Samsung to produce AI chips for California-based AI semiconductor startup Groq

SEOUL -- Samsung Electronics has partnered with Groq, an artificial intelligence-based chip designer based in California, to manufacture the American company's next-generation AI semiconductors. The South Korean conglomerate will produce four-nanometer chips for Groq at a chip plant in Texas' central region, which is set to begin commercial operation in the second half of 2024. AI semiconductors with neural processing units specialize in processing AI-related application

August 16, 2023

BLACKPINK's 'Lovesick Girls' surpasses 700 mln views on YouTube

SEOUL -- The music video for BLACKPINK's dance song Lovesick Girls has garnered more than 700 million views on YouTube, about two years and 10 months after its release in October 2020. The title track of the group's first studio album incorporated electronic dance music and country-style guitar sound. It debuted at No. 59 on Billboard's weekly song chart which ranks top 100 popular songs. The music video exceeded 700 million views at 4:06 p.m. (GMT) on August 16, the

August 16, 2023

S. Korea's third tallest skyscraper 'Busan Lotte Tower' to be built in southern port city

SEOUL -- Lotte Shopping, a retail company affiliated with Lotte Group, will build a 342.5 meter-(1123.6 foot)-tall tower in South Korea's southern port city of Busan. The new skyscraper called the "Busan Lotte Tower" would become the country's third tallest building after Seoul's Lotte World Tower and Haeundae LCT The Sharp, a residential and commercial complex in Busan. Through the new tower, the retail company aims to attract more than one million tourists annually.

August 16, 2023

US soldier crosses border due to mistreatment within US Army: N. Korea

SEOUL -- North Korea has confirmed that a United States soldier identified as Army Private 2nd Class Travis T. King is currently in its territory. According to Pyongyang's state news agency's report, King crossed the border into the North because of mistreatment and racism within the U.S. Army. The 23-year-old, enlisted in January 2021, was a private stationed in South Korea. The American soldier ran across the border on July 18 when he was visiting the truce village of Panmunj

August 16, 2023

S. Korea records highest level of tourism deficit in 1H 2023

SEOUL -- South Korea's tourism deficit for the first half of 2023 has reached the highest level in five years, data released by the main state tourism promotion body showed. The domestic tourism industry now focuses on whether the tourism balance will improve when Chinese group tourists return to South Korea. China imposed a ban on travelers to South Korea as part of retaliatory steps over the installment of an Advanced American missile shield system in 2017. About eight million

August 14, 2023

AI developer Upstage launches alliance to establish world's top Korean-based LLM

SEOUL -- South Korean artificial intelligence technology developer Upstage has launched an alliance of companies and organizations in the private and public sectors including media companies, academics, and corporates in a bid to establish an ecosystem for large language models that would incorporate Korean language-based AI models capable of understanding and generating natural conversations in Korean. A large language model (LLM) is basically a smart computer program that understan

August 14, 2023

Lioness escaped from private farm in southeastern county killed by hunters

SEOUL -- The great escape by a 20-year-old lioness that escaped from a private farm to a nearby mountain in Goryeong County some 230 kilometers (142 miles) southeast of Seoul came to a climax after a team of hunters tracked down the large feline and killed it. Predatory animals escaping from a private meat farm or zoo is not very rare in South Korea where anyone with the right documents could set up a small-sized zoo or a facility that displays live predatory animals. It is because p

August 14, 2023

LS Cable invests $117 mln to expand submarine cable plant in coastal city

SEOUL -- LS Cable & System, a major cable maker in South Korea, has invested about 155.5 billion won ($117 million) to expand its submarine cable infrastructure. The company, which operates an underwater cable factory in South Korea's coastal city near the East Sea, is also considering an investment in the Southeast Asian market to gain a competitive edge in the global subsea cable market. Submarine cables play a crucial role in facilitating communication between countries and

August 11, 2023

Voices rise over swift disciplining of family minister Kim Hyun-sook for Jamboree fiasco

SEOUL -- With only a day left of the official schedule of the 25th World Scout Jamboree, voices are rising in the political sector over the swift action that must be taken to hold people accountable for the fiasco that took place at the international Scouting event. Kim Hyun-sook, the family minister, is likely to be the first person who would have her head put on the political guillotine. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family was appointed as South Korea's main governing body

August 11, 2023

Samsung releases foldable smartphones Z Flip5 and Z Fold5 worldwide

SEOUL -- Samsung Electronics released globally its new foldable smartphones -- Z Flip 5 and Z Fold 5 -- along with the smart watch Galaxy Watch 6 series and tablet PC Galaxy Tab S9 series. The new devices were launched in some 50 countries including the United States, Britain, France, and China. The new devices will be released to other countries by the end of September. According to the South Korean tech giant, consumers' reaction is wild. The number of pre-orders made for Z Flip

August 11, 2023