Most Popular
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Korea’s homegrown nanosatellite successfully launches into space
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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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Ador CEO denies allegations, accuses Hybe of mistreating NewJeans
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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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SK hynix pledges W20tr to ramp up DRAM production at home
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Over-50s, men, single-person households take up majority of those filing for bankruptcy
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Pianist Cho Seong-Jin named Berlin Philharmonic's artist-in-residence
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EV sales in S. Korea tumble 45% in Jan.-Feb.
Sales of electric vehicles in South Korea nose-dived more than 45 percent in the first two months of the year amid a lack of subsidy policies and customer expectations for rollouts of new models, data showed Wednesday. A total of 2,444 EVs were sold in Asia's fourth-largest economy in the January-February period, down 45.3 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the industry ministry and carmakers. Sales of Hyundai Motor Co.'s Kona EV sank more than 29 percent on-year to 175 un
March 17, 2021
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S. Korea's energy consumption dips 4% in 2020 amid pandemic
South Korea's energy consumption dropped for the second consecutive year in 2020 due to an economic slowdown sparked by the coronavirus outbreak, a report showed Wednesday. The country's overall energy consumption stood at 222.1 million tons of oil equivalent (TOEs) last year, down 4 percent from a year earlier according to the report from the Korea Energy Economics Institute. The decrease follows a 0.6 percent on-year decline in 2019, which was the first annual drop in 10 years. Last year's
March 17, 2021
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Job losses continue for 12th month in Feb. amid pandemic
South Korea reported job losses for the 12th straight month in February as the new coronavirus outbreak continued to deal a blow to the job market, data showed Wednesday. The number of employed people reached 26.3 million last month, 473,000 fewer than a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. The country has reported job losses every month since March 2020 due to the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. It marked the longest streak of job losses since April 1999, when
March 17, 2021
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[Photo News] Samsung's labor union protests against 2.5% rise in annual salaries
Unionized employees at Samsung Electronics' semiconductor business protest against a 2.5 percent raise in annual salaries in the lobby of the company's headquarters in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, on Tuesday. (Blind)
March 16, 2021
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Kakao, SK Telecom, Lotte, Emart among preliminary bidders for eBay Korea
South Korea's top mobile messenger operator Kakao, No. 1 mobile carrier SK Telecom Co. and others submitted preliminary bids on Tuesday to buy eBay Korea in a deal that could fetch some 5 trillion won ($4.42 billion) and bring a seismic change to the fiercely competitive e-commerce sector, industry sources said. Retail giant Lotte Group and Emart Inc., a discount store chain affiliated with Shinsegae Group, as well as private equity firm MBK Partners, joined the competition for the nation's No
March 16, 2021
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Sanction likely to be delayed as NH CEO gets COVID-19
A sanction committee under the Financial Supervisory Service over the Optimus scandal will likely have to delay its upcoming meeting as one executive facing punitive measures has tested positive for the coronavirus, according to officials Tuesday. NH Investment & Securities’ chief executive Jeong Young-chae tested positive for the virus and is being placed under quarantine, according to the company. Jeong was to attend the third round of the sanction committee’s meeting on Mar
March 16, 2021
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Shinsegae, Naver ink stock swap deal to combine forces in retail industry
South Korean retail giant Shinsegae Group and information technology behemoth Naver are combining forces to gain an upper hand in the fast-changing e-commerce field, the two firms announced Tuesday. Chiefs of the two sides signed a stock swap deal worth 250 billion won ($221 million) and a strategic partnership agreement at JW Marriott Hotel in Seoul earlier in the day, they said. The ceremony was attended by E-mart CEO Kang Heui-seok and Shinsegae CEO Cha Jeong-ho, both from Shinsegae Grou
March 16, 2021
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Coupang founder divests $42m stake after NYSE debut
Coupang founder Kim Bom-suk has divested his stake in the South Korean e-commerce giant worth $42 million, a filing showed Tuesday. According to the disclosure, Kim converted his Class B stocks into 1.2 million Class A common shares and then on Monday sold all the shares of the same class for the offering price of $35 apiece, which was fixed last week. Coupang‘s Class B shares give Kim 29 times more voting rights than Class A shares. A prospectus filed to the US Securities and Exchange C
March 16, 2021
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S. Korea’s data industry grew 14% to W19tr in 2020
South Korea’s data industry grew 14 percent to 19 trillion won ($16.81 billion) last year, according to government data on Tuesday. According to a report from the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Data Agency, the number of professionals in the data industry surpassed 100,000 for the first time. The report said the local data industry had expanded from 16.8 trillion won in 2019 to 19.2 trillion won last year. This figure takes local companies’ sales into account, as well
March 16, 2021
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Hyosung Advanced Materials to supply airbag for Amazon’s self-driving car
Hyosung Advanced Materials, the South Korea-based industrial materials producer, said Tuesday that the company would supply its airbags for an Amazon-backed self-driving car. According to Hyosung Advanced Materials, the company’s airbag development unit Global Safety Textiles signed a supply contract with Zoox, the robotaxi company acquired by Amazon for more than $1 billion earlier last year. Under the contract, GST will supply its one-piece woven airbag to Zoox, which is developing
March 16, 2021
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[News Focus] Homeowners angry over tax hikes stemming from rising house prices
For a 36-year-old Seoulite surnamed Kang, who owns her own home in the capital, following the trends in apartment transaction prices is far from a happy experience. Over the past year, the value of Kang’s apartment rose by more than twice her annual salary. She has no plans to cash out the property anytime soon. But she may have to pay more taxes than she did last year because her house is worth over 900 million won ($796,073), according to the government’s appraisal. “Som
March 16, 2021
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Samsung researcher named chair of global group on 6G
Choi Hyoung-jin, a researcher at Samsung Research, the research and development arm of Samsung Electronics, was named to head a global research body on the sixth-generation telecommunications network, the tech giant said Tuesday. Choi has been appointed as chair of Vision Group on IMT towards 2030 and beyond (6G) at the International Telecommunication Union -- Radiocommunication during an online assembly held from March 1-12. The 6G Vision Group was launched at the recent ITU-R meeting.
March 16, 2021
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Samsung Display supplies OLED display for Asus gaming phone
Samsung Display said Tuesday that it has supplied for the first time its organic light-emitting diode displays for Asus’ newest gaming smartphone ROG Phone 5. The Taiwanese computer hardware company’s latest ROG Phone 5 sports the Korean panel maker‘s 6.78-inch OLED screen, which is designed to support seamless streaming of fast-rate high-resolution gaming content. Samsung’s mobile display that supports over a 120 Hz refresh rate has been certified as a Seamless Dis
March 16, 2021
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Korea toughens rules on cryptocurrency amid market frenzy
The government is scurrying to implement new rules on users and operators of digital coins to effectively oversee the industry, which has been growing at a fast pace on the back of increasing appetite for risky assets. Starting from March 25, new penalty standards for cryptocurrency exchanges that infringe anti-money laundering rules will be implemented, according to the Financial Services Commission on Tuesday. Fines will be imposed on virtual asset service providers that fail to report s
March 16, 2021
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State-run companies set for regular recruitment for this year
South Korea’s major public corporations in the energy and transportation sectors are to kick off a large-scale open recruitment process for this year, industry officials said Monday. The move is expected to offer rare employment opportunities in an ever-tightening job market, especially as major business groups in the private sector have turned to demand-based recruiting. But one company that shelved its recruitment plan for an indefinite period was the Land & Housing Corp., which i
March 16, 2021
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BOK board members see growing worries over inflation: minutes
Members of the Bank of Korea's (BOK) monetary policy board saw growing worries over inflation, but they said it was too early to discuss normalization of monetary policy, minutes from their latest meeting showed Tuesday. In the last rate-setting meeting on Feb. 25, the seven-member board unanimously voted to keep the policy rate at a record low of 0.5 percent to support an economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. According to the minutes, some board members suggested that the BOK needs
March 16, 2021
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Korea’s warring battery makers stung by VW’s battery move
While South Korea’s two battery makers continue to war over battery technology patents, a key, common client has decided to migrate to a new type of electric vehicle battery, in an apparent flight to a more stable supply market. Volkswagen, the world’s No. 1 automaker, announced Monday plans to power up to 80 percent of its electric vehicles with prismatic batteries from 2023, signaling a farewell from the pouch-type ones it currently sources from LG Energy Solution and SK I
March 16, 2021
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Seoul stocks up on hopes for economic rebound
South Korean stocks finished higher Tuesday on optimism for a quick economic recovery in major economies. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 21.46 points, or 0.7 percent, to close at 3,067.17 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.1 billion shares worth some 12.8 trillion won ($11.3 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 558 to 279. Foreigners sold a net 28 billion won while institutions purchased a net 250 billi
March 16, 2021
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Korea mulls introduction of multiple voting rights for startups
South Korea is mulling whether to introduce multiple voting rights for shareholders as a way to help local startups attract large-scale investment and maintain stable management, according to public officials and politicians on Tuesday. Vice Minister of SMEs and Startups Kang Sung-cheon said the government was working on ways to legalize differential voting rights, which are popular among countries with many unicorn startups. A unicorn startup refers to a fledgling company valued at over $1
March 16, 2021
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Drive-thru, delivery push up sales at McDonald's Korea
Despite difficulties posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, McDonald’s Korea witnessed a 7 percent growth in sales last year, driven by strong drive-thru and delivery orders, the company said Tuesday. In a pre-recorded video, McDonald’s Korea Managing Director Antoni Martinez revealed that overall sales for McDonald’s and its franchises here topped 980 billion won ($866 million) in 2020, up 7 percent from a year earlier. Excluding franchise outlets, the revenue for stores directl
March 16, 2021