Most Popular
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Opposition-led Assembly unilaterally passes bill to probe Marine's death
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Golden chance to liquidate babies’ gold rings?
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Inflation eases in April, continues bumpy ride
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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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Seoul to more than double military drones by 2026 to counter NK threats
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Key suspects grilled over alleged abuse of power in Marine death inquiry
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Seoul alerts overseas missions to NK terror threats
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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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S. Korea vows to maintain exports recovery in Q4: finance minister
SEJONG -- South Korea's finance minister said Monday the government will spare no efforts to maintain momentum of recovery in exports in the fourth quarter of this year. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki made the remarks at a meeting with senior ministry officials earlier in the day, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said in a statement. On Monday, South Korea eased social distancing rules as daily infections of the new coronavirus appeared to come under control, following a resurgence in mid-A
Oct. 12, 2020
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Foreign investment banks slash growth forecasts for S. Korea
Major foreign investment banks have revised down their economic growth forecasts for South Korea with the resurgence of the coronavirus slowing the country’s economic recovery, data showed Monday. Nine forecast published by foreign investment banks as of end-September offered that Asia’s fourth-largest economy will contract at an average rate of 1.4 percent this year, down from an earlier average of 0.9 percent a month earlier, according to the Korea Center for International Financ
Oct. 12, 2020
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Hanssem Q3 operating earnings up 236.4% to 24b won
Hanssem Co. on Monday estimated its third-quarter operating profit at 24 billion won ($20.9 million), up 236.4 percent from a year earlier. Sales increased 25.4 percent to 514.9 billion won. The data for net earnings was not available. The operating profit was 9.1 percent higher than the average estimate, according to the survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency. The company will release its final earnings report later. (Yonhap)
Oct. 12, 2020
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Daewoo Shipbuilding wins 2tr won worth of orders for 6 ships
South Korea's No. 2 shipbuilder, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., said Monday that it has signed deals worth 2 trillion won ($1.7 billion) to build six liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers for two European companies. Under the two separate deals, Daewoo Shipbuilding will deliver the vessels to the European companies by July and December 2023, respectively, the shipbuilder said in regulatory filings, without providing the names of the clients. With the deals, Daewoo Shipbuildin
Oct. 12, 2020
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FSC chief hints at tightening loan measures
The nation’s top financial regulator hinted Monday at the possibility of tightening loan regulations to curb snowballing household debts induced by the pandemic. The country’s household debts surged to a record 1.63 quadrillion won in the second quarter. “The government’s financial stimulus programs targeting small merchants as well as loan repayment moratoriums to counter the economic impact of the COVID-19 outbreak partly drove up household debts,”
Oct. 12, 2020
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Lotte Group chief meets Japanese PM in Tokyo: reports
The chief of South Korea's retail giant Lotte Group met Japan's new Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga in Tokyo over the weekend, Japanese reports said Monday, in what was the new Japanese leader's first meeting with a South Korean tycoon. Suga held a lunch meeting with Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin and other chiefs of major Japanese companies at a hotel in Tokyo on Sunday, according to Japan's Nikkei. Details about their meeting are not known, but industry watchers estimated that Shin and Sug
Oct. 12, 2020
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Foreigners extend stock sell-off to 2nd month in Sept.
Foreign investors became net sellers of South Korean stocks in September, extending their selling spree to a second month, data showed Monday. Offshore investors sold a net 2.54 trillion won ($2.2 billion) of local stocks last month, according to the Financial Supervisory Service. Investors from Singapore posted the largest amount of net selling with 4.3 trillion won, followed by those from Switzerland with 300 billion won worth of stocks. In contrast, investors from Luxembourg bought a net 6
Oct. 12, 2020
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Tax revenue tallied at 37.4tr won in August
SEJONG -- South Korea collected 37.4 trillion won ($32.3 billion) in taxes in August, up 4.8 trillion won from a year earlier, the finance ministry said Monday. Income tax revenue amounted to 9.5 trillion won in August, up 3.2 trillion won from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Dues collected from companies, on the other hand, reached 11 trillion won in the month, down 900 billion won from a year earlier due to the lackluster earnings of local firms. Taxes col
Oct. 12, 2020
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Economy remains subdued as virus resurgence hits demand: KDI
South Korea's economy remained subdued as a recent resurgence of new coronavirus infections hit domestic demand, a state-run think tank said Monday. "The Korean economy remains subdued led by domestic demand due to a resurgence of COVID-19," the Korea Development Institute (KDI) said in its English-language Monthly Economic Trends publication. However, the report said the nation's economy is showing signs of its exports and output declining at a slower pace. Externally, worries ov
Oct. 12, 2020
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Banks tipped to tighten grip on loans in Q4 amid pandemic: poll
Banks in South Korea are expected to tighten their lending to households and companies in the fourth quarter of the year as credit risks will remain high amid the pandemic-caused economic uncertainty, a central bank poll showed Monday. The Bank of Korea's index measuring the banks' attitude toward fresh loans came to minus 5 for the October-December period, after hitting zero three months earlier. It marks the first time that the index fell into negative terrain since the fourth quarter of las
Oct. 12, 2020
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BOK tipped to freeze key rate at record low this week: poll
The Bank of Korea (BOK) is widely expected to keep its policy rate steady at a record low of 0.5 percent this week, as it will likely gauge the impact of the protracted pandemic on the economy, a poll showed Monday. In a survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency, all 17 analysts polled predicted the BOK will freeze the base rate at its rate-setting meeting, slated for Wednesday. They also forecast the BOK to stand pat on the rate during the remainder of the year an
Oct. 12, 2020
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7 companies to recall nearly 50,000 vehicles
Hyundai Motor Co., BMW, Mercedes-Benz and four other companies will voluntarily recall nearly 50,000 vehicles to fix faulty components, the transport ministry said Monday. This is the latest in a series of recalls by carmakers operating in South Korea and vehicle importers due to problems with vehicle components. The four other companies are Kia Motors Corp., Audi-Volkswagen Korea, Jaguar Land Rover Korea and Daijeon Machinery Co., which imports Kawasaki motorcycles, the Ministry of Land, Infr
Oct. 12, 2020
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S. Korea's parliament runs hydrogen shuttle bus
South Korea's parliament said Monday it has adopted a hydrogen fuel-cell electric bus as it pushes to promote hydrogen-powered vehicles. The National Assembly became the country's first state organization to adopt a hydrogen bus, and it will use the zero-emission bus to help transport people within the parliament and from neighboring subway stations, the parliament said in a statement. "We will initially operate the hydrogen bus two to four times a day as a shuttle bus for those who visit
Oct. 12, 2020
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Seoul's top trade official to visit Europe to drum up support her WTO chief race
South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee, who has recently made it to the final round of the selection process for a new leader at the World Trade Organization (WTO), plans to head to Europe later this week to win more support from its members. Yoo will visit Switzerland and other European nations starting Tuesday, to meet representatives from member countries of the WTO, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Last week, the trade official made it onto the shortlist of two f
Oct. 12, 2020
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Major foreign IBs cut S. Korea's growth outlook on virus resurgence
Major foreign investment banks (IBs) have downgraded their forecasts for South Korea's economic growth following the resurgence of the coronavirus here, a report showed Monday. As of end-September, nine major global IBs, including Barclays and Goldman Sachs, forecast Asia's fourth-largest economy to shrink 1.4 percent this year, compared with their median outlook of a 0.9 percent contraction offered a month earlier, according to the report by the Korea Center for International Finance. The out
Oct. 12, 2020
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S. Korea's coal use for power generation dips 7% in 2019
South Korea's coal consumption for electricity generation decreased 7 percent in 2019 from a year earlier due to its efforts to cut carbon emissions, a report said Monday. Asia's fourth-largest economy consumed 94 million tons of coal to generate electricity, compared with 101 million tons a year earlier, according to the report by the Korea Energy Economics Institute. It marks the second consecutive year of decline. South Korea's coal consumption for power generation rose from 101 million ton
Oct. 12, 2020
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Exports drop 28.8% in first 10 days of October
SEJONG -- South Korea's exports dropped 28.8 percent on-year in the first 10 days of October amid the fallout from the new coronavirus outbreak, customs data showed Monday. The nation's outbound shipments stood at $9.3 billion in the Oct. 1-10 period, compared with $13 billion a year ago, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Per-day exports, however, rose 2.8 percent on-year in the Oct. 1-10 period, the Korea Customs Service said. The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted trad
Oct. 12, 2020
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S. Korean workers' income rises to $42,300 a year: OECD
South Korean full-time employees' average annual income reached $42,300 last year, placing the country 19th among 35 members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, data showed Sunday. The figure was the highest ever for the nation’s fourth-largest economy. Korea’s next-highest average annual income was in 2003, when it posted $32,100 and ranked 24th, said Rep. Yang Kyung-sook of the ruling Democratic Party, citing the OECD data. The average ann
Oct. 11, 2020
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Govt. to seek new steps to curb soaring 'jeonse' rates: finance minister
The government will seek to come up with additional measures to rein in soaring "jeonse" rates as part of efforts to stabilize the housing market, the country's chief economic policymaker said Thursday. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki, who doubles as the deputy prime minister for economic affairs, made the remark during an annual parliamentary inspection of the ministry. "Jeonse rates have risen considerably over a short period of time and they are unlikely to go down easily down t
Oct. 8, 2020
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S. Korea, China agree to extend currency swap deal
South Korea and China have agreed to extend their bilateral currency swap agreement, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said Thursday, in a move aimed at helping ease a potential liquidity crunch amid the new coronavirus outbreak. In 2017, the BOK and People's Bank of China extended the won-yuan currency swap deal worth 64 trillion won ($55.3 billion) for three years, and the arrangement was set to expire Saturday. The two Asian nations inked the currency swap deal in April 2009 in the midst of the globa
Oct. 8, 2020