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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Rapper jailed after public street fight with another rapper
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Nominee for chief of anti-corruption body pledges 'independence, effectiveness'
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[Weekender] How DDP emerged as an icon of Seoul
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[KH Explains] No more 'Michael' at Kakao Games
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Woman gets suspended term for injuring boyfriend with knife
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Med schools expect 1,500+ new admission slots next year
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Tracing the beginning of SK Innovation’s battery business
This is the second installment of a three-part series looking into SK Innovation’s struggles to rise to the global leadership of lithium ion batteries, which have become a key enabler for a global shift toward sustainable mobility. The articles are sponsored by SK Innovation. - Ed. SK Innovation’s journey into the battery business dates back to 1982, when SK Group acquired Korea Oil Corp. and changed its name to Yukong. After the acquisition, Yukong chose future businesses
March 16, 2021
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Banks under pressure over tougher loan measures triggered by LH scandal
The intensifying scandal involving employees of the state housing developer Korea Land and Housing Corp. is likely to put banks under renewed pressure, as the nation’s financial authorities are mulling strengthening control over non-mortgage lending activities in all banking sectors. The scandal centers on LH officials who allegedly took out huge land-secured loans for speculative property purchases, sparking public criticism over the integrity of the state-run institution that contradi
March 16, 2021
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K-water pledges ESG framework to tackle climate change
The state-run Korea Water Resources Corp., also known as K-water, pledged Tuesday to adopt an environmental, social and corporate governance framework to reform the way it operates. In a discussion with private experts, influencers and green activists on how water can reverse climate change, K-water CEO Park Jae-hyeon revealed that the company had joined the Renewable Energy 100, a global initiative to source 100 percent of the electricity that businesses consume from renewable energy source
March 16, 2021
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Kosdaq lobby group chief calls for incentives to lure blue-chip firms
The new chief of an association representing listed firms on South Korea’s tech-heavy bourse said Tuesday that the second-tier Kosdaq needs various incentives to attract more blue-chip companies and investors and prevent the exit of unicorn companies to bigger markets. “The Kosdaq market has been regulated stricter than the Kospi market. Regulations such as issuing an ‘investment alert’ to protect investors unintentionally cause the market to be undervalued,” said
March 16, 2021
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Daewoo Shipbuilding wins W265b order for 3 LPG carriers
Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. said Tuesday that it has signed a 265 billion-won ($234 million) deal to build three liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carriers. Under the deal with a European company, Daewoo Shipbuilding will deliver the 91,000-cubic meter LPG carriers by October 2023, it said. With the latest order, the shipbuilder has obtained orders worth $1.79 billion to build 19 ships, representing 23 percent of its 2021 order target of $7.7 billion. (Yonhap)
March 16, 2021
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Global LCD capacity to fall in 2023 on Korean makers' shutdown: report
The global capacity of liquid crystal displays (LCD) is likely to fall in 2023, a report showed Tuesday, as major South Korean display panel makers will exit from the business dominated by Chinese players. Samsung Display Co. and LG Display Co. -- South Korea's top 2 players -- have announced they will scale down their LCD businesses, with the former pushing its migration to quantum-dot displays, while the latter expands its organic light-emitting diode production. Such moves are expected to d
March 16, 2021
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Card spending growth slows sharply in 2020 due to pandemic
The pace of growth of payments made with cards in South Korea slowed sharply last year as consumer spending remained tepid amid the coronavirus pandemic, central bank data showed Tuesday. Spending made with credit, debit and prepaid cards reached a daily average of 2.52 trillion won ($2.22 billion) in 2020, up 0.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The growth rate slowed from a 5.7 percent on-year gain in 2019, the BOK said. The central bank said card spending
March 16, 2021
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Residents' foreign currency deposits rise in February
Foreign currency deposits at banks in South Korea rose in February, mainly due to a gain in corporate holdings of US dollar deposits, central bank data showed Tuesday. Outstanding foreign currency-denominated deposits held by residents amounted to $90.03 billion as of end-February, up $650 million from the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). Residents include local citizens, foreigners staying here for more than six months and foreign companies. The data exclude
March 16, 2021
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20 ready-mixed concrete producers fined W2.5b over price fixing
South Korea's antitrust regulator said Tuesday it has decided to fine 20 ready-mixed concrete manufacturers a combined 2.51 billion won ($2.2 million) for colluding to fix prices of construction-related material. Sanha Industry Corp. and 19 other companies colluded to fix their sales prices and supply of ready-mixed concrete between 2012 and 2017 that was used to build houses in the greater Seoul area, according to the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC). The commission ordered them to take cor
March 16, 2021
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S. Korea creates 12-inch chip wafer test bed
South Korea's ICT ministry said Tuesday a 12-inch semiconductor wafer test bed was established here in line with the country's efforts to boost development of homegrown chip technology. Previously, the absence of the test bed had led many local small and medium-sized chip component companies to rely on overseas testing facilities, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT. The country's major chipmakers, such as Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix Inc., require evaluations of chip componen
March 16, 2021
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Number of stock investors soars 49% in 2020 amid market rally
The number of stock investors jumped nearly 49 percent in 2020 from a year earlier amid a bullish market run, industry data showed Tuesday. A total of 9.19 million investors held shares in 2,352 companies listed on the country's main and secondary bourses, up 48.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Securities Depository. Those investors owned a combined 99.1 billion shares, with per-capita holdings standing at 10,779 shares. Retail investors in those firms closi
March 16, 2021
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S. Korean air exports soar amid pandemic
South Korea's airfreight exports jumped to account for 36 percent of the country's overall exports last year, industry data showed Tuesday, on higher demand for chips and biohealth products. Of the country's combined exports of $512.5 billion in 2020, air transport accounted for $183 billion, according to the data compiled by the Korea International Trade Association (KITA). While maritime transport still accounted for the majority of $325.8 billion, the portion of air cargo rose 5.4 percentag
March 16, 2021
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S. Korea to help exporters further utilize FTAs with new support centers
South Korea on Tuesday said it will open new facilities overseas to help exporters better capitalize on free trade agreements (FTA) amid the coronavirus pandemic. Under the plan, the country plans to spend 11.9 billion won ($10.4 million) this year to open new FTA support centers in Southeast Asia and provide customized consulting programs, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The country currently operates 18 FTA support centers for exporters nationwide, along with 15 othe
March 16, 2021
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T'way Air to add 3 A330-300s for post-pandemic demand
T'way Air, a South Korean low-cost carrier, said Tuesday it will begin introducing three A330-300 chartered planes late this year to prepare for the post coronavirus era. T'way Air plans to inject the three A330-300s into mid- and long-haul international routes to Kyrgyzstan, Australia and Croatia, the company said in a statement. The budget carrier has 27 B737-800 chartered planes and currently serves six international routes and six domestic routes. It served 47 international and three domes
March 16, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Kakao founder pledges to donate half of assets
The founder of South Korea's top mobile messenger operator Kakao Corp. said Tuesday that he will donate half of his wealth -- currently estimated to be more than 10 trillion won ($8.9 billion). "Through this pledge today, we commit to give more than half of our wealth back to society during our lifetime," Kim Beom-su said in a message posted on the website of the Giving Pledge. Giving Pledge, created by Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett, is a global campaign by the world's we
March 16, 2021
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Samsung Display to aggressively target gaming display market with OLED panels
Samsung Display Co., a major display maker in South Korea, said Tuesday it targets to expand its presence in the gaming display market with its OLED panels for smartphones. Samsung Display said its 6.78-inch OLED panel is used in Asus' Republic of Gamers (ROG) Phone 5 launched last week, and it aims to sell more OLED displays to those who make gaming IT devices. "With more people practicing social distancing by staying at home, the number of online gamers has surged, and end-product manuf
March 16, 2021
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Seoul stocks open higher as US Treasury yields fall
South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday, tracking overnight advances on Wall Street amid falling Treasury yields. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 12.72 points, or 0.42 percent, to 3,058.43 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 1.05 percent, as the yield on the US 10-year Treasury note fell, easing investor concerns over earlier-than-expected post-pandemic inflation. In Seoul, top cap Samsung Electronics gaine
March 16, 2021
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Samsung to supply 5G network equipment to Canada's SaskTel
Samsung Electronics Co. said Tuesday it has been selected as the sole vendor to supply 5G network equipment and solutions to a Canadian telecommunications firm. Under the deal with Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. (SaskTel), Samsung will provide the Canadian company with the 4G/5G radio unit, massive multiple input, multiple output (MIMO) radio technology, network virtualization software and maintenance services. The South Korean tech giant said it is also the first time that the
March 16, 2021
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Market value of cryptocurrencies in S. Korea spikes tenfold over 3 years
The market value of cryptocurrencies in South Korea has shot up nearly 10 times over the past three years amid keen investor interest, industry sources said Tuesday. According to local cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, its market index stood at 9,742.62 points as of 5:45 p.m. Monday, almost 10 times the level of 1,000 points on Oct. 1, 2017, when the index was first calculated The Upbit Market Index covers all cryptocurrencies traded in the exchange's won-denominated market and shows changes in t
March 16, 2021
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Samsung ranks third in Q4 wearables market: report
Samsung Electronics Co. was the third-largest vendor of wearable devices in the fourth quarter of 2020, a market report showed Tuesday, amid soaring global demand for wearbles despite the pandemic. The South Korean tech giant shipped 13 million units of wearable devices in the October-December period, up 20.5 percent from a year earlier, although its market share dropped to 8.5 percent from 9 percent a year ago, according to the latest report from market tracker International Data Corp. (IDC).
March 16, 2021