Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, the world's biggest shipbuilder by sales, said Wednesday it has signed a pact with a US data analytics firm for the big data platform business. At the Consumer Electronics Show held in Las Vegas, the South Korean shipbuilder signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Palantir Technologies Inc. to establish a big data platform and a joint venture, the company said in a statement. "The partnership will substantially improve the competitiveness of the gro

Industry Jan. 5, 2022

South Korean rapper Dok2 has appealed a court ruling ordering him to pay an unpaid jewelry bill to a jeweler in Los Angeles, court officials said Wednesday. Last month, the 31-year-old rapper, whose legal name is Lee Joon-kyung, was ordered by the Seoul Southern District Court to give 41.2 million won ($34,740) and interest on his unpaid jewelry bill to the LA jeweler. The jeweler sued Dok2 in September 2020, claiming the rapper had not paid that amount of money when he purchased seven piece

Social Affairs Jan. 5, 2022

The Doosan Bears announced Wednesday they have signed former major league pitcher Robert Stock, pairing the hard-throwing right-hander with the reigning MVP Ariel Miranda in the rotation. The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) club said Stock has agreed to a one-year deal worth up to $700,000. He will earn $400,000 in guaranteed salary and $100,000 in signing bonus. He can make an additional $200,000 in incentives. Stock, 32, was a second-round choice by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2009 majo

Baseball Jan. 5, 2022

A drunk 30-something man has swum to safety after his car sank in the Han River near southeastern Seoul, police said Wednesday. The man's car fell into the river near the southeastern district of Jamsil at around 10 p.m. Tuesday. The driver swam out of the sinking vehicle without sustaining major injuries, according to the police. In a following police probe, the man was found to have driven toward the river under the influence of alcohol. The police said he has been booked on charges of drivi

Social Affairs Jan. 5, 2022

Sales of imported vehicles in South Korea plunged 24 percent in December from a year earlier as chip shortages continued to disrupt vehicle production, an industry association said Wednesday. The number of newly registered foreign vehicles fell to 23,904 units last month from 31,419 units a year ago, the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA) said in a statement. "Chip supply issues continued to weigh on vehicle sales last month despite a variety of new models,

Economy Jan. 5, 2022

South Korea's housing market has been stabilizing with home prices not just in Seoul but also many other local areas on a downward trend on higher taxes and stricter lending rules, the finance minister said Wednesday. The recent downward trend comes after the government adopted dozens of measures to curb skyrocketing home prices in recent years as more people rushed to take out bank loans to buy homes in anticipation of further price hikes. "The pace of stabilization in the recent home tr

Economy Jan. 5, 2022

ULSAN -- Ulsan Hyundai FC brought in a new head coach for 2021 but ended up with the same result for a third straight season in the K League 1: finishing runners-up to Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. It was a particularly bitter pillow to swallow for the bench boss, Hong Myung-bo, who had his club at the top of the tables in the early going and who, to this day, believes Ulsan were just as good as Jeonbuk. Ultimately, though, Jeonbuk finished two points ahead of Ulsan, 76-74. While Jeonbuk extended th

Soccer Jan. 5, 2022

South Korea's wine imports soared over 70 percent in 2021 as more people enjoyed drinking at home and alone amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Wednesday. Asia's fourth-largest economy imported $506.2 million worth of wine in the January-November period of last year, up 76 percent from a year earlier, according to the data by the Korea Customs Service and industry sources. It marks the first time that the country's wine imports have surpassed the $500 million level. South Korea's wine

Economy Jan. 5, 2022

Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Corp. said Wednesday their combined sales in the United States spiked 19 percent in 2021 from a year earlier despite the prolonged pandemic and chip shortages. The corporate duo sold a total of 1.44 million vehicles in the world's most important automobile market last year from 1.21 million units a year ago, according to the companies' sales data. Hyundai's US sales climbed 19 percent to 738,081 units from 622,269 over the cited period and Kia's also jum

Industry Jan. 5, 2022

Samsung Display Co., the display panel-making arm of Samsung Group, said Tuesday it will roll out QD OLED TV displays in two sizes as well as a monitor display in the first half of the year, ending industry speculations regarding the timing of the commercial debut of the company's next-generation display. The announcement was made during the media preview of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) held at Encore At Wynn in Las Vegas where the display maker is showcasing its innovative new products

Industry Jan. 5, 2022

South Korea's foreign reserves declined for the second straight month in December as the country redeemed some of the maturing foreign currency stabilization bonds, central bank data showed Wednesday. The country's foreign reserves came to $463.12 billion as of end-December, down $790 million from the previous month, according to the data provided by the Bank of Korea (BOK). This marked the second straight month that the foreign reserves have contracted. In November, the amount dropped $5.3 bi

Market Jan. 5, 2022

"Spider-Man: No Way Home" topped the annual South Korean box office last year to become the first foreign film to achieve the feat in 10 years, data showed Wednesday. The latest Marvel Studios superhero film garnered a combined 5.56 million people for 17 days since its official release on Dec. 15, according to the data from the Korean Film Council (KOFIC). It became the No. 1 hit movie of the year, far outnumbering the homegrown disaster film "Escape from Mogadishu," which

Film Jan. 5, 2022

South Korea's daily coronavirus cases bounced back to above 4,000 for the first time in three days Wednesday, putting health authorities on high alert over a possible resurgence amid omicron concerns. The country added 4,444 new COVID-19 infections, including 4,233 local infections, raising the total caseload to 649,669, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Wednesday's figure was up 1,420 from a day earlier and down 963 compared with the same day last week. It

Social Affairs Jan. 5, 2022

V, a member of the K-pop supergroup BTS, is about to make it onto the Billboard main singles chart for this week with his individual single "Christmas Tree." The song will debut at No. 79 on the Hot 100 for this week, Billboard said on its Twitter on Tuesday (US time), with the chart set to be refreshed in a day. Released on Dec. 24, "Christmas Tree" is a song from the soundtrack of the South Korean TV series "Our Beloved Summer," starring Choi Woo-shik of the Can

K-pop Jan. 5, 2022

WASHINGTON -- US sanctions on Iran will remain in place until Tehran returns to full compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal, a state department spokesperson said Tuesday, suggesting that there will be no immediate release of some $7 billion of Iranian assets frozen in South Korea. On Tuesday (Seoul time), the South Korean foreign ministry said first vice minister, Choi Jong-kun, will visit Vienna for talks with negotiators from the US and five other member countries of the Iran nuclear deal, app

Foreign Affairs Jan. 5, 2022