South Korean rescue workers save surviving quake victims in Turkey

SEOUL -- The South Korean disaster relief team rescued five people, including a baby girl, from under the debris of collapsed buildings in earthquake-stricken Turkey on February 9, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The team began its rescue operation at the site of a high school in Antakya, the capital of Turkey's southeastern Hatay province, at around 5 a.m. Then it managed to save a man in his 70s after searching through debris. The ministry said the man did not l

February 9, 2023

S. ​Korean companies join efforts to help earthquake victims in Turkey, Syria

SEOUL -- Major South Korean companies and banks have committed to helping earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria by offering rescue equipment and relief supplies as well as cash donations. Hyundai Motor's Turkish subsidiary said on February 8 that it will provide $450,000 worth of equipment and daily necessities for quake-hit people. The firm already delivered emergency rescue equipment worth $50,000 to help save people trapped under the debris of collapsed buildings. Kim S

February 9, 2023

Lunit provides AI-based breast cancer diagnosis solution to Dubai's public health facility

SEOUL -- An artificial intelligence-based image analysis solution jointly developed by South Korea's medical AI-based solution developer Lunit and Belgium-based medical imaging company Agfa HealthCare will be used at Dubai's public health center to boost human radiologists' work performance. Lunit aims to make a foray into other regions in the Middle East. According to market research firm Data Bridge Market Research, the medical imaging market in the Middle East is e

February 9, 2023

Northeastern county to offer hefty subsidies for agricultural drones for adoption of efficient farming method

SEOUL -- The northeastern county of Cheorwon will offer hefty subsidies for farmers and private drone operators who wish to buy agricultural drones used for spraying pesticides and fertilizer pallets. The county government will provide up to 50 percent of the drone price which normally costs about 30 million won ($23,775). South Korea's farming population is rapidly decreasing to stand at 2.3 million in 2022, down 42.6 percent from four million in 2002. More than 42 percent of

February 9, 2023

NCSoft's operating profit jumps 49% to $442 million in 2022, driven by soaring mobile game sales

SEOUL -- South Korea's top game publisher NCSoft Corp. enjoyed an operating profit of 559 billion won ($442 million) last year, up 49 percent from a year earlier on the back of soaring sales of mobile games, the company said February 9. NCSoft's sales rose 11.4 percent year-on-year to 2.57 trillion won in 2022 from 2021. Sales of mobile games surged 20 percent to 1.93 trillion won, accounting for 76.8 percent of the company's total sales. Its net profit jumped 14.4 perc

February 9, 2023

About 70% of S. Korean teenage moviegoers visit theaters twice every month: survey

SEOUL -- About 70 percent of teenage moviegoers visit theaters at least twice a month, a survey showed. Young movie enthusiasts also said that their favorite media channel they use to watch films is cinemas. Over-the-top services like Netflix and Disney Plus were their second-favorite media. South Korea's cinema industry was devastated in early 2020 when the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country with a monthly average number of moviegoers of about 9.6 million in 2

February 9, 2023

Girl band TWICE's unit MiSaMo to release first Japanese album

SEOUL -- TWICE, a nine-member K-pop girl band especially popular in Japan, will consolidate its position in the island country through its first unit consisting of three Japanese members -- Mina, Sana, and Momo. The new group called "MiSaMo" will roll out its first Japanese language-based mini album on July 26 to start its new journey. JYP Entertainment, the group's agency, disclosed an official trailer and photos of Misamo through its official website. "So happy

February 9, 2023

South Korea to invest $41.6 million in developing technologies for materials, parts, equipment

SEOUL -- The South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy has decided to invest 52.5 billion won ($41.6 million) in developing technologies in key materials, parts and equipment. The ministry said on February 7 that companies can apply for 96 technology development projects between February 8 and March 9 to get state R&D money. The planned investment is part of this year's state budget worth 937.6 billion won set aside for the technology development of materials,

February 8, 2023

Kakao to emerge as second largest shareholder in SM Entertainment

SEOUL -- South Korea's internet giant Kakao Corp. is expected to become the second largest shareholder in SM Entertainment, a domestic entertainment powerhouse, by purchasing a 9.05 percent stake in the agency, to secure a foothold in the music and content market. Lee Soo-man, the founder of SM credited with pioneering K-pop, heralded a legal battle against SM's executive boards for issuing new shares to sell them to Kakao. Kakao said in a statement on February 7 that the c

February 8, 2023

S. Korea sends 118-member rescue team to quake-hit Turkey, offering $5 million in aid

SEOUL -- South Korea's 118-member search and rescue team arrived at an airport in Turkey's south-central province of Gaziantep on February 8 to help save people trapped under the debris of collapsed buildings in the earthquake-devastated country. The arrival came after the team left for Turkey aboard a KC-330 military transport airplane on February 7, a day after the country was hit by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake. The rescue workers are soon to be deployed to hard-hit urban

February 8, 2023