Most Popular
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Korea enters full election mode
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Immigrant woman stabbed to death by Korean husband
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Seoul bus drivers go on general strike, cause morning rush hour delays
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Lee Jong-sup resigns as envoy to Australia
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Yellow dust engulfs S. Korea, advisory alert issued
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Official campaigning kicks off for April 10 elections
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S. Korea to boost support for single-parent families
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Court upholds jail term for man who attempted to murder ex-girlfriend
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Kia EV9 wins world car of year
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Korea misses out on global bond index boost
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Carmakers to recall over 470,000 vehicles over defects
Mercedes-Benz Korea, Hyundai Motor, Kia, Honda Korea, Ford Sales and Service Korea, Audi Volkswagen Korea, Nissan Korea, Volvo Cars Korea, and BMW Korea will recall 478,371 vehicles after faulty components have been found, South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Thursday. The latest action came a day after the ministry announced a mass recall for 26,699 units of Hyundai Motor’s electric vehicle models over faulty batteries. Of the total cases, 29,769 units
Feb. 25, 2021
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Finance minister to attend virtual G-20 meeting this week
Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki plans to attend a meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors of the Group of 20 major economies this week to discuss ways to tackle the pandemic, the finance ministry said Thursday. The meeting, to be chaired by Italy, will be held virtually Friday due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. G-20 financial chiefs and leaders of international organizations will discuss ways to strengthen policy coordination to cope wi
Feb. 25, 2021
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‘Market picks SK Group as top ESG player here’
As the ESG business management trend continues to gain traction in South Korea, environmental factors have outweighed social and governance values in importance, the Federation of Korean Industries said on Thursday. The major business advocacy group also added that SK Group, among business entities across the nation, has received the top recognition in the market as a pioneer of the ESG business culture. In the federation’s survey polling research chiefs of major brokerages here, 60 pe
Feb. 25, 2021
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South Korea maintains 3% growth outlook
South Korea’s central bank on Thursday decided to maintain its previous 3 percent growth outlook for the nation’s gross domestic product this year, with its chief suggesting that vaccination will determine its economic development. Following its first monetary policy meeting of the year, the Bank of Korea decided to keep its interest-rate at a record-low of 0.5 percent, while keeping up the 3 percent growth rate for 2021. The growth rate for this year was announced in November. It
Feb. 25, 2021
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EMA starts rolling review of Celltrion’s COVID-19 treatment
European Medicines Agency said Wednesday, local time, that it has started a “rolling review” of data on South Korean company Celltrion’s monoclonal antibody regdanvimab. Regdanvimab, also known as CT-P59, is being developed by Celltrion for the treatment of COVID-19. A rolling review refers to an on-the-roll evaluation system that accepts data as they come from ongoing research. This form of evaluation is enforced during public health emergency, for a more time-efficient ass
Feb. 25, 2021
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[Exclusive] Korean investors' $16.8b coal exposure highlights call for climate action
Forty South Korean investors were found to have invested a total of $16.8 billion in securities issued by thermal coal-related companies worldwide as of January, data exclusively obtained by The Korea Herald showed Thursday. The figure highlights calls for more aggressive climate action on the part of the investors, beyond just declaring an end to additional coal investing, for a nation that pledged to achieve carbon neutrality by cutting emissions to net zero by 2050 for a more sustainable fut
Feb. 25, 2021
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Incumbent Hana Financial chief to take on 4th term, but only for 1 year
Kim Jung-tai, the incumbent chairman of Hana Financial Group, was officially tapped by board members to lead the banking giant for another year, the group said Thursday. Hana Financial Group’s recommendation committee for CEO nominations had recommended Kim as the sole candidate for the next president, allowing him to clinch a fourth term in office. Once the appointment is confirmed during a general meeting of stockholders and board of directors slated for March, Kim
Feb. 25, 2021
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Overseas employees worried about LG’s plans for smartphone biz
LG Electronics’ potential plan to discontinue the smartphone business would have ripple effects on jobs in its overseas production bases, persons working for LG outside Korea said. According to workers assembling LG phones at the company’s Brazil factory, local employees are paying keen attention to the circulating rumors about the Korean vendor’s plans for the struggling phone business. “The latest reports about LG’s sale of its smartphone business have made u
Feb. 25, 2021
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Fisheries output hits 4-year low in 2020
South Korea's fisheries output hit a four-year low last year due largely to sluggish aquaculture production and a fall in consumption amid the pandemic, data showed Thursday. The total fisheries output amounted to 3.71 million tons last year, up 3.8 percent from the previous year, according to Statistics Korea. The tally marked the smallest since 2016, when such output reached 3.26 million tons.Last year, the output from seaweed and oyster farming remained sluggish amid long rainy seasons. Fis
Feb. 25, 2021
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Young wage workers suffer extended employment slumps amid pandemic
The number of jobs for wage workers in South Korea increased on-year in the June-August period of last year, but those in their 20s and 30s suffered extended employment slumps amid the pandemic, data showed Thursday. The number of paid employee jobs reached 19.1 million in the cited period, up 369,000 from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. The quarterly tally was higher than an increase of 211,000 in the March-May period of 2020, when such jobs rose by the sma
Feb. 25, 2021
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Hyundai wins most 2021 Top Safety Pick awards
South Korean automaking giant Hyundai Motor Group said Thursday it has earned the most Top Safety Pick awards from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Hyundai Motor Co., Hyundai's independent brand Genesis and affiliate Kia Corp. received 12 Top Safety Pick (TSP) and five Top Safety Pick+ (TSP+) ratings from the IIHS in its latest round of crash-testing evaluations, a Hyundai spokesman said. Hyundai's Palisade SUV and Nexo hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicle, Kia's K5 sedan and
Feb. 25, 2021
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Retail sales up 6% in Jan. on strong online sales
Retail sales in South Korea rose 6 percent in January from a year earlier as more consumers purchased daily necessities from online stores, with the demand for gift items ahead of the Lunar New Year's holiday also bolstering the sales, data showed Thursday. The combined sales of 26 major offline and online retailers reached 12.5 trillion won ($11.2 billion) last month, up from 11.7 trillion won a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Online
Feb. 25, 2021
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[Graphic News] Samsung remains No. 2 chip buyer in 2020: report
Samsung Electronics remained the world’s second-largest chip buyer behind US tech titan Apple last year, a report showed, while manufacturers’ spending on semiconductors increased due to the pandemic-induced stay-at-home economy. Samsung, the world’s largest smartphone and TV maker, accounted for 8.1 percent of global semiconductor spending in 2020 after purchasing $36.4 billion worth of chips, up 20.4 percent from a year earlier, according to preliminary results from m
Feb. 25, 2021
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Provisioning, relief measures to support S. Korean banks’ performance: Fitch
US credit rating agency Fitch Ratings said on Wednesday that the near-term performance of South Korea's four major banks will be supported by loan-loss provisioning already made in 2020 and sustained relief measures introduced by the regulator. The pressure on their financial profiles, however, may persist as the ramification of last year’s pandemic-induced recession is likely to linger and affect the banks' asset quality and profitability, according to the company. “The prelimina
Feb. 25, 2021
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BOK keeps key rate at record low amid pandemic, growth estimate at 3% this year
South Korea's central bank on Thursday held its benchmark policy rate unchanged at a record low of 0.5 percent, as the third wave of the new coronavirus undermined the scope of sustaining an economic recovery. As widely expected, the monetary policy board of the Bank of Korea (BOK) voted to leave the base rate steady in this year's second rate-setting meeting. The Bank of Korea (BOK) also maintained its growth outlook for the year at 3 percent but hinted it may revise up the figure depending
Feb. 25, 2021
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[Herald Review] Hanmac: OB comes up with a fairly good rice-based lager
Oriental Brewery unveiled its new beer “Hanmac” late last month, boasting it as “Korea’s representative lager project.” As the label suggests, the company, famous for its pale lager Cass, set the bar high for itself. ”Some lagers are more than just beers and represent their regions as they do in Germany, Belgium, and the Czech Republic. We hope that ‘Hanmac’ will captivate consumers with its refreshing flavor of Korean rice and become a true &ls
Feb. 25, 2021
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Seoul stocks open steeply higher on US Fed Chairman's soothing comments
South Korean stocks opened steeply higher Thursday as the US Federal Reserve chairman's comments soothed inflation worries. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 47.82 points, or 1.6 percent, to 3,042.8 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks lifted largely on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's overnight reiteration that the world's largest economy still has a long way to go to recover from the pandemic's fallout. The rebound came a day after the key
Feb. 25, 2021
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GS launches environmental council to strengthen its ESG approach
South Korean conglomerate GS Group said Wednesday it had launched an environmental council consisting of its chief governance officers in an effort to strengthen the group’s ESG approach. The council will serve as the group’s top decision maker on matters such as pursuing new environmentally friendly business projects and anything ESG -- investments that prioritize environmental, social and governance issues. The decision to form the council comes as taking an ESG approach is being
Feb. 24, 2021
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Hyundai Motor to recall Kona electric cars over fire risk
Hyundai Motor will replace the battery systems in about 82,000 electric vehicles sold here and abroad due to fire risks, the company announced Wednesday. The voluntary recall, which affects three electric vehicle models -- Kona, Ioniq and Elec City -- comes after South Korea’s Transport Ministry said a series of fires involving Kona vehicles had most likely been caused by short circuits in defective high-voltage battery cells. The automaker will be recalling a total of 81,701 units of
Feb. 24, 2021
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NPS gains W72tr for 2020
South Korea’s public pension fund, the National Pension Service, has logged a 9.7 percent return last year to gain 72.1 trillion won ($65 billion) in its preliminary estimate, the government said Wednesday. Health Minister Kwon Deok-chul, who chairs NPS’ Fund Management Committee, added that the world’s third-largest pension fund was managing 833.7 trillion won worth of assets as of end-2020, in a committee meeting held in Seoul. The estimate will be finalized in June, accordi
Feb. 24, 2021