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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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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[Weekender] How DDP emerged as an icon of Seoul
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Rapper jailed after public street fight with another rapper
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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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Woman gets suspended term for injuring boyfriend with knife
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[KH Explains] No more 'Michael' at Kakao Games
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NewJeans pops out ‘Bubble Gum’ video amid troubles at agency
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SoftBank Vision Fund injects $175m in edtech startup Riiid
Educational technology startup Riiid has snapped up $175 million in fresh funding from SoftBank Vision Fund 2 to accelerate global entry of its artificial intelligence-based personalized learning experience and assessment program, the company announced Tuesday. SoftBank Vision Fund 2 was the sole investor in the latest series D round, bringing Riiid’s total funds raised to $250 million. Riiid did not disclose its post-money valuation. The deal was made 10 months after its pre-series D rou
May 25, 2021
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Household credit growth slows in Q1
South Korea's household credit grew at a slower pace in the first quarter, as banks tightened rules on loans, central bank data showed Tuesday. Household credit reached a record high of 1,765 trillion won ($1.56 trillion) as of March, up 37.6 trillion won from three months earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). Household credit refers to credit purchases and loans for households that have been extended by financial institutions, including commercial lenders and mutual sav
May 25, 2021
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Larger firms' exports dip 7.3% last year amid pandemic
Exports of South Korean bigger companies declined 7.3 percent last year from a year earlier amid the pandemic, led by a fall in shipments of petrochemicals, data showed Tuesday. Overseas shipments by the country's conglomerates were valued at $322.5 billion last year, compared with $347.7 billion the previous year, according to Statistics Korea and the Korea Customs Service. The decline was led by the manufacturing sector, the backbone of the country's economy, the data showed. Exports of larg
May 25, 2021
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Samsung tops Q1 TV market with record share: report
Samsung Electronics Co. maintained its status as the world's leading TV vendor with a record market share in the first quarter, a report showed Tuesday, as the tech giant posted robust growth on the back of its QLED and large TVs. Samsung represented 32.9 percent of the global TV market in terms of sales revenue in the January-March period, its largest share for a first quarter, according to data from industry researcher Omdia. Samsung was followed by its South Korean rival LG Electronics Inc.
May 25, 2021
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Dyson launches new vacuum cleaners with dust-detecting laser technology
British home appliance maker Dyson Ltd. on Tuesday launched two new brands of vacuum cleaners equipped with dust-detecting laser technology as the company tries to expand sales here amid the pandemic-induced stay-at-home trend. Dyson's V15 Detect and V12 Detect Slim cordless vacuum cleaners will be sold in South Korea with price tags of 1.24 million won ($1,100) and 1.09 million won, respectively. The two vacuum cleaners were already launched in select markets earlier this year. Dyson said t
May 25, 2021
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S. Korea's exports of kimchi up 35% in Jan.-April
South Korea's exports of kimchi advanced a whopping 35 percent on-year in the first four months of 2021, data showed Tuesday, on the growing demand for healthier foodstuffs amid the new coronavirus pandemic. Outbound shipments of kimchi reached $61.1 million over the January-April period, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Kimchi is a traditional Korean side dish normally made of fermented cabbage, salt and hot peppers and is eaten with almost all meals. The fer
May 25, 2021
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Hyundai to temporarily suspend Indian plant amid spreading pandemic
Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's biggest carmaker, said Tuesday it will temporarily suspend its Indian plant due to the rapidly spreading coronavirus pandemic. Hyundai Motor will halt the Indian plant in the southern state of Tamil Nadu for five days starting Tuesday, a company spokesman said over the phone. The decision came after two workers were infected with COVID-19 and several workers staged a sit-in at the plant Monday amid rising virus fears among workers. Tamil Nadu is one of the
May 25, 2021
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SsangYong likely to pick lead manager for sale process
SsangYong Motor Co., currently under court receivership, is expected to select a lead manager as early as this week to find a new investor, industry sources said Tuesday. The carmaker didn't confirm the plan to select a lead manager. US vehicle importer HAAH Automotive Holdings Inc. reportedly remains among the potential bidders though it failed to submit a letter of intent (LOI) to a bankruptcy court to acquire the financially troubled carmaker. SsangYong's Indian parent Mahindra & Mah
May 25, 2021
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Corporate direct financing up 2% in April
South Korea's corporate direct financing inched up 2 percent in April from the previous month due largely to a rise in bond sales, data showed Tuesday. Local companies raised a combined 24.9 trillion won ($22.1 billion) by selling stocks and bonds last month, up 492.7 billion won from the previous month, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Corporate stock sales declined 96 percent on-month to 250.4 billion won in April due to the previous month's high base. In
May 25, 2021
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Seoul stocks open higher on easing inflation worries
South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday, as investor concerns over early post-pandemic inflation were eased by the soothing comments by the US Federal Reserve. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 8.27 points, or 0.26 percent, to reach 3,152.57 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the tech-laden Nasdaq gained 1.41 percent, as the Fed's key officials said the recent price hikes and supply shortages may be temporary. The Dow Industrial Average and the
May 25, 2021
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Consumer sentiment hits nearly 3-year high in May amid economic recovery
South Korea's consumer sentiment rose to the highest level in almost three years in May as the country's economy is on a recovery path, central bank data showed Tuesday. The composite consumer sentiment index (CCSI) came in at 105.2 for May, up 3 points from the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). It marked the highest level since June 2018, when the sentiment index came to 106.3. The latest reading also represented the fifth straight month of on-month gain. A
May 25, 2021
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SK Bioscience wins additional funding for COVID-19 vaccine development
SK Bioscience said Monday that it will be receiving additional funding from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations for the development of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate. The grant of up to $173.4 million will be spent on global phase 3 clinical tests of GBP510, a protein-based vaccine candidate that the South Korean firm is developing in collaboration with the University of Washington. The amount is far greater than what the Oslo-based international organization has provided to
May 24, 2021
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Posco teams up with ministry to support immigrant mothers
South Korea’s top steelmaker, Posco, is expanding its social outreach effort to help immigrant mothers and their children. The company said Monday that it is launching a three-year support program in collaboration with the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and the Korea Institute for Healthy Family. A three-way memorandum of understanding is to be signed Tuesday. The institute, an agency under the auspices of the Gender Ministry that supports the social integration of multi
May 24, 2021
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Hyundai Steel runs coffee waste upcycling campaign
Hyundai Steel is running an upcycling campaign to find new uses for discarded coffee grounds as part of its social contribution project, the company said Monday. From May 17 to June 16, the steelmaker is putting up advertisements showing eco-friendly products made from coffee waste inside subway stations and on city buses operating in Incheon, the company said. The campaign is designed to promote the idea of upcycling coffee waste. People who take selfies with the advertisements and post th
May 24, 2021
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Monthly rents rise due to shortage of jeonse supply
Average monthly rent in South Korea jumped more than 6 percent in the first three months of the year due to an increasing number of people switching from long-term jeonse contracts to monthly rentals, according to the nation’s statistics agency Statistics Korea on Monday. Households, including single-person ones, paid 328,000 won ($291) on average for rent in the first quarter, up from 308,000 won in the same period last year. Of the 7,200 households surveyed by the agency, 19.9 percent
May 24, 2021
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Kia to again suspend US plant over chip shortage
Kia Corp., South Korea's No. 2 carmaker, plans to suspend its factory in the United States for two days later this week due to a semiconductor shortage, company officials said Monday. Kia plans to idle its assembly line in Georgia from Thursday to Friday over a chip shortage, following its two-day factory suspension last month, they said. The Georgia plant, which produces the Telluride, Sorento SUV and K5 sedan, rolled out 70,600 units in the first three months of this year. Kia halted produc
May 24, 2021
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SK E&C begins afresh as ‘SK ecoplant’
SK Engineering & Construction, the building arm of South Korea’s third-largest conglomerate SK Group, has officially changed its corporate name to “SK Ecoplant” as part of the group’s effort to enhance ESG management. The company on Monday released its new corporate identity and future vision on the company‘s intranet under the title “Deep Change Story.” The new corporate name was approved at the extraordinary general shareholders’ meeting
May 24, 2021
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South Korea aims to develop mRNA vaccine by next year
A South Korean government official said Monday that the country aims to secure messenger RNA vaccine technology to strengthen its vaccine production capacity and take a step up as a global vaccine production hub. “Our goal is not to become a contract manufacturing partner in the production of ingredients for the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. We aim to develop the mRNA vaccines by next year, with technologies acquired through possible technology transfers and co-development deals,” said
May 24, 2021
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Cryptocurrencies on downward spiral amid tightening regulations
Cryptocurrencies extended a dayslong loss Monday in South Korea before recovering some of their losses in the afternoon, as investors and businesses reacted to strict regulations recently introduced in China and the US. The price of the largest cryptocurrency Bitcoin stood at about 44 million won ($39,058) in late afternoon trading, losing almost half of its value from only a month ago, according to Upbit, South Korea’s largest crypto exchange by transaction volume. It fell below 40 mi
May 24, 2021
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Seoul stocks down for 3rd day on inflation concerns
South Korea's stock market extended its losing streak to a third session Monday, weighed down by concerns of early post-pandemic inflation. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 12.12 points, or 0.38 percent, to close at 3,144.3 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 581 million shares worth some 11.5 trillion won ($10.2 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 646 to 232. Foreigners sold a net 238 billion won, while re
May 24, 2021