SEOUL, April 27 (Korea Bizwire) – Over half of the fine dust particles in Seoul come from abroad, the municipal government said Thursday, amid the city’s struggle to fight worsening air quality. The Seoul Metropolitan Government, citing a study conducted by the Seoul Institute, said the portion of the capital’s fine dust pollution from China [...]
SEOUL, April 27 (Yonhap) – South Korea’s defense ministry announced Thursday that an advanced American missile defense system here will soon be put into “actual operation” to counter North Korea’s ballistic missile threats. Hours earlier, Adm. Harry Harris, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM), told U.S. congressmen that the THAAD system will become operational [...]
SEOUL, April 27 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s Navy will start the trial operation of an unmanned ship next month, the country’s newly developed weapon mainly for use on the tense sea border with North Korea, the state arms procurement agency said Thursday. The Defense Acquisition Program Agency (DAPA) launched a 3.3 billion won (US$2.9 [...]
SEOUL, April 27 (Korea Bizwire) – K-Bank, South Korea’s first Internet-only bank, has achieved more than half of its full-year target of attracting deposits just 24 days after launching operations, the nation’s financial regulator said Thursday. The pace of growth in K-Bank’s deposits is much faster than expected and the Internet-only bank is fueling increased [...]
SEOUL, April 27 (Korea Bizwire) – Sales of air conditioners and electric fans rose sharply this month from a year earlier, industry sources said Thursday, amid above-average temperatures that can be a sign of a hot summer to come. Lotte HiMart, a consumer electronics retailer, witnessed a whopping 180 percent increase in the sales of [...]
WASHINGTON, April 27 (Korea Bizwire) – Nearly 110,000 ethnic Koreans in the United States petitioned the U.S. government Tuesday to refer to the body of water between the Korean Peninsula and Japan as “the East Sea” in addition to “the Sea of Japan,” their representatives said. A Korean resident group in Virginia and other representatives [...]
SEOUL, April 26 (Korea Bizwire) – Payouts by private pension savings accounts to investors significantly fell short of needs for post-retirement life, official data showed Wednesday. The average monthly payout by private pension savings stood at 260,000 won (US$231) last year, down 20,000 won from a year earlier, according to the data from the Financial [...]
SEOUL, April 26 (Korea Bizwire) – Not only being overweight but also being underweight causes depression for both men and women, a finding that highlights the importance of maintaining the right weight for psychological health, a study said Wednesday. Published in the recent issue of the British Journal of Psychiatry, the study showed that the [...]
SEOUL, April 26 (Korea Bizwire) – Lotte Department Store’s Myeongdong location became South Korea’s first retail outlet on Monday to introduce robot shopping assistant “el Bot.” The 1.2-meter-tall machine is capable of providing various information to shoppers, according to officials. For example, it can recommend and give directions to restaurants inside the department store, or [...]
SEOUL, April 26 (Korea Bizwire) – The South Korean government is planning to ease regulations on liquid petroleum gas-powered vehicles to combat fine dust, miniscule airborne particles that have recently been the centerpiece of national health concern. Currently, LPG vehicle purchases are limited to drivers with disabilities and individuals of national merit, with the exception [...]