Most Popular
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First-ever meeting of president, opposition chief set to finally happen
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Blinken calls on China to press N. Korea to end its 'dangerous' behavior
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Naver’s Line ownership in jeopardy as Japan ups pressure
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South Korea to launch space security center under spy agency
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More med professors to take day off each week while govt. urges them to stay
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Hybe refutes Ador CEO Min's denial of breach of trust
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S. Korea, Japan could consider simplified entry agreement: Seoul official
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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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[Today’s K-pop] NewJeans' single teasers release amid intrigue
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5 firms to recall nearly 230,000 vehicles over faulty parts
Hyundai Motor Co., BMW Korea and three other companies will voluntarily recall nearly 240,000 vehicles to fix faulty components, the transport ministry said Thursday. This is the latest in a series of recalls by carmakers operating in South Korea and vehicle importers due to problems with vehicle components. The five companies, including Kia Corp., Ford Sales & Service Korea Inc. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (FCA) Korea, are recalling a combined 238,914 units due to faulty components
April 1, 2021
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Exports up for 5 months in Feb., recovery likely to be further extended
South Korea's exports advanced 16.6 percent in March from a year earlier on the back of solid demand for chips and autos to extend their gains for the fifth consecutive month, data showed Thursday, stoking speculation that recovery in Asia's fourth-largest economy is gathering pace. Outbound shipments came to US$53.8 billion last month, compared with $46.1 billion a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Imports rose 18.8 percent to $49.6 bi
April 1, 2021
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SK IE Technology to go public on Seoul bourse in May
SK IE Technology Co., a battery materials subsidiary of SK Innovation Co., said Wednesday it will commence the initial public offering process for its Seoul bourse debut in May. SKIET, which makes lithium-ion battery separators, said it will float 21.4 million shares on the KOSPI market at prices between 78,000 won and 105,000 won, which would make its market value up to 7.5 trillion won ($6.6 billion). SKIET will issue 8.5 million new shares and SK Innovation will sell 12.8 million shares i
March 31, 2021
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Kimchi could help ease coronavirus symptoms: study
Kimchi, South Korea’s traditional fermented cabbage dish, could help mitigate coronavirus symptoms, a recent study showed. The research was jointly conducted by the government-funded World Institute of Kimchi and Jean Bousquet, an honorary professor of Pulmonary Medicine at Montpellier University, France. The study found that the intake of kimchi could lead to a milder case of the coronavirus due to the bioactive compounds present in the dish. A metabolite result from fermentation, the
March 31, 2021
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LG Innotek’s labor union continues to reach out to society
The labor union of LG Innotek has sent various items to COVID-19 front-line workers as a token of appreciation for their contributions to society, the company said Wednesday. Various branches of the union organized the donations on their own, which in total amount to 33 million won ($29,000). The Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, chapter, for instance, prepared stationery sets for 111 nurses and nursing assistants whose children began school this year, along with letters expressing their grati
March 31, 2021
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Former US trade representative urges Korea to join CPTPP
Former acting deputy US trade representative Wendy Cutler said on Wednesday that Korea should consider joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and wait for the US to follow suit. “Korea was one of the major negotiating partners for the TPP, but missed the opportunity because it waited for too long,” Cutler said during the 1st CPTPP Trade Forum organized by the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry. She attended the session via virtual link
March 31, 2021
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Samsung SDI joins international push for deep-sea mining ban
South Korean battery maker Samsung SDI is among the first four companies in the world to sign on to a World Wildlife Fund call for a moratorium on deep-sea mining, according to an announcement by WWF on Wednesday. The battery-making affiliate of Samsung Electronics joined Google, BMW and Volvo in committing not to source any minerals -- such as cobalt, copper, nickel and manganese -- from the seabed or finance deep-sea mining activities, and to exclude minerals obtained this way from their s
March 31, 2021
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NPS returns 2.4%, slightly reduces domestic stock weighting in Jan.
South Korea‘s largest institutional investor the National Pension Service gained 2.35 percent in January from its allocation, its preliminary data showed Wednesday. The monthly disclosure also showed that the NPS, the world’s third-largest pension fund, has slightly cut its stock weighting from December 2020, indicating that the pension fund’s rebalancing effort continued against the backdrop of the record bull run in domestic bourses. Of the total 855.3 trillion won ($756.2
March 31, 2021
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BlackRock to hive off retail fund business in Korea
US investment firm BlackRock said Wednesday that it aims to sell its onshore retail fund business in South Korea to a local peer, DGB Asset Management, as part of its business restructuring in the country. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval in Korea and the terms of the sale were not disclosed, BlackRock added. After the restructuring, BlackRock’s Korean arm will focus on serving Korean institutional investors with offshore investment solutions. The Korean arm, BlackRock
March 31, 2021
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Education startup Ringle raises W10b
Ringle English Education Service, a South Korean education technology startup that provides 1:1 English tutoring services, said Tuesday that it had raised 10 billion won ($8.8 million) from investors as part of its Series A funding. The latest investment, which was led by returning investor Must Asset Management, puts Ringle at a valuation of 100 billion won. The edtech startup is running Series A funding until the end of April. Founded in 2015, the company has maintained a 300 percent grow
March 31, 2021
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Kakao Bank CEO’s term extended for another 2 years
Kakao Bank, the banking arm of mobile giant Kakao, on Wednesday said that its board decided to extend CEO Yoon Ho-young’s term for another two years. Yoon has led the country’s second internet-only bank since 2016. On Tuesday, the board also appointed three new members -- Jin Woong-sub, former head of the Financial Services Commission, Oh Pyeong-seob, former vice president of KB Kookmin Bank, and Choi Soo-yeol, a partner at Samdo Accounting Firm. By Park Ga-young (gypark@h
March 31, 2021
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[Herald Interview] Local firm aims to turn Korea into hub of hair-transplant tourism
South Korea could become a hub of hair-transplant tourism in Asia, said Han Bio Chairman Kang Da-witt, introducing the technology that his company developed to treat hair loss. Han Bio, a Seoul-based company that develops cell therapies based on natural killer cells and stem cells, last year developed a technology that can be used in the mass culturing of dermal papilla cells, a population of cells that play pivotal roles in hair formation, growth and cycling. During an interview with The Ko
March 31, 2021
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S. Korea to boost eco-friendly energy tech to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050
South Korea said Wednesday it aims to acquire core technologies in eco-friendly energy sectors, such as highly-efficient solar panels and large-scale wind turbines, to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. Last year, South Korea unveiled its carbon neutrality goal to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and nurture eco-friendly industries. Under the plan, the country aims to develop new technologies to meet its target, such as improving efficiency in solar panels from the current level of 27 percent to
March 31, 2021
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[Herald Interview] Korea-Germany economic ties to be fueled further by post-coronavirus market: KGCCI
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, which weighed down most of the world’s economies last year, the bilateral economic relationship between South Korea and Germany gained momentum even in the midst of market turbulence. While the auto and biopharma businesses flourished last year, it is the green growth and hydrogen energy sectors that are likely to pick up speed down the road, according to the chief representative of German businesses here. “Germany and South Korea are already moving
March 31, 2021
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Hyundai Mobis vows to evolve into software platform leader in future mobility market
Hyundai Mobis, Hyundai Motor Group’s auto parts maker, on Wednesday unveiled its blueprint to shift the focus of its business model from conventional automotive component hardware to future mobility software and to transform itself into a platform-oriented company. It also presented new mobility solutions and urban shared mobility concept cars -- the M.Vision X and M.Vision POP -- to shape up the transformation of mobility in the future market context. “In light of the automotive
March 31, 2021
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Seoul stocks fall on valuation pressure, dollar appreciation
South Korean stocks retreated Wednesday on the increase in the value of US currency and the valuation pressure of local stocks. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 8.58 points, or 0.28 percent, to close at 3,061.42 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.1 billion shares worth some 14.2 trillion won ($12.5 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 476 to 378. Foreigners sold a net 297 billion won, while retail investo
March 31, 2021
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Wall Street's crypto endorsement pushes Bitcoin
The booming adoption of digital coins by institutional players pushed the price of a bitcoin to new heights Wednesday. Bitcoin soared to a record high of 71.6 million won ($63,200) in the morning Wednesday, according to Upbit, a South Korean cryptocurrency exchange that trades 184 coins. Wednesday’s rally came after a series of institutional endorsements from big players in various industries that began earlier this year. On Tuesday, PayPal, which has 375 million users, launched a
March 31, 2021
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S. Korea sees limited chance of inflation exceeding BOK's 2% target
South Korea's consumer prices are not expected to sharply rise to top the central bank's 2 percent target even as the country faces upward inflationary pressure, a senior government official said Wednesday. First Vice Finance Minister Kim Yong-beom said prices of agricultural and livestock products are expected to stabilize on the back of efforts to increase supply and curb the spread of bird flu. "There is a limited possibility that the growth of consumer inflation will surpass the Bank
March 31, 2021
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KT offers first mobile fee discounts for foreign subscribers
KT is rolling out a mobile fee discount program exclusively for non-South Korean nationals, becoming the first mobile carrier here to do so, the firm announced Wednesday. While many local subscribers are eligible for family plans, which entail discounts and benefits such as shared data usage, most foreigners have been left out of such benefits as many are here without their families. KT’s new plan for non-Koreans will group five foreign customers with the same nationality and offer a
March 31, 2021
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Dual-class share system needed for unicorns’ local IPOs: KRX chief
The head of South Korea’s sole stock bourse operator on Wednesday said that allowing a dual-class share system in the country would help more unicorns -- privately held startups valued at 1 trillion won ($884 million) or higher -- to consider listing in the local market. “Both the country’s ruling and the main opposition parties have discussed matters related to adopting dual-class voting rights. If the government allows the system, we believe that it will likely attract (pro
March 31, 2021