E-commerce platforms Tmon, WeMakePrice face escalating crisis amid payment delays

SEOUL, July 24 (AJU PRESS) - Korean e-commerce platforms WeMakePrice and Tmon are facing a mounting crisis due to prolonged payment delays to sellers, stemming from a liquidity crunch involving their Singapore-based parent company, Qoo10. The two sites have delayed settlements with sellers since early July, prompting some businesses to cancel products and withdraw from the platforms. Damages are estimated to exceed 100 billion won ($72.23 million). Major retailers, including Lott

July 24, 2024

Korea's birth rate increases for two consecutive months for first time in nearly a decade

SEOUL, July 24 (AJU PRESS) - Korea saw an uptick in the number of newborns for the second consecutive month in May, marking the first such increase in nearly a decade, according to Statistics Korea data released on Wednesday. Some 19,049 babies were born in April this year and 19,547 babies the following month, up 2.8 percent and 2.7 percent, respectively, compared to the same months a year ago. It marked the first time since October 2015 that the country saw an increase in the nu

July 24, 2024

Actor Yoo Ji-tae speaks out on N. Korean human rights situation at US conference

SEOUL, July 24 (AJU PRESS) - South Korean actor Yoo Ji-tae addressed North Korea's dire human rights situation at a conference in Washington D.C. on Monday (local time). "I urge you to extend your hands to the darkest places," Yoo said at the International Dialogue on North Korean Human Rights co-hosted by the Washington-based National Endowment for Democracy and the Ministry of Unification. "It is not injustice itself but our indifference that nurtures inj

July 24, 2024

Korean firms face setback at US beauty expo after container theft

SEOUL, July 24 (AJU PRESS) - Dozens of Korean beauty companies faced a major setback at Cosmoprof North America, a prominent industry fair in Las Vegas, after a container carrying their exhibition items was stolen en route to the event. The Korea International Trade Association (KITA) said Wednesday a container holding products from 70 Korean firms was taken while being transported from the Port of Long Beach in Los Angeles to the exhibition venue in Las Vegas. The theft occurr

July 24, 2024

Han Dong-hoon assumes role as new leader of PPP

SEOUL, July 24 (AJU PRESS) - Han Dong-hoon, the justice minister-turned-politician who was newly elected as the leader of the ruling People Power Party (PPP), began his official duties on Wednesday by visiting the National Cemetery in Seoul. Visiting the cemetery has become a customary practice for many politicians before assuming their roles, as they pay respects to deceased political figures, war veterans, and freedom fighters who contributed to the country's development. T

July 24, 2024

N. Korean garbage balloons land inside presidential office in Seoul

SEOUL, July 24 (AJU PRESS) - Trash-filled balloons sent southwards by North Korea, landed inside the presidential office's compound in Seoul's Yongsan, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Wednesday. Pyongyang has been sending balloons carrying wastepaper and other garbage, including human feces, to South Korea since May this year in retaliation against South Korean activist groups, mostly consisting of defectors, sending propaganda leaflets to the North. Thousands of Nor

July 24, 2024

Korean cable maker Taihan launches offshore wind installation vessel

SEOUL, July 24 (AJU PRESS) - Taihan Cable & Solution on Wednesday launched Korea's first cable laying vessel (CLV) dedicated to offshore wind power projects. The 6,200-ton vessel, named Palos, was unveiled at a ceremony held at the Kodae-Port in the central city of Asan. The Palos, capable of carrying up to 4,400 tons of submarine cable, is equipped with advanced features including a dynamic positioning system. Taihan said the vessel significantly enhances its capabilit

July 24, 2024

Smallest Olympic squad in decades reflects Korea's youth sports woes

SEOUL, July 24 (AJU PRESS) - With the countdown to the Summer Olympics in Paris ticking down this week just ahead of its opening on Friday, Korea is fielding some 144 athletes in 22 disciplines. This is the smallest squad the country has assembled since 1976 when it sent around 50 athletes to Montreal, Canada. It is also a significant decrease from about 230 athletes who competed at the pandemic-delayed 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo in 2021. The nation's sports crisis is particu

July 24, 2024

Opinion: President Biden's withdrawal a gracious step

SEOUL, July 24 (AJU PRESS) - President Joe Biden's decision to withdraw from the 2024 presidential contest is becoming, in the sense of complimentary to him, reflecting well on him. That is a term rarely, if ever, used in today’s extraordinarily cruel and ugly political rhetoric. True to form, former President Donald Trump reacted with a series of crude personal insults, including the statement that Biden never should have run. Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH), now the Republic

July 24, 2024

Opinion: One small update brought down millions of IT systems around the world

SEOUL, July 24 (AJU PRESS) - This weekend's global IT outage caused by a software update gone wrong highlights the interconnected and often fragile nature of modern IT infrastructure. It demonstrates how a single point of failure can have far-reaching consequences. The outage was linked to a single update automatically rolled out to CrowdStrike Falcon, a ubiquitous cyber security tool used primarily by large organizations. This caused Microsoft Windows computers around the world

July 24, 2024