Most Popular
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Yoon calls for dialogue, trust from medical community
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NK leader guides firing drills involving super-large multiple rocket launchers
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Dyson founder visits Seoul for global debut of new hair dryer
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Leaders call for action against threats to democracy posed by AI
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Asiana Airlines wins data transfer certification in China
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Dodgers beat S. Korea in final exhibition before MLB opener in Seoul
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Dispute heats up over dispatch of scandal-ridden envoy to Australia
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Trump unlikely to unravel IRA: experts
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Disgraced ex-K-pop star released after serving time for sex crimes
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Yoon says medical licenses should not be used as tool against people
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Yoon’s picks for top financial officials face backlash
President Yoon Suk-yeol’s nominations to lead the nation’s top financial regulators have been met with skepticism, as critics say there have been too many prosecutors named already. Yoon, who has appointed several former prosecutors as Cabinet members, appointed an ex-prosecutor to lead the Financial Supervisory Services on Tuesday. Another former prosecutor had been mentioned as a candidate to head the Fair Trade Commission the same day. But the president’s office tweaked th
June 8, 2022
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SKC to sell PET film biz to Hahn & Co. for W1.6tr
South Korean chemicals-to-materials firm SKC has inked a deal to sell its polyester film business to Seoul-based private equity firm Hahn & Co. for 1.6 trillion won ($1.27 billion) following a split-off, according to the firm’s regulatory filing Wednesday. The deal, involving operations in Korea, China and the United States and film processing unit SKC Hi-Tech & Marketing, is anticipated to reach closure before the end of this year, the filing said. All polyethylene film-related
June 8, 2022
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SK to hold strategic forum in San Jose
SK Group said Wednesday its annual SK Global Forum will be held this week in San Jose, California, with some 30 company executives and local experts gathering to discuss the conglomerate’s future growth drivers. During the three-day event that kicks off Friday in the US, five affiliates -- SK Innovation, SK Telecom, SK hynix, SK Siltron and SK C&C -- will hold sessions to share their business plans and market trends. SK Innovation, the energy and materials unit, will offer a bluepr
June 8, 2022
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LG Chem rises to world’s No. 3 chemical brand
Petrochemicals-to-battery materials company LG Chem has become the third most valuable chemical brand in the world, up a notch from a year earlier, data showed Wednesday. LG Chem’s brand value, estimated at $4.3 billion, followed that of Germany-based BASF and Saudi Arabia-based Sabic, according to London-headquartered consulting firm Brand Finance. LG Chem’s brand valuation rose over 19 percent compared to the estimate of the previous year. This is the highest point LG Chem has
June 8, 2022
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Seoul stocks open higher on US stock gains
South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 6.51 points, or 0.25 percent, to 2,632.85 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite grew 0.94 percent, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.8 percent, on a technical rebound. In Seoul, top cap Samsung Electronics added 0.31 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix increased 1.92 percent. Leading chemical firm L
June 8, 2022
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Hanwha Q Cells to build solar power plant in Wyoming
Hanwha Q Cells, the solar solutions unit of South Korean conglomerate Hanwha Group, said Wednesday it is building a new solar power plant in the US state of Wyoming under an electricity supply deal with an energy firm. The power supply deal with an unidentified firm calls for Hanwha to supply electricity to an energy company at negotiated prices on a long-term basis, it said in a release. It did not provide other details about the contract. The construction of the 150-megawatt solar power plant
June 8, 2022
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S. Korea's economy grows slower than earlier predicted in Q1 amid weak investment, spending
South Korea's economy grew at a slightly slower pace than earlier predicted in the first quarter of this year as investment and spending weakened amid lingering worries over the coronavirus pandemic, central bank data showed Wednesday. The country's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 0.6 percent in the January-March period from three months earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The growth rate was slightly down from 0.7 percent growth estimated in Apri
June 8, 2022
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Top banker tapped as policy coordination chief, ex-prosecutor as new market police head
President Yoon Suk-yeol on Tuesday named Bang Moon-kyu, CEO of the state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea, to be in charge of government policy coordination, and former prosecutor Lee Bok-hyun to lead Korea’s market watchdog, the Financial Supervisory Service. The president also appointed Kim Joo-hyun, chairman of the Credit Finance Association as chairman of the Financial Services Commission, a top financial policymaking unit, and Kang Seog-hoon, former presidential secretary for economi
June 7, 2022
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Crisis management expert named as new FSC chief
Kim Joo-hyun, chairman of the Credit Finance Association and a former bureaucrat experienced in crisis management at the Financial Services Commission, was tapped to lead the top financial policymaker under the Yoon Suk-yeol government. Kim helped South Korea ride out the 2008 financial crisis as the inaugural chief of policy at the FSC, which was set up in January that year as part of a government reshuffle carried out by then-President Lee Myung-bak, who took office a month later. In 2011, K
June 7, 2022
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Seoul shares dip over 1.5% amid woes over Fed's hawkish move; Korean won down by most in over 1 yr
Seoul shares nosedived by over 1.5 percent Tuesday amid concerns about fast-growing inflation pressure that may strengthen monetary tightening in the United States and other major economies. The Korean won steeply fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index 44.31 points, or 1.66 percent, to close at 2,626.34 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 517 million shares worth some 8.8 trillion won ($7 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 730 to 163. Institu
June 7, 2022
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Duty-free shops see customers return as tourism normalizes
With the arrival of the coronavirus pandemic’s endemic phase, South Korea’s duty-free shops are starting to see their long-awaited business recovery with a growing number of group tours, industry sources said Tuesday. According to a Lotte Duty Free official, some 150 tourists from Malaysia shopped at the Myeongdong branch for an hour on Tuesday before returning to their country. “It’s the first time in two years since COVID-19 started that a group of over 100 tourists
June 7, 2022
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Bottom 20% households spend 42% of monthly disposable income on food
SEJONG -- The nation’s high inflation, which has led to a spike in consumer prices since the latter half of 2021, is weakening the purchasing power of households in the low-income bracket, as they spend a large portion of their monthly disposable income on daily necessities, state data showed Tuesday. According to the Finance Ministry and Statistics Korea, households which belong to the bottom 20 percent in terms of income level spent an average 42.2 percent of their monthly disposable in
June 7, 2022
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Samsung Biologics inks $81m deal with Novartis
Samsung Biologics has signed an intent letter for a contract manufacturing organization deal worth $81 million with multinational pharmaceutical firm Norvatis Pharma, the South Korean company announced Tuesday. According to the contract manufacturing giant’s regulatory filing, the two sides on Friday signed the initial contract, which is equivalent to 6.41 percent of the company’s annual sales of 1.57 trillion won ($1.25 billion) last year. It did not reveal which of Novartis&rsquo
June 7, 2022
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All eyes on Lee Jae-yong’s Europe trip
Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong on Tuesday left for Europe, home to key partners of the world’s largest memory chip maker’s renewed push for chip supremacy. Upon his departure from Seoul’s Gimpo Airport earlier in the day, some 50 journalists shouted questions on the purpose of the trip and plans for any new deals, but the Samsung chief declined to answer any of them. Lee’s Europe trip comes six months after his last trip to the Middle East in Dec
June 7, 2022
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LG Innotek supports partner firms’ ESG
LG Innotek said it has agreed to support some 200 partner firms’ efforts to improve their environmental, social and corporate governance. The electronic component maker signed a deal with the Korea Commission for Corporate Partnership to jointly develop ESG indexes for its partner companies, provide education, assessments and consulting services. The commission has signed similar agreements with 11 companies in chemicals and retail among others, and the one with LG Innotek was the first
June 7, 2022
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Jeju Air to offer cheaper tickets, modernize aircrafts: CEO
Jeju Air, South Korea's biggest budget carrier, will provide cheap tickets, modernize aircraft and expand its business spectrum to secure its future growth in the post-pandemic era, its chief executive said Tuesday. As both domestic and international travel demands are slowly picking up, Jeju Air CEO Kim E-bae said the company has come to a point where it should make a decision on how to maintain its leading role in the low-cost carrier market. "As an LCC, our key competitiveness lies in
June 7, 2022
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Hole-in-one insurance product sales on the rise
A hole-in-one should be a cause for rejoicing on the golf course, but the cost of such celebrations are driving more golfers to insure themselves against their own success. An ace can be costly in Korea, as the golfer traditionally pays for an after party, donates a commemorative tree, pays for a follow-up match and tips the caddies. Short-term golf insurance products that cover holes-in-one are becoming increasingly popular in South Korea. Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, the insurance
June 7, 2022
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LG Uplus to release limited 'Diablo Immortal' Galaxy S22
LG Uplus Corp., South Korea's third-largest mobile carrier, said Tuesday it plans to release a limited Samsung Galaxy S22 smartphone model themed on the newly released "Diablo Immortal" mobile game by Blizzard Entertainment Inc. LG Uplus said it plans to exclusively sell 100 units of the Galaxy S22 Diablo Immortal Package to customers selected through an online lottery across the world. The company will accept applications through its official online mall starting at 7 p.m. Friday
June 7, 2022
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SPC Group acquires French restaurant chain Lina's
South Korean food and beverage giant SPC Group said Tuesday it has acquired French restaurant chain Lina's to ramp up its global business. SPC Group, operator of bakery chain Paris Baguette, said its European holding company SPC Euro bought a 100 percent stake in Lina's Developpement, the owner and operator of the restaurant chain that offers sandwiches, salads and specialty coffees. Lina's, founded in 1989 in Paris, is operating in three countries: South Korea, Columbia and Leban
June 7, 2022
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Imported car sales down 2.4% in May amid chip shortage
Sales of imported vehicles in South Korea fell 2.4 percent last month from a year earlier as a chip shortage continued to affect vehicle production, an industry association said Tuesday. The number of newly registered foreign vehicles stood at 23,512 units last month, down from 24,080 units a year ago, the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA) said in a statement. The three bestselling models last month were Mercedes-Benz's E 350 4MATIC sedan, Mercedes-Benz's E
June 7, 2022