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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Rapper jailed after public street fight with another rapper
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[KH Explains] No more 'Michael' at Kakao Games
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Woman gets suspended term for injuring boyfriend with knife
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Yoon, Lee end first talks with differences, agree to meet more
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China outpaces Korea in smaller OLED shipments for 1st time
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[Grace Kao] Hybe vs. Ador: Inspiration, imitation and plagiarism
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NewJeans pops out ‘Bubble Gum’ video amid troubles at agency
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Samsung chief bolsters ties with Germany’s Zeiss
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Finance minister pledges utmost efforts to do his job after resignation offer was rejected
Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki vowed Wednesday he will do his best to perform his duties in sync with the president after his resignation offer over a taxation issue was rejected. "In conformity with the intention of the personnel authority, I will do my utmost to do my official duties as a deputy prime minister," Hong said during the parliamentary budget and accounts committee's interpellation session. "As parliament kicks off its review of the (2021) budget bill, I will do my b
Nov. 4, 2020
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S. Korea's FX reserves up for 7th straight month to fresh record high in Oct.
South Korea's foreign reserves climbed for the seventh straight month in October due to a rise in the value of non-dollar assets and an increase in investment returns, central bank data showed Wednesday. The country's foreign reserves came to a record high of $426.5 billion as of end-October, up $5.96 billion from a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). Foreign reserves consist of securities and deposits denominated in overseas currencies, International Monetary Fund reserve pos
Nov. 4, 2020
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Finance Minister offers to resign over major-shareholder taxation furor
South Korea’s Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki offered his resignation on Tuesday, in an apparent response to the market backlash against the government’s proposed changes to the taxation rules. “I have offered my resignation and submitted my letter today, taking responsibility over the prolonged disputes,” the fiscal chief said during a parliamentary finance committee meeting. His abrupt announcement came while answering a question from Rep. Ch
Nov. 3, 2020
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[News Focus] On economy, pessimists outnumber optimists for 29 consecutive months
SEJONG -- It has been found that nearly half of South Koreans were still pessimistic about economic conditions, far outnumbering optimists, a survey showed. According to a poll conducted on Oct. 27-29 by Gallup Korea, 46 percent of the 1,000 respondents said that economic conditions would deteriorate in the coming year. Only 23 percent were upbeat about the economy. Another 27 percent said the economic conditions ahead would remain roughly the same. Further, pessimists outnumbered optimists f
Nov. 3, 2020
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Pricey Gangnam apartments stand out as homeowners' safe haven
Apartment units in southern Seoul's Gangnam-gu stood out among housing options in South Korea’s capital city in October in terms of their valuation, as they are increasingly regarded as a safe haven in times of uncertainty in housing market regulation. The estimate comes as multiple-home owners are struggling to keep multiple flats in their portfolio due to tougher housing regulations to stamp out the speculative buying. The price gap between Gangnam-gu and adjacent districts in southeas
Nov. 3, 2020
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Doosan's nonprofit foundation to sell stake in fuel cell unit
Doosan Group's scholarship foundation signed a deal Tuesday to sell its 3.16 percent stake in Doosan Fuel Cell Co., the fuel cell maker said. The foundation will sell 2.27 million preferred shares in Doosan Fuel Cell after the market closes via a block deal, Doosan Fuel Cell said in a regulatory filing. The stake sale to be made Thursday will lower the interest in Doosan Fuel Cell held by the group's holding company, Doosan Corp., and major shareholders to 50.31 percent from 53.47 percent.
Nov. 3, 2020
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Contactless payments surge 17% amid pandemic: BOK
Non-face-to-face payments have surged 17 percent on-year since the outbreak of COVID-19, a report released by the central bank on Tuesday showed. Contactless payments made via electronic devices and other noncash methods inched up by 1.4 percent on-year in the first nine months of this year, the Bank of Korea said in a report. “Contactless payment transactions have expanded as usage of mobile payments have increased compared with actual credit or debit card payments,” the report
Nov. 3, 2020
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Doosan Infracore produces 200,000th excavator in China
Doosan Infracore Co. said Tuesday its Chinese unit has produced its 200,000th excavator in the country. The accumulated output came 26 years after South Korea's leading construction equipment maker entered the Chinese market in October 1994, the company said in an emailed statement. The Chinese excavator market is expected to grow by 275,000 units this year, surpassing last year's overall sales of 200,000 units, Doosan Infracore said. Sales of excavators by the company rose 21 percent to 14
Nov. 3, 2020
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[Contribution] OECD recognizes Korea’s competitiveness in digital government
At the recent e-Leaders 2020 meeting of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Korea ranked first in the Digital Government Index, which the OECD conducted for the first time. The latest result, a consecutive achievement after the OECD ranked Korea first in the OUR (Open-Useful-Reusable) Data Index in 2019, showed that Korea is leading the world’s digital government transition and innovation. The Digital Government Index measures the level of digital transformation an
Nov. 3, 2020
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S. Korea's H1 exports to China fare relatively well despite pandemic
Despite the coronavirus pandemic, South Korea's exports to China fell at a slower rate than its overall overseas shipments in the first half thanks to brisk Chinese demand for consumer goods and electronics parts, a report showed Tuesday. South Korea's exports to the world's second-largest economy came to $61.4 billion in the January-June period, down 6.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the report from the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA). The decline is much lower tha
Nov. 3, 2020
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S. Korea's inflation grows at slowest pace in 4 months in Oct.
South Korea's consumer prices grew at the slowest pace in four months in October due largely to one-off state subsidies for mobile phone bills, data showed Tuesday, underscoring the country's low inflationary pressure. The consumer price index inched up 0.1 percent on-year last month, sharply slowing from a 1 percent on-year gain in the previous month, according to the data from Statistics Korea. It marked the slowest on-year growth since June, when the price index stayed flat, and the fourth
Nov. 3, 2020
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Economy will recover from fallout, return to normal trajectory in H1 2021: Moon
President Moon Jae-in predicted Monday that South Korea’s economy will be able to return to a normal track in the first half of next year if the current trend of economic rebound from the new coronavirus pandemic continues in the fourth quarter. “When reviewing recent indicators, we can see that the economy is rapidly recovering by overcoming the recent difficulties,” Moon said during a weekly meeting with his senior Cheong Wa Dae aides. “If the trend of economic reboun
Nov. 2, 2020
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[News Focus] De facto jobless increases 60,000 in a month
SEJONG -- The Korean government was pinning hopes on recovery in employment in the second half of the year, though the tally of the jobless increased sharply between March and May in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Though the number of “unemployed plus underemployed” showed signs of gradually falling during the summer, the monthly figure bounced back in September. According to the Supplementary Index III for Employment, as determined by Statistics Korea, the number of “de
Nov. 2, 2020
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S. Korea to allow people to exchange foreign bills at convenience stores
SEJONG -- South Korea's finance ministry said Monday it will allow people to exchange the Korean currency for foreign currency banknotes at convenience stores starting next year, as part of its efforts to ease regulations in the foreign exchange market. Under the move, people can ask banks to exchange the Korean won for foreign bills via smartphone applications, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. They can then get the foreign bills at automated teller machines in convenience s
Nov. 2, 2020
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BOK to take market-stabilizing measures if needed over US election: governor
South Korea's central bank will take measures to stabilize the financial markets in a timely manner when needed as the outcome of the US presidential election could increase market volatility, its head said Monday. Bank of Korea (BOK) Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said that volatility in the financial markets at home and aboard could increase, depending on the outcome of the US election, set for Tuesday, amid concerns about a resurgence in COVID-19 cases in Europe, according to the central bank. "The
Nov. 2, 2020
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S. Korean manufacturing just above par in Oct.: IHS Markit
South Korea's manufacturing activity entered an expansionary phase for the first time this year in October on increased new orders, a global market researcher said Monday. The purchasing managers' index (PMI) of the country's manufacturing sector stood at 51.2 last month, up 1.4 points from the previous month, according to a survey by IHS Markit. It represents the first time this year for South Korea's PMI, a key measure of factory activity in a country, to surpass the 50-point mark that separ
Nov. 2, 2020
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Exports of instant noodle, kimchi on rise amid pandemic
South Korea's exports of instant noodles and kimchi products rose sharply in the first nine months of the year on the back of rising demand for ready-to-eat meals and healthy foodstuffs amid the new coronavirus pandemic, data showed Monday. Outbound shipments of instant noodles jumped 36.3 percent on-year to $456 million during the January-September period, while those of kimchi jumped 38.5 percent to $109 million over the cited period, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Agricult
Nov. 2, 2020
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Jeonse supply measures stall amid housing market turbulence
The South Korean government is apparently caught in a real estate dilemma, as its aspiration to ease the supply shortage of “jeonse” apartments will likely contradict its efforts to cool the heated housing market. While policymakers are struggling for a breakthrough, the announcement of jeonse-related measures will probably not take place within this week, according to multiple officials of the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transpo
Nov. 1, 2020
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8 units of SK Group to join global renewable energy campaign
Eight units of South Korea's third-largest conglomerate SK Group will participate in a global renewable energy campaign also joined by Google Inc. and Apple Inc., the group said Sunday. The SK firms will be the first South Korean companies to take part in the RE100 campaign that calls for companies to meet their entire electricity demand with renewable energy such as wind power and solar power by 2050. About 260 companies, including Google Inc., Apple Inc. and Ikea, have already joined the c
Nov. 1, 2020
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Former presidential economy secretary tapped as FSC vice chairman
President Moon Jae-in’s former secretary for economic policy, Doh Kyu-sang has been tapped as new vice chairman of the Financial Services Commission, Cheong Wa Dae said Sunday. Doh, a 53-year-old veteran bureaucrat, is well known for his career and expertise in economic policymaking. He joined the Ministry of Economy and Finance in 1991 after passing the civil servant exam and built his career both at the ministry and the FSC while taking key roles. Doh served as the main spokesperson
Nov. 1, 2020