At the end of April, Seoul’s new mayor Oh Se-hoon announced that remodeling work on Gwanghamun Plaza would continue, but with several modifications. The plaza took its present form in 2009 toward the end of Oh’s first term as mayor. Plans to remodel the plaza again moved forward in the late 2010s under former Mayor Park Won-soon and construction began in the fall of 2020. Oh’s victory in the April 7 by-election raised speculation that he might stop the remodeling, as some cit

The wife of Belgian Ambassador to South Korea Peter Lescouhier was questioned by police on Thursday over assault allegations, officials said, amid public criticism over "insincerity" in the embassy's handling of the matter.    The wife appeared at the Yongsan Police Station in central Seoul in the afternoon to undergo questioning and she has returned, an official at the precinct said, without providing more details.    Police have been looking into allegations t

South Korea's top security officials "positively" evaluated the outcome of the United States' monthslong policy review on North Korea recently completed by the Joe Biden administration, Cheong Wa Dae said Thursday.    The assessment came during a regular standing committee session of the National Security Council (NSC) after the White House said last week that it has completed its policy review on the communist state according to the presidential office.    The U

Former Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on Thursday suggested implementing measures to protect management rights at local venture capital firms and startups, before expanding it to bigger companies. “Korea still lacks institutionalization of anti-takeover measures. I believe the country’s relatively short corporate history is the key reason behind the absence of a poison pill system and dual-class share system,” Chung said at a meeting with chief executive officers of listed fir

Banking leaders need to ditch top-down approach, be ready for speedy decision to solve multifaceted conflicts　

Baekhyun of EXO shared photos of himself with close-shaven hair, bidding a temporary farewell to his fans Thursday. There also was a picture with bandmate Seho, who was touching his hair with a smile. 　 The veteran idol began his training the same day, which was also his birthday. The exact time and location were not announced. After three weeks of training, he will start his alternative duty as a public service worker, as he has hypothyroidism. 　 He first shared the news of his enlisting in A

North Korea will receive COVID-19 vaccines as early as July with a shipment delay over global supply shortages, the Gavi alliance, which co-leads the COVAX vaccine sharing program with the World Health Organization, said Wednesday. “Depending on the supply situation, a COVID-19 vaccine introduction could be envisaged in the second half of 2021,” a Gavi spokesperson told Radio Free Asia, refraining from fixing concrete dates. The North was expected to receive nearly 2 million doses o

Roche Diagnostics Korea announced Thursday that the company has received approval for the cobas test, an assay used to specifically detect the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus in laboratories settings. According to Roche, the cobas test is capable of qualitative detection and differentiation between SARS-CoV-2, Influenza A and Influenza B present in nasal swab samples collected from individuals suspected of a respiratory infection. Roche’s laboratory-based assay cobas SARS

Amid the heightening competition in the global chip foundry market, Samsung Electronics unveiled a new packaging technology Thursday that would help differentiate its foundry service.  Samsung said it has completed the development of the next-generation 2.5D packaging technology named Interposer-Cube4, or I-Cube4, which is immediately available for customers. Samsung’s I-Cube is a heterogeneous integration technology that horizontally places one or more logic dies, such as a CPU or

Dunamu, an operator of cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, said Thursday that it will spend 10 billion won ($8.9 million) to set up a unit to protect crypto coin investors. The planned launch of the in-house unit, tentatively named Upbit protection center for digital asset investors, is part of the company’s efforts to join the environment, social and governance trend, which has been gaining traction worldwide recently. In addition to the establishment of the investor protection center this ye

‘Kim Min-young of the Report Card’ co-directed by Lee Jae-eun, Lim Ji-sun wins Korean competition grand prize

Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction will transform plastic waste into gases by heating it up, and extract hydrogen from those gases, the company said Thursday. Seeking to jointly develop the hydrogen extraction system, Doosan Heavy has partnered with RevoTech, a local plastic pyrolysis firm which possesses the technology involved in feeding plastic waste non-stop into heating equipment. The initial goal is to develop within the year a hydrogen reformer that can produce 0.3 metric ton

Vancouver-based firm says its tech retrieves almost 100 percent key metals from defective EV batteries, creates value from scraps

South Korean stocks advanced Thursday as hopes for a global economic rebound offset inflation worries. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 31.37 points, or 1 percent, to close at 3,178.74 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.2 billion shares worth some 16.4 trillion won ($14.6 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 733 to 157. Foreigners sold a net 99 billion won, extending their selling streak to a seventh sess