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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iPhones likely to be sold at LG stores
iPhones could be made available for purchase at LG Best Shops across South Korea as early as next month, after LG Electronics cleared a key hurdle – opposition from small phone distributors. The Korea Commission for Corporate Partnership, a private consensus-based body promoting shared growth between big and small businesses, said Wednesday that LG Electronics has reached a new agreement with the Korea Mobile Distribution Association, representing the phone distributors, regarding its i
July 28, 2021
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Posco plans to produce high-purity nickel for secondary battery
Posco will build a nickel refinery plant to produce high-purity nickel for high-volume secondary batteries, the company said Wednesday. The Korean steelmaker will be plowing about 230 billion won ($199 million) into building the plant, to be built on the premises of its main steel mill in Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province, near where its affiliate company SNNC is located. SNNC is a nickel supplier, jointly operated by Posco and SMSP, the largest nickel ore exporter on the French Pacific isl
July 28, 2021
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[Feature] Retailers go for self-produced shows, dramas as promotional outlet
Once, getting a 60-second spot on prime-time TV was seen as the key to success for retailers. Now in the era of social media, companies don’t need TV for exposure. They can even create 10-minute videos and drama series and air them on YouTube and other platforms. At the forefront of this new trend is CU, a leading convenience store chain here. Its self-produced entertainment show, “CUperman” has garnered an accumulated 2 million views via its YouTube channel, Facebook an
July 28, 2021
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Samsung launches new multifunctional cooking appliance in S. Korea
Samsung Electronics Co. on Wednesday unveiled a new multifunctional cooking appliance to target consumers who enjoy meal kits and home meal replacement (HMR) products amid the stay-at-home trend. The BESPOKE Qooker was launched in South Korea with a price tag of 590,000 won ($510). An overseas launch of the product has not yet been confirmed, according to Samsung. "Qooker" comes from the word "cooker," with the letter Q representing "quality" and "quick,"
July 28, 2021
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S. Korea to allow test-run of self-driving robots on sidewalks
South Korea's industry ministry said Wednesday it has given the go-ahead to a set of regulated projects, including allowing businesses to test self-driving robots equipped with cameras on sidewalks, in line with its efforts to lift excessive barriers and foster new growth engines. Previously, self-driving robots were banned from running alongside pedestrians because they were considered automobiles under local rules. Currently, self-driving robots cannot be equipped with cameras on privacy con
July 28, 2021
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S. Korea maintaining stable supply of livestock products amid summer heat
South Korea's agricultural ministry said Wednesday the recent scorching summer heat has had a limited impact on the supply of livestock products, although local farms may suffer more damage down the road if the heat wave continues. As of Monday, a total of 219,000 chickens died due to the sweltering summer heat in July, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Around 5,000 pigs were also reported dead. The ministry, however, said the figures are far below those reporte
July 28, 2021
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IMM in final stage of W1.1tr deal to buy stake in SK Lubricants
IMM Credit Solution, a wholly owned arm of South Korean private equity firm IMM Private Equity, is in the final stage of deal to buy a 40 percent stake in SK Lubricants for 1.1 trillion won ($953 million) in cash this week, a filing showed Wednesday. According to the filing, the deal will reach a final close on Friday as planned to make IMM Credit Solution a minority shareholder of the lube base oil maker that is currently fully owned by refiner SK Innovation. The filing, submitted by SK Inno
July 28, 2021
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Over 50% of Naver employees experienced workplace bullying: labor ministry
More than half of employees at South Korean technology giant Naver Corp. reported having experienced bullying at work, the labor ministry said, calling for an improvement of its work culture. The Ministry of Employment and Labor on Tuesday announced the results of its special supervision of Naver following the suicide of one of its employees in May from apparent bullying at work. In a survey of Naver employees conducted from June 9 to July 23, 52.7 percent of respondents said they had experien
July 28, 2021
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[Graphic News] Exports of farm goods hit all-time high in H1
South Korea's exports of agricultural products shot up to set a new record in the first six months of 2021, data showed, on the back of stronger global demand for healthier foodstuffs amid the new coronavirus pandemic. Outbound shipments of such goods in the January-June period came to $4.15 billion, up 15.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs. Exports of fresh products advanced 11.4 percent over the period t
July 28, 2021
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Finance chief warns of housing bubble as interest rate hike looms
South Korea's top economic policymaker on Wednesday warned of a housing bubble amid a looming interest rate hike, and vowed to increase the housing supply and tighten lending rules to stabilize the market. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki expressed worries over the continued housing rally in the Seoul metropolitan area driven by ample liquidity and expectations of a further price hike, which could threaten the financial stability amid the snowballing household debt. "Several housing market in
July 28, 2021
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Seoul stocks open slightly lower on China uncertainties
South Korean stocks opened slightly lower Wednesday, tracking the US stock retreat on uncertainties from China's move to regulate tech firms. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 4.61 points, or 0.14 percent, to 3,227.92 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Local investor sentiment weakened as tech stocks plunged more than 4 percent in Hong Kong for a second straight session Tuesday. Hong Kong tech retreated following China's decision to reform its tech industry
July 28, 2021
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Large firms cut pollutant emissions in half over 5 years
Large companies in South Korea have more than halved their air pollutant emissions over the past five years amid the government's anti-coal policies, a corporate tracker said Wednesday. Air pollutant emissions by 166 plants of 77 large businesses came to 139,112 tons in 2020, down 56 percent from 316,013 five years earlier, according to CEO Score. The environment ministry designates seven materials -- nitrogen oxide, dust, sulfur oxide, hydrogen fluoride, ammonia, carbon monoxide and hydrogen
July 28, 2021
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Hyundai workers accept company's wage offers amid pandemic
Unionized workers at Hyundai Motor Co. voted to accept the company's wage offerings for the year amid the extended COVID-19 pandemic, the union said Wednesday. In a vote held Tuesday, 56 percent of 42,745 workers who cast a ballot approved this year's wage agreement between the labor union and management, the company said in a statement. Hyundai and its 48,534-member union reached the wage deal without a strike for the third consecutive year. They will sign the wage deal Thursday, it said. Th
July 28, 2021
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Consumer sentiment drops in July over spike in COVID-19 infections
South Korea's consumer sentiment dropped in July over a recent spike in COVID-19 infections, marking the first decline since December last year, central bank data showed Wednesday. The composite consumer sentiment index (CCSI) came in at 103.2 for July, down 7.1 points from the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). A reading above 100 means optimists outnumber pessimists. The latest reading marks the first fall since December last year, when the index stood at 91
July 28, 2021
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IMF raises Korea’s growth forecast to 4.3% in 2021
The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday projected the South Korean economy to grow 4.3 percent this year, presenting a more sanguine outlook than the government and other major institutions, despite concerns about the impact of the latest surge in coronavirus infections. According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the IMF revised its projection on Asia’s fourth-largest economy up by 0.7 percentage point from its April forecast. The latest figure released by the Washington-base
July 27, 2021
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Global chip shortage continues, affecting a range of sectors
The prolonged global semiconductor shortage is having a sweeping impact on a wide range of sectors ranging from cars and computers to smartphones and gaming devices. South Korea, home to major chipmakers and tech players, is keen to soften the effect, but the outlook remains mixed, experts said. Last week, German automakers Daimler and BMW were forced to temporarily slow down or halt assembly lines, citing the global semiconductor drought. Automakers elsewhere faced similar disruptions caused
July 27, 2021
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KakaoBank fails to set new record in IPO subscription
South Korea’s mobile-only KakaoBank attracted nearly 58 trillion won ($50.21 billion) from retail investors during the two-day subscription for its much anticipated public listing, falling short of market expectations of setting a new record. The company drew 57.78 trillion won in deposits for the stock offering from some 1.86 million retail investors via the four IPO managers -- KB Securities, Korea Investment and Securities, Hana Financial Investment, Hyundai Motor Securities. The su
July 27, 2021
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Samsung Biologics posts all-time high earnings in Q2
Samsung Biologics, a biopharmaceutical unit of South Korea‘s top conglomerate Samsung Group, posted all-time high earnings for the second quarter, according to a regulatory filing on Tuesday. The company’s sales in the April-June period reached 412.2 billion won ($357.1 million), up 34 percent from a year earlier. Operating profit soared 106 percent on-year to reach 166.8 billion won during the same period. Samsung Biologics said the improved earnings were backed by new contra
July 27, 2021
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'High-tech training behind S. Korean archery powerhouse’
South Korea’s archery team won three golds at the Tokyo Olympic games. It’s an astonishing result of the blood, sweat and tears of the athletes but also a huge feat for Hyundai Motor Group which has been supporting the team with state of the art technologies. The conglomerate said Tuesday it has applied five fields of technology -- including artificial intelligence, biometric information, big data and 3D printing -- to enhance accuracy and provide customized strategies for the nat
July 27, 2021
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Loan rejection, broken dream: foreigners in South Korea struggle to buy house
For Aaron, a 45-year old Canadian working as a university professor in Seoul, buying his own house in the city has been near the top of his bucket list. But his plan for a dream house has been let down by local banks rejecting his applications for a credit loan. Despite his status as a full-time instructor at the Graduate School of Interpretation and Translation of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies for more than eight years, the banks have not been accommodating. “For the first time i
July 27, 2021