LG Electronics Inc. on Thursday launched a new 17-inch laptop boasting high performance as the South Korean tech giant eyes boosting notebook sales amid the pandemic-induced remote working and distance learning trends. The new model in the LG UltraGear 17 series comes with a price tag of 2.24 million won ($1,980) here, according to LG. The new UltraGear 17 is equipped with a 17-inch Wide Quad Extended Graphics Array display that has a resolution of 2560x1600 pixels, according to the company.

Samsung Electronics Co. is expected to report robust earnings in the first quarter of the year, analysts here said Thursday, as its mobile business has apparently offset relatively sluggish performance from its semiconductor unit. The South Korean tech titan was projected to log 60.64 trillion won (US$53.7 billion) in sales in the first three months of 2021, up 10.9 percent from a year earlier, while operating profit was estimated to surge 38.8 percent on-year to 8.95 trillion won over the peri

Local movie theaters, which have been in the doldrums amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, are expected to get a fresh boost from several upcoming releases of homegrown blockbusters. The black-and-white historical drama "The Book of Fish" has spearheaded the potential spring run that would attract audience members who have been reluctant for nearly a year to come to theaters under strict social distancing. It garnered nearly 35,000 moviegoers on its opening day Wednesday, far outnumb

The Seoul metropolitan government said Thursday it will resume operation of its city bus tours later this week. The buses will start running again from Saturday, about a year after the city government suspended the tours in March last year as part of efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19. To ensure tourists' safety, it will conduct mandatory virus tests on all bus drivers, limit the number of people aboard and ban eating on buses. All passengers' entry logs and body temperatures will be al

TOKYO/SEOUL -- Diplomats from South Korea and Japan held talks in Tokyo on Thursday, a source said, as they seek to address protracted spats over wartime history and trade amid the United States' calls for stronger trilateral cooperation with its Asian allies. The closed-door meeting between Lee Sang-ryol, director general for Asian and Pacific affairs at the foreign ministry, and his Japanese counterpart, Takehiro Funakoshi, came a day after Foreign Minister Chung-Eui-yong renewed Seoul's desi

Defense Minister Suh Wook on Thursday called for a strong defense posture following North Korea's launch of two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea last week. Suh made the remark in a congratulatory message to mark the Reserve Forces Day on Friday, saying the military has a staunch readiness posture to "respond to any threats and provocations" based on strong defense capabilities and a firm South Korea-US alliance. "On March 25, North Korea test-fired missiles follo

Early voting for the upcoming by-elections, including polls for the new Seoul and Busan mayors, is set to kick off this week for a two-day run, election officials said Thursday. The advance polling will begin at 6 a.m. on Friday and last till Saturday evening, ahead of the election day on April 7. Some 8.4 million voters in Seoul are eligible to cast ballots for a new mayor in the by-elections that come about a year ahead of the 2022 presidential poll. In Busan, South Korea's second-bigges

K-Bank, South Korea's first internet-only bank, said Thursday its customers and deposits grew exponentially in the first quarter of the year amid the coronavirus outbreak. The number of customers stood at 3.91 million as of the end of March, 1.72 million more than three months earlier, said the lender, which is led by telecom giant KT Corp. The number of new customers is far more than the number it had attracted in the three years since its inception. Outstanding customer deposits came to 8.7

Hyundai Motor Co. on Thursday released a teaser for the Santa Cruz pickup ahead of its unveiling in the United States this month. The Santa Cruz sport adventure vehicle (SAV), a model that sits between a sport utility vehicle and a pickup truck, boasts a bold yet sophisticated design, advanced connectivity and an all-wheel drive platform, the company said in a statement. "Santa Cruz, with its bold styling, breaks open all-new segment territory, both for Hyundai and the industry as a whole

Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. (KSOE) said Thursday it has signed deals worth 566 billion won ($502 million) with companies from Asia, Europe and Africa to build seven ships. Under a 247 billion-won deal with an Asian company, Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., a unit of KSOE, will deliver two 98,000-cubic-meter ethanol carriers by January 2023, KSOE said. The vessels, which are 230 meters long, 36.6 meters wide and 22.8 meters high, were ordered for the first time this year acro

As he prepares to make his third straight Opening Day start this week, Toronto Blue Jays' left-hander Ryu Hyun-jin has adopted big picture thinking. The South Korean ace will be on the mound at Yankee Stadium to face the New York Yankees -- at 1:05 p.m. Thursday (local time), or 2:05 a.m. Friday in Seoul. He also started the first day of last season for the Blue Jays and had the honor for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2019. While Opening Day assignments for starting pitchers carry certain symboli

CU has opened its first outlet in Malaysia as part of its overseas push, the operator of South Korea's top convenience store chain said Thursday. The 165-square-meter outlet started operations at a shopping mall in a middle-class neighborhood in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, according to BGF Retail Co. South Korean goods account for 60 percent of all products it carries. The store also sells CU's popular private-label products and such "Korean street foods" as "tteokbok

조 바이든 미국 대통령의 '아픈 손가락'으로 불리는 차남 헌터 바이든이 애잔한 가족사를 털어놨다. 31일(현지시간) 뉴욕타임스와 AP통신 등에 따르면 헌터는 내달 초 출간되는 회고록 '아름다운 것들'에서 과거 마약과 알코올 중독, 형수와의 불륜, 아버지의 후광 논란 등에 대한 생각을 담았다. 바이든 대통령은 불운한 가족사를 갖고 있다. 상원 의원 당선 한 달만인 1972년 12월 교통사고로 아내와 13개월 된 딸을 잃었다. 당시 차량엔 헌터도 타고 있었다. 또 2015년엔 끔찍이 아끼던 장남 보 바이든을 뇌암으로 먼저 보냈다. 유년 시절 암울한 기억 탓인지 헌터는 변호사 자격까지 땄지만 마약과 알코올 중독에 빠져들었다. 2014년엔 코카인 양성 반응으로 군대에서 불명예 전역했고, 그 사이 20년간 이어온 결혼 생활이 파경을 맞기도 했다. 그는 과거 주류 가게까지 한 블록을 이동하면서도 손에 술을 들고 있어야 했고, 매일 아침 일어났을 때 첫 기억이 전날 마약을 했다는 것일 정

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases rose to more than 500 for the second day Thursday, with tightened social distancing rules to be implemented in the second-largest city of Busan over the continued emergence of cluster infections. The country reported 551 more COVID-19 cases, including 537 local infections, raising the total caseload to 103,639, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. It marked the highest daily tally in 41 days. The country added four more deaths

South Korean stocks opened higher Thursday as investor sentiment was boosted by a massive infrastructure project by the United States. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 26.6 points, or 0.87 percent, to 3,088.02 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the US President Joe Biden announced a $2.25 trillion infrastructure proposal that is expected to quicken the global economic rebound and benefit local exporters. In Seoul, top cap Samsung Electronics adde

K-pop sensation BTS has added another feat to its long list of accolades, becoming the first Korean artist to be nominated for the annual Brit Awards. The seven-piece act was nominated for the international group award, alongside musicians Fontaines D.C., four-time winner Foo Fighters, HAIM and Run the Jewels. Past winners in the category include prominent acts like Bon Jovi, Red Hot Chili Peppers, U2 and Daft Punk. This year's awards ceremony, which was postponed due to the pandemic, is sche

North Korea continued to blatantly violated UN Security Council resolutions last year, stealing more than $300 million in virtual assets to support its illegal development of weapons of mass destruction, a UN report said Wednesday. The impoverished country also continued to illicitly import oil, several times the amount allowed under UN Security Council resolutions, according to the report from a panel of experts under the UN Security Council committee on North Korea sanctions. "The Panel

Perhaps no player has generated quite as much buzz ahead of a South Korean baseball season as Choo Shin-soo has this spring for the SSG Landers. He isn't the first ex-major leaguer from the country to set foot in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO). Even Park Chan-ho, the first South Korean to play in Major League Baseball (MLB), chose to finish out his career at home. But Park arrived here in 2012 in the twilight of his career, having spent the previous year in Japan. His lone season with t

Hyundai Motor Co., BMW Korea and three other companies will voluntarily recall nearly 240,000 vehicles to fix faulty components, the transport ministry said Thursday. This is the latest in a series of recalls by carmakers operating in South Korea and vehicle importers due to problems with vehicle components. The five companies, including Kia Corp., Ford Sales & Service Korea Inc. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (FCA) Korea, are recalling a combined 238,914 units due to faulty components

In a season unlike any other in South Korean baseball history in 2020, the year of the coronavirus pandemic, the NC Dinos emerged as the first-time champions. While the rest of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) may be hoping the 2021 season will be different than last year -- more fans in the stands would be a nice change, for one -- the Dinos will try to ensure the end result will be the same, with the Korean Series title staying with them. The 2021 season will open Saturday, an on-time s