The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) is set to officially request Wednesday an inspection by state auditors into real estate dealings by all its sitting lawmakers to determine if any of them is involved in a public sector land speculation scandal. The PPP's deputy floor leader Rep. Choo Kyung-ho is scheduled to visit the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) in the afternoon to submit a letter requesting an inspection into property transactions of all its 102 lawmakers, according to part

Politics June 9, 2021

Samsung Heavy Industries Co. said Wednesday that it has teamed up with a local nuclear research institute to develop nuclear-powered ships. Under the cooperation with the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI), Samsung Heavy plans to develop molten salt reactors, a kind of small module reactor using molten fluoride salts as the primary coolant, at low pressure, which have been emerging as a carbon-zero nuclear energy source. Samsung Heavy will tap into the market of floating nuclear po

Industry June 9, 2021

The government on Wednesday announced plans to offer discounts and other promotions to vaccinated people in its latest efforts to achieve herd immunity by November. Those who have been vaccinated will be eligible to apply for free guided tours at royal palaces and other events at such venues within 14 days following their vaccinations, according to the Cultural Heritage Administration. The cultural heritage agency said it will limit in-person attendance for some programs scheduled for June to

Social Affairs June 9, 2021

Samsung Electronics Co. said Wednesday it has developed an 8-nanometer (nm) process technology for radio frequency (RF) chips as the South Korean tech giant eyes to beef up its foundry service for 5G mobile semiconductors. Samsung said its 8nm foundry will deliver 5G single-chip RF solutions supporting sub-6-gigahertz to millimeter wave spectrum. A RF integrated circuit is a semiconductor used for radio frequency signal receiving or transmission and analog-digital conversion in connection with

Industry June 9, 2021

The number of accidents involving e-scooters more than tripled between 2018 and 2020 in Seoul, fire authorities said Wednesday. The Seoul Metropolitan Fire and Disaster Headquarters said it responded to 366 e-scooter accidents over the three years: 57 in 2018, 117 in 2019 and 192 in 2020. The increase is in line with growing public use of the personal mobility devices. Collisions between e-scooters and cars occurred the most frequently, accounting for 107 cases, or 29.2 percent of the total.

Social Affairs June 9, 2021

South Korea said Wednesday it plans to provide consulting services for exporters of antivirus products in efforts to foster the biohealth sector as a new growth engine. Under the plan, the government will launch a joint consultative group with the private sector, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The country's exports of biohealth products, which include COVID-19 test kits, came to $14 billion in 2020, soaring 54.4 percent from a year earlier. The latest move came as so

Economy June 9, 2021

South Korea's top economic policymaker said Wednesday the country will permit people who will travel overseas for business for more than a year to receive COVID-19 vaccines before their departure. Currently, the country has given priority for vaccinations to businesspeople who will stay overseas to work for less than three months. The move is aimed at helping ease the burden of companies, which may balk at planning overseas business trips due to the pandemic, according to Finance Minister Hong

Social Affairs June 9, 2021

A large-scale maritime defense exhibition kicked off in South Korea on Wednesday, featuring advanced defense systems from major global firms, the Navy said. The biennial International Maritime Defense Industry Exhibition (MADEX) 2021 is scheduled to run through Saturday in the southern city of Busan. The Navy organized the event along with the Busan city government and the Korea International Trade Association. This year's event brought together around 110 major maritime defense companies from

Foreign Affairs June 9, 2021

British rock band Coldplay has unveiled a music video for its new song "Higher Power" featuring South Korean dance group Ambiguous Dance Company. The 4 minute, 16 second clip, uploaded on the band's official YouTube channel on Tuesday (local time), shows lead singer Chris Martin dancing alongside members of the Korean dance group. The music video by award-winning director Dave Meyers is a short science-fiction film set in a devastated future city. The dancers appear as hologram image

Performance June 9, 2021

A South Korean working at an American military base here has tested positive for the new coronavirus, US Forces Korea (USFK) said. The contractor at US Army Garrison Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, around 70 kilometers south of Seoul, was confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 on Friday after close contact with an individual who tested positive earlier, according to the US military. The confirmed patient last visited the base on Thursday and is now in isolation at a facility designated for coronavirus

Social Affairs June 9, 2021

KT Corp., a South Korean telecom giant, said Wednesday it has partnered with global cloud service operator Amazon Web Services Inc. (AWS) in a move to bolster its push to develop artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud technologies. The two companies agreed to pursue joint research in AI and cloud technologies as well as collaboration in media businesses, KT said in a statement. The telecom operator said it plans to launch a contact center service that combines its AI-based contact center servi

Technology June 9, 2021

North Korea's official newspaper called Wednesday for drawing up science and technology development plans in a way that truly contributes to economic growth and production, saying some plans are put together in a "perfunctory" manner. "Some units have shown a tendency of drawing up plans for the development of science and technology in a perfunctory manner without concrete calculations," the Rodong Sinmun, the organ of the ruling Workers' Party, said. "Rather than mak

North Korea June 9, 2021

South Korea's daily new virus cases bounced back to over 600 Wednesday due to sporadic cluster infections as the country's inoculation drive gains traction on increased vaccine supply. The country reported 602 more COVID-19 cases, including 581 local infections, raising the total caseload to 145,692, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Wednesday's figure was sharply up from 454 cases Tuesday. Daily cases here usually spike from Wednesday as more people get tested. Dai

Social Affairs June 9, 2021

South Korea will allow overseas group tours of fully vaccinated citizens to nations with stable virus response measures as early as in July, as the COVID-19 vaccination campaign picks up speed across the nation, the prime minister said Wednesday. "Starting in July, we plan to allow group travel of fully vaccinated people through consultations between nations with stable antivirus conditions," Kim Boo-kyum said during a daily interagency meeting on the country's coronavirus response.

Social Affairs June 9, 2021

South Korean stocks opened lower Wednesday as the central bank revised up the country's gross domestic product, stoking market concerns of early inflation. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 6.43 points, or 0.2 percent, to 3,241.4 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Investor appetite for risk assets decreased, following the Bank of Korea's report that South Korea's economy grew 1.7 percent in the first quarter from three months earlier, 0.1 percentage point hig

Market June 9, 2021