Spicy rice cake Tteokbokki franchise Addal receives Malaysia's halal authorization

SEOUL -- South Korea's street food franchise operator Addal has secured halal certification for Tteokbokki, finger-sized rice cakes simmered in fiery-red spicy chili sauce, from the Malaysian government. Halal-certified food products are considered to be safe and clean under Islamic standards. The food maker will release three different ready-to-eat Tteokbokki products in the Southeast Asian country targeting Muslim consumers. Malaysia's Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia (JAKI

December 5, 2023

S. Korea to allow customers use ATMs without plastic cards

SEOUL -- In line with the current "walletless' trend where people no longer carry plastic cards and make payments with their smartphones, South Korea will allow customers to use automatic teller machines through QR codes shown on their smartphones' display by mobile banking apps. According to data released by the state financial watchdog, a total of 61,233,000 plastic cheque cards were issued in the first quarter of 2023, down 6.9 percent from the same period a year ago

December 5, 2023

Lotte seeks to become gamechanger in S. Korea's grocery delivery market with new fulfillment centers

SEOUL -- Lotte Shopping, the retail wing of South Korea's Lotte Group, will seek to become the gamechanger in the country's ecommerce grocery delivery service market estimated to reach about 54 trillion won ($41.2 billion) in 2025 by establishing consumer fulfillment centers which would play the role of cold chain logistics hubs for fresh goods and groceries. South Korea's online grocery and fresh goods delivery market is dominated by Coupang, the South Korean counterpar

December 5, 2023

Bank of Korea freezes benchmark interest rate at 3.5% for seventh consecutive time

SEOUL -- South Korea's central bank has decided to freeze its key interest rate at 3.5 percent. The benchmark interest rate has remained unchanged through seven consecutive discussions since February 2023. The Bank of Korea (BOK) determined the base interest rate during this year's last monetary policy board meeting on November 30. The BOK has maintained the benchmark interest rate in February, April, May, July, and October after raising it by 0.25 percentage points in Janua

November 30, 2023

S. Korean OTT services to merge in bid to check Netflix and foreign services

SEOUL -- The operators of South Korean over-the-top video content streaming services -- Tving and Wavve -- have engaged in discussions over the merger of the two services in a bid to check foreign services including Netflix, the world's biggest over-the-top (OTT) service, and Disney+, operated by multinational entertainment and media company Disney. According to South Korea's fair trade watchdog, the domestic over-the-top (OTT) service market, estimated to stand at $1.9 bill

November 30, 2023

CJ Cheiljedang releases spicy rice cake Tteokbokki in Australia

SEOUL -- CJ Cheiljedang, a key subsidiary of South Korea's food and entertainment conglomerate CJ Group, has partnered with Australia's major convenience store chain EzyMart to release Korean food products including Tteokbokki, finger-sized rice cakes simmered in fiery-red spicy chili sauce. The street food is included in a premium ready-to-cook product brand "Bibigo." EzyMart operates some 450 stores across Australia, with about 200 of them located in Sydney. Chei

November 30, 2023

State electricity company joins small modular reactor projects with Canadian partners  

SEOUL -- Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, a state operator of South Korea's nuclear power plants, has partnered with ARC Clean Technology, a small modular reactor developer in Canada, to take part in businesses related to nuclear reactors that are claimed to be smaller and safer than the conventional reactors. The South Korean company will cooperate to commercialize ARC's technology in various countries including the United States, Canada, and South Korea. Small modular reac

November 29, 2023

Global defense exhibition 'DX Korea' to take place in Seoul's satellite city in 2024

SEOUL -- "DX Korea," one of South Korea's largest defense exhibitions, will be held at a convention center in Goyang, a northwestern satellite city of Seoul, for three days in September 2024. Various arms manufacturers and military officials from South Korea and abroad will participate in the biannual event designed to showcase advanced products for ground forces. About 350 companies from 40 countries took part in the previous exhibition in 2022. According to the exh

November 29, 2023

Hyundai unveils 'universal wheel' with built-in drive system for future EVs

SEOUL -- Hyundai auto group has unveiled a new type of car wheel designed exclusively for future electric vehicles. Unlike ordinary wheels that receive power delivered from an engine or motor through drive shafts, the new "Universal Wheel Drive System" has its own drive system built into the interior of the wheel. Hyundai Motor and its brother company Kia held the "UNI WHEEL Tech Day" in central Seoul on November 28 and unveiled the universal wheel. Hyundai said

November 28, 2023

SK Telecom to adopt Indonesian language for metaverse service 'Ifland'

SEOUL -- South Korea's major mobile carrier SK Telecom will adopt the Indonesian language service for its metaverse platform "Ifland" targeting the Southeast Asian country with the world's fourth-largest population. The company will also work with Indonesia's leading game developer Agate to gain a competitive edge in Indonesia with a population of some 277.5 million. Using Ifland, anyone can host lectures, business forums, and concerts in a virtual space. The p

November 28, 2023