Most Popular
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Russia sent more than 165,000 barrels of refined petroleum to N. Korea in March: White House
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Key suspects grilled over alleged abuse of power in Marine death inquiry
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S. Korean children, teens grow taller, mature faster than before: study
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[Graphic News] Number of coffee franchises in S. Korea rises 13%
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Army takes group action against Hybe for neglecting BTS
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Some junior doctors are returning: Health Ministry
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Marine Corps commander summoned by CIO for questioning on alleged influence-peddling case
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[Robert J. Fouser] AI changes rationale for learning languages
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Ador CEO's request for exclusive right to terminate NewJeans' contract with Hybe refused in February
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Woman dangling from power lines rescued by residents holding blanket
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S. Korea's rice output forecast to dip 3% in 2020
South Korea's rice output is expected to shrink 3 percent in 2020 due mainly to bad weather conditions and reduced cultivation area, government data showed Thursday. The country's rice production is likely to come to 3.63 million tons this year, compared with 3.77 million tons a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. The amount would represent the lowest level since 1980, when South Korea produced 3.55 million tons of rice. It would also mark the fifth consecutive y
Oct. 8, 2020
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BTS, S. Korean biz lobby win Van Fleet Award
South Korean K-pop boy band BTS won the 2020 Van Fleet Award for its contribution to strengthening ties between South Korea and the United States, South Korea's leading business lobby group said Thursday. The two other recipients are the Korean War Veterans Association and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), according to the KCCI. The KCCI became the first Korean organization to earn the award. In 2014, KCCI Chairman Park Yong-maan received the same prize as an individual. The
Oct. 8, 2020
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S. Korea lags behind in hydrogen charging infrastructure
South Korea needs to further expand the country's hydrogen charging infrastructure as it lags behind advanced countries amid growing interest in zero-emission vehicles, a business association said Thursday. South Korea has emerged as a major player in technologies involving hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles and fuel-cell battery-based power generation in recent years. But the country still is behind developed nations in hydrogen charging stations and the production, storage and transport o
Oct. 8, 2020
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S. Korea logs current account surplus for 4th month in Aug.
South Korea posted a current account surplus for the fourth straight month in August as exports declined at a slower pace than imports amid major economies' reopenings after the pandemic-caused lockdowns, the central bank said Thursday. The current account surplus reached $6.57 billion in August, down from $7.45 billion the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The current account is the broadest measure of cross-border trade. The current account has been in the black since the
Oct. 8, 2020
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Seoul's trade minister among 2 finalists in race for new WTO chief: report
South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee has made it onto the shortlist of two finalists in a race to become the new chief of the World Trade Organization (WTO), a news report said Thursday. The South Korean candidate will now compete with Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala from Nigeria for the top seat, Reuters reported, citing three unidentified sources. The WTO earlier said the candidates for the final round of the selection process will be announced later Thursday (Geneva time). Member states will reac
Oct. 8, 2020
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S. Korea’s forex reserves extend 6-month uptrend in Sept.
South Korea’s foreign reserves continued to rise in September for the sixth straight months, mostly on the back of the country’s sale of foreign exchange stabilization bonds and partly due to investment returns, central bank data showed Wednesday. The foreign reserves totaled at a record high of $420.6 billion as of the end of September, up $1.59 billion from a month earlier, according to data compiled by the Bank of Korea. The given figure comprises securities and deposits denomin
Oct. 7, 2020
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LS Cable buys land in Poland for possible expansion of plants
LS Cable & System Ltd., South Korea's leading wire and cable manufacturer, said Wednesday it has purchased a 30,000-square-meter plot of land in Poland for a possible expansion of its operations. A company official said no decision has been made yet on building production facilities on the new site, which is next to LS Cable's second plant in the southwestern Polish town of Dzierzoniow. The second plant, which is yet to be completed, will produce parts for electric vehicle batteries. Last
Oct. 7, 2020
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Finance chief renews calls for creating rules for fiscal soundness
SEJONG -- Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki on Wednesday renewed calls to establish rules to ensure fiscal soundness as he voiced concerns about South Korea's debt and fiscal deficit. Hong made his case for the rules during a parliamentary annual inspection of the ministry, citing a looming hike in South Korea's debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio. The ratio is expected to reach 43.9 percent this year as South Korea drew four rounds of extra budgets meant to ease the fallout of the coronavir
Oct. 7, 2020
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BOK to virtually test distribution of digital currency next year
South Korea’s central bank said Wednesday that it plans to start testing the distribution of its digital currency next year. The Bank of Korea announced in April that it had launched a 22-month pilot program that would run through December 2021. According to the BOK, the distribution and circulation test is the final part of the three-step pilot program. Phase 2, which focuses on analyzing related processes and seeking outside consulting, started recently. Phase 1, designing
Oct. 7, 2020
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Households' excess funds sharply up in Q2 amid virus outbreak
Excess funds held by South Korean households and nonprofit agencies sharply rose in the second quarter from a year earlier due mainly to the government's emergency handouts and an extended slump in private consumption amid the pandemic, the central bank said Wednesday. Net financial funds -- the value of financial assets minus financial liabilities -- held by local households and nonprofit organizations serving households amounted to 64 trillion won ($55 billion) in the April-June period, sharp
Oct. 7, 2020
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S. Korea adopts tougher safety measures at ASF-hit farms
South Korea said Wednesday it has set up new guidelines for pig farms hit by African swine fever (ASF) as they are gradually preparing for reopening after the disease swept the inter-Korean border area last year. "As the virus can spread by automobiles, people or other mediums, it is necessary to enforce sanitary measures to prevent the farms from contacting the virus," the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said in a statement. The new measures center on providing detai
Oct. 7, 2020
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Fitch keeps S. Korea's credit rating at 'AA-,' outlook stable
Global credit appraiser Fitch Ratings said Wednesday it has maintained South Korea's credit rating at "AA-" with a stable outlook. Fitch's rating for South Korea has been AA-, the fourth-highest level of the agency's sovereign ratings, since 2012. "Korea's rating balances robust external finances, steady macroeconomic performance and sufficient fiscal headroom going into the coronavirus pandemic against geopolitical risks related to North Korea and medium-term structural challe
Oct. 7, 2020
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Imported car sales rise 15% in Sept. amid pandemic
Sales of imported vehicles in South Korea rose 15 percent in September from a year earlier due to strong demand for German cars, an industry association said Wednesday. The number of newly registered foreign vehicles rose to 21,839 units last month from 20,204 a year earlier, the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA) said in a statement. The three bestselling models were Mercedes-Benz's E300 4MATIC sedan and A 220 sedan, and the Audi A6 45 TFSI sedan, the statement
Oct. 7, 2020
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T'way Air to start flights to Japan next month
T'way Air, a South Korean low-cost carrier, said Wednesday it will begin flights to Japan next month mainly to meet business travel demand. T'way Air will resume services on the routes from Incheon to Osaka and Tokyo on Nov. 5 and Nov. 6, respectively, with a plan to eventually provide flights on routes to Nagoya and Fukuoka, the company said in a statement. The budget carrier said it will initially offer one flight a week on the routes to Osaka and Tokyo as the new coronavirus outbreak cont
Oct. 7, 2020
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BOK to test-run circulation of digital currency next year
The Bank of Korea (BOK) said Wednesday it plans to test-run issuing and circulating a central bank-issued digital currency (CBDC) next year, as the bank will launch a pilot program to study the potential introduction of a new cryptocurrency. In March this year, the BOK began reviewing legal and technological issues to check its capabilities for the possible issuance of such a currency under its three-step scheme. The bank plans to establish and activate a pilot program
Oct. 7, 2020
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Minister fends off criticism over government's fiscal soundness plans
A day after South Korea’s measures to ensure fiscal soundness for 2025 drew immediate flak from experts and the public alike for its time frame and "loopholes," the nation’s fiscal chief came to the defense of the rules Tuesday. The Ministry of Economy and Finance announced Monday that it aims to maintain the national debt-to-gross domestic product ratio below 60 percent, and its consolidated fiscal balance at minus 3 percent in 2025. The rules are to be exempted in a time
Oct. 6, 2020
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S. Korea shares experience in combating COVID-19 with ASEAN members
SEJONG -- South Korea held a videoconference with member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Tuesday during which they shared their experience in fighting the coronavirus pandemic, the finance ministry said. The conference was organized by a Southeast Asian office of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Ministry of Economy and Finance said in a statement. During the conference, South Korea briefed ASEAN members about measures to se
Oct. 6, 2020
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[News Focus] Should stock gains get same tax exemptions as homes?
SEJONG -- South Koreans owning homes worth 900 million won ($775,000) or less have an exemption from capital gains taxes when they sell them, as long as they are not multiple home owners. They pay only property taxes as usual. But Koreans holding stocks of a listed company worth 300 million won or over will likely be obliged to pay taxes on gains from trading the stocks, starting from next year. Further, the tax rates will range between 20 percent and 25 percent of their gains, as t
Oct. 6, 2020
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Consumer inflation recovers to 1% in September
South Korea’s consumer prices increased 1 percent on-year in September, marking the sharpest rise in six months, data showed Tuesday. This was driven largely by the impact of the record-long rainy season, which caused prices of agricultural, livestock and fisheries goods to rise at the steepest rate in almost a decade. The Consumer Price Index for September stood at 106.20, up 1 percent from a year earlier and returning to the 1 percent level for the first time since March, according
Oct. 6, 2020
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Doosan to expand presence in unmanned forklift market
Doosan Corp., the holding company of South Korea's Doosan Group, said Tuesday that it will increase sales of unmanned forklifts in the country. Industrial Vehicle, a business division of Doosan, has been discussing ways to provide its automated guided forklifts to about 20 companies, Doosan said. Last year, Doosan launched its first-ever unmanned forklifts in the local market. "To meet growing demand for automated forklifts, we plan to expand our product lineup to pallet trucks known
Oct. 6, 2020