With Netflix and Disney+ ready to intensify content battle, Korean streaming platforms under pressure to devise new strategies to retain subscribers

South Korea has been named the next head of the International Atomic Energy Agency Board of Governors, marking the first time a Korean representative is to hold the post since the UN nuclear watchdog was established in 1957, the Foreign Ministry said Monday.  Shin Chae-hyun, the South Korean ambassador to Austria and permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna, was elected as the chairman of the board during a meeting held in Vienna on Monday. His one-year term start

Benefits of COVID-19 shot not as great in children as in adults, according to top health agency

Key of Shinee came out with his first solo EP “Bad Love” on Friday.  It has been 2 1/2 years since his previous solo album, and as he said via a statement through his company, is full music that shows his personal taste.  “It will be impossible to make an album that is perfect in every aspect but I am satisfied in that I’ve been able to have quite a say,” said the veteran idol. He was inspired by the combination of retro and space and the overall concept

President Moon Jae-in on Monday stressed the need for discussions about a ban on dog meat, renewing a decades-old dispute here over the slaughter of animals, especially dogs, for food. “Hasn’t the time come to prudently consider prohibiting dog meat consumption?” the president asked Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum during their weekly meeting, according to his spokesperson Park Kyung-mee. Moon made the comments after he was briefed on the government’s new measures to prote

Personal and corporate bankruptcies in South Korea increased by more than 10 percent last year, data showed Monday, reflecting the economic impact of COVID-19 on both businesses and households. According to the report released by the National Court Administration, the number of personal bankruptcies filed in 2020 rose by 10.4 percent from the previous year, from 45,654 cases to 50,379 cases. Last year’s tally was the biggest figure since 2015. After hitting a record high of 150,439 c

An enforcement decree for the new workplace disaster law aimed at better protecting workers from industrial accidents will be reviewed during a Cabinet meeting this week, according to labor and business community sources Monday, despite criticism from both manager and labor groups over the government proposal. In January, the National Assembly passed a bill that strengthens the punishment of business owners and CEOs of companies with five or more employees in the event of serious workplace disas

Construction companies accused of breaking law by failing to ask Cultural Heritage Administration’s permission

South Korea’s 5G users increased by millions this year, but 5G network base stations are still being rolled out slowly, a local agency said Monday. According to data compiled by the Korea Communications Agency, the number of 5G users increased by 1.99 million during the second quarter this year to reach 17 million, up 13.7 percent on-year. As of June, 5G users accounted for 23.8 percent of the total mobile network users here. The number of 4G and 3G network users reached 50.5 million a

Nearly half of South Koreans are in favor of a cautious approach to the issue of COVID-19 vaccinations for teenagers aged between 12 and 17, a poll showed Monday. In the poll of 1,006 people aged 18 and above conducted by the Korea Society Opinion Institute on Friday and Saturday, 49.1 percent said the government should take some time to observe vaccination situations in other countries before administering COVID-19 vaccine shots to the teen group. In contrast, 42.6 percent said vaccinations for

Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Steel announced Monday that they had developed a new wastewater recycling technology that would allow sludge from the chip manufacturing process to be reused for steelmaking. Their joint research found that calcium fluoride in the sludge was similar to fluorite, a material used in steelmaking to reduce melting temperatures and remove impurities. Hyundai Steel said it expected the deal to help the company save on costs, since South Korean steelmakers rely entirel

South Korean tattooists once again filed a petition with the Constitutional Court Monday against the medical law that requires tattooing to be conducted only by licensed medical personnel. A total of 153 tattooists associated with the Korea Fashion Tattoo Association and the Korea Tattoo Federation said Article 27 of the medical law that outlaws tattooing by people with no medical license violates their constitutional rights. "South Korea is the only country that punishes tattooing by non-m

South Korean stocks rebounded Monday amid easing concerns about the country's new coronavirus cases and the China Evergrande Group's debt crisis. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 8.4 points, or 0.27 percent, to close at 3,133.64 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 872 million shares worth some 12.1 trillion won ($10.3 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 492 to 373. Foreigners bought a net 337 billion won,

Neste, a Finnish oil refiner and the world’s largest producer of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel, calls for a greater diversity of fuels for an inclusive green transition

CJ OliveNetworks will introduce the country’s first “non-fungible token” tickets at the Busan International Film Festival next month, the company said Monday. A type of blockchain technology, NFTs are unique and not interchangeable. NFT-based tickets, therefore, allow ticket issuers to track holders of each ticket and prevent scalping or fraud. The company has named the ticketing service “One Order Ticket.” CJ has partner with domestic blockchain platform firm