Korean telecom giant KT said Friday its operating profit increased by 18.6 percent though its sales dropped during the same period in the second quarter this year. Operating income of KT in the second quarter reached 207.6 billion won ($175 million), compared to 203 billion won last year, according to a regulatory filing Friday. Sales of KT during the same period dropped 3.6 percent to 5.8 trillion won, the regulatory filing also showed. Improved earnings from business-to-business units he

　Genexine‘s COVID-19 treatment candidate GX-17 was given the Korean drug authority’s grant to proceed to phase 1 human trials, Friday. 　GX-17 is a protein drug recombining human IL-7 and hybrid Fc (hyFc) that the company had been developing as an anti-cancer treatment. It is a T-Cell growth factor that proliferates a patient‘s immune cells, by which it slows the progression of an illness and hastens recovery. 　With the addition of GX-17, South Korea now has 13 treatment resea

Damwon Gaming continues the team’s undefeated second round win streak in the League of Legends Champions Korea, defeating Gen.G in the opening match of the week Thursday to sit at first in the standings. Damwon Gaming, which recently placed second in global power rankings by ESPN after Invictus Gaming of China triumphed over Gen.G 2-1, finally beat them for the first time this year after losing both games in the spring and losing the first round of the summer. With a 12-2 record and an o

More than 2,500 people have been displaced from a week of heavy rain in much of the country, leading the government to designate seven hard-hit areas as special disaster zones. President Moon Jae-in declared Chungju, Jaecheon and Umseong in North Chungcheong Province and Asan in South Chungcheong Province as well as Anseong in Gyeonggi Province and Cheorwon in Gangwon Province emergency disaster zones, allowing them to receive state aid and other necessary support. When designated as special

Daewoong Pharmaceutical on Friday accused the US’ International Trade Commission’s decision to put a 10-year sales ban on its botulinum toxin product of “lacking evidence” and being “biased and distorted.” Daewoong said it has filed a detailed complaint to the USITC for its “significant errors.” Daewoong has been enwrapped in legal battles in Korea and in the US against Medytox for nearly five years over an alleged theft of trade secrets by a for

As the police investigation of Lim Seul-ong’s car accident continues, a local newspaper released traffic camera footage of the Aug. 1 accident, turning public opinion against Lim. Actor and singer Lim Seul-ong hit and killed a pedestrian crossing the road around midnight Aug. 1 while driving his white SUV in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul. The pedestrian light was red when the man was crossing the street on the rainy day and Lim was reported to not have been under the influence of alcohol, causin

Celltrion posted a record-setting second quarter report on Friday, citing Truxima’s rapid market uptake in the US and increased productivity at its reinforced plant No. 1 in Songdo, Incheon. Celltrion’s second quarter revenue reached 428.8 billion won ($361.7 million), up 82.5 percent on-year, and operating profit hit 181.8 billion won, up 118 percent on-year. Both are the highest numbers Celltrion has reported in any quarter. The company is confident it has ample power to generate

Korea’s third-largest mobile carrier LG U+ said the company’s operating profit in the second quarter increased by 59.2 percent on-year, the fastest growth rate for three consecutive quarters among local mobile carriers. In the meantime, quarterly sales for LG U+ went up by 5.1 percent on-year to reach 3.2 trillion won ($2.7 billion) during the April-June period, the company added. Since the fourth quarter last year, quarterly operating profit for LG U+ has increased by 75 percent,

Enzychem Lifesciences’ COVID-19 treatment candidate EC-18 was granted by the US’ Food and Drug Administration to carry out phase 2 clinical trial on confirmed patients, the company said Friday. In this phase 2 clinical trial, Enzychem Lifesciences will confirm the therapeutic effects of EC-18 for acute respiratory distress syndrome prevalent in COVID-19 patients with pneumonia. EC-18 is a novel drug candidate that had been in phase 2 clinical trials for chemoradiation-induced oral

Naver on Friday said that its online cartoon business is posting 3 billion won ($2.5 million) in average daily gross sales as of Aug. 2, up from 2 billion won in August last year. Naver contributed the growth to the increased number of monthly active users. Active users in July surpassed 650 million worldwide, increasing by more than 1 million over the last two months. Revenues also started to increase as the number of users in foreign nations saw a rapid surge, according to the firm. Sales

South Korea’s Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on Friday hailed the country’s effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic, citing this year’s sustainable development report by a team of international experts that put the country at No. 1 among OECD countries. “Such feedback (on Korea’s response to the pandemic) on a global forum is due to the dedication by our medical professionals and cooperation by members of the public,” he said at a pangovernmental meeting

President Moon Jae-in's Chief of Staff Noh Young-min and all five senior secretaries of his team offered to resign on Friday, taking responsibility for recent management of administration, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said. The five are Kang Gi-jung for political affairs, Yoon Do-han for public communication, Kim Jo-won for civil affairs, Kim Geo-sung for civil society, Kim Oe-sook for personnel management. "They are offering to resign to take overall responsibility for recent s

South Korea’s trainee doctors went on a one-day strike Friday, in protest against the government’s plan to increase the number of medical students in the country. No major disruptions in medical services were reported, as affected hospitals mobilized alternative health workers including clinical doctors and medical professors to fill the absence of interns and resident doctors at intensive care units, surgery and emergency rooms. The government laid out a plan to increase the num

South Korea’s public debt is expected to surge until next year due to aggressive government spending to revive the sluggish local economy, according to the International Monetary Fund on Friday.  The IMF said the country’s general government debt-to-gross domestic product ratio -- an indicator of economic health and sustainability of government borrowing -- will surpass 46 percent this year, up 5.5 percentage points from 40.7 percent estimated last year. The pace of the ri

South Korean shares extended gains to a fifth session on Friday, as expectations for a US stimulus package underpinned investor sentiment. The Korean won fell against the US dollar.  The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 9.06 points, or 0.39 percent, to close at 2,351.67. The reading marks the highest since Sept. 27, 2018.  Trading volume was high at about 802 million shares worth some 17.3 trillion won ($14.6 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 382 t