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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[KH Explains] No more 'Michael' at Kakao Games
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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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Samsung chief bolsters ties with Germany’s Zeiss
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NewJeans pops out ‘Bubble Gum’ video amid troubles at agency
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[Grace Kao] Hybe vs. Ador: Inspiration, imitation and plagiarism
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Med schools expect 1,500+ new admission slots next year
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Nominee for chief of anti-corruption body pledges 'independence, effectiveness'
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[Graphic News] S. Korea‘s biopharmaceutical exports more than double in 2020
Korea’s exports of biopharmaceutical products more than doubled in 2020 from a year earlier on the back of growing demand for pharmaceutical products amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a report showed. Outbound shipments of high-end biopharmaceutical products came to $5.1 billion in 2020, compared to around $2.1 billion tallied the previous year, according to the Korea International Trade Association. Asia’s fourth-largest economy stood in seventh place in terms of exports in the s
Aug. 5, 2021
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Debt rollover for pandemic-hit merchants to be discussed soon: finance minister
Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Thursday the government will discuss with local banks whether to further roll over the debt and interest payments of small merchants hit hard by the pandemic. Since April last year, the government has encouraged local banks to extend loan maturity and hold off interest payments for micro business owners to help them cope with the fallout of the pandemic. The measures, which have been extended by six months twice, are set to expire at end-September. "The g
Aug. 5, 2021
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Online lender Kakao set to debut on stock market
South Korean internet-only bank is slated to debut on the country's main stock market this week in one of this year's mega initial public offerings. Kakao Bank will make its debut on the KOSPI market Friday, with its public offering price set at 39,000 won ($34.1). Kakao Bank, the larger of South Korea's two online lenders, hopes to raise 2.55 trillion won via its listing on the main bourse. Its IPO has drawn a rather tepid response from retail investors with the subscription rate standing at
Aug. 5, 2021
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S. Korea's 5G users top 16m: data
The number of smartphone users on 5G mobile networks topped 16 million as of June, data showed Thursday, as subscriptions to the latest generation networks continued to grow despite a lack of new flagship 5G phones. The total number of 5G users reached 16.47 million in June, accounting for around 23 percent of the total 71.63 million mobile subscriptions in the country, according to the data from the Ministry of Science and ICT. The latest data marks an increase from 15.84 million in May. Sout
Aug. 5, 2021
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Seoul stocks open higher on bio gains
South Korean stocks opened higher Thursday, backed by strong advances in major bio stocks. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) added 6.83 points, or 0.21 percent, to trade at 3,287.21 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Bio stocks jumped as the country's daily new coronavirus cases sharply increased to the 1,700s on Wednesday despite the strongest virus restrictions. Giant pharmaceutical firm Samsung Biologics jumped 3.1 percent, with Celltrion advancing 1.67 percent. SK B
Aug. 5, 2021
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S&P leaves S. Korea’s growth rate, credit rating unchanged
Despite the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic striking a blow to the South Korean economy, global credit appraiser S&P Global Ratings said it would keep the country’s economic growth rate outlook for 2021 and credit rating unchanged, citing robust exports. The agency projected Asia’s fourth-largest economy to grow 4 percent and kept the credit rating at AA, same as estimates from last month and in April. “Overall economic forecasts for South Korea are still looking f
Aug. 4, 2021
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China turns against video games just as Korean firms see signs of thaw
Shares of South Korea’s major game developers and publishers declined on Tuesday after Chinese state media slammed games as “spiritual opium,” highlighting the close link between the two neighboring countries within the global gaming industry as well as risks linked to China’s regulatory whims. The turmoil was sparked by a state-run media outlet in China that published a negative article about gaming and called for stricter controls on “addictive” games. As
Aug. 4, 2021
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Thousands of pubs, karaokes disappear amid social distancing
The number of pubs and karaoke parlors has plummeted due to lost profitability from COVID-19 and tough social distancing rules, data from the National Tax Service showed Wednesday. The number of stores registered as pubs across the country stood at 27,840 as of the end of May, according to the tax authority’s survey on 100 key sectors of the self-employed segment. The figure dropped 3,636 or 11.6 percent from last year. The number of stores registered as semi-pubs -- whic
Aug. 4, 2021
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Financial firms need ESG-oriented business strategy: report
Seoul-based consulting firm KPMG Samjong on Wednesday urged local financial firms to accelerate their sustainable corporate management through business strategies focused on environmental, social and governance factors, or ESG. “To enhance corporate values, local financial institutions should integrate ESG values into their business processes, ranging from strategy making to risk management,” KPMG Samjong said in its report. “For instance, while improving gover
Aug. 4, 2021
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Celltrion to develop mRNA COVID-19 vaccine
South Korean pharmaceutical giant Celltrion announced Wednesday that the company will develop a messenger RNA vaccine that can protect against COVID-19 variants, under a partnership with US-based biotech firm TriLink BioTechnologies. TriLink is a San Diego-based contract development and manufacturing organization for synthesis of nucleic acids and mRNA capping analogs. “Under the partnership with TriLink, (Celltrion) will develop a mRNA vaccine platform, through which the company could
Aug. 4, 2021
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[News Focus] Unions stop Korean automakers from joining global trend to online sales
The way people buy cars is changing. As people become more familiar with shopping online amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the sentimental barrier against purchasing high-value items, and even cars, online is lowering. Seeing the changing trend, global automotive companies are moving fast to market their vehicles online, setting up online stores and coming up with online transaction systems. The latest to do so was Peugeot, which announced Wednesday it is offering a limited number of 100 e-2008s,
Aug. 4, 2021
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Seoul stocks spike over 1% on tech gains
South Korean stocks rallied by more than 1 percent Wednesday, mostly led by strong tech gains. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 43.24 points, or 1.34 percent, to close at 3,280.38 points. The figure marks the largest daily gain since May 10. Trading volume was moderate at about 621 million shares worth some 12.2 trillion won (US$10.7 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 713 to 149. Foreigners bought a net 908 billion
Aug. 4, 2021
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Streaming services and food delivery apps catch on with older generations during pandemic: report
In a further sign of growing popularity of online services, South Koreans in their 50s and 60s are increasingly using streaming services and food delivery apps during this pandemic, a new report has revealed. The findings come after Hana Institute of Finance, a research institution under Hana Bank, analyzed online credit card payment data between 2019 and 2020 to study generational differences in online consumption behavior. Though the use of video streaming services such as Netflix used to
Aug. 4, 2021
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SK Innovation to split off battery biz in Oct.
SK Innovation will split off its battery and oil businesses as wholly owned subsidiaries to further propel their growth, the company announced Wednesday. The new entities, tentatively named SK Battery and SK E&P, will officially launch on Oct. 1, following the approval of general shareholders at a meeting slated for next month. The announcement came as the firm reported a return to the black in the second quarter, with a net profit of 415.9 billion won ($362.2 million) and an operating p
Aug. 4, 2021
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Hyundai Motor chief logs huge gains from bargain share buys in pandemic
Among South Korean CEOs taking advantage of low share prices in the initial phase of the pandemic, Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun was the most active purchaser, and also generated the largest gains, data showed Wednesday. Of 852 former and incumbent CEOs of the country’s top 500 listed companies in terms of market capitalization, 144 purchased shares in their companies between January last year and July 30 this year, according to local corporate tracker CEO Score. The CEOs bo
Aug. 4, 2021
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Dutch pension fund urges Seoul to scrap domestic coal power projects
Amsterdam-based APG Asset Management, a subsidiary of Dutch pension fund administrator APG, warned in a letter to the South Korean government that its failure to scrap a plan to build coal-fired power plants here will constitute a “significant risk factor” to its investment in Korea. The letter, disclosed by Seoul-based nonprofit Solutions for Our Climate Wednesday, involves three plants with a combined power capacity of 6.3 gigawatts under construction in Gangwon Province. The pri
Aug. 4, 2021
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NH NongHyup asks Bithumb, Coinone to halt deposit, withdrawal services
South Korea’s NH NongHyup Bank, which issues real-name accounts for two major cryptocurrency exchanges here – Bithumb and Coinone – asked them to halt deposit and withdrawal services until they adopt stronger money laundering regulations, reports said Wednesday. The commercial lender has reportedly requested the two exchanges to quicken its pace in adopting the “travel rule,” a global standard that requires virtual asset service providers to share the identities of
Aug. 4, 2021
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BOK likely to conduct 2 rate hikes this year: JP Morgan
The Bank of Korea (BOK) is expected to conduct two rate increases this year as its policymakers have turned more hawkish on an economic rebound, global investment bank JP Morgan said Wednesday. In a revised forecast on the BOK's rate policy, JP Morgan forecast the country's central bank could start its rate increase at this month's policy-setting meeting slated for Aug. 26. The BOK is also likely to raise the country's benchmark interest rate once during the fourth quarter of the year with ano
Aug. 4, 2021
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S. Korea ups cyber threat warning as attacks increase
South Korea's ICT ministry said Wednesday it raised the country's cyber threat warning level by one notch higher from the lowest level to respond to growing cyberattacks and threats related to the country's COVID-19 relief funds. The government has a five-tier cybersecurity alert system, which is set at the second-lowest level as of 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT. Under the higher alert level, the Korea Internet & Security Agency will expand monitoring o
Aug. 4, 2021
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Number of multi-level marketing companies falls in 2020 amid pandemic
SEJONG -- The number of multi-level marketing (MLM) firms operating in South Korea dropped in 2020 from a year earlier in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the antitrust watchdog said Wednesday. There were 122 MLMs in Asia's fourth-largest economy as of end-December, down eight from a year earlier, according to the Fair Trade Commission (FTC). Last year's drop represents a turnaround from the uptrend in the number of MLMs in the country, which started in 2017. The FTC said the 2020 decrea
Aug. 4, 2021