S. Korean police to provide emergency interpretation service for foreigners

SEOUL -- Police have adopted interpretation services to accurately communicate with foreigners in South Korea. Two English interpreters and two Chinese interpreters will help police officers to handle various types of emergencies. It's been difficult for foreigners to report a crime to the police due to the language barrier. The South Korean police communicated with foreigners through a 3-way phone call which involved a private interpretation company, but the method was not efficie

July 3, 2023

Eastern city selected as regulation-free zone to incubate drone-related businesses

SEOUL -- The eastern city of Wonju has been selected as the drone regulation-free zone for two consecutive years, providing opportunities for the city with a population of some 333,000 people to incubate and nurture drone-related businesses and technology. Drones are now widely used in various sectors including the military, surveillance, building structure inspection, and entertainment. The global market for drones is growing at an average annual growth rate of 42.78 percent to stan

July 3, 2023

Hanwha Q Cells tops solar module markets in US: market data

SEOUL -- Hanwha Q Cells, the solar cell-making wing of South Korea's Hanwha Group, has topped the residential and commercial solar module markets in the United States in the first half of 2023. The South Korean company, which is operating a solar module factory in Georgia, will invest more than 3 trillion won ($2.3 billion) to expand its production facility in the U.S. to overcome the Inflation Reduction Act. Under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), companies that build solar m

July 3, 2023

Top S. Korean battery makers' demands for battery separators to exceed $10.4 bln by 2030: market prediction

SEOUL -- The demand made by the top three S. Korean battery makers -- Samsung SDI, LG Energy Solution, and SK On -- for battery separators will increase by an annual average of 17 percent to exceed $10.4 billion by 2030, a market research firm predicted. Battery separators are special films that prevent a battery's electrodes -- an anode and cathode -- from physically coming in contact with each other and causing combustion. They also allow lithium ions to pass through, making th

July 3, 2023

Southern port city to open 'K-pop high school' to nurture young artists

SEOUL -- The southern port city of Busan will embark on a preparation process to open a high school that will focus on the incubation of young K-pop artists including singers, performers, writers, and composers. The high school scheduled to open in 2028 will attract students from South Korea and abroad who wish to become the next-generation BTS and BLACK PINK. K-pop, which started as a sub-culture that was only popular among South Korean music lovers and a small number of foreign peopl

June 30, 2023

SK Telecom expands partnership with flying taxi firm Joby through $100 mln investment

SEOUL -- South Korea's major mobile carrier SK Telecom has expanded its partnership with Joby Aviation, an American all-electric commercial passenger aircraft company, through an equity investment of $100 million. The two companies will work together to develop technology and infrastructure for urban air mobility services, also known as flying taxi services. Joby Aviation is a United States venture-backed aviation company that specializes in urban air mobility (UAM) vehicles. The

June 30, 2023

​S. Korea succeeds in test flight of every homemade fighter jet KF-21 prototypes

SEOUL -- South Korea successfully carried out a test flight for the last prototype model of South Korea's homemade fighter jet KF-21 about eleven months after the first prototype model made its 33-minute test flight in July 2022. South Korea has tested a total of six prototypes in a bid to replace the country's aging fleet of U.S.-made F-4 and F-5 fighters. According to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), the sixth prototype took off from the airbase at 3

June 29, 2023

S. Koreans choose short affordable trip plans amid high inflation: survey

SEOUL -- In a bid to solve money problems in the era of high inflation, South Koreans chose to go on short, affordable trips rather than to go on luxurious trips that last for days, data released by Consumer Insight, a market research company, showed. According to a weekly survey of 500 consumers, conducted by Consumer Insight, a person who went on a trip in May 2023 spent an average of 230,000 won ($174) during an average trip duration of 2.96 days. The average amount of money spe

June 29, 2023

Seoul to allow passengers to tag out and reboard subway trains within 10 minutes

SEOUL -- Starting in July, Seoulites will be allowed to tag out and reboard subway trains within 10 minutes without paying an extra fare. Currently, passengers must pay for a new trip if they have to move through a toll gate to get to the other side of the platform or go to a toilet. These situations occur occasionally, especially when a person forgets to get off his or her destination station. According to Seoul, there were many complaints regarding the need to pay

June 29, 2023

EU decides to extend deadline for review of Korean Air's merger with Asiana

SEOUL -- Korean Air, South Korea's flag carrier, has requested the European Union's antitrust regulators to extend the deadline for the review of the company's merger with Asiana Airlines, the domestic rival of Korean Air, according to the flag carrier. In late 2020, Korean Air began a step-by-step procedure to take over Asiana which was reeling from snowballing debt and credit crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The deal triggered concern about the financial struct

June 29, 2023