Most Popular
-
1
Korean labor force to shrink by 10 million by 2044: report
-
2
[AtoZ Korean Mind] Does your job define who you are? Should it?
-
3
Allegations surrounding BTS resurface, enraged fans demand apology
-
4
Students with history of violence will be barred from becoming teachers
-
5
Medical feud leaves hospitals in financial crisis
-
6
Top prosecutor pledges 'speedy, strict' probe into first lady's luxury bag allegations
-
7
Samsung mocks Apple over iPhone alarm glitch
-
8
Chip up cycle won’t stay long: SK chief
-
9
'Queen of Tears' riding high on Netflix chart
-
10
Speaker floats dual citizenship as solution to falling births
-
Korean milk providers start to raise prices
South Korea’s major milk and dairy product providers are set to raise retail prices of their products next week. Namyang Dairy Products said Friday the company will increase retail prices of commercial milk products by an average 4.9 percent from Oct. 14. The firm said the prices of fermented and processed milk products will be risen 0.3 percent and 1.6 percent on average, respectively. For example, two packs of Delicious MilkGT, Namyang’s best-selling product, will be priced
Oct. 1, 2021
-
S. Korea’s stocks slump amid China’s Evergrande crisis, US tapering woes
South Korea’s stock market slumped in September on the back of the debt crisis involving Evergrande Group, one of China’s biggest property developers, and a hint by the US Federal Reserve that it would begin tapering. According to the Korea Exchange, the country’s stock market operator, the benchmark Kospi lost 4.08 percent to 3,068.82 points during September. The secondary tech-heavy Kosdaq shed 3.88 percent to close at 1,003.27 points during the same period. Kospi’s
Oct. 1, 2021
-
Seoul stocks slump on US inflation worries
South Korean stocks dipped Friday on concerns about early inflation in the United States and the extended virus curbs at home. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) retreated 49.64 points, or 1.62 percent, to close at 3,019.18 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 845 million shares worth some 12.8 trillion won ($10.8 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 779 to 125. Foreigners sold a net 300 billion won, while retail inves
Oct. 1, 2021
-
SsangYong's Sept. sales plunge 40% on lower demand
SsangYong Motor Co. said Friday its sales plunged 40 percent last month from a year earlier on weaker domestic demand. SsangYong Motor sold 5,950 vehicles in September, down from 9,834 units a year earlier, the company said in a statement. Domestic sales dropped 53 percent to 3,859 units last month from 8,208, while exports rose 29 percent to 2,091 units from 1,626 during the same period, it said. From January to September, sales fell 17 percent to 61,854 autos from 74,707 during the same period
Oct. 1, 2021
-
S. Korean builder sentiment rebounds in September
South Korea's construction business sentiment bounced back in August from a month earlier due largely to seasonal factors, a poll showed Friday. The construction business survey index (CBSI) came to 94.9 last month, up 5.5 points from the previous month, according to the survey by the Construction and Economy Research Institute of Korea. However, the September figure remains below par. A reading below 100 indicates builders are pessimistic about the current state of the construction industry and
Oct. 1, 2021
-
Pandemic causes W8.82tr in damage to S. Korean culture, sports, tourism sectors
The novel coronavirus pandemic has caused a combined 8.82 trillion won ($7.4 billion) worth of damage to South Korea's culture, sports and tourism sectors since it broke out early last year, a government report showed Friday. The amount of consumer spending in the tourism and leisure sector decreased by an estimated 39.3 trillion won from January 2020-June 2021 when Korea's first COVID-19 case was reported, according to the report by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism submitted to parli
Oct. 1, 2021
-
[Newsmaker] Over half of young Seoulites can’t afford buying house without parents’ support: survey
Over half of young people living in Seoul say they couldn’t buy a home without the help of their parents, data showed Friday. According to a survey conducted by the Seoul Institute, a think tank under the Seoul Metropolitan Government, 53 percent out of 676 Seoul citizens ranging in age from 18 to 34 said that it would be impossible to purchase a house without financial support from their parents. The nationwide average is 46 percent. While 44 percent of respondents said that they would
Oct. 1, 2021
-
Korea's global battery market share rises, but so does foreign reliance on key materials
South Korea commands almost half of the world’s secondary battery market, but the country‘s reliance on imported materials is growing to an alarming level, data showed Friday. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy data obtained by Rep. Kim Kyung-man, the nation’s share of the global secondary battery market spiked from 34.7 percent in 2018 to 44.1 percent in 2020. The country is home to three of the world‘s major battery producers, LG Energy Solution
Oct. 1, 2021
-
SK On, SK Innovation’s battery split-off, officially launched with Jee as CEO
SK Innovation said Friday it has officially carved out its battery division into a wholly owned subsidiary, SK On. According to SK Innovation, the firm’s board of directors approved the split-off and appointed Jee Dong-seob as the chief of SK On. Some 1,400 staff and executives who belonged to SK Innovation’s battery business will be relocated to SK On to continue electric vehicle battery, battery-as-a-service and energy storage system businesses. Jee, a former executive of SK
Oct. 1, 2021
-
SK Inc. invests $55m more in Perfect Day, doubles down on alternatives to animal protein
SK Inc. said Friday it has injected an additional $55 million into a San Francisco-based alternative protein firm Perfect Day to wade further into the global alternative food market. According to the holding firm of South Korea’s third-largest conglomerate SK Group, the investment was made together with STIC Investments, a leading private equity fund here. This is SK Inc.’s second investment in Perfect Day, after a 54 billion-won ($45.4 million) investment last year. The invest
Oct. 1, 2021
-
Siemens Korea appoints Chung Ha-joong as CEO
Siemens Korea announced Wednesday the promotion of Chung Ha-joong to president and chief executive officer. Chung, who served as vice president prior to the appointment, will oversee all businesses of the German technology giant’s Korean unit, effective Friday, while also serving in his current role as head of smart infrastructure and CEO of Siemens Mobility Ltd., Seoul, the firm said. Since joining Siemens Korea in 2000, the new chief has taken up various key roles in energy, mobili
Oct. 1, 2021
-
New home permits jump 22% in Jan.-Aug.
New home permits in South Korea soared nearly 22 percent in the first eight months of the year amid rising housing prices, government data showed Friday. Construction permits issued for new homes came to 312,860 units in the January-August period, up 21.6 percent from a year ago, according to the data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. New construction permits in the South Korean capital of Seoul spiked 52 percent to 50,638 over the cited period. New home permits issued in
Oct. 1, 2021
-
Domestic sales of Samsung's new foldable smartphones to top 1m units
Domestic sales of Samsung Electronics Co.'s new foldable smartphones -- the Galaxy Z Fold3 and the Galaxy Z Flip3 -- are likely to top 1 million units this weekend, industry officials said Friday, as the tech giant tries to popularize the foldable category. The third generation of the Galaxy Z series is set to surpass the 1 million sales milestone just about a month after its launch on Aug. 27, according to the officials in the telecom industry. Such a sales pace is similar to that of the Galaxy
Oct. 1, 2021
-
Exports set fresh high in Sept. on solid shipments of chips
South Korea's exports have extended their gains to 11 consecutive months and set a record high level by rising 16.7 percent, data showed Friday, maintaining solid growth despite growing concerns over the spread of COVID-19 variants around the globe. Outbound shipments came to $55.8 billion last month, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The monthly figure was the highest since South Korea started compiling such data in 1956. The previous record was $55.4
Oct. 1, 2021
-
SK additionally invests W65b in US alternative milk maker
SK Inc., the holding firm of South Korean conglomerate SK Group, said Friday it has additionally invested 65 billion won ($55 million) in Perfect Day, a US alternative milk maker, following 54 billion won of funds last year. SK said it joined the latest round of funding for Perfect Day, which drew $350 million from several global investors, including Horizon Ventures, Temasek, CPP Investments and Bob Iger. Perfect Day, known for its animal-free dairy products, launched an ice cream brand "B
Oct. 1, 2021
-
Seoul stocks open lower on US inflation woes
South Korean stocks opened lower Friday, tracking overnight Wall Street losses that stemmed from concerns of an early inflation. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 7.19 points, or 0.23 percent, to 3,061.63 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The key stock index slumped, following rallies by the US long-term Treasury yields, which fanned concerns that the Federal Reserve might hurry to taper its stimulus to reign in the pace of inflation. The Dow Jones Industrial
Oct. 1, 2021
-
GM Korea to halt plant for 2 weeks next month on chip shortage
GM Korea Co., the South Korean unit of General Motors Co., said Thursday that it will suspend one of its three plants for two weeks early next month due to a chip shortage. GM Korea said it will suspend its No. 1 plant in Incheon, 40 kilometers west of Seoul, which produces the Trailblazer SUV, from Oct. 1-15. The carmaker has been operating only half of the No. 1 Bupyeong plant this month due to a shortage of chip parts. The operation of the No. 2 Bup
Sept. 30, 2021
-
S. Korean HIV medicine to be sold in China
Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology announced Thursday that a domestically developed HIV medicine has recently received regulatory approval for commercialization in China. This new medicine was first developed by a local research team as part of a project started in 1995, supported by the Ministry of Science and ICT. In 2006, US pharmaceutical firm Gilead Sciences joined the project and co-developed a treatment candidate in 2008. The technology was sold to local biotech firm Kain
Sept. 30, 2021
-
‘Korea downplays impact of liquefied natural gas on climate change’
South Korean public financing institutions have played down the impact of liquefied natural gas on climate change, according to climate activist group Solutions for Our Climate on Thursday. Greenhouse gases are being emitted throughout the liquefied natural gas supply chain -- from extraction to liquefaction, transportation, regasification and consumption -- said the climate activists during an event held in Seoul. “The threat of greenhouse gas emission from the liquefied natural
Sept. 30, 2021
-
Dunkin’ Donuts apologizes for unsanitary donut factory
The Korean operator of Dunkin’ Donuts, BR Korea, issued an official apology Thursday saying it will “thoroughly abide by sanitary standards,” following a video showing donuts baked in unsanitary conditions. South Korea’s public broadcaster KBS aired on Wednesday a video taken by an anonymous worker this summer showing the inside of the firm’s donut factory in Anyang, Gyeonggi Province. The footage shows dough stained with orange droplets that are presumed to ha
Sept. 30, 2021