Most Popular
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Tensions heighten ahead of first president-opposition chief meeting
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Seoul to provide housing subsidy to married couples with newborns
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[KH Explains] No more 'Michael' at Kakao Games
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Rapper jailed after public street fight with another rapper
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Woman gets suspended term for injuring boyfriend with knife
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Samsung chief bolsters ties with Germany’s Zeiss
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Nominee for chief of anti-corruption body pledges 'independence, effectiveness'
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NewJeans pops out ‘Bubble Gum’ video amid troubles at agency
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Med schools expect 1,500+ new admission slots next year
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KT launches new mobile plans for foreign residents
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S. Korea's biopharmaceutical exports more than double in 2020
South Korea's exports of biopharmaceutical products more than doubled in 2020 from a year earlier on the back of the growing demand for pharmaceutical products amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a report showed Monday. Outbound shipments of high-end biopharmaceutical products came to $5.1 billion in 2020, compared with around $2.1 billion tallied the previous year, according to the Korea International Trade Association (KITA). Asia's fourth-largest economy stood in seventh place in terms of exports i
July 26, 2021
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Seoul stocks open lower amid COVID-19 concerns
South Korean stocks opened slightly lower Monday as investors remain cautious about the country's resurgence of new coronavirus cases. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 2.02 points, or 0.06 percent, to 3,252.4 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks retreated after a two-day gain, as the spiking cases sapped demand for risky assets. On Friday, the government extended the highest Level 4 quarantine measures in the Seoul metropolitan area for another two wee
July 26, 2021
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S. Korean units of foreign auto trio suffer worst slump in over 2 decades
South Korean units of three foreign carmakers suffered the worst sales slump since 1998 in the first half of this year in the face of toughening competition with their Korean rivals and luxury German brands, industry data showed Monday. The Korean units of GM Korea Co., Renault Samsung Motors Corp. and SsangYong Motor Co. together sold 88,625 units in the domestic market in the first six months of the year, plunging 35.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the data by the Korean Automobil
July 26, 2021
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Instant noodle exports hit new high in H1 amid pandemic
South Korea's instant noodle exports touched an all-time high in the first half of the year amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Monday. Asia's fourth-largest economy exported $319.68 million worth of instant noodles, or "ramyeon" in Korean, in the January-June period, up 5.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. The amount was above the previous first-half record of $302.08 million set a year earlier. Yet the first-half growth rate
July 26, 2021
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[Advertorial] Mercedes-Benz accessories enjoy booming sales
Mercedes-Benz Korea is expanding its business beyond cars and car-related items on the back of strong sales: with accessories. The Korean branch of the German automaker currently sells some 4,000 branded accessories and about 1,000 “collection items” made in collaboration with other companies at 41 stores and online. The products are diverse and not limited to car-related uses, such as wallets and clothes. Sales of the accessories have shown steady growth since 2014, Mercedes-B
July 26, 2021
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SK Group launches in-house emissions certification body
SK Group has established an in-house body dedicated to reviewing and verifying its subsidiaries’ programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the conglomerate said Sunday. The SK carbon certification center, installed under the auspices of the group’s top decision-making body, the Supex Council, will work to ensure the implementation of the “SK Carbon Standard,” its own set of principles and guidelines to realize the group’s net zero vision. Last month, the chie
July 25, 2021
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[Herald Interview] In pandemic drive, procurement agency opens door for SME exports
South Korea’s central government procurement agency has been stepping up efforts to support small and medium-sized enterprises in the health sector eyeing on the international procurement markets in the pandemic era. And its support is adding momentum to the nation’s exports of pandemic-related goods, a state-led recovery model from the virus, its chief said in a recent interview with The Korea Herald. “Since last year, local SMEs producing quarantine products such as face
July 25, 2021
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Government spending less on research equipment
South Korean government spending on research equipment and facilities declined during the five years ending in 2019, but the country spent more on research and development during the same time frame, a report said Sunday. According to the paper by the Korea Institute of S&T Evaluation and Planning based on 2019 data, the government spent 678.5 billion won ($588.97 million) on research hardware in 2019, down from 930.2 billion won in 2017 and 971.1 billion won in 2015. Over the 2015-201
July 25, 2021
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Eximbank to invest W100b into future mobility business
The state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea said Sunday it will invest 100 billion won ($87 million) in future mobility businesses to ensure local firms can gain an upper hand in those fields amid a rapidly changing global market. The areas it will allocate investments include electronic, hydrogen-fueled or automatic driving cars, urban air mobility, eco-friendly vessels and aerospace craft. The lender made the investment decision in line with the government-led Korean New Deal initiative, whic
July 25, 2021
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[Feature] From cows to Rolex, young investors in Korea eye new alternative investment
High liquidity in the market has led some young retail investors on relatively small budgets to look into unconventional, and perhaps “fun,” ways of investing. By joining fractional investments in such areas as livestock and limited-edition Rolex watches, they expect somewhat stable returns, rather than entirely relying on volatile stock markets or cryptocurrencies that carry higher risks, according to industry insiders. What makes this new way of alternative investing possible are
July 25, 2021
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Korea’s 1st travel bubble opens to a slow start
South Korea’s first travel bubble with Saipan kicked off quietly on Saturday morning with just a handful of passengers traveling under the scheme amid a fourth wave of COVID-19 infections. Two flights from Asiana Airlines and low-cost carrier Jeju Air departed from Incheon Airport for the main island in the Northern Mariana island chain. Though a total of 92 passengers were on board both flights, only six people on board the Asiana flight were traveling under the quarantine-free travel a
July 25, 2021
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Deferred loan payments for businesses total W108tr under COVID relief program
Deferred loan and interest payments owed by businesses hit by the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea added up to an alarming 108 trillion won ($97 billion) this month, data showed Sunday. Since the launch of the deferral program in February last year, the combined amount of loans yet to be repaid totaled 99.7 trillion won as of Friday, data provided by the five major commercial banks here showed. Additionally, overdue payments set to be paid in installments amounted to 8.4 trillion won and overdu
July 25, 2021
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Hyundai Motor to improve safety of second life battery energy storage system
South Korea’s top automaker Hyundai Motor said Sunday it has signed a memorandum of understanding with safety standards company UL to strengthen the safety of its second life battery energy storage system, also known as SLBESS. The move will see both companies work together in adopting the UL Signature Solution to strengthen credibility, jointly developing exclusive UL evaluation standards, as well as collaborate in “multiple aspects” for demonstration projects in North Americ
July 25, 2021
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Kakao looks to join W100tr club with financial subsidiaries’ IPOs
The combined market capitalization of Kakao and its affiliates is anticipated to reach 100 trillion won ($86.8 billion), as South Korea’s fifth-largest business group’s two financial subsidiaries ready themselves for initial public offerings. As of Friday’s closing bell, the mobile messenger giant and its two listed affiliates Kakao Games and Neptune marked an aggregate market cap of 74.84 trillion won, according to the Korea Exchange on Sunday. Of that total, Kakao’s
July 25, 2021
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Kia to suspend local plant on COVID-19 infections
Kia Corp., South Korea's second-biggest carmaker, said Sunday it will suspend one of its eight domestic plants on Monday as dozens of workers at the factory were infected with COVID-19 in recent days. The No. 1 Sohari plant's suspension may be extended depending on the result of coronavirus tests on its workers, a company spokesman said. The Sohari plant in Gwangmyeong, just south of Seoul, has an annual output capacity of 320,000 units and mainly produces the Stinger sports car, the K9 flags
July 25, 2021
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5 financial firms' H1 interest income likely up 11% on increased loans
The interest income of South Korea's five major financial groups likely jumped 11 percent in the first half from a year earlier on extended loan growth amid low market rates, industry sources said Sunday. KB, Hana, Shinhan, Woori and NH Nonghyup are expected to report a combined 20.38 trillion won ($17.7 billion) worth of interest income from January to June, up from 18.43 trillion won in the same period of last year, it said. KB, Hana, Woori and NH Nonghyup posted interest income of 5.41 tr
July 25, 2021
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US firm HAAH to submit LOI for SsangYong Motor: sources
The head of US-based vehicle importer HAAH Automotive Holdings Inc. has said the company is set to submit its letter of intent this week to acquire SsangYong Motor Co., industry sources said Sunday. HAAH Automotive Holdings founder Duke Hale said HAAH is the optimal company to acquire financially troubled SsangYong and will submit an LOI by Friday, a person familiar with the matter said over the phone. SsangYong's Indian parent Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. had been in talks with HAAH to sell i
July 25, 2021
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S. Korea to raise up to $1.5b via overseas debt sale
South Korea is planning to float up to $1.5 billion worth of overseas bonds during the second half of the year to capitalize on favorable funding conditions, financial sources said Sunday. According to the sources, the finance ministry has recently completed the process to pick a lead manager for the planned debt sale. The ministry's move came as ratings on Asia's fourth-largest economy remain high in the face of the pandemic. Last year, major global rating agencies, such as Fitch, did not lo
July 25, 2021
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[Photo News] Smart devices useful during COVID-19 pandemic
Visitors are looking around electronic products displayed at the 11th Korea Smart Device x Small Electronics Trade Show 2021, an annual trade fair for small electronics. Robot speakers are showing off their moves at a booth set up in the trade show. Small home refrigerators featuring cute character designs attract visitors to the trade fair. “Watch YouTube videos in an old-fashion way!” A local company exhibits smartphone holders look like old-fashioned TVs. An exhibitor de
July 24, 2021
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[Weekender] Electric personalities: New breed of influencers
Not content with stopping at fast-food tills, toll booths and bank tellers, tech is coming for influencers’ jobs, too. A new wave of artificial intelligence-created digital characters has leapt across the uncanny valley -- the chasm in appeal for renderings that are unsettlingly, but not convincingly lifelike -- and risen to the fore of the marketing world, in some cases clinching deals worth millions of dollars. Korean companies have developed their own virtual influencers, but they a
July 24, 2021