Most Popular
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Opposition-led Assembly unilaterally passes bill to probe Marine's death
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Inflation eases in April, continues bumpy ride
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Golden chance to liquidate babies’ gold rings?
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Seoul to more than double military drones by 2026 to counter NK threats
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[New faces of Assembly] Architect behind ‘audacious initiative’ believes in denuclearized North Korea
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Seoul alerts overseas missions to NK terror threats
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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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Over 60% of S. Koreans support W100m childbirth incentive: survey
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‘Inside Out 2’ adds four new emotions, explores teenage life
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Questions raised over fair promotion of RM, NewJeans
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Imported car sales dip 8.7% in March amid chip shortages
Sales of imported vehicles in South Korea fell 8.7 percent in March as chip shortages continued to affect vehicle production, an industry association said Tuesday. The number of newly registered foreign vehicles fell to 24,912 units last month from 27,297 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 250 sedan and E 350 4MATIC sedan and BMW's 520 sedan, it said. In March,
April 5, 2022
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S. Korea to expand fuel tax cuts amid surging energy prices
SEJONG -- South Korea will expand tax cuts on fuel consumption as part of efforts to ease inflation pressure that has been building up amid surging energy prices, the country's top economic policymaker said Tuesday. The government will expand fuel tax cuts from the current 20 percent to 30 percent from early May to end-July as the Russia-Ukraine war has sent crude oil and other commodity prices even higher, Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki told an anti-inflation meeting. The decision came as South
April 5, 2022
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Jet fuel consumption hits 17-year low in 2021 amid pandemic
Jet fuel consumption in South Korea tumbled to a 17-year low in 2021 in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Tuesday. Jet fuel consumption in Asia's fourth-largest economy came to 21.17 million barrels last year, down 2.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the state-run Korea National Oil Corp. The decrease followed a 44 percent on-year nosedive in 2020, which was sparked by the government's strict social distancing measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. La
April 5, 2022
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Soaring energy costs push up inflation growth to over 4% in March
South Korea's consumer prices grew more than 4 percent for the first time in more than 10 years in March as energy prices jumped amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, data showed Tuesday. The consumer prices rose 4.1 percent last month from a year earlier, accelerating from a 3.7 percent on-year gain in February, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. Consumer inflation exceeded 4 percent for the first time since December 2011, when consumer prices climbed 4.2 percent on-year. Infla
April 5, 2022
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Foreign reserves down in March on fall in dollar-converted asset value, dollar selling to ease volatility
South Korea's foreign reserves shrank in March due to a decline in the dollar-converted value of its assets and unloading of dollars aimed at curbing the local currency's steep descent, central bank data showed Tuesday. The country's foreign reserves stood at $457.81 billion as of end-March, down $3.96 billion from the previous month, according to the data provided by the Bank of Korea (BOK). The BOK attributed the decline to a fall in the dollar-converted value of its asset holdings and "m
April 5, 2022
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Seoul stocks open nearly flat despite overnight US gains
South Korean shares opened nearly flat Tuesday despite overnight rallies on Wall Street as investors remain wary of lingering concerns over the US central bank's monetary tightening and the Ukraine crisis. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) had added 0.47 point, or 0.02 percent, to reach 2,758.37 as of 9:15 a.m. Overnight, the US stock market finished higher on strong gains of tech shares. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3 percent, and the Nasdaq composite advanced 1
April 5, 2022
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Aviation industry readies for rebound as carriers resume mid, long-haul flights
South Korea’s aviation industry is gearing up for a full recovery of operations that were hit hard from the prolonged pandemic for more than two years as the flights resume along long-stalled mid- and long-haul routes. The Transport Ministry aims to increase the number of international flights this year to the 50 percent level of 2019. As of March, the number of international flights departing the country was at 406 per week, around 8.8 percent of the corresponding figure in 2019 w
April 4, 2022
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Batman Cola, Superman Cider hit convenience stores in Korea
South Korean convenience store GS25 said Monday it will launch its own series of sodas -- Batman Cola and Superman Cider -- in collaboration with entertainment giant Warner Bros. Both products will be priced at 1,700 won. “Our customer analysis shows that today’s younger generation no longer blindly goes for nationally recognized brand names but attaches greater value to product content,” the company noted as the reason behind launching a private brand product. According to
April 4, 2022
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Import prices of farm, fishery, livestock products grow over 30%
SEJONG -- A spike in import prices of agricultural, livestock and fisheries products is estimated to have propelled a recent sharp growth in the nation’s overall consumer prices, data from a research institute showed Monday. According to the Korea Trade Statistics Promotion Institute, the index for import prices of agricultural, livestock and fisheries products reached 112.6 in February, up 31.7 percent from a year earlier. The index is calculated under the assumption that prices was at
April 4, 2022
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Quantit wins Asian Private Banker Technology Award
South Korean fintech company Quantit said Monday it has received the best disruptive solution award at Technology Award 2021 hosted by Asian Private Banker. The firm was recognized for its robo-adviser service, dubbed RABIT, which uses artificial intelligence to offer investment strategies that reduce volatility in the high-risk cryptocurrency market. The service allows for a relatively safe investment in digital assets because it doesn’t require any transfer of assets to the robo-advis
April 4, 2022
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SSG.com to launch cross-border shopping service
SSG.com, the digital shopping platform of retail giant Shinsegae Group, said Monday it will launch a cross-border shopping service for international shoppers. The company will sell over 9.6 million fashion and beauty items, as well as processed food on Gmarket Global’s English and Chinese online malls, as part of the first collaborative project following Shinsegae’s acquisition of eBay Korea, since renamed Gmarket Global, last year. International shoppers from over 80 countries in
April 4, 2022
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Jim Rogers named inter-Korean project adviser for Paju city
US investor Jim Rogers has been named an inter-Korean project cooperation adviser for the city of Paju, Gyeonggi Province, adjacent to the Demilitarized Zone that separates the two Koreas, officials said Monday. Rogers was tapped to give the city government policy advice on inter-Korean projects and is scheduled to visit the northern border city on Wednesday to sign the related agreement, according to Paju government officials. The officials added that Rogers is expected to contribute to the re
April 4, 2022
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SK Square affiliates eye May IPOs
SK Square is poised for two stock market flotations of its key affiliates -- a mobile app marketplace and a security service -- on the Korea Exchange in May, filings showed Monday. The initial public offerings of the subsidiaries will amount to up to 1.33 trillion won ($1.09 billion) if combined, in the first two attempts since SK Square was spun off from Korea’s largest telecom carrier SK Telecom. SK Shieldus, a security service subsidiary of SK Square formerly known as ADT Caps, aims
April 4, 2022
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Mirae Asset’s Canadian subsidiary’s asset under management exceeds W20tr
Mirae Asset Global Investment’s Canadian subsidiary Horizons ETFs’ assets under management have exceeded 20 trillion won ($16.4 billion), showing more than a sixfold increase in the last decade. On Monday, the Korean asset manager said Horizons ETFs’ assets under management had reached $18.1 billion, or 22.2 trillion won. The figure has increased more than sixfold since Mirae Asset acquired Horizons ETFs in 2011, when it was managing assets of 3.6 trillion won. Horizons ETFs
April 4, 2022
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[CONTRIBUTION] Key to successful digital platform government through lens of big data
Each time a new presidential administration took office, promises surrounding information technology were repeatedly made in a bid to appeal to the public. The military regime and the Kim Young-sam administration’s pledges to foster an information and communications network were followed by the Kim Dae-jung administration’s policies to promote venture businesses. President Roh Moo-hyun envisioned the transition to an e-government, Lee Myung-bak outlined an IT convergence plan, Park
April 4, 2022
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Listed firms' on-year net profit jumps 160% in 2021
The net profit of listed firms on South Korean main bourse expanded 160.56 percent last year despite the pandemic, the bourse operator said Monday. The consolidated net profit of 595 firms listed on the benchmark KOSPI totaled 156.6 trillion won (128.6 billion) in 2021, up from 60.1 trillion won the previous year, according to the data compiled by the Korea Exchange (KRX). A total of 595 out of 676 listed companies submitted their consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year of 2021 tha
April 4, 2022
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BOK should make more accurate assessments of markets ahead of rate-setting meeting: official
The Bank of Korea (BOK) should step up efforts to make more accurate assessments of current economic and financial situations ahead of next week's rate-setting meeting, the central bank's acting chief said Monday. BOK Vice Gov. Lee Seung-heon, who is serving as acting chair of the central bank after Lee Ju-yeol left office last week, made the call in an internal meeting with senior officials, according to the bank. The chief post is not expected to be filled until the rate-setting meet
April 4, 2022
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FTC chief to attend global antitrust regulators' meeting this week
South Korea's antitrust chief plans to participate in a global meeting of regulatory authorities this week to discuss merger guidelines and competition policy, her office said Monday. Joh Sung-wook, chairperson of the Fair Trade Commission (FTC), will take part in the Enforcers Summit on Monday (US time) to be co-hosted by the US Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department (DOJ), according to the FTC. The summit will be attended by Lina M. Khan, chair of the US antitrust body, DOJ Assist
April 4, 2022
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Seoul stocks open lower amid uncertainty over Ukraine crisis
South Korean stocks opened lower Monday as investors unloaded large-cap shares, including tech issues, amid lingering uncertainties over the Ukraine crisis and inflation. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 11.51 points, or 0.42 percent, to trade at 2,728.34 points as of 9:15 a.m. Investors took to the sidelines as the ongoing crisis surrounding Ukraine has deepened concerns over soaring energy prices and inflation. Moscow said Sunday that it attacked and destroyed key energy fa
April 4, 2022
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Bumpy road ahead for SBW’s SsangYong Motor bid
Ssangbangwool Group, best known for its underwear business, is joining an estimated 1 trillion won ($819 million) bidding war to acquire debt-ridden carmaker SsangYong Motor whose takeover deal with Edison Motors has recently been called off. Ssangbangwool, or SBW, plans to turn in a letter of intent this week to the lead manager of the deal, EY Hanyoung, by forming a consortium led by subsidiary Kanglim, a maker of special-purpose vehicles like firetrucks and cranes. Other than Ka
April 3, 2022