Most Popular
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Exports to US reach all-time high, widen gap with China
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Trump rekindles criticism: US forces defending 'wealthy' S. Korea 'free of charge'
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[Music in drama] Rekindle a love that slipped through your fingers
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S. Korea discussed possible participation in AUKUS Pillar 2 with Australia: defense minister
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[New faces of Assembly] Architect behind ‘audacious initiative’ believes in denuclearized North Korea
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Opposition-led Assembly unilaterally passes bill to probe Marine's death
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Seoul Metro to seek legal action against malicious complaints
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Illit, mired in controversy, remains on Billboard charts for 5th week
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On May Day, labor unions blast Yoon's foreign nanny proposal
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[KH Explains] Will alternative trading platform shake up Korean stock market?
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Kia launches Soul EV with extended range
Kia Motors Corp. on Tuesday launched the latest version of the Soul electric vehicle with an extended range, a move aimed at adding more fuel-efficient models to its lineup.The 2018 Soul EV can travel an average of 180 kilometers on a single charge using its 30-kilowatt-per-hour battery, higher than the previous version's 148 km range, the company said in a statement. Kia's 2018 Soul EV (Kia Motors)The all-electric Soul boxcar can run 152 km per charge on the highway and 202 km in downtown driv
MobilityMay 2, 2017
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Banks' Q1 profits surge to 6-year high
The combined net profit of South Korean banks for the first quarter of this year surged to a six-year high, thanks to a rise in interest income and a decline in loan-loss provisions, government data showed Tuesday. Banks in South Korea posted a combined net profit of 4.3 trillion won ($3.7 billion) for the January-March quarter, up 49 percent on-year, according to the data by the Financial Supervisory Service.It marked the biggest profit since the first quarter of 2011, when profit stood at 4.5
MarketMay 2, 2017
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Korea's consumer prices up 1.9% in April
South Korea's consumer prices continued their rise in April, going up nearly 2 percent amid high-flying oil prices, government data showed Tuesday.The country's consumer price index gained 1.9 percent last month from a year earlier, slowing down from the previous month's 2.2 percent rise, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. Consumer prices have been hovering around 2 percent since the first month of 2016 due to a sharp gain in oil prices, following a 1.3 percent on-year gain in D
EconomyMay 2, 2017
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Retirees happy to be free from job stress, worry about finances: survey
Retirees over 50 years old are most glad that they no longer have to deal with stress from work, but many feel that tight finances are dampening their post-retirement life, a survey said Tuesday. In the survey by the National Pension Service, conducted between April and September last year on 4,816 respondents, 32.2 percent said the best thing about retiring was being free of work-related stress. Another 17.8 percent were happy they didn't have to worry about interpersonal relationships at
EconomyMay 2, 2017
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Stocks open higher on tech, financial shares
South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday on the back of robust gains by tech and financial shares.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 15.23 points, or 0.69 percent, to 2,220.67 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The market closed Monday for Labor Day.Tech shares led the gain, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics moving up 1.79 percent and its smaller rival LG Electronics climbing 0.72 percent. Chipmaker SK hynix advanced 3.33 percent.Financial shares also kicked off higher
MarketMay 2, 2017
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Over 200 children have large bank accounts
More than 200 South Korean children aged 7 to 13 have bank accounts with a balance of 100 million won ($88,000) or higher, with their average balance hovering well above the mean of local households' financial assets, government data showed Tuesday.According to the data by the Financial Supervisory Service, 224 bank accounts owned by children in the age bracket have a balance of 100 million won or larger, with the total balance reaching 54.9 billion won, and the average balance coming to 245 mil
MarketMay 2, 2017
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Study shows 88% of financial firms threatened by clout of fintech
Nearly 90 percent of financial firms worldwide said their businesses are at risk from rapidly expanding fintech rivals and they fear losing revenue to the financial innovators, according to a new study released on Monday, in the latest sign of the growing influence of financial technology, known as fintech.The study conducted by global consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers said that many fear losing business to innovators, starting with payments, fund transfers and personal finance. "The v
MarketMay 1, 2017
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Public firms' debt ratio falls for 4 straight yrs in 2016
South Korea's state-funded corporations saw their debt ratio decline for four years in a row last year on the back of government-led efforts to improve their balance sheets, the finance ministry said Monday.The debt ratio of 329 public firms reached 167 percent as of end-2016, down 16 percentage points from a year earlier, with their combined credit totaling 499.4 trillion won ($437.9 billion), according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance. It has been on a steady decline since 2013, when it
EconomyMay 1, 2017
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[Monitor] Gap widens between net interest income of households and banks
The household net interest income has recorded a deficit for the first time since 1975, while that of local banks has shown an increase last year.According to the Bank of Korea, total household interest income has decreased to 36.1 trillion won, the lowest in 20 years. However, its interest payments on loans have risen sharply to approximately 41.8 trillion won, creating a deficit of around 5.7 trillion won. On the other hand, the profits of domestic banks has increased by 900 billion won, resul
MarketMay 1, 2017
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[Election 2017] Presidential candidates vow support for ‘digital economy’
South Korea’s presidential candidates may differ in their campaign pledges on defense, labor and political reform, but they appear to have one common ground -- spurring growth through the “digital economy.” The digital economy, sometimes referred to as the “internet economy,” broadly refers to the economic activity that results from billions of everyday online connections among people, businesses, devices, data and processes, according to Deloitte.This new type of economy is backed by the growin
TechnologyMay 1, 2017
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[Photo News] Every day is Children's Day
EconomyMay 1, 2017
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S. Korea's exports surge 24% in April
South Korea’s outbound shipments surged 24.2 percent in April from a year prior to $51 billion, mainly boosted by strong sales of ships and semiconductors, data by the Trade Ministry showed Monday. It marked the second most monthly exports, following $51.6 billion in October 2014. The figure saw the sharpest on-year rise in nearly six years, following 25.5 percent in August 2011.Meanwhile, inbound shipments also increased 16.6 percent, compared to the previous year, to $37.8 billion i
EconomyMay 1, 2017
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BOK retrieves coins worth more than W16.5b in Q1
Coins worth more than 16.5 billion won ($14 million) were returned to South Korea's central bank in the first quarter, data showed Monday.The figure represents a 375 percent hike from 3.47 billion won tallied in the previous quarter, according to the Bank of Korea.It also marked the highest amount since the second quarter of 1998 when South Korea was hit by the Asian financial crisis. The central bank has been striving to retrieve coins in a campaign towards becoming a coinless society to help b
EconomyMay 1, 2017
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SK Telecom launches 3 IoT devices
South Korea's top mobile carrier SK Telecom Co. said Monday that it has launched three gadgets using Internet of Things technology. The IoT tech, which allows everyday appliances to link to the Internet, is seen as one of the major technological developments of the Internet and a new revenue source for telecoms firms. (Yonhap)"Keyco" is an IoT-based keychain with an embedded GPS chip for pets that can be controlled by a smartphone, allowing the owner to pinpoint the location of their pets, the
TechnologyMay 1, 2017
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Consumer complaints over Galaxy S8 quality continue
Suspicions about Samsung Electronics’ latest flagship Galaxy S8 and S8+ smartphones are continuously being raised on online communities, with some saying the quality of the handsets falls behind their design. On a South Korean internet community Monday, a Galaxy S8 user uploaded a post showing his smartphone that appeared to have a burn-in on the screen. The writer highlighted it had been just over a week since he started using the new phone. (Yonhap)A burn-in refers to a permanent discoloratio
TechnologyMay 1, 2017
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Samsung denies re-entry to auto market despite autonomous car push
Samsung Electronics on Monday denied local reports that it aims to re-enter the car making industry, following government approval of a test run for a self-driving car.The Ministry of Transport and Land said it has approved a pilot run of Samsung Electronics’ autonomous car currently under development. The approval signals Samsung’s push into the self-driving car market, local reports said, quoting industry insiders. But the South Korean tech giant reiterated its earlier position tha
EconomyMay 1, 2017
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First Korean expert appointed head of Institut Pasteur Korea
Ryu Wang-shick, an infectious disease expert in South Korea, was named the new chief executive officer of Institut Pasteur Korea, the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning announced Monday. Ryu, who holds a Ph.D. from University of Wisconsin-Madison, has worked in close partnership with the IPK on research on the hepatitis B virus and other infectious diseases for more than a decade. Ryu Wang-shick (Institut Pasteur Korea)He is the first Korean expert to lead the institution. “New emergi
TechnologyMay 1, 2017
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Cereal market in Korea rapidly expanding
The cereal and granola market in Korea is rapidly expanding -- by more than 20 percent annually, according to a discount retailer Monday.E-mart said sales of cereal products at its stores rose by 23.5 percent on-year in 2016, and 29.7 percent in the first quarter of 2017. Meanwhile, other meal replacement products, such as bread and instant noodles, saw declining sales of 7.3 percent and 17.8 percent, respectively. Fruits & Granola by Peacock is sold at E-mart (E-mart)The discount retailer credi
IndustryMay 1, 2017
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Will cigarette prices rise under new administration?
Tobacco companies operating in Korea and smokers are wary, as the upcoming presidential election raises the possibility of another tax hike on cigarettes here.With the exception of Hong Joon-pyo of the conservative Liberty Korea Party, none of the major candidates have explicitly promised a cut in the unpopular spike in cigarette prices that went into effect in 2015. (Yonhap)Although other candidates such as front-runner Moon Jae-in of the liberal Democratic Party of Korea have said they are re
IndustryMay 1, 2017
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SMEs hold key to settling joblessness
In a rare consensus, the five major candidates for next week’s presidential election have pledged to strengthen support for small and medium-sized enterprises as a way to increase employment.Whoever is elected president, they all say they will promote a governmental agency handling matters related to SMEs, now under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, to an independent ministerial-level office. Experts share the presidential candidates’ perception that the country’s det
EconomyMay 1, 2017