South Korea’s Constitutional Court, which is currently reviewing the presidential fate of Park Geun-hye, may issue a final ruling next week, political watchers said Saturday.　They said the court will apparently seek to deliver the verdict before Acting Chief Justice Lee Jung-mi retires on March 13, as her departure will added another vacancy on the originally nine-member bench. (Yonhap)　　There have been eight judges since January when then Chief Justice Park Han-chul retired.　Some cited the cour

Politics March 4, 2017

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un probably killed his half brother in a bid to cement his status as true royal blood, as his birth remains a weak point of his legitimacy, a high-profile defector said Saturday.　The latest killing of Kim Jong-nam, the first son of late former leader Kim Jong-il, with lethal VX nerve agent has shocked the world, raising speculation that the North‘s leader ordered the murder to strengthen his reign of terror.Kim Jong-nam (Yonhap)　Thae Yong-ho, a former ranking North K

North Korea March 4, 2017

South Korea's tourism industry is on alert as China has set out to prevent its people from traveling to Korea in protest against Seoul's deployment of a high-tech U.S. anti-missile battery, industry sources said Friday.    On Thursday, Beijing told major travel agencies in the country to stop selling tours to Korea in what is seen as its latest retaliatory act against Seoul pushing ahead with stationing the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system.A group of Chinese tourists. Yonhap  

Industry March 3, 2017

China promised to faithfully implement U.N. Security Council sanctions imposed on North Korea and also renewed its commitment to working for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, the foreign ministry here said Friday.   China made the promise in a telephone conversation between its top nuclear envoy Wu Dawei and his South Korean counterpart Kim Hong-kyun, according to the ministry.   During the telephone talks arranged at the request of China, both discussed North Korea and the threat po

Diplomatic Circuit March 3, 2017

 The special team of state prosecutors that began the investigation into the presidential influence-peddling scandal will take back the probe from the independent counsel team and continue it, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office said Friday.   The independent counsel team, led by Park Young-soo, wrapped up its 70-day investigation Tuesday after delving into a broad range of corruption allegations surrounding President Park Geun-hye and her friend Choi Soon-sil.   "Prosecutor-General Kim Soo-nam orde

Politics March 3, 2017

KUALA LUMPUR/SEOUL -- A North Korean man detained over the killing of Kim Jong-un's half brother got on an airplane heading to Beijing on Friday, after Malaysia released the suspect citing lack of sufficient evidence, foreign media reported.   Ri Jong-chol, 46, was the only one taken into custody out of eight North Korean suspects in connection to the murder of Kim Jong-nam at a Kuala Lumpur airport on Feb. 13. Four were said to have fled Malaysia to Pyongyang on the day of the killing.    He wa

North Korea March 3, 2017

LG Electronics has unveiled a prototype of a new virtual reality headset, developed in partnership with US-based PC gaming giant Valve, at the ongoing Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. Valve announced earlier this week that LG Electronics will be showcasing a new head-mounted VR display device designed to deliver a “high fidelity, next generation VR experience” at Valve’s booth at the GDC 2017 which ends Friday.Though details remain limited, LG’s new VR headset is presumably a PC-base

Technology March 3, 2017

Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis is slated to face additional punitive measures from South Korea’s Health Ministry later this month on charges of providing illegal kickbacks to local doctors in exchange for prescribing its drugs.　The Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare said Friday that it is in the process of reviewing its own administrative actions against Novartis Korea, which could take the form of a fine or a lifting of insurance benefits on drugs sold by the company here.The headquarte

Industry March 3, 2017

South Korean online game giant Nexon said Thursday that it has forged a strategic partnership with connected play company PlayFusion, which specializes in bringing games to life by merging them with toys.The partnership came in the form of Nexon investing in PlayFusion. Details of the investment deal were undisclosed.Together with PlayFusion, the Tokyo-based company plans to introduce a wider variety of character merchandise and accessories based on the virtual characters and worlds of its flags

Technology March 2, 2017

South Korean game company NCSoft on Thursday unveiled its first virtual reality game based on its hit online PC game “Blade & Soul,” at the ongoing Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. “Blade & Soul Table Arena” is a real-time strategy game featuring the characters from NCSoft’s original role-playing game “Blade & Soul.” “Blade & Soul Table Arena” (NCSoft)The Korean game maker introduced the new VR game as a partner to the US-based VR headset maker Oculus. It was included as one of 20 up

Technology March 2, 2017

South Korean internet giant Naver and its mobile messaging subsidiary Line Corp. unveiled a new artificial intelligence-powered voice assistant platform Wednesday, emerging as a new Asian rival to forerunners in the field such as Amazon, Google and Facebook.Line’s Chief Executive Takeshi Idezawa introduced a set of new AI software tools to power its AI online assistant Clova that responds to voice commands in Korean and Japanese, during a keynote speech at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Technology March 2, 2017

Sixteen global mobile telecom companies, including South Korea’s KT and SK Telecom, have joined hands to contribute their big data capabilities to help humanitarian crises.　The GSMA, the organizer of the ongoing Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, revealed Monday the “Big Data for Social Good” initiative at this year’s MWC.It will “leverage mobile operators’ big data capabilities to address humanitarian crises, including epidemics and natural disasters,” the GSMA said. A booth at the MWC exhibit

Technology March 1, 2017

A new alliance has formed between Japanese tech giant Sony and mobile messenger operator Line Corp., as they are considering joining hands to develop new digital devices powered by artificial intelligence. 　　During the ongoing Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Monday, Sony Mobile stated that the two firms are exploring collaborative opportunities on new AI assistant technologies and products.　Sony is looking to merge its Sony Agent Technology adopted in its Xperia Smart Products with Line’s

Technology March 1, 2017

South Korean biopharmaceuticals company Celltrion is expecting a rapid growth of its business this year, as sales of its biosimilars are likely to take off in the US and Europe, according to the company’s founding Chairman Seo Jeong-jin.“I believe that 2017 will be an important year that marks the beginning of Celltrion’s rapid growth,” said Seo during an event in Seoul on Monday to commemorate the company’s 15th anniversary.　“We will continue to leap forward for greater growth without losing si

Industry Feb. 28, 2017

One year into its launch, Kakao’s mobile navigation app Kakao Navi has hosted 730 million trips totaling a combined distance of 20.6 billion kilometers, the South Korean mobile messenger giant said Tuesday. This distance is equivalent to circumnavigating Earth 515,000 times, Kakao said as it laid out the app’s notable records and achievements to mark its first anniversary.Kakao Navi was born through Kakao’s acquisition of the operator of local car navigation app Kim Gisa, or Driver Kim, last yea

Technology Feb. 28, 2017