Most Popular
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Debate rages over ‘overly fatty’ samgyeopsal
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40 flights canceled on Jeju Island due to bad weather
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[Weekender] Korean psyche untangled: Musok
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N. Korea slams US, other countries for seeking alternative to UN sanctions monitoring panel
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Pandemic left Korea more depressed than before: report
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Gov't appears to shelve punitive measures against mass walkout by doctors
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[Eye Interview] 'If you live to 100, you might as well be happy,' says 88-year-old bestselling essayist
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From fake prostitution ring to nonexistent robber, prank calls hamper police
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Missing S. Korean traveler in Paris found safe after 2 weeks
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S. Korea, China, Japan in talks to hold trilateral summit May 26-27: official
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Consumer financing firms' profit jumps in 2020 on interest income
Consumer financing firms in South Korea saw their combined net profit jump 24.7 percent on-year in 2020, supported by a modest gain in interest income, data showed Tuesday. The combined net profit of 112 credit-specialized financial firms stood at 2.56 trillion won ($2.27 billion) last year compared with a profit of 2.05 trillion won a year earlier, according to the data by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Their interest income rose 2.9 percent on-year to 5.8 trillion won last year,
April 13, 2021
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S. Korea's money supply grows in February
South Korea's money supply continued to grow in February, as loans to households and firms increased amid the COVID-19 pandemic, central bank data showed Tuesday. The country's M2 stood at 3,274.4 trillion won ($2.9 trillion) as of end-February, up 1.3 percent from a month earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). From a year earlier, M2 jumped 10.7 percent, the BOK said. A key economic indicator closely monitored by authorities, M2 is a measure of the money supply
April 13, 2021
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Samsung, LG among top 5 players in Europe's smart home market in Q4: report
South Korea's two major electronics firms -- Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc. -- were among the top five players in the European smart home market in the fourth quarter of last year, a report showed Tuesday, as they push to increase connected devices amid the pandemic-induced stay-at-home trend. Samsung was the third-largest vendor of smart home devices, including smart TVs, smart speakers, thermostats and home security products, in Europe after shipping 4.91 million units in th
April 13, 2021
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Q1 auto exports up 17% on increased demand for SUVs, eco-friendly cars
South Korea's exports of automobiles shot up nearly 17 percent in the January-March period from a year earlier, data showed Tuesday, on the back of rising demand for premium automobiles, including SUVs and eco-friendly cars. Outbound shipments of automobiles reached 555,430 units in the first quarter, compared with 475,165 units posted a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. In terms of value, exports also jumped 31.5 percent to US$11.9 billion. Exports in Mar
April 13, 2021
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Samsung SDI to supply battery cells to US EV startup Rivian
South Korean battery maker Samsung SDI Co. will supply battery cells for US electric vehicle startup Rivian's upcoming vehicles, the companies said Tuesday. RJ Scaringe of Rivian, backed by Amazon.com Inc. and Ford Motor Co., said in a statement Samsung SDI has been developing the battery cells for its vehicles as it plans to launch an electric pickup and SUV later this year. Samsung SDI has been partnering with Rivian for its EV lineup, a company spokesperson said, without elaborating on th
April 13, 2021
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Samsung tipped to ramp up US investment as Biden vows more spending: analysts
Samsung Electronics Co., the world's largest memory chip producer, is likely to accelerate its investment in the United States as US President Joe Biden urged more spending in the chipmaking sector to resolve the chip shortage and build up a stable supply chain, analysts here said Tuesday. Samsung was one of the 19 global firms and the only South Korean company that attended the White House's virtual meeting on Monday (local time) where Biden stressed a need to invest in the semiconductor indu
April 13, 2021
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SKIET opens 2nd EV battery separator factory in China
SK IE Technology Co. (SKIET), a battery material subsidiary under SK Innovation Co., said Tuesday its second battery separator factory in China started operations to step up its production capacity. SKIET said it opened its first overseas production line in the southeastern Chinese city of Changzhou in November and began rolling out lithium-ion battery separators at its second factory in the complex. The Changzhou factory's operation increases SKIET's annual production capacity to 510 millio
April 13, 2021
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Hyundai unveils all-new minivan Staria
Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's biggest carmaker, on Tuesday unveiled the all-new minivan Staria, two days ahead of its domestic sale. The Staria multipurpose vehicle comes with a 2.2-liter diesel engine or a 3.5-liter liquefied petroleum gas engine, Hyundai said in a statement. The Staria is available either as a passenger vehicle or a cargo vehicle. As a passenger vehicle, it comes in three versions with seven seats, nine seats or 11 seats, while as a cargo carrier, it comes with three se
April 13, 2021
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Netflix's 2020 revenue more than doubles in S. Korea
Netflix saw its revenue more than double in South Korea last year as the video streaming giant enjoyed rapid user growth amid the pandemic, its filing showed Tuesday. Netflix Services Korea Ltd.'s sales last year stood at 415.45 billion won ($356 million), up 123.5 percent from the previous year, while operating profit reached 8.82 billion won, up 295 percent over the cited period, according to the filing. Most of the company's sales last year came from user streaming fees, which stood
April 13, 2021
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Samsung maintains 2nd spot in chip revenue behind Intel in 2020: data
Samsung Electronics Co. maintained the status as the world's second-largest semiconductor vendor by revenue last year, industry data showed Tuesday, amid rising demand of memory products on the back of the pandemic-induced stay-at-home economy. Samsung's chip business logged $57.7 billion in revenue last year, up 10.2 percent from a year earlier, to capture 12.4 percent of the global semiconductor market, according to data from US-based research firm Gartner. Intel Corp. defended its top pos
April 13, 2021
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[Graphic News] S. Korea 3rd-largest chip materials market in 2020: report
South Korea, home to chipmaking giants such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, was the world's third-largest market for semiconductor materials in 2020, a report showed, moving down one spot from a year earlier after posting an under-par industry average growth. The country's chip materials market grew 3.9 percent on-year to $9.23 billion in 2020, according to the report from SEMI, a global industry association representing companies in the electronics design and manufacturing supply c
April 13, 2021
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ABS issuance dips 39.7% in Q1
The issuance of asset-backed securities (ABS) in South Korea plunged 39.7 percent in the first quarter due to a sharp decline in sales of government-led mortgage funds, data showed Tuesday. The value of ABS issues stood at 13.7 trillion won ($12.1 billion) in the quarter, down 9 trillion won from a year ago, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). ABS are structured with mortgages, auto loans, credit-card receivables and student loans as underlying assets. The plun
April 13, 2021
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Seoul stocks open higher on hopes of earnings hike
South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday as investors pin their hopes on a fast global economic rebound ahead of the earnings season. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 17.6 point, or 0.56 percent, to 3,153.19 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks got off to a strong start despite increased valuation pressure as brokerages projected strong quarterly performances by local big-name companies. Investors are also relieved by the US Federal Reserve chairman'
April 13, 2021
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Ginseng improves flu vaccine effectiveness in mice: research
Ginseng can help boost the effectiveness of flu vaccines used on mice, and is also helpful in protecting respiratory organs, Korea Ginseng Corp.’s research institute said Monday. According to a study by KGC’s Korea Ginseng Research Institute, ginseng intake increases the protective effect of vaccines compared to when the vaccine is used alone. The Korean ginseng company also cited research dubbed, “Protective Effect of Korean Red Ginseng Extract on the Infections by H1N1 a
April 12, 2021
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S. Korean biotech firms eying phase 3 clinical trials of COVID-19 vaccines
Five South Korean biotech companies are pushing for phase three clinical trials of COVID-19 vaccines in the second half of this year, the health ministry said Monday. The government plans to inject about 68.7 billion won ($61 million) this year for the clinical trials of COVID-19 vaccines by SK Bioscience Co., EuBiologics Co., Cellid, Genexine and GeneOne Life Science, the ministry said. The ministry made the announcement in a report to President Moon Jae-in. Also Monday, the Ministry of Food
April 12, 2021
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Kosdaq sees 1st close above 1,000 points in 20 years
South Korea’s tech-heavy Kosdaq ended at a two-decade high on Monday, surpassing a 1,000-point threshold on rallies of secondary battery and bio shares. The secondary index ended trading at 1,000.65 points, up 11.26 points or 1.14 percent, from the previous session’s close. Both foreign and institutional investors purchased a net 36.2 billion won ($32.17 million) and 100 million won, respectively, while retail investors dumped 19.5 billion-won worth of shares. Among the top 10 l
April 12, 2021
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South Korea pays keen attention to upcoming US semiconductor bill
The South Korean government and experts in the semiconductor industry are paying close attention to a meeting hosted by the White House on Monday in the US. According to Seoul-based government officials and industry experts, concerns exist about recent moves by the US government to reinforce its chip industry in terms of Korea’s industrial competitiveness and Korean chipmakers’ global operations. The moves by the Biden administration -- the review of America’s sem
April 12, 2021
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[#WeFace] ‘Embrace ESG principle as incentive’
The government should not set legal requirements for companies adopting environmental, social and corporate governance, or ESG, principles, but should instead provide incentives for those accepting green and ethical management practices voluntarily, a top lawyer said. Lim Sung-taek, a managing partner at law firm Jipyong, said in an interview that excessive state-imposed restrictions regarding ESG commitments could lead to market backlash because ESG is about paradigm shifts created by ma
April 12, 2021
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Moon’s housing policy faces call for review after election defeat
The election of Seoul’s new mayor has left the central government’s housing policies in limbo, as the administration is expected to face pushback from the conservative bloc that is campaigning to ease real estate regulations. The political realignment following the results of the by-election last week has sparked concerns over possible policy shifts for the property market. The government and ruling Democratic Party of Korea are expected to hold talks to revise real estate policies
April 12, 2021
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What next after LG-SK battery dispute end?
The dramatic reconciliation between archrivals LG Energy Solution and SK Innovation has allowed the latter to salvage its two electric vehicle battery factories in the US state of Georgia and supply batteries to Volkswagen and Ford as planned. But further challenges lie ahead, industry analysts said Monday. The two-year dispute between LG Energy Solution and SK Innovation over battery technologies jeopardized the operations of the Georgia plant. This battery supply chain risk motivated majo
April 12, 2021