Korea's first transgender soldier laid to rest at national cemetery amid controversy

SEOUL, June 25 (AJU PRESS) - Korea's first-ever transgender soldier was buried at the National Cemetery in Daejeon on Monday. Some 60 activists gathered to protest her burial there, arguing her service did not qualify her to be laid to rest in the cemetery. Byun Hee-soo, who killed herself in 2021 after being forcibly discharged from the military, made headlines in Korea, a country known for its conservative stance on controversial LGBT issues. Born male in 1998, Byun enliste

June 25, 2024

PHOTOS: Rival regions seek harmony through cultural fest

SEOUL, June 25 (AJU PRESS) - North Gyeongsang Province and South Jeolla Province are holding a joint festival in Seoul to promote exchanges between the two regions, which have been politically at odds throughout history. The third annual event is underway at Gwanghwamun Square, central Seoul, from Monday to Wednesday. The festival features a dance contest, music concerts, an art exhibition, a tourism fair, media shows and an agricultural market.

June 25, 2024

Death toll in battery factory fire rises to 23 as another body found

SEOUL, June 25 (AJU PRESS) - One more body was found on Tuesday after a fire at a lithium battery factory in Hwaseong, south of Seoul the previous day. The retrieved body, believed to be a worker who had remained missing, raises the death toll to 23 from the massive fire that erupted at battery maker Aricell's three-story building in Gyeonggi Province at around 10:30 a.m. on Monday. The cause of the fire remains unknown, but witnesses said that battery cells exploded on the sec

June 25, 2024

Event honors veterans on Korean War anniversary in Daegu

SEOUL, June 25 (AJU PRESS) - An event commemorating the 74th anniversary of the Korean War was held in Daegu on Tuesday. About 1,300 participants including President Yoon Suk Yeol, military brass, government officials and distinguished foreign guests gathered in the southeastern city to honor the sacrifices of war veterans and their families. Hosted by the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, the annual event to remember the 1950-53 Korean War took place outside of Seoul for t

June 25, 2024

KAI signs deal for mass production of Korea's homegrown jet fighters

SEOUL, June 25 (AJU PRESS) - Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) signed an agreement with the government to commence mass production of South Korea's homemade fighter jet, the KF-21, the nation's sole aircraft maker said Tuesday. The contract with the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), valued at 1.96 trillion won ($1.41 billion), calls for the production of 20 KF-21 units to be delivered starting in 2026. "The KF-21 will serve as a true symbol of self-re

June 25, 2024

Government, KRX to facilitate new carbon credit trading system

SEOUL, June 25 (AJU PRESS) – The Ministry of Environment said Tuesday it will sign an agreement with the Korea Exchange (KRX) and other institutions for cooperation in launching a new carbon credit trading system next year. The government plans to allow brokerages to trade carbon emissions permits starting in the first half of next year, in a move to make it more accessible and convenient for businesses. The ministry will sign a memorandum of understanding with KRX, the Gre

June 25, 2024

Veteran recounts harrowing memories on Korean War anniversary

SEOUL, June 25 (AJU PRESS) - Tuesday marked the 74th anniversary of the 1950-53 Korean War. The war was triggered by North Korea's surprise attack on South Korea at dawn on June 25, 1950, claiming hundreds of thousands of lives. Although an armistice signed in 1953 halted three years of fighting, the demilitarized zone (DMZ) still separates the two Koreas along the 38th Parallel. Of over one million Korean war veterans, only 37,953 are alive as of May 2024, according to the Mini

June 25, 2024

Samsung to add four languages to Galaxy AI real-time interpretation capabilities

SEOUL, June 25 (AJU PRESS) - Samsung Electronics announced plans to add four new languages -- Swedish, Dutch, Romanian, and Turkish -- to its Galaxy AI real-time interpretation service by year-end. The on-device function currently supports 16 languages, including Korean, Chinese, English, French and Japanese. Samsung emphasizes that Galaxy AI language models undergo both quantitative evaluations of linguistic features and grammar, as well as qualitative assessments of cultural kn

June 25, 2024

LG Uplus launches AI model ixi-GEN targeting B2B market

SEOUL, June 25 (AJU PRESS) - Korean telecom company LG Uplus Corp. unveiled its proprietary small large language model (sLLM) ixi-GEN on Tuesday, aiming to expand its presence in the business-to-business (B2B) artificial intelligence market. The AI model, based on LG AI Research's EXAONE, has been trained on LG Uplus' telecom and platform data. The company plans to initially implement ixi-GEN in eight of its services, including chat agents and mobile store advisors, before t

June 25, 2024

S. Korea, US agree to cooperate on diplomatic intelligence sharing

SEOUL, June 25 (AJU PRESS) - South Korea and the U.S. have signed a memorandum of understanding to share diplomatic intelligence and other information, Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday. The ministry highlighted that Seoul and Washington agreed on the importance of strengthening exchange and cooperation for diplomatic intelligence due to rapidly-changing geopolitical situations. The two countries have been working closely on this matter since early this year. T

June 25, 2024