Most Popular
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Contentious grain bill put directly to plenary meeting for vote
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Yoon's approval rating plunges to all-time low
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Will tug-of-war between doctors, government end soon?
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Climate impacts set to cut 2050 global GDP by nearly a fifth
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Trilateral talks acknowledge ‘serious’ slumps of won, yen
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[Graphic News] More Koreans say they plan long-distance trips this year
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[KH Explains] Hyundai's full hybrid edge to pay off amid slow transition to pure EVs
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North Korea removes streetlights along cross-border roads with South
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Russia's denial of entry of S. Korean national unrelated to bilateral ties: Seoul official
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Farming households dip below 1m for first time in 2023
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Bourse operator again delays decision on scandal-ridden Kolon TissueGene
South Korea's bourse operator on Tuesday delayed its decision on whether to delist the scandal-ridden drugmaker Kolon TissueGene, saying it needs more time to review the issue. The Korea Exchange said it will reopen a meeting on the fate of Kolon TissueGene, an affiliate of Kolon Life Science, later. It stopped short of announcing a specific date. A week earlier, the KRX postponed its decision on the matter. Kolon TissueGene was listed on the secondary Kosdaq market in 2017. The tradi
Dec. 15, 2020
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MSCI advanced index listing key to attracting foreign capital: expert
An extra 60 trillion won ($54.91 billion) worth of foreign funds could flow into the South Korean stock market if the nation joins the Morgan Stanley Capital Investment Advanced Market Index, a market expert suggested Tuesday. Korea, the world’s 10th-largest exporter, ranked No. 9 in terms of stock market capitalization, making it a candidate for the MSCI list of developed markets, said Lee Hyo-seob, a senior research fellow at the Korea Capital Market Institute, at a forum co-hosted by
Dec. 15, 2020
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With year-end parties canceled, alcohol industry targets home drinkers
Alcohol companies are eyeing home drinkers rather than bar goers during the first pandemic year-end season as a third wave of the COVID-19 outbreak threatens hospitality businesses across South Korea. In a more normal setting, restaurants and bars would be packed with group dinner reservations as the year draws to a close. But not this year, with venues being forced to close after 9 p.m. in Seoul and surrounding areas under strict social distancing rules. “As the hospitality sector has
Dec. 15, 2020
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World Expo 2030 Busan Korea to showcase Korea's advance
By bidding to host the 2030 World Expo in Busan, South Korea is striving for an opportunity that will enhance its national competitiveness and the city’s global brand status. As the nation’s second-largest city, Busan will be the first city in Korea to hold a World Expo if the bid succeeds. It is Korea’s first attempt to host a World Expo after 137 years of taking part in such events, starting with the Chicago Expo in 1893. A World Expo is one of the world’s three &ldquo
Dec. 15, 2020
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Hyundai Motor Group reshuffles execs in innovative push
South Korea’s second-largest conglomerate Hyundai Motor Group on Tuesday named the new chief for its flagship automaker unit, while promoting key leaders in future mobility sectors to affiliates’ top posts. The latest personnel reshuffle, marking the first of the kind since Chung Euisun was promoted to the group chairman position, was seen as the Korean auto group’s augmented signal to trail its blaze in future growth domains amid prolonged economic challenges and accelerati
Dec. 15, 2020
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Korea to quadruple renewable power by 2034, downsize nuclear, coal
Renewable energy will take up nearly 42 percent of South Korea’s power generation capacity by 2034, according to a blueprint for the national energy mix unveiled Tuesday. The final draft of the Ninth Basic Plan for Electricity Supply and Demand for the years 2020-2034, drawn up and released by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, reaffirms President Moon Jae-in’s commitment to move away from nuclear power and toward renewables. While the country’s electricity generat
Dec. 15, 2020
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Doosan bags W100b energy storage contract in Australia
Doosan GridTech, a US subsidiary of Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction, won a contract worth 100 billion won ($91.3 million) to install energy storage systems (ESS) in Australia, the biggest ESS contract Doosan has ever signed. According to Doosan Heavy on Tuesday, the subsidiary was awarded the contract from private power utility Vena Energy to supply a 150-megawatt-hour ESS in Queensland, Australia by next year. It will be the state’s largest such facility. Equipped with it
Dec. 15, 2020
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Doosan Solus changes name to Solus Advanced Materials, exits Doosan Group
South Korean battery foil maker Doosan Solus said Tuesday it has officially changed its name to Solus Advanced Materials after breaking away from Doosan Group on Monday. In a board meeting, directors of the former Doosan company also endorsed the appointment of SkyLake Equity Partners Chairman Chin Dae-jae as its CEO. Along with incumbent CEO Lee Yoon-seok, the company will be run by two independent CEOs. SkyLake, a private equity fund, is Solus Advanced Materials‘ largest shareholder
Dec. 15, 2020
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[News Focus] Korea’s tax revenue increases fastest in OECD
SEJONG -- South Korea topped the list among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in the growth of tax revenue -- the state’s income from taxation -- between 2017 and 2019. According to the France-based organization, Korea’s tax revenue was equivalent to 27.38 percent of its gross domestic product in 2019. This represents a 2.02 percentage point climb from 2017, when the Moon Jae-in administration took office and tax revenue was 25.36 percent of GDP.
Dec. 15, 2020
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ICT Ministry asks Google to explain server outage
The Ministry of Science and ICT of South Korea said Tuesday that it has asked Google for a report explaining the server outage that interrupted Google services a day earlier. Multiple Google services, including YouTube, Gmail, Google Assistant and Google Docs, were down for around an hour late Monday. “The ministry has requested Google to report back to the authorities, to identify detailed causes for the recent issue with its services,” the ICT Ministry said. “The ministr
Dec. 15, 2020
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S. Korea to increase investment in nanotechnology, new materials
The Ministry of Science and ICT will invest 287.9 billion won ($263 million) in the research and development of new materials and nanotechnology next year, according to the ministry’s announcement, Tuesday. The ICT Ministry’s 2021 budget for nanotechnology and materials R&D has increased 25 percent from the previous year and accounts for 70 percent of the 417.3 billion won allocated to support the materials, parts and equipment sectors here. Around 41.5 billion won will be in
Dec. 15, 2020
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Seoul stocks down for 2nd day on profit-taking
South Korean stocks slumped for the second consecutive session Tuesday, as investors sought to cash in part of recent gains amid spiking virus cases. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 5.38 points, or 0.19 percent, to close at 2,756.82, with construction and bio sectors having led the KOSPI's retreat. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.1 billion shares worth some 15.3 trillion won ($14.5 billion), with gainers outnumberin
Dec. 15, 2020
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S. Korea’s money supply grows at fast rate in Oct.
South Korea’s money supply saw further growth in October, as businesses and households continued its rush to secure funds amid the COVID-19 pandemic, central bank data showed Tuesday. The country’s M2 – a yardstick for the nation’s cash, checking deposits and other near money deposits – gained 9.7 percent on-year and 1.1 percent on-month to 3,150.5 trillion won ($2.8 trillion) as of end-October. The 1.1 percent or 34.7 trillion won on-month gain is the second-lar
Dec. 15, 2020
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1 in 5 married couples childless after 5 years: data
One out of every 5 couples in South Korea who got married in 2015 had no children last year, government data showed Tuesday. According to Statistics Korea, about 18 percent of the 216,008 couples who tied the knot in 2015 and remained married as of 2019 were still childless, marking the highest figure since 2015. The percentage of childless couples married for five years has been on an upward trend, having increased from 12.9 percent in 2015 to 16.9 percent in 2018. The trend appears to
Dec. 15, 2020
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Housing affordability at worst level on record
The Korea-housing affordability index, or K-HAI, which measures median household income relative to the income needed to buy a median-priced house, in Seoul reached a record high in 11 years in the July-October period this year. The index increased 1.7 points from the previous quarter to 144.5—the highest since the figure came to 150.8 in the fourth quarter of 2009. A value of 100 means that a family would have to put 25 percent of their income toward paying off the mortgage. A higher r
Dec. 15, 2020
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S. Korea's money supply gains at faster pace in October
South Korea's money supply continued to grow quickly in October on increased loans to households and firms amid the coronavirus pandemic, central bank data showed Tuesday. The country's M2 stood at 3,150.5 trillion won ($2.87 trillion) as of end-October, up 1.1 percent, or 34.7 trillion won, from September, according to preliminary data by the Bank of Korea (BOK). October's gain marked the second-highest monthly growth since May this year, when M2 grew by 35.4 trillion won, according to the B
Dec. 15, 2020
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LG claims affiliate spin-off will improve shareholder value
LG Group, South Korea's fourth-largest conglomerate, on Tuesday refuted claims that its planned spin-off of affiliates could undermine shareholder value, saying the move will actually benefit its stockholders. "We believe our shareholder value will improve since the group can focus on its key businesses, including electronics, chemicals and telecommunications," LG said. "Once the split is completed and our growth strategy gets materialized, we think this 'discount issue' will be
Dec. 15, 2020
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Samsung Bioepis begins phase 3 clinical trial of Prolia biosimilar
Samsung Bioepis has begun the final stage clinical trial of postmenopausal osteoporosis treatment SB16, the company said Tuesday. SB16 (denosumab) is a biosimilar referencing Amgen’s Prolia, whose global annual sales marked over 3 trillion won ($2.74 billion) in 2019. The phase 3 clinical trial of SB16 is anticipated to be completed by March 2023, just in time for the company to derive analysis and push for commercialization of the drug by Prolia’s patent expiration in major mark
Dec. 15, 2020
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Corporate earnings dip by most in 11 years in 2019
South Korean companies' earnings declined by the most in 11 years in 2019, as the manufacturing sector remained sluggish amid the global economic slowdown, data showed Tuesday. Their combined before-tax net profit reached 102 trillion won ($93.3 billion) in 2019, down 37.1 percent from the previous year, according to the data on 13,255 firms compiled by Statistics Korea. It marked the sharpest on-year decline since 2008, when their earnings fell 43.6 percent. In 2019, manufacturers, led by el
Dec. 15, 2020
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S. Korea's ICT exports up for 6th straight month in Nov. on chips, displays
South Korea's exports of information and telecommunication products surged 15.8 percent in November from a year earlier, extending their rise for the sixth consecutive month, data showed Tuesday, on the back of robust overseas demand for memory chips and display products amid the pandemic. Outbound shipments of information communication and telecommunication (ICT) products came to $16.56 billion in November, compared with $14.3 billion posted in the previous year, according to the data compiled
Dec. 15, 2020