Actor Yoo Ji-tae speaks out on N. Korean human rights situation at US conference

SEOUL, July 24 (AJU PRESS) - South Korean actor Yoo Ji-tae addressed North Korea's dire human rights situation at a conference in Washington D.C. on Monday (local time). "I urge you to extend your hands to the darkest places," Yoo said at the International Dialogue on North Korean Human Rights co-hosted by the Washington-based National Endowment for Democracy and the Ministry of Unification. "It is not injustice itself but our indifference that nurtures inj

July 24, 2024

Korean firms face setback at US beauty expo after container theft

SEOUL, July 24 (AJU PRESS) - Dozens of Korean beauty companies faced a major setback at Cosmoprof North America, a prominent industry fair in Las Vegas, after a container carrying their exhibition items was stolen en route to the event. The Korea International Trade Association (KITA) said Wednesday a container holding products from 70 Korean firms was taken while being transported from the Port of Long Beach in Los Angeles to the exhibition venue in Las Vegas. The theft occurr

July 24, 2024

Han Dong-hoon assumes role as new leader of PPP

SEOUL, July 24 (AJU PRESS) - Han Dong-hoon, the justice minister-turned-politician who was newly elected as the leader of the ruling People Power Party (PPP), began his official duties on Wednesday by visiting the National Cemetery in Seoul. Visiting the cemetery has become a customary practice for many politicians before assuming their roles, as they pay respects to deceased political figures, war veterans, and freedom fighters who contributed to the country's development. T

July 24, 2024

N. Korean garbage balloons land inside presidential office in Seoul

SEOUL, July 24 (AJU PRESS) - Trash-filled balloons sent southwards by North Korea, landed inside the presidential office's compound in Seoul's Yongsan, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Wednesday. Pyongyang has been sending balloons carrying wastepaper and other garbage, including human feces, to South Korea since May this year in retaliation against South Korean activist groups, mostly consisting of defectors, sending propaganda leaflets to the North. Thousands of Nor

July 24, 2024

Korean cable maker Taihan launches offshore wind installation vessel

SEOUL, July 24 (AJU PRESS) - Taihan Cable & Solution on Wednesday launched Korea's first cable laying vessel (CLV) dedicated to offshore wind power projects. The 6,200-ton vessel, named Palos, was unveiled at a ceremony held at the Kodae-Port in the central city of Asan. The Palos, capable of carrying up to 4,400 tons of submarine cable, is equipped with advanced features including a dynamic positioning system. Taihan said the vessel significantly enhances its capabilit

July 24, 2024

Smallest Olympic squad in decades reflects Korea's youth sports woes

SEOUL, July 24 (AJU PRESS) - With the countdown to the Summer Olympics in Paris ticking down this week just ahead of its opening on Friday, Korea is fielding some 144 athletes in 22 disciplines. This is the smallest squad the country has assembled since 1976 when it sent around 50 athletes to Montreal, Canada. It is also a significant decrease from about 230 athletes who competed at the pandemic-delayed 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo in 2021. The nation's sports crisis is particu

July 24, 2024

Opinion: President Biden's withdrawal a gracious step

SEOUL, July 24 (AJU PRESS) - President Joe Biden's decision to withdraw from the 2024 presidential contest is becoming, in the sense of complimentary to him, reflecting well on him. That is a term rarely, if ever, used in today’s extraordinarily cruel and ugly political rhetoric. True to form, former President Donald Trump reacted with a series of crude personal insults, including the statement that Biden never should have run. Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH), now the Republic

July 24, 2024

Opinion: One small update brought down millions of IT systems around the world

SEOUL, July 24 (AJU PRESS) - This weekend's global IT outage caused by a software update gone wrong highlights the interconnected and often fragile nature of modern IT infrastructure. It demonstrates how a single point of failure can have far-reaching consequences. The outage was linked to a single update automatically rolled out to CrowdStrike Falcon, a ubiquitous cyber security tool used primarily by large organizations. This caused Microsoft Windows computers around the world

July 24, 2024

Yoon's estranged former aide returns as ruling party chief despite April election defeat

SEOUL, July 23 (AJU PRESS) - Han Dong-hoon, a former interim leader of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) was elected a new head of the conservative party on Tuesday. At the embattled party's national convention held at KINTEX, northwest of Seoul, Han avoided a run-off vote by securing a majority vote of 62.84 percent (320,702 votes), far ahead of three other candidates. Former Land Minister Won Hee-ryong was the distant runner-up with just 18.85 percent of the votes (96,177

July 23, 2024

Samsung Electronics partners with Krafton for mobile gaming excellence

SEOUL, July 23 (AJU PRESS) - Samsung Electronics has teamed up with game developer Krafton to enhance mobile gaming experiences on Galaxy smartphones. The collaboration focuses on optimizing Krafton's new game, "Dark and Darket Mobile," for Samsung's latest devices, including the Galaxy Z Fold6 and Z Flip6. The partnership incorporates advanced graphics technologies such as Vulkan and Ray Tracing to deliver realistic visuals. Ray Tracing will be available on high-e

July 23, 2024