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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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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[Grace Kao] Hybe vs. Ador: Inspiration, imitation and plagiarism
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Vice minister warns of inflation risks amid rising oil prices, farm products
South Korea’s vice finance minister on Friday warned of possible drivers of inflation, including rising oil prices and farm products, vowing efforts to closely monitor a potential surge in consumer prices. “The consumer price index has continued an upward trend from 0.6 percent in January to 1.1 percent last month, largely due to gains in global oil prices and farm products,” said Vice Finance Minister Kim Yong-beom during an economic meeting. “There seems
March 5, 2021
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Samsung ranks 3rd in 2020 smartwatch market: report
Samsung Electronics Co. was the world's third-largest smartwatch vendor last year, a report showed Friday, as its rivals Apple Inc. and Huawei Technologies Co. expanded their sales. Samsung's smartwatch shipments suffered a 1 percent on-year drop to 9.1 million units in 2020, according to market researcher Counterpoint Research. Apple further extended its dominance after its smartwatch shipments jumped 19 percent on-year to 33.9 million units last year, thanks to the performance of its Apple W
March 5, 2021
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Samsung unveils new smartphone suitable for tough work environments
Samsung Electronics Co. on Friday introduced a new smartphone with high durability designed to meet the needs of those working outdoors or in factories. "The Galaxy XCover 5, designed to withstand "tough work environments, is a device that addresses the challenges employers in the field often face, from ensuring protection of sensitive material to durable use in any environment," said Mark Notton, senior director of mobile product portfolio at Samsung Electronics Europe. "W
March 5, 2021
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LG Electronics basks in robust home appliance rental biz
The rental business of LG Electronics Inc., a major home appliance maker in South Korea, experienced sharp growth last year, a report showed Friday, as the company eyes to further boost its competitiveness in the sector riding on the rise of the pandemic-induced stay-at-home economy. Sales of LG's rental business stood at 591.1 billion won ($524 million) in 2020, up 34 percent from a year earlier, its audit report showed. Compared with 2018, revenues from its rental business have more than dou
March 5, 2021
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Online shopping grows over 20% in Jan. amid pandemic
Online shopping in South Korea grew more than 20 percent in January from a year earlier as the protracted pandemic promoted more people to buy products via e-commerce platforms, data showed Friday. The value of online transactions stood at 15.1 trillion won ($13.3 billion) in January, up 22.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea. The value of online shopping in January slightly declined from a record high of 15.9 trillion won in December last year but still
March 5, 2021
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Merck renames materials biz as electronics
Merck, the German science and technology group, said Friday it is changing the name of its performance materials business to electronics. The renaming is part of a strategic realignment it has made since 2018 under its “Bright Future” transformation program. “The renaming of our business sector to Electronics is a logical step for us,” said Kai Beckmann, member of the executive board of Merck and Electronics CEO. “After all, the new name underscores our strat
March 5, 2021
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LG Group spin-offs may get LX brand: sources
The companies that are scheduled to be split from LG Group may be named under the brand LX, people familiar with the matter said Friday, as they prepare for the departure from South Korea's fourth-largest conglomerate with the group chief's uncle. LG Group filed a trademark application for the brand LX and its logo to the country's intellectual property office this week, they said, with some 90 images that may represent the corporate identity of LG's new holding company soon to be established.
March 5, 2021
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Samsung donates $1m to community partners in Texas for winter storm relief efforts
Samsung Electronics Co. said Friday it donated $1 million to community partners in Texas to support their winter storm relief efforts. The South Korean tech giant said its donation will be used to provide food, water, health services and shelters in the US state where severe weather caused big damages, including a power outage. "People are in need, and Samsung wants to help," said Choi Kyung-sik, CEO of Samsung Electronics North America. "We remain committed to the communities w
March 5, 2021
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S. Korea to invest W115b on aviation tech to overcome virus fallout
South Korea said Friday it plans to invest 115.3 billion won ($102 million) this year to study deeper into state-of-the-art aviation technologies as it vowed to spare no efforts to help local companies to overcome the new coronavirus pandemic. The announcement is in line with the country's 10-year development plan, which centers on supporting related businesses to make headway not only in the civil aviation segment, but also in the military and drone industries as well, according to the Ministr
March 5, 2021
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S. Korea guarding against growing inflation risks: official
South Korea's vice finance minister on Friday warned of growing inflation risks in the face of rising oil prices and hopes for an economic recovery. But First Vice Finance Minister Kim Yong-beom said inflation is not likely to sharply rise in the short term as recent price hikes were led by a supply shortage of farm products amid the pandemic. "Inflation risks linger as global liquidity has increased in the process of responding to the pandemic and inflation expectations have risen amid h
March 5, 2021
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Hyundai Motor, LG Energy agree on EV battery replacement cost sharing
Hyundai Motor said Thursday that it has reached an agreement with LG Energy Solutions on their respective cost burden for replacing the problematic LG-manufactured car batteries used in three of Hyundai’s electric-powered vehicles. The LG battery maker is to assume 70 percent of the total costs, while the carmaker will shoulder the remaining 30 percent, according to officials. The two companies did not specify the detailed amount, but respective amounts have been reflected in the t
March 5, 2021
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Seoul stocks open lower on inflation concerns
South Korean stocks opened lower Friday on overnight Wall Street losses, as investors were disappointed by the absence of comments from the US Federal Reserve to help stave off inflation concerns. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 39.41 points, or 1.29 percent, to 3,004.08 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dipped 2.11 percent as yields of the US benchmark 10-year Treasury surged above the 1.5-percent threshold. In Seoul, t
March 5, 2021
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[News Focus] Who will acquire eBay Korea?
Alongside Coupang’s imminent debut on the US stock market, the local e-commerce market is in for another major event -- the sale of eBay’s Korean unit which operates one of the biggest online marketplaces here, Gmarket. According to industry sources on Thursday, major local retail giants and IT firms may be considering participating in the race to acquire eBay Korea. Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, the two advisory firms for the auction, have sent information memorandums, or I
March 4, 2021
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SK Group expected to launch REIT this month
South Korean conglomerate SK Group will set up a company to run a real estate investment trust, or REIT, this month, according to reports Thursday. A REIT owns or finances real estate property to generate income, and allows investors to partially own valuable real estate and receive dividends. SK Holdings, the holding company of SK Group, is expected to obtain approval to establish the REIT later this month. After setting up a new subsidiary as early as this month, it will likely launch a RE
March 4, 2021
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Korea rises to 4th place in international patent filings
South Korea went up one spot to place fourth in terms of the number of international patent filings, according to the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Thursday. The country’s applications for international patent rights to the World Intellectual Property Office increased 5.2 percent from 19,073 in 2019 to 20,060 in 2020, the patent body said. Korea, who placed fifth from 2010 to 2019, follows China, the United States and Japan. The growth in patent filings was made largely in
March 4, 2021
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S. Korea unveils W2tr new drug development program
South Korea plans to inject 2.17 trillion won ($1.9 billion) over the next 10 years to support development of new drugs, the government announced Thursday. Some 1.47 trillion of that money will come from state coffers, while private players will invest the remaining 701 billion won, the Ministry of Science and ICT said. The goal is to debut new medicines that could generate annual sales of 1 trillion won, it added. This budget would be spent on supporting the overall development process of
March 4, 2021
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HK-based Affinity Equity Partners to acquire online recruiting platform
Hong Kong-based private equity firm Affinity Equity Partners has been selected as the preferred bidder for the acquisition of South Korea’s online recruiting portal Jobkorea. According to sources Thursday, Affinity and Korean private equity house H&Q Korea will ink an agreement over the transaction of a 100 percent stake in the company roughly valued at nearly 900 billion won ($800 million). Affinity beat out private equity peers MBK Partners, CVC Capital Partners and TPG Capital As
March 4, 2021
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Green Cross LabCell launches pet health care company
South Korean biopharma firm Green Cross LabCell has established a pet health care unit, the company announced Thursday. The new entity, Green Vet, plans to introduce health care solutions and products that address various issues regarding the overall life quality of companion animals in addition to the essential medical support, said Green Cross LabCell CEO Park Dae-woo. The technology and know-how of Green Cross LabCell, which specializes in cell curing agents and transportation of consig
March 4, 2021
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Kakaopay CEO urges adoption of fractional share investing
South Korea should adopt fractional share investing in order to enhance financial inclusiveness and diversify asset portfolios of real estate-reliant small investors, the head of a local fintech firm suggested on Thursday. By allowing investors to buy less than a full share, investors with a tight budget can have more chances to invest in blue-chip stocks that used to be out of their reach, Kakaopay CEO Ryu Young-joon said during a seminar held by Rep. Lee Kwang-jae of the Democratic Party of
March 4, 2021
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McKinsey hires former Oliver Wyman Korea head
Consulting firm McKinsey & Company on Wednesday said they have hired Park Joong-ho, former head manager of Oliver Wyman’s Korea office, as a new partner here. Park worked at Oliver Wyman, a consulting firm specialized in financial services companies, for 15 years and led the company for more than three years until December 2020. At Oliver Wyman, he provided consulting services to financial institutions and governmental organizations in areas such as digital transformation, glo
March 4, 2021