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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Foreign banks in S. Korea see profits rise 28.6% in 2020
Foreign bank branches in South Korea saw their combined net profit rise 28.6 percent in 2020 from a year earlier on a modest gain in interest income, data showed Thursday. The combined net income of 36 foreign lenders' local branches stood at 1.15 trillion won ($1.03 billion) last year, up 255.7 billion won from a year earlier, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). The increase was mainly attributable to marked growth in their income from foreign exchange and der
April 15, 2021
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SK Telecom spinoff to carve out holding company for non-mobile affiliates
SK Telecom, South Korea‘s largest mobile carrier, said Wednesday it will set up a new holding company for its non-mobile subsidiaries to boost shareholder value and accelerate growth in its businesses. The telecom operator said in a regulatory filing that it will conduct a spinoff to form the holding company, which will oversee operations of its tech affiliates and subsidiaries, such as memory chip giant SK hynix, e-commerce firm 11Street and ride-hailing company T Map Mobility, among o
April 14, 2021
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Hyundai Motor rolls out rapid EV chargers at 12 rest stops
Hyundai Motor has installed its E-pit high-speed electric vehicle charging system at 12 rest stops on major expressways, as part of its efforts to expand their EV infrastructure, the company said Wednesday. The 350-kilowatt rapid chargers can charge up to 80 percent of an EV battery equipped with 800-volt system as quick as in 18 minutes. A total of 72 units, the first of its kind, have been installed on the country’s highway network, the automaker said. The stations will accommodate
April 14, 2021
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Experts call for ‘effective’ national plan on chips
After witnessing US President Joe Biden hold up a silicon wafer in front of the world’s chip industry leaders, including Samsung Electronics, calls are growing in South Korea that its leader, too, should act to help safeguard Korean chipmakers from an unfolding global war for chips. Despite Korea’s unchallenged position in the global memory chip market, industry officials and pundits worry the country could fall victim to the global power struggle between the US and China, and co
April 14, 2021
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FKI kicks off ESG alliance, names Samyang chief as chairman
The Federation of Korean Industries, one of the leading business representations here, said Wednesday that it has launched an organization solely dedicated to dealing with environmental, social, and governance issues. The role of the new organization, named “K-ESG Alliance,” will be to share ESG-related information with member companies and hold ESG conferences for global investors, officials said. The alliance will be led by Kim Yoon, chairman of Samyang Holdings, the holding unit
April 14, 2021
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Hyundai Engineering set for IPO within year
Hyundai Engineering Co., the plant engineering affiliate of South Korea’s second-largest conglomerate in market capitalization, Hyundai Motor Group, is set for its market debut, industry officials said Wednesday. The IPO comes in line with the auto group’s continued efforts to reform its corporate structure and to realign affiliates under Chairman Chung Euisun, after officially assuming the top post in October last year. Last Friday, the company sent requests for proposals to
April 14, 2021
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Namyang Dairy shares surge on COVID-fighting yogurt claim
Shares of Namyang Dairy Products, one of South Korea’s major dairy firms, soared in intraday trading on Wednesday as the company claimed that its own yogurt lineup Bulgaris can reduce the infection risk of COVID-19. The dairy company’s shares once spiked up 28.68 percent to 489,000 won ($437.39) in the early morning trading session, but plunged 5.13 percent to close at 360,500 won. Within some 20 minutes after the opening bell, its preferred stocks also shot up by a daily permiss
April 14, 2021
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LG Chem expands carbon nanotube production to 1,700 tons
LG Chem said Wednesday that it had increased its production capacity of carbon nanotubes from 500 metric tons to 1,700 tons to meet growing demand for the raw material used in electric vehicle batteries. According to South Korea’s leading petrochemical company, it has begun the commercial operation of a second carbon nanotube facility with an annual production capacity of 1,200 tons in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province. “Carbon nanotubes manufactured from the plant No. 2 will be sup
April 14, 2021
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Hanwha Techwin launches AI-powered security cameras to flag social-distancing violations
South Korean surveillance technology provider Hanwha Techwin on Wednesday introduced artificial intelligence-based security cameras that can detect social-distancing violations automatically. According to the security camera subsidiary under Hanwha Aerospace, the AI solution monitors whether social-distancing measures are being followed on a real time basis and send written alarms on monitors or audio alarms through speakers if it detects violations. “When users set social-distancing
April 14, 2021
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Mobility firms invested by SK Holdings prepare for IPOs
SK Holdings’ equity investment in Grab, the Southeast Asian equivalent to Uber, is receiving attention as the ride-hailing app prepares for an initial public offering on the tech-heavy US bourse Nasdaq. According to the investment-focused holdings firm of SK Group, the Singapore-based startup behind the ride-hailing and food delivery app is planning a floatation via a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. Grab’s market value is estimated at around $39.6 billion after it
April 14, 2021
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Seoul stocks up for 3rd day on strong jobs data, eased inflation woes
South Korean stocks closed a tad higher to extend their winning streak to a third day Wednesday as investor sentiment was boosted by the country's better-than-expected jobs data, coupled with overnight rallies on Wall Street, analysts said. The Korean won rose against the greenback. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 13.3 points, or 0.42 percent, to finish at 3,182.38. Trading volume was moderate at 1.7 billion shares worth 15.3 trillion won ($13.7 billion), with gai
April 14, 2021
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Bitcoin prices hit fresh record amid Coinbase IPO expectation
The price of a bitcoin hit another record high, both in local and global exchanges, buoyed by the expectation for the highly anticipated public listing of US crypto exchange Coinbase Global. Bitcoin prices rose to above 82 million won ($73,000) on domestic exchanges early Wednesday, while the coin’s price on overseas exchanges reached new heights at $63,742 per unit. The prices for Ethereum, the second-largest digital coin by market capitalization, also touched its highest points, risin
April 14, 2021
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Posco International aims to become global food company
Posco International aims to expand its food business to become one of the world’s top 10 food trading companies, amid growing concerns over rising food prices, the South Korean trading company said Wednesday. The company cited the FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in international prices of commonly traded food commodities. According to the food price index, the figure for March marked the 10th consecutive monthly increase, increasing 2.1 percent from the month before.
April 14, 2021
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Litigation looms over foreign trade finance fund debacle
A looming legal battle between a top insurance firm and an issuer of derivative-linked securities raises concerns over the financial product -- whose underlying asset, a trade finance fund, had deferred redemption. Samsung Life Insurance, which sold over 53 billion won ($47 million) worth of DLS products through a privately pooled fund, is awaiting court proceedings against NH Investment & Securities, the brokerage firm that issued the DLS for the seller, the company said Wednesday. A Sa
April 14, 2021
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BHC Chicken achieves W400b sales in 2020
BHC Co. logged 400.4 billion won ($358 million) in sales in 2020, up 26 percent from the year earlier, placing the company as the No. 2 South Korean fried chicken franchise, the franchise operator said Wednesday. According to BHC Co., which runs the BHC Chicken brand, the company’s operating profit also grew by 33 percent on-year to record 130 billion won in 2020. It is the first time the fried chicken franchise recorded sales surpassing the 400 billion mark, the company said. Among t
April 14, 2021
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Google Korea's 2020 revenue hits W220b
Google Korea saw its revenue reach more than 200 billion won ($178.65 million) last year in the first disclosure of its financial statement in the country, a regulatory filing showed Wednesday. Google Korea, which operates under Google International LLC, said in the filing that its sales stood at 220.14 billion won last year, up 3.66 percent from the previous year, while operating profit reached 15.59 billion won, up 52.95 percent over the same period. The company said most of its sales came f
April 14, 2021
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S. Korea to review post-pandemic fiscal policy: official
South Korea will review its post-pandemic fiscal policy as an economic recovery from the coronavirus outbreak will raise the need to normalize its expansionary fiscal spending, a senior government official said Wednesday. Second Vice Finance Minister Ahn Do-geol said the government's priority is placed on supporting an economic recovery with increased fiscal aid, but the country will also make efforts to enhance fiscal soundness in the face of the growing national debt. "There is a need t
April 14, 2021
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Women hold 7% of executive positions in S. Korea’s finance sector
Women accounted for merely 7 percent of the management boards of financial institutions in South Korea, despite making up nearly half the sector’s workforce, data submitted to a lawmaker showed Wednesday. The number of women who hold executive positions in 444 financial institutions stood at 358, or 7.4 percent of the entire executive pool of 4,855 as of end of last year, according to Financial Supervisory Service data submitted and distributed by the minor progressive Justice Party Rep.
April 14, 2021
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Chubb launches Chubb LifeBalance, a 360-degree health and well-being app
Chubb has released Chubb LifeBalance in Korea, a 360-degree personalized and well-being application that encourages people to incorporate healthy routines into their lifestyle. Chubb LifeBalance comprehensively assesses the lifestyle of users and provides a holistic view of health to help them to objectively measure and manage their own health condition. It tracks and records over 115 different activities, including yoga, swimming, boxing and meditation, and lets users invite their friends an
April 14, 2021
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JB Financial launches intraboard ESG committee
Provincial bank-led financial institution JB Financial Group said Wednesday it had launched an intraboard committee responsible for making business decisions focused on environmental, social and corporate governance values. As the top decision-making body for ESG management, the new committee will develop corporate strategies and policies regarding the incorporation of ESG criteria into the group’s business portfolios, while supervising ESG-related initiatives conducted by its af
April 14, 2021