Most Popular
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What is Hybe’s next move?
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Medical profs at top hospitals suspend surgeries, clinics
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Samsung chip business back on track, logs W1.9tr operating profit in Q1
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Shinsegae faces showdown with investors over SSG.com's delayed IPO
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Hopes rise for possible Gaza truce deal
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Ex-pro baseball player who killed debtor appeals sentence
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S. Korea to issue travel ban on Haiti amid intensifying gang violence
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Seventeen shows who is the ‘Maestro’ of K-pop in greatest hits album
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S. Korea discussed possible participation in AUKUS Pillar 2 with Australia: defense minister
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Around 50% of people with disabilities aged 65 or above: report
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US trade panel supports LG Chem in battery case with SK Innovation
The US International Trade Commission (ITC) has voiced support for LG Chem Ltd.'s call for sanctions on its rival SK Innovation Co. in connection with a legal dispute over battery patents, LG Chem said Sunday. In response to LG Chem's request for the issuance of an order sanctioning SK Innovation, the investigative staff of the US International Trade Commission (ITC) has supported LG Chem ahead of a crucial verdict over their electric vehicle (EV) battery patent case next month. In the
Sept. 27, 2020
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S. Korea’s consumer sentiment sees sharp drop in Sept. amid stricter social distancing rules
South Korea’s composite consumer index shed the most points in six months in September, feeling the impact of stricter social distancing rules following the COVID-19 resurgence, central bank data showed Friday. The index dropped 8.8 points on-month to 79.4 in September, which also marked the sharpest dip in six months and the first decline since April, according to data released by the Bank of Korea. A reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists. The September reading broke th
Sept. 25, 2020
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S. Korea to spend 94b won this year to develop homegrown COVID-19 vaccine
South Korea will spend a total of 94 billion won ($80.3 million) this year to help local firms develop homegrown vaccines and treatment drugs to fight the coronavirus pandemic, officials said Friday. The government also plans to set aside 260.4 billion won next year to develop vaccines and treatment drugs against the new coronavirus, officials said. The plan came after senior officials held a pan-government meeting with executives from pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms earlier in the day.
Sept. 25, 2020
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S. Korea's trade terms rise for 5th straight month in Aug.
South Korea's terms of trade rose for the fifth straight month in August, as import prices fell at a faster pace than export prices, central bank data showed Friday. The country's net terms-of-trade index for goods -- a gauge of trade terms -- came in at 96.75 in August, up 6.7 percent from a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). It marked the fifth straight month of an on-year rise since April, when the trade terms posted the first on-year gain in over two
Sept. 25, 2020
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Imported commercial car sales up 2.3% in August
Sales of imported commercial vehicles in South Korea rose 2.3 percent last month from a year earlier on robust sales of Mercedes-Benz trucks, an industry association said Friday. The number of newly registered imported commercial vehicles rose to 318 units in August from 311 a year ago, the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association (KAIDA) said in a statement. "Increased sales of Mercedes-Benz and Scania trucks helped the monthly results," a KAIDA official said. &
Sept. 25, 2020
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Coronavirus sends S. Korea's consumer spending indoors plunging: expert
The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in a plunge in South Korean consumers' spending at department stores, cinemas and other large indoor facilities, an expert said Friday. In contrast, consumer spending at outdoor and small facilities, including neighborhood grocery stores and camping sites, has gone up, said Lee Jae-ho, head of the Digital Economy Institute of Kakao Mobility. "The COVID-19 outbreak has caused the frequency of visits to duty-free shops and department stores and large di
Sept. 25, 2020
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Prosecutors raid KEB Hana Bank over Optimus fund fiasco
Prosecutors on Thursday raided KEB Hana Bank‘s headquarters in Seoul in an apparent move to add fresh fuel to the investigation of Optimus Asset Management’s private equity fund misselling. KEB Hana Bank was one of trustee banks of the disputed funds. According to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, investigators searched the lender’s consignment sales unit to seize computer drives and documents related to the case. The main purpose of the search is to fi
Sept. 24, 2020
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Vice Minister warns against forex market volatility
South Korea’s vice finance minister on Thursday warned that the local foreign exchange market may face higher volatility amid external factors such as the COVID-19 resurgence in Europe and the reignited US-China conflict. “There are currently various factors which may increase volatility in the global financial market, including the resurgence of COVID-19 in Europe and the escalating tension between the US and China ahead of the US presidential election,” said Kim Yong-beom
Sept. 24, 2020
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Renault Samsung to suspend plant operations amid pandemic
Renault Samsung Motors Corp. said Thursday it will suspend its sole plant in South Korea until mid-October to control inventories amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Renault Samsung will halt the operation of the Busan plant, 450 kilometers southeast of Seoul, from Friday through Oct. 18, a company spokesman said over the phone. "The plant will be suspended for 11 working days as the Chuseok holiday falls on Sept. 30 and lasts through Oct. 5 for carmakers," he said. The company and its l
Sept. 24, 2020
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Biz community anxious about 'anti-corporate' regulations
South Korean business lobby groups said Thursday a series of bills that they claim would hurt corporate activities should be further discussed as they will have a far-reaching impact on their business operations and the economy as well. The government is pushing to pass a package of bills to prevent power abuse by large conglomerates, help improve corporate governance structures and strengthen the financial health of financial companies. Also, the government is seeking to expand class-action
Sept. 24, 2020
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S. Korean economy to worsen in H2 on virus impact: KERI
South Korea's economy is expected to deteriorate further in the second half of the year due to the prolonged coronavirus pandemic, a leading private think tank said Thursday. Asia's fourth-largest economy is likely to contract 3.8 percent on-year in the July-December period, worse than a 2.9 percent contraction projected in the second quarter, according to the Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI). After posting a negative growth rate of 0.7 percent in the first half, the economy is project
Sept. 24, 2020
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Over 2 in 10 S. Korean firms unlikely to service their debts
More than two in every 10 South Korean listed companies are unlikely to service their debts with earnings this year due to the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, South Korea's central bank said Thursday. The Bank of Korea estimated that 21.4 percent of the listed companies will have an interest coverage ratio below 1 this year. Last year, the proportion of marginal companies hit a record high of 14.8 percent since the central bank began compiling related data in 2010. The interest coverag
Sept. 24, 2020
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S. Korea puts spurs to COVID-19 relief fund payment ahead of holiday
The first batch of the emergency relief funds for the socially vulnerable will be handed out starting Thursday, following the National Assembly’s approval of the extra budget bill worth 7.8 trillion won ($6.7 billion), officials said Wednesday. The government’s target timeline is to distribute 80 percent of the total budget, or 6.3 trillion won, ahead of the Chuseok holiday that is to start on Sept. 30. The Ministry of Economy and Finance held an emergency fiscal status meeting
Sept. 23, 2020
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Gifts to Korean children subject to taxes double in 4 years
Korean children have received a combined 1.3 trillion won ($1.1 billion) worth of assets through some 9,700 gifts that are subject to taxation, data showed Wednesday. The value of the combined assets as of 2018 -- comprising of financial assets, properties and securities -- surged over twofold from that of 2014 at 588.4 billion won, according to data from the National Tax Service compiled by ruling Democratic Party Rep. Yang Hyang-ja. In the same period, the number of taxable gifts rose 92 per
Sept. 23, 2020
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Population mobility up in August
SEJONG -- The number of South Koreans who moved to different parts of the country grew in August, as more people were forced to change their residences due to rising housing prices, government data showed Wednesday. The number of people who changed their residences rose 8.7 percent last month from a year earlier to 615,000, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. The population mobility rate -- the number of those relocating per 100 people -- remained at 14.1 percent in August, up
Sept. 23, 2020
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Childbirths in S. Korea drop 8.5% in July
SEJONG -- The number of babies born in South Korea dropped 8.5 percent in July from a year earlier, data showed Wednesday, in the latest sign underscoring the low birthrate that has plagued the nation for more than a decade. The data compiled by Statistics Korea showed that 23,067 babies were born in July, compared with 25,222 tallied in the same month of 2019. It marks the lowest number of newborns for any July since the statistics agency started compiling monthly data on newborns in 1981. In
Sept. 23, 2020
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Nonfinancial firms' credit ratings vulnerable amid pandemic: Moody's
Moody's Investors Service said Wednesday that South Korean nonfinancial firms' credit ratings will remain vulnerable to shocks caused by the prolonged coronavirus crisis. More than half of the rated Korean nonfinancial companies posted weak results in the January-June period compared to a year earlier. With the wide spread of the COVID-19 pandemic weakening business activity, negative rating actions will likely outnumber positive ones over the next 12 months, Moody's said in a statement. &quo
Sept. 23, 2020
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Global TV sales tipped to rise in Q3 amid pandemic
The global TV market is expected to expand in the third quarter of the year due to pent-up demand amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, a report said Tuesday, boding well for South Korean electronics firms. Global TV shipments in the July-September period were estimated to reach 56.88 million units, up 2.08 million units, or 3.8 percent from a year ago, according to market researcher Omdia. With the rising stay-at-home trend, countries' stimulus measures and TV makers' aggressive promotions a
Sept. 23, 2020
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Some 1,000 travel agencies in S. Korea shutter on virus impact
Nearly 1,000 travel agencies in South Korea have gone out of business in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak that started to hit the country in late January, data showed Wednesday. The number of tour agencies came to 21,671 as of the end of June this year, down 938, or 2.7 percent, from the end of December, according to the data from the Korea Tourism Association. Compared with the end of September last year, the figure is down 4.1 percent. The number of travel companies in the country bega
Sept. 23, 2020
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NTS opens probes into unconventional real estate tax evasion
South Korea’s tax agency said Tuesday that it has launched probes into 98 individuals for alleged property tax evasion as part of its ongoing efforts to strengthen a crackdown on tax dodgers and those who fall behind on large sums in taxes. Among the tax evasion schemes identified by the National Tax Service were 22 Koreans who purchased multiple homes here by establishing corporations or investing in private equity funds and 76 people aged 39 or younger who bought luxury apartments. Of
Sept. 22, 2020