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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Rapper jailed after public street fight with another rapper
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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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New head of doctors' association vows war in case of disadvantage to medical professors
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Samsung expects estimate-beating Q2 earnings on robust chip biz
Samsung Electronics Co. on Wednesday expected market estimate-beating second-quarter earnings as its semiconductor business apparently offset a tepid performance from its mobile business. In its earnings guidance, the South Korean tech giant estimated its operating profit at 12.5 trillion won ($11 billion) for the April-June period, up 53.4 percent from a year ago. Its second-quarter operating income estimate beat the market consensus of 11.2 trillion won in a survey by Yonhap Infomax, the fi
July 7, 2021
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Current account surplus widens in May on robust exports
South Korea's current account surplus sharply widened in May as exports maintained strong growth and companies received dividends from overseas affiliates, central bank data showed Wednesday. The current account surplus reached $10.97 billion in May, widening from a surplus of $1.91 billion the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The current account is the broadest measure of cross-border trade. Since the country logged a deficit of $3.33 billion in April last year, the large
July 7, 2021
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China deepens crypto crackdown with central bank warning
BEIJING (AFP) -- China's central bank warned companies on Tuesday against assisting cryptocurrency-related businesses as it shut down a software firm over suspected involvement in digital currency transactions. Beijing has turned a sharp eye on cryptocurrency in recent months as it widens its regulatory crackdown on the tech sector. Cryptocurrency trading is banned in China, and authorities have recently closed mines and warned banks to halt related transactions. On Tuesday, a Beijing office
July 6, 2021
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S. Korea, EU to cooperate on fighting climate change
SEJONG -- South Korea and the European Union on Tuesday agreed to work together against climate change in line with their shared target to achieve zero net emissions of carbon by 2050. Industry Minister Moon Sung-wook met Frans Timmermans, who serves as the executive vice president for the European Green Deal, in Seoul to share ideas on ways to cooperate in coping with climate change, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. It was the first time for a high-ranking European cli
July 6, 2021
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Kospi renews record high closing above 3,305 points
South Korea’s benchmark stock index refreshed its record high closing on Tuesday, backed by foreigners and institutional investors’ extending buying sprees for two days. The Kospi index closed at 3,305.21, up 12 points or 0.36 percent, from the previous session’s close. It broke the previous record of 3,302.84 from June 25 but failed to reach as high as its all-time high of 3,316.08 set during intraday trading on the same day. Offshore investors and institutions purchased a
July 6, 2021
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‘More than 50 imported EV models to be unveiled in S. Korea by 2023’
Foreign car brands will introduce at least 54 electric vehicle models here by 2023, South Korea’s imported car association said Tuesday. New executives and board members of the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association noted a clear shift of the industry paradigm toward electrification at their first press conference since their inauguration last year, saying foreign players will be adding momentum to that by presenting more electricity-powered vehicles. “For me
July 6, 2021
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Korean automakers face tough road ahead as workers plan for strike
As South Korean automakers move to embrace the trend shift for eco-friendly vehicles, they face difficulties in narrowing differences with labor unions seeking wage increase and job protection. The labor union of Hyundai Motor, the country’s leading automaker, said it is set to vote to strike Wednesday, after failing to reduce the gap in this year’s collective bargaining negotiations. In the 13th round of negotiations held this year, Hyundai Motor management suggested a proposal
July 6, 2021
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Hyundai Pharm seeks approval for abortion pill
Hyundai Pharmaceutical announced Tuesday that it had filed an application for authorization to market an abortion pill in South Korea. Mifegymiso consists of one tablet of mifepristone and four tablets of misoprostol. Mifepristone, formerly RU-486, is known by the brand name Mifegyne in Korea. In March this year, Hyundai Pharm signed an exclusive agreement with Linepharma International to sell Mifegyne in the Korean market. If approved, Mifegymiso would become the first legal abortion pill
July 6, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Self-made man behind Jungheung’s surprise bid for Daewoo
Behind the surprise bid of Jungheung for the control of a much-larger rival, Daewoo Engineering & Construction, is a self-made entrepreneur little known outside the construction field: Jung Chang-sun, the chairman and founder of Jungheung Group. Jungheung, founded in the southern city of Gwangju, grabbed headlines on Tuesday after it was selected as the preferred bidder of Daewoo E&C, the nation’s sixth-largest builder with a proud but checkered history. Local media put Jungheung
July 6, 2021
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[News Focus] Critics call time on ‘shutdown law’
Disputes are raging across online communities and political circles in South Korea over the controversial “shutdown law” that purportedly protects children from excessive gaming. Last week, an online petition was filed to the presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae, claiming that the “Cinderella law” is denying access to the child-friendly game Minecraft. Popular YouTubers who play the global hit game for younger audiences, also criticized the regulation, saying they are
July 6, 2021
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LG Innotek wins nod from GM for four consecutive years
LG Group’s material and components maker LG Innotek has been recognized for the quality of its auto parts supplied to General Motors, the company said Tuesday. The South Korean firm received the 2020 GM Supplier Quality Excellence Award, marking its fourth consecutive win dating to 2017. GM recognizes partners that meet standards of zero quality defects and strict quality control for automotive components with the award, as quality control is directly related to the safety of drivers,
July 6, 2021
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Korea will strengthen debt management efforts, fiscal chief tells Fitch
South Korea will take preemptive actions to manage its sovereign debt to maintain sound fiscal health, the country’s top economic policy maker said during an annual consultation meeting with global rating agency Fitch Ratings on Tuesday. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said the ratio of national debt to gross domestic product is expected to fare better than projected earlier. The government drew up this year’s second supplementary budget without a debt sale and had paid some debts o
July 6, 2021
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S. Korea mulls normalizing eased rules on banks' FX derivative positions
South Korea said Tuesday it plans to consider normalizing eased rules on banks' foreign exchange (FX) derivative positions as FX liquidity conditions have improved amid the global economic recovery. In March 2020, the country relaxed rules on banks' FX forward positions after the country's FX and swap markets suffered a severe dollar crunch caused by market routs over the pandemic. Last year, the country raised the cap on the holding of local banks' FX forward positions to 50 percent of their
July 6, 2021
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Kospi at renewed record high amid earnings hope
South Korean stocks advanced for the second consecutive day to close at a fresh record high Tuesday as hopes for strong second-quarter corporate earnings drove up tech stocks. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) increased 12 points, or 0.36 percent, to close at 3,305.21 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1 billion shares worth some 14.5 trillion won ($12.8 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 476 to 344. Foreigners
July 6, 2021
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Korea kicks off standardization of next-gen EV technologies
The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Energy on Tuesday launched an electric vehicle standardization forum to establish ground rules for five industries based on future technology, including wireless charging and water-cooled rapid chargers. Formed by the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards under the Industry Ministry, the industry-academia-research cooperation platform will also lead standardization efforts in vehicle-to-grid technology, electric motorcycles and solid-state batteries.
July 6, 2021
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Nuclear energy essential for Korea‘s decarbonization goal: FKI
South Korea needs nuclear energy to achieve its decarbonization goal and go in tandem with the global low-carbon drive, as the country has conditions unfavorable to rely mainly on renewables, the Federation of Korean Industries said Tuesday. In a statement, the nation’s major business lobbying group cited the World Economic Forum’s energy transition index -- which benchmarks 115 economies on the current performance of their energy systems across various aspects -- to highlight Ko
July 6, 2021
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Brazilian fintech used for KakaoBank, Kakao Pay's value evaluation
KakaoBank and Kakao Pay, which are set to go public only seven days apart, each compared themselves to a Brazilian financial technology firm for their valuations, their initial public offering applications showed Tuesday. The companies last week submitted their applications to Korea Exchange, the country’s stock market operator. KakaoBank said it plans to go public on Aug. 5 while Kakao Pay set its IPO date for Aug. 12. In their IPO applications, KakaoBank compared itself to four over
July 6, 2021
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[News Focus] Home prices in 9 major regions up 26% in a year
SEJONG - House prices rose an average of more than 25 percent in the last 12 months in South Korea’s nine major areas, including Seoul and Gyeonggi Province. According to KB Kookmin Bank and Naver.com, the average on-year growth in housing prices in the nine areas reached 26.7 percent during July 2020-July 2021 period. The other seven of the nine are Busan, Incheon, Daegu, Daejeon, Gwangju, Ulsan and Sejong. Seoul saw the average trading price of homes come to 37.38 m
July 6, 2021
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For Korean brokerages, investors, metaverse is new growth engine
South Korean brokerage firms and asset management companies are keeping a close eye on a new virtual world convergence of cutting-edge technologies, amid market expectations of the emerging sector propelling greater growth. The metaverse -- a combination of “meta” and “universe” -- refers to a virtual world shared by people in the real world. It has rapidly emerged as a major trend for companies around the world. According to industry watchers Tuesday, two Seoul-based
July 6, 2021
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Wealthy S. Koreans expect summer stock market rally: survey
More than half of South Koreans whose financial assets exceed 1 billion won ($893,000) believe that the local stock market may rally this summer on hopes of an economic rebound, a recent survey showed Tuesday. According to the survey conducted by Samsung Securities, some 64 percent of the company’s 782 high net worth customers, said they look forward to a summer rally in the stock market. Among them, 68 percent forecast the country’s key stock index Kospi would hover around
July 6, 2021