Most Popular
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Yoon, Lee end first talks with differences, agree to meet more
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What is Hybe’s next move?
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China outpaces Korea in smaller OLED shipments for 1st time
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Medical profs at top hospitals suspend surgeries, clinics
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[Herald Interview] Mom’s Touch seeks to replicate success in Japan
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Police to open alleged stalking probe over pastor over Dior bag scandal
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'Queen of Tears' finale sets record viewership ratings as tvN's most-watched series ending
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Samsung chip business back on track, logs W1.9tr operating profit in Q1
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[News Focus] Lee tells Yoon that he has governed without political dialogue
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Seoul to deploy more military doctors to fill med prof void
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Amazon Global Store launches in Korea
Global online retailer Amazon and South Korean e-commerce platform 11st launched the Amazon Global Store on 11st on Tuesday. The move has made it easier to buy tens of millions of products available on Amazon’s US website, ranging from PCs, toys and fashion to electronics, with free shipping on orders over 28,000 won ($24). Though the service has been in operation in 12 other countries, it marks the first time Amazon is working with a local company for the launch. It also makes 11st the
Aug. 31, 2021
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Number of restaurant, hotel workers drops in July as pandemic lingers
The number of people working at restaurants and hotels dropped 64,000 on-year in July as the fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic continued to weigh down on the sectors, the government said Tuesday. The total number of workers in the restaurant and hotel industry stood at 1.09 million last month, down 64,000, or 5.5 percent, from the same month last year, according to the Ministry of Employment and Labor. The sectors have shed workers for 18 straight months since the pandemic first exploded
Aug. 31, 2021
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Fed’s tapering talk has limited impact on Korean market ‘for now’
The reports surrounding the US Federal Reserve’s plan to trim bond purchases over an extended period have had limited impact on the Korean market “for now,” First Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-won said Tuesday. The remark follows some volatility observed in the nation’s main bourse in the events leading up to and after US Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s speech at the Fed’s annual Jackson Hole gathering last week. The central bank may begin withdrawing some of i
Aug. 31, 2021
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Hyundai Heavy develops offshore carbon dioxide storage platform
Hyundai Heavy Industries Group has developed an offshore platform to store carbon dioxide under the ocean floor with the state-run Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC), the group said Tuesday. The group's two affiliates-- Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. (KSOE) and KSOE's subsidiary Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. -- have won approval in principle (AIP) for the offshore platform from DNV, a Norwegian ship quality assurance and risk management company, it said. AIP for the platform mea
Aug. 31, 2021
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Blackstone seeks up to W320b in exit from handbag maker IPO
New York-based private equity firm Blackstone is attempting to cash in on its holdings in Simone Acc Collection for up to 320.7 billion won ($275.3 million) in a partial exit involving an initial public offering, a prospectus showed Tuesday. The IPO of luxury handbag maker Simone, which could fetch up to 400.9 billion won before its proposed October listing on the Korea Exchange‘s main board Kospi, will allow the world’s largest private equity investor to carry out an immediate exi
Aug. 31, 2021
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Institutions' investment in foreign securities up 5.1% in Q2
South Korean institutions' investment in foreign securities rose 5.1 percent in the second quarter as they increased their holdings of foreign stocks and bonds, central bank data showed Tuesday. The combined value of foreign securities held by institutional investors came to $381.1 billion as of end-June, up $18.5 billion from three months earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). Foreign securities include stocks, bonds and so-called Korean paper, which refers to foreign currency-denomi
Aug. 31, 2021
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Banks' bad loans fall 11.5% in Q2
Nonperforming loans at South Korean banks fell 11.5 percent in the second quarter from three months earlier due to a decline in overdue corporate loans, data showed Tuesday. Nonperforming loans came to 12.2 trillion won ($10.5 billion) at the end of June, down 1.6 trillion won from the end of March, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Overdue corporate loans reached 10.5 trillion won at the end of June, down 1.4 trillion won from a quarter earlier, the data sho
Aug. 31, 2021
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Moon stresses need to keep expansionary fiscal policy in 2022
President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday emphasized the importance of maintaining an aggressive fiscal policy next year, as the government has proposed an 8.3 percent hike in the state budget. "(We) are facing a very important time for the nation in the midst of the world's order of upheaval and great transformation. The fiscal role is more important than ever," he said at the start of a weekly Cabinet meeting. Main agenda items included the budget plan for fiscal 2022. In its final annual b
Aug. 31, 2021
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HMM's land-based workers at HMM vote to strike for pay increase
Unionized land-based workers at HMM Co. have voted for a strike after failing to reach an agreement with the management over a pay raise, the union said Tuesday, triggering concerns over potential disruption at the country's top shipper. In a vote held Monday, 98 percent of its 755 members supported the strike if the negotiations go nowhere, according to the union. A week earlier, unionized sailors and other sea-based workers at the company also voted in favor of a strike to solve wage disput
Aug. 31, 2021
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[Newsmaker] S. Korea proposes record W604tr budget for 2022 amid pandemic
South Korea on Tuesday proposed a record high budget of 604.4 trillion won ($519 billion) for next year as it plans to maintain expansionary fiscal spending to cement the economic recovery and narrow social gaps caused by the pandemic. The proposed budget, endorsed by the Cabinet, marks an 8.3 percent on-year rise from this year's 558 trillion-won budget, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The increase is lower than the 8.9 percent increase for this year. The government plans to
Aug. 31, 2021
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Seoul stocks open lower amid virus woes
South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday as investors took to the sidelines amid the country's protracted fight against its worst wave of the pandemic. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 4.03 points, or 0.13 percent, to trade at 3,140.16 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. South Korea's fight with the current wave of the pandemic weighed on investor sentiment as health authorities struggle to flatten the virus curve ahead of the Chuseok holiday next month. In
Aug. 31, 2021
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S. Korea wary of potential market volatility from Fed's tapering issue: official
Talks about the Federal Reserve's tapering of asset purchases have had limited impacts on South Korea's financial market, but the country will monitor the situation with "extra" vigilance, a senior government official said Tuesday. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said in a Jackson Hole speech Friday (U.S. time) that the Fed may begin to taper bond purchases this year, but he took a cautious stance about an early tapering of asset buying or a hike in interest rates. First Vice Finance Mini
Aug. 31, 2021
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Home transactions sink 37% in July
Home transactions in South Korea tumbled 37 percent in July amid government efforts to rein in soaring housing prices, government data showed Tuesday. The number of homes changing hands nationwide stood at 88,937 last month, down 37.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The July reading was little changed from the 88,922 deals registered in the prior month. The number of home transactions in the South Korean capital of S
Aug. 31, 2021
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Industrial output down in July amid toughened virus curbs
South Korea's industrial output decreased in July from the previous month in the latest sign that the country's economic recovery momentum slowed amid the fourth wave of the pandemic, data showed Tuesday. Industrial output fell 0.5 percent in July from the previous month, a turnaround from a 1.6 percent on-month gain in June, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. From a year earlier, it increased 4.7 percent. Retail sales, a gauge of private spending, declined 0.6 percent in July
Aug. 31, 2021
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Hahn & Co. sues Namyang Dairy for breach of contract
Seoul-based buyout firm Hahn & Co. has filed a lawsuit against Namyang Dairy Products shareholders for failing to abide by a binding contract to sell their controlling shares to them, the nation’s second-largest private equity fund said Monday. The lawsuit, submitted to the Seoul Central District Court on Aug. 23, is meant to urge shareholders, including Namyang Dairy Chairman Hong Won-sik, to implement the sales deal signed on May 27 as planned, Hahn & Co. said in a statement.
Aug. 30, 2021
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Korean gamers take action against NCSoft’s ‘misleading’ marketing
On Thursday, two South Korean game developers had sharply contrasting fortunes on the local stock market: NCSoft’s shares plunged 15.29 percent, while Pearl Abyss shares skyrocketed 25.57 percent. The share price moves of both companies were affected by reactions to their new game titles -- NCSoft’s newly launched mobile role-playing game Blade & Soul 2 and Pearl Abyss’ trailer video for DokeV, an open-world game, whose release date is yet to be announced. The dr
Aug. 30, 2021
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Ruling on Woori chief signals clemency to CEOs for misselling scandal
A court ruling that nullified a penalty for Woori Financial Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Sohn Tae-seung signals clemency for other chiefs of banks and other financial institutions who have been blamed for their role in a series of private fund misselling scandals, industry sources said Monday. The ruling by the Seoul Administrative Court Friday was in favor of Sohn, rescinding a “reprimand” warning on the banking group chiefs by the Financial Supervisory Service. The
Aug. 30, 2021
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Home presales set to begin for Hyundai E&C’s Hillstate Namsan
Hyundai Engineering & Construction’s premium apartment brand Hillstate is to give Seoul another landmark at the heart of the capital city with the construction of Hillstate Namsan. Located at Mukjeong-dong, Jung-gu district, near the office-heavy Gwanghwamun downtown area, the complex comprises two buildings, with three floors underground and nine above. The size of the 282 residential units up for sale range between 21 square meters and 49 square meters. Two floors underground wi
Aug. 30, 2021
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LG Chem to turn artificial marble waste into translucent plastic
LG Chem said Monday that it would reuse artificial marble waste to produce translucent industrial plastic -- widely used in making pipes, auto body parts and helmets. According to South Korea’s leading chemical company, it has joined hands with Veolia R&E, which has a patented technology to extract a liquid material called methyl methacrylate, or MMA, from artificial marble waste. Through the partnership, LG Chem will secure a stable supply of recycled MMA and use it to manufacture
Aug. 30, 2021
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SK Energy, Logisquare seek green transition of cargo trucks
Leading oil refinery and gas station operator SK Energy said Monday it has partnered up with the nation’s largest logistics firm Logisquare to accelerate the green transition of cargo trucks. Under the partnership, Logisquare, which operates 16 logistics hubs nationwide and processes 60,000 units of cargo from some 1,000 clients, will gradually shift its registered cargo trucks to electric and hydrogen vehicles. SK Energy, which runs 22 NeTruck Houses -- one-stop filling stations that
Aug. 30, 2021