Most Popular
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Medical profs at top hospitals suspend surgeries, clinics
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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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Samsung chip business back on track, logs W1.9tr operating profit in Q1
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Shinsegae faces showdown with investors over SSG.com's delayed IPO
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[Music in drama] Rekindle a love that slipped through your fingers
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Hopes rise for possible Gaza truce deal
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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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On May Day, labor unions blast Yoon's foreign nanny proposal
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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
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[Herald Interview] Refining the design of Korea’s top delivery app
Baedal Minjok, widely known as Baemin, has enjoyed a surge in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic. As the use of delivery apps exploded, the volume of transactions on Baemin jumped 78.4 percent to 15.7 trillion won ($13.27 billion) last year. But as efforts to solidify its position continue, design continues to play a crucial role. “One of the things we consider when we design the app is not to convey information in a dry way. What makes Baemin is the hidden wit and fun here and ther
Sept. 22, 2021
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ADB maintains S. Korea’s growth outlook at 4%, trims projection for Asia
The Asian Development Bank on Wednesday maintained its previous 4 percent growth outlook for the South Korean economy this year, on the back of robust exports and mild recovery in private consumption. The ADB kept its earlier growth scenario for Korea, which was released in July. It also left its 2022 growth outlook unchanged at 3.1 percent, according to the bank’s report titled “Asian Development Outlook Update.” However, it forecast that Korea’s inflation rate will
Sept. 22, 2021
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Eximbank to provide over $300m to Egypt for railway project
The Export-Import Bank of Korea said Wednesday it will offer more than $300 million in loans to the Egyptian government’s railway modernization project. The state-run policy lender plans to supply a combined $312.2 million for the African nation through the “Economic Development Cooperation Fund” as well as the “Economic Development Promotion Facility.” Launched in 1987, the EDCF is aimed at helping poor and less developed countries by providing low-inter
Sept. 22, 2021
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Overseas stock transactions hit all-time high amid meme stock fad
South Koreans’ transactions of foreign shares reached a new high in 2021 as retail investors rushed to trade meme stocks, data showed Wednesday. Domestic investors’ trading of overseas shares was valued at $277.1 billion from the beginning of the year to Sept. 16, according to data compiled by the Korea Securities Depository. The figure was up by 39.7 percent from last year’s accumulated trading volume of $198.3 billion, having already exceeded the 2020 total on June 21, the
Sept. 22, 2021
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LG’s plugless TV wins international design award
Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics scooped various accolades at an international industrial design competition, the two companies said Wednesday. LG Electronics bagged 10 prizes, including a gold award for its StanbyME TV, famous for its moving stand design, at the 41st International Design Excellence Awards. The plugless TV model has previously received the main prize at the iF Design Awards and the Red Dot Design Awards 2021. Four other products -- LG’s Soundbar Eclair, a laundr
Sept. 22, 2021
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CJ’s Bibigo sponsors LA Lakers
NBA superstar LeBron James will be playing in a Bibigo-branded jersey for the upcoming season, as CJ’s frozen dumpling and sauce brand signed a partnership deal with the Los Angeles Lakers. The basketball team announced on its social media Tuesday, local time, that it signed a marketing partnership with Bibigo’s US branch. Attached with the announcement was a photo of LeBron James wearing a Bibigo-embroidered uniform. ”We’re proud to introduce our new patch part
Sept. 22, 2021
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Hyundai, Kia's eco-friendly vehicle sales in US more than double in Aug.
Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Corp.'s environment friendly vehicle sales in the United States more than doubled in August compared with a year ago, led by solid demand for their hybrid sport utility vehicles, industry data showed Wednesday. Hyundai and Kia sold a combined 8,312 eco-friendly cars in the US in August, a 124.4 percent jump from a year earlier, according to their data. Hyundai's eco-friendly car sales soared 245.4 percent on-year to 5,817 units in August, far surpassing
Sept. 22, 2021