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 singer lost consciousness after being hit by foul ball, cancels show
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K-pop group's manager dismissed for setting up spycam in theater dressing room
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Contentious grain bill put directly to plenary meeting for vote
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Korean Muslim YouTuber's plan to build mosque in Incheon goes viral
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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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Trilateral talks acknowledge ‘serious’ slumps of won, yen
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[Today’s K-pop] BTS pop-up event to come to Seoul
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Beauty stores ‘battered’ by coronavirus pandemic
Once the symbol of South Korea’s K-beauty boom, cosmetics franchise stores are now declining at an alarming rate as international tourism dwindles and online shopping takes the spotlight during the pandemic. Myeong-dong, one of the most popular downtown shopping districts, took the shopping crunch hard. Its stores, which used to bustle with tourists from China, Japan and various Southeast Asian states, are now struggling to survive in the high-rent district amid a dwindling number of visi
Jan. 24, 2021
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Korean excavator makers likely to enjoy another boom in China this year
South Korea's two excavator makers are expected to see a steady rise in their shipments to China this year thanks to a boom in the neighbor's construction market, according to industry watchers Sunday. "The Chinese government's policy to boost the economy is forecast to expand the volume of the civil engineering and construction market in 2021, which has an impact on the sales of excavators," said Kim Hong-gyun, an analyst at DB Financial Investment, in his recent report. Exports of
Jan. 24, 2021
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Hyundai, Kia struggle in 3 key markets last year amid pandemic
Hyundai Motor Co. and affiliate Kia Corp. slumped in their three major markets last year amid the coronavirus pandemic, company data showed Sunday. Hyundai and Kia, South Korea's two biggest carmakers, saw their sales slump in the United States, Europe and China in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic affected vehicle production and sales. Among the three markets, the automakers performed worst in China, with their combined sales plunging 27 percent to 908,828 units last year from 664,744 the previou
Jan. 24, 2021
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KT to sell its radio system affiliate KT Powertel
KT has chosen IDIS, a local security solutions provider, as a preferred bidder for a controlling stake in its radio systems subsidiary KT Powertel, the company announced Friday. KT’s board of directors approved the disposal of its 44.85 percent stake in KT Powertel, worth 40.6 billion won in a meeting Friday. How much IDIS has offered to pay is not known. KT expects to finish the deal by the end of March this year, officials said. With the equity sale, the South Korean telecommunica
Jan. 22, 2021
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[Herald Interview] GreenPureTech seeks to provide the world with hospital beds
A lack of hospital beds has been one of the painstaking points of COVID-19 pandemic as more and more medical institutions around the globe become overwhelmed with patients amid the relentless spread of the coronavirus. GreenPureTech., a Seoul-based medical equipment provider, hopes to provide quick relief to this bed crunch and contribute to saving more lives. According to CEO Lim Hyung-bo, the company is an unrivalled leader in the field of movable negative pressure rooms in South Korea, wi
Jan. 22, 2021
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Seoul office transactions hit record in 2020 despite pandemic
The total volume of office investments in major districts of the Greater Seoul area hit yet another record in 2020 despite the pandemic, as high demand for offices in prime locations led the bullish market, data showed Friday. The full-year transaction total of offices last year in Seoul and the neighboring city of Bundang, Gyeonggi Province, came to 13.4 trillion won ($12.1 billion), up 9 percent from the previous all-time high in 2019, according to data suggested by commercial real estate se
Jan. 22, 2021
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Seoul stocks snap 3-day winning streak on valuation pressure
South Korea's stock exchange ended its three-day winning streak Friday on valuation pressure after hitting another new high the previous session. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) retreated 20.21 points, or 0.64 percent, to close at 3,140.63 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.1 billion shares worth some 24 trillion won ($21.7 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 476 to 384. Foreigners sold a net 270 billion won
Jan. 22, 2021
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Future of LG’s rollable smartphone up in the air
The future of LG Electronics’ next generation smartphone model with a rollable OLED display hangs in the air as the tech giant seeks to sell its money-losing mobile business unit. The company said Friday that it was still developing the Rollable, but added that detailed plans for its launch had not been decided, and that the company was “open to every possibility.” During this year’s CES, LG teased the model with a 10-second clip, grabbing global media attention as the
Jan. 22, 2021
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Hyundai E&C shifts to Q4 loss on FX losses
Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co., a major South Korean builder, said Friday it shifted to a net loss in the fourth quarter from a year earlier due to currency-related losses. For the three months that ended in December, Hyundai E&C swung to a net loss of 122 billion won ($110.6 million) from a net profit of 6.9 billion won in the same period of last year, the company said in a regulatory filing. The company said the US dollar's strength against the won mainly contributed to the l
Jan. 22, 2021
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Korean Air to up stock sale to W3.3tr for Asiana acquisition
Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea's biggest carrier, said Friday it will raise a higher than previously planned amount by selling stocks for its planned acquisition of smaller rival Asiana Airlines Inc. Korean Air plans to sell 3.3 trillion won ($3 billion) worth of new stocks, which is higher than the originally planned 2.5 trillion won to finance the acquisition of debt-laden Asiana, due to its soaring stock price, the company said in a regulatory filing. The national flag carrier plans to i
Jan. 22, 2021
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S. Korea to launch mid-sized observation satellite in March
South Korea’s ICT Ministry said Friday it has dispatched the country’s new mid-sized satellite to Kazakhstan for a March launch. The 500-kilogram low Earth orbit satellite will arrive at Kazakhstan’s Baikonur Cosmodrome on Sunday, where it will go through a series of steps before the March 20 launch, according to the ministry. From there, the mid-sized satellite will be flown into a 500-kilometer-high orbit by a Russian Soyuz rocket. When in orbit, the satellite, which is
Jan. 22, 2021
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Online platform operators to face stern measures over unfair biz practices: regulator
South Korea's antitrust regulator said Friday it will seek to take punitive actions against unfair business activity by online platform operators in a bid to protect contractors and consumers. The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) plans to submit a bill designed to prevent unfair business activity by online platform operators to the National Assembly next week, the regulator said in its 2021 policy plan. Under the bill, online platform operators will be levied with a hefty fine if they conduc
Jan. 22, 2021
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At least 5 ships to be deployed to address soaring freight rates
South Korea said Friday it plans to deploy at least five vessels by the end of February to support exporters facing troubles from a hike in freight costs amid soaring demand. Under the plan, HMM Co., the country's leading shipper, will operate a ship with a capacity of 4,600 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) on the American route in January, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. TEU is a measure used for the capacity of container transportation. SM Line Corp., another loca
Jan. 22, 2021
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Korean investors hold $7.8b of Tesla stocks
South Korean investors held a combined $7.8 billion worth of Tesla stocks at the end of last year, data showed Friday, capping off a meteoric rise in 2020 to become Korea’s most-owned foreign stock. This accounted for 16.6 percent of the entire $47 billion foreign currency-denominated stock holdings of Korean individuals and corporations as of December, according to data from the Korea Securities Depository. Tesla was not among the top 10 foreign stocks in 2019. Alongside Tesla, US tech
Jan. 22, 2021
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T-Money ups ‘untact’ efforts with facial recognition plans
Public transportation in urban cities has been one of the central places of anxiety and fear amidst the COVID-19 era, since physical contact with other people is unavoidable, especially during rush hours. Korea Smart Card says it is trying to reduce these concerns with a “face recognition payment system” that eliminates the need to tap in with a card or a phone. This pilot scheme of instant tag-less payment introduces a safer and more efficient non-contact payment method, it said.
Jan. 22, 2021
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Samsung stands to benefit from Intel’s chip outsourcing plan
Samsung Electronics stands to benefit from US tech giant Intel’s chip outsourcing plan, industry sources said Friday. Intel’s incoming CEO Pat Gelsinger said during an earnings call Thursday that the company is likely to increase use of outside chip factories “for certain technologies and products.” The CEO’s remarks came after a news report that Samsung had bagged an order to produce Intel’s Southbridge chipset, one of two controlling chips in the core lo
Jan. 22, 2021
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Over 4,000 training equipment accidents reported each year, consumer watchdog says
Amid social distancing measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, more people have turned to home training instead of going to the gym. But working out at home with training equipment should be handled with care, the Korean Consumer Agency (KCA) says. Over 4,000 accidents related to training equipment have been reported across the country every year since 2015, according to the annual data from the KCA’s Consumer Injury Surveillance System. The number of injury reports has increased stea
Jan. 22, 2021
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S. Korea sets official tariff on rice at 513%
South Korea said Friday it has officially set its tariff on imported rice exceeding a quota at 513 percent, ending its yearslong tariffication process for the nation's key staple grain. Under the measure, South Korea will slap a 513 percent tariff on imported rice for quantities outside a designated quota, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Quantities below the quota of 408,700 tons will be imposed with a tariff of 5 percent. The measure is aimed at providing on
Jan. 22, 2021
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Seoul stocks open nearly flat on valuation pressure
South Korean stocks opened nearly flat Friday on valuation pressure after they hit another new high the previous session. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 0.34 point, or 0.01 percent, to 3,161.18 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics added 0.34 percent, while No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix lost 0.76 percent. Leading chemical firm LG Chem moved down 0.3 percent, but rechargeable battery maker Samsung SDI advanced 1.21 percent. P
Jan. 22, 2021
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S. Korean observation satellite heads to Kazakhstan for launch
South Korea's science ministry said Friday its new midsized satellite has started traveling to Kazakhstan for a launch this year as the country seeks to develop homegrown space technology. The 500-kilogram low Earth orbit satellite is scheduled to be launched into space on Russia's Soyuz 2.1a rocket from Kazakhstan's Baikonur Cosmodrome on March 20, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT. Once in orbit, the satellite, equipped with an imaging sensor system developed by South Korean resea
Jan. 22, 2021