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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'The Roundup: Punishment' becomes fastest 2024 film to top 2 mln admissions
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Rapper jailed after public street fight with another rapper
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New head of doctors' association vows war in case of disadvantage to medical professors
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SsangYong Motor driven into corner as US investor dithers
The fate of SsangYong Motor, the cash-strapped Korean affiliate of Indian carmaker Mahindra & Mahindra, hung in the balance Thursday, as it failed to secure a letter of intent from its likely investor, US-based HAAH Automotive. With the “prepackaged plan” scenario practically eliminated, the SUV-focused automaker now faces the worst risk of market delisting and liquidation. Financial authorities, however, maintained a prudent stance over the issue, leaving room for a last-min
April 1, 2021
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[Behind the Wheel] Ford Ranger Raptor, Wildtrak can stand on some of toughest terrains
In South Korea, where a great portion of the population is concentrated in urban areas, pickup trucks are not the most popular vehicle types. But with the rising trend of outdoor activities, and as more adventure enthusiasts find fun in driving through the mountainous terrains of the country, interest in pickup trucks is increasing. According to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association, the pickup truck market had hovered around 20,000 units in annual sales, but that number has grown,
April 1, 2021
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GM Korea's March sales dip 21.8% amid pandemic slump
GM Korea Co. said Thursday its sales decreased 21.8 percent last month from a year earlier on weak demand at home and abroad. The South Korean unit of General Motors Co. sold 29,633 vehicles in March, down from 37,981 units the previous year, the company said in a statement. Domestic sales sank 31.4 percent on-year to 6,149 units, and exports declined 18.9 percent to 23,484 autos over the cited period, it said. The Detroit carmaker has three Korean plants -- two in Bupyeong and one in Changwo
April 1, 2021
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US expected to maintain trade barriers under Biden: KITA
The new US administration is expected to largely maintain its protectionist policies against imported goods, including South Korean products, a report said Thursday, despite President Joe Biden's vision on rebuilding multilateralism. The number of new antidumping investigations rolled out by the US came to 89 in 2020, rising sharply from 55 posted in 2017, according to a report compiled by the Korea International Trade Association (KITA). The number of new investigations against South Korean p
April 1, 2021
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S. Korean retail investors’ stock holdings inch closer to foreign ownership
Stocks held by Korean individuals jumped by 58 percent last year, getting closer to be on par with that of foreigners amid an equity investment craze, data showed Thursday. The local investors’ ownership accounted for 28 percent of the total market capitalization as of end-2020, up 3.6 percentage points on-year, according to data compiled by the Korea Securities Depository. Their holdings were worth around 662 trillion won ($584.89 billion), soaring 58 percent from a year earlier. In
April 1, 2021
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JB Financial sets up overseas business unit
JB Financial Group, the holding group of Jeonbuk Bank and Kwangju Bank, said Thursday it has launched a new division in charge of overseas business activities to expand its global presence. The banking giant appointed its incumbent senior executive officer, Yim Young-taick, formerly CEO of the group’s North Jeolla Province-based Jeonbuk Bank, to lead the newly launched global business division. Yim, 70, served as Jeonbuk Bank CEO since 2014 until his retirement in March.&nb
April 1, 2021
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Kakao Mobility attracts $50m investment from Google
Kakao Mobility, Korea’s digital transportation service app operator, said Thursday the company will explore new business opportunities together with Google. Under their partnership, Kakao has attracted investment of $50 million from the US tech giant, which is to be paid completely by April 22, according to the company’s regulatory filing. With the investment, Kakao and Google will work together on advancement of artificial intelligence technologies based on the cloud, create s
April 1, 2021
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[#WeFace] EVs, green loans and less paper: S. Korean banks take baby steps toward ESG
This article is part of analysis and interviews by The Korea Herald’s finance desk staff exploring South Korea’s budding ESG investment market, as well as its potential, impact and challenges. -- Ed. Of all the changes stemming from the banking sector’s embrace of environmental, social and governance values in recent years, according to 53-year-old Shin Hae-jin, the one that stands out most is the absence of paper in “paperwork.” “Since last year, I’ve
April 1, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Shinhan Bank employee shot in Myanmar, sends jitters across Korea’s finance sector
A Burmese employee at Shinhan Bank’s Yangon branch was shot amid an escalating bloodshed in Myanmar, the South Korean lender and a Burmese news outlet said Thursday. The female employee was shot while heading home in a company vehicle, at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, after work. According to reports, she was taken to a hospital in critical condition. The employee’s current condition is unknown. Shinhan has been operating a branch in Yangon with a minimum number of employees stationed at
April 1, 2021
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Samsung lowers price of Galaxy Z Fold2 in S. Korea
Samsung Electronics Co. has lowered the price of its latest foldable smartphone, the Galaxy Z Fold2, industry insiders said Thursday, in an effort to popularize the foldable smartphone category. The ex-factory price for the Galaxy Z Fold2 5G, which was launched last September, has been set at 1.892 million won ($1,675) here, down from 2.398 million won, according to people in the mobile industry. The ex-factory price, or list price, refers to the selling cost of goods from the manufacturer's p
April 1, 2021
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S. Korean individuals' stock holdings jump 58% in 2020
Stocks held by South Korean retail investors jumped nearly 60 percent in 2020 from a year earlier amid their investment craze, data showed Thursday. Local individuals owned 662 trillion won ($586 billion) worth of listed shares as of the end of 2020, up 58 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Securities Depository (KSD). The on-year increase in the value of retail investors' stock holdings accounted for nearly 38 percent of last year's rise in total market capitali
April 1, 2021
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Exports of virus-related medical goods sharply up in 2020
South Korea's exports of test kits for the new coronavirus, protective masks and other virus-related goods sharply increased last year amid the pandemic, data showed Thursday, with the country planning to further expand outbound shipments of such goods down the road. Outbound shipments of such goods reached $5.9 billion in 2020, rising from $1.28 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the data released by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. In 2020, the country's overall exports
April 1, 2021
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S. Korea to speed up growth of power semiconductor industry
South Korea pledged Thursday to support the power semiconductor industry amid growing demand for energy-efficient chips with stronger durability. Under the goal, the country plans to develop at least five power semiconductor products by 2025, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. South Korea also plans to support local businesses to establish the production lines of six- to eight-inch foundry factories. Power semiconductors are used to convert, stabilize and distribute elect
April 1, 2021
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ICT companies spent over W40tr on R&D in 2019
South Korea's information and communication technology (ICT) companies spent more than 40 trillion won ($35.3 billion) on research and development in 2019, data showed Thursday, as the country focuses on developing new 5G and artificial intelligence technology. ICT companies' total R&D spending reached 41.4 trillion won in 2019, up 3 percent from the previous year, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT. By sector, 38.1 trillion won, or 91.9 percent of the total, was spent on informa
April 1, 2021
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Tax agency launches probes into property-related tax evasion
South Korea's tax agency said Thursday it has launched probes into suspected tax evasion by 165 people and entities that sought to take profit from speculative or illegal property transactions. The National Tax Service (NTS) said it has cracked down on 158 individuals and others over alleged tax evasion. The tax agency has been looking into land transactions made around six public housing development sites in satellite cities outside Seoul as part of the country's efforts to stem property spec
April 1, 2021
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S. Korea to encourage 5G competition through budget mobile providers
South Korea's ICT ministry said Thursday it aims to encourage more competition in the local 5G market through the release of affordable mobile data plans from mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs). The ICT ministry said 10 MVNOs in the country, including Sejong Telecom Inc., will release new data plans starting this month that provide up to 30 gigabytes of data for around 40,000 won ($35). The country's major telecom operators -- SK Telecom Co., KT Corp. and LG Uplus Corp. -- do not currentl
April 1, 2021
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Doosan Logistics Solutions offers sorting system to Vietnam Post
System integrator Doosan Logistics Solutions Co. (DLS) said Thursday that it has provided an automation sorting system to Vietnam Post, Vietnam's largest delivery company. The subsidiary wholly owned by Doosan Corp., a holding company of Doosan Group, plans to aggressively tap into the Vietnamese e-commerce market and delivery automation market with the latest provision of automation equipment to a center of the state-run Vietnam Post in Da Nang, a central port city of Vietnam, DLS said. The p
April 1, 2021
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LG Electronics launches new 17-inch laptop
LG Electronics Inc. on Thursday launched a new 17-inch laptop boasting high performance as the South Korean tech giant eyes boosting notebook sales amid the pandemic-induced remote working and distance learning trends. The new model in the LG UltraGear 17 series comes with a price tag of 2.24 million won ($1,980) here, according to LG. The new UltraGear 17 is equipped with a 17-inch Wide Quad Extended Graphics Array display that has a resolution of 2560x1600 pixels, according to the company.
April 1, 2021
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Samsung to log robust Q1 earnings on robust mobile biz: analysts
Samsung Electronics Co. is expected to report robust earnings in the first quarter of the year, analysts here said Thursday, as its mobile business has apparently offset relatively sluggish performance from its semiconductor unit. The South Korean tech titan was projected to log 60.64 trillion won (US$53.7 billion) in sales in the first three months of 2021, up 10.9 percent from a year earlier, while operating profit was estimated to surge 38.8 percent on-year to 8.95 trillion won over the peri
April 1, 2021
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Online lender K-Bank enjoys rapid growth in Q1
K-Bank, South Korea's first internet-only bank, said Thursday its customers and deposits grew exponentially in the first quarter of the year amid the coronavirus outbreak. The number of customers stood at 3.91 million as of the end of March, 1.72 million more than three months earlier, said the lender, which is led by telecom giant KT Corp. The number of new customers is far more than the number it had attracted in the three years since its inception. Outstanding customer deposits came to 8.7
April 1, 2021