[OPINION] British Prime Minister's Visit Underscores Vital Britain-U.S. Ties

KENOSHA -- Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of Britain has concluded a low-key, largely successful visit to Washington D.C. On June 8, he met at the White House with President Joe Bi

June 14, 2023

Samsung SDI and GM to build joint battery factory in US

SEOUL -- South Korea's major battery maker Samsung SDI and American automotive company GM are building a joint battery factory in Indiana, the United States. The two companies established a joint venture in April 2023 to produce large-capacity high-performance batteries for electric vehicles. According to Governor Eric Holcomb of Indiana, Samsung SDI and GM will build a new $3 billion EV battery plant in Indiana, without disclosing the exact location. "Happy to announc

June 14, 2023

State-run trade promotion agency advises Saudi Arabia to build S. Korean-type smart city

SEOUL -- South Korea's trade and investment promotion organization KOTRA has promoted South Korean-type smart cities at an event held in Saudi Arabia participated by local government officials. The agency has advised Saudi Arabian attendees regarding the establishment of a smart city based on digital twin, a virtual clone of an infrastructure, and other smart platforms. A smart city is a city platform that interconnects city infrastructure including facilities and devices using

June 13, 2023

POSCO Holdings breaks ground for lithium hydroxide in southern province for first time in S. Korea

SEOUL -- For the first time in the domestic battery-manufacturing sector, South Korea's leading steelmaking group POSCO has broken the ground for a lithium downstream processing plant in South Jeolla Province. The plant due to be completed by 2025 will process lithium that is pre-processed at a lithium lake located in Argentina into materials for lithium-ion batteries that are commonly used for electric vehicles. Lithium production is divided into two processes known as the &qu

June 13, 2023

S. Koreans choose Viet Nam as top summer vacation destination: market data

SEOUL -- South Koreans have chosen Viet Nam as their top summer vacation destination, data released by South Korea's major travel agency Hana Tour showed. The second and third favored travel destinations are Japan and Europe. According to the state-operated Immigration and Checkpoints Agency, about five million South Koreans headed to overseas countries in the first quarter of 2023, after almost all COVID-19 travel regulations were lifted in most countries. The number of people

June 13, 2023

S. Korea to set up guidelines to help domestic digital healthcare companies export AI products

SEOUL -- South Korea's drug ministry will set up guidelines for domestic digital healthcare companies so that they can target customers and plan their strategies accordingly based on various countries' unique regulations and business environments. Boosted by the accelerated research of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, smart medical and healthcare solutions are being developed one after another. AI-based health-related solutions help doctors detect diseases more qu

June 13, 2023

Online sales of bikinis soar 53 percent year-on-year: market data

SEOUL -- Online sales of bikinis soared 53 percent between May 12 and June 11, compared to the same period a year ago, online sales data released by W Concept, the online fashion platform wing of South Korea's retail giant Shinsegae, showed. The company said swimwear items are gaining popularity thanks to increased demands for domestic and overseas travel during the summer vacation season in July and August. During the last one-month period, sales of female swimsuits includ

June 13, 2023

British thrill-seeker fails in attempt to base jump off Seoul's tallest tower

SEOUL -- A British thrill-seeker named George King-Thompson has failed in an attempt to base jump off the 123-story building Lotte Tower, the tallest tower in South Korea which is 555 meters (1,820 feet) tall. Over the past years, many urban stunt teams including King-Thompson have tried to climb the iconic tower but only one Russian thrill-seeking team has succeeded to reach the top without getting caught by authorities. Lotte Tower in southern Seoul was built in 2016 after six ye

June 12, 2023

Virtual model Lucy to sell artworks through live commerce show

SEOUL -- Lucy, a 29-year-old virtual model created by the home shopping channel of South Korea's conglomerate Lotte, will appear in a live commerce show to promote artworks created by Noh Jun, a South Korean sculptor known for sculpting human-like animal characters. The virtual influencer with some 167,000 Instagram followers will interact with viewers on Lotte Homeshopping's mobile TV service "L.live" to sell three different animal characters -- rabbit, cat, and fenn

June 12, 2023

S. Korea forges joint fund agreement with Saudi Arabia to support startups

SEOUL -- South Korea's Ministry of SMEs and Startups signed a joint fund agreement with Saudi Arabia's Small and Medium Enterprises Bank to co-develop funds designed to attract investors and support startups from the two countries. The signing of the agreement follows the memorandum of agreement forged during the summit meeting between President Yoon Seok-yeol and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia in November 2022. The startup ministry said in a statement

June 12, 2023