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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[Music in drama] An ode to childhood trauma
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Rapper jailed after public street fight with another rapper
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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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[Contribution] Supporting Korean companies in their ESG journey
ESG, the environmental, social and governance aspects of a company, has rapidly emerged as one of the hottest topics in the corporate and financial sectors in Korea. With the urgent need to combat climate change and social inequality, companies are gearing up to make positive changes. Among the reasons for the emergence of this trend is the realization that companies have a key role to play in ensuring a sustainable future for all, beyond their financial obligations to their shareholders.&nbs
May 9, 2021
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Stock shorting bearish in 1st week of resumption
The proportion of stock short selling in South Korea accounted for 3.4 percent of total transactions in the first week of the practice's conditional resumption last week, down from 5.5 percent when the trading technique was banned last year, the bourse operator said Sunday. The combined amount of short selling transactions stood at 3.3 trillion won ($2.9 billion), an average of 841.3 billion won per day during the four-session week and 3.4 percent of the total daily transactions, according to t
May 9, 2021
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Samsung mulling new smartphone launches in August: sources
Samsung Electronics Co. is mulling multiple new smartphone launches in August, industry sources said Sunday, as the South Korean tech giant eyes to expand its leadership in the mobile market. Samsung, the world's largest smartphone vendor, is in talks with local mobile carriers over releasing its new smartphone models, including the Galaxy S21 FE, the Galaxy Z Fold3 and the Galaxy Z Flip2, in late August, according to the sources. If confirmed, the new smartphones will be launched earlier th
May 9, 2021
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S. Korea to clamp down on online cryptocurrency phishing activity
South Korea said Sunday it will strengthen its monitoring system against cryptocurrency-related phishing websites by working with the National Police Agency amid recent surges in prices of virtual money. The ICT ministry said there have recently been increasing reports of phishing attempts via text messages that lead cryptocurrency users to enter their exchange IDs and passwords on fake websites to steal them and access their accounts. The ministry said it found and blocked 32 such phishing we
May 9, 2021
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[Eye Plus] Pildong, abandoned print shop cluster turns into art village
Behind the bustling Chungmuro Station in Jung-gu, central Seoul, a quiet alley within Pil-dong, a small neighborhood on the northwestern edge of Mount Namsan, is catching the eyes of people seeking Instagrammable spots. Walls and building facades painted with cartoon characters and illustrations as well as uniquely themed sculptures are nestled along the alleyway, turning the place into an art festival. Named Pil-dong culture and arts street, or Yesultong, the area has been filled with ar
May 8, 2021
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[Weekender] Living without cash
Oh Jong-gyun, a 35-year-old in Seoul, had an awkward moment when he went to pay for valet service during a blind date last week. Not only was he feeling shy in front of a lady he had just met that evening, Oh also realized that he hadn‘t carried ”real money“ for months. “I risked losing face, on my first date, to ask her for 3,000 won. Well, she didn’t have it either,” he said. Oh is one of growing number South Koreans living without physical money as they
May 8, 2021
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Refiners set to turnaround in Q1 on rising oil prices, cracking margins
South Korea's oil refining industry is expected to rebound in the first quarter thanks to surging global oil prices and a recovery in refining margins after hemorrhaging from the pandemic-driven slump last year, analysts said Saturday. Four refiners -- SK Innovation Co., GS Caltex Corp., S-Oil Corp. and Hyundai Oil Bank Corp. -- registered their worst performances ever last year, stung by slumping crude prices, weak refining margins and tumbling demand due to the coronavirus pandemic. The fou
May 8, 2021
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Samsung Securities Q1 net profit up 1,776.4% to W289b
Samsung Securities Co. on Friday reported its first-quarter net income of 289 billion won ($257.8 million), up 1776.4 percent from a year earlier. The company said in a regulatory filing that it posted 399.3 billion won in operating profit for the quarter, compared with 22 billion won a year ago. Revenue fell 43.5 percent to 3.29 trillion won. The operating profit was in line with the average estimate, according to the survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency. Th
May 7, 2021
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Samsung Electronics to transfer some 500 technologies to local SMEs
Samsung Electronics will share its 505 patented technologies with local small and medium enterprises, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Friday. The list comprises 213 mobile technologies, 68 semiconductor technologies, 68 display technologies, 45 telecommunications technologies and 31 medical equipment technologies, and others. The SMEs that wish to benefit from the governments technology transfer program are required to submit their application via the ministry or the Korea Ins
May 7, 2021
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Crypto transaction volume surpasses W45tr, three times bigger than Kospi’s
South Korean’s frenzy for digital coins, especially alternative coins, has pushed the transaction volume for cryptocurrencies past 45 trillion won ($43.11 billion) in the 24 hours until Friday morning. Cryptocurrency market tracker CoinMarketCap data showed that the four largest exchanges in South Korea traded a total of 44.97 trillion won including Upbit’s 39.38 trillion won. The figure exceeds the combined trading volume of the country’s two stock markets Kospi and Kosda
May 7, 2021
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KFCC clinches license for permanent establishment in Uganda
The Korean Federation of Community Credit Cooperatives said Friday that one of its subsidiaries had been granted a license to establish its business permanently in Uganda. The financial cooperative received the permission from the Uganda government after entering the market in October 2018. The microfinancing-centered business, which started out with only two employees at the time, now has more than 150 employees working in 15 subsidiaries, providing services to over 5,000 members in the Afric
May 7, 2021
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BlackRock's intervention in Asian firms' ESG issues heats up
BlackRock, one of the world’s largest investment management firms, has been increasingly exercising its shareholder rights in Korean firms while shifting its focus towards issues involving environmental, social and governance practices, data showed Friday. The Federation of Korean Industries analyzed shareholder activities of three global institutions -- BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street Global Advisors (SSGA) -- in different regions around the world between July 2018 and June 2020.
May 7, 2021
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Naver to expand its R&D network in North America
Naver plans to expand its research and development network in the North American region, particularly focusing on Silicon Valley, as part of its globalization efforts, according to officials. The research team is seeking talent from across the globe who will be allowed to work in either Korea or the US, the South Korean internet giant said at 2021 Naver Search Colloquium which took place online on Friday. Kim Jin-young, the newly appointed Head of Data Science and Director of US R&D at Nav
May 7, 2021
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Housing biz sentiment hits 47-month high in May
South Korea's housing market sentiment slightly exceeded par for the first time in 47 months in May on rising hopes of business improvements, a poll showed Friday. The Korea Housing Institute said that its housing business sentiment index (HBSI), based on a survey of about 500 construction companies, amounted to 101.2 for this month. It represents the first time for the HBSI to surpass the 100 level since it stood at 121.8 in June 2017. A reading above 100 means the number of companies foreca
May 7, 2021
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Current account surplus slightly narrows in March
South Korea's current account surplus slightly narrowed in March as higher oil prices increased the country's import bill, the central bank said Friday. The current account surplus reached $7.82 billion in March, narrowing from a surplus of $7.94 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 largest in almost a decade, on faltering
May 7, 2021
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Seoul stocks open higher on Wall Street gains
South Korean stocks opened higher Friday, tracking the Wall Street rally that stemmed from improved US unemployment data. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 6 points, or 0.19 percent, to reach 3,184.74 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The Dow Industrial Average gained 0.93 percent to close at a record high for the second session in a row, with the US unemployment data dropping to a pandemic-era low. In Seoul, market bellwether Samsung Electronics retreate
May 7, 2021
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Ex-PM suggests anti-takeover measures for VCs, startups
Former Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on Thursday suggested implementing measures to protect management rights at local venture capital firms and startups, before expanding it to bigger companies. “Korea still lacks institutionalization of anti-takeover measures. I believe the country’s relatively short corporate history is the key reason behind the absence of a poison pill system and dual-class share system,” Chung said at a meeting with chief executive officers of listed fir
May 6, 2021
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[Herald Interview] How banking giants can survive the disruption of digitalization
Technology disruption is already playing out among the commercial banking sector in South Korea, triggering a massive transformation of their services to fend off fast-rising online-only banks launched by internet companies with no banking experience. The legacy players are tasked with increasing online presence in the market, in part by moving to establish their own respective online-only lending arms for retail customers. But such investments should be made not just to keep their market leade
May 6, 2021
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Roche Diagnostics receives approval for COVID-19 test
Roche Diagnostics Korea announced Thursday that the company has received approval for the cobas test, an assay used to specifically detect the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus in laboratories settings. According to Roche, the cobas test is capable of qualitative detection and differentiation between SARS-CoV-2, Influenza A and Influenza B present in nasal swab samples collected from individuals suspected of a respiratory infection. Roche’s laboratory-based assay cobas SARS
May 6, 2021
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Samsung’s foundry biz enhances chip packaging tech
Amid the heightening competition in the global chip foundry market, Samsung Electronics unveiled a new packaging technology Thursday that would help differentiate its foundry service. Samsung said it has completed the development of the next-generation 2.5D packaging technology named Interposer-Cube4, or I-Cube4, which is immediately available for customers. Samsung’s I-Cube is a heterogeneous integration technology that horizontally places one or more logic dies, such as a CPU or
May 6, 2021