Most Popular
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Yoon apologizes for first lady Dior bag scandal, calls push for special probe ‘political’
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South Korea open to Indonesian proposal to cut KF-21 payments
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Korea forecast to overtake Taiwan in chip production by 2032: report
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Girl hanging on bridge, police trying to rescue her both fall off; rescued immediately
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[K-pop’s dilemma] Time, profit pressures work against originality
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[K-pop’s dilemma] Can K-pop break free from ‘fandom’ model?
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YouTuber fatally stabbed on livestream by another YouTuber in Busan
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Yoon rebuffs opposition's call for special probe into wife
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Arrest warrant issued for medical student for allegedly killing girlfriend after breakup
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S. Korea to let doctors with foreign licenses practice
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Ex-Jeju governor tapped to spearhead Yoon’s supply-centered real estate policy
Won Hee-ryong, the former governor of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province who coordinated President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s campaign, was named as the nominee for minister of land, infrastructure and transport Sunday. “The nominee has a high understanding of land policies which is one of the key sectors the new administration would have to work on to stabilize the real estate market, promote balanced regional growth, and come up with a systematic public transportation in metropolitan
April 10, 2022
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[Newsmaker] Eating out more expensive due to rising costs, demand
Eating-out costs in South Korea saw the sharpest on-year surge in 23 years in March with a 6.6 percent on-year increase, according to the Korean Statistical Information Service on Sunday. Of the 39 types of foods that people normally eat while dining out, including hamburgers, jajangmyeon (noodle with black soybean sauce), and gimbap, all saw a price increase. Galbitang (beef soup) showed the highest spike in price last month compared to the same month last year with an 11.7 percent increase,
April 10, 2022
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Renowned chip expert nominated as science minister
Science Minister Nominee Lee Jong-ho is a chip engineering scholar who supported, as an adviser, South Korea’s policy endeavor in building its strength in semiconductor industry for years. “I have experienced the semiconductor industry for a long time and I believe it has a great importance. I will try to advance it,” said Lee at the nominee selection announcement Sunday. “But our country has more than just semiconductors. I will look at all industries and listen to va
April 10, 2022
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Eland Retail, its parent firm fined over unfair biz practice
South Korea's antitrust regulator said Sunday it has decided to impose a combined 4.08 billion won ($3.33 million) in fines on Eland Retail Ltd., an operator of outlet malls, and its parent company Eland World for unfair business activity. Fashion company Eland World, the de facto holding company of Eland Group, unduly received financial support from its affiliate Eland Retail between 2013 and 2017, according to the Fair Trade Commission (FTC). At that time, Eland World suffered from a liquidity
April 10, 2022
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Apple CEO Tim Cook welcomes opening of new store in Myeong-dong
Apple CEO Tim Cook welcomed the opening of a new Apple Store in the shopping district of Myeong-dong, central Seoul, on Saturday, “Apple Myeongdong opened its doors as our newest store in the heart of Korea. We‘re thrilled to further support our Korean customers in a space as unique and vibrant as the community it serves,” Cook tweeted Saturday. In another tweet Sunday, he congratulated K-pop group Seventeen’s appearance on Today at Apple -- a creative initiative offere
April 10, 2022
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Samsung Electronics remains favorite pick among retail stock investors
Despite the recent bearish price movement, South Korean tech titan Samsung Electronics remained a favorite pick among retail stock investors in hopes of a price rebound of the market bellwether. From January until Friday, retail investors purchased 20.9 trillion won ($17 billion) worth of Samsung Electronics common shares on the stock market, meaning nearly one in four retail stock investment went to the single company, the Korea Exchange data showed Sunday. The volume of Samsung stock purcha
April 10, 2022
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Eco-friendly cars make up over 20% of Hyundai, Kia domestic sales this year: data
Over 1 in 5 vehicles sold by Hyundai Motor Co. and its smaller affiliate Kia Corp. so far this year have been eco-friendly cars, backed by their growing popularity, industry data showed Sunday. The two South Korean automakers sold a combined 64,417 hybrid and electric vehicles in the January-March period, accounting for 23.5 percent of the entire domestic sales of 273,762 vehicles, according to the companies' earnings reports. It marks the first time the proportion of eco-friendly car sales has
April 10, 2022
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[Interactive] S. Korea’s coffee imports hit new high in 2021
South Korea’s imports of coffee surged more than 24 percent to hit a new all-time high in 2021 on its growing popularity here, data showed. The value of the country's coffee imports stood at $916.5 million last year, up 24.2 percent from the previous year, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service and industry sources. It marks the first time that South Korea’s coffee imports have exceeded the 1 trillion-won ($823 million) level in terms of the local currency. Last
April 9, 2022
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Ssangbangwool submits letter of intent to buy debt-ridden SsangYong Motor
Ssangbangwool Group, a South Korean underwear company, said Friday it has submitted a letter of intent (LOI) to buy the debt-ridden automaker SsangYong Motor. Ssangbangwool‘s bid came as a deal to buy SsangYong Motor by local electric bus and truck maker Edison Motors Co. collapsed late last month after its failure to meet the deadline to make the full payment for the proposed takeover. Ssangbangwool said it has submitted the LOI for the SsangYong takeover and selected accounting f
April 8, 2022
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Transition team chief meets with Hyundai Motor chairman
Ahn Cheol-soo, the chief of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s transition team, and Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun met on Friday to discuss the country’s future mobility outlook as well as measures for nurturing and expanding the industry’s workforce. Ahn and other committee member lawmakers visited Hyundai Motor Group’s R&D center in Namyang, Gyeonggi Province. “A future mobility industry is the next focus of the country’s strategic busin
April 8, 2022
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Financial watchdog steps up scrutiny over SsangYong Motor deal
South Korea’s financial watchdog warned potential bidders for the debt-ridden SsangYong Motor on Thursday that authorities would pay close attention to possible signs of stock manipulation along the way. The warning follows after Mirae Corp. -- a local semiconductor equipment manufacturer and affiliate of the nation’s leading underwear maker Ssangbangwool -- sold over 6.47 million of its shares in entertainment company IOK, a SBW subsidiary, for 1.24 billion won ($10.1 million) on M
April 8, 2022
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Online luxury sellers strengthen counterfeit inspection amid Musinsa scandal
Korea’s online luxury sellers who have enjoyed the recent resell market boom are strengthening the counterfeit inspection process amid a scandal involving fashion commercial platform Musinsa, industry sources said Friday. On April 1, Naver’s online reselling platform Kream announced that the Essentials T-shirts sold through Musinsa by the brand operator Fear of God were proven to be fake. Musinsa, which has strongly objected to the counterfeit claims raised by Kream and has warned
April 8, 2022
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S. Korea "positively" mulling joining US-proposed economic framework: minister
South Korea's top economic policymaker said Friday the government is "positively" considering joining a new US-proposed economic framework in the Indo-Pacific region. The United States is seeking to launch the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) to seek deeper cooperation with partner nations on a wide range of economic and trade issues, including digital trade and supply chains. The move is widely seen as aimed at countering China amid an intensifying Sino-US rivalry. "Discuss
April 8, 2022
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Seoul stocks open higher as investors digest Fed's tightening plan
South Korean shares opened higher Friday, as investors digested the US central bank's hawkish comments on monetary tightening. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 12.84 points, or 0.48 percent, to reach 2,708.70 as of 9:15 a.m. Overnight, the US stock market mostly rebounded as investors assessed the Federal Reserve's minutes of its March meeting, which hinted at more aggressive monetary tightening than had been originally expected. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Av
April 8, 2022
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S. Korea to release 7.23m more barrels of oil reserves over Ukraine crisis
South Korea has decided to release 7.23 million barrels of strategic crude reserves, in addition to its recent commitment of 4.42 million barrels, to help bring down high energy prices amid the ongoing Ukraine crisis, the industry ministry said Friday. Last week, 31 member nations of the International Energy Agency (IEA) agreed to release 120 million barrels of oil from their emergency reserves, following their similar decision last month to release 60 million barrels of oil, in response to the
April 8, 2022
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Current account surplus narrows in Feb. amid surging energy costs
South Korea posted a current account surplus for the 22nd straight month in February, but the surplus narrowed from a year earlier as soaring oil prices boosted import bills, central bank data showed Friday. The current account surplus reached $6.42 billion in February, down from $8.06 billion the previous year, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The current account has remained in the black since May 2020 on the back of robust exports. But the surplus fell on-year
April 8, 2022
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Posco Chemical starts building high-nickel cathode plant
Posco Chemical, a chemical and battery materials producer under steel giant Posco Group, said Thursday that it had kicked off construction for a new plant that can produce 30,000 metric tons of high-purity nickel cathodes, a key material used in electric vehicle batteries. Targeting to begin operations in 2024, the new factory will be established on over 120,000 square meters of land in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, with an annual production capacity at 30,000 tons. The firm, which
April 7, 2022
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Grain import prices to climb further: institute
SEJONG -- Import prices of grain will likely continue to climb during the second quarter of the year amid deepening inflationary pressure worldwide, a state-funded agency predicted. According to the Korea Rural Economic Institute, the projection index for import prices for edible grain and fodder grain reached 158.5 and 163.1, respectively, in the period of April to June. This is a rise by 10.4 percent and 13.6 percent compared to a quarter earlier, under the assumption that the price level wa
April 7, 2022
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US firms willing to invest more in Korea: AmCham survey
A majority of American businesses in South Korea were optimistic that investment here will continue over the next two years, and picked Korea as the second most preferred location for regional headquarters in Asia after Singapore, survey results showed on Thursday. In an annual survey of member companies by the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea, 44 percent of the respondents said they will increase investment in Korea through 2024, while another 42.9 percent said there will be no change to
April 7, 2022
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Samsung poised to beat earnings estimates in Q1
Samsung Electronics said Thursday it was highly likely to report its best quarterly earnings in the first quarter this year on upbeat sales of memory chips and smartphones. According to its earnings guidance, the tech giant projected its operating profits at 14.1 trillion won ($11.5 billion) for the first three months of the year, a 50.03 percent increase from a year earlier. The figure topped estimates consensus of 13.8 trillion won among local securities firms compiled by market tracker Fn
April 7, 2022