Most Popular
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Opposition-led Assembly unilaterally passes bill to probe Marine's death
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Golden chance to liquidate babies’ gold rings?
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Inflation eases in April, continues bumpy ride
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Seoul to more than double military drones by 2026 to counter NK threats
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Russia sent more than 165,000 barrels of refined petroleum to N. Korea in March: White House
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Seoul alerts overseas missions to NK terror threats
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Key suspects grilled over alleged abuse of power in Marine death inquiry
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Over 60% of S. Koreans support W100m childbirth incentive: survey
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‘Inside Out 2’ adds four new emotions, explores teenage life
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Questions raised over fair promotion of RM, NewJeans
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[Anniversary Special] Living with economic uncertainty: How COVID changed Korea’s investment landscape
Monetary easing policies have been carried out primarily to counter the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, but brought significant changes in South Koreans’ economic lives, pushing many to jump into markets under inflationary pressure. For Koreans, living in an era of ample liquidity has been considered a window of opportunity. So much so that it could be considered foolish not to take out loans with ultralow interests to invest in real estate and stocks. An abundance of cash combined with a
Aug. 14, 2021
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[Anniversary Special] S. Korea’s pharmaceutical industry grows through COVID-19, prepares for post-pandemic future
The pandemic has opened up a window of opportunity for South Korean pharmaceutical and biotech companies to advance to the global stage. Several local players posted strong earnings by exporting self-developed test kits to foreign countries and secured contract manufacturing deals for COVID-19 vaccines. As a result, the number of pharmaceutical and biotech firms with sales exceeding 1 trillion won ($860.2 million) has increased to nine in 2020 from six a year earlier. Contract development
Aug. 14, 2021
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GS Retail-led consortium acquires No. 2 delivery app, Yogiyo
A consortium led by GS Retail Co., the supermarket operating unit of GS Group, has acquired Yogiyo, the No. 2 online food delivery app in South Korea, for 800 billion won ($684.3 million), the retailer said Friday. The consortium, including Affinity Equity Partners and Permira, has reached the deal with Germany's Delivery Hero for the acquisition of a 100 percent stake in Yogiyo, according to the retailer. GS Retail said it will take over 30 percent of the share worth 240 billion won and pay
Aug. 13, 2021
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HMM sees operating profit jumps tenfold during Q2
South Korea’s top shipping company HMM’s operating profit rose to a record high during the second quarter on the back of growing shipping costs and strong demand. The company racked up 1.38 trillion won in operating profit, a regulatory filing released on Friday revealed, up over 900 percent compared to the same time one year ago. The figure also surpasses its performance during the first quarter, which stood at 1.19 trillion won in operating profit. Revenue rose 111 percent to 2.
Aug. 13, 2021
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Samsung SDI may build an EV battery plant in Illinois : news reports
Samsung SDI may build a battery plant in central Illinois, according to a report by Reuters on Friday. The news came after Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin said in a press conference that there were discussions to bring in a “major Samsung battery facility” during their meeting with South Korean delegations this week. While the decision has not been finalized, said Durbin, the facility will possibly be next to electric-vehicle start-up Rivian, which said in April it would source EV batt
Aug. 13, 2021
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Celltrion's Q2 operating profit falls 10.2% on-year
South Korean pharmaceutical giant Celltrion on Friday said the company’s operating profit fell 10.2 percent in the second quarter through an earnings report. The firm’s operating profit stood at 163.2 billion won during the April-June period, down 10.2 percent from the same period last year. Its sales inched up 0.7 percent to 431.8 billion won. The company said its second-quarter revenue went slightly up, backed by increased overseas sales of the company’s infliximab bios
Aug. 13, 2021
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KIC divests all Alibaba stake, mixed on other Chinese tech stocks
South Korea‘s sole sovereign wealth fund, Korea Investment Corp., divested the entirety of 2.9 million shares in Alibaba Group Holding -- the 25th-biggest United States-listed stock it was holding earlier this year -- during the second quarter of this year, a filing showed Friday. The quarterly report, submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, also indicated that its positions toward US-listed Chinese technology stocks were mixed at the end of June, before Beijing’s sw
Aug. 13, 2021
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Korean Air records operating profit during Q2
Korean Air posted an operating profit for a for a fifth consecutive quarter Friday, citing its efforts to boost cargo operations and reduce costs. Revenue increased by 16 percent to 1.95 trillion ($1.73 million) and operating profit by 31 percent to 196.9 billion won ($174 million) compared to the same time last year. Despite a drop in passenger demand due to the COVID-pandemic, which has dealt a severe blow to the tourism and aviation sectors, the airline’s cargo business racked up a re
Aug. 13, 2021
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S. Korea signs contract with Pfizer to buy 30m COVID-19 vaccine doses
South Korea has signed a contract with US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer to purchase 30 million doses of the drugmaker’s COVID-19 vaccine for use in 2022, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said Friday. The deal is part of Seoul’s plan to procure 50 million vaccine booster shots for the country’s population of 52 million, according to KDCA Director Jeong Eun-kyeong. Pfizer’s first batch will ship out in the first quarter of next year, the KDCA added. Under t
Aug. 13, 2021
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Samsung shares slump amid leader’s release on parole
Shares of Samsung Group’s major units lost ground just as its de facto leader Lee Jae-yong was released on parole Friday, seven months after being return to prison for bribery involving former President Park Geun-hye. Shares of Samsung Electronics, the group’s flagship company and world’s largest memory chip maker, closed at 74,400 won ($63.66), down 3.38 percent from the previous session’s close. The stock began trading at 1.43 percent lower and further dropped to hit i
Aug. 13, 2021
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Seoul stocks suffer weeklong slump on extended tech losses
South Korean stocks plunged more than 1 percent Friday, extending their losing streak to a seventh session, as major chipmakers came under heavy sell-offs by foreign investors amid concerns of a fall in chip prices. The Korean won declined against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) retreated 37.09 points, or 1.16 percent, to close at 3,171.29 points, after hitting an intraday low of 3,146.76 points. Trading volume was high at about 684 million shares worth s
Aug. 13, 2021
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Hyundai Motor’s Alabama plant hits 5 million mark
Hyundai Motor said Friday its manufacturing plant in Alabama in the US has produced 5 million vehicles in total since the facility began operations in May 2005. Some 2.56 million Sonatas were produced at the plant, as well as 1.48 million Elantras, 0.9 million Santa Fes, 36,989 Tucsons, and 1,784 Santa Cruzes. A Santa Cruz built in late July brought the automaker to the 5 million milestone. “The 5 millionth vehicle represents a tremendous achievement for Hyundai Motor North America. We
Aug. 13, 2021
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Samsung Bioepis sees 30% jump in biosimilar sales in H1
South Korean drugmaker Samsung Bioepis said Friday that global sales of five major biosimilar products increased 30 percent on-year in the first half of this year. Sales of the five biosimilar products during the first half reached $166 million, from $128 million from the same period a year earlier, according to an earnings report of its global pharmaceutical partner Organon International, a spinoff of US-based Merck. The five products are etanercept, infliximab, adalimumab, trastuzumab and
Aug. 13, 2021
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Government vows to curb soaring food prices ahead of Chuseok
The South Korean government will increase supplies of key fruits and vegetables from its stockpiles to stabilize market prices ahead of the Chuseok holiday set for Sept. 20-22, First Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-weon said Friday. “Prices of agricultural, livestock and fisheries products, which advanced 9.6 percent in July, continued a downward trend for a fifth consecutive month, but the figure still remained at a high level on the back of bird flu outbreaks coupled with an increase in
Aug. 13, 2021
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[From the Scene] Hundreds gather to watch Lee leave jail
UIWANG, Gyeonggi Province -- Lee Jae-yong, de facto leader of South Korea’s largest conglomerate Samsung Electronics, has been released on parole Friday. At 10 a.m. on Friday, Lee walked free from the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province after being jailed for bribery. Around 300 citizens and global media thronged the area in the hours before Lee’s release. In front of the detention center’s gate, members of conservative civic groups held up placards and ba
Aug. 13, 2021
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Hyundai's vehicle production surpasses 5 million at US plant
South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co. said Friday accumulated vehicle production at its US plant has exceeded 5 million units since it began operations in May 2005. Hyundai Motor has produced 2.56 million units of the Sonata sedan, 1.48 million Avante compacts, 900,000 Santa Fe SUVs, 37,000 Tucson SUVs and 1,800 Santa Cruz compact pickup trucks at the Alabama plant, the company said in a statement. The 5 millionth vehicle produced in the 370,000-unit-a-year plant was Hyundai's first-ever pickup, the
Aug. 13, 2021
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Foreign investors remain net sellers of Korean stocks in July
Foreign investors remained net sellers of South Korean stocks last month, extending their selling spree for a third consecutive month, data showed Friday. Foreigners sold a net 3.77 trillion won ($3.26 billion) worth of local stocks in July, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). British investors sold a net 2.3 trillion won of stocks last month, while investors from Middle Eastern nations net purchased 500 billion won worth of stocks, according to the FSS. As of
Aug. 13, 2021
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Export prices up for 8th month in July
South Korea's export prices rose in July, marking the eighth straight monthly gain amid a strong recovery in exports, central bank data showed Friday. The country's export price index, in terms of the local currency, rose 3.5 percent in July from the previous month, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The reading marked the eighth consecutive month of an on-month rise. In June, the index rose 0.7 percent on-month. From a year earlier, the index jumped 16.9 percent
Aug. 13, 2021
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Seoul stocks open lower on extended tech losses
South Korean stocks opened lower Friday as giant chipmakers suffered an extended slump amid concerns of a price fall of DRAM. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 11.9 points, or 0.37 percent, to 3,196.48 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks declined below the 3,200-point mark, largely on chip heavyweights' weeklong losses Foreigners continued to sell shares of large chip companies, following brokerage reports tat said demand for chips may decrease after t
Aug. 13, 2021
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Volume of damaged banknotes dips in H1 amid pandemic
Both volume and face value of damaged banknotes found in South Korea dipped in the first half of this year as people used cash less amid a non-contact consumption trend due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the central bank said Friday. In the January-June period, the face value of damaged banknotes discarded by the Bank of Korea came to 1.03 trillion won ($890 million), compared with 2.69 trillion won for the same period last year, according to the BOK. The volume of damaged banknotes also plunged 36
Aug. 13, 2021