SEOUL– South Korean startup PLANA is betting big on the hybrid-electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft market and not on all-electric aircraft as they have certain challenges that must be tackled before commercialization, the company’s CEO has said. The head of the country’s sole hybrid eVTOL startup, set up in July last year … Read more
SEOUL– South Korean stocks traded higher late Monday morning on strong advances by tech and auto heavyweights. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) had increased 16.09 points, or 0.69 percent, to 2,364.52 points as of 11:20 a.m. Institutional and foreign investors scooped up local shares, while retail investors turned to sell-offs. … Read more
SEOUL– Following the end of the national mourning period in light of a tragic crowd crush in Seoul, cheering activities in the South Korean baseball championship round will resume Monday. The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) said the cheering squads for the SSG Landers and the Kiwoom Heroes in the Korean Series will be back … Read more
SEOUL– Prime Minister Han Duck-soo apologized Monday for a deadly crowd crush in Seoul’s Itaewon district, vowing to reform crowd control measures to prevent similar tragedies from happening again. “As the prime minister in charge of state affairs in connection with the disaster in Itaewon, I sincerely apologize to the people,” Han told a … Read more
SEOUL– President Yoon Suk-yeol appointed his new education minister Monday, his office said, completing the lineup of his first Cabinet. Lee Ju-ho, a professor at the Korea Development Institute and former education minister under the Lee Myung-bak administration, was named education minister and deputy prime minister for social affairs in September. He underwent a confirmation … Read more
SEOUL– South Korea’s unmanned space vehicle Danuri has sent texts and images from space to Earth, successfully completing its long distance data transmission tests, the science ministry said Monday. Danuri, also known as the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter, underwent data transmission tests on Aug. 25 and Oct. 28 from 1.21 million kilometers and 1.28 … Read more
SEOUL– The Bank of Korea (BOK) said Monday it has found some technical “restrictions” standing in the way of the introduction of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) as it has completed a mock test on the feasibility of the new form of money. The BOK launched the two-phase mock test of a CBDC … Read more
SEOUL– SK Chemicals Co. on Monday reported its third-quarter net income of 41.9 billion won (US$29.9 million), shifting from a loss of 2.9 billion won a year earlier. The company said in a regulatory filing that operating profit for the July-September period fell 54.8 percent on-year to 49.7 billion won. Revenue decreased 16.7 percent … Read more