Most Popular
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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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[Music in drama] Rekindle a love that slipped through your fingers
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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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Seoul Metro to seek legal action against malicious complaints
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On May Day, labor unions blast Yoon's foreign nanny proposal
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Illit, mired in controversy, remains on Billboard charts for 5th week
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Opposition-led Assembly unilaterally passes bill to probe Marine's death
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[KH Explains] Will alternative trading platform shake up Korean stock market?
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Seoul stocks open lower on virus concerns
South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday as investors are wary of COVID-19 that is spreading at home and abroad. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 8.24 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,770.41 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks got off to a weak start after the benchmark index closed at an all-time high the previous session. Global recovery hopes weakened over the new strain of the coronavirus in Britain, reportedly up to 70 percent more transmissible than the or
Dec. 22, 2020
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Kia union OKs tentative 2020 wage deal amid pandemic
Kia Motors Corp.'s union has agreed on a tentative wage deal for the year as the coronavirus pandemic continues, the company said Tuesday. Kia's 30,000-strong union tentatively accepted the company's proposals, including 1 1/2 months of merit-based remuneration, 1.2 million won ($1,080) in special COVID-19 allowance and 1.5 million won in gift certificates per person, instead of freezing wages for the year, the company said in a statement. The company also agreed to restore the 25-minute extra
Dec. 22, 2020
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Insurers' lending rises 2% in Q3
Loans extended by South Korean insurance companies rose 2 percent in the third quarter from a quarter earlier, the financial regulator said Tuesday. Insurers' outstanding loans totaled 245.8 trillion won ($222 billion) as of the end of September, up 4.9 trillion won from the end of June, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said in a statement. Their loans to households increased by 1.5 trillion won to 121.6 trillion won in the third quarter from a quarter earlier, while lending to companie
Dec. 22, 2020
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SsangYong Motor files for court receivership
Cash-strapped SsangYong Motor on Monday filed for court receivership, after failing to pay back about 165 billion won ($149.5 million) worth of debts to its creditor banks. In a statement, the automaker said its executive board has made the decision to apply for corporate rehabilitation and related documents were submitted to the Seoul Bankruptcy Court in the afternoon. “We are truly sorry to worry all interested parties, financial institutes and employees at this time when the world
Dec. 21, 2020
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Bitcoin Vault eyes Asian crypto market with high-security system
Bitcoin Vault, a cryptocurrency also known as BTCV, is seeking to make a foray into the Asian market with its new security system designed to help users protect their crypto assets from erroneous transactions and theft, the company said Monday. The system, named the 3-Key Security Solution, was introduced on Nov. 17 after a year of research and development. It was developed to strengthen security against hacks and fraud, it added. Bitcoin Vault Founder Eyal Avramovich said the new solution
Dec. 21, 2020
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Korea to open 110 hydrogen charging stations by H1 2021
South Korea’s Ministry of Economy and Finance said Monday it will establish 110 hydrogen charging stations by the first half of next year, as part of its plan to nurture three target industries -- non-system semiconductor, future mobility and bio-health. The plan was unveiled at the first steering meeting for “the innovative growth of big 3 industries,” presided over by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki on Monday, to draw up a comprehensive blueprint to h
Dec. 21, 2020
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[News Analysis] What decides a game’s success overseas?
South Korean game companies have long been criticized by local media and analysts for failing to gain success beyond Asia. As of end-2018, the Korean game industry’s exports reached $6.4 billion, 70 percent of which was generated in Asia -- 46.5 percent from China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, 14.2 percent from Japan and 10.3 percent from Southeast Asia, according to the Korea Creative Content Agency. Though pundits reduce the success to a regional one, it would be more accurate to say that
Dec. 21, 2020
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Seoul stocks hit record high on pharmaceutical gains
South Korean stocks closed at a record high Monday as pharmaceutical heavyweights posted strong gains amid the surging new coronavirus cases. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 6.47 points, or 0.23 percent, to close at 2,778.65. Trading volume was high at about 1.1 billion shares worth some 18.7 trillion won ($17 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 428 to 415. Foreigners sold a net 8 billion won, while institutions pu
Dec. 21, 2020
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S. Korea's 5G download speed fastest globally: report
South Korea has the fastest 5G download speed in the world, reaching over 350 megabits per second (Mbps), a report showed Monday. The country's 5G download speed stood at an average 351.2 Mbps, followed by Saudi Arabia at 272.8 Mbps and Taiwan at 247.7 Mbps, industry tracker Opensignal said in a report, citing data collected between Sept. 1 and Nov. 29 in 15 global markets with 5G networks. The result marks an improvement for South Korea from a previous report by Opensignal in October, which h
Dec. 21, 2020
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Korea approves 1st N95 masks for frontline COVID workers
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said Monday it has approved South Korea’s first N95 respirators for use by health professionals and quarantine workers in COVID-19 situations. Current KF94 masks are available for the general public, as they are not medical devices. However, the N95 masks are classified as medical devices, and are only available to medical personnel. “The N95 masks can filter 95 percent of particles of 0.3 micrometers, offering the same safety and function wit
Dec. 21, 2020
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COVID-19 likely to widen economic polarization: BOK
The coronavirus pandemic is projected to widen economic performance among global economies as well as income classes within a country, a report by South Korea’s central bank said Monday. “The polarization in economic growth among global economies has been observed between developed and developing nations in how they have been dealing with quarantine measures, their fiscal capacities,” the Bank of Korea said in its regular report on economic issues. “Economies with stro
Dec. 21, 2020
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T'way Air to lease three Airbus A330-300 jets
T’way Air has signed a letter of intent to lease three Airbus A330-300 jets late next year to introduce new medium and long-haul flights, the South Korean low-cost carrier said Monday. The move comes as part of the budget airline’s efforts to prepare for a rebound in air travel demand after the pandemic that has dealt a severe blow to the aviation industry is over. The budget airline currently operates 27 B737-800 chartered aircraft on routes to Vietnam, China, Japan and Taiwan. Bu
Dec. 21, 2020
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‘Face masks are least wanted Christmas gift’
A new survey has revealed that face masks, hand sanitizers and other personal protective equipment against the coronavirus are among the least-wanted gifts during this year’s Christmas. While the pandemic-safe gifts failed to drum up enthusiasm, cash and gift cards were the most wanted gifts, found the survey conducted by job reccrutiing portal Incruit. Though antivirus items remain crucial amid the ongoing pandemic, people are not looking forward to receiving them as gifts for the hol
Dec. 21, 2020
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JB Financial pushes automated robotics services
JB Financial Group’s commercial banking units -- Jeonbuk Bank and Kwangju Bank -- are strengthening their capacity to integrate robotic process automation technologies within banking services, the group said Monday. RPA uses artificial intelligence and machine learning software to automate repetitive business processes. Jeonbuk Bank has recently extended the use of RPA, from the bank’s headquarters to local branches, in a step to reduce employees working hours and provide better se
Dec. 21, 2020
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Mirae Asset subsidiary lists 1st ETFs on London Stock Exchange
Mirae Asset Global Investments said Monday that its US exchange-traded funds provider subsidiary Global X has launched two products to be traded on the London Stock Exchange starting Friday. The thematic ETFs -- Global X Telemedicine & Digital Health UCITS ETF and Global X Video Games & Esports UCITS ETF -- mark the first ETFs of a Korean-owned company to be listed on a European exchange. According to data from market researcher ETFGI, the total size of listed ETFs and exchange-traded
Dec. 21, 2020
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IFC provides $50m loan to KB Kookmin Card's Indonesian lending arm
The International Finance Corp. said Monday it plans to provide a loan of up to $50 million to KB Finansia Multi Finance, an Indonesian subsidiary of South Korean credit finance company KB Kookmin Card. The loan will contribute to a sustainable and inclusive economic recovery in Indonesia by addressing the liquidity squeeze in the nation’s multifinance sector, the IFC said. Multifinance companies like KB Finansia Multi Finance are considered the main source of funding for micro, small an
Dec. 21, 2020
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JTI Korea makes donation to provide smart devices for education
JTI Korea has made donations to Community Chest of Korea to provide smart devices to support education of the socially vulnerable, the company said Monday. The tobacco company said the fund will be delivered to Work Together Foundation to buy smart devices for education, as schools are running online classes in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. “We are making the donations to help students who are facing difficulties in taking classes online (due to lack of devices) and to improve th
Dec. 21, 2020
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Korea Shipbuilding clinches W582b deal from Europe
Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering said Monday it had clinched a deal worth 582 billion won ($528 million) for seven vessels with European shipping companies. The Korean shipbuilder said it has signed the contract to build four 13,200-twenty-foot-equivalent-unit container vessels, two 40,000-square-meter liquefied petroleum gas carriers and one product carrier, for the companies in Europe, unidentified. The four container vessels, which are 335 meters in length, 51 meters in widt
Dec. 21, 2020
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S. Korea's video game market ranked 5th largest globally last year: report
South Korea's video game market was the fifth largest in the world in 2019, falling one position from the previous year, a report showed Monday. The country's video game market reached sales of 15.6 trillion won ($14.2 billion) last year, up 9 percent from the previous year, according to an annual report by the Korea Creative Content Agency. The country ranked behind the United States, China, Japan and the United Kingdom in the global video market worth a total $186.5 billion last year. South
Dec. 21, 2020
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Daewoong Pharmaceutical eyes COVID-19 treatment's launch early next year
South Korean drugmaker maker Daewoong Pharmaceutical Co. aims to launch a treatment drug for the novel coronavirus early next year, the company's chief said Monday. Foistar, an oral protease inhibitor, is currently undergoing phase two clinical trial on COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms. The company aims to release the outcome of the clinical study later this month. "Our aim is for actual patients to be able to take the drug starting early next year through a conditional authorization
Dec. 21, 2020