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The new presidential special inspector, Choi Kil-su, on Monday pledged to uphold political neutrality and professional independence as he began his duties inspecting irregularities involving the president's spouse and close relatives. Choi made the remarks to reporters at his office in central Seoul, following President Lee Jae Myung's formal appointment of him Friday to the post tasked with inspecting corruption allegations involving the president's family and close relatives, as well as senior presidential aides. He is the first presidential special inspector appointed since late 2016, following the post's creation in 2014. "I will uphold political neutrality and independence in carrying out my duties to the end," Choi told reporters, adding he feels a heavy responsibility and will work to meet the public's expectations. Choi also pledged rigorous inspections, saying he plans to serve as a "panopticon," a circular prison design that allows inmates to be constantly monitored. "Inspections are not something for which you have to wait, like the filings of complaints or lawsuits, but (basic

A special counsel team said Monday it plans to examine about 2.5 million ballots at a vote counting center this week as part of its probe into ballot shortages during the June 3 local elections. Special counsel Lee Tae-han's team will carry out the examination Wednesday at the Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium, which served as a vote counting center during the local elections marred by the shortages. The team plans to verify the 2.47 million ballots and other equipment at the site to check for irregularities, such as possible forgery, in the presence of observers chosen by the National Assembly, lawmakers and journalists. The team said the examination will not serve as a recount of the votes, which takes place when there is an objection to election results. "By thoroughly investigating various suspicions in this examination, we will do our best to resolve the public's skepticism on the fairness and management of public elections," the team said. Lee's team was launched last month to investigate the shortages that sparked a major public outcry after some voters were forced to turn back witho

President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating fell to 35.3 percent after rebounding the previous week, a poll showed Monday. In the poll conducted on 2,517 adults nationwide from last Monday to Friday by Realmeter, positive assessments of Lee's job performance fell 2 percentage points from the previous week. Lee's disapproval rating stood at 62.3 percent, up 1.9 percentage points from the previous week. Realmeter attributed the decline to growing concerns over the housing market and the economy, including the recent stock market plunge. The pollster also cited North Korea's threat to resume loudspeaker broadcasts toward the South and controversy over whether the chief of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency should attend Cabinet meetings. In a separate survey of 1,003 adults conducted between Thursday and Friday, support for the ruling Democratic Party of Korea fell 0.2 percentage point to 36 percent, while that of the main opposition People Power Party rose 1.7 percentage points to 42.6 percent. The survey on the president had a margin of error of 2 percentage points at a 95 percent confide

Lit Lounge opened the doors of its Itaewon location just about four years ago in late October 2022. Following a soft opening on Oct. 27 and 28, its grand opening was held on Saturday, Oct. 29, a day that would go down in infamy, after 159 people died in a crowd disaster in a narrow alley a little less than 400 meters away. "Lit Lounge's early existence was shaped by one of the most devastating tragedies in recent Korean history: The Itaewon Halloween crowd crush," said Jason Waller, owner of Lit Lounge. "For many of us operating businesses in Itaewon, the aftermath of this tragedy was even more devastating than the COVID-19 pandemic." It would have been understandable, maybe even advisable, if he just quit. But Waller, also known as Pinnacle TheHustler, decided to keep going. "I think the biggest reason I refused to close Lit Lounge was because I didn't want to look in the mirror and see someone who had given up. But for me, as long as I still believed in what I was building and I could still see a path forward, I wasn't ready to quit," he said. "And now, Lit Lounge, which started in 202

Seoul is bringing financial technology startups and global industry leaders together this week to explore how artificial intelligence (AI) could reshape personal finance while opening new paths to investment and growth for emerging businesses. Seoul Fintech Week 2026 began Monday and continues through Wednesday at Conrad Seoul and around the International Finance Centre in Yeouido, with the Seoul Metropolitan Government, Financial Supervisory Service and Shinhan Financial Group among its co-hosts. Held under the theme “AI-driven digital finance transformation: Finance that knows me,” the event will examine personalized financial services, AI agents and data-driven tools designed to tailor services to individual users. The opening ceremony on Monday included a speech by Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and awards for three companies selected through the Finovation Challenge, a city-backed program supporting fintech startups through industry partnerships and real-world technology testing. Six companies — Advisor Lauren, Kleon, Momstay, First Value, Caring and Fairy Tech — were candidates for

Samsung Electronics Co. said Monday it aims to use artificial intelligence (AI) to cut the time needed to develop new semiconductor materials by three years. The company announced the goal at a forum hosted by the Korea Industry Association Forum, where participants discussed the use of AI in industrial research and development (R&D). "We aim to shorten the development period for new semiconductor materials from five years to two years using AI and increase the number of promising material candidates identified by more than fivefold," Choi Young-sang, an official at the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, the company's R&D center, said at the forum. Choi said semiconductor materials consist of multiple thin-film layers, creating more than 100 million possible material combinations for a seven-layer structure. However, researchers can conduct only about 50 experiments a month. "Under the conventional approach, which relies on researchers' experience and intuition, it can take months or even years to identify candidate materials. Data from failed experiments also has not been fully u

P&G Korea is expanding its community outreach by improving access to household products for visually impaired people and recycling plastic waste into public amenities such as benches. P&G Korea, the Korea Consumer Agency and a council of participating businesses jointly held a donation ceremony for household products with braille labels and a safety education session on Oct. 15 to mark the 47th White Cane Safety Day, which honors the achievements of blind and visually impaired people and celebrates the white cane as a universal symbol of their independence. Since 2022, P&G Korea has supported visually impaired people by providing household products and funding the production of braille tags and stickers. The company has donated 15 million won ($10,600) worth of household products, including Downy fabric enhancers and Head & Shoulders hair care products, as well as 2 million won to support the production of braille tags and stickers. This year, P&G Korea held its first household product safety education session for visually impaired students. The session was held for preschool and elemen

Hyundai Glovis is joining forces with Shopee to help Korean beauty brands navigate the logistical hurdles of overseas expansion, betting that smoother shipping and customs procedures can turn global demand for K-beauty into a larger business opportunity. The logistics company said Monday it began operating under an end-to-end logistics partnership with Shopee Korea this month, covering the full supply chain for Korean cosmetics brands seeking to sell through the e-commerce platform. Shopee, which has about 700 million users, is a leading e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia and Taiwan and has a significant presence in Brazil, according to Hyundai Glovis. The partnership will provide sellers with a single point of contact for domestic cargo pickup, air and sea freight, import and export customs clearance, local regulatory approvals and fulfillment services. Hyundai Glovis said the integrated system is intended to shorten delivery times and reduce the burden on cosmetics companies that have traditionally relied on separate providers for different stages of shipping, often creating bottlen

Alibaba Group’s e-commerce platforms generated an estimated 14.17 trillion won ($10.4 billion) in production across Korea’s economy last year through sales of Korean-registered brands to Chinese consumers, according to research released Monday. The study by Choi Seong-jin, a professor at Hanyang University, examined how the Chinese marketplaces Taobao and Tmall, along with other Alibaba platforms, help Korean companies reach overseas customers and expand domestic business opportunities. Transactions involving Korean-registered brands on Taobao and Tmall totaled about 7.1 trillion won in 2025, while sales attributed to Korea after adjustments for overseas distribution and service margins amounted to about 5.43 trillion won, the research found. The estimated domestic value-added effect was 5.06 trillion won, while related employment was estimated at 42,300 jobs. “Overseas sales of Korean brands through global online platforms can expand export opportunities while creating new demand for domestic industries, including raw-material suppliers, packaging manufacturers and logistics servi

Nongshim is taking Shin Ramyun beyond the instant noodle bowl, teaming up with a celebrated Los Angeles chef to give its signature spicy noodles a fine-dining makeover as the brand marks its 40th anniversary. The Korean food company said it was the only Korean food company participating in the Los Angeles Times’ “101 Best Restaurants in L.A.” event, held from Friday through Saturday at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California. The company operated a promotional booth featuring a Korean-inspired tasting lounge, an oversized Shin Ramyun package and anniversary-themed installations designed for photographs. The centerpiece was a pair of dishes developed with Jihee Kim, owner-chef of Perilla LA, a Korean restaurant selected for the Los Angeles Times’ list of the city’s 101 best restaurants for four consecutive years, from 2023 through 2026. One dish, “Shin Ramyun Original with Octopus & Slow-Roasted Tomato,” combines the noodles with octopus, roasted tomatoes and perilla leaves to deepen their savory flavor. The second, “Shin Ramyun Rosé with Burrata & Gim,” pairs the crea

Johnnie Walker, the scotch whisky brand owned by British drinks giant Diageo, has named Rosé of K-pop girl group BLACKPINK as its new brand partner, the company said Monday. The brand will run campaigns celebrating the Grammy-nominated singer’s creativity in Korea, Britain, Indonesia, China and other markets. The partnership kicks off Monday with a brand event at Bar 81 in Signiel Seoul, a luxury hotel in Lotte World Tower, Korea’s tallest building. At the event, Rosé will present her signature cocktail, the “Twist of Something Highball,” made with Johnnie Walker Black Label. The cocktail will later be served at other bars in Seoul, including venues on the Asia’s 50 Best Bars list and bars run by champions of World Class Korea, a Diageo-sponsored bartending competition. Through the partnership, Rosé will add her own style to collaborations exploring new expressions of the brand in culture, design and creativity, the company said. “I’m happy to expand my creative boundaries and try something new that connects different worlds through this collaboration with Johnnie Walker,

Korean burger and chicken chain Mom’s Touch will enter Kazakhstan, expanding its presence in Central Asia after entering Uzbekistan last year, the company said Monday. Mom’s Touch said it signed a master franchise agreement with Mom’s Touch Central Asia LLP, the restaurant arm of Kazakh food company Shin-Line Group. Under such agreements, a local partner gains the rights to open and operate stores and to sub-franchise in a given territory. The two companies aim to open more than 50 stores over the next 10 years. The first store is targeted for the first half of next year. The deal also covers neighboring Kyrgyzstan. Mom’s Touch said it will first establish the brand in Kazakhstan, Central Asia’s largest economy, and then gradually consider entering nearby markets. Founded in 1995, Shin-Line is Central Asia’s top ice cream maker, with a market share of more than 40 percent across the region. It exports to about 10 countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States, a grouping of former Soviet republics, through its own cold-chain logistics network. It also operates more than