Most Popular
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Blinken calls on China to press N. Korea to end its 'dangerous' behavior
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New celebrity-endorsed therapy for face contouring requires only a pair of rubber bands
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[Weekender] How DDP emerged as an icon of Seoul
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Tensions heighten ahead of first president-opposition chief meeting
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Doctor group's incoming head renews call for govt. to scrap medical school quota hike for dialogue
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Seoul to provide housing subsidy to married couples with newborns
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[Music in drama] An ode to childhood trauma
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'The Roundup: Punishment' becomes fastest 2024 film to top 2 mln admissions
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Rapper jailed after public street fight with another rapper
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New head of doctors' association vows war in case of disadvantage to medical professors
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Genesis' SUV sales exceed 100,000 units in 18 months
Genesis, the independent luxury brand of Hyundai Motor Co., sold more than 100,000 sport utility vehicles (SUV) globally in just 1 1/2 years since its SUV market debut, thanks to brisk sales at home and in North America, data showed Sunday. Genesis' SUV sales totaled 107,700 units from the launch of its first SUV, GV80, in January 2020 until the end of July this year, according to Hyundai Motor's investor relation data. Genesis rolled out its second and smaller SUV flagship GV70 in Janua
Sept. 12, 2021
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Korean firms' interim dividends surge to record high
South Korean listed companies' half-year dividends surged to a record high this year as their businesses posted strong performance, market data showed Sunday. A total of 62 local listed firms paid out 4.39 trillion won ($3.75 billion) in interim dividends in June, up 66.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from market tracker FnGuide. It marks the first time that listed companies' half-year dividends surpassed the 4 trillion-won mark. Half-year dividends from South Korean firms r
Sept. 12, 2021
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Seoul stocks to face selling pressure on virus, regulation woes
South Korean stocks are likely to come under selling pressure next week amid concerns about the spreading virus variant and regulation fears that had led to massive sell-offs of giant platform companies. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 3,125.76 points Friday, down 2.35 percent from a week ago. The weekly loss came as an increase in the country's new coronavirus cases raised concerns of an economic slowdown, in addition to regulatory move against fintech compa
Sept. 11, 2021
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Kakaopay to suspend car insurance comparison service
Kakaopay, a financial unit of tech giant Kakao Corp., will suspend its car insurance comparison service later this month after providing an unauthorized brokerage service, industry sources said Friday. Kakaopay's service to help customers find the best deal among six partnered car insurers, including Hyundai Marine and Fire Insurance Co. and DB Insurance, will be suspended from Sept. 25, according to the sources. The Financial Services Commission said the online program is not advertising tha
Sept. 10, 2021
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Doosan Infracore to raise 800 bln won via stock selling
Doosan Infracore on Friday announced that it will sell stocks to raise 800 billion won ($682 billion). The proceeds from the stock sale will be used mainly to pay off its debts and for other purposes, the company said in a regulatory filing. Doosan Infracore will issue some 115.1 million common shares at a price of 6,950 won per share. The stocks will be sold to the firm's existing shareholders. Hyundai Genuine, the holding company of Doosan Infracore, will buy up to 28.8 percent of the sto
Sept. 10, 2021
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Apple snubs Epic's request to allow return of 'Fortnite' in S. Korea after law revision
Apple Inc. on Friday rejected US game maker Epic Games Inc.'s request that its hit title "Fortnite" be rereleased in South Korea in a case that highlights a tug-of-war over lucrative payment systems on the app market. The video game maker earlier tweeted that it asked Apple to restore its "Fortnite" developer account and that it plans to relaunch the game on Apple's mobile operating system in the country in light of a new legislation that effectively allows alternative in-ap
Sept. 10, 2021
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New FSC chief, financial giants mull loan maturity extension
Koh Seung-beom, the new chairman of the policymaking Financial Services Commission, met with the heads of South Korea’s five biggest banking groups on Friday to discuss whether to further put off loan repayment schedules for households and companies reeling from the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. No conclusion has been reached yet, but Koh and the group executives agreed on the importance of inclusive financial policies to boost “cooperation between economic players for mutual
Sept. 10, 2021
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Talks fall through, keeping local carmakers out of secondhand car market
Talks between major automakers and the secondhand car industry have fallen through, stalling the process of opening the market to carmakers, sources close to the matter said Friday. Final negotiations took place Thursday, mediated by a committee dedicated to finding common ground, but to no avail. The issue will now be handled by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. The committee was launched in June in hopes of an agreement between carmakers and used car businesses within three months. Though
Sept. 10, 2021
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Lotte Confectionery to release special BTS edition for Xylitol chewing gum
Lotte Confectionery said Friday that it will release a special BTS edition of its popular Xylitol chewing gum next month. The new edition will come in 10 packaging options -- seven representing each member of the septet and the other three featuring the group in its entirety. The gum has two flavors, Apple Mint and Purple Mix, which is a mixture of grapefruit and blueberries. With the volume of the package double the regular size, the company said the new special edition will make them more
Sept. 10, 2021
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FTC to keep eyes on unfair practices in e-commerce sector
Amid growing scrutiny of online giants Naver and Kakao, South Korea’s antitrust watchdog chief on Friday spoke of the need to regulate massive online platforms in order to better protect small vendors and consumers. “E-commerce platforms have brought new benefits and convenience, but concerns over side effects have newly arisen,” Joh Sung-wook, chairperson of the Fair Trade Commission, said during a breakfast meeting organized by the European Chamber of Commerce in Korea.
Sept. 10, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Demand for apartments on rise despite loan restrictions
Demand for apartments in South Korea’s capital and the surrounding areas continued to rise for two consecutive weeks, despite the central bank’s latest rate hike and financial institutions’ efforts to cut back lending, data showed Friday. According to the Korea Real Estate Board, the index measuring supply and demand for apartments in Seoul and the surrounding area inched up 0.4 points on-week to 112.1 as of Monday, extending gains for two consecutive weeks. It had gained 0.9
Sept. 10, 2021
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KT’s Genie Music acquires Millie’s Library, planning expansion of audio content business
Genie Music became the largest stakeholder of Millie’s Library, an e-book service provider, as the KT-backed music-streaming platform looks to expand its audio content business. According to the company Friday, Genie Music acquired a 38.6 percent stake in the e-book firm for 46.4 billion won. Millie’s Library is a subscription-based e-book service startup. The platform is No. 1 in the South Korean market, boasting 3.5 million subscribers, some 100,000 e-book titles and some 3,000
Sept. 10, 2021
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Boston Dynamics eyes expanded partnership with Hyundai Motor
US robotics startup Boston Dynamics said Friday it will expand its partnership with South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Group to integrate its robotics technologies in future mobility solutions and expand their applications in other industrial sectors. Boston Dynamics demonstrated its latest robotics technologies during an online media event after the automotive group in June completed the $880 million purchase of its 80 percent stake from Japanese conglomerate Softbank. Boston Dynamics, spu
Sept. 10, 2021
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Telcos lag in mmWave 5G equipment installation: lawmaker
South Korean telecom operators have so far installed less than 200 base stations that support millimeter wave (mmWave) 5G, data showed Friday, highlighting the lack of progress to commercialize the technology that unlocks the fastest speeds on the network. Major mobile carriers -- SK Telecom Co., KT Corp. and LG Uplus Corp. -- have installed just 161 mmWave 5G base stations as of the end of August, lagging far behind the government requirement of over 45,000 base stations by the end of this yea
Sept. 10, 2021
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[Interactive] How garbage mountains are piling up in South Korea
Sept. 10, 2021
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[Graphic News] Jeju golf courses log record number of visitors for 2nd year running
Golf courses on Jeju Island appear to be an exception to the COVID-19 recession, with the southern resort island inundated with record numbers of golfers from elsewhere for the second consecutive year. The number of visitors to Jeju’s golf courses totaled 1.66 million in the first seven months of this year, marking an increase of 37.3 percent from 1.21 million in the same period of last year, data from the provincial government showed. There are 30 golf courses on Jeju, of which
Sept. 10, 2021
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Naver, Kakao shares plunge on moves to regulate IT platforms
With politicians and regulators joining forces to strengthen monitoring of fast-growing IT platforms, shares of South Korea’s two tech giants plummeted Thursday, losing a combined 19 trillion won ($16.2 billion) in just two days. Naver, the country’s third-largest company by market capitalization, declined 2.56 percent, or 10,500 won, to close at 399,000 won Thursday, adding to a 7.87 percent fall recorded the previous day. Kakao plummeted 7.22 percent to 128,500 won after losing 1
Sept. 9, 2021
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SK ecoplant wins bid for $2.2b Norway expressway
SK ecoplant has won a bid to build a $2.2 billion expressway in Norway, making them the first South Korean construction company to enter the infrastructure business in the north European country. According to the construction arm of SK Group, a “Sotra Link” consortium consisting of SK ecoplant, Australia’s Macquarie Capital and Italian construction company Webuild, has been chosen for the “Rv555 The Sotra Connection” expressway construction project. SK owns a 2
Sept. 9, 2021
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LG Chem, Coupang to recycle 3,000 tons of packaging waste
South Korea’s leading chemical firm LG Chem has joined hands with the nation’s e-commerce giant Coupang to recycle 3,000 metric tons of plastic packaging waste and to offer a door-to-door plastic-waste retrieval system. At Coupang’s headquarters in Jamsil, southeastern Seoul, LG Chem Executive Vice President Hur Sung-woo and Coupang Vice President Ryan Brown signed an agreement to collect and recycle 3,000 tons of stretch wrap being thrown away at Coupang fulfillment centers e
Sept. 9, 2021
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South Korea greenlights Hanwha to utilize lunar resources
Hanwha Aerospace became the first South Korean space company to win government approval to utilize resources in space, such as on the moon and Mars, the company said Thursday. According to the defense business unit of Hanwha Group, the firm signed an in-situ resource utilization, or ISRU, agreement with six government-funded research bodies. ISRU refers to using local materials in space and producing necessary items required for space exploration on site, such as water, oxygen, solar cells
Sept. 9, 2021