Seoul, July 2 (IANS) The South Korean Army vowed on Thursday to step up safety and medical measures for regular reservist training, following the death of a reservist during a night drill north of Seoul in May.After an extensive probe into the case, the Army said the death of the reservist in his 20s was caused by his pre-existing medical conditions unrelated to the training, but vowed efforts to enhance safety steps for such drills.On May 13, the reservist fell unconscious on his way to a night…
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Seoul, July 1 (IANS) South Korea’s defence ministry on Wednesday reviewed the progress of Seoul’s push to complete the verification of full operational capability (FOC) within this year, as it seeks to expedite the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) from Washington. The move comes as South Korea’s Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back vowed to hold such meetings every quarter this year as part of efforts to complete the transition within South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s five-year term…
Seoul, July 1 (IANS) Seoul’s antitrust watchdog said on Wednesday it has launched an investigation into US-based Google, as well as its Singaporean and South Korean offices, over allegations of violations of the fair trade law involving game developers on its app marketplace.The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said its examiners’ report showed Google has abused its dominance in the Android marketplace, with related sales totalling US$9.21 billion. Under the law, the watchdog may impose a fine of up …
Seoul, June 29 (IANS) South Korea on Monday unveiled an ambitious plan to build a new semiconductor manufacturing hub in the country’s southwestern region through 800 trillion won ($518 billion) in corporate investment.The proposed investment underscores Seoul’s determination to maintain its dominance in memory chips, which have become increasingly critical amid a global artificial intelligence (AI) boom, while advancing the government’s goal of more balanced regional development, reports Yonhap…
Seoul, June 29 (IANS) South Korea plans to develop a new semiconductor production base in the country’s southwestern region through 800 trillion won ($517.9 billion) in corporate investments that will create four memory chip fabrication plants, Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan said on Monday.Kim unveiled the investment plan to transform the Gwangju and Jeolla regions into the nation’s second major semiconductor cluster, alongside the existing hub in the Seoul metropolitan area, during a national …
Seoul, June 28 (IANS) Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are set to announce major investment plans early this week at a meeting presided over by President Lee Jae Myung, the presidential office said on Sunday.The investments will be unveiled during a briefing scheduled for 2 p.m. Monday at Cheong Wa Dae on the government’s three mega projects aimed at balanced regional development, presidential spokesperson Kang Yoo-jung said.The initiative is jointly pushed by the trade, science, transport and e…
Seoul, June 28 (IANS) Monthly spending by foreign tourists in South Korea reached a record high of over 1.4 trillion won ($911 billion) in May, marking the third consecutive month foreign spending surpassed 1 trillion won, data showed on Sunday.Credit card spending by inbound travellers came to 1.41 trillion won last month, up 73.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), reports Yonhap news agency.Spending by foreign travellers surpassed 1 tr…
Washington, June 25 (IANS) The United States is focused on ensuring that necessary conditions for the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) to South Korea will be met “as soon as possible,” a senior US diplomat said Thursday, noting it “understands” Seoul’s desire to retake OPCON quickly.Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Michael DeSombre made the remarks during a hearing of the Subcommittee on East Asia and Pacific Affairs under the House Foreign Affairs C…
Washington, June 24 (IANS) Two Korean American lawmakers have highlighted their commitment to strengthening economic and other partnerships with South Korea, as Seoul and Washington seek to deepen cooperation on shipbuilding, trade and security, to name a few. Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) and Rep. Young Kim (R-CA) participated in an event hosted by the Korean American Grassroots Conference, a network of Korean American voters, in Washington on Tuesday (Local time) to honour prominent members of the Kore…
Seoul, June 24 (IANS) The number of South Koreans relocating to new regions fell 1.5 per cent in May from a year earlier to the lowest level in 52 years, data showed Wednesday, amid a recent decline in housing supply. Around 466,000 people changed residences in May, down 7,000 from a year earlier, according to data from South Korea’s Ministry of Data and Statistics. It marked the lowest figure for any May month since 415,000 tallied in 1974.The population mobility rate — which refers to the num…