S. Korea and Chile engage in negotiations for modernization of free trade agreement

SEOUL -- South Korea and Chile have embarked on a three-day negotiation meeting for the modernization of the South Korea-Chile Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in a bid to update new trade norms into the agreement text. In 2003, Chile became South Korea's first-ever FTA partner, opening a new door to the outside world for South Korea which maintained its protective trade stance until the late 1990s when the country was almost swept away by the wake of the Asian financial crisis. Chile

November 29, 2023

Seoul-Ulsan train tour program for pet dogs to be operated for Christmas

SEOUL -- The southern port city of Ulsan has prepared a special train tour program targeting pet dogs and their owners. The tour package will have special tour guides who will help human and canine customers enjoy various programs. South Korea's pet market which stood at 1.9 trillion won ($1.4 billion) in 2015 saw explosive growth during the COVID-19 pandemic to stand at eight trillion won in 2022. About 70 percent of companies had employees working at home during the pandemic a

November 29, 2023

About 10,000 S. Koreans visited southern resort island of Jeju for 'workcation' in 2023: data

SEOUL -- Data released by the Jeju provincial government, about 10,000 South Koreans sought to spend their holidays in the southern resort island Jeju through "workation," a type of vacation where a person could go about his or her individual activities while fulfilling his work responsibilities. The idea of remote working or working away from the office was recognized as a Western work culture in South Korea before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country in early 2020. When

November 29, 2023

About 30 mln S. Korean messenger app users express feelings through 'emoticons' every month: data

SEOUL -- Some 30 million South Korean users of Kakao Talk, the country's favorite smartphone messenger app with monthly average domestic users of about 48.2 million, sent out emoticons to express their feelings to their friends and relatives, data released by the messenger app's operator showed. Emoticons are picturized or animated images of emotions. They can be used to express users' feelings in messenger chats or social media posts. According to Kakao, South Korea'

November 28, 2023

Brazil's vice industry minister visits S. Korea to level up trade and investment cooperation

SEOUL -- Marcio Elias Rosa, Brazil's Development, Industry, Commerce and Services Vice Minister, has visited South Korea to upgrade trade and investment cooperation in various sectors such as supply chain, renewable energy, digital transformation, and biopharmaceutical technology. During his stay in Seoul, Rosa reached a consensus to promote the trade and investment promotion framework with South Korea's trade ministry. Brazil became the first South American country to si

November 28, 2023

S. Korea becomes world leader in AI-based quality management technology field

SEOUL -- South Korea has become the world leader in the artificial intelligence-based video analysis smart quality management technology field with the biggest number of patent applications, the country's patent office said. Video analysis quality management is a technique that is adopted by manufacturers to selectively remove defective products from their manufacturing lines. At ordinary factories, the sorting process is done by human eyes and hands where workers manually check

November 27, 2023

S. Korea to increase global market share in eco-friendly vessel sector to 12 percent by 2027

SEOUL -- South Korea will incubate technologies for eco-friendly vessels, autonomous vessels, and smart maritime mobility services in a bid to increase the country's global market share in those sectors to 12 percent by 2027. The global ship makers and maritime logistics companies are currently underway in their transition from fossil fuel-based vessels to eco-friendly vessels that use alternative clean energy fuels such as methanol, ammonia, liquefied natural gas, biofuels, and

November 27, 2023

S. Korean President seeks global support in Paris to host World Expo in Busan 

SEOUL -- South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has embarked on his three-day journey in Paris to ask the global community to host the World Expo 2030 in the southern port city of Busan. The location for the global economic event, held every five years for six months, will be determined during a general assembly of a Paris-based intergovernmental organization in charge of the World Expo on November 28. South Korea is currently competing with Italy's Rome and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia.

November 24, 2023

S. Korea's annual whisky import volume to exceed 30,000 tons for first time

SEOUL -- The popularity of whisky among young South Korean consumers was reflected in the volume of whisky that was imported between January and October 2023. According to South Korea's customs office, the total annual whisky import volume in 2023 will reach 30,000 tons. Whisky, which is more expensive compared to beer and Soju, traditional Korean liquor, was regarded as luxury goods in South Korea. The foreign spirit was normally served to important guests or was mainly consu

November 23, 2023

S. Korea to demonstrate smart delivery service in southern Seoul

SEOUL -- South Korea's transport ministry will start the demonstration of urban smart parcel delivery services using a micro fulfillment center, a small-sized logistic center, located in southern Seoul. The automated logistics center will become the base for quick-delivery services using six robots that sort and carry parcels inside the building. Fulfillment centers are small-sized buildings that have a storage area and a loading bay. Sometimes the small logistics centers have

November 22, 2023