Most Popular
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10-man S. Korea lose to Indonesia to miss out on Paris Olympic football qualification
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Hybe-Ador feud should have limited effect on Hybe's overall performance: analysts
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Second Gimpo civil servant found dead, after apologizing for not finishing work
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DP leader says he will meet Yoon without conditions
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First-ever meeting of president, opposition chief set to finally happen
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NewJeans' singles, Japanese debut to proceed as planned, despite Hybe-Ador feud
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Experts raise concerns about Japan putting pressure on Naver over Line
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Samsung mobile chief, Google device head meet in Seoul
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Ship linked to NK arms shipments to Russia is moored in China: State Dept.
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Blinken calls on China to press N. Korea to end its 'dangerous' behavior
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'Decentralization to unfold in Seoul office market'
South Korea is expected to witness a decentralization of the office market in its capital city Seoul over the next few years as major tenants are planning to relocate and new submarkets emerge, a report showed Monday. Chaebol tenants such as Samsung, Doosan, Hyundai Heavy, LG are planning relocations within the Greater Seoul area, while banking group Hana Financial Group and public institutions are considering moving out of Seoul, leading to a “great reshuffling” of the Seoul offic
Dec. 14, 2020
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Woori Bank ditches postal notification service to go paperless
Major South Korean lender Woori Bank said Monday it is set to launch a mobile-based notification service on Tuesday to replace its current postal delivery of documents regarding customer banking activities. After completing a personal identification process in the bank’s mobile application, its users will receive e-notifications of 21 pieces of banking information on deposits or loans, including repayment due dates, which previously have been mailed to their home address. Marking
Dec. 14, 2020
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S. Korea's Nafabeltan gets clinical approval for COVID-19 treatment in Australia
South Korean drug firm Chong Kun Dang Pharmaceutical Corp. said Monday that it has won approval from Australia's drug authorities to begin a phase three clinical trial for coronavirus treatment with its acute pancreatitis drug. The drug, Nafabeltan, will be administered to patients as part of the Australian government-led clinical study to find a COVID-19 treatment. The drug is currently used as a blood anticoagulant and acute pancreatitis treatment. The Australian COVID-19 Trial, also known a
Dec. 14, 2020
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[News Focus] COVID-19 'star' Seegene posts tenfold jump in revenue
South Korean diagnostics company Seegene is one of the biggest beneficiaries of the global COVID-19 crisis. On Monday, the molecular biotech firm announced that its aggregate revenues so far this year topped 1 trillion won ($916.3 million) on the back of strong demand for COVID-19 test kits and diagnostic machines. That is nearly 10 times larger than the 122 billion won reported for all of 2019. “The COVID-19 pandemic has raised public trust in Seegene’s molecular diagnostics rea
Dec. 14, 2020
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[Herald Interview] What COVID-19 means for vaccine makers
The aphorism that a crisis can be an opportunity has never struck home so much as it has for vaccine companies in the era of COVID-19. Not only has the pandemic raised awareness of the role of vaccines in health care, but it also expedited crucial advances in innovative vaccine technologies such as messenger ribonucleic acid, or mRNA, vaccines. Heightened public interest in individual vaccine firms is another plus. Speaking to the media for the first time since assuming his role on Aug. 25, v
Dec. 14, 2020
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Sales of S. Korean firms edge up in 2019, but operating profits tumble
South Korean companies saw their combined sales inch up in 2019 but their operating profits tumble amid a trade spat between the United States and China, as well as weak demand for semiconductors, government data showed Monday. The combined sales of 752,675 companies reached 4,987 trillion won ($4.52 trillion) last year, up 1.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. Their operating profit slipped 22.7 percent on-year to 220 trillion won in 2019, the da
Dec. 14, 2020
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S. Korea vows more emergency steps over winter wave of virus infections
South Korea's top financial regulator said Monday that his agency will take more emergency steps, if necessary, as health authorities struggle to contain a winter wave of coronavirus infections. Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Eun Sung-soo made the remarks a day after the nation reported its highest one-day increase of 1,030 infections. In the span of the past 10 days, the nation recorded about 7,500 confirmed infections, bringing the total caseload to 43,484 on Monday. "As
Dec. 14, 2020
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Hyundai tops global hydrogen auto sales through Sept.
South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co. topped the global hydrogen vehicle sales in the first nine months of the year on rising demand for the Nexo model, data showed Monday. In the first nine months, Hyundai Motor sold a total of 4,917 hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles, accounting for 74 percent of the global hydrogen car market, according to data from local market research firm SNE Research. Toyota Motors Corp. ranked second with a share of 11.5 percent, or 767 vehicles, while Honda Motor Co. ran
Dec. 14, 2020
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Banks' loan delinquency rate inches up in October
The delinquency rate for South Korean banks' won-denominated loans edged up in October from the previous month, but remained stable, the financial regulator said Monday. The rate for bank loans more than 30 days overdue stood at 0.34 percent at the end of October, up 0.04 percentage point from September, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Compared with a year earlier, the bank loan delinquency rate was down 0.12 percentage point. The delinquency rate for corporate loans ros
Dec. 14, 2020
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Korea Shipbuilding wins W400b order from Europe
Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. said Monday that it has signed a 400 billion won ($367 million) deal to build four crude carriers with a European company. The 300,000-ton vessels to be built by Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries Co., a unit of Korea Shipbuilding, will be delivered starting in May 2022, the company said. The company hinted at obtaining additional orders till the end of the year, saying, "There have been constant inquiries about various kinds of ships includin
Dec. 14, 2020
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Asiana decides on capital reduction to improve financial status
Asiana Airlines Inc. said Monday it will cut its capital base to improve its financial status amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Shareholders approved a 3:1 capital reduction plan as the airline's capital erosion rate reached 56.3 percent at the end of June, a company spokesman said. "The company made the decision to avoid being designated as issues for administration or having its credit rating downgraded," he said over the phone. After the reduction, the number of Asiana's overall stocks
Dec. 14, 2020
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Auto exports dip 10% in Nov. amid virus jitters
South Korea's auto exports dropped 10.2 percent on-year in November, falling at a faster pace compared with the previous month, amid the global resurgence of new coronavirus cases. Local carmakers shipped a combined 190,657 units of automobiles overseas last month, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. In terms of value, exports rose 2.1 percent to $3.9 billion. During the January-November period, the country sold 1,714,702 units of cars overseas, down 2
Dec. 14, 2020
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Seoul stocks open tad higher on tech gains amid COVID-19 concerns
South Korean stocks opened slightly higher Monday on the back of strong tech and pharmaceutical gains, but investors remain wary of the country's spiking new coronavirus outbreaks. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 3.96 points, or 0.14 percent, to 2,774.02 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Contact-free shares, such as giant chipmakers, drugmakers and online platform operators, advanced as South Korea's daily new COVID-19 cases broke the 1,000 mark for the first tim
Dec. 14, 2020
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Kia workers continue strike for higher pay amid pandemic
Unionized workers at Kia Motors Corp. will extend their partial strike this week to demand higher wages and bonuses amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the union said Monday. Daytime and night-duty workers will hold a four-hour strike daily at Kia's three domestic plants in Gwangmyeong and Hwaseong, both near Seoul, and Gwangju, 330 kilometers south of Seoul, from Monday to Thursday and stage a six-hour walkout in the plants Friday, a union spokesman said. Kia workers already have held a partial strik
Dec. 14, 2020
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Retail investors swoop on Samsung Electronics amid price surge
South Korean retail investors loaded up on shares of top-cap Samsung Electronics Co. last week amid a surge in its share price, data showed Monday. Individual investors bought a net 1.26 trillion won ($1.15 billion) worth of Samsung from Monday to Friday, their top pick among local companies, according to the data from the Korea Exchange. In contrast, foreign investors and local institutions sold a net 1.29 trillion won worth of Samsung shares during the five-session period. Individuals' stro
Dec. 14, 2020
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Foreigners' net buying of Korean stocks hits nearly 7-year high in Nov.
Foreign investors' net purchase of South Korean stocks reached a near seven-year high in November, with Britons emerging as the biggest buyers, data showed Monday. Foreigners bought a net 6.1 trillion won ($5.6 billion) worth of local stocks in November, the largest monthly net tally since September 2013, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Britons were the biggest net buyers of South Korean equities with 2.2 trillion won last month, which accounted for 36 perce
Dec. 14, 2020
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[Women in Finance 3] Women who broke the glass ceiling
The Korea Herald is publishing a series of special reports on the glass ceiling in the financial industry, focusing on South Korea’s market compared with other major economies. Funded by The Korea Press Foundation, the series will evaluate where Asia’s fourth-largest economy stands in terms of gender equality, will reflect on changes being made and will explore ways to boost inclusion in the sector. -- Ed. Looking back at her 41-year career in South Korea’s finance sector, Soh
Dec. 13, 2020
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LG Chem’s cathode plant in Wuxi, China, to run 100% on reusable energy from 2021
LG Chem is taking steps to carry out its pledge to create no more carbon emissions by 2050. Starting 2021, the company’s cathode material plant in Wuxi, China, will run entirely on reusable energy provided by the local Leyou New Energy Materials, LG Chem said Sunday. Carbon emissions reduction from the change is expected to be 100,000 tons a year. This has the effect of planting 1.7 million trees every year, the company said. Leyou New Energy Materials generates reusable energy using w
Dec. 13, 2020
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Tesla accident: Faulty vehicle or bad driving?
South Korean police are investigating a Tesla crash that killed one person and injured two others last week, to see if defects in the vehicle could have played a role. The Yongsan Police Station said Sunday that the vehicle has been delivered to the National Forensic Service for a forensic investigation, after the Seoul Western District Court issued a search and seizure warrant Friday. The vehicle, a Tesla Model X produced this year, caught fire after crashing into a wall late Wednesday as i
Dec. 13, 2020
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Hyundai Motor Group acquires US robotics firm
Hyundai Motor Group is taking the first major step toward transforming into a smart mobility solution provider, acquiring the world’s leading robotics firm, Boston Dynamics. The Korean conglomerate announced late Friday its agreement with SoftBank to acquire a controlling interest in the mobile robot firm, valued at $1.1 billion. Under the agreement, three Hyundai Motor companies and group Chairman Chung Euisun will together hold 80 percent of the firm’s shares, while SoftBank r
Dec. 13, 2020