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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New celebrity-endorsed therapy for face contouring requires only a pair of rubber bands
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Rapper jailed after public street fight with another rapper
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[KH Explains] No more 'Michael' at Kakao Games
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Woman gets suspended term for injuring boyfriend with knife
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Nominee for chief of anti-corruption body pledges 'independence, effectiveness'
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Med schools expect 1,500+ new admission slots next year
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Samsung chief bolsters ties with Germany’s Zeiss
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KT launches new mobile plans for foreign residents
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[News Focus] Is ‘real 5G’ elusive goal for Korea?
Is 5G, the next-generation of wireless technology, worth the hype? This is a question frequently thrown out by multiple groups of 5G users here since the fifth generation mobile networks went into commercial service at 11:00 p.m. on April 3, 2019 in South Korea, in a loudly-trumpeted world first. Over the past two years, the number of 5G users in Korea has steadily grown to account for about 20 percent, or 14.48 million, of total mobile subscriptions in the country as of end March, governm
May 30, 2021
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LG Electronics to launch beta test of robot lawn mower
LG Electronics said Sunday it will conduct a beta test of a robot lawn mower to develop a model optimized for Korean customers. This is the first time the company will conduct a demo test and develop a product together with customers. According to LG Electronics, it will receive 50 volunteers by June 11 and let them use the robot lawn mowers for two months. Based on their feedback, LG Electronics will develop a model customized to Korea’s residential environment. “Participants
May 30, 2021
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Gap widens between TSMC and Samsung Electronics
The gap between the world’s top two chip companies -- TSMC of Taiwan and Samsung Electronics of South Korea -- has widened over the past 12 months in terms of market cap, according to a Seoul-based corporate tracker. CEO Score said on Sunday that the market capitalization of TSMC and Samsung Electronics had a difference of about $10 billion a year ago, but the gap has widened to $117 billion. As of May 27, the value of TSMC was $543.3 billion, a 96.3 percent surge from $276.8 billion
May 30, 2021
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FSS to oversee virtual assets; cryptocurrencies in negative territory
The Financial Supervisory Service has been designated to man the main control tower overseeing the country’s burgeoning virtual asset market, putting an end to months of discussions on who would take charge, while major cryptocurrencies fell over the weekend. In an announcement on Friday, the government delegated the FSS, the country’s financial regulator, in charge of virtual assets while the Ministry of Science and ICT will take the helm in leading the country’s blockchai
May 30, 2021
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Ministry to push for 'use-by dates' to cut food waste
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said Sunday it would take steps to replace sell-by dates with the use-by dates in an effort to give food a longer shelf life and reduce food waste. Sell-by dates on food products indicate the period of time said products can be distributed and sold. But use-by dates show how long products can be stored for and still used. The latter often lasts longer than the former, though sell-by dates are what is currently used in the country. Milk, for instance, oft
May 30, 2021
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FSC likely to lift banks’ dividend cap in June
South Korea’s financial regulator is projected to lift its dividend cap placed on local banking groups next month, with the economy apparently on a fast track to recovery, industry watchers said Sunday. The Financial Services Commission in January “recommended” local bankers to limit dividends to 20 percent of their net profits for the first half of the year, with most banks heeding the advice. Shinhan Bank was the only lender that didn’t adopt the 20 percent cap, report
May 30, 2021
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[Herald Interview] ‘Digital disruption in finance brings bigger autonomy, better customer access’
Hanwha Asset Management, South Korea’s fourth-largest fund manager, is the first financial institution in the country to adopt a remote work system by adding satellite offices in Seoul. Under its DreamWork policy, some 400 employees and executives of Hanwha Asset are no longer under the same roof, and instead are given an autonomy to navigate the most suitable work conditions each day to boost productivity. “The underlying philosophy of DreamWork is to give employees the rights to
May 30, 2021
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Samsung Electronics most shorted stock after ban lifts
Market kingpin Samsung Electronics was the most heavily shorted stock in the South Korean market in the first month of a conditional resumption on short selling, data from the nation’s sole bourse operator showed Sunday. The amount of short sale transactions of the tech giant stood at 611.7 billion won ($549.18 million), an average of 34 billion won per day during 18 trading sessions from May 3 to Friday, according to the Korea Exchange data. Samsung shares have recently traded bearish,
May 30, 2021
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Overseas card spending drops 28.8% in Q1 amid pandemic
South Koreans' overseas card spending dropped 28.8 percent on-year in the first quarter, due to a sharp decline in the number of outbound travelers amid the COVID-19 pandemic, central bank data showed Sunday. The amount of money spent overseas by South Koreans with cards, including credit and debit cards, totaled $2.56 billion in the January-March period, compared with $3.59 billion for the same period last year, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). Compared with three months ea
May 30, 2021
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[News Focus] National debt-to-GDP likely to top 40% for 1st time in 2021
SEJONG -- South Korea’s national debt has reached the highest level after rising back past 800 trillion won ($717 billion), aggravating concerns over fiscal soundness. According to calculations from the National Assembly Budget Office, the nation’s sovereign debt was estimated at 800.3 trillion won as of Saturday. Though the figure inched down below the 800 trillion-won mark in early 2021 after surpassing 800 trillion won for the first time in November 2020, it has broken through t
May 30, 2021
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[Weekender] The truth about biodegradable plastics
For average customers, one of the easiest ways to pursue a green lifestyle is to purchase eco-friendly products. To target these customers and raise their brand images, companies in South Korea are rolling out eco-friendly products one after another, including some made of biodegradable plastic. Typically made from natural materials such as corn starch, biodegradable plastic is designed to break down naturally when it goes to landfills. However, these efforts – and extra expenses -- m
May 29, 2021
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NPS pledges to end coal investing, increase alternative exposure
The National Pension Service, the world’s third-largest pension fund, will pull the plug on coal-related investments, according to a plan approved on Friday by its investment management committee. Under the plan, NPS will no longer finance any new projects that involve building coal-fired power plants. It will also come up with an action plan to implement negative screening in order to exclude investment targets associated with climate change. The plan is to support a low-carbon ecosyste
May 28, 2021
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Posco taps into secondary battery recycling business
Posco has taken another step forward in the secondary battery recycling business, as it landed a new partnership deal with Chinese cobalt supplier Huayou Cobalt on Friday. The steelmaker inked a joint investment deal with the government of South Jeolla Province and Huayou Cobalt, a Shanghai-listed company specializing in material refining and purification. The secondary recycling business involves extracting core materials used in making secondary batteries, such as nickel and lithium fro
May 28, 2021
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Jungheung interested in Daewoo E&C, but takeover still under review
Jungheung Group, a local construction company, has expressed interest in acquiring Daewoo Engineering and Construction, but is in the process of reviewing its value and business potential, the builder said Friday. ”The company is interested in acquiring Daewoo E&C but nothing is confirmed,” an official at Jungheung said. “We’ll carefully examine the various conditions including Daewoo’s domestic and overseas business status, prospects after the acquisition an
May 28, 2021
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Legal ambiguity poses hurdles for NFT businesses: experts
Nonfungible tokens have seen a soaring popularity this year, but its future in South Korea remains uncertain due to legal gray areas, experts said Thursday during a conference on NFTs held in Seoul. Despite the short history of NFTs, the digital asset could create many opportunities for domestic companies as they try to add value to the fledgling technology and industry, experts said. But there are limits to bringing it into the commercial sphere as the domestic regulatory framework is not re
May 28, 2021
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Korea to develop exascale supercomputers by 2030
The South Korean government has thrown its weight behind plans to build exascale supercomputers by 2030 and nurture local talents in the sector, the finance minister said Friday. Exascale computing, a computer system that performs 1 quintillion operations per second, enables superspeed data analyses and simulations at that will pave the way for crucial discoveries in a wide range of fields, from finding new drugs against COVID-19 to predicting effects of climate change. The government plans
May 28, 2021
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Number of Toss Securities subscribers surpasses 3m in three months
Toss Securities, an online brokerage firm owned by fintech firm Viva Republica, said Friday that the number of stock trading accounts on its platform has surpassed 3 million. The 3 million accounts amount to around 30 percent of 9.14 million individual investors in the nation. Launched on Feb. 3, the company attracted new customers by running a series of promotional events. More than 1.7 million new customers joined the Toss platform during a five-day event in February that handed each new c
May 28, 2021
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S. Korea to levy 20% tax on cryptocurrency transactions starting next year as planned: govt.
South Korea plans to impose a 20 percent income tax on capital gains from cryptocurrency transactions starting next year as planned, the government announced Friday, despite growing investor calls for delaying the taxation plan. The government announced the plan after discussing the matter during a vice-ministerial interagency meeting chaired by Koo Yoon-cheol, head of the government policy coordination under the Prime Minister's Office. Gains from cryptocurrency transactions will be classifie
May 28, 2021
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Seoul stocks increase on economic rebound hopes
South Korean stocks increased Friday on hopes for a quick economic rebound, taking a cue from improved US economic data. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 23.22 points, or 0.73 percent, to close at 3,188.73 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 954 million shares worth some 13.4 trillion won (US$12 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 596 to 262. Foreigners bought a net 139 billion won, while retail investors s
May 28, 2021
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Naver aims for zero carbon emissions by 2040
Naver, the largest portal operator in South Korea, said Friday that it had a plan to cut its greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2040. The internet company came up with the plan, “2040 Carbon Negative,” because greenhouse gas emissions are forecast to surge for the next 10 years in line with the growing data traffic at internet data centers. The company’s plan aims to reach the same carbon neutrality goal that the government is pursuing, but 10 years earlier. As an examp
May 28, 2021