Hyundai Engineering wins used plastic processing plant deal in US

Hyundai Engineering Co. said Sunday it has received a front-end engineering and design (FEED) deal to build a plastic waste processing plant in the United States. Hyundai Engineering obtained the FEED deal from Encina Development Group to process plastic waste into 150,000 tons of circular chemicals products a year, the company said in a statement. Hyundai Engineering aims to win more deals from Encina as the US company plans to push more plastic waste processing plant projects in the US, Latin

March 6, 2022

Samsung Electronics allegedly hacked by foreign entity, confidential data leaked

  Samsung Electronics has allegedly been hacked by a foreign hacking group, which breached its confidential source code and other classified data, industry sources and media reports said Saturday. Data extortion entity Lapsus$ has claimed that it hacked the system of the South Korean tech giant and leaked up to 190 gigabytes of its data and source code online, according to the sources. It also said that it uploaded the leaked data for download via torrent. Samsung officials said they are

March 5, 2022

[Eye Plus] Meet servants, suppliers for Joseon royal families in Wonseo-dong

In Jongno-gu, central Seoul, one of the most historical districts in the city, lies a town that preserves the culture and art from the Joseon era. Walking alongside the town offers a glimpse of how low-level officials who worked for kings and queens of the Joseon Dynasty lived. Located between Bukchon Hanok Village and the Changdeok Palace, the town is called Wonseo-dong, meaning the western part of the palace’s backyard. Crossing a small road from the palace, visitors are welcomed by

March 5, 2022

S. Korea to release 4.42 mln barrels of oil reserves due to Ukraine crisis

South Korea has decided to release 4.42 million barrels of strategic crude reserves to help bring down soaring energy prices and prevent a possible supply shortage amid tensions surrounding Ukraine, the industry ministry said Saturday. Earlier this week, 31 member nations of the International Energy Agency  agreed to release 60 million barrels of oil from their emergency reserves, as concerns have risen over a possible shortfall in global energy supplies and a further spike in prices due t

March 5, 2022

Seoul stocks likely to be volatile next week amid Ukraine uncertainties

South Korean stock markets are expected to continue to face volatile sessions next week, largely on persistent uncertainties in Ukraine and the US Federal Reserve's stance on its monetary policy, analysts said Saturday. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 2,744.52 points Friday, up 0.14 percent from a week ago. The key stock index snapped its four-day winning streak Friday, as investors were spooked by a fire at a Ukraine nuclear plant and the U.S. Federal Reserve chairma

March 5, 2022

[Newsmaker] K-drama filming locations among most popular attractions in Seoul: report

Foreigners flocked to famous K-drama filming sites in Seoul last year, propelled by a rising global popularity for Korean TV series, a report showed Friday. Among some 80 tourist attractions visited by 1.6 million foreigners last year, 57.6 percent were filming locations of Netflix-aired Korean dramas, a LG Uplus report showed. Milal Fine Art Museum in Gangnam-gu, the filming site of “Guardian: The Lonely and Great God,” saw a 195 percent surge -- the highest figure -- in the num

March 4, 2022

Blockchain experts call for government support in fostering digital asset businesses

The Korea Digital Asset Industry Committee highlighted the need to create a government organization committed to fostering blockchain businesses. On Thursday, stakeholders in the blockchain industry and academia gathered to debate on how to better capitalize on the emerging opportunities of digital assets. The panel stressed the importance of fostering digital economy -- as in, cashing in on digital technologies -- in order for Korea to grow into the fifth-largest economy. “In the era o

March 4, 2022

Fuel tax cuts extended until July amid oil price surge

The South Korean government decided to keep the current fuel tax cuts for another three months until July amid concerns that the war in Ukraine could propel energy prices.  In November last year, the government lowered fuel taxes by a record 20 percent in a bid to tame inflationary pressure. The measure was set to expire at the end of April. A 20 percent cut equals to a reduction of 164 won per liter of gasoline and 116 won per liter of diesel.  In a meeting on product price and in

March 4, 2022

Naver’s metaverse platform Zepeto hits 300m users

Zepeto, the metaverse platform of Korea’s tech giant Naver, said Friday its number of domestic and international users reached 300 million since its launch, amid the burgeoning trend of interactions in virtual reality. “The number of international users alone is 285 million, accounting for 95 percent of users, while 15 million domestic users have subscribed to the app,“ a Naver official said. ”The number of monthly active customers reached 20 million.“ Companies

March 4, 2022

Han Sung Motor to sponsor three breakdancers

Han Sung Motor, an official dealer of Mercedes-Benz Korea, said Friday that it has clinched a contract to sponsor three breakdancers. The sponsorship is part of a new project called WANNA.B by Han Sung Motor. It was established this year to support B-boy and B-girls to achieve what they want to become in the future. Through such a project, Han Sung Motor said it will launch more activities to expand the realm of breakdance and facilitate communication with millennials and Generation Z. 

March 4, 2022

Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 scores higher than Mercedes-Benz EQB on AutoBild review

Hyundai Motor Group said Friday that its flagship electric model Ioniq 5 has received a higher score than Mercedes-Benz EQB from German automotive magazine AutoBild’s review. The carmaker said AutoBild compared the two models based on seven categories -– body, comfort, powertrain, driving dynamics, connected car, environment and cost -– along with 53 subcategories. Out of 800 points, Ioniq 5 received 582 points, 20 points more than the EQB.  Ioniq 5 received higher poin

March 4, 2022

[Graphic News] S. Korean film market shrinks for 2nd year in a row in 2021 amid protracted pandemic

　South Korea’s filmmaking industry contracted for a second straight year in 2021 due mainly to the yearslong COVID-19 pandemic, government data showed. 　The aggregated revenue of the local film market, which includes domestic sales of movie tickets, online releases and exports, reached 1.02 trillion won ($855 million) last year, according to data from the Korean Film Council. 　It is a slight on-year decrease from the previous year’s 1.05 trillion won but marks  plunge from 2.

March 4, 2022

Seoul stocks open lower amid Ukraine uncertainties

South Korean stocks opened lower Friday tracking overnight plunges on Wall Street that stemmed from rising tensions in Ukraine. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) retreated 19.79 points, or 0.72 percent, to 2,727.29 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite lost 1.56 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.29 percent, largely on concerns that the war in Ukraine may push up the commodity prices and peg the global eco

March 4, 2022

S. Korea to extend fuel tax cuts by 3 months amid soaring energy prices

South Korea will extend fuel tax cuts by three months as the country is striving to ease the burden on consumers and a build-up of inflationary pressure, the country's top economic policymaker said Friday. On Nov. 12, the government lowered fuel taxes by a record 20 percent in a bid to tame inflationary pressure. The tax reduction was set to expire at the end of April. The government decided to keep the fuel tax cuts in place for three more months until end-July amid concerns that the war in U

March 4, 2022

Inflation growth hits over 3% for 5th month in Feb. amid soaring oil prices

South Korea's consumer prices grew more than 3 percent for the fifth straight month in February as energy costs spiked amid the Ukraine crisis, data showed Friday. The consumer prices rose 3.7 percent on-year last month, compared with a 3.6 percent on-year gain in January, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. The country's consumer inflation has grown more than 3 percent since October last year. Inflation growth stayed above 2 percent -- the central bank's inflation target over

March 4, 2022

Foreign reserves up in Feb. on increased dollar-converted value, investment profits

South Korea's foreign reserves expanded for the first time in four months in February thanks to a rise in dollar-converted value of holdings and other investment profits, central bank data showed Friday. The country's foreign reserves stood at $461.8 billion as of end-February, up $240 million from the previous month, according to the data provided by the Bank of Korea (BOK). This marked the first on-month growth following three previous months of declines in foreign reserves. The February rise

March 4, 2022

[MWC 2022] Science Minister signs MOU with GSMA for metaverse cooperation

BARCELONA, Spain -- The South Korean Minister of Science and ICT Lim Hye-sook said the government signed a memorandum of understanding with GSMA, host of the Mobile World Congress 2022, to support mutual interests in the metaverse and its ecosystem development. Under the agreement, the ministry will share information in regard to the progress of the metaverse ecosystem in Korea with GSMA. In return, GSMA is set to present Korea to its members and developers around the world so that Korean busin

March 3, 2022

CJ delivery workers to resume work next week, ending two-month strike

A labor union strike at CJ Logistics has finally come to an end, after causing delays and disruptions in parcel deliveries across the nation for nearly two months. Unionized members will return to work Monday, after signing a new employment contract Saturday that reflects measures on improving working conditions, the firm’s labor union announced Thursday. CJ delivery workers that participated in the industrial action, which began Dec. 28, demanded that management implement previously a

March 3, 2022