Most Popular
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Over 80,000 millionaires, 20 billionaires in Seoul: report
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Yoon apologizes for first lady Dior bag scandal, calls push for special probe ‘political’
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Korean battery makers heave sigh of relief over 2-year IRA reprieve
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Young Korean doctors seek plan B: cosmetic dermatology or overseas
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South Korea open to Indonesian proposal to cut KF-21 payments
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Girl hanging on bridge, police trying to rescue her both fall off; rescued immediately
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Korea forecast to overtake Taiwan in chip production by 2032: report
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Coupang earnings hit hard by losses from ailing Farfetch
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[K-pop’s dilemma] Time, profit pressures work against originality
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Why femicide and dating violence are growing issues in S. Korea
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[Graphic News] Online shopping hits record high in September
Online shopping in South Korea hit a record high in September, led by solid demand for food delivery services and electronic goods amid the resurgence in COVID-19 cases, data showed. The value of online shopping transactions stood at 16.2 trillion won ($13.7 billion) in September, up 17 percent from the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea. The September reading marked an all-time high since the agency began to compile related data in 2001. The value of online shopp
Nov. 12, 2021
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Seoul stocks open higher on tech, auto gains
South Korean stocks opened higher Friday, largely backed by gains in tech, auto and bio shares. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 22.29 points, or 0.76 percent, to 2,947.21 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics increased 0.52 percent, No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix advanced 1.4 percent, and pharmaceutical giant Samsung Biologics added 0.37 percent. Hyundai Motor, the country's largest carmaker, moved up 1.22 percent, and elect
Nov. 12, 2021
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S. Korea temporarily cuts fuel taxes to tackle soaring oil prices
South Korea temporarily lowered fuel taxes Friday in an effort to ease the impact of surging oil prices on the country's consumer inflation and people's lives. Government officials said the 20 percent reduction in taxes on gasoline, diesel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) will remain in place for six months until the end of April next year. Under the move, the fuel tax on gasoline drops to 656 won ($0.55) per liter from 820 won, with that on diesel falling to 466 won from 582 won. Taxes accou
Nov. 12, 2021
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Kia to sell only EVs in Europe from 2035
Kia Corp., South Korea's second-biggest carmaker, said Thursday it will sell only electric vehicles in Europe from 2035 and in other major markets from 2040 as it seeks to gradually phase out internal combustion-engine cars in global markets. Kia announced the 2045 carbon neutrality strategy as governments around the globe are adopting more aggressive policies to fight climate change and carmakers are stepping up efforts to transition away from fossil fuels. Under th
Nov. 11, 2021
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Korean tech giants sweep CES 2022 Innovation Awards
Korean tech giants Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics swept the CES 2022 Innovation Awards, ahead of the year’s biggest tech event to be held in Las Vegas in January. Samsung Electronics received 43 CES 2022 Innovation Award honors, including four Best of Innovations accolades. The Consumer Technology Association, which organizes the annual convention, announced Wednesday the products and technologies across 27 sectors that received the CES 2022 Innovation Award. Samsung swept the v
Nov. 11, 2021
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SK invests $340m in Crown X, strengthens partnership with Vietnam’s Masan Group
SK Group announced Thursday that it will invest $340 million in Crown X, a consumer retail platform within Vietnam’s Masan Group, in an effort to expand its strategic partnerships in Southeast Asia. SK Group recently bought a 9.5 percent stake in the Vietnamese consumer goods company, in line with its Global Story initiative to discover new market opportunities through direct foreign investment. Crown X is a subsidiary of Masan Group and owns Masan Consumer Holdings, a food and bevera
Nov. 11, 2021
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Coupang kicks off massive sales for China’s Singles Day
South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang has launched a three-day “Singles Day Mega Sale” to celebrate China’s annual shopping bonanza. The massive sales, from Nov. 10 to 12, was inspired by the Chinese version of US’ Black Friday. During the event, Coupang plans to woo Chinese customers with daily special offers using its “Rocket Jikgu” overseas delivery service. The firm will hand out coupons for an additional 10,000 won off purchases of 60,000 won or more.
Nov. 11, 2021
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Commercial air taxi demonstrates flight in Gimpo
A dream team with the goal of trialing commercial air taxis by 2025 demonstrated Thursday its commercial Urban Air Mobility system, or UAM. The team consists of Korea Airports Corp., Hanwha Systems, Korea Transport Institute, Tmap Mobility and SK Telecom. UAM is a new air transportation system that involves private electric aircraft taking off and landing vertically. It can travel faster than cars as it is free from traffic on land, shortening the time to reach a destination to 20 minutes fr
Nov. 11, 2021
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[News Focus] Google’s new billing policy for Korea is under scrutiny again. Why?
When Google announced on Nov. 4 that it was changing its controversial in-app payment policy in South Korea to comply with a revision to the Telecommunications Business Act, dubbed the “anti-Google law,” it appeared that Korea had become the first country in the world to check the US tech behemoth’s growing control of the app ecosystem. But, less than a week after the announcement, Seoul officials are finding themselves caught in yet another tussle between Google and local d
Nov. 11, 2021
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[From the Scene] Versatility drives Renault Samsung’s Busan plant
BUSAN -- While factories usually have one flagship item manufactured on one assembly line to maximize productivity, Renault Samsung Motors’ Busan automotive plant has increased competitiveness by making its lines able to produce more than one. With the versatile assembly line, the Busan plant is in fully geared up to boost exports of Renault Samsung’s global flagship sport utility vehicle XM3, known as Arkana overseas, said Lee Hae-jin, director at Renault Samsung Motors’ man
Nov. 11, 2021
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Know your customers: Top bankers hit playgrounds of digital natives
In a studio decorated with colorful mascot dolls, NH NongHyup Bank CEO Kwon Joon-hak, who leads South Korea’s fifth-largest commercial bank, on Tuesday made his YouTube live debut. Co-hosting the one-hour event with a comedian, Kwon ditched the image of an unapproachable corporate representative, and transformed into a “guy next door” making jokes with customers online. “I’m a little nervous but will do my best to have a great time with our customers participating
Nov. 11, 2021
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Seoul stocks down for 2nd day amid inflation woes
South Korean stocks closed lower Thursday, taking a cue from the estimate-beating inflation data in the United States that fanned concerns about faster-than-expected rate hikes. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) retreated 5.25 points, or 0.18 percent, to close at 2,924.92 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 563 billion shares worth some 13.3 trillion won ($11.3 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 630 to 215. Fore
Nov. 11, 2021
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Citibank Korea strengthens community outreach programs, ESG drive
As part of efforts to grow together with the local community, Citibank Korea, the South Korean unit of Citigroup, has carried out diverse social contribution programs, while beefing up management activities focused on environmental, social and governance factors, or ESG, the lender said Thursday. Based on three principles, including employee participation, long-term commitment and leading activity, the foreign bank has continuously fostered a volunteer culture among employees for its corp
Nov. 11, 2021
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Daewoo Shipbuilding bags W487b order for 2 LNG carriers
Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. (DSME) said Thursday it has signed a 486.7 billion-won ($410.9 million) deal to construct two LNG carriers. DSME will deliver the 174,000-cubic-meter LNG carriers to Maran Gas Maritime Inc. (MGM), a gas shipping unit of Angelicoussis Shipping Group, the largest shipper in Greece, by November 2024, the shipbuilder said. The Greek shipping group has been the largest buyer of DSME, which has placed orders for 112 ships since 1994, the shipbuilding
Nov. 11, 2021
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KIC, cooperative federations to coinvest $300m with foreign hedge funds
South Korea’s sole sovereign wealth fund Korea Investment Corp. said Thursday that it has teamed up with two Korean institutional investors to deploy a combined $300 million for co-investment with non-Korean hedge funds in a bid to increase foreign alternatives exposure. Under the plan, the three entities -- KIC, National Agricultural Cooperative Federation and National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives -- will create a joint venture before the end of 2021 and start their first co-inv
Nov. 11, 2021
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At COP26, KB chief vows ‘positive strategy’ for green shift
KB Financial Group Chairman Yoon Jong-kyoo shared the banking group’s plans in combating climate change at an invitation-only meeting of senior officials across global sectors and governments held Wednesday at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland, the firm said Thursday. At the 9th High-Level Meeting of Caring for Climate, held online and offline simultaneously, Yoon was invited on behalf of the global finance sector to speak on the topic of achieving a j
Nov. 11, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Higher-than-expected inflation to continue for time being, says BOK chief
South Korea’s central bank chief said Thursday that the economy is likely to see faster-than-expected inflation for the time being, due to the global supply bottleneck and the spike in oil prices. In an opening speech at an economic meeting with investment bankers and experts, Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol pointed to the nation’s spiking consumer prices, which gained 3.2 percent on-year -- the sharpest rise since January 2012, when the corresponding figure stood at 3.3 percent.
Nov. 11, 2021
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KT services suffer disruptions in Seoul
KT Corp. said Thursday it has suffered disruptions in its mobile and internet services in western Seoul, less than three weeks after an outage crippled businesses across the country. KT said the services were interrupted for nearly two hours in the Yeongdeungpo and Guro districts due to an accidental cut in the fiber-optic cables at around 10:25 a.m. KT said up to 90 percent of the disrupted services had been recovered as of 1:15 p.m. Last month, KT CEO Ku Hyeon-mo apologized for the abrupt d
Nov. 11, 2021
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Paris Baguette lands in Indonesia
SPC Group said Thursday it opened the nation’s first Paris Baguette bakery in the Ashta District 8 shopping mall of Indonesia capital Jakarta. The move comes after the South Korean food company set up a joint venture with its local partner, Erajaya Group, last month. With a population of 270 million, Indonesia is SPC’s seventh market. The 189-square-meter space is located in the city’s biggest commercial area, the Sudirman Central Business District, and boasts more than 50
Nov. 11, 2021
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Hanwha Defense wins ISO 37301 certification for compliance management
Hanwha Defense said Thursday it had become the first South Korean defense company to obtain certification for ISO 37301, a compliance management standard of the International Organization for Standardization. The ISO 37301, introduced by the international rule-setting body in April, examines whether a firm‘s compliance and risk management systems meet international standards. The ISO 37301 combines ISO standards with international agencies’ guidelines, including those from the Int
Nov. 11, 2021