Most Popular
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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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New celebrity-endorsed therapy for face contouring requires only a pair of rubber bands
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Rapper jailed after public street fight with another rapper
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[KH Explains] No more 'Michael' at Kakao Games
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Nominee for chief of anti-corruption body pledges 'independence, effectiveness'
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Med schools expect 1,500+ new admission slots next year
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Woman gets suspended term for injuring boyfriend with knife
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Samsung chief bolsters ties with Germany’s Zeiss
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[Weekender] How DDP emerged as an icon of Seoul
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S. Korea's monetary policy still considered accommodative: BOK board member
South Korea's monetary policy is considered still loose although the Bank of Korea delivered its first pandemic-era rate hike in August, a member of the BOK's rate-setting board said Wednesday. The remarks by Suh Young-kyung are expected to reinforce market expectations that the central bank may again raise its key rate later this year or early next year. "In spite of a hike in the key rate in August, the current monetary policy is still loose," Suh told a forum in Seoul. The BOK must
Sept. 29, 2021
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Platform businesses target for innovation, not regulation: minister
Amid growing calls for regulating thriving digital platform businesses, South Korea’s top policymaker on technology and science called for a shift in perspective, saying they should be seen as innovators rather than a target for regulation. Minister of Science and ICT Lim Hye-sook made the remarks while meeting executives of Korea’s leading platform companies, including Naver, Kakao, Woowa Brothers and Yanolja. It was the first time that the ministry organized such a meeting with
Sept. 29, 2021
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Trade terms decline for 5th month in August
South Korea's terms of trade fell for the fifth consecutive month in August due to a rise in prices of imported goods, central bank data showed Wednesday. The nation's net terms-of-trade index for goods -- a gauge of overall trade terms -- declined 5 percent last month from a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The figure is calculated by dividing the index for export prices by that for import prices. It shows the amount of imports a country can buy for each
Sept. 29, 2021
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LG Electronics to post solid Q3 earnings on home appliance biz: analysts
LG Electronics Inc. is likely to report solid third-quarter earnings, analysts said Wednesday, as its mainstay home appliance business is expected to offset a slump from vehicle components and B2B units. The South Korean tech giant was projected to log a record 18.3 trillion won ($15.4 billion) in sales in the July-September period, up 8.2 percent from a year earlier, on a consolidated basis, while its operating profit was estimated to jump 16.9 percent on-year to 1.1 trillion won over the perio
Sept. 29, 2021
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S. Korea accounts for one-third of global EV battery market in Jan.-Aug. period
Three South Korean electric vehicle (EV) battery makers accounted for about a third of the global market in the first eight months of the year, but they are facing toughening competition with Chinese rivals, a market research firm said Thursday. The trio -- LG Energy Solution Ltd., Samsung SDI Co. and SK Innovation Co. -- accounted for 34.8 percent of the global EV battery market in the January-August period, inching down from 35 percent a year ago, according to the data from SNE Research. LG En
Sept. 29, 2021
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Retail sales up 6.4% in Aug. on popularity of food delivery
Retail sales in South Korea moved up 6.4 percent in August from a year earlier, data showed Wednesday, as people continued to purchase more food and groceries online amid the new wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The combined sales of 25 major offline and online retailers reached 12.6 trillion won ($10.6 billion) last month, compared with 11.9 trillion won tallied in the previous year, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Sales from offline stores moved up 2
Sept. 29, 2021
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Seoul stocks open steeply lower on US stock plunge
South Korean stocks opened nearly 1.5 percent lower Wednesday, tracking an overnight plunge on Wall Street amid concerns about spiking bond yields and the US debt ceiling. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) dropped 45.27 points, or 1.46 percent, to 3,052.65 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite plummeted 2.83 percent and the S&P 500 dipped 2.04 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated 1.63 percent. Investor senti
Sept. 29, 2021
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S. Korea speeds up plan to supply homes: finance minister
Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Wednesday the government is speeding up a plan to supply homes in Seoul and other regions, as it seeks to curb high-flying home prices. In February, the government unveiled the plan that eased building regulations and supported redevelopment projects in urban areas to increase the number of new homes by up to 836,000 nationwide in the next four years. Some residents in the designated areas in Seoul have already voted in favor of the redevelopment projects, makin
Sept. 29, 2021
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Exports contribute most in 3 years to economic growth in 2020
South Korea's exports contributed the most in three years to the country's economic growth in 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic, a report showed Wednesday. Overseas shipments contributed 0.6 percentage point to the country's economic growth last year, according to the report from the Korea International Trade Association (KITA). The contribution rate of exports was higher than 0.5 percentage point in 2019 and 0.1 percentage point in 2018. Last year, South Korea's nominal exports fell 5.5 percen
Sept. 29, 2021
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S. Korea begins countermeasure against Britain's steel safeguard
South Korea has started the process for countering Britain's extension of safeguard measures against its steel exports, the trade ministry said Wednesday. In July, Britain extended its safeguard measures against steel imports from South Korea for another three years together with the European Union. South Korea and Britain have been in talks to resolve the dispute, but they have failed to iron out differences, prompting Seoul to move to seek a countermeasure. The ministry said Seoul has recently
Sept. 29, 2021
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Biz sentiment improves for October amid pandemic: poll
South Korea's business sentiment improved for October on expectations of a possible rebound in domestic consumption amid an accelerating nationwide vaccination drive, a local think tank said Wednesday. The business survey index (BSI) of the country's top 600 companies by sales rose to 103.4 for next month, up from 100.6 for September, the Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI) said in a statement. The business outlook stayed above 100 for a second straight month. The actual BSI stood at 98.9 i
Sept. 29, 2021
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[KH Finance Forum] Korea should speed up with ESG disclosure: Sustinvest CEO
A plan to adopt a critical ESG disclosure system by 2023 is lagging far behind other countries and should be implemented as soon as possible to foster environmental, social and governance investment, Ryu Young-jae, CEO of a leading ESG advisory firm said Tuesday. European countries adopted a sustainable finance disclosure system in 2018 and Japan in 2021. The US House of Representatives passed the ESG Disclosure and Simplification Act in June, according to Ryu. Under such a disclosure syste
Sept. 29, 2021
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DL Chemical acquires Kraton for $1.6b to take lead in global SBC plastic market
DL Chemical, the world’s largest producer of polybutene, said Tuesday it will acquire Texas-based specialty chemical manufacturer Kraton for $1.6 billion to bolster its presence in the US and European markets. According to the subsidiary of South Korea’s DL Holdings, it will purchase the full stake of Kraton at $45.60 per share. DL will spend $2.5 billion in total, as it will also take over the US firm’s net debt of $900 million. The acquisition will allow DL Chemical to ma
Sept. 28, 2021
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[KH Finance Forum] Asia rises to new destination for ESG investing
Asia is projected to emerge as a destination for sustainability-driven investment, and integrating environmental, social and governance factors is key to discovering the less well-tapped investment opportunities in the region, a veteran investor said Tuesday. Spurred by rising secondary battery demand, combined with a projection of fast-paced electric vehicle adoption, Asian countries including South Korea are in a race to make good on their bid to achieve carbon neutrality and cultivate new e
Sept. 28, 2021
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KFCC logs W208.9b in H1 net profit despite COVID-19 woes
The Korean Federation of Community Credit Cooperatives, the nation’s leading mutual financial institution, said Tuesday it has managed to post strong profits despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the leadership of President Park Cha-hoon and Ryu Hyuk, chief executive officer of Credit & Insurance -- the KFCC’s business unit responsible for building strategies for the group’s financial management as well as operating deduction services -- the cooperative logged a net profit
Sept. 28, 2021
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S. Korea develops pliable battery for flexible robots, devices
A local research team has developed a new snakeskin-like structure that contains battery cells, which can be potentially applied to soft robots and a wide range of wearable devices. The Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials said Tuesday that a research team led by Jang Bong-kyun and Hyun Seung-min developed the material, inspired by the flexibility and structure of snake scales, that can be shaped without damaging rigid battery cells. The research team said the structure, which contains
Sept. 28, 2021
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[KH Finance Forum] S. Korea to promote ESG policies with support, not regulation: finance minister
South Korea’s chief economic policymaker vowed Tuesday to pursue environmental, social and governance-related policies with support, not regulations, to build a stronger cornerstone for the nation’s sustainable growth. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki, in his congratulatory speech at the second Korea Herald Finance and Investment Forum, said that the government will make various efforts such as helping industries establish a market-oriented system, creating ne
Sept. 28, 2021
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[Exclusive] Seoul may raise chip disclosure issue with Washington: minister
South Korea may bring the US’ request for data disclosures by local chipmakers up for discussion at a working-level bilateral dialogue, South Korean Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Moon Sung-wook said Tuesday, amid growing unease here over the impact of the US’ strategic interest in the chip industry. “The industry is taking this very sensitively, so the government would discuss the matter (with the US side), if needed, to verify,” the minister told The Korea Her
Sept. 28, 2021
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[KH Finance Forum] Experts, policymakers discuss blueprint for S. Korea’s revolutionary road toward ESG
The global movement to adopt environmental, social and governance values has pushed South Korea’s financial sector to commit to the ideals, but stronger efforts should be made to bring actual changes in Asia’s fourth-largest economy aiming to become an advanced market, experts and policymakers gathered at The Korea Herald’s second finance and investment forum said Tuesday. Attending the forum -- held under the tagline “Korea’s ESG revolution: Green shoots after the
Sept. 28, 2021
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Seoul stocks skid over 1% on tech losses
South Korean stocks fell more than 1 percent Tuesday as investors offloaded tech shares amid concerns of surging virus cases. The Korean won sharply fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) lost 35.72 points, or 1.14 percent, to close at 3,097.92 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 881.95 million shares worth 14.38 trillion won ($12.1 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 711 to 193. Institutions offloaded a net 555.2 billion won, while re
Sept. 28, 2021