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Private academies will be prohibited from conducting placement tests for preschoolers starting next month, the education ministry said Tuesday, as part of efforts to curb severe forms of early childhood private education. The ban will take effect Oct. 1 under the revised Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Establishment and Operation of Private Teaching Institutes and Extracurricular Lessons, which was passed during a Cabinet meeting the same day. Under the revision, all written, oral, practical and interview evaluations will be prohibited, as well as any evaluations utilizing test scores to grade specific abilities. As an exception, however, diagnostic assessments through observation or interviews after a child has already enrolled will be permitted with prior parental consent. The revision also calls for fines on violators of 1 million won ($735) for a first offense, 2 million won for a second offense, and 3 million won for third and subsequent offenses.

Kookmin University has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Digital Technologies to promote cooperation in advanced technologies and expand industry-academia collaboration. The university said the MOU was signed at the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Seoul on Thursday. The agreement is designed to formalize the areas of cooperation discussed during the visit of Jamol Tilloyevich Makhsudov, Uzbekistan’s deputy minister of digital technologies, to Kookmin University on Sept. 10. Jeong Seung-ryul, president of the university, held a meeting with Uzbekistan’s Digital Technologies Minister Sherzod Shermatov, who was visiting Korea to attend the Korea-Central Asia Summit, to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation. The meeting was attended by Kim Byoung-joon, the university’s director of international affairs, and Uzbekistan’s Ambassador to Korea Alisher Abdusalomov. The two sides exchanged views on talent development and industry-academia collaboration in advanced technology fields, including artificial intelligence (AI) and software. They agreed

Korean defense and railway systems manufacturer Hyundai Rotem said Tuesday it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Hyundai Motor to bring the automaker's smart factory technology into its aerospace production facility, aiming to improve workplace safety and product quality. Under the agreement, the two Hyundai Motor Group affiliates will work together to introduce automated systems at Hyundai Rotem's aerospace plant. Hyundai Rotem has been developing technology for ducted ramjet and hypersonic engines, as well as methane engines for reusable launch vehicles, through projects with the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) and the Korea Research Institute for Defense Technology Planning and Advancement — Korea's state-run defense research bodies. The company plans to apply Hyundai Motor's AI-based smart factory technology to high-risk stages of its aerospace manufacturing process, aiming to create safer working conditions while strengthening quality competitiveness. Hyundai Rotem said a safety incident could disrupt development and production schedules for its advanced aerospac

Korean power equipment and industrial automation solution provider LS Electric said Tuesday it has put two of Boston Dynamics' four-legged Spot robots into regular operation at its Busan plant, using them to monitor production equipment and support quality and safety management as part of a broader smart factory push. The company worked with Hyundai Autoever, a systems integration affiliate of Hyundai Motor Group, for a roughly two-month trial run starting in July before formally deploying the two robots. The Busan plant is LS Electric's main production site for ultrahigh-voltage transformers, a market seeing rising global demand as investment in AI data centers and power grids accelerates. The company said Spot will help build a predictive maintenance system that flags equipment problems before they cause production delays. The robots are being used to monitor vapor phase drying, a core part of transformer manufacturing in which components are dried in a vacuum chamber. Spot's onboard thermal camera checks chamber door seals and detects heat leaks without physical contact, while sensor

TikTok held its first standalone K-beauty pop-up event on TikTok Shop in the United Kingdom, bringing together 19 Korean beauty brands at Protein Studios in London's Shoreditch neighborhood from Sept. 12-13, the company said Tuesday. The two-day event, called "Where Glow Begins," ran alongside an in-app campaign, "K-Beauty Super Brand Week," from Sept. 13-18. TikTok Shop is the platform's built-in e-commerce feature, allowing users to buy products directly through videos and livestreams without leaving the app. The venue featured brand booths, a livestream commerce zone, beauty masterclasses and photo areas, with about 400 creators taking part in product trials, content creation and livestreamed broadcasts over the campaign period. K-beauty has been one of the fastest-growing categories on TikTok Shop UK. The number of active K-beauty sellers on the platform rose 875 percent as of August compared with a year earlier, while K-beauty livestream sessions increased more than 305 percent over the same period. K-beauty product sales grew about 60 percent in the second quarter of this year com

Korean biopharmaceutical company Celltrion said Tuesday it has renewed European Good Manufacturing Practice (EU-GMP) certification for its Songdo campus production facilities, covering a combined 250,000 liters of capacity across drug substance and drug product manufacturing. The certification, issued by the European Medicines Agency, confirms that a facility meets European Union quality standards required to supply pharmaceutical products to the European market. The renewal applies to Celltrion's Plants 1, 2 and 3 at its Songdo campus in Incheon, west of Seoul. The company said it plans to expand total production volume at the campus by about 15 percent this year compared with last year, driven largely by output from Plant 3, which began commercial production in late 2024. Celltrion projects Plant 3 will produce 128 batches this year, up about 142 percent from a year earlier, as the newer facility stabilizes operations. The company is also preparing to bring a new drug product plant online, having received building-use approval from the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority in June. The f

CJ OliveNetworks said Tuesday that its gift card transaction value rose more than 33 percent in the first half of 2026 from a year earlier, setting a record for a six-month period as corporate demand for rewards helped expand its business-to-business sales. The company said annual transaction value rose about 27 percent last year, as gift cards increasingly moved beyond personal gifting into customer rewards, marketing programs and employee benefits. In July, CJ OliveNetworks began supplying CJ Gift Cards and Olive Young gift cards as rewards for LG Uplus home services, covering internet, IPTV and telephone subscriptions and renewals. Customers signing up for or renewing eligible services can receive gift cards worth up to 400,000 won ($291), depending on their service and contract terms. CJ OliveNetworks said the partnership broadens its reach among households and gives LG Uplus customers a wider range of reward options. The company has also expanded where its integrated CJ Gift Card can be used, adding more than 5,700 Emart24 stores nationwide at the start of the year. The card can now b

CJ CheilJedang is taking Korean distilled spirits to New York, unveiling its premium jari brand as it seeks to introduce Korean drinking culture to consumers in one of the world’s most influential food cities. The company is holding a launch event Tuesday (local time) at Moono, a modern Korean restaurant in Manhattan, where it is presenting three jari products alongside a Korean food pairing dinner. The lineup includes jari Munbae Sul 24 and jari Gamuchee 24, which were released in Korea in July, and jari Munbae Sul 41, which is making its U.S. debut. The higher-proof Munbae Sul 41 is designed to offer a deeper expression of the distinctive aroma of munbae, a pear-like fragrance associated with traditional Korean distilled spirits, according to CJ CheilJedang. CJ CheilJedang’s Lifestyle Food Business division executives are among many expected to attend the event with figures from New York’s food, beverage and cultural industries. Bartender Hong Doo-ui, a mixologist with brand ambassador Pine&Co, and chef Kim Ho-young of Moono and Michelin-starred Jua are also taking part, pairing j

HD Construction Equipment is teaming up with France’s Manitou Group to expand its reach in compact construction equipment, signing a mutual sales partnership Monday (local time) at Manitou Group’s headquarters in Ancenis, France, with HD Construction Equipment President Moon Jae-young and Manitou Group President and CEO Sylvain Blaise attending. Under the agreement, HD Construction Equipment will source compact equipment from Manitou Group and sell it globally under its Hyundai and Develon brands. Manitou Group will add HD Construction Equipment’s compact equipment to its portfolio and market the products under its Manitou and Gehl brands. Manitou Group supplies construction, agricultural and industrial equipment, including telehandlers, forklifts, skid steer loaders and aerial work platforms, through operations spanning 140 countries. For HD Construction Equipment, the agreement is intended to broaden its compact equipment lineup while increasing production scale and improving product quality and price competitiveness. The company has set a goal of generating 1.3 trillion won ($884

Samsung Electronics is turning a German kitchen industry hub into a year-round showcase for its built-in appliances as it seeks to deepen partnerships and expand its presence in Europe. The company opened a roughly 480-square-meter permanent showroom on the first floor of Kitchen Center Löhne in Löhne, Germany, during Küchenmeile, a major business-to-business event for the European kitchen industry. Küchenmeile runs through Friday, drawing more than 300 brands and 25,000 industry visitors, Samsung said. The company has participated in the event since 2013, using it to introduce built-in appliances and connect with kitchen furniture companies and other industry partners. The new showroom is designed as a venue for product demonstrations, business consultations and training, giving industry visitors year-round access to Samsung’s built-in appliances and connected kitchen technologies. Its displays include Bespoke artificial intelligence(AI)-powered refrigerators, a Bespoke AI dishwasher, an induction cooktop with an integrated extractor and a Bespoke AI oven equipped with AI Pro Cooki

Korea’s internet-only banks and regional lenders are expanding their co-lending partnerships beyond consumer credit into corporate lending, as they each look for new ways to grow their businesses, industry officials said Monday. KakaoBank and Busan Bank are preparing to launch a joint lending program for small and medium-sized businesses and sole proprietors, following a memorandum of understanding signed in April. The arrangement will combine KakaoBank’s nationwide digital platform with Busan Bank’s experience in assessing and managing business loans in its regional market. Until now, most co-lending partnerships between the two parties have focused on consumer credit. Toss Bank and Kwangju Bank introduced the industry’s first joint loan in 2024, followed by similar offerings from Kbank and Busan Bank, and from KakaoBank and Jeonbuk Bank in 2025. All three programs targeted salaried workers. Their expansion into business lending marks the next step. The incentives for both sides are clear. For internet-only banks, which have relied heavily on household lending, working with regio

Seoul has begun construction on an 18.7 billion won ($12.6 million) redesign of Shin Jungang Market in Jung District in the center of the capital, aiming to turn the traditional market into a destination where shoppers and tourists can eat, rest and experience local culture. The Seoul Metropolitan Government held a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday at the market, marking the first construction project under its Design Innovation Traditional Market initiative, with completion targeted for August 2027. Founded as Seongdong Market in 1962, Shin Jungang Market grew into one of Seoul's foundational commercial hubs, anchoring the central city's postwar trade along with Namdaemun and Dongdaemun markets. Over the decades, it became particularly famous as the city's premier wholesale center for grain and dried fish, weaving itself into the everyday life and culinary heritage of the capital. The project will replace the market’s existing arcade with an environmentally friendly wooden roof designed to admit natural light, while adding terraced resting areas and improving connections between the ma