Most Popular
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Medical profs at top hospitals suspend surgeries, clinics
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Exports to US reach all-time high, widen gap with China
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Trump rekindles criticism: US forces defending 'wealthy' S. Korea 'free of charge'
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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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[Music in drama] Rekindle a love that slipped through your fingers
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Hopes rise for possible Gaza truce deal
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S. Korea discussed possible participation in AUKUS Pillar 2 with Australia: defense minister
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[New faces of Assembly] Architect behind ‘audacious initiative’ believes in denuclearized North Korea
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On May Day, labor unions blast Yoon's foreign nanny proposal
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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
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Producer prices continue uptrend in August due to summer rains, typhoons
South Korea’s producer prices increased for the third consecutive month in August, mostly reflecting the rising costs of agricultural goods and oil products, central bank data showed Tuesday. The inflationary trend, attributed to the record-long rainy season and typhoons, is seen as adding pressure on coronavirus-hit consumers ahead of the Chuseok holiday. The producer price index -- an indicator of future consumer inflation -- stood at 103.19 in August, climbing 0.5 percent from a m
Sept. 22, 2020
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Virus fallout to cause private consumption recovery to be slower than expected: BOK
South Korea's private consumption is expected to recover at a slower-than-expected clip as the new coronavirus outbreak has dealt a blow to demand for offline services and foreign travel, the central bank said Tuesday. The Bank of Korea (BOK) said the recovery of face-to-face services and overseas consumption is expected to take a considerable period of time amid lingering concerns about a flare-up in virus cases. "During an economic crisis, consumption serves as a buffer for the economy.
Sept. 22, 2020
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Cancer still leading cause of death in S. Korea
SEJONG -- Cancer remained the top cause of death in South Korea, a government report showed Tuesday. In 2019, a total of 295,110 deaths were reported in South Korea, down 1.2 percent from a year earlier. It marked the first annual decline since 2013. The statistics agency said 574.8 deaths were reported per 100,000 South Koreans last year. It also said 158.2 per 100,000 people died of cancer last year. Cancer has been the No. 1 cause of death in the country since 1983. Heart disease is th
Sept. 22, 2020
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Sales of derivatives-tied securities fall 32.6% in H1 on virus fallout
South Korea's sales of derivatives-linked securities fell 32.6 percent on-year in the first half of the year due to sharp declines in stock markets in major countries amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Tuesday. The combined value of equity-linked securities (ELS) and derivatives-linked securities (DLS) issued in the January-June period came to 42.1 trillion won ($36 billion), down 20.4 trillion won from a year ago, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. The produ
Sept. 22, 2020
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Extra budget will help virus-hit small merchants: finance minister
SEJONG -- Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Tuesday a fourth supplementary budget would help small merchants navigate through the difficult time as they were hit by a recent resurgence of the new coronavirus. "The government has actively taken bold measures to overcome the economic crisis," Hong told Yonhap News TV. Hong said the fourth extra budget will become "welcome rain" for small merchants to overcome this crisis. Hong made the remarks as the ruling Democratic Par
Sept. 22, 2020
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Nonghyup Bank files for approval of Beijing branch
Major South Korean lender Nonghyup Bank has applied for China's approval to open a branch in Beijing as part of its Asian push, industry sources said Tuesday. Nonghyup Bank, which lodged the application with the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission late last month, is expected to receive preliminary approval by February at the latest. It usually takes six months to receive preliminary approval from the Chinese financial authorities to open a branch in the world's second-largest ec
Sept. 22, 2020
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US halves anti-dumping tariffs on S. Korean oil pipelines
The United States has nearly halved its anti-dumping tariffs on oil pipeline products from South Korean steelmakers, industry sources said Tuesday. The US Department of Commerce has decided to levy a tariff of 4.23 percent to 9.24 percent on South Korean oil pipelines, far lower than the 2018 ruling of up to 18.77 percent. The tariff reduction came after the Court of International Trade (CIT) ordered Washington to readjust its earlier duties in January following complaints from South Korean st
Sept. 22, 2020
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S. Korea inches close to legalizing shared accommodation biz
South Korea has moved a step closer to officially legalizing the shared accommodation business in rural areas, according to the country’s top fiscal chief. The “Korean Airbnb” -- modeled after the US shared lodgings company -- would allow business operators to run such services by using empty houses in non-urban areas for all guests -- locals and foreigners alike. “We have reached a mutually beneficial consensus on using empty homes in farming and fishing areas as l
Sept. 21, 2020
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S. Korea to set rules for fiscal soundness
SEJONG -- South Korea plans to unveil rules to ensure fiscal soundness, Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Monday. The rules, which aim to keep the growth rate of government spending at a level of nominal growth of gross domestic product (GDP), will be announced by the end of this month, Hong told lawmakers. However, such rules will be exempted in time of a crisis, like the coronavirus pandemic, Hong said. The move comes amid concerns that this year's four extra budgets could strain fi
Sept. 21, 2020
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Kia halts 2 local plants on COVID-19 cases for 4 days
Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's second-biggest carmaker, said Monday it has suspended two of its domestic plants for four days, as some of its workers were confirmed to have contracted the new coronavirus. Kia halted the operations of two plants in Gwangmyeong, just south of Seoul, from Wednesday through Monday, with all of the 6,000 employees at the plants staying at home, a company spokesman said over the phone. "As of noon Monday, 11 assembly line workers were confirmed to have been in
Sept. 21, 2020
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Exports rise 3.6% in first 20 days of September
SEJONG -- South Korea's exports rose 3.6 percent on-year in the first 20 days of September, marking the first 20-day rise in six months due to a sharp gain in exports of semiconductors, customs data showed Monday. The nation's outbound shipments stood at $29.6 billion in the Sept. 1-20 period, up $1.02 billion from a year ago, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. The average daily exports during the 20-day period, however, dropped 9.8 percent. The coronavirus pandemic has
Sept. 21, 2020
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Self-employed high earners’ tax evasion totals W10tr in decade
The amount of evaded income taxes from self-employed high earners in South Korea totaled nearly 10 trillion won ($8.58 billion) from 2010 to 2019, according to data compiled by the National Tax Service. The report, submitted to the ruling Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker and parliamentary finance committee member Rep. Yang Hyang-ja, showed that the nation’s tax agency investigated 7,760 business owners with high income. Over the past 10 years, these taxpayers reduced their accumulated
Sept. 20, 2020
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'Vaccine nationalism' likely to delay end of coronavirus pandemic: BOK
South Korea’s central bank warned Sunday that efforts by individual nations to prioritize their own citizens over others for access to a future coronavirus vaccine are likely to push back the time frame for the pandemic’s end. “There are projections that development of some of the vaccines will be complete by the second half of 2021,” the Bank of Korea said in its regular report on the global economy. “But there is a possibility that the end of the coronavirus p
Sept. 20, 2020
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Disaster relief fund payments to kick off before Chuseok
South Korea’s government will start handing out the emergency relief funds tailored for the socially vulnerable early next week, in time for the Chuseok holiday that starts on Sept. 30, officials said Sunday. According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Employment and Labor, and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, small-sized merchants, non-standard contract employees, and families with young children will start to receive the special allowance on Sept. 28-29. The
Sept. 20, 2020
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Science ministry, OECD to hold videoconference to promote tech cooperation
South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT said Sunday it will hold a joint videoconference with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to forge closer ties in key technology sectors. Officials from the ministry and the OECD will exchange views on the upcoming post-coronavirus digital era, and how to handle advances in neurotechnology innovations in the online workshop, which runs from Monday through Thursday. "International cooperation in the digital tech realm
Sept. 20, 2020
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Researchers develop cheap, long-lasting catalyst to extract hydrogen from water
South Korean researchers have developed an affordable and long-lasting electrocatalyst that can cleanly and efficiently extract hydrogen from water, a state-run science institute said Sunday. A team of researchers led by Yoo Sung-jong has made a special catalyst that can produce hydrogen without relying on expensive platinum, the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) said. It said the new process also overcomes the main shortcomings of non-platinum-based electrocatalyst that suffere
Sept. 20, 2020
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S. Korea's seaport cargo down 18% on coronavirus
Cargo processed at South Korean seaports fell 18.2 percent in August in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, government data showed Sunday. Cargo handled at the country's ports came to 117.34 million tons last month, down from 143.43 million tons a year earlier, according to the data by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. Handling of export-import cargo shrank 19.7 percent on-year to 100.8 million tons last month, leading the overall decline. Hit by the coronavirus pandemic, container car
Sept. 20, 2020