Most Popular
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1 in 3 Koreans live alone, family types becoming diverse
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Korea, Japan finance chiefs vow to tame rampant FX market volatility
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K-pop group's manager dismissed for setting up spycam in theater dressing room
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K-pop singer lost consciousness after being hit by foul ball, cancels show
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Korean Muslim YouTuber's plan to build mosque in Incheon goes viral
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Contentious grain bill put directly to plenary meeting for vote
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Why is Apple Pay struggling to get purchase in Korea?
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Yoon's office denies considering liberal figures for key posts
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Seoul says Fu Bao loan 'not going to happen'
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[Today’s K-pop] BTS pop-up event to come to Seoul
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Korean Air set to launch ‘flights to nowhere’
Korean Air is taking steps to launch its own international sightseeing flights without landing, the airline said on Wednesday. “We are taking necessary steps to operate chartered flights and the sales dates are under discussion,” one official at the airline said. The airline’s first international “flight to nowhere” has been given the green-light by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to take off on Feb. 27, the official added. The travel route is y
Feb. 3, 2021
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Posco vows to prioritize safety over productivity
South Korea’s top steel giant Posco is vowing to put safety as its top priority, urging employees to reject unsafe working conditions, following a spate of deaths from industrial accidents in recent years. During recent visits to the company’s steelworks in Pohang and Gwangyang, Chairman Choi Jeong-woo allocated most of his speeches to safety policies, the company said Wednesday. “When workers are tasked with work where safety is not ensured or they feel physically or emot
Feb. 3, 2021
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Korea below OECD average as FDI recipient: think tank
South Korea recieved some of the lowest amount of foreign direct investment among 37 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development members last year, a local think tank data showed Wednesday. Asia’s fourth-largest economy’s FDI-to-gross ratio last year came to 0.32 percent, translating into No. 25 among 37 global economies in terms of FDI recipient, a report by Korea Economic Research Institute said. The net FDI-to-GDP ratio -– which is FDI minus outward direct inves
Feb. 3, 2021
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FSC advises internet-only banks expand mid-interest loans
South Korea’s top financial regulator has advised the nation’s internet-only lenders to expand the supply of loan products for borrowers with low to moderate credit scores, officials said Wednesday. “While the percentage of those with credit scores below 4 on a scale of 1 to 10 accounted for nearly 40 percent of all borrowers at first-tier banks, the country’s existing internet-only lenders Kakao Bank and K bank posted some 36 percent and 20 percent, respectively,”
Feb. 3, 2021
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S. Korea to import more eggs this month to stabilize prices
South Korea said Wednesday it plans to import more eggs this month in a bid to stabilize prices of eggs that have shot up amid the outbreak of bird flu here. The country will import some 24 million eggs after the Lunar New Year holiday, set for Feb. 11-14, ends, as it seeks to ease a potential shortage of the egg supply, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The ministry earlier said the country will import 20 million eggs and distribute them before the holiday. Affected by the ou
Feb. 3, 2021
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JPMorgan bets on Korean travel agency despite mounting losses
JPMorgan Asset Management has increased its stake in the ailing Korean travel agency Modetour Network to 7.47 percent, banking on a rebound in the post-COVID era despite piling losses, a filing showed Wednesday. Three of JPMorgan Asset Management subsidiaries obtained an additional 1.07 percent stake, or some 200,000 ordinary shares, in Modetour from December 2019 to January this year, according to the filing. This solidified JPMorgan’s position as the firm’s second-largest share
Feb. 3, 2021
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S. Korea, Cambodia strike free trade deal for broader economic cooperation
South Korea said Wednesday it has clinched a free trade deal with Cambodia, the latest in a series of its free trade pacts to revitalize its ailing exports amid the new coronavirus pandemic. Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee and her Cambodian counterpart Pan Sorasak held a virtual meeting and declared that Seoul and Phnom Penh have completed FTA negotiations, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. "The FTA will pave the way for the two countries to overcome challenges from th
Feb. 3, 2021
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Online shopping hits new record high in Dec. amid pandemic
Online shopping in South Korea hit a fresh record high in December as more people purchased products via e-commerce platforms amid tougher virus curbs caused by the pandemic, data showed Wednesday. The value of online transactions stood at 15.9 trillion won ($14.2 billion) in December, up 26.1 percent from the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea. The use of online shopping sharply rose amid the pandemic as people refrained from visiting stores over concerns about infecti
Feb. 3, 2021
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Face value of damaged currency rises in 2020
The face value of damaged banknotes and coins in South Korea rose in 2020, data from the central bank showed Wednesday. A total of 4.76 trillion won worth ($4.26 billion) of damaged bills and coins were discarded by the Bank of Korea (BOK) last year, up 410 billion won from a year ago, according to the BOK data. The central bank spent 10.6 billion won replacing the damaged banknotes last year. Last year, a record 642 million damaged bills and coins were discarded by the central bank, up 0.3 p
Feb. 3, 2021
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S. Korea to invest over W200b in VR industry this year
South Korea will invest 202.4 billion won ($181.8 million) this year in virtual reality (VR) technology and devices to support the growth of the country's digital content industry, according to the ICT ministry on Wednesday. The move comes after the government unveiled a broader interagency investment plan for the industry last year, setting aside over 400 billion won for this year, in line with its digital New Deal program, which aims to spend 58.2 trillion won in key tech industries to create
Feb. 3, 2021
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Imported car sales jump 27% in Jan. despite pandemic
Sales of imported vehicles in South Korea jumped 27 percent in January from a year earlier on robust sales of German cars, an industry association said Wednesday. The number of newly registered foreign vehicles climbed to 22,321 units last month from 17,640 a year ago despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA) said in a statement. The three bestselling models last month were the Mercedes-Benz E 250 sedan, Mercedes-Benz E 350 4MATIC seda
Feb. 3, 2021
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Samsung's foundry capacity in matured nodes to rank 4th in 2021: report
Samsung Electronics Co.'s foundry capacity share in legacy nodes is estimated to rank fourth in 2021, a report showed Wednesday, amid its push to increase its presence in the contract chipmaking sector with advanced fabrication processes. Samsung, the world's largest memory chipmaker, was projected to account for 10 percent of global foundry capacity in matured nodes, which refers to the 40-nanometer and below chipmaking technology process, according to market researcher Counterpoint Research.
Feb. 3, 2021
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S. Korea to invest W23b in building test center for rechargeable battery
South Korea said Wednesday it will allocate 23 billion won ($20.6 million) to build testing infrastructure for local producers of materials and parts for rechargeable batteries in line with its efforts to foster the sector as a new growth engine. The test center will allow small and midsized businesses to run tests on their materials used to produce battery products with high-end infrastructure, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The ministry said it has decided to establ
Feb. 3, 2021
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Pet food exports up 83.5% in 2020
South Korea's outbound shipments of pet food products soared 83.5 percent in 2020 from a year earlier on strong demand from the Asia region, data showed Wednesday. Exports of pet food products reached $67.4 million last year, jumping from $36.7 million in 2019, according to data by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs on the local pet industry. By country, Japan accounted for 36.4 percent of the total, trailed by Thailand with 26.4 percent and Vietnam with 8.4 percent. The coun
Feb. 3, 2021
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Hyundai, Kia's January sales up 8% in US on strong SUV sales
Hyundai Motor Co. and affiliate Kia Corp. said Wednesday their sales in the United States rose 7.9 percent in January from a year earlier on robust SUV sales. Hyundai Motor and Kia sold a combined 91,173 vehicles in the world's most important automobile market last month, up from 84,498 units a year ago, according to sales data from the companies. Hyundai's sales rose 4.7 percent on-year to 46,208 units last month from 44,143, while Kia's jumped 11 percent to 44,965 from 40,355 over the cited
Feb. 3, 2021
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Seoul stocks open higher on auto gains
South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday on strong advances by auto-related shares. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 21.65 points, or 0.7 percent, to 3,118.46 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The KOSPI continued its bullish run after gaining over 4 percent in total in the past two sessions, backed by investor optimism over a fast economic recovery, particularly in exports. Top automaker Hyundai Motor hiked 3.33 percent, with its smaller affiliates Kia Motors and Hyun
Feb. 3, 2021
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Samsung retains 2nd spot in tablet market in 2020: report
Samsung Electronics Co. maintained its status as the world's second-largest tablet vendor last year, a report showed Wednesday, though the South Korean tech giant saw a significant improvement in sales to catch up with industry leader Apple Inc. Samsung, the world's largest smartphone maker, had a 19.1 percent share in the global tablet market in 2020 after shipping 31.3 million units, up 44.4 percent from a year ago, according to market researcher International Data Corporation (IDC). Apple a
Feb. 3, 2021
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Exports of plastics, auto parts, steel to bask in trade deal with Indonesia
South Korean plastic, auto parts and steel companies are expected to benefit from a trade deal with Indonesia once it goes into effect, a trade body said Wednesday. South Korea and Indonesia formally signed the comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) in December last year, clearing the way for local exporters to tap deeper into the Southeast Asian market. The deal awaits parliamentary ratification in both countries. Under the trade deal, Jakarta would eliminate tariffs on about 92
Feb. 3, 2021
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Telcos likely to offer teleconferencing for free during Lunar New Year amid pandemic
South Korean mobile carriers will likely provide videoconference services for free during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, according to industry officials Wednesday, as in-person contact is limited to curb the spread of the new coronavirus. The Ministry of Science and ICT and the country's three major telecom operators -- SK Telecom Co., KT Corp. and LG Uplus Corp. -- are considering such telecommunication support measures during the holiday period, which falls on Feb. 11-13 this year, as t
Feb. 3, 2021
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Exporters' sales outlook hits 3-year high for Feb.
South Korean exporters' sales outlook touched an over three-year high for February amid improving overseas sales of key products, central bank data showed Wednesday. The business sentiment index (BSI) for local exporting companies' sales stood at 100 for February, up from 89 for January, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). It marks the highest reading since the 102 recorded in November 2017. The index measures exporters' outlook for shipments. A reading above 100 means optimis
Feb. 3, 2021