Most Popular
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Blinken calls on China to press N. Korea to end its 'dangerous' behavior
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Tensions heighten ahead of first president-opposition chief meeting
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New celebrity-endorsed therapy for face contouring requires only a pair of rubber bands
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Seoul to provide housing subsidy to married couples with newborns
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Rapper jailed after public street fight with another rapper
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[KH Explains] No more 'Michael' at Kakao Games
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Nominee for chief of anti-corruption body pledges 'independence, effectiveness'
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Woman gets suspended term for injuring boyfriend with knife
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[Weekender] How DDP emerged as an icon of Seoul
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Med schools expect 1,500+ new admission slots next year
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No. of passengers on ‘flights to nowhere’ close to 16,000-mark
Nearly 16,000 people have enjoyed international “flights to nowhere” offered by South Korean airlines to boost revenue during the prolonged pandemic last year, the customs office said Monday. A total of 15,983 passengers boarded 152 international sightseeing flights between December last year and May this year, according to data compiled by the Korea Customs Service. The planes, which took off from Korea, entered airspace above other countries without stopping at any overseas destin
June 14, 2021
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South Korea’s financial system at risk over fast-growing household debt
South Korea’s household debt is inviting concerns about the country’s economic resilience as its accumulated debt has grown more, relative to income, than that of any other economy. Asia’s fourth-largest economy continues to see a rapid rise in household debt, largely due to increased borrowing to make ends meet in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and to fund real estate purchases and stock investments amid record-low interest rates. As of the end of March, outstandin
June 14, 2021
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[Herald Interview] Eve: making inclusive condoms for everyone
It is not so often that companies in South Korea go out of their way to cater to the LGBTQ community. Eve, however, is not afraid to embrace everyone. With its gender-neutral models and simple product packaging, the sexual health brand is a far cry from the heteronormative narrative that has dominated the condom industry for years. “While everyone who is sexually active is our potential target, it is true that the condom industry has heavily relied on sex appeal and focused on heterosexu
June 14, 2021
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Seoul stocks hit all-time high amid expectation of dovish stance from US Fed
South Korean stocks closed at an all-time high Monday as investors expect the US Federal Reserve to reiterate its support for accommodative policies in this week's monetary policy meeting. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kopsi) rose 2.81 points, or 0.09 percent, to close at 3,252.13 points, marking the highest closing ever. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.6 billion shares worth some 15 trillion won ($13.4 billion), with losers
June 14, 2021
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Hanwha Systems to develop underwater drone swarms for search and rescue missions
Hanwha Systems said Monday that it will develop autonomous underwater drone swarms for search and rescue missions by 2025. According to the defense business unit of Hanwha Group, it has formed a consortium with partners including the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology for the 25 billion-won project ($22.4 million) commissioned by the Korea Institute of Marine Science and Technology Promotion. “In bad weather conditions, human divers can’t be deployed due to poor
June 14, 2021
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SK Inc.’s French bio arm sets to facility expansion
SK Inc.’s French bio subsidiary Yposkesi is set to build a second commercial bioproduction site in an effort to expand its footprint in the global biopharmaceutical market, officials said Monday. The French company has announced the launch of project SKY, a plan to inject some 58 million euros ($70 million) in the construction of its new manufacturing plant. Slated for completion by 2023, the forthcoming facility will be one of the largest advanced therapy medicinal product, or ATMP, fac
June 14, 2021
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Hana Financial to launch asset manager in Singapore
Hana Financial Group said Monday that it has obtained a preliminary license from Singapore’s financial authorities to open an asset management company in the Southeast Asian country. The Monetary Authority of Singapore granted the partial approval Friday, though it hasn’t notified the banking giant when a final business license will be issued, officials said. Hana Financial’s attempt to make inroads into Singapore’s promising asset management market is part of the group
June 14, 2021
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Debt-laden SsangYong Motor's workers to take unpaid leave for two years
Half of SsangYong Motor Co.'s workers will go on unpaid leave for two years beginning next month as part of self-help measures as the debt-ridden automaker is striving to speed up its sales process, the company said Monday. SsangYong said its management and labor union inked a deal on the corporate restructuring plan and will carry out the measures in July after ironing out the details. Over half of SsangYong workers last week voted for the company's proposal of a two-year unpaid leave to ha
June 14, 2021
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Smaller firms demand 1-year more grace period for 52-hour workweek
South Korea's smaller firms on Monday called for a further delay in enforcing the 52-hour workweek system for them set to take effect next month amid the extended COVID-19 pandemic. In a joint statement, the country's business lobby groups, such as the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Korea Enterprises Federation, called on the government to allow companies with a workforce of fewer than 50 people more time to prepare for the 52-hour workweek amid the prolonged fallou
June 14, 2021
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Over three-fourths of S. Korean exporters to China hit by pandemic: poll
More than three-fourths of South Korean exporters to China have suffered damage from the coronavirus pandemic, a poll showed Monday. The survey of 540 exporting companies, taken by the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), showed 75.7 percent of the respondents saying their businesses in the world's No. 2 economy have been hit by the COVID-19 outbreak. Nearly 38 percent replied that they have suffered severe damage, while about 7 percent answered their Chinese businesses have benefited
June 14, 2021
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Insurers' risk-based capital ratio down for 2nd quarter in Q1
Insurance firms in South Korea saw their risk-based capital ratio fall for the second straight quarter in the first quarter of this year amid rising market interest rates, data showed Monday. The risk-based capital (RBC) ratio of local insurance firms stood at 256 percent at end-March, down 19 percentage points from three months earlier, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). The fall in the RBC ratio came as a hike in bond yields incurred valuation losses from the
June 14, 2021
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AsianInvestor to hold virtual forum on trends among Korean investors
AsianInvestor, a Hong Kong-based publication dedicated to the investment activities of Asian asset owners, said Monday that it planned to offer a glimpse of the latest trends among Korean investors at a virtual event June 21-25. Institutional Investment Week Korea, the 14th event of its kind for Seoul investors, will focus on how Korean investors can rebalance their portfolios and build resilience into their investment strategies amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The annual event was canceled last y
June 14, 2021
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Chips, displays continue to boost S. Korea's ICT exports in May
South Korea's exports of information and communication technology (ICT) products rose around 30 percent last month, data showed Monday, thanks to strong demand for semiconductors, displays and mobile phones amid signs of a global economic recovery from the pandemic-induced slump. Outbound shipments of ICT products were tallied at $17.73 billion in May, up 27.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of Science and ICT. The latest figure marked the second-largest amou
June 14, 2021
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SK's French bio subsidiary breaks ground for 2nd plant
SK Inc.'s European bio subsidiary Yposkesi has begun the construction of its second drugmaking plant in France to ramp up its manufacturing capacity, the holding firm of South Korea's No. 3 conglomerate SK Group said Monday. In March, SK acquired a 70 percent stake in Yposkesi, a France-based Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) specializing in cell and gene therapies, to expand its presence in the burgeoning biologic CMO market. The latest deal is SK Inc.'s third acqui
June 14, 2021
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Celltrion's COVID-19 antibody treatment shows efficacy in phase 3 trial
South Korean pharmaceutical giant Celltrion Inc. said Monday that its COVID-19 antibody treatment has sharply reduced recovery time and the chance of a severe case. Celltrion announced top-line results from a global phase three clinical study of Rekirona, a pivotal part of the study to obtain more comprehensive safety and efficacy results. Rekirona won the South Korean drug safety agency's conditional approval in February, becoming the first locally made treatment for COVID-19. Rekirona is a
June 14, 2021
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Daewoo Shipbuilding wins W1.1tr offshore facility order
Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. (DSME) said Monday that it has signed a 1.9 trillion won ($ 1.7 billion) deal to build a hull of an offshore facility. The deal is part of a total 2.6 trillion won project to construct a floating production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO), which was placed by Brazilian state-owned oil firm Petrobras, DSME said in an emailed statement. The deal was jointly won by Italy's oilfield services company Saipem, DSME said. The FPSO will be delive
June 14, 2021
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Nearly 16,000 enjoy 'flights to nowhere' amid pandemic
Nearly 16,000 people have used "flights to nowhere" offered by South Korean airlines since the sightseeing flights were introduced late last year, the customs office said Monday. The Korea Customs Service (KCS) said 15,983 passengers used a total of 152 international flights designed for the purpose of the air journey, not the destination, between December 2020 and May 2021. Passengers using the flights have bought duty-free products worth 22.8 billion won ($20 million) over the past
June 14, 2021
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Hyundai to temporarily halt US plant on chip shortage, maintenance
Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's biggest carmaker by sales, said Monday it will suspend its US plant for three weeks due to lack of semiconductors and routine maintenance. Hyundai Motor will halt the Alabama plant for one week from June 14 on a chip shortage and two weeks from June 16 to July 11 for the plant's maintenance work, a company spokesman said by phone. In recent weeks, chip parts shortages continue to affect production of carmakers and other manufacturers in the United States and
June 14, 2021
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Seoul stocks open nearly flat as investors eye Fed meeting
South Korean stocks opened nearly flat Monday as investors await the upcoming US Federal Reserve meeting. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) edged down 1.53 points, or 0.05 percent, to reach 3,247.79 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The Kospi got off to a muted start as investors are holding onto their cash, seeking more hints about when the world's largest economy will start tapering its asset-buying policy. In Seoul, market bellwether Samsung Electronics retr
June 14, 2021
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Naver-Kakao rivalry heats up in global webtoon market
South Korean digital comics platform operator Naver faces growing competition from its crosstown rival Kakao as the latter ups investment to tap into overseas markets. A webtoon refers to a series of comic strips published online. In South Korea, Naver and Kakao are the two largest online webtoon platform providers. Earlier last month, Kakao Entertainment launched its webtoon platform, Kakao Webtoon, in Thailand and Taiwan. Last week, the firm revealed that it has taken the top spot in the Go
June 13, 2021