Traditionally dominated by Japanese manufacturers like Toyota and Honda, the hybrid vehicle sector is now seeing renewed interest from global automakers looking to improve profitability amid delayed growth of pure electric vehicle sales. Among them, Hyundai Motor Group stands out as one of the few key competitors with robust full hybrid electric vehicle technology. This positions Hyundai uniquely as one of the few automakers to profit from increasing hybrid sales as it navigates the transitional

Mobility April 18, 2024

The Bank of Japan's first interest rate hike in almost two decades has rattled the global economy, yet it may not have as much of an impact in South Korea, at least not for a while. The central bank of Japan on Tuesday announced it is lifting its short-term policy rate to a range of 0 to 0.1 percent from minus 0.1 percent, stepping away from the negative interest rate policy it had been applying since 2016 to fight chronic deflation. It also marked the central bank's first interest rat

Economy March 20, 2024

Prosecutors on Thursday indicted 11 aides of former President Moon Jae-in, accusing them of manipulating government data on housing prices from June 2017 to November 2021. The Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office accused the suspects, including former Land Minister Kim Hyun-mi and Moon’s ex-Chief Presidential Secretaries for Policy Kim Sang-jo and Kim Soo-hyun, of manipulating the data released by the state-affiliated real estate data provider a total of 125 times to create the appear

Social Affairs March 14, 2024

Emphasizing the importance of the Korean market, Disney+ said Tuesday that it will focus on quality over quantity going forward. "Disney Korea is evolving from playing the role of a distributor of global stories and content to producing content here and bringing it outside of Korea. The quality and the storytelling of Korean content is so attractive to audiences not only in APAC, but beyond," said Carol Choi, executive vice president of original content strategy at The Walt Disney Comp

Television March 13, 2024

South Korean men's national soccer team head coach Hwang Sun-hong announced his 23-man squad Monday, which included Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Lee Kang-in who fell from favor with the public for his recent scuffle with team captain Son Heung-min. The interim coach for the team acknowledged the public's concern over Lee, and said addressing the issue could provide a chance to strengthen team chemistry. "I've talked to both players, and resolving (such conflict) can bring (the team) close

Soccer March 11, 2024

A young couple who recently welcomed their seventh child became the first family in Seoul to receive a 10-million-won ($7,500) subsidy for bearing multiple children, the district office of Jung-gu in central Seoul said Thursday. Jung-gu Office said it had delivered Jeon Hye-hee and her husband Jo Yong-seok, both 28 years old, the cash incentive for couples who've had at least five children. The district office last year increased the incentives for couples who have five children or more fro

Social Affairs Feb. 24, 2024

More than a year has passed since Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong ascended to the company's top seat in 2022, but his board membership continues to hang in the balance amid an ongoing legal dispute. Samsung Electronics held a board of directors meeting Tuesday and fixed the date of the upcoming general shareholders meetings for March 20. During the meeting, the members also appointed Shin Je-yoon, former Financial Services Commission chairman, and Cho Hye-kyung, an applied artific

Industry Feb. 20, 2024

No matter how you slice it, South Korea's run to the semifinals of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup in Qatar, featuring late equalizers and a shootout win, has been an exhilarating one, certainly not for the faint-hearted. After staving off elimination with last-gasp goals in back-to-back matches, the Taegeuk Warriors will try to extend their magical run toward their first Asian Cup title since 1960, when they take on Jordan in the semifinals this week. South Korea, ranked 2

Soccer Feb. 4, 2024

SK Networks said Wednesday that it has forged a partnership with US tech tycoon and investor Vivek Ranadive to cooperate on investments in futuristic technologies with a strategic focus on artificial intelligence. The nonbinding agreement was signed in Seoul on Thursday upon the visit of Ranadive, founder and managing director of Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm Bow Capital. He also owns the NBA’s Sacramento Kings. SK Networks President and Chief Operating Officer Choi Sung-hwan h

Industry Jan. 31, 2024

South Korea knocked off Saudi Arabia 4-2 on penalties to advance to the quarterfinals at the Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup in Qatar on Tuesday. South Korean goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo made two stops in the shootout, while the first four South Korean shooters all converted their kicks at Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan, west of Doha, in the round of 16 at the top AFC tournament. Abdullah Radif gave Saudi Arabia the lead less than a minute into the second half, and the Green Falcons were

Soccer Jan. 31, 2024

SAN JOSE, California -- The Galaxy S24 series is the "ultimate collection" of Samsung Electronics' artificial intelligence technology for cameras, allowing users to become "expert photographers" with just a few intuitive taps on the screen, according to the tech giant's visual solutions chief. Samsung Electronics Executive Vice President Cho Sung-dae, who is in charge of the visual solutions team, explained how the latest Galaxy S24 series employs 112 visual AI mode

Industry Jan. 23, 2024

In light of a devastating injury to their top goalkeeper, South Korea head coach Jurgen Klinsmann said Friday the remaining players will be battling hard for their fallen teammate for the rest of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup. Earlier on Friday, the eve of South Korea's second Group E match against Jordan in Doha, the Korea Football Association had announced first-choice goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu will miss the rest of the Asian Cup with a torn ligament in his right knee. T

Soccer Jan. 19, 2024

SK Networks on Friday announced that it will invest 25 billion won ($19 million) in Upstage, a Korean startup specializing in generative AI solutions, as it seeks to expand its business in the emerging technology. The company, a general trading affiliate of SK Group, said it forged the deal to support Upstage, which is leading in the private large language model market, becoming the lead investor in the startup's Series B funding. “We are looking to back Upstage's market expa

Industry Jan. 12, 2024

Tuesday's stabbing of Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, showed that South Korea's politicians remain vulnerable to physical attacks despite several high-profile cases in the recent past. Lee, 59, had been visiting the site of the new airport in Busan and was speaking to members of the media when an unidentified man approached him asking for an autograph before lunging to stab him in the neck, undetected and undeterred by anyone. Lee is one of t

Politics Jan. 2, 2024

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has marked the 12th anniversary of the death of his father and predecessor Kim Jong-il by visiting a mausoleum where the father's body lies in state, the North's state media said Sunday. Kim paid tribute the previous day at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where the bodies of Kim Jong-il and the current leader's late grandfather and national founder Kim Il-sung lie in state, the official Korean Central News Agency reported. Senior officials accompani

North Korea Dec. 17, 2023

The prosecution on Friday demanded five years in prison for Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong on charges of stock price rigging and accounting fraud connected to the controversial 2015 merger of two Samsung affiliates. Prosecutors also requested a fine of 500 million won ($387,000) for Lee during the final hearing at the Seoul Central District Court. Lee is charged with stock price rigging, breach of duty and accounting fraud in the course of the controversial 2015 merger of two Samsung

Industry Nov. 17, 2023

The prosecution on Thursday raided the Ministries of Land and Finance, Statistics Korea and the Korea Real Estate Board over allegations that the previous Moon Jae-in administration manipulated statistics on housing prices. The move came after the Board of Audit and Inspection requested an investigation into allegations that Moon's presidential office and the Land Ministry at that time of his presidency abused their power and forced the Korea Real Estate Board to manipulate figures in a wee

Politics Oct. 5, 2023

South Korean women's badminton team on Sunday defeated China to win the gold medal at the 19th Asian Game, ending nearly three decades of title drought that persisted since 1994. In the team competition finals held at the Binjiang Gymnasium in Hangzhou, China, the Koreans shut out their finals opponents 3-0. The champion of the Asian Games is determined in the best of five games series that involves three single matches and two doubles. An Se-young, the No.1 singles player in the Badminton

More Sports Oct. 1, 2023

BERLIN -- LG Electronics expressed ambitions to go global with its smart home solutions, including its built-in kitchen package and energy-efficient prefabricated housing technology at this year's IFA in Berlin, one of the world's largest consumer appliance trade shows. "We will integrate all our innovative home appliance and energy technologies and other upgradable appliances to offer a smart home solution," Lyu Jae-cheol, head of the Home Appliance & Air Solution Compan

Industry Sept. 3, 2023

Chipmakers around the world are competing fiercely not just to roll out more advanced chips faster than their rivals, but also to secure more tech talent as governments race to build up their chip industry as national security assets. South Korea, home to the world’s top two memory chipmakers, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, is no exception. Amid their big push for global expansion, the tech giants are struggling to meet staffing needs for their billion-dollar facilities at home and abro

Industry Aug. 30, 2023