Most Popular
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Contentious grain bill put directly to plenary meeting for vote
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Yoon's approval rating plunges to all-time low
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Will tug-of-war between doctors, government end soon?
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Climate impacts set to cut 2050 global GDP by nearly a fifth
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Trilateral talks acknowledge ‘serious’ slumps of won, yen
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[Graphic News] More Koreans say they plan long-distance trips this year
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[KH Explains] Hyundai's full hybrid edge to pay off amid slow transition to pure EVs
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North Korea removes streetlights along cross-border roads with South
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Russia's denial of entry of S. Korean national unrelated to bilateral ties: Seoul official
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Farming households dip below 1m for first time in 2023
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After sell-off failure, Citibank Korea to phase out consumer banking
Citibank Korea, the South Korean unit of Citigroup, said Monday that it has decided to shut down its consumer banking operations in phases, instead of selling them off as planned. Citing constraints in finding potential buyers with intentions to buy the units in one piece, the bank said plan B is to minimize customer inconvenience and protect employees’ jobs. The announcement, however, has drawn strong opposition from unionized workers who say the envisioned closure
Oct. 25, 2021
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S. Korea ranks 4th in ‘relative poverty’ among 38 OECD members
South Korea ranked No. 4 among 38 global economies in terms of the percentage of its population living on less than half the median disposable income, data showed Monday, reflecting significant wealth disparities in the country. According to the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, Asia’s fourth-largest economy posted a relative poverty rate of 16.7 percent in 2018-2019, the fourth-highest rate among its 38 member nations. In general, most OECD members are high-income ec
Oct. 25, 2021
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Year-end spending on e-commerce platforms to increase this year: survey
Consumers are expected to spend more money during the year-end season this year amid growing excitement over the government’s gradual plan to live with COVID-19, a new survey has found. The survey, conducted on e-commerce platforms Gmarket and Auction earlier this month, showed consumers are willing to spend some 641,000 won ($546) on average during the platforms’ annual shopping event “Big Smile Day” – up nearly 200,000 won from one year ago. Among the respondent
Oct. 25, 2021
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Mercedes-Benz seeks to grow together with community
As part of efforts to grow together with the local community, Mercedes-Benz Korea has continued to invest in research and development, training automotive experts and supporting startups, in addition to expanding its network of service centers. The German automaker runs 60 official showrooms, 75 service centers, four of which opened this year, with more than 1,250 work bays, the largest network for an import car brand in Korea. Mercedes-Benz opened its training academy in Korea in 2015, its t
Oct. 25, 2021
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S. Korea to hold K-Food Fair next month
South Korea plans to hold a food fair next month to promote the country's agricultural and other food products, and to help local companies' advance into the global market, the agriculture ministry said Monday. During the four-day K-Food Fair set to kick off Nov. 8 at the Convention and Exhibition Center in southern Seoul, some 200 local companies will present major export items, such as kimchi, pears and ginseng, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. One-on-one onl
Oct. 25, 2021
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SolidEnergy Systems to unveil world’s largest lithium-metal cell for EVs
SolidEnergy Systems will unveil next-generation lithium-metal battery cells big enough to power electric vehicles next month, the Singapore-based battery firm said Monday. Large-size prototypes of the cells, not small samples made inside labs, will be presented at the inaugural Battery World, an event the company organizes to showcase its latest products. It will kick off at 11:00 a.m. on Nov. 4, Seoul time, and SolidEnergy Systems CEO Dr. Qichao Hu will appear. “It took us 10 ye
Oct. 25, 2021
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Posco Chemical to supply key EV battery materials to Norway's Morrow Batteries
Posco Chemical will supply cathodes and anodes, two crucial components of electric vehicle batteries, to Norwegian battery manufacturer Morrow Batteries, accelerating its push to expand its footprint in the European market. According to the refractory and secondary battery materials arm of South Korean steel giant Posco, the cathodes and anodes will go inside the batteries to be mass-produced by Morrow Batteries starting 2024, as part of an agreement signed by the two firms on Thursday. Morr
Oct. 25, 2021
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Korea Shipbuilding grabs W383b order for 4 chemical carriers
Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. (KSOE) said Monday it has obtained a 383 billion-won ($325 million) deal to build four LNG-propelled petrochemical carriers. The 4,000-ton vessels to be built by Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., a subsidiary of KSOE, will be delivered to a shipper in the Middle East by the first half of 2024, the company said in an emailed statement. KSOE said it has bagged 60 percent of the global orders for 61 LNG-powered petrochemicals so far this year. &qu
Oct. 25, 2021
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KT suffers major network outage nationwide
South Korean telecommunications operator KT suffered a nationwide network outage on Monday, causing widespread disruptions to daily tasks requiring connectivity. Virtual classrooms were down, food delivery orders were lost, and clinics couldn’t access patient data. The network outage, which began around 11 a.m. and lasted for nearly an hour, was initially said to have been caused by a cyberattack. A local police station dispatched a team of cybercrime investigators to KT’s he
Oct. 25, 2021
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Posco Q3 net profit up 415.7% to W2.63tr
POSCO on Monday reported its third-quarter net profit of 2.63 trillion won ($2.2 billion), up 415.7 percent from a year earlier. The company said in a regulatory filing that it posted 3.12 trillion won in operating profit for the quarter, compared with 670 billion won a year ago. Revenue rose 44.7 percent to 20.64 trillion won. The operating profit was 9.7 percent higher than the average estimate, according to the survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency. The est
Oct. 25, 2021
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Celltrion's coronavirus self-test kit gets FDA emergency approval
South Korean biopharmaceutical company Celltrion Inc. said Monday that its self-diagnostic kit for the novel coronavirus has won emergency approval from US drug authorities. Celltrion DiaTrust COVID-19 Ag Home Test, co-developed by local healthcare business Humasis, received the US Food and Drug Administration's Emergency Use Authorization approval. The product uses an antibody that specifically binds to the COVID-19 virus and detects infection within 15 minutes, Celltrion said. It is most sui
Oct. 25, 2021
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Citibank Korea to close retail banking 'in phases'
Citibank Korea Inc., the Korean unit of US banking giant Citigroup, said Monday that it will close its retail banking services "in phases" in line with a global business reorganization drive. Citibank Korea held a board meeting on Friday and made the decision to pull out from consumer banking in South Korea. In April, Citigroup said that it will exit consumer banking operations in 13 markets, including South Korea, as part of its global business reorganization. Citibank Korea's board
Oct. 25, 2021
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Samsung Heavy bags W971b order for 4 LNG carriers
Samsung Heavy Industries Co. said Monday it has signed a 971.3 billion-won ($825.2 million) deal to construct four LNG carriers. Under the deal with a shipper in Bermuda, Samsung Heavy will deliver the vessels by December 2024, the company said in a regulatory filing. The price per LNG carrier in the latest deal came to $206 million, the highest since 2015, Samsung Heavy Industries said. With the latest deal, the shipbuilder has won orders worth $11.2 billion so far this year, already surpa
Oct. 25, 2021
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Seoul stocks open lower on inflation woes
South Korean stocks opened lower Monday amid concerns about the rising inflation pressure and oil prices. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) retreated 20.1 points, or 0.67 percent, to 2,986.06 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks fell amid foreign and institutional sell-offs, largely in the wake of the Fed's signal that the present high-price pressure may not subside soon. Investor wariness grew as oil prices remained at a record-high level. Most stocks traded l
Oct. 25, 2021
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S. Korea to unveil measures to enhance efficacy of lending rules based on repayment capacity
South Korea will unveil measures to curb household debt in a way that "strikes a balance" between toughening lending rules based on borrowers' repayment capability and protecting those in actual need of loans for home rentals, the head of the country's financial regulator said Monday. The Financial Services Commission (FSC) is expected to announce a set of measures to tame soaring household debt this week, likely to focus on speeding up implementation of stricter rules on lending base
Oct. 25, 2021
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Kakao Pay begins 2-day IPO subscription
Kakao Pay, the mobile payment service arm of Kakao Corp., South Korea's top messenger app, on Monday kicked off a two-day public subscription for its initial public offering (IPO), seen as this year's last high-profile share sale. Kakao Pay has allowed retail investors to subscribe to 4.25 million new common shares to be sold under the IPO slated for Nov. 3, or 25 percent of the total share sale. Kakao Pay has set the IPO price at 90,000 won ($76.5) per share, which will enable the company to
Oct. 25, 2021
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[ESG Talk] Overseeing ESG risks in supply chain: procurement with a purpose
In 2022, an area that is likely to strain companies’ transition toward a resilient, sustainable economy is the ESG risks in the supply chain. Companies must now closely monitor issues stemming from climate change, labor rights and health and safety throughout the procurement process. Supply chain due diligence Until recently, the management team’s focus on supply chain and procurement has been primarily on technical quality, cost-effectiveness, speed of delivery and reliability. H
Oct. 24, 2021
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[News Focus] Samsung still lost a year after Lee Kun-hee’s death
Monday marks the first anniversary of the death of Lee Kun-hee, the chief of South Korea’s largest conglomerate Samsung and its flagship unit Samsung Electronics. But the world’s No. 1 producer of smartphone and memory chips still seems to lack a clear direction, with the charismatic leader gone. Amid news about a global “chip war,” or aggressive bets by chipmakers in the US, Taiwan and elsewhere to alter market dynamics for their strategic interest, Samsung is seen to
Oct. 24, 2021
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[Market Eye] Record-breaking year expected for banking groups; financial stocks, maybe
Bank stocks in South Korea have long been regarded as an unappealing option for investors, but analysts say it may be their time to shine as the economy makes progress toward normalization and interest rates are no longer at record lows. The country’s big four banking groups -- KB Financial, Hana Financial, Shinhan Financial and Woori Financial -- are expected to see their combined profits grow by double digits in the quarter that ended in September, according to FnGuide, a financial inf
Oct. 24, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Authorities to begin looking into data to explain why Nuri launch failed
South Korea’s Science Ministry said Sunday that researchers will begin looking into why the country’s first domestically-built rocket Nuri, or Korean Satellite Launch Vehicle II, failed to put a dummy satellite into orbit in its maiden flight last week. The Korea Aerospace Research Institute that led the Nuri project will form a task force to examine data from the Oct. 21 test to determine what caused the shorter-than-programmed burning of the rocket’s third engine. 
Oct. 24, 2021