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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Woman gets suspended term for injuring boyfriend with knife
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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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[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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Finance chief to meet heads of BOK, financial regulators next week
Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki will hold a four-party meeting next week with the governor of the central bank and two chiefs of financial regulatory authorities to discuss household debt and other economic issues, officials said Thursday. Hong will preside over the gathering on Sept. 30 with Bank of Korea (BOK) Gov. Lee Ju-yeol, Koh Seung-beom, new head of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), and Jeong Eun-bo, new chief of the Financial Supervisory Service, according to the finance ministry.
Sept. 23, 2021
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S. Korea’s stock market retreats amid China’s Evergrande crisis
South Korea’s stock market retreated Thursday, hit by the growing debt crisis faced by Evergrande Group, one of China’s biggest property developers, as financial authorities vowed to closely monitor the situation’s impact on the market. The benchmark Kospi lost 12.93 points, or 0.41 percent, to close at 3,127.58 points. The secondary tech-heavy Kosdaq shed 9.86 points or 0.94 percent to close at 1,036.26. Trading volume was moderate at about 612 million shares worth some 13.
Sept. 23, 2021
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Seoul stocks down on Powell's tapering comments, Evergrande scare
South Korean stocks retreated Thursday after the three-day Chuseok holiday in the face of comments by the US Federal Reserve's chief that it could start tapering its stimulus as early as November, as well as growing woes over a default of a giant Chinese real estate developer. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 12.93 points, or 0.41 percent, to close at 3,127.58 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 612 million shares
Sept. 23, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Korea raises electricity price for first time in 8 years
A family of four in South Korea will see electricity bills rise as much as 1,050 won ($0.89) per month starting October as the Korea Electric Power Corp. decided to raise utility prices for the first time in eight years to mitigate skyrocketing fuel costs. According to the state-run utility firm Thursday, the electricity bill will go up 3 won per kilowatt-hour, the first increase since November 2013. For an average four-member household that consumes 350 kW of electricity per month, this would
Sept. 23, 2021
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4 out of 10 Seoul apartments bought by 20s, 30s
On the back of soaring housing prices, a growing number of South Koreans in their 20s and 30s have rushed to buying apartments, with nearly 4 out of 10 Seoul apartments being purchased by those young buyers, data showed Thursday. According to data from the Korea Real Estate Board, people in their 30s bought a total of 12,550 homes in the capital city between January and July, which accounted for 36.9 percent of the total 34,045 properties that changed hands in the given period. Those aged 20-29
Sept. 23, 2021
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More travelers to fly to Saipan as travel demand grows
A growing number of people in South Korea are planning to travel to Saipan via a travel bubble amid rising vaccination rates and extended benefits offered for travelers. According to Asiana Airlines on Thursday, over 1,000 bookings have been made for flights to Saipan scheduled throughout the rest of the year. An Asiana flight to Sapian last Saturday, just ahead of the Chuseok holiday, had 150 passengers on board, accounting for 85 percent of bookings. With more than 9 in 10 people on board
Sept. 23, 2021
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LG buys Israeli automotive security firm, delves further into auto biz
LG Electronics is taking over an Israeli firm with expertise in cybersecurity for automobiles as part of its plan to strengthen its auto parts business portfolio. According to the South Korean electronics maker on Thursday, the company recently signed a deal with Tel Aviv-based Cybellum to acquire a 63.9 percent stake. Founded in 2016, the Israeli firm’s valuation is estimated at $140 million. It has around 50 employees. The company is recognized for a platform that is designed to analy
Sept. 23, 2021
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Number of top online lender Kakao Bank customers passes 17m
South Korea's leading internet-only lender Kakao Bank said Thursday its customer number has surpassed the 17 million mark nearly four years after its launch. Kakao Bank, led by Kakao Corp., the operator of the country's dominant messaging app KakaoTalk, said its customers numbered 17.17 million as of the end of August. Kakao Bank said slightly over 15 million customers have accounts at the online lender, with 2.15 million people using its services. Kakao Bank has achieved the milestone four year
Sept. 23, 2021
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Seoul stocks open lower on Fed chief's tapering comment, Evergrande fallout
South Korean stocks opened steeply lower Thursday after the three-day Chuseok holiday, following comments by the US Federal Reserve's chief that it could start tapering its stimulus as early as November and growing woes over a default of a giant Chinese real estate developer. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 17.83 points, or 0.57 percent, to 3,122.68 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The key stock index plunged as investors digest the overnight US FOMC mee
Sept. 23, 2021
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S. Korea wary of market volatility from Evergrande woes, Fed's tapering: official
South Korea plans to closely monitor financial markets as China Evergrande Group's debt problems and uncertainty about the Federal Reserve's tapering issue could increase market volatility, a senior government official said Thursday. First Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-weon said the government will also pump up efforts to slow the growth of household debt in a bid to ease financial imbalances. Global financial markets were rattled this week ahead of the Fed's policy meeting and due to concerns
Sept. 23, 2021
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KEPCO to up electricity rate for 1st time in 8 yrs amid rising costs
The Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO), South Korea's state-run utility firm, announced Thursday it plans to raise the electricity rate in the fourth quarter of 2021 to reflect the hike in the global price of resources. KEPCO said it plans to terminate the discount of 3 won ($0.0025) per kilowatt-hour, which has been applied since the first quarter, in October, effectively raising costs for households. Under the new rates, an average four-member household is expected to pay 1,050 won extra eve
Sept. 23, 2021
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Chip dearth forecast to have limited impact on automakers' profit
A global shortage of chips used in autos is expected to have a limited impact on third-quarter earnings of South Korea's top two carmakers Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp., a market tracker said Thursday. The market consensus for Hyundai's operating profit amounts to 1.78 trillion won ($1.51 billion) for the July-September period, according to an analysis by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap. Yonhap Infomax has analyzed earnings forecasts for the leading automakers, which 17 loca
Sept. 23, 2021
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Exports rise 23% in first 20 days of Sept.
South Korea's exports rose 22.9 percent on-year in the first 20 days of September on the back of robust demand for chips, petroleum products and autos, customs data showed Thursday. The country's outbound shipments stood at $36.1 billion in the Sept. 1-20 period, compared with $29.4 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Imports increased 38.8 percent on-year to $35 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $1.12 billion during the cited period, the data s
Sept. 23, 2021
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Listed firms' Q3 operating profit forecast to jump 49%
South Korea's listed companies are likely to see their earnings spike nearly 50 percent in the third quarter on brisk exports, a market tracker said Thursday. The combined operating income of 246 listed firms is expected to reach 59.6 trillion won ($50.6 billion) for the July-September period, up about 49 percent from a year earlier, according to FnGuide. The operating profit outlook still remains high though it is much lower than forecasts of 118 percent and 91 percent for the first and secon
Sept. 23, 2021
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Major firms' dependence on overseas sales rises in H1 amid pandemic
Major South Korean companies' dependence on overseas markets for sales increased in the first half of the year amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Thursday. Combined overseas sales of the country's top 100 firms by revenue climbed 13.2 percent on-year to 397.3 trillion won ($337 billion) in the January-June period, according to the data from the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI). The amount accounted for 54.9 percent of their total top line for the first half, up 2.8 percentage poin
Sept. 23, 2021
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Insurers' risk-based capital ratio gains in Q2
Insurance firms in South Korea saw their risk-based capital ratio rise in the second quarter of this year as they strengthened capital, data showed Thursday. The risk-based capital (RBC) ratio of local insurance firms stood at 260.9 percent at end-June, up 5 percentage points from three months earlier, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). The rise in the RBC ratio came as insurers boosted capital and reported modest profits, according to the FSS. A key yardstick
Sept. 23, 2021
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Top financial regulator urges market monitoring over Evergrande concerns
South Korea's top financial regulator on Wednesday called for strengthening the monitoring of financial markets on concerns about a potential default by debt-laden property developer China Evergrande Group. Global financial markets were rattled this week over concerns that Evergrande may default on its debt. The debt-stricken developer said Wednesday it has agreed to a deal with local bondholders to settle interest payments, which helped ease fears about an imminent possible default by the grou
Sept. 22, 2021
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Female scientists step up for leading roles in medical science: report
Four out of 10 medical research projects in South Korea are now led by female scientists, but in other fields of science, women are still significantly outnumbered by men, a local report revealed Wednesday. According to the Korean Federation of Women’s Science and Technology Association, a total of 5,028 medical research projects were led by women in the 2010-2019 period, taking up roughly 40 percent of the total. The study covered research projects in four categories of natural scienc
Sept. 22, 2021
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[Herald Interview] Satrec Initiative poised for leap in Korea’s space rush
This is the second installment in a series of interviews with executives of Korean companies with space ambitions. -- Ed. About a month from now, South Korea will launch its first homegrown rocket “Nuri.” A successful launch of the domestically made space launch vehicle is expected to herald a new space era for the country, where government-led programs transition to market-oriented ventures, with a key hindrance -- the decades-old Korea-US missile guidelines that put curb
Sept. 22, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Kakao Pay faces renewed scrutiny ahead of IPO
Ant Group-backed financial technology firm Kakao Pay is facing renewed scrutiny ahead of its upcoming initial public offering as South Korea’s tech crackdown shows no signs of abating. Regulators’ tightening grip on online financial platforms puts Kakao Pay, known for its mobile payment app interoperable with Korea’s popular messenger app KakaoTalk, under mounting pressure to revise its prospectus again to scale down its fintech service. The stock market debut of Kakao Pay,
Sept. 22, 2021