LG Electronics Inc., a major home appliance maker in South Korea, on Thursday said it has named Formula One star Lewis Hamilton as a brand ambassador for its luxury line of premium products. LG said Hamilton will promote the LG Signature brand, which the company uses for its high-end products. Hamilton, a six-time Formula One world champion, is considered one of the best racing drivers in the history of the sport. The 35-year-old Brit recently drew level with Michael Schumacher's record of 9

Top national security officials of South Korea and the United States held talks in Washington, DC this week and reaffirmed that their alliance remains robust, Cheong Wa Dae said Thursday. Suh Hoon, director of national security at the presidential office, arrived in the US on Tuesday (local time) for his first trip to the US since assuming the post in July. He met with his White House counterpart Robert O'Brien the following day for discussions on issues of mutual concern, including recent Kor

At least four school teachers were under investigation for allegedly downloading illegal child pornography produced by the group behind the infamous Telegram sexual exploitation case that unsettled the nation earlier this year, a lawmaker said Thursday. According to Rep. Lee Tahn-ey of the ruling Democratic Party, three regular school teachers and a contract-based teacher from Incheon and the provinces of South Chungcheong and Gangwon have been probed by law enforcement as part of the larger so

North Korea has upgraded its surface-to-air weapons to augment its air power considered way weaker than that of South Korea, the South's Air Force chief said Thursday, vowing to boost missile defense capabilities against the North's nuclear and missile threats. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Lee Seong-yong made the remark during a parliamentary audit session, saying around 10 new weapons have been identified from the North's military parade held last week. "We are analyzing the newly iden

Almost 60 percent of South Koreans are in support of allowing distinguished pop culture artists to postpone their mandatory military service, a poll showed Thursday. According to the poll conducted on 500 people aged 18 or above by Realmeter, 58.8 percent of the respondents said they favor the government efforts to revise a relevant law. The survey was carried out on Wednesday and commissioned by the radio channel TBS. Another 31.4 percent said they object to the plan, while the remaining 9.8

LG Electronics Inc. said Thursday that more content on the Korean Wave of popular culture can be watched on its smart TVs via its streaming service as the company tries to attract more consumers in major markets amid the pandemic-driven stay-at-home trend. LG Channels will now have more content related with the Korean Wave, known as hallyu, after the South Korean tech firm signed a partnership with NEW ID, a digital content distributor under local entertainment powerhouse Next Entertainment Wo

More than 30 human rights groups from seven countries urged the United Nations to include North Korea's recent killing of a South Korean official adrift in its waters in its annual human rights resolution on the communist state. The groups said they made the request in a joint public letter to the UN after learning of the "shocking news" that North Korea killed the South Korean official and burned his body last month "in accordance with Pyongyang's shoot-to-kill order to prevent

South Korean telecom giant LG Uplus Corp. said Thursday it opened a seven-story product showroom in southern Seoul by partnering with local popular establishments as part of its broader efforts to capture young customers. The seven-story building, including its underground floor, in the posh southern district of Gangnam houses a cafe, a bookstore and a photo studio popular among South Korean millenials and the younger Generation Z, or those born after the mid-90s. LG Uplus said the store allow

South Korea's outbound shipments of information and communication technology (ICT) products rose 11.9 percent on-year in September, data showed Thursday, as global demand for semiconductors picked up amid the pandemic. Exports of ICT products stood at $17.63 billion last month, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Science and ICT, marking an on-year rise in exports for the fourth consecutive month. Meanwhile, imports of ICT products reached $9.56 billion in September, up 9 percent ove

Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Gunn will visit Mexico next week for talks with his counterpart and other officials over economic cooperation, including the resumption of bilateral free trade talks, the foreign ministry said Thursday. During his visit from Monday to Wednesday, Kim plans to separately meet his counterpart, Julian Ventura, as well as officials from the South Korea-Mexico parliamentarian friendship group and chiefs of South Korean businesses operating in the country. At the talks wit

Hanwha Techwin Co., a major surveillance tech firm in South Korea, said Thursday it will start into the clerkless store solution business with its auto checkout (ACO) machine as the company expands its business portfolio amid the pandemic-induced non-contact trend. Hanwha Techwin said it decided to enter the unmanned store solutions market as many retailers opt to open cashier-free shops for 24-hour operation while there is a need to improve consumer convenience in the checkout process at stor

Temperatures in Seoul dropped to 6.6 C on Thursday morning, marking the coldest weather this fall, the national weather service said. From Wednesday's morning low of 11.4 C, the drop was 4.8 C, according to the Korea Meterological Administration (KMA). Compared with 11.1 C in an average year, the drop was 4.5 C. In northern Gyeonggi Province and northern Gangwon Province, the ground froze overnight and led to temperatures below zero. Basins and valleys cooled in particular, forming frost and

'n번방' 등 아동·청소년 성착취물을 배포한 텔레그램 대화방에 교사도 최소한 4명이 가입해 영상을 전송받은 것으로 나타났다. 15일 국회 교육위 소속 더불어민주당 이탄희 의원이 교육부와 시·도 교육청으로부터 받은 자료에 따르면 인천·충남·강원 등에서 교사 4명이 'n번방', '박사방' 등에 가입해 아동성착취물 등을 받은 혐의로 수사당국의 수사개시 통보를 받았다. 이들은 충남지역 고등학교·특수학교 교사, 강원지역 초등학교 교사 등 정교사 3명과 인천지역 초등학교에 근무하던 기간제 교사 1명으로 모두 담임 교사를 맡은 경험이 있는 것으로 알려졌다. 이들 가운데 정교사 3명은 수사개시 통보 후 직위해제됐으나, 기간제 교사 1명은 수사개시 통보에 앞서 퇴직한 것으로 파악됐다. 특히 기간제 교사의 경우 퇴직으로 인해 신분상 불이익을 받은 것이 없어 관련 재판이 확정되기 전에는 기간제 교사로 다시 임용될 수 있는 상태라고 이

Rep. Kim Hong-gul, the youngest son of late former President Kim Dae-jung, has been indicted on charges of falsifying his wealth, the prosecution said Thursday. The Seoul District Prosecutors Office said the first-term lawmaker was charged with violating the Public Official Election Act by failing to fully disclose his wealth during his mandatory property filing with the National Election Commission in the runup to the April general elections. He is suspected of concealing 1 billion won ($871

WASHINGTON -- South Korea's national security advisor Suh Hoon has been in Washington on a previously unannounced trip and has already met with his US counterpart Robert O'Brien, multiple sources confirmed Wednesday. Suh arrived in Washington on Tuesday, an informed source said on condition of anonymity without providing further details, including what the purpose of his trip was. O'Brien later confirmed Suh's visit, saying in a tweet that they met earlier in the day. "Great to see my fr

The number of passengers using South Korea's railroad services tumbled nearly 40 percent in the first nine months of the year due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Thursday. The number of passengers on high-speed KTX and 13 other railroad lines across the country totaled 63.89 million in the January-September period, or 61.7 percent of the 134.4 million recorded during the same period a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Railroad Corp. (Korail). The number

SEJONG -- An extension of debt relief programs by the Group of 20 major economies will help low-income nations achieve their economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, South Korea's finance minister has said. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki and his counterparts of G-20 finance ministers agreed to extend the debt relief programs by another six months during their virtual meeting Wednesday. Under the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI), the G-20 gave debt relief to poor nations in Apri

North Korea's state media on Thursday confirmed that a close aide to leader Kim Jong-un has been appointed as new chairman of a party provincial committee after its previous head was dismissed last month over a failure in handling typhoon preparations. While reporting on a local army-civilian rally, the Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the Workers' Party, referred to Ri Jong-nam, a vice director of the Organization and Guidance Department, as the "chairman of the party committee in

WASHINGTON -- US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday that his country's efforts to reduce threats from North Korea have proven successful, noting the communist state conducted "zero" missile tests over the past two years. The top US diplomat insisted the US would not be where it is now without its diplomatic efforts toward the communist state. "Am I confident that our diplomacy has proven successful? Yes, absolutely," he told a press briefing. His remarks came da

Nearly half of South Korean exporting companies expect Southeast Asian and Chinese markets to spearhead a recovery in their exports down the road, a poll showed Thursday. According to the survey of 1,051 local exporters, 25.2 percent of the respondents said trade conditions in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will improve the most among overseas markets in the fourth quarter of the year and thereafter. ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the