Most Popular
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Tensions heighten ahead of first president-opposition chief meeting
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Seoul to provide housing subsidy to married couples with newborns
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[KH Explains] No more 'Michael' at Kakao Games
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Rapper jailed after public street fight with another rapper
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Woman gets suspended term for injuring boyfriend with knife
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Samsung chief bolsters ties with Germany’s Zeiss
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NewJeans pops out ‘Bubble Gum’ video amid troubles at agency
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Med schools expect 1,500+ new admission slots next year
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Nominee for chief of anti-corruption body pledges 'independence, effectiveness'
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[Grace Kao] Hybe vs. Ador: Inspiration, imitation and plagiarism
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Japanese tourists to S. Korea feared to dip on NK nuke test
The number of Japanese visitors to South Korea may decrease in the wake of North Korea's latest nuclear test, industry sources said Wednesday.Japanese tourists to Seoul have tended to slip whenever tensions on the Korean Peninsula escalate due to Pyongyang's atomic tests or other geopolitical risks. The isolated North carried out its sixth and most powerful nuclear test on Sunday, drawing strong condemnation from the international community.According to the Korea Tourism Organization, the number
Sept. 6, 2017
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US lawmakers voice opposition to withdrawal from Korea trade deal
WASHINGTON -- A group of bipartisan US lawmakers on Tuesday voiced opposition to President Donald Trump's plans to weigh a possible withdrawal from the US free trade agreement with South Korea.In a statement, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX), ranking member Richard Neal (D-MA), Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and ranking member Ron Wyden (D-OR) highlighted the importance of the bilateral deal in the wake of North Korea's latest nuclear test. Py
Sept. 6, 2017
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Credit finance firms' combined profit falls 7.3% in H1
South Korea's credit finance firms saw their combined net profit fall 7.3 percent on-year for the first half of this year, hit by a rise in loan-loss provisions, data showed Wednesday. The combined net income of 78 credit finance companies was 890.1 billion won ($786.9 million) for the January-June period, compared with 959.7 billion won a year earlier, according to data compiled by the Financial Supervisory Service. The companies include capital financing firms and leasing companies, but e
Sept. 6, 2017
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KORUS FTA withdrawal may lead to anti-American sentiment: AmCham
Following US President Donald Trump’s statements over the weekend regarding the US’ possible withdrawal from the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement, the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea said it fears the move may lead to anti-American sentiment here. “Termination of the agreement will have a severe damaging effect on the economy, and we are also concerned about a deterioration of the relationship between the US and Korea, leading to anti-American sentiment,” said a press
Sept. 5, 2017
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Korea-ASEAN FTA support center opens in Jakarta
South Korea has established a support center for businesses operating in Jakarta to serve as a help desk on the bilateral free trade agreement with the Southeast Asian country, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Tuesday.The center was set up at the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency office in the capital city of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations member state to mark the 10th anniversary of the open trade deal.South Korea's exports to the 10-member ASEAN nearly doubled
Sept. 5, 2017
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Tax chiefs of Korea, China discuss ways to bolster cooperation
South Korean and Chinese tax agencies agreed to strengthen two-way cooperation in taxation administration amid the diplomatic row caused by the deployment of US anti-missile system on the Korean Peninsula, the government said Tuesday.South Korea's National Tax Service Commissioner Han Seung-hee held an annual meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Jun in Beijing, according to his office.The two tax authorities have held regular talks every year since 1996, four years after the two neighbors n
Sept. 5, 2017
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Korea further strengthens housing market regulations
The government announced a fresh set of regulations Tuesday to cool down the overheated housing market, a month after adopting strong measures for Seoul and other cities. On Aug. 2, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport designated 25 regions in Seoul and two other cities as "overheated speculative districts" to tighten mortgage rules and restrict transactions of new homes. This action is seen to have curbed price hikes over the past month.Under the follow-up measure, the m
Sept. 5, 2017
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Daily credit card spending in Korea hits record high in H1
Daily credit card spending in South Korea hit a record high in the first half of this year, data showed Tuesday, in the latest sign that plastic has become one of the most favored tools for payment.The amount of transactions processed through credit cards came to 1.76 trillion won ($1.5 billion) a day on average in the January-June period, up 8.3 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Bank of Korea. Among them, average daily spending of mobile credit cards came t
Sept. 5, 2017
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Credit unions see combined profit slightly fall in H1
South Korea's credit unions, or member-owned financial cooperatives, saw their combined net profit fall 1.3 percent on year for the first half of this year, due to a rise in loan-loss provisions, data showed Tuesday. The combined net profit of 2,258 credit unions, including Nonghyup and Suhyup banks, stood at 1.21 trillion won ($1.06 billion) for the January-June period, down 16.1 billion won from a year earlier, according to the data by the Financial Supervisory Service. Their combined loan-los
Sept. 5, 2017
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Korea‘s current account surplus narrows to $7.26b in July
South Korea's current account surplus narrowed in July from a year earlier due to an increased deficit in the services balance, central bank data showed Tuesday.The country's current account surplus reached $7.26 billion in July, compared with a surplus of $8.41 billion a year earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.The figure represents the 65th straight month of the balance being in the black. The current account is the biggest measure of cross-border trade.The BOK at
Sept. 5, 2017
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Korea's growth ranking among OECD tumbles in Q2
South Korea's economic growth ranking among major advanced and emerging economies plunged 10 spots in the second quarter from three months earlier as its recovery lost ground, data showed Tuesday.Asia's fourth-largest economy expanded 0.6 percent on-quarter in the April-June period, compared with a 1.1 percent expansion for the first quarter, according to the data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.It was the 18th-highest on-quarter gain among 27 OECD member nations w
Sept. 5, 2017
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No new import restriction imposed on S. Korea for two months
South Korea has faced no new import restrictions or related investigations by foreign countries for the past two months in a positive sign for the export-driven economy, data showed Tuesday.No South Korean products were subjected to fresh import regulations in the form of anti-dumping duties, countervailing duties, safeguards or a combination of them during the July-August period, according to the data from the Korea International Trade Association .Since reporting zero cases, the number of impo
Sept. 5, 2017
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Silver bar sales rise 10-fold as middle class join flight to safety
Following North Korea’s nuclear weapons test Sunday, sales of silver bars soared by 10 times on Monday, according to the Korea Gold Exchange.Silver bars are in high demand among middle-class investors seeking an affordable alternative to gold bars as a safety haven currency during times of geopolitical uncertainty.KGE said sales of 1-kilogram gold bars numbered 194 on Monday morning alone, rising sharply from daily sales of 20 on average.A 1-kilogram silver bar was trading at around 840,00
Sept. 4, 2017
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Trump’s KORUS FTA opt-out a ‘real possibility’: expert
Amid continued ambiguity regarding the fate of the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement, some industry experts are predicting high odds that US President Donald Trump may actually terminate the trade deal, following North Korea’s escalating threats, which are adding tension to the political and economic climate between South Korea and the US. “While some people view Trump’s threats as being bluffs, in my expert opinion, Trump deciding to back out of the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement
Sept. 4, 2017
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Korean firms’ woes over THAAD deepen
South Korean companies struggling with restraints on their businesses in China are likely to come under more pressure with the deployment of additional launchers of a US anti-missile battery here set to begin as early as this week.Beijing seems unlikely to ease its stance on the issue in the wake of North Korea’s sixth and most powerful nuclear test Sunday.China began to take retaliatory measures in July last year when Seoul agreed to deploy the US missile shield known as the Terminal High
Sept. 4, 2017
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Korea vows strong market-stabilizing actions over NK tension
South Korea’s economic and financial authorities vowed Monday to take stern measures to stabilize the market in response to uncertainties triggered by North Korea’s sixth nuclear test the previous day.“(The North Korean nuclear issue) may have not only a short-term influence on the financial and foreign exchange markets, but also a negatively impact upon the real economy,” Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon said at a meeting of t
Sept. 4, 2017
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[Monitor] Public split on suspension of nuclear reactors
A recent set of surveys by Gallup Korea showed the public remains largely split on the Moon Jae-in government’s drive to suspend construction of nuclear reactors as part of its new energy plan.The government-led committee has also set out to conduct its own survey through a consortium of research firms to collect a wide range of public opinion before reaching a final decision on Shin-Kori reactors 5 and 6.
Sept. 4, 2017
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Korea's mobile purchases hit record high in July
Purchases made through mobile devices in South Korea hit a fresh record high in July as smartphones are widening their presence in the world's most wired country, government data showed Monday.Mobile transactions through smartphones and tablets reached a record 4.01 trillion won ($3.6 billion) in July, up 35.1 percent from a year earlier, according to data from Statistics Korea.The total amount of mobile transactions accounted for an all-time high of 62 percent of all online purchases made in Ju
Sept. 4, 2017
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Regulator to cut interest on overdue debt, premiums of indemnity medical insurance
South Korea's top financial regulator said Monday it will cut the interest on overdue debt and the premiums of indemnity medical insurance in line with the government's policy of easing the financial burdens for low-income earners. Choi Jong-ku, chairman of the Financial Services Commission, also said the FSC will actively encourage insurance firms to return unclaimed insurance benefits worth 7.6 trillion won ($6.71 billion) to customers. Interest on overdue debt will be lowered by the end of th
Sept. 4, 2017
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Religious groups set to pay W64b in taxes next year: report
Taxing religious groups will add 64.7 billion won ($57 million) to state coffers annually starting next year, a report said Monday.The Moon Jae-in government has pledged to levy taxes on the clergy from 2018 onwards as part of its drive for equitable taxation, although people working for churches and temples have been exempted from paying income tax until now, as their work has been regarded as a spiritual service, not labor."We estimate the amount of taxes to be paid by employees of religi
Sept. 4, 2017