South Korea suffers 22.6 percent fall in trade with Russia amid war in Ukraine

SEOUL -- South Korea's volume of trade with Russia nosedived 22.6 percent to $21.15 billion in 2022 from a year before, affected by the latter's war with Ukraine, according to a report by the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) on February 21. The KITA said that the plunge was in contrast to an average growth rate of 11.4 percent in 36 major countries' trade with Russia. India's trade with Russa skyrocketed 237 percent year-on-year last year, followed by Gr

February 22, 2023

​Court rules in favor of same-sex couple demanding spousal health insurance coverage

SEOUL -- A same-sex couple has won a court ruling that recognized their legal status for the first time in South Korea as far as the state health insurance coverage is concerned. On February 21, the Seoul High Court ruled in favor of the gay couple who has demanded the same spousal coverage from the health insurance as heterosexual couples. The appellate court made the landmark ruling, overturning a lower court's decision that the plaintiff was not qualified as a dependent

February 21, 2023

State tourism institution rolls out tour course recommendation content for Hallyu fans

SEOUL -- Targeting Korean Wave fans all over the world, a tourism organization under South Korea’s culture ministry has released content that contains various information about K-content including K-pop, dramas, entertainment shows, and films. A total of 51 tour courses were selected such as the hit drama Hometown Cha Cha Cha and content related to Meokbang, an audiovisual show involving one or more hosts eating food while interacting with fans. The Korea Tourism Organization

February 21, 2023

S. Korea to nurture logistics sector for establishment of quick delivery infrastructure through drones and robots

SEOUL -- To establish a same-day delivery infrastructure nationwide, South Korea's transport ministry unveiled its plan to commercialize robot delivery by 2026 and drone delivery by 2027. The country will assist the logistics industry's digital transformation and lift regulations regarding building logistics centers in urban areas. Currently, most logistics centers are located in suburban regions. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a press release on

February 21, 2023

State institute develops novel drug development platform for cancer and dementia medicines

SEOUL -- A prominent state research institute has developed a cyclic-peptide-based novel drug development platform that can be tailor-made to match biomarkers. The platform can be used for the research and development of medicines for cancer and dementia treatment. Cyclic peptides are polypeptide chains with low toxicity and high pharmacologic activity. However, the commercialization of medicines containing cyclic peptides is very hard because the peptides are hard to design and ma

February 21, 2023

​Phishing scams cause $1.28 billion in damages over past five years

SEOUL -- South Korea suffered 1.66 trillion won ($1.28 billion) in cumulative damages arising from phishing scams over the last five years, a report by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said February 21. Phishing scams related to bank loans caused 999.8 billion won in damages between 2018 and 2022, accounting for 60.1 percent of the total sum, according to the report submitted by the FSS to Rep. Kang Min-kuk of the ruling People Power Party (PPP). The number of phishing s

February 21, 2023

Researchers develop efficient nickel nitride-based catalyst for green hydrogen production

SEOUL -- A team of researchers from a state research institute has developed a cheap metal-based catalyst that has about 200 percent higher efficiency in water electrolysis, the electrochemical breakdown of water into hydrogen and oxygen, than precious metal-based electrodes. Electrolysis that uses electricity to break down water is the core technology for the production of green hydrogen, which is hydrogen fuel produced only using renewable energy. However, such a method require

February 21, 2023

S. Korea to beef up key strategic industries under 'New Growth Strategy 4.0'

SEOUL -- The Ministry of Economy and Finance has announced a new growth strategy to help South Korea keep its technological competitive edge in the country’s three strategic industries -- semiconductors, batteries and displays. On February 20, the ministry unveiled "New Growth Strategy 4.0" aimed at finding new economic engines. It plans to work out more than 30 detailed tasks to support the key industries. The ministry said that it will begin to implement around

February 21, 2023

​Busan to build air-purifying indoor gardens capable of purifying air at bus terminal and airport

SEOUL -- South Korea's southern port city of Busan will establish smart gardens with plants capable of removing indoor air pollutants at a bus terminal visited by many intercity buses and an airport in the western region. The southern port city said the indoor gardens can reduce particulate matter and other pollutants in such crowded areas. Smart gardens incorporate internet of things (IoT) technology to control air quality, wind speed, and water distribution to plants. Peopl

February 21, 2023

South Korea to commercialize 6G network service two years earlier in 2028

SEOUL -- The Ministry of Science and ICT plans to commercialize the sixth-generation (6G) network service in 2028, two years earlier than its initial schedule, in order to keep abreast with major advanced countries' efforts to speed up the launch of the service. On February 20, the ministry announced the K-Network 2030 strategy of stepping up private-public cooperation to develop world-class 6G technologies, innovate the software-based next-generation mobile network and strengt

February 20, 2023