Semiconductor equipment startup WIT on Thursday announced that it had recently become the first startup in Korea to develop and release a significantly smaller and lighter portable vacuum probe station. A probe station is a device used to measure the electrical properties of products, such as semiconductors and LCDs, before the assembly process. WIT’s products are primarily used to conduct tests of semiconductor wafers.“Most existing probe stations are about a meter wide and tall and are difficu

Popular actor Lee Joon-gi, who also has a large following in other Asian countries, is dating actress Jeon Hye-bin, their talent agency confirmed Tuesday."Lee and Jeon developed into a couple in the first half of last year," Namoo Actors, which manages both stars, said, hours after an Internet-based newspaper reported that they are in their second year of dating secretly. (Instagram)"The two first met while filming a television drama in 2014 and were a good friend to each other when rumors on th

Ok Taecyeon, a member of the popular boy band 2PM, says he made an acting debut in 2010 simply because his talent agency forced him to. Seven years later, the reluctant actor finds fun in the job because he can create "another me" through a new character each time.   "It was fun to work together with other actors and become a totally different person when taking on a new role," he said during an interview with Yonhap News Agency on Monday.Ok began acting with KBS 2TV's "Cinderella's Stepsister"

South Korea's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae is keeping close tabs on the latest North Korean developments amid speculation that the reclusive country is close to conducting its sixth nuclear test, officials said Sunday."We're closely observing the possibility of provocations," a Cheong Wa Dae official told Yonhap News Agency over the phone, adding that the office remains vigilant, assessing that the North could carry out a provocation at anytime. (Yonhap)Despite the ousting of President Park

South Korea will run the country's first villages reserved for people suffering from dementia and their families, the health ministry said Sunday.The ministry said it will announce plans for the pilot program and designated three candidate villages in April, with the program slated to go into full swing in May.In December, the ministry will evaluate the pilot program meant to create a community where dementia sufferers and their families can live safely without leaving society and becoming isola

South Korea plans to conduct a massive search at the site of the Sewol ferry accident that occurred three years ago, which claimed more than 300 lives, officials said Sunday.Shanghai Salvage, the company that recently raised the sunken Sewol Ferry, will conduct a two-month-long, 32,000-square-meter-wide search of the seabed where the ship remained, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said. The aim of the search is to find the remains of those still missing and other clues that can shed better l

North Korea has strengthened the punishment for importing and distributing cultural content from South Korea and the rest of world, a copy of the country's revised criminal law obtained exclusively by Yonhap News Agency showed Sunday.A copy of North Korea's 2015-revised criminal code showed that those who import, distribute and illegally hold on to "decadent culture" or engage in "decadent acts" would face a prison sentence with hard labor of a minimum five years to a maximum 10 years, when circ

North Korea is likely to make provocative acts in April as a host of key anniversaries slated for this month could be used as a good excuse to show off its nuclear and missile capabilities, experts said Sunday.North Korea usually holds big military events or parades at anniversaries whose final numbers end in a five or a zero. The North's 2017 calendar is full of such anniversaries, in particular, in April. This image captured from footage of North Korea's state-run broadcaster on April 15, 2012

South Korea's top 30 business groups cut nearly 20,000 jobs in 2016 amid the country's prolonged economic slowdown, a corporate tracker said Sunday.According to CEO Score, 253 affiliates of the leading conglomerates, known here as chaebol, had a combined workforce of 930,124 as of the end of last year, down 19,903, or 2.1 percent, from a year earlier. (Yonhap)The figure covers only the groups' units that have published business reports for fiscal 2016.Samsung Group, South Korea's top family-cont

Search and rescue efforts are under way to find 22 crew members of a South Korean ship that sank in the South Atlantic last week, after two sailors were safely picked up in a life raft, the Seoul government said Sunday.The search for the missing South Korean ship, the Stellar Daisy, began Saturday, one day after the ship's crew sent a text to their South Korean employer, saying their ship was sinking. Stella Daisy (Yonhap)The Marshall Islands-flagged ship was sailing near Uruguay when it made th

Ahn Cheol-soo of the People's Party won the latest round of a party primary Saturday, further closing in on the party's nomination for the upcoming presidential election.The co-founder and former chief of the left-leaning centrist party took 77.44 percent of all votes in the latest round held in Suwon, according to the party.He was followed by former opposition leader Sohn Hak-kyu with 20.29 percent and Deputy National Assembly Speaker Park Joo-sun with 2.27 percent. (Yonhap)The outcome marked A

That life is a never-ending learning process is a hackneyed idea, but it carries with it the idea that learning is down to the individual.Once compulsory education is over, it is completely up to them to decide on what and how to educate themselves.Korea’s academic pressures are notorious. Starting from an early age, students struggle to meet the expectations of their parents and teachers. If they hit the end goal of getting in to a good university and landing a reputable job, they often conside

North Korea's state radio station resumed broadcasting mysterious numbers Sunday after a nine-day hiatus that could be some kind of coded message to its agents operating in South Korea.The message began just after midnight (Seoul time), at 12:15 a.m., by the North's propaganda station Radio Pyongyang. It lasted a few minutes with the message being repeated twice. The last encrypted message sent by the North was detected on March 10 with this being the ninth of its kind this year. (Yonhap)The ann

South Korea's trade association said Sunday that some 67 cases of complaints have been filed by local firms who reported they have been hurt by China's trade restrictions in the wake of Seoul's deployment of an advanced US anti-missile system.The complaints were filed by some 60 companies that have business ties with China, the Korea International Trade Association said, through a new hotline set up to help firms under strain after China rolled out a slew of measures that appear to be aimed at h

Choe Ryong-hae, a vice chairman of North Korea's ruling party, is believed to have played a role in the latest dismissal of the country's spy chief, a report by a South Korean state-run think tank said Sunday.Kim Won-hong, 72, was fired as minister of state security in mid-January after a probe by the Workers' Party of Korea found his agency had abused authority.Choe directed his party aides to conduct surveillance of Kim's ministry, inviting Kim's resentment, according to the report by the Inst

China refused to have talks with South Korea at the Group of 20 finance ministers' meeting in Germany on the recent trade dispute over a US anti-missile system, the Seoul government said Sunday, dealing a blow to its efforts to resolve the issue in a diplomatic manner. South Korean Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho sought to have a dialogue with his Chinese counterpart Xiao Jie during the two-day G-20 summit held in Baden-Baden that started on March 17, but it fell through because of China's refusal, a

Medical supplies and equipment based on artificial intelligence (AI) and robotic technology will dominate the global health care sector in the future, industry watchers said Sunday.The remarks were made during the Korea International Medical Clinical Laboratories and Hospital Equipment Show (KIMES) at the Convention and Exhibition Center (COEX) in southern Seoul where nearly 1,300 medical instrument manufacturers from both home and abroad showcased their latest medical technologies and products.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un observed the ground jet test of a new high-thrust rocket engine, the country's state-run media said Sunday, an indication that Pyongyang may engage in future provocation despite warnings by the international community.According to the Korean Central News Agency, Kim who holds the title of supreme commander of the Korean People's Army, visited the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground to personally inspect the performance of the engine developed by the Academy of the Na

Talks between the top diplomats of the United States and China on Saturday underscored a marked difference in their approaches toward North Korea, despite their shared concerns and promise of cooperation regarding its ever-growing threats.  US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson met Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his visit to Beijing, the last leg of his three-nation trip to Asia following stops in Japan and South Korea.Their talks focused on the upcoming summit between their leaders and the North

Byda has signed a memorandum of understanding with a Kyrgyzstan government institution to supply its traffic enforcement system, the company announced Wednesday.Byda is a startup headed by Kim Byeong-seong, that produces intelligent traffic enforcement radar systems that are equipped with high-frequency sensors and real-time signal processing technology.  Byda’s traffic radar equipment (Byda)As opposed to existing traffic radar systems, which only provide data on speed and distance, the radar sy