Ikea Korea has scrapped its project to establish a multipurpose logistics center in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, four years after its initial announcement of housing Asia's largest logistics hub in South Korea. In its latest audit report, covering September 2023 to August 2024, the Swedish home furnishing retailer announced its withdrawal from the Pyeongtaek logistics project, reclassifying the 102,000-square-meter site for the planned logistics center, valued at 55.5 billion won ($38.6 m

The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) is ramping up technology-driven initiatives to support tourism companies grappling with persistent labor shortages, a key challenge since the post-pandemic recovery began in early 2023. Kwon Jong-sool, executive director of the KTO’s company support division, said this year’s focus on funding businesses to implement food delivery robots has shown promising results. One success story is St. John’s Hotel, a 1,901-room facility in Gangneung, Ga

South Korea's antitrust regulator said Tuesday it has fined Kakao Mobility Corp., the operator of the country's top taxi-hailing service, 15.1 billion won ($10.5 million) for unfair business practices. Kakao Mobility is accused of manipulating its algorithm to direct more ride requests received through its mobile taxi application to cabs under its franchise, the Fair Trade Commission said. While the app is open to both franchise and non-franchise taxis, it allegedly allowed franchise t

Seoul shares opened lower Tuesday as investors remain cautious ahead of the US Federal Reserve's rate decision this week. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 14.97 points, or 0.6 percent, to 2,474.00 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The US central bank is widely expected to cut interest rates for a third straight meeting on Wednesday. In Seoul, large-cap stocks were mixed. Market behemoth Samsung Electronics fell 1.62 percent, leading carmaker Hyundai Motor declined 0.47

SEOUL, South Korea, Dec. 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- STRADVISION, a global leader in AI-based vision perception technology, will showcase its latest innovation at CES® 2025 in Las Vegas. The company is set to unveil the production-ready version of its SVNet 3D Perception Network, initially introduced as a prototype at CES 2024. STRADVISION's presentation will take place at the Westgate Hotel Hospitality Suite #2951, open to industry professionals from January 7th to 10th, 2025.

HONG KONG, Dec. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The 4th TERA-Award Smart Energy Innovation Competition, organised by The Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited (Towngas) and empowered by Full Vision Capital, is now officially open for applications. The winning project will receive a grand prize of up to USD 1 million From now until April 9, 2025, technology teams from around the world are invited to submit innovative technologies and solutions in the field of smart energy. The competition aims

BEIJING, Dec. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The sand martin, known as the 'bank swallow', inhabits open country near water, including riverbanks, lakeshores, and coastal cliffs. So, it is also called 'natural water quality inspector'. The sand martin has been assessed for The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 2016 and is listed as the second-class protected wildlife in Beijing.   China Matters produced an animated feature titled A Commendable Bird Rescue A

BEIJING, Dec. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- A report from China Science Daily. What picture forms in your mind when imagining top youth scientists? If you have to describe their personalities through a professional lens, which occupation would come to mind? Are they hunters, adept at identifying and chasing objectives with confidence and daring? Or miners, dedicated to digging into their fields of interest, tackling obstacles with perseverance and calm? Perhaps they are diplomats, enjoying

A military court on Monday issued an arrest warrant for the head of the Army Special Warfare Command over his alleged role in the short-lived imposition of martial law this month, prosecutors said. The court issued the warrant for Lt. Gen. Kwak Jong-keun, who is accused of playing an "integral" role in an insurrection and abusing his powers in connection with President Yoon Suk Yeol's declaration of martial law on Dec. 3. With the court's decision, Kwak is the second military

Seoul's stock market saw heightened volatility on Monday, the first trading session following President Yoon Suk Yeol's suspension over the weekend. The benchmark Kospi opened at 2,511.08, up 16.62 points from Friday's close, briefly reaching 2,515.62 in the morning before reversing. By 2:30 p.m., the Kospi was down 0.3 percent at around 2,488, driven by a heavy selloff from foreign investors, who offloaded a net 490 billion won ($341.5 million). Individual investors supported the

Actor Lee Dong-hwi, known for his indispensable supporting roles in the mega-hit blockbusters “Extreme Job” (2019) and “The Roundup: Punishment” (2024), recently starred in the independent film “Will We Get Married?,” which opened on Oct. 23. Despite a production budget of approximately 1 billion won, Lee accepted little to no payment for his work. The film’s break-even point (BEP) of 100,000 admissions was high for an indie movie. “I’ve be

The National Folk Museum of Korea will open a special exhibition on Wednesday celebrating the Year of the Snake, one of the 12 Chinese zodiac animals. The exhibition “The Snake with a Thousand Faces,” running through March 3, will showcase some 60 items related to the animal from Africa to North America, exploring the conflicting human nature that views snakes as both scary and sacred, according to the state-run museum. “The Wise Snake” is one of the three zones set up, l

Seoul shares kicked off higher Monday on eased market volatility after President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment over the weekend following his failed martial law bid. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) added 10.79 points, or 0.43 percent, to 2,505.25 in the first 15 minutes of trading. On Saturday, the National Assembly passed a motion to impeach Yoon to hold him accountable for his botched martial law declaration earlier this month that shocked the nation. Tech behemoth S

South Korea has moved closer to removing President Yoon Suk Yeol from office, with the National Assembly passing a bill initiating the impeachment process. What does this mean and what will happen next? 1. Steps to stability President Yoon Suk Yeol, who plunged the nation into shock with his doomed martial law attempt on Dec. 3, has been suspended from his executive duties immediately. This marks a significant step toward restoring stability. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo is to be the acting h

Shutterstocks' partnership with Lightricks is the first of a new data licensing approach that builds new ways for training AI models JERUSALEM and NEW YORK, Dec. 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Lightricks, a global leader of AI-powered creative technology, today announced it is partnering with Shutterstock, Inc. (NYSE: SSTK) to license and use Shutterstock's extensive video asset library. This collaboration will empower Lightricks to train its open-source video generation model, LTX Video (LTXV), u