Avikus to provide self-sailing solution for water taxis in southern port city

SEOUL -- Avikus, a South Korean self-sailing solution developer affiliated with HD Hyundai, partnered with Korea Composite, a domestic marine leisure product manufacturer, to develop autonomous water taxis. Starting in 2025, Korea Composite will operate a total of four self-sailing taxis in South Korea's southern port city of Busan. In February 2023, HD Hyundai unveiled its plan to commercialize Avikus' autonomous boat solution called "NeuBoat" in the second half

July 20, 2023

Online fashion platform Musinsa attracts $157.8 mln through Series C funding led by KKR

SEOUL -- Musinsa, a popular South Korean online fashion platform, has attracted more than 200 billion won ($157.8 million) through Series C round funding led by American investment company Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. with participation from Wellington Management, an American private independent investment management firm. Musinsa made a foray into South Korea's fashion industry in 2003 as a small online fashion community. The startup company opened an online shopping mall i

July 20, 2023

NewJeans' Super Shy ranks 66th on Billboard's top 100 popular song chart

SEOUL -- "Super Shy," a summer-themed song by K-pop super rookie band NewJeans, ranked 66th on Billboard's top 100 popular song chart. Super Shy became the girl band's third song that entered the Billboard chart after OMG and Ditto. Billboard's chart released on July 18 showed that the new summer-themed song, rolled out on July 7, debuted at No. 66 on Hot100, a weekly song chart that ranks the top 100 popular songs. As of July 20, the music video for Super Shy

July 20, 2023

S. Korea to inject $22.7 mln for establishment of 'digitally-collaborative' factories

SEOUL -- As part of the country's big push towards the acceleration of the digital transformation of industries, South Korea will inject 28.8 billion won ($22.7 million) to build six "digitally-collaborative" factories in manufacturing sectors such as shipbuilding, carmaking, and machinery by 2025. The smart factories will connect a factory to various bodies including their clients and management to set up a two-way communication system that will optimize the operation and re

July 20, 2023

BTS member V appointed as ambassador for global luxury jewelry brand Cartier

SEOUL -- V, a member of BTS, was selected as the ambassador for Cartier, a France-based high-end luxury goods brand known for premium jewelry and watches. The 27-year-old is gaining immense attention for his Instagram photos showing himself wearing the global brand's ring and necklace. "V is a dancer, musician & art lover who has a solid personality & sense of making choices driven by his own creativity, and with only his own style & elegance," Cartier's v

July 20, 2023

Researchers develop pilot robot for aircraft

SEOUL -- A South Korean technology institute has developed a robot pilot that can understand flight manuals written in English and control switches and other devices inside a cockpit. Using artificial intelligence technology, the humanoid robot finds safe flight routes in real time. The institute aims to commercialize the solution in 2026 and provide it to the private and military sectors. Unlike regular unmanned aircraft created by attaching automatic flight control devices to manned

July 19, 2023

[OPINION] House Speaker McCarthy's Big Win on Debt

KENOSHA -- The agreement at the end of May by Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and President Joe Biden to raise the ceiling on the national debt

July 19, 2023

S. Korea sets minimum wage for 2024 at 9,860 won per hour

SEOUL -- Through 15 sessions of negotiation meetings, South Korea's Minimum Wage Council finally decided to set the minimum wage for next year at 9,860 won ($7.8) per hour, and the minimum monthly wage at 2,060,740 won, up 2.5 percent from 2023's minimum wage of 9,620 won per hour and 2,010,580 won per month. Through the meetings, labor demanded that the minimum wage should be set above 10,000 won while management claimed that the increase should be frozen or minimized to help

July 19, 2023

US solider intentionally crosses border into N. Korea

SEOUL -- A United States soldier identified as Army Private 2nd Class Travis T. King has intentionally crossed the border from the South Korean side into North Korea, the U.S. forces in South Korea said. The unexpected crossing of the military demarcation line took place on July 18 during a tour through the Joint Security Area governed by the United Nations. According to a statement released by Colonel Isaac Taylor, a spokesman for U.S. forces in South Korea, the cavalry scout who enli

July 19, 2023

N. Korea fires two ballistic missiles after launch of S. Korea-US nuclear consulting group

SEOUL -- North Korea has fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea a day after the launch of a nuclear consultative group by South Korea and the United States. Ahead of the missile launch, the US Navy's submarine capable of firing nuclear missiles arrived in South Korea's southern port city of Busan. The two short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) detected by the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) were fired near Sunan District in northwestern Pyongyang from around 3:3

July 19, 2023