Most Popular
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Korea enters full election mode
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Seoul bus drivers go on general strike, cause morning rush hour delays
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Immigrant woman stabbed to death by Korean husband
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Lee Jong-sup resigns as envoy to Australia
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Yellow dust engulfs S. Korea, advisory alert issued
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Official campaigning kicks off for April 10 elections
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S. Korea to boost support for single-parent families
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Court upholds jail term for man who attempted to murder ex-girlfriend
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Kia EV9 wins world car of year
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Korea misses out on global bond index boost
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[News Focus] COVID-19 self-testing may be game changer
Even before the novel coronavirus got out of China late last year, South Korean government and diagnostic firms knew what was coming and what they needed to do. The insight made the country the world’s main supplier of COVID-19 test kits during the initial phase of the pandemic. Nearly a year later and faced with fierce new waves of infections threatening to undermine the country’s early success in the virus fight, officials from the government and industry officials met Wednesda
Dec. 17, 2020
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Kepco to adopt flexible electricity bills linked to resource costs
State-run Korea Electric Power Corp. (Kepco) said Thursday it will revamp its billing system by adopting flexible rates linked to global prices of resources next year, in a move to improve its profitability. "The current billing system failed to reflect fluctuations in production costs in a timely manner," Kepco said in a statement. "It has also remained unchanged since 2013 and also failed to notify consumers of additional prices linked to climate change," it added. South
Dec. 17, 2020
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[News Focus] Nationwide advance seen in housing prices
SEJONG -- South Korea saw the cost of housing climb across the nation during the second half of the year, with prices in six of the eight major cities posting growth of more than 8 percent since July. Sejong topped the list among the eight major cities and nine provinces in the nation as the average price of housing in the administrative city surged 28.4 percent in less than six months. According to KB Kookmin Bank and Naver.com, Sejong’s average trading price, which posted 15.54 millio
Dec. 17, 2020
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Corporate sales dip at slower pace in Q3 amid pandemic
South Korean companies' sales declined at a slower pace in the third quarter than three months earlier as the manufacturing sector fared better amid improving exports, central bank data showed Thursday. Sales of local businesses fell 3.2 percent in the July-September period from a year earlier, slowing from a record 10.1 percent fall in the second quarter, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The pace of a fall in corporate sales eased last quarter, but it marked the seventh con
Dec. 17, 2020
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S. Korea to focus on supporting economic recovery, preparing for post-pandemic era in 2021
South Korea plans to implement its economic policy next year to maintain economic recovery momentum and prepare for a post-pandemic era, the finance ministry said Thursday. The South Korean economy is expected to grow 3.2 percent next year, following this year's estimated contraction of 1.1 percent, the first contraction since the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The ministry's 2020 and 2021 growth outlooks are lower than its June projection of
Dec. 17, 2020
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Income gap narrows to fresh record low in 2019
The income gap between the haves and have-nots in South Korean narrowed to a fresh record low in 2019, as the bottom 20 percent income bracket saw their income rise due to state welfare support, data showed Thursday. The Gini coefficient measured with disposable income, a gauge of income inequality, came in at 0.339 last year, down from 0.345 the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea. A reading of zero means complete income equality, while higher numbers nearing one indica
Dec. 17, 2020
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Hyundai JV, Lyft to launch driverless US robotaxi services in 2023
Motional, the Hyundai Motor-Aptiv joint venture, said Thursday it has partnered with US ride-sharing firm Lyft Inc. to launch driverless robotaxi services in major US cities in 2023. Motional said it plans to deploy fully autonomous vehicles, which are based on the Korean automaker Hyundai Motor's platform, in Lyft's ride-sharing network in the United States. Lyft has the second-biggest ride-sharing network in the world's most important automobile market after Uber Technologies Inc. The busin
Dec. 17, 2020
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LG Electronics unveils theme for CES 2021
LG Electronics Inc. on Thursday unveiled its theme for the upcoming media event at the world's largest tech expo next year as the South Korean tech giant vowed to introduce products and solutions that could be useful in the new normal era of the pandemic. LG will hold a 30-minute virtual press conference at 8 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on Jan. 11 under the theme of "Life is ON -- Make yourself @ Home" at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2021 and will explain its latest innova
Dec. 17, 2020
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LG releases new 16-inch Gram laptop
LG Electronics Inc. on Thursday introduced a new 16-inch laptop that boasts better performance and portability. The South Korean tech giant said the LG Gram 16 will be added to its premium Gram laptop series, which has 14-, 15.6- and 17-inch models. The LG Gram 16 weighs only 1,190 grams and was certified by Guinness World Records as the world's lightest 16-inch laptop, according to the company. The latest product uses Wide Quad Extended Graphics Array high-resolution IPS display with a 16:10
Dec. 17, 2020
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Samsung, IBM join hands to develop enterprise solutions
Samsung Electronics Co. said Thursday it will collaborate with International Business Machines (IBM) Corp. to develop enterprise solutions with cutting-edge technologies. With its US partner, Samsung said it aims to provide enterprises with new 5G, edge computing and hybrid cloud solutions so that businesses can better manage their operations and embrace the fourth industrial revolution. "This planned collaboration will combine Samsung's industry-leading Galaxy 5G mobile devices and advan
Dec. 17, 2020
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Seoul stocks open lower as virus cases surge
South Korean stocks opened lower Thursday as the country is mulling implementing the strongest COVID-19 restrictions amid a recent surge in virus cases. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 6.73 points, or 0.24 percent, to 2,765.06 in the first 15 minutes of trading. On Wednesday, South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases hit a new high of 1,078, prompting authorities to consider adopting the highest level of social distancing measures, which would ban gatherings of 10
Dec. 17, 2020
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S. Korea's 2020 domestic steel demand forecast to hit 11-year low
South Korea's domestic demand for steel is forecast to hit the lowest level in 11 years in 2020 due to the fallout from the coronavirus outbreak, a trade body said Thursday. The Korea Iron & Steel Association said domestic steel demand is likely to reach the 48 million-ton range this year, down around 8 percent from 53.2 million tons a year earlier, as manufacturing, construction and other key industries were stung by the COVID-19 pandemic. The figure is projected to be the lowest since th
Dec. 17, 2020
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ITC favors Medytox over Daewoong in botulinum toxin strain dispute in final ruling
A US trade panel has upheld its preliminary ruling by siding with South Korean drugmaker Medytox Inc. in a trade dispute, saying its local rival Daewoong Pharmaceutical Co. copied the manufacturing process of a botulinum toxin strain, industry officials here said Thursday. In a final decision, the US International Trade Commission (ITC) ordered a 21-month ban on imports of Daewoong Pharmaceutical's botulinum products into the United States. The ruling, however, reduces an initial 10-year ban p
Dec. 17, 2020
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S. Korea, US extend $60b currency swap deal by another 6 months amid pandemic
WASHINGTON/SEOUL -- South Korea and the United States have agreed to extend a $60 billion bilateral currency swap agreement by another six months in an effort to help ease market uncertainties amid a global resurgence of coronavirus infections, the US Federal Reserve Board (FRB) said Wednesday. In late March, the Bank of Korea and the US Federal Reserve signed the bilateral currency swap facility to help ease financial market jitters caused by the pandemic. The swap agreement, which is se
Dec. 17, 2020
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Canada pension fund to invest W300b into fried chicken franchise BHC
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) plans to invest 300 billion won ($275 million) into BHC Co., a fried chicken franchise operator in South Korea, an industry source said Wednesday. CPPIB, Canada's biggest pension fund, is scheduled to sign a contract with BHC to become one of the new investors for the Korean firm, according to the source. BHC saw sales grow 34 percent on-year to 318.6 billion won in 2019, and its operating profit jumped 62 percent on-year to 97 billion w
Dec. 16, 2020
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Hanwha’s defense arms sign joint defense research pact with US
Hanwha Corp. and Hanwha Defense, the two defense affiliates of Hanwha Group, have signed an agreement on collaborative research and development of key defense items and technologies, officials said Wednesday in a release. The Cooperative Research and Development Agreement -- CRADA -- was signed Dec. 10 by the US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Armaments Center -- DEVCOM AC -- and the two Hanwha affiliates. CRADA refers to a cooperative mechanism that enables the US government
Dec. 16, 2020
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NPS likely to log 7% return on investments: welfare minister
South Korea’s National Pension Service is likely to log a 7 percent return on its investments this year, the nation’s welfare minister said Wednesday. “Investment environments seem to be on a recovery path with domestic and global economic indices improving and the (local) stock market hitting record highs recently,” said Park Neung-hoo, minister of health and welfare, who chairs the NPS’ asset management committee. “The fund operator will be able to ac
Dec. 16, 2020
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Hyundai Samho to spin off industrial equipment division
Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries Co., a midsized shipbuilder here, will turn its industrial equipment division into a wholly owned subsidiary to boost the division's competitiveness, its parent Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. said Wednesday. The new entity, named Hyundai Infra Solutions Co., will be launched on May 3 next year, Korea Shipbuilding said in a regulatory filing. Hyundai Samho will focus on the construction of ships, while the envisioned spin-off entity will be de
Dec. 16, 2020
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Bitcoin rally continues on institutional interests
Bitcoin on Wednesday came under market watch after it spiked nearly to $20,000 earlier this month and continued its rally for days, on the back of institutional investors diversifying their portfolios. The most popular cryptocurrency remained above $19,000 per coin for a third straight day Wednesday morning, according to Upbit, one of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges here operated by local financial technology firm Dunamu. After the digital coin reached a recent high of $19,850 on Dec. 1,
Dec. 16, 2020
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New CEO vows to put Samsung Biologics on top of game in a decade
Samsung Biologics’ newly appointed chief executive officer John Rim vowed in his inaugural address on Wednesday to put the company in the front of the race in contract research, development and manufacturing. Samsung Biologics will continue to make preemptive investments in the contract manufacturing organization (CMO) business, in order to maintain its position as having the world’s largest biologics manufacturing facility. As for the relatively new businesses of contract develo
Dec. 16, 2020