South Korean scientists have developed the world’s first photothermal-effect-based high efficiency particulate air filter -- also known as HEPA filter -- that can take out 99.9 percent of influenza and COVID-19 viruses, the Korea Institute of Energy Research said Tuesday. The photothermal effect, which refers to the mechanism of how a substance absorbs light energy and turns it into heat energy, is used in various areas such as drug delivery, cell death, sensor and solar battery. The re

South Korean game maker Nexon looks to expand its position in the global market with a series of new titles set for release this year, the company said Wednesday. The game maker is focusing on developing the console versions of the new titles -- DNF Duel, KartRider: Drift and Project Magnum -- as a core pillar to target more players across the world. DNF Duel, which is scheduled to be available from June 28, is a fighting game with characters from Nexon’s signature franchise Dungeon Fi

McDonald’s Korea logged a combined record high in sales of 1 trillion won ($801 million) from its directly managed stores and franchisees last year, the largest annual figure since its first store opened in the country in 1988, the global fast-food giant said Tuesday. The directly managed stores that take up about 70 percent of the total number of McDonald’s in the country posted 867.9 billion won in sales, up 9.7 percent on year, according to the company’s regulatory report.

Samyang Foods attracted 40,000 visitors to the promotional booth of its signature spicy noodle dish Buldak, over four days on the sidelines of BTS concerts in Las Vegas earlier this month, the company said Tuesday. Samyang Foods was the main sponsor of the K-pop superstars’ concerts in the US as it commemorated the 10th anniversary of Buldak.

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol on Monday pledged to provide the utmost support for Korean companies developing vaccines and treatment, highlighting that vaccine development is crucial for securing the nation’s economic security. “The essence of the country’s growth lies here,” Yoon said during his visit to SK Bioscience’s headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, adding that South Korea’s economy and security depend on developing drugs. The President-elec

As the metaverse becomes more prevalent across all industries on the back of greater investments and technological advancements, The Korea Herald and the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea are co-hosting a forum to discuss what the next web revolution holds for the future. The joint forum, slated to be held on May 2 at Four Seasons Seoul, has invited a number of business leaders and experts in the metaverse sector to share their insights on the ascending metaverse and how it will play an in

For the first time, YouTube has openly expressed concerns over the South Korean parliament’s push for global content providers to foot the bill for creating excessive network traffic. Gautam Anand, Vice President and Managing Director at Google’s YouTube Asia Pacific, wrote on Wednesday on the official YouTube Korea blog that if the revisions are enacted, it could “undermine YouTube’s opportunity to make continuous investments for Korean creators to be successful.&rdquo

Local drug developer GI Innovation has submitted a preliminary application for listing on the country’s secondary tech-heavy bourse Kosdaq with its eyes set on going public in the second half of the year, the company said Thursday. GI Innovation’s initial public offering will be carried out under Kosdaq’s special listing track, known as the “unicorn special listing.” The Korea Exchange established the unicorn special listing process in April last year to simplify

South Korean researchers have developed the world’s first fiber-based white organic light-emitting diodes, or WOLEDs, paving the way for more functional wearable tech, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology said Wednesday. The research team came up with a single, dip-coated white emission layer suitable for a fiber structure to design the fiber-based WOLEDs. In doing so, the researchers figured out how to implement WOLEDs on a string of fiber through simulation and optimizatio

The labor union of local game developer Webzen has decided to go on what will be the first strike in the country’s game industry if its planned walkout takes place on May 2 as scheduled. “It is hard to see this incident as just an issue where employees of a company are dissatisfied with the way they are treated,” said Webzen’s labor union in a press conference held in front of the game maker’s office in Bundang, Gyeonggi Province, Monday. “This strike is m

South Korean researchers have developed the country’s first robotic catheter system that can be inserted into human organs to perform interventional therapies, the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials said Monday. A catheter is a thin tube-like medical device that can be inserted in the body to treat diseases or perform surgical procedures. Interventional therapies, which refer to treating surgery-requiring-diseases through non-surgical procedures, have been implemented in a wide r

Amid the ongoing controversy over Google’s new in-app payment policy deemed Google Korea posted sales of 292 billion won ($237 million) from last year, up 32.8 percent on-year - but that did not include commission from the Play app store, estimated to be trillions of won. According to the regulatory filing submitted by the Korean arm of the global IT giant on Thursday, Google Korea’s operating profit recorded 29.4 billion won, up 88.4 percent on year, while its net income rose 152.

The Institute of Basic Science has identified the scientific mechanism of post-traumatic stress disorder treatment for the first time in the world through animal experiments, the Ministry of Science and ICT said Thursday. According to the ministry, the researchers used the PTSD treatment NYX-783, which is currently under clinical trials by the US biopharmaceutical company Aptinyx, for animal experiments using mice and discovered the principle of its treatment effects. In doing so, the resear

SEONGNAM, Gyeonggi Province -- South Korean IT behemoth Naver is aiming to double its annual sales to reach 15 trillion won ($12.2 billion) in the next five years and secure 1 billion users worldwide, company executives said Wednesday. “Naver has entered the ‘Global 3.0’ stage where we create multiple growths through the synergy of various business portfolios, technological leadership as well as domestic and overseas partnerships,” CEO Choi Soo-yeon said at a press conf

South Korea and Israel have pledged to invest up to $5.3 million (6.6 billion won) to support the joint development of robotics technology under a new strategic collaboration project named the Lighthouse Program, officials said Tuesday. As a joint research and development project between Seoul and Jerusalem, the Lighthouse Program is a follow-up of the revisions made to the industrial technology agreement between the two countries last year. Both sides agreed to double the annual funding for th

Contract manufacturing giant Samsung Biologics has raised 3.2 trillion won ($2.6 billion) through issuing new shares, allowing the company to secure capital needed for the buyout of Samsung Bioepis’ stake and construction of its fourth plant, officials said Monday. According to the firm’s regulatory filing, some 2 trillion won out of the 3.2 trillion won will be used for buying out Biogen’s stake in Samsung Bioepis and cover expenses of building its fourth manufacturing plant

More South Korean conglomerates relying heavily on manufacturing and retail networks for growth are turning to the bio and health care industries to secure future growth engines and expand areas of business. Retail and confectionary giant Lotte Group officially announced that bio and health care businesses will be its new growth engine at the shareholders’ meeting last month. Lee Dong-woo, CEO of Lotte Holdings, said the firm plans to directly invest in the bio and healthcare businesse

Science Minister Nominee Lee Jong-ho is a chip engineering scholar who supported, as an adviser, South Korea’s policy endeavor in building its strength in semiconductor industry for years. “I have experienced the semiconductor industry for a long time and I believe it has a great importance. I will try to advance it,” said Lee at the nominee selection announcement Sunday. “But our country has more than just semiconductors. I will look at all industries and listen to va

Metaverse Entertainment, a subsidiary of Netmarble F&C, has attracted 2 billion won ($1.6 million) in investment from Hyundai Motor Group’s tech fund Zer01ne, according to Netmarble on Wednesday. Netmarble F&C is a development arm of the nation’s top mobile game developer. Netmarble said the latest funding was based on the auto giant’s tech fund’s valuation of the metaverse company at 100 billion won. With the investment, Netmarble said virtual humans being

Instagram has picked South Korea as a test bed for its expanded Reels service, the social media platform said Wednesday. The new Reels feed will include videos that can be up to 15 minutes long. The previous Reels feed only showed short clips up to 60 seconds, according to Instagram. Korea, along with Brazil, was one of the only two countries to be selected for the trial run of the more inclusive Reels service. As the video tab will be removed from each account’s profile page, all vid