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Lee Kyung-min

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Business

Korea Ginseng Corp. rebrands as KGC to streamline global identity

Korea Ginseng Corp., Korea’s leading health supplement maker, will adopt the name KGC starting Wednesday, stripping its identity to a streamlined corporate form as it pushes to reposition itself as a global health food company. The change, the company said, underscores a broader effort to move beyond its ginseng heritage and recast its brand for international markets. The rebranding comes as the company marks its 127th anniversary and reflects a shift toward a wider portfolio that extends beyond ginseng and red ginseng products. The company said the new identity underscores its core value of promoting “health and happiness for people around the world.” The updated corporate identity retains the existing visual framework but replaces the full name with the initials. The design features a dark gray typeface intended to convey trust, alongside the “seed” symbol of its parent group, KT&G, representing unlimited possibilities. The company said the new branding will be gradually applied across advertisements, its website and product packaging. Alongside the rebranding, KGC said it wi

Mar 31, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Korea Ginseng Corp. rebrands as KGC to streamline global identity
Entertainment

BABYMONSTER sets May comeback with high-octane teaser, fan event

A roaring race car, a pounding beat and a cryptic title — K-pop girl group BABYMONSTER is revving up anticipation for its next release, signaling a bold new turn just two years after its debut. YG Entertainment said Monday that the group will release its third mini album, “CHOOM,” on May 4 at 6 p.m., marking its first comeback of the year. The announcement came with a motion teaser posted on the company’s official blog, offering a glimpse of the album’s concept. The video features a racing car accelerating to a thunderous soundtrack, leaving behind a glowing trail that forms the word “CHOOM,” a Korean word for dance. The teaser’s kinetic imagery and high-intensity sound have fueled speculation about a concept shift for the group, whose previous releases leaned heavily on hip-hop and pop influences. Yang Hyun-suk, executive producer at YG Entertainment, had previously hinted at the shift as part of the company’s 2026 road map, saying the upcoming album would showcase a style the group has never revealed before. YG Entertainment said the album aims to capture “thrilling

Mar 30, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
BABYMONSTER sets May comeback with high-octane teaser, fan event
Others

Diageo bets on highball trend with Korea launch of White Horse whisky

A cult-favorite Scotch whisky, long the smoky backbone of Japan’s ubiquitous highball culture, is now making a calculated push into Korea’s crowded convenience store aisles. Diageo Korea said Monday it will launch White Horse, a blended Scotch whisky, in the Korean market starting in April. The move is a wager that the country’s burgeoning thirst for highballs — a trend that has already reshaped the nightlife scene — will continue to change how a younger generation of Koreans consumes spirits. The whisky, built around a spirit from the Lagavulin Distillery, is known for its pronounced peaty, smoky character — a profile that stands out when mixed with carbonated water, the company said. First developed in 1861 by the Mackie family, owners of Lagavulin at the time, White Horse was designed to make the distillery’s distinctive flavor more accessible through a blended format. Despite being a blend, it retains a bold smokiness and a long finish, according to the company. The brand has gained particular traction in Japan, where it has built a strong following among whisky drinker

Mar 30, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Diageo bets on highball trend with Korea launch of White Horse whisky
Business

Gentle Monster parent adopts SAP for centralized HR platform to boost global growth

The parent company of eyewear brand Gentle Monster is centralizing its global workforce management, betting that a unified data platform will support its rapid international expansion. IICOMBINED has rolled out a worldwide human-resources system built on SAP SuccessFactors, SAP Korea said Monday. The move replaces fragmented local processes with a single cloud-based interface to manage employees across Asia, Europe and North America. SAP Korea, the local unit of the German enterprise-software giant, provides back-end systems — such as ERP and payroll tools — that help major Korean exporters standardize operations as they scale overseas. The system, developed in partnership with LG CNS, replaces a patchwork of country-specific human resources (HR) processes with a single, integrated framework designed to support the company’s expanding international footprint. At the center of the overhaul is SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central, which consolidates employee data across regions and standardizes HR policies and job structures. The company said the platform also enables continuous syste

Mar 30, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Gentle Monster parent adopts SAP for centralized HR platform to boost global growth
Others

HLB’s experimental drug gains FDA fast-track review status

Korean biotechnology firm HLB said its experimental bile duct cancer treatment has been flagged for priority review from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, speeding up the regulatory process and paving the way for potential approval by late September. The company said its U.S. subsidiary, Elevar Therapeutics, was notified Thursday that the FDA had accepted its new drug application for lirafugratinib, a targeted therapy for bile duct cancer patients with fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2) gene alterations who have received prior treatment. The designation shortens the review period to six months from the standard 10 months, with a decision expected by Sept. 27, the company said. Lirafugratinib is being evaluated as a second-line treatment for patients with cholangiocarcinoma, a rare and often aggressive cancer of the bile ducts. HLB said the drug demonstrated an objective response rate of 47 percent in clinical trials, compared to 36 percent for pemigatinib and 42 percent for futibatinib, both approved FGFR inhibitors. The company also said the treatment showed a manageable s

Mar 30, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
HLB’s experimental drug gains FDA fast-track review status
Business

POSCO Group launches companywide energy austerity campaign

POSCO Group is rolling out a companywide push to curb energy use, urging employees to take the stairs, switch off unused power and rethink daily commutes as Korea faces broader strains on energy supply. The initiative, called the “S.A.V.E. Challenge,” began Monday as part of the company’s effort to align with government-led energy conservation policies, POSCO Group said. The campaign will span 19 domestic affiliates and aims to encourage employees to incorporate energy-saving habits into their daily routines, both at home and at work. The program centers on four actions: “Step Up,” which promotes stair use instead of elevators; “Active Transit,” encouraging public transportation or walking during commutes; “Vehicle Share,” which supports carpooling; and “Energy Off,” urging employees to turn off unused devices. Employees can participate through the company’s in-house mobile platform, the “Challenge” app, developed in 2022 to support environmental, social and governance initiatives. The app has previously been used for campaigns such as encouraging reusable tum

Mar 30, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
POSCO Group launches companywide energy austerity campaign
South Korea

Kookmin University joins EU quantum security project

Kookmin University has secured a place in one of Europe’s largest research programs, signaling a deepening of cross-border collaboration in quantum technology and digital security. Kookmin University said Thursday that professor Yoo Il-sun, a faculty member in the information security and cryptography department, had been selected for the European Union’s flagship Horizon Europe initiative, a multibillion-euro program aimed at advancing strategic technologies including artificial intelligence (AI), quantum computing and semiconductors. The selection marks a rare case for a Korean university joining a core European research consortium in a field that combines quantum technology with digital security, underscoring growing global cooperation in next-generation technologies. The project, titled “Quantum Computing European Union-Korea Working Team,” will run for three years with a budget of about 2.7 million euros ($2.9 million). It is led by Politecnico di Milano in Italy and includes partners such as Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute and Finland-based IQM Quantum Computers. Kookmin U

Mar 26, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Kookmin University joins EU quantum security project
K-pop

BTS turns cities into stages with ‘ARIRANG’ comeback spectacle

The global return of BTS did not begin with a song alone. It lit up skylines, bridged continents and turned some of the world’s most recognizable landmarks into a synchronized stage. The seven-member group unveiled a sweeping multimedia project, “BTS THE CITY ARIRANG,” late Wednesday, releasing a compilation video on its official YouTube channel that stitched together celebrations in Seoul, London and New York into a single, immersive spectacle. The campaign, designed to mark the group’s comeback, transformed urban centers into what the band described as a shared global festival, blending digital art, drone choreography and large-scale media facades. In London, the South Bank became a focal point of the celebration. The London Eye glowed in vivid red, while nearby buildings displayed towering media facades featuring the group’s members holding traditional Korean lanterns alongside the logo of BTS' new album. Across the Atlantic, New York’s Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan skyline served as a backdrop for a coordinated drone show. Hundreds of drones moved in formation to spel

Mar 26, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
BTS turns cities into stages with ‘ARIRANG’ comeback spectacle
South Korea

Police, welfare officials team up to reach vulnerable citizens quickly

Korea’s social services and law enforcement agencies will join forces to more quickly identify vulnerable citizens, sharpening the reach of an unconditional aid program intended as a last line of defense for those slipping through the cracks. The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the National Police Agency signed a memorandum of understanding Monday at police headquarters in Seoul, pledging closer coordination under the Just Dream initiative, which provides food and daily necessities to vulnerable Koreans without requiring formal applications or income verification. Under the agreement, police officers encountering people in financial distress during routine duties will guide them to nearby Just Dream stations and help promote access to the program, officials said. The initiative currently operates 129 distribution points across 68 cities, counties and districts nationwide. It offers between three and five essential items per person, capped at 20,000 won ($15), and connects recipients to counseling and broader welfare services. Officials said the partnership is expected to accelerate

Mar 23, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Police, welfare officials team up to reach vulnerable citizens quickly
South Korea

Sungkyunkwan Univ. professor reinterprets Confucian humility for a global age

Drawing on centuries-old Confucian ideals — a philosophical tradition rooted in moral cultivation, social harmony and respect for hierarchy — a Sungkyunkwan University professor challenges Western notions of humility in a new book issued by one of the world’s leading academic publishers. Kim Do-il, a professor in the Department of Confucian Studies and Eastern Philosophy at Sungkyunkwan University — an institution rooted in Korea’s Confucian scholarly tradition dating back to the 1392-1910 Joseon Dynasty — released “The Art of Seeing Beyond Oneself: A Confucian Perspective on Humility” through Oxford University Press on Dec. 17, 2025. The publication signals that Kim’s research has met top-tier international scholarly benchmarks, elevating both the university’s standing and the global competitiveness of Korean humanities research. In the book, Kim challenges a familiar strain of modern Western philosophy that casts Confucian humility as a form of self-denial or quiet self-erasure. Instead, he recasts it as an outward-looking discipline — less about diminishing the

Mar 23, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Sungkyunkwan Univ. professor reinterprets Confucian humility for a global age
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