Most Popular
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Blinken calls on China to press N. Korea to end its 'dangerous' behavior
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New celebrity-endorsed therapy for face contouring requires only a pair of rubber bands
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Tensions heighten ahead of first president-opposition chief meeting
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Seoul to provide housing subsidy to married couples with newborns
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[Weekender] How DDP emerged as an icon of Seoul
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Rapper jailed after public street fight with another rapper
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Doctor group's incoming head renews call for govt. to scrap medical school quota hike for dialogue
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Woman gets suspended term for injuring boyfriend with knife
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[KH Explains] No more 'Michael' at Kakao Games
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NewJeans pops out ‘Bubble Gum’ video amid troubles at agency
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Nexon’s HIT2 opens new world of MMORPG
HIT2, a recently-launched massively multiplayer online role playing game developed by South Korean game developer Nexon, is looking to change the nature of how MMORPGs are played by offering players chances to revise the playing rules. According to Nexon, HIT2 players get to vote on the rules of their game server under the name of “Altar of the Coordinator” each week. Players can obtain their voting rights by completing simple quests in game. The players can also opt to sell their v
Aug. 31, 2022
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Samsung's connected home app SmartThings to power 13 home appliance brands
Samsung Electronics' integrated home appliances solution SmartThings is poised to be applied to Samsung plus 12 other major white goods brands by the first half of 2023, the company said Wednesday. This comes as Samsung's SmartThings is to make consumer electronics goods and mobile apps interoperable under the standard provided by the 13-member Home Connectivity Alliance, through an update of Samsung's smart home solution next year. The update will allow users of 13 HCA member bra
Aug. 31, 2022
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Hyundai Oilbank accelerates next-generation energy development
Hyundai Heavy Industries Group’s refining affiliate Hyundai Oilbank said it has been bolstering efforts in developing next-generation energy, it said in a statement Wednesday. The refiner said it has been constructing a biodiesel production plant with an annual production capacity of 130,000 metric tons in Seosan, South Chungcheong Province, since last year, as part of its “White Bio” project. The plant is expected to be completed by 2023. White bio refers to carbon reduction
Aug. 31, 2022
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Number of startups drops 4.7% in H1
The number of startups in South Korea fell nearly 5 percent in the first half of the year due mainly to a plunge in new real estate businesses, government data showed Wednesday. A total of 696,000 new companies were set up in the country in the January-June period, down 4.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises and Startups. The number of newly established real estate companies sank 18.9 percent on-year, with that of hospitalit
Aug. 31, 2022
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Seoul shares open lower on US rate hike woes
South Korean stocks opened sharply lower Wednesday, tracking a continued drop on Wall Street that stemmed from concerns about the US Federal Reserve's aggressive policy tightening. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) dropped 23.83 points, or 0.97 percent, to trade at 2,427.1 points as of 9:15 a.m. Stocks have been in a slump in the wake of the Fed chairman's reaffirmation in Jackson Hole that the US central bank would continue its fight against four-decade high infl
Aug. 31, 2022
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S. Korea suffers fall in production, consumption, investment in July
South Korea's industrial output, retail sales and investment declined together for the first time in three months in July amid heightened external uncertainty, data showed Wednesday. Industrial output fell 0.1 percent in July from the previous month, compared with a 0.8 percent on-month increase in June, according to the data from Statistics Korea. Compared with a year earlier, industrial production grew 3.8 percent. Retail sales, a gauge of consumption, fell for the fifth straight month in July
Aug. 31, 2022
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FSS chief stresses fair competition in fintech
South Korea’s top financial watchdog said Tuesday it is seeking to support fair competition between fintech firms like Naver and Kakao. “Our hope is that all these companies meeting with us today help to cultivate a fair and transparent environment,” Gov. Lee Bok-hyun of the Financial Supervisory Service said at a meeting with the chief executives at the local tech firms. Lee and the companies discussed whether commissions that the internet platforms collect from sellers usin
Aug. 30, 2022
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BOK says no shift in policy despite hawkish US Fed
The Bank of Korea said Tuesday that it is not expecting a shift in its interest rate policy despite a hawkish US stance on inflation Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell revealed over the weekend, as that was already factored in its decision-making process. At a three-day global symposium of central bankers that ended Saturday in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Powell made it clear he backs rate hikes as needed to tame inflation even if that means slowing growth – a message some say could push t
Aug. 30, 2022
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Coupang to file law suit against NGO on false allegations
South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang said Tuesday it will take legal action against People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, a local NGO, for spreading false information on the company’s audit report. The NGO said in a statement that Coupang is illegally aiding its subsidiary called CPLB by receiving only 2.55 percent commission while demanding around 31.2 percent commission to other sellers. The 31.2 percent includes advertising fee and standard brokerage fee, it claimed.
Aug. 30, 2022
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Troubled Optimus Asset Management declared bankrupt
A South Korean court on Tuesday officially declared the bankruptcy of Optimus Asset Management, which had been mired in massive financial fraud leading to losses worth some 560 billion won ($415.8 million) for investors. The Seoul Bankruptcy Court declared the troubled asset manager bankrupt, citing its incapability to make payments due to its “heavy debt.” Optimus filed for bankruptcy with the Seoul court in June. Optimus was found to have raised 1.35 trillion won from more than 3
Aug. 30, 2022
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SK’s investment arm to buy back shares worth W200b
SK Inc., the holding company of South Korea’s second-largest conglomerate SK Group, said it plans to buy back 200 billion won ($148 million) of its own shares, which is equivalent to some 1 percent of the market cap, the firm said Tuesday. The firm’s board of directors on Aug. 30 approved the share repurchase to enhance shareholders’ value. It marks the first step to implement the shareholders return policy and strengthen the market confidence, according to the firm. The buyb
Aug. 30, 2022
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[Photo News] KT marks 20th anniversary
KT Corp. CEO Ku Hyeon-mo speaks during an event celebrating the company’s 20th anniversary of privatization, titled “Digico KT Making a Better World,” in Seoul on Tuesday. During the event, Ku highlighted the contributions KT made in expanding South Korea's information and communication technology industry, and outlined KT's future road map on how it will foray into the global market as an international digital company.
Aug. 30, 2022
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2023 budget includes support for soldiers, young parents
SEJONG -- The Cabinet on Tuesday approved the 2023 budget proposal worth 639 trillion won ($473 billion), which is aimed at securing the fiscal soundness and lowering the ratio of national debt to gross domestic product by minimizing state expenditure. Despite directions to refrain from conducting fiscal expansion, the first budget bill under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration sufficiently reflects its support plan for enlisted soldiers, households with infants, young people in their 20s as well
Aug. 30, 2022
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[Photo News] Smart shoe care
LG Electronics said Tuesday it will debut its new shoe care solution, consisting of LG Styler ShoeCase and ShoeCare, at the upcoming IFA trade show in Berlin this week. Using the steam technology of its popular Styler clothing care system, the new appliances aim to cater to the growing demand from young consumers, especially shoe enthusiasts. The ShoeCase, in particular, offers interior features such as transparent panels, a 360-degree rotating turntable and a modular design that makes it possib
Aug. 30, 2022
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Seoul stocks end higher amid persistent rate hike concerns
South Korean stocks finished higher Tuesday, as investors moved to buy beaten-down shares while digesting the possibility of the U.S. Federal Reserve keeping its aggressive monetary tightening stance. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 24.04 points, or 0.99 percent, to close at 2,450.93. Trading volume was rather slim at 327.21 million shares worth 6.69 trillion won ($4.97 billion), with winners far outnumbering losers 647 to 208. Institutions and foreign investors unloaded a net
Aug. 30, 2022
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Korean financial groups make aggressive expansion in Vietnam
South Korean banking groups have been picking up the pace of expansion in Vietnam, eyeing financial clout in one of the fastest growing Asian economies. Shinhan Financial Group, South Korea’s No. 2 bank by total assets, is at the forefront of the movement. Its flagship commercial bank’s Vietnam subsidiary, Shinhan Bank Vietnam opened three more branches in a single day on July 29. Shinhan Bank Vietnam currently operates 46 branches across Vietnam. Shinhan Bank Vietnam plans to open f
Aug. 30, 2022
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Pay gap among companies returns to pre-pandemic level: data
While the pay gap between large conglomerates and small- and medium-sized firms here may have been narrowing during the pandemic years, the disparity appears to have returned to the pre-pandemic level more recently, a report showed Tuesday. According to a report released by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the average wage at SMEs with less than 300 employees remained at 60.78 percent that of larger companies with 300 employees or above in 2019. The disparity inched up to 63.29 per
Aug. 30, 2022
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SK, Naver chiefs meet on metaverse cooperation
SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won recently discussed metaverse cooperation with Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon in bidding efforts to host the World Expo 2030 in Busan, according to industry sources Tuesday. Chey visited Naver’s recently-built headquarters 1784 in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province, to meet the IT giant’s leader last month. The exact date of his visit was undisclosed as the visit and the meeting took unexpectedly, SK and Naver officials said. Chey who doubles as chairman of the Korea
Aug. 30, 2022
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Scientists develop world's 1st therapy for Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease
Researchers have developed the world’s first electroceutical technology that can be used to treat the Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, the Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology said Tuesday. CMT disease is a group of inherited disorders that cause nerve damage. Its common symptoms are weakness in the legs and feet, loss of muscle bulk and curled toes. Although CMT is one of the most commonly inherited neurological disorders -- found in about one in 3,000 people -- there are no a
Aug. 30, 2022
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LG Chem to expand CNT production on upbeat battery demand
South Korean chemical company LG Chem said Tuesday it is building its fourth carbon nanotube manufacturing plant to bolster its responsiveness to the rapidly growing demand globally, especially for electric vehicle batteries. Carbon nanotube, widely called CNT, is considered a next-generation material that offers equivalent level of electricity and thermal conductivity as copper and diamond, and has 100 times the strength of steel. Demand for the material has surged recently as it is used as con
Aug. 30, 2022