Prosecutors drop charges against first lady in stock manipulation case

SEOUL, October 17 (AJP) - After a four-year investigation, prosecutors decided Thursday not to indict first lady Kim Keon Hee over allegations of involvement in a stock manipulation scheme involving Deutsch Motors, a BMW dealer in South Korea. The allegations first surfaced in February 2020 when news outlet Newstapa, citing a leaked police report, raised suspicions that Kwon Oh-soo, former chairman of Deutsch Motors, conspired with a stock trader identified as Lee to manipulate the

October 17, 2024

K-pop artists' stage outfits recreated as artworks at Seoul festival

SEOUL, October 17 (AJP) - Stage outfits of SM Entertainment artists are being showcased as recreated artworks at "C.at Work Festa," a cultural event that started on Thursday and will run for four days. The festival, held at the Shinsegae Department Store's Gangnam branch, features artworks that capture the history of SM's K-pop idols aespa and NCT, recreated by designers. The annual event blends fashion, beauty, and performance, focusing on the theme of cre

October 17, 2024

Samsung unveils fastest graphics memory chip to power AI systems

SEOUL, October 17 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics announced on Thursday that it has developed the industry's first 24-gigabit GDDR7 (graphics double data rate 7) memory chip, designed to power next-generation artificial intelligence systems. The new chip offers the highest capacity and fastest speed in the graphics memory market, capable of processing data at over 40 gigabits per second. The new DRAM is expected to be used in various applications, including PCs, game consoles, AI

October 17, 2024

PHOTOS: Seoul Library celebrates Han Kang's Nobel win

SEOUL, October 17 (AJP) - Seoul Library on Thursday unveiled a new message on its exterior, celebrating Han Kang's Nobel Prize in Literature. The board reads, "Thanks to author Han Kang, we hope more citizens will read books.” The library is displaying 10 of Han's works, including "The Vegetarian" and "Human Acts."

October 17, 2024

South Korea keeps eye on alleged North Korean troop deployment for Russia's war in Ukraine

SEOUL, October 17 (AJP) - Seoul is "closely monitoring" reports of Russia forming a special battalion composed of North Koreans, the National Intelligence Service here said Wednesday. The NIS also added that it is collaborating with Ukraine to verify these reports. The comments came days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused North Korea of sending troops to Russia. In his daily video message last weekend, he said, "We see an increasing alliance between

October 17, 2024

Flitto offers AI interpretation service for Middle East's top tech expo

SEOUL, October 17 (AJP) - Korean crowdsourcing translation platform Flitto said Thursday it is providing AI-based simultaneous translation services at GITEX Global, the Middle East's largest tech exhibition, in Dubai. Its Live Translation program is being used at 47 major sessions to convert languages, including English and French, into the audience's preferred language at the exhibition, which began Monday and runs for five days. The translation solution supports 38 languages,

October 17, 2024

BTS member J-Hope completes military service

SEOUL, October 17 (AJP) - J-Hope, a member of K-pop superstar BTS, was discharged from his mandatory military service on Thursday. J-Hope, who enlisted in April last year, completed his 18-month service in Wonju, Gangwon Province. He is the second BTS member to fulfill the duty, following Jin, who was discharged in June this year. The remaining members — Jimin, Jung Kook, RM, Suga, and V — are scheduled to complete their service in June 2025, so all BTS members ar

October 17, 2024

Scientists observe elusive 'Wigner crystallites' that may advance superconductor research

SEOUL, October 17 (AJP) - A team of South Korean scientists has made a groundbreaking discovery of the 'Wigner crystal' state in solid materials, where electrons exhibit properties of both liquids and solids. The finding, published in the global peer-reviewed scientific journal Nature on Wednesday, could potentially unlock mysteries surrounding high-temperature superconductors, materials that can conduct electricity without resistance and energy loss when reaching critical t

October 17, 2024

Progressive candidate wins by-election for Seoul superintendent

SEOUL, October 17 (AJP) - Jung Keun-sik, a former sociology professor at Seoul National University and progressive candidate, has been elected as Seoul’s education chief. Jung won the by-election early Thursday, securing 50.17 percent of the vote (936,967 votes) with 97.28 percent of ballots counted, narrowly defeating conservative former lawmaker Cho Jun-hyuk. The election was held to fill the vacancy left by former superintendent Cho Hee-yeon, who stepped down in August afte

October 17, 2024

OPINION: This year's Nobel prize exposes economics' problem with colonialism

SEOUL, October 17 (AJP) - Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James Robinson have been awarded the 2024 Nobel memorial prize in economics for their influential work on how institutions shape economic development. Some would say the decision to award these scholars the Nobel was long overdue. The paper that formed the basis of their work is one of the most cited in economics. Acemoglu and Robinson’s subsequent book, Why Nations Fail, has also been hugely influential. These wor

October 17, 2024