South Korea

Maruti Suzuki says its eVX vehicle will have a driving range of 550 km. 
Automobiles

Maruti Suzuki charges up India fleet with concept electric SUV

Country's largest automaker expects to start selling vehicle in 2025

11 January 2023
Travelers at a COVID testing station at Incheon airport on Jan. 2: South Korea halted short-term visas for people traveling from China for one month to prevent a resurgence of infections.
International relations

China suspends visa issuance for South Koreans and Japanese

Tokyo protests against China's retaliation; official says move 'out of proportion'

11 January 2023
Lee Jae-myung, chief of South Korea's Democratic Party, speaks with reporters Jan. 10 before meeting prosecutors in Seongnam.
Politics

South Korean prosecutors question opposition leader in graft case

Lee maintains innocence, says probe represents abuse of power

11 January 2023
BOK Gov. Rhee Chang-yong during his inauguration in Seoul in April 2022: The central bank governor understands the costs of prioritizing free money.
Opinion

Now is not the time for the Bank of Korea to go soft

Gov. Rhee should keep up pressure on government to reform

11 January 2023
A hydrogen fueling station in Seoul: South Korea is focusing on end-use applications for hydrogen, according to a study by the European Patent Office and the International Energy Agency.
Technology

Japan, Europe lead in global hydrogen patent race: report

South Korea, China gain while U.S. fades in critical tech for cleaner future

10 January 2023
Customers shop at a Musinsa store in Seoul. The unicorn integrates brick-and-mortar shops with its mostly digital operation. (Photo by Kotaro Hosokawa)
Startups

K-fashion startup Musinsa goes global, starting with Japan

CEO Han Mun-il looks to ride next cultural wave after K-pop and K-dramas

9 January 2023
A fourth factory takes shape at Samsung's chip hub in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, on Jan. 5. The complex is expected to be the biggest in the world once complete. (Photo by Kotaro Hosokawa)
Semiconductors

Samsung maintains pace of chip investment despite plunging profit

South Korean company races to build capacity while Micron, SK Hynix slow down

9 January 2023
Japanese idol group JO1 performed to a national Japanese audience on NHK's New Year's Eve songfest, one of the year's biggest televised events.. (Photo by Kosaku Mimura)
Media & Entertainment

Blending K-pop and J-Pop, Tokyo boy band JO1 aims for global stage

11-member group thrills Japan on New Year's Eve with touch of Seoul music

8 January 2023
The South Korean Defense Ministry displays a North Korean drone in 2017. The incursion of a drone into the South in December 2022 has revealed a new threat.
N Korea at crossroads

North Korean drone may have imaged South's presidential office

Aerial incursions by unmanned aircraft raises threat level for Seoul

7 January 2023
Samsung's earnings in the fourth quarter of last year were sapped by weaker demand for chips and smartphones, as much of the world braces for recession in 2023.
Companies

Samsung sees Q4 operating profit down 69% amid recession worries

South Korean tech giant hit by low demand for chips, smartphones; shares up 1.4%

6 January 2023
Advertisements for hair transplant treatments are ubiquitous at Istanbul Airport. The city has become a popular destination for foreign visitors seeking the procedure. (Photo by Sinan Tavsan)
Business trends

Turkey's hair transplant industry locks in Japanese clients

Affordable prices, high quality on offer but unregistered clinics raise concern

6 January 2023
Han Jong-hee, Samsung Electronics' vice chairman, CEO and head of the device experience division, says his company wants to "make a dream come true through connectivity."
CES 2023

Samsung to offer connectivity tech to partner companies

South Korean electronics leader looks to SmartThings product for growth

5 January 2023
Japanese drugmaker Shionogi looks to manufacture and sell its COVID antiviral pill Xocova in overseas markets. (Photo by Yo Inoue)
Coronavirus

Japan's Shionogi seeks approval for COVID pill in South Korea

Drugmaker pursues first overseas authorization for Xocova treatment

5 January 2023
LG Electronics and Magna are expanding cooperation in self-driving technology. (Photo courtesy of LG Electronics)
CES 2023

LG partners with Magna in developing self-driving technology

South Korean tech company expands collaboration with Canadian auto parts maker

4 January 2023
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observes a tactical weapons test in April 2022. He listed the mass-production of tactical nuclear weapons as one of the country's goals for 2023. (KCNA via Reuters)
N Korea at crossroads

U.S., South Korea eye tabletop drills on North Korean nuclear attack

Official stresses importance of deterrence, alliance with Seoul amid rift fears

4 January 2023
A supersonic strategic bomber B-1B Lancer undergoes pre-flight maintenance at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam.
Indo-Pacific

South Korea, U.S. discussing drills with nuclear assets: Yoon

President seeks to display extended deterrence as tensions flare with North

2 January 2023
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, accompanied by his daughter, inspects an ICBM. (KCNA via Reuters) 
N Korea at crossroads

North and South Korea race to develop reconnaissance abilities

Rivals launch solid-fuel rockets and deploy drones in tit-for-tat measures

1 January 2023
People visit the site of the Itaewon Halloween crowd crush three weeks after the incident: The tragedy was fully preventable.
Opinion

There is more to be done after grieving for Itaewon victims

Tragedy should jolt Koreans into creating kinder, more emergency-ready society

31 December 2022
Japanese ruling coalition lawmaker Natsuo Yamaguchi, left, meets with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol on Dec. 29.
International relations

South Korea's Yoon shows support for defense cooperation with Japan

President discusses Tokyo's defense buildup with Japanese ruling coalition lawmaker

30 December 2022
Lee Young-hee, left, and Lee Jung-ae are among the new crop of female South Korean corporate chiefs. (Nikkei montage/Photos by Samsung Electronics and LG Household & Health Care)
Business trends

LG and Samsung tap women for top executive posts

Appointments come as South Korea makes efforts toward gender equality

28 December 2022
Left: People in Seoul's Myeongdong shopping district in 2020. Right: Unionized cargo workers during a large protest in Seoul in 2019. (Source photos by Reuters and Penta Press)
Politics

South Koreans shying away from labor organizations, protests

'Defeat' of truckers' union signals subtle change in public sentiment

25 December 2022
Japan's JGC was involved in building this floating LNG production facility for Malaysia's Petronas. (Photo courtesy of JGC)
Engineering & Construction

Japan's JGC wins 2nd floating LNG order from Malaysia's Petronas

Engineering group to partner with Samsung Heavy on latest project

24 December 2022
Samsung Electronics envisions its just-opened R&D center in Vietnam as a global strategic base. (Photo courtesy of Samsung Electronics)
Supply Chain

Samsung increases bet on Vietnam with $220m R&D hub

Chairman Lee attends ceremony to show commitment to Southeast Asian country

23 December 2022
Nothing's smartphone has a transparent back panel over LED strips that light up to signal incoming calls, notifications and charging status. (Photo courtesy of Nothing) 
Interview

Carl Pei's Nothing targets India with eye-catching smartphones

Head of company's India unit says it's focusing on software as well as design

23 December 2022
Professor Lee Shin-wha speaks with Nikkei Asia in Tokyo. (Photo by Jun Takai)
Interview

Middle powers can sway great powers if united: South Korean scholar

Lee Shin-wha says U.S. and China both promote 'distorted' models of multilateralism

23 December 2022