The state-run Youth Startup Academy has recruited 1,065 students so far, already a record-high number, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups said Monday. Established in 2011, the Youth Startup Academy has so far fostered 4,798 young entrepreneurs and created 13,718 jobs while generating 4.78 trillion won ($4.35 billion) in cumulative sales from startups that began with its support. South Korea’s leading fintech unicorn Viva Republica’s Toss and one of the country’s most popular

Social Affairs Jan. 20, 2021

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has launched an online simulator to help manufacturers create standardized labels for packaged products. Dubbed a “labelbot,” the simulator was developed to help packaged food manufacturers meet the requirements more easily, the ministry said Tuesday. According to the Food Ministry, about 12,000 inquiries about what must be included on packaged food labels were submitted in 2020 alone. The labelbot provides label templates for 130 types of pr

Food Jan. 20, 2021

Four types of heated vest products were found to fail safety standards due to high surface temperatures, the Korea Consumer Agency said Monday. Based on a consumer survey, the watchdog selected 10 heated vests, one each from among the top 10 most popular brands, and conducted various tests on the safety, warmth and usability of the products. As the vests use batteries for the heating element, they have to follow electrical appliance safety standards, which require heated clothing’s sur

Social Affairs Jan. 18, 2021

If carbon emissions are kept at the current level, the temperature on the Korean Peninsula could rise by 7 degrees Celsius within the next 60 years, the Korea Meteorological Agency said Monday. Based on a recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the state-run weather agency released its Korean Peninsula Climate Change Forecast Report 2020. The KMA’s report divided the climate change outlook into two scenarios -- “high-carbon” and “low-carbon.&r

Social Affairs Jan. 18, 2021

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs will begin training officials and workers in the agricultural and food sectors to lead the post-coronavirus era, the Food and Agriculture Officials Training Institute said Sunday. The plan is to foster 32,000 agricultural and food experts through 162 different training courses this year. As the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic has made it difficult to conduct large, offline classes, the Food and Agriculture Officials Training Institute said 27.5

Social Affairs Jan. 18, 2021

The Korea Gas Corporation said Friday that it will partner with the cities of Changwon and Tongyeong in South Gyeongsang Province to build a hydrogen fusion charging station by 2022. The plan to build a hydrogen fusion charging station came after Kogas and the two southern cities were recently tapped as the operator of a pilot project for establishing a hydrogen transportation complex by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The construction project of a hydrogen transportation

Industry Jan. 15, 2021

South Korea’s taxi drivers and the police are joining forces to find missing people, the National Police Agency said Thursday. In the event of a missing persons report, depending on the details and circumstances of the case, the police will first determine whether to dispatch a message to KaKao Mobility, the operator of Korea’s biggest taxi-hailing app Kakao T. Once the police decide to do so, they will set the scope of the targeted search area and send a description of the missi

Social Affairs Jan. 15, 2021

The year 2020 was one of the three warmest years ever on record, the World Meteorological Organization, a world weather body under the United Nations, said Thursday. “The confirmation by the World Meteorological Organization that 2020 was one of the warmest years on record is yet another stark reminder of the relentless pace of climate change, which is destroying lives and livelihoods across our planet,” said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The UN chief pointed out that th

World News Jan. 15, 2021

Only 3.6 percent of companies have adopted artificial intelligence technology, a report from the Korea Development Institute showed Thursday. To see how AI is being used or perceived in different sectors, the KDI conducted a survey of 1,000 companies with at least 20 employees, including conglomerates and small and midsized businesses. Conglomerates made up 91.7 percent of all AI-using companies, according to the report. By industry, 55 percent of AI-using companies were in the service secto

Technology Jan. 14, 2021

Half of patients with Alzheimer’s disease have mild symptoms of dementia, a group of researchers at the Boston University School of Medicine said Wednesday. Using data from the Framingham Heart Study, the researchers found that 50.4 percent of the patients had mild symptoms, 30.3 percent had moderate symptoms and 19.3 percent had severe cases. The Framingham Heart Study is a long-term cardiovascular cohort study of residents of the city of Framingham, Massachusetts. The study began in

Technology Jan. 14, 2021

The total value of mergers and acquisitions in the semiconductor industry set an all-time high of $118 billion in 2020, according to a report by semiconductor market research firm IC Insights. The report pointed to five mega-agreements, along with more than a dozen smaller deals, that pushed the total M&A value over the previous record of $107.7 billion set in 2015. Announced in July, September and October, the five deals had a combined value of $94 billion to take up about 80 percent of

Industry Jan. 14, 2021

Packed meals sold at convenience stores contain 68 percent of the recommended daily sodium intake, the Korea Consumer Agency said Wednesday. The agency’s report showed that the average amount of sodium found in 25 types of different packed meals -- also known as “dosirak” in Korean -- at major convenience store chains was measured at 1,361 milligrams. South Korea’s recommended daily sodium intake for adults is 2,000 milligrams. One of the packed meals had 2,433 milli

Food Jan. 13, 2021

Messaging apps Telegram and Signal saw a surge in the number of app downloads and active users amid a backlash over competitor WhatsApp’s new privacy policy. Telegram added 25 million new users in the last 72 hours to reach the 500 million active users milestone, according to the messaging app’s official Twitter account on Wednesday. Signal collected 7.5 million downloads from Apple’s App Store and Google Play period from Wednesday through Sunday, an equivalent to a 4,200 p

Technology Jan. 13, 2021

The oldest and most distant quasar and black hole in the universe have been discovered, a team of astronomers led by the University of Arizona said Tuesday. The newly discovered quasar and black hole are 13 billion light-years from Earth. As the most energetic objects in the universe, quasars are tremendously big and bright celestial objects that are located at the center of galaxies. Dubbed J0313-1806, the most distant quasar dates back to 670 million years after the Big Bang, when the un

World News Jan. 13, 2021

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety will closely scrutinize claims about foods, medicines and medical devices advertised as coronavirus treatments or preventives. Online shopping malls, agencies that buy products on behalf of customers and secondhand trading markets will be the subject of close examination for any false or exaggerated claims, the ministry said Tuesday. The main targeted products include prescription drugs, such as chloroquine and dexamethasone, and unauthorized medical devi

Social Affairs Jan. 12, 2021