Most Popular
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Korea’s homegrown nanosatellite successfully launches into space
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Ador CEO denies allegations, accuses Hybe of mistreating NewJeans
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[Herald Interview] 'Amid aging population, Korea to invite more young professionals from overseas'
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Nicaragua shuts down Seoul embassy
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Hybe's multilabel system tested amid conflict with Ador
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Rocket engine expert, ex-NASA exec to lead Korea's new space agency
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SNU profs to suspend treatment for one day
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Over-50s, men, single-person households take up majority of those filing for bankruptcy
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SK hynix pledges W20tr to ramp up DRAM production at home
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Medical reform committee kicks off despite boycott from doctors
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Kakao founder sells W500b worth of stocks as part of donation pledge
The founder of South Korea's top mobile messenger operator Kakao Corp. and his wholly-owned company has sold 500 billion won ($447 million) worth of stocks in Kakao part of his pledge to donate half of his assets, a filing showed Friday. The move came after Kim Beom-su, who serves as Kakao's chairman, pledged in February this year to donate more than half of his assets, which at the time was estimated to be worth more than 10 trillion won. In March, he joined the Giving Pledge, a global campai
April 16, 2021
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S. Korea to boost spending on R&D for next-generation cars
South Korea said Friday it plans to increase investment in research & development (R&D) on key technologies for next-generation vehicles in a bid to help local automakers take the lead in the market. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said the government will spend 367.9 billion won ($328 million) in supporting R&D on next-generation autos this year, up 37 percent from the previous year. "It is urgent to make an investment in R&D on next-generation vehicles in a preemptive manne
April 16, 2021
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Hanjin Heavy slumps after takeover deal
Shares in Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction Co. slumped Friday after its creditors signed a deal to sell the financially troubled shipbuilder. Hanjin Heavy fell 4.08 percent to 7,750 won ($6.90) as of 10:48 a.m. Creditors of Hanjin Heavy, led by the state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB), signed a deal with a consortium led by local builder Dongbu Corp. to sell it a 66.85 percent stake in the company Thursday. The consortium plans to complete the acquisition of the company by August
April 16, 2021
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S. Korean consortium to produce Russia's Sputnik V vaccine for export
South Korean biotech company Huons Global said Friday that it has signed a technology transfer deal with Russia's sovereign wealth fund to produce a Russian COVID-19 vaccine in South Korea. Under the agreement with the Russian Direct Investment Fund, the Huons Global-led consortium will manufacture Sputnik V in South Korea. Three other participants in the consortium are two South Korean companies -- Humedix and Boran Pharma -- and Singapore's Prestige BioPharma. Huons Global said it is set to
April 16, 2021
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Hyundai to again suspend plant over chip shortage
Hyundai Motor Co. said Friday it will again suspend the Sonata-producing plant in South Korea for two days next week due to an electronic parts shortage. Hyundai will halt the operation of the Asan plant, 100 kilometers south of Seoul, which produces the Grandeur and Sonata sedans, on Monday and Tuesday, a company spokesman said over the phone. The company already suspended the Asan plant on Monday and Tuesday of this week due to the lack of powertrain control units. It expects the four-day s
April 16, 2021
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Slump in domestic demand eases amid pandemic: finance ministry
The South Korean economy is on a recovery track as exports remain robust and a slump in domestic demand has gradually eased amid the pandemic, the finance ministry said Friday. In its monthly economic assessment report, the government presented a more positive assessment about private consumption, compared with March, when it said domestic demand had suffered extended sluggishness. "While the country's exports and the manufacturing sector have extended improvements, slumps in domestic dem
April 16, 2021
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Seoul stocks open higher on Wall Street rally
South Korean shares opened higher Friday, taking a cue from an overnight rally on Wall Street over strong signals of economic rebound. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 7.79 point, or 0.24 percent, to 3,202.12 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the S&P 500 gained 1.11 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.9 percent, both reaching all-time highs, as steep improvement in US jobs and sales data raised hopes of global economic rebound.
April 16, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Cryptocurrency turnover in S. Korea doubles over past month
The cryptocurrency turnover in South Korea has more than doubled over the past month, a market tracker said Friday, as retail investors scramble to the virtual currency amid the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. The combined turnover of 14 cryptocurrency exchanges in Asia's fourth-largest economy came to $21.63 billion as of 4 p.m. Thursday, according to CoinMarketCap. In particular, the top four exchanges -- Bithumb, Upbit, Corbit and Coinone -- had a combined turnover of $18.85 billion, o
April 16, 2021
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Citibank to pull retail biz out of Korea, but no timeline set
Citibank Korea, the South Korean unit of Citigroup, said Thursday that it would withdraw its retail business as part of its parent company’s reorganization plans for Asia. The decision was made to streamline operations and enhance global competitiveness by focusing investments and resources on its consumer banking franchise, it said in a statement. But the bank has not yet set a timeline or made detailed plans and will take time to conduct a thorough review, as well as hold discussion
April 15, 2021
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Kakao at No. 6 on Kospi in market cap after stock split
South Korea’s top mobile messenger operator, Kakao, replaced Samsung Biologics as the No. 6 company on the Kospi in terms of market capitalization Thursday, a day after its stock split. Shares of Kakao, after a 5-for-1 stock split, jumped 7.59 percent to 120,500 won ($108.07) at the closing bell, lifting the company’s market cap to 53.48 trillion won. The price of Kakao stocks with lowered face value surged over 18 percent during intraday trading, before the bourse operator interru
April 15, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Can yogurt fight COVID-19? Namyang Dairy under fire for false claims
Namyang Dairy Products, a major dairy producer here, has come under fire for claiming its yogurt drink prevents COVID-19. At a symposium hosted by the Korea Research & Institute of Bio Medical Science on Tuesday, the head of Namyang Dairy’s internal research institute presented the results of its research on Bulgaris, the firm’s yogurt drink. “We’re the first firm in the country that has discovered fermented dairy products are effective in preventing influenza and
April 15, 2021
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SsangYong Motor faces another court receivership
SsangYong Motor, the cash-strapped South Korean affiliate of Indian carmaker Mahindra & Mahindra, was put under court receivership Thursday, marking the second such case in 12 years. The Seoul Bankruptcy Court approved the corporate rehabilitation procedure as US-based vehicle importer HAAH Automotive Holdings backed down on its letter of intent to acquire the ailing automaker. The US investor, which previously held talks to acquire a majority stake, was due to submit its official lett
April 15, 2021
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Samsung Electro-Mechanics introduces smaller capacitor with improved specs
Electronic component maker Samsung Electro-Mechanics has developed an ultrasmall, high-capacity multilayer ceramic capacitor, the company said Thursday. A multilayer ceramic capacitor regulates a current’s flow in a circuit, making it a core component within electric devices, such as smartphones, home appliances, and electronic vehicles. Samsung Electro-Mechanics’ new capacitor is 0.4 millimeter long and 0.2 mm wide. The capacitor also has a 1.0 microfarad capacity and 6.3 volta
April 15, 2021
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Authorities to step up safety checks of imported kimchi
South Korea will introduce measures to ensure the safety of imported kimchi, such as conducting onsite inspections at around 100 kimchi production facilities overseas by 2025, the Ministry of Food and Drug said Thursday. The move came after a video of a kimchi-processing plant in China went viral in South Korea for exposing its poor hygiene and sanitation conditions. In the clip, a naked man is seen swishing cabbages back and forth through a waist-deep pool of unidentifiable brownish liquid,
April 15, 2021
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Hanwha Solutions to issue 1st overseas green bonds worth 1 billion yuan
Hanwha Solutions will issue its first overseas green bonds worth 1 billion yuan ($152.9 million) starting from Monday, the company said. The yuan-denominated bonds, with a three-year maturity, carries a rate of 3 percent and will be guaranteed 50 percent each by the state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea and Credit Guarantee and Investment Facility, a trust fund of the Asian Development Bank. When swapped to the Korean won, the green bonds will offer an annual interest rate of approximately 0
April 15, 2021
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LG-GM to launch 2nd US battery factory
LG Energy Solution and General Motors will build a new electric vehicle battery plant in Tennessee, their second in the US, the US automaker’s South Korean unit confirmed Thursday. The new factory will be similar in scope and scale to their first plant, a $2.3 billion facility currently under construction in Ohio. Set for commercial operation next year, the Ohio plant is designed to churn out enough batteries for 35 gigawatt-hours per year. LG Energy Solution and GM have set up a joint
April 15, 2021
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Seoul stocks up for 4th day on economic recovery hope
South Korean stocks finished higher to extend their gains to a fifth session Thursday amid expectations that the economic recovery would be quicker and stronger than expected. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 11.95 points, or 0.38 percent, to close at 3,194.33. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.3 billion shares worth some 17.4 trillion won ($15.6 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 468 to 375. Foreigners bought
April 15, 2021
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[News Focus] Gangnam housing prices back on the rise
SEJONG -- Housing prices in the wealthy Gangnam area of Seoul were found to have shot up again in recent weeks, after spikes in prices in Seoul’s non-Gangnam districts and Gyeonggi Province’s major cities last year. The Gangnam area generally refers to two districts -- Gangnam-gu and Seocho-gu – out of the 25 in the capital. According to KB Kookmin Bank and Naver.com, the average trading price of homes, including apartments, in Gangnam-gu climbed by 6.1 percent from 59.3 mil
April 15, 2021
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Foreign investors to return to market when short selling resumes: FSC chief
The head of South Korea’s financial regulator said Thursday that he expects to see a greater inflow of foreign capital to the nation’s stock market with the reactivation of short selling activities next month. “Resumption of short-selling signifies that the market is going back to normalization and (I hope) foreigners to return to the market,” said Financial Services Commission Chairman Eun Sung-soo in an impromptu meeting with reporters. While the government is set to
April 15, 2021
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[Herald Interview] ‘Success of Korea’s Digital New Deal depends on connectivity, cloud, IT talent’
Ever since the emergence of the internet, digitalization has been a popular catchphrase. Yet, it is an elusive goal for many, as nearly half of the world’s population remain unconnected. South Korea, one of the most wired countries in the world and the first country to roll out the next-generation 5G networks, has set digitalization as its new goal, seeking to invigorate its pandemic-hit local economy with the “Digital New Deal.” An executive of Cisco -- a US tech fi
April 15, 2021