Number of S. Korean Facebook monthly active users drop below 10 mln for first time in 2 yrs

SEOUL -- According to an online big data analysis, the number of South Korean monthly active users of the Facebook smartphone app has dropped below 10 million for the first time in two years since South Korean big data analysis solution company Mobile Index started monitoring. South Korea currently has some 54 million registered smartphones and an average of about 65 percent of people access social media using their phones. According to a survey of 10,154 South Korean people, con

March 9, 2023

Chicken price hits all-time high due to increased costs of poultry farm operation

SEOUL -- The price of chicken has reached its all-time-high as the cost of livestock farming has skyrocketed due to the increase in farm operating costs including the prices of fertilizers, animal feed, electricity, and fuel that were accelerated by the sluggish global economic growth sparked by the fuel price increase, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the war in Ukraine. Concerns that the era of expensive "30,000-won ($22.7) fried chicken" is not far off are growing among South Ko

March 8, 2023

​S. Korea's banking sector embroiled in controversy for inflating recruiting capacity

SEOUL -- According to an exclusive report by Economic Daily, South Korea's banking industry inflated its recruiting capacity while carrying out the government's order to hire more employees. Unlike the original plan to recruit 2,288 new employees, the actual number turned out to be only 953. The country's finance industry has earlier announced its massive recruitment plan, in response to President Yoon Suk-yeol

March 7, 2023

State-affiliated foundation to pay compensation and delayed interest to Japan's forced labor victims

SEOUL -- The South Korean government has officially announced that the Foundation for Victims of Forced Mobilization by Imperial Japan (FOMO), operated by the interior ministry, will play the role of the "third-party compensator" to pay court-ordered compensation and delayed interest to the forced labor victims and their families. Ties between the two Asian neighbors have been in the doldrums for decades, with South Korea insisting that Japan should apologize and make ame

March 6, 2023

S. Korea's finance sector inflates recruiting capacity while carrying out government's order to hire more employees

SEOUL -- The South Korean financial sector has been embroiled in a controversy that it has inflated its recruiting capacity while carrying out the financial authorities' order to hire more young employees. Unlike the original plan to recruit 4,719 new employees, the actual number turned out to be only 2,654, according to an exclusive report by Seoul-based news media company Economic Daily. During a policy briefing on Febr

March 6, 2023

Seoul's facility management operator to recruit repair shops for public bike rental service

SEOUL -- The facility management operator under the Seoul metropolitan government will recruit bicycle repairmen for the capital city's public bikes called "Ttareungi," also known as Seoul Bike. The public bicycle rental service launched in December 2015 has been used by urbanites who wish to travel short distances of a few kilometers instead of using crowded buses or subway trains. As of January 2023, there were some 43,500 Seoul Bikes in the capital city. The cumula

February 28, 2023

Anti-drone system to be established in S. Korea's central city of Daejeon

SEOUL -- In an effort to efficiently handle unexpected threats caused by drones, South Korea's central city of Daejeon will build an anti-drone system for state-run agencies. After the establishment of the prevention system, the city will demonstrate its aerial surveillance functions. Anti-drone systems are mostly used to detect drones and neutralize them before aerial vehicles reach the country's key facilities. According to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), f

February 27, 2023

S. Korea launches working group to discuss intellectual property issues regarding AI-generated images

SEOUL -- South Korea has launched a working group composed of experts from various sectors to discuss issues regarding intellectual property rights over artificial intelligence-generated images. Thanks to the development of AI technologies, anyone can generate artificial images to match their preferences. However, generated images are based on datasets of pictures and drawings created by human artists. AI-generated image services became popular during the last few years as they off

February 24, 2023

Science research institute UNIST to create vegetable garden on campus

SEOUL -- A vegetable garden with various plants, a pond, and plant-based food items will be created at a science and technology university in the southeastern industrial city of Ulsan. The state institute, which earlier created an experimental living lab using energy from human excrement, aims to establish infrastructure for a carbon-neutral campus. The Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) said in a statement that the institute has partnered with a local bank,

February 24, 2023

Naver's travel reservation service becomes S. Korea's second-most used travel service provider: survey

SEOUL -- A travel reservation service, operated by South Korean web service giant Naver, has become the country's second-most used online travel service provider with a usage rate of 19 percent in 2022. The largest online travel service provider with a 22.9 percent usage rate was Yanolja, which also owns Interpark, a popular online ticket reservation service company. Naver, which was kick-started as a web portal service in 1999, is now South Korea's largest web service prov

February 23, 2023