For-Profit Psych Hospitals Need Stronger Penalties for Abuses and Deaths

Korean dessert cafe chain A Twosome Place has opened its first U.S. store, in Alexandria, Virginia, the company said Monday. Customers lined up from opening to closing on the first day. The store opened Saturday, local time, at 404 King Street, the main street of Alexandria’s historic Old Town district. People started lining up before it opened at 7 a.m., and the line lasted until it closed at 8 p.m. Some customers came from as far away as New York and Baltimore. A Twosome Place has more than 1,700 outlets in Korea and is known for its cakes. Global investment firm Carlyle Group owns the company outright. On the first day, the best sellers included spoonable versions of its icebox cake and of its signature strawberry chocolate cream cake. The top drinks were a black sesame latte and the Dalgona Cream Top, a drink topped with whipped coffee cream. The company said deli items such as a brioche “K-toast” and a Seoul spicy chicken panini also sold well. The store covers about 240 square meters. It has 78 seats, including an outdoor terrace, and Korean design touches. The menu has about

Samjin Foods is taking its Korean fish cake brand deeper into China, opening its first store in Shanghai’s central shopping district as it looks to turn early sales momentum into a broader retail presence. The Busan-based company said Monday that Samjin Fish Cake opened its first store in eastern China, Friday, at New World Dawan Department Store on Nanjing East Road in Shanghai’s Huangpu district. The shop sits near Nanjing Road, one of Shanghai’s best-known shopping streets, and the Bund, a major tourist destination. Unlike the company’s direct-run stores in Korea, the Shanghai outlet offers freshly cooked fish cakes on-site. Its menu includes fish cake croquettes and fish cake bars, along with two varieties of spicy fish cake rice cakes, one fish cake soup dish and two beverages. The company is highlighting cheese-filled croquettes and rosé-sauce fish cake rice cakes, which combine familiar local flavors with Korean street food offerings. Samjin Foods said the store’s preopening period showed promising demand, with daily sales meeting targets from the early days and reaching

HD Hyundai has become the first Korean company to successfully demonstrate unmanned surface vessel (USV) technology in the United States, the company said Monday. The shipbuilding group said it recently conducted a joint demonstration of autonomous navigation technology with U.S. defense artificial intelligence (AI) company Anduril Industries off the coast of Long Beach, California. About 40 officials from Korea and the U.S. attended the event, including representatives from the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard, the American Bureau of Shipping, the Republic of Korea Navy and the Defense Acquisition Program Administration. The two companies demonstrated the vessel's capabilities in various maritime scenarios, including autonomous navigation, mission changes, formation sailing and emergency responses to engine failures. The three-and-a-half-hour demonstration was relayed through a shore-based control center, allowing attendees to monitor the vessel's operations in real time. The vessel was a 368-ton test ship formerly operated by the U.S. Navy and converted for unmanned operations. It was equipped

LG CNS has earned international recognition for its artificial intelligence (AI)-powered workplace services, becoming the first Korean company named a “Major Player” in IDC’s 2026 assessment of the global digital workplace services market. The IT services company said Monday that it was included in the evaluation alongside 18 global technology companies, including Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, NTT DATA, Cognizant, Dell and HP. IDC MarketScape evaluates technology vendors based on their business capabilities, future strategies, products, services, customer references and real-world client experiences. LG CNS attributed its recognition to its agentic AI platform, a:xink, which is designed to move beyond information retrieval and routine assistance to execute workplace tasks autonomously. The platform offers services including enterprise portals and groupware, mobile workplace tools, personal AI agents, AI-powered translation and meeting support, and automated document creation. IDC highlighted LG CNS’ AI-native platform capabilities, expertise in regulated industries and secur

Korea's automobile exports fell 5.5 percent in September from a year earlier due to persistent tensions in the Middle East and a decline in used-car shipments, government data showed Monday. The value of automobile exports fell to $6.05 billion last month from $6.4 billion a year earlier, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources said in a press release. "Escalating tensions in the Middle East and a decline in used-car shipments due to tighter regulations in major export markets weighed on exports," the ministry said. By region, exports to North America and the European Union increased 9.2 percent and 15.3 percent, respectively, to $3.07 billion and $1.11 billion. Shipments to Asia and the Middle East on the other hand plunged 60 percent and 7.1 percent, respectively, to $330 million and $350 million. Exports of eco-friendly vehicles, including battery electric and gasoline hybrid models, meanwhile, rose 5.9 percent to $2.89 billion. Domestic vehicle sales fell 14.3 percent to 135,000 units last month due to fewer working days driven by the Chuseok holiday. The number of locally produce

Hanwha Group said Monday it will produce and distribute 40,000 copies of its 2027 Braille calendar for visually impaired people. Hanwha Group has been producing braille calendars every year since 2000, when Chairman Kim Seung-youn received a letter from a visually impaired person and launched the project with the belief that people with visual impairments should also be able to share in the joy of welcoming the new year. Starting with 5,000 copies in the first year, the group has distributed about 1 million calendars through last year. The 2027 calendar features braille alongside printed text, allowing both visually impaired and sighted people to use it. Users can check essential information in braille, including dates, days of the week, lunar calendar dates, seasonal markers and public holidays. The calendar also reflected visually impaired users’ feedback to adjust text size and contrast to improve readability. Social enterprise Braille Publishing participated in producing the calendar. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the introduction of “Hunmaengjeongeum,” the Korean bra

Korean chip giant SK hynix said Monday it will partner with the government and major banks to provide 2 trillion won ($1.5 billion) in loan guarantees to local semiconductor suppliers to strengthen the domestic chip supply chain. SK hynix and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources signed an agreement to launch the program at the chipmaker's semiconductor cluster promotion center in Yongin, south of Seoul. Under the agreement, SK hynix and four major banks will contribute a combined 100 billion won to support the program, while the state-run Korea Trade Insurance Corp. (K-SURE) will provide up to 2 trillion won in loan guarantees to semiconductor materials, parts and equipment suppliers. Suppliers recommended by SK hynix will benefit from higher loan limits, interest rate cuts of up to 2.5 percentage points and a guarantee period extended from one to three years. The initiative is part of the government's broader push to strengthen export supply chains by improving access to financing for smaller companies working with major manufacturers. The government previously pledged 2.4 trill

Hyundai Rotem, the defense and railway subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Group, said Monday its third-quarter net profit fell about 10 percent from a year earlier. Net profit for the July-September period decreased 10.3 percent to 177.98 billion won ($133.9 million), the company said in a regulatory filing. Operating profit also declined 11 percent on-year to 247.1 billion won, while sales inched up 0.1 percent to 1.62 trillion won. For the first nine months of the year, cumulative sales rose 11.2 percent on-year to 4.68 trillion won, while operating profit fell 4.7 percent to 703.7 billion won. The company's order backlog stood at 29.14 trillion won at the end of September, down 1.26 trillion won from three months earlier. Separately, Hyundai Rotem said it plans to acquire Hyundai Wia's defense business for 358.4 billion won to bolster its weapons production capabilities, a move expected to help boost overseas sales of its flagship K2 tanks.

For a 33-year-old bank employee surnamed Jung raising a 3-year-old son in Seoul’s Yeongdeungpo District, coming home from work feels like starting a second shift. She uses a reduced working hours program for parents to leave work an hour or two early. Once her mother-in-law, who looks after the child while the couple are at work, heads home, Jung handles child care alone until her husband returns. “As soon as I get home, I feed my son dinner, bathe him and play with him. By then, my husband is home,” she said. “While he plays with our son, I finally get to shower, wash the dishes and tidy up. Then it’s time to put our son to bed.” Jung gets her first chance to sit down on the sofa after her son falls asleep, past 10 p.m. “Even though I leave work early, it feels like I work overtime every day,” she said. “My husband does quite a lot of child care, but our son tends to seek me out more, and I feel that a larger share of the housework naturally falls to me.” Government figures released Monday show that an uneven division of domestic duties persists among young working pa

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs last week joined Trinity Airways and Sono Pet Clubs & Resorts for a two-day pet adoption program, combining government support for retired detection dogs with private-sector assistance in event planning, accommodation and training. The Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency under the ministry provided guidance on adoption procedures and answered prospective owners’ questions. Trinity Airways, formerly T’way Air, organized the program, held Saturday and Sunday, while Sono Pet provided spaces for families and dogs to interact and rest, along with professional training support. Held at Sono Pet’s Vivaldi Park in Hongcheon, Gangwon Province, the program brought together three retired quarantine detection dogs and three prospective adoptive families selected through a screening process, according to the agency. The dogs were two English springer spaniels, aged 7 and 9, and a 9-year-old beagle. Activities included running together, treasure hunts and walks, giving participants opportunities to interact with the dogs. A trainer specializing

Finda, a loan comparison platform, is set to acquire a savings bank, in what would be a first for a Korean fintech company as it looks to build an artificial intelligence (AI)-native bank, industry officials said Monday. The Financial Services Commission's subcommittee approved Finda's application to acquire Daewon Savings Bank on Friday. The regulator is set to make a final decision at its regular meeting Wednesday. Finda signed a deal in June to acquire all of Daewon Savings Bank's shares for about 12 billion won ($9 million). The acquisition would allow the company to move beyond matching borrowers with lenders and offer financial services directly, including loans and deposits. Once the deal receives final approval, Finda plans to appoint a new CEO through board and shareholder meetings. The fintech firm aims to turn the lender into an AI-native bank, relying on digital services rather than a traditional network of branches. It plans to draw on AI technology and loan-comparison data it has collected since 2019 to expand its online lending business nationwide, the firm said. The compan

A global event aimed at exploring how artificial intelligence (AI) and digital transformation can deliver practical development gains kicked off its three-day run in Seoul on Monday, the science ministry said. The Global AI & Digital Summit, co-hosted by the ministry and the World Bank Group — a family of five institutions that makes leveraged loans to developing countries —brought together government officials from some 60 nations, as well as development partners, private sector leaders and researchers. This year marks the first time the summit was held outside of the United States, the ministry added. The event will begin with an AI and Digital Ministerial meeting, co-chaired by Science Minister Bae Kyung-hoon and Kim Sang-bu, the vice president for digital and AI at the World Bank Group, followed by policy forums and exhibitions from participating companies. Korea has been hosting the AI and digital ministerial meeting since 2005, with the most recent gathering held last year on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) forum. Second Vice Science Minister Ryu J