The Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology on Tuesday announced that it has invented a cold-chain safety sticker that allows one to tell whether frozen food products have been mishandled during delivery. The nanofiber-film sticker, which costs around 120 won (1 cent) to produce, can be used when transporting different types of frozen foods, as well as expensive medicines and medical supplies, the research team said. The cold-chain sticker is designed to indicate how long frozen food

The number of cyberattacks in South Korea spiked in the first quarter this year, due to the number of people working remotely amid the novel coronavirus outbreak, according to SK Infosec on Monday. The nation‘s biggest data security solution provider detected 1.74 million cyberattacks in the first quarter, up 21 percent on-year -- the monthly average reached 0.58 million, up from 0.48 million last year. The company said that there has been a significant increase in hacking attempts a

Japan Tobacco International Korea announced Friday that it has launched its odor-reduced tobacco vapor product Ploom Tech on local e-commerce platforms. The product and accessories are currently available on two platforms -- Naver’s Smart Store and Tmon -- at discounted prices. On Naver’s Smart Store, Ploom Tech Starter Kit, which contains a battery, a USB charger, and an adaptor, which is available for 17,500 won ($14.20), at a 50 percent discount from the retail price. On Tmo

Five out of 10 part-timers in South Korea have experienced a loss of earnings due to the nationwide COVID-19 outbreak, according to a survey released by job information platform operator Albamon on Friday. Of 1,738 part-time workers who answered the survey, 50.5 percent said their incomes had declined after the viral outbreak. The part-time workers, who answered their incomes remained the same, accounted for 48 percent. Only 1.5 percent of part-time workers said their incomes had increased

  South Korea’s Tmon announced Thursday that it posted its first monthly operating profit in 10 years, and plans to get listed next year. The firm recorded 160 million won ($130,000) operating profit last month, becoming the first local e-commerce platform operator to be in the black. The improvement in revenue began to materialize since the fourth quarter of last year, and will hopefully continue, a company official said. Tmon this year has seen a 44 percent increase in the numb

South Korea’s exports in March managed to stabilize, although the fall in export prices and lowering overall sentiment portend a drop amid the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Trade Ministry on Wednesday. The nation’s exports reached $46.9 billion, down 0.2 percent from a year ago. Export prices went down by 11.7 percent on-year, while the amount of outbound shipments went up by 13.1 percent, the largest leap in the last 17 months. Export prices of oil products, for i

Hyundai Engineering and Construction said Tuesday it will open sales of 1,150 high-quality residential units in Daegu, Gyeongsang Province. The new residential complex, named Hillstate Dowon Central, consists of five 49-story high-rises located near Dalseong Park Station in Junggu, central Daegu. The Junggu area is expected to offer new 11,000 housing units in the future, attracting potential buyers with the location’s proximity to social and commercial infrastructures, including dep

SK hynix’s said Monday its non-memory semiconductor sales marked a 1.5-fold increase last year, while sales of memory products decreased by 33 percent on-year. The DRAM sales of SK hynix marked 20.3 trillion won ($16.6 billion), down 37 percent from a year earlier, while sales of NAND flash reached 5.1 trillion won, down 31 percent. The sales of SK hynix’s non-memory business, however, increased by 139 percent to reach 1.6 trillion won last year, from 650 billion won in 2018. Of

Newly appointed CEO of South Korea’s leading telecom company KT Koo Hyun-mo on Monday relinquished his title as chairman, vowing independent and future-oriented management. Koo, who was formerly head of KT’s customer and media division, officially received the green light as the new CEO and president during a shareholders meeting in Seoul. The shareholders also approved the removal of the chairman position, as part of efforts to maximize roles of other decision-makers to improve i

GS Group is expected to undergo a transformation under the leadership of Huh Tae-soo, who was formally appointed CEO of the group’s holding firm and chairman of the board during a shareholders meeting Friday. Huh Tae-soo, the youngest brother of former GS Group Chairman Huh Chang-soo, has been widely known for his experience in the global market, as well as his emphasis on digital transformation. “Huh Tae-soo is expected to take the leadership role to bring new business models an

Daewoo Engineering and Construction has invested in a local racing drone startup company, with the prospect of expanding its business portfolio, according to the construction firm on Sunday. Daewoo E&C had previously announced that it would acquire a 30 percent stake in AstroX as part of its “Build Together Startups” program initiated in August last year. The details of financial terms were not disclosed. AstroX is a local drone maker capable of manufacturing vertical takeoff

If you are looking for a picnic spot where you can bring your kids, trek through the woods and enjoy spring sunshine, check out this alpaca-themed park in Hongcheon, Gangwon Province. The park, named Alpaca World, sits on an 360,000 square-meter plot where visitors can walk through and take a monorail ride around the area.  At certain spots, visitors can experience the mild-tempered animals that may try to eat parsnips out of your hands. You and your children can approach the animals

Hankook Tire, South Korea’s largest tire manufacturer by sales, said Thursday it will ramp up research in the original equipment tire sector. OE tires refer to tires that are equipped with new vehicles coming fresh off production lines. When designing new vehicle models, automakers go through several steps with tire manufacturers to choose or develop tires that best complement their own vehicle models. Hankook Tire is currently offering OE tires and replacement tires for around 320 car

South Korean internet giant Kakao announced Wednesday that its co-CEOs -- Yeo Min-soo and Joh Su-yong -- will serve another two-year term. The decision was approved at its annual shareholders meeting held in the southern resort island of Jeju. “Kakao’s mission for the next 10 years is to make continuous renovation and evolution to minimize inconvenience of people,” Yeo said in the statement. “The company will also take the lead in resolving various kinds of social iss

Various industries in South Korea have been forced into a mass experiment with the remote work system, intent to flatten the spread of COVID-19 since January. With more people working from home, demand for telecommuting solutions has also been rapidly rising. A number of Korean and multinational information technology companies provide top-notch remote work services, while many large firms already have internal remote systems intact. But it remains to be seen whether the emergency work-from

Internet traffic in March has increased 13 percent over January this year as people spend more hours online under the strain of the COVID-19 outbreak, according to an ICT Ministry report released Tuesday. The ICT Ministry met with telecommunications industry officials to discuss the increased internet usage and measures to prevent potential network failures. Previously Netflix had said it would cut its traffic by 25 percent on networks across Europe to prevent interruptions of service, consid

Korean telecommunications firm KT has teamed up with ministries here to develop an artificial intelligence-based health care system that could track the novel coronavirus spread, the company said Tuesday. In the research project led by the ICT Ministry and Ministry of Interior and Safety, KT will offer cellular data, which can be used to generate maps that could allow authorities to understand how populations move, as well as how the virus spreads. The data will only be used in a closed datab

Huawei Korea said Friday that it has donated 200,000 face masks to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Half have been delivered to the Korea Association of Welfare Institutions for Persons with Disabilities, and the rest went to the Daegu Metropolitan Office of Education, according to the company. The masks will be distributed to local students when schools start the new semester after the current delay. On March 6, Huawei Korea donated a total of 200 million won ($160,550) to support the

LG CNS said Friday it has been selected as preferred bidder for a new social security solution provider for the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s 122 billion won ($97.2 million) project. LG CNS’ consortium and Deloitte Consulting bid for the deal. Previously Samsung SDS was expected to join the competition, but it withdrew after reviewing feasibility. The new social security solution of LG CNS will substitute the ministry’s existing computer system built in 2009, which was u

KT’s new CEO Koo Hyun-mo held closed-door meetings with stock market experts this week on the company’s future strategy following a plunge in share prices, industry sources said Friday. The meetings on Tuesday and Thursday came after the South Korean telecommunications giant’s stock fell below the 20,000 won ($16) bar amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis. KT’s stock sold for around 27,000 won at the end of 2019. But it failed to bounce back, even after the company chose