LG Chem breaks ground on largest cathode material plant in US

SEOUL -- South Korea's major chemical company LG Chem has started the construction of the largest cathode plant in the United States. By 2026, the factory in Tennessee will have an annual production capacity of 60,000 tons of cathodes for high-performance batteries that can power about 600,000 electric vehicles with a range of 500 kilometers (310 miles). Along with anodes, cathodes are used to help the conduction of electricity through electrolyte materials. Demands for cathodes

December 20, 2023

Chinese shopping app Aliexpress garners largest number of new users in S. Korea in 2023

SEOUL -- The smartphone application of Aliexpress, the business-to-consumer ecommerce platform operated by China's online shopping giant Alibaba Group, has become the ecommerce app service that garnered the largest number of users in South Korea in 2023. The culture of "Jikgoo," direct buying in the Korean language, became popular among smart consumers about a decade ago. Some South Korean shoppers mainly used online shopping platforms such as Amazon and eBay to gain a

December 20, 2023

S. Korea to build 10,000 smart buildings for urban air mobility and robots

SEOUL -- South Korea aims to build 10,000 smart buildings with easy access to robots, autonomous vehicles, and urban air mobility by 2035. Various policies will be adopted to create infrastructure for advanced mobility solutions such as vertiports that serve as landing and takeoff facilities for flying vehicles. Smart buildings should have enough space for easy operation of flying passenger vehicles and other advanced mobility solutions. Building structures must be modified to i

December 20, 2023

LS Cable develops copper flake-based foil material for high-performance batteries

SEOUL -- South Korea's major electrical cable manufacturer LS Cable has developed a new copper foil material for high-performance batteries used in electric vehicles. Unlike conventional foil material made using copper wires, the new material can be made using copper flakes, including leftover scrap copper pieces created during the process of electrical cable and wire production. Copper foils are used in high-performance batteries as current collectors and coatings for electrode

December 20, 2023

Seoul and Beijing foreign ministry directors meet in Shenzhen to discuss S. Korea-China relations

SEOUL -- Foreign ministry directors from Seoul and Beijing met in China's southern city of Shenzhen to discuss South Korea-China international relations and other international issues that revolve around the Korean Peninsula. The meeting took place amid a thawing atmosphere between the two countries since Seoul-Beijing relations became frozen after the election of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol in May 2022. After taking office, President Yoon aligned South Korea's dipl

December 20, 2023

S. Korea to host Winter Youth Olympics for first time in Asia

SEOUL -- The Winter Youth Olympic Games will take place in South Korea's eastern province of Gangwon, well known for its mountainous and forested landscapes, in January 2024. South Korea has become the first Asian country to host the international sports event that would be attended by some 1,800 athletes from about 80 nations. The Winter Youth Olympic Games (WYOG), designed for young athletes aged between 15 and 18, is held every four years. The multi-sport event organized by t

December 20, 2023

Number of S. Koreans with families in North continues to decrease

SEOUL -- The number of South Koreans separated from their family members due to the Korean War (1950~1953) dropped to 39,881 as of November 2023, down 32.5 percent from 2017. Divided families have been unable to reunite since the last family reunion event in 2018 due to escalating tensions between the two Koreas. Millions of Koreans were displaced by the sweep of the Korean conflict, which concluded with an armistice rather than a peace treaty, leaving the two Koreas still technical

December 19, 2023

Police on manhunt for male and female vandals who damaged walls of iconic palace

SEOUL -- Police are on a manhunt for two vandals, a man and a woman, who damaged the outer walls of Gyeongbokgung Palace in central Seoul using paint spray cans. Two cases of vandalism took place for two days in a row. The police said that they consider these cases as acts of serious crime. Gyeongbokgung is an iconic palace in Seoul that was visited by some 3.4 million people in 2022. The area near the Blue House, the former presidential office, remains a high-security area with a s

December 19, 2023

S. Koreans choose Gangnam as favorite place to spend end-of-year season in 2022: data

SEOUL -- Gangnam, a southern district famous for rapper Psy's global hit song "Gangnam Style," was the most crowded region in Seoul during the Christmas season last year. The southern district, also known as the capital city's heart of fashion and finance, was the most visited region among people in their teens to 40s. In South Korea, Christmas is regarded as a special day for couples to go on dates and an opportunity for singles to express their feelings to someon

December 19, 2023

Girl band NewJeans to drop remix album to commemorate release of hit song "Ditto"

SEOUL -- K-pop girl band NewJeans will drop its very first remix album containing 12 songs. The album is to be released at 6:00 p.m. (0900 GMT) on December 19, the first anniversary of the release of Ditto. Ditto is the five-member's 2022 global hit song that garnered more than 400 million streams on Spotify, the world's top music streaming service. NewJeans, which debuted in July 2022, is the brainchild of Min Hee-jin, the prodigy producer who successfully incubated iconi

December 19, 2023