Most Popular
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Hybe-Ador feud should have limited effect on Hybe's overall performance: analysts
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First-ever meeting of president, opposition chief set to finally happen
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Blinken calls on China to press N. Korea to end its 'dangerous' behavior
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Experts raise concerns about Japan putting pressure on Naver over Line
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South Korea to launch space security center under spy agency
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More med professors to take day off each week while govt. urges them to stay
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Hybe refutes Ador CEO Min's denial of breach of trust
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S. Korea, Japan could consider simplified entry agreement: Seoul official
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Legoland Korea Resort to open until 9 p.m.
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[Weekender] How DDP emerged as an icon of Seoul
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Overseas card spending drops 28.8% in Q1 amid pandemic
South Koreans' overseas card spending dropped 28.8 percent on-year in the first quarter, due to a sharp decline in the number of outbound travelers amid the COVID-19 pandemic, central bank data showed Sunday. The amount of money spent overseas by South Koreans with cards, including credit and debit cards, totaled $2.56 billion in the January-March period, compared with $3.59 billion for the same period last year, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). Compared with three months ea
May 30, 2021
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[News Focus] National debt-to-GDP likely to top 40% for 1st time in 2021
SEJONG -- South Korea’s national debt has reached the highest level after rising back past 800 trillion won ($717 billion), aggravating concerns over fiscal soundness. According to calculations from the National Assembly Budget Office, the nation’s sovereign debt was estimated at 800.3 trillion won as of Saturday. Though the figure inched down below the 800 trillion-won mark in early 2021 after surpassing 800 trillion won for the first time in November 2020, it has broken through t
May 30, 2021
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[Weekender] The truth about biodegradable plastics
For average customers, one of the easiest ways to pursue a green lifestyle is to purchase eco-friendly products. To target these customers and raise their brand images, companies in South Korea are rolling out eco-friendly products one after another, including some made of biodegradable plastic. Typically made from natural materials such as corn starch, biodegradable plastic is designed to break down naturally when it goes to landfills. However, these efforts – and extra expenses -- m
May 29, 2021
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NPS pledges to end coal investing, increase alternative exposure
The National Pension Service, the world’s third-largest pension fund, will pull the plug on coal-related investments, according to a plan approved on Friday by its investment management committee. Under the plan, NPS will no longer finance any new projects that involve building coal-fired power plants. It will also come up with an action plan to implement negative screening in order to exclude investment targets associated with climate change. The plan is to support a low-carbon ecosyste
May 28, 2021
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Posco taps into secondary battery recycling business
Posco has taken another step forward in the secondary battery recycling business, as it landed a new partnership deal with Chinese cobalt supplier Huayou Cobalt on Friday. The steelmaker inked a joint investment deal with the government of South Jeolla Province and Huayou Cobalt, a Shanghai-listed company specializing in material refining and purification. The secondary recycling business involves extracting core materials used in making secondary batteries, such as nickel and lithium fro
May 28, 2021
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Jungheung interested in Daewoo E&C, but takeover still under review
Jungheung Group, a local construction company, has expressed interest in acquiring Daewoo Engineering and Construction, but is in the process of reviewing its value and business potential, the builder said Friday. ”The company is interested in acquiring Daewoo E&C but nothing is confirmed,” an official at Jungheung said. “We’ll carefully examine the various conditions including Daewoo’s domestic and overseas business status, prospects after the acquisition an
May 28, 2021
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Legal ambiguity poses hurdles for NFT businesses: experts
Nonfungible tokens have seen a soaring popularity this year, but its future in South Korea remains uncertain due to legal gray areas, experts said Thursday during a conference on NFTs held in Seoul. Despite the short history of NFTs, the digital asset could create many opportunities for domestic companies as they try to add value to the fledgling technology and industry, experts said. But there are limits to bringing it into the commercial sphere as the domestic regulatory framework is not re
May 28, 2021
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Korea to develop exascale supercomputers by 2030
The South Korean government has thrown its weight behind plans to build exascale supercomputers by 2030 and nurture local talents in the sector, the finance minister said Friday. Exascale computing, a computer system that performs 1 quintillion operations per second, enables superspeed data analyses and simulations at that will pave the way for crucial discoveries in a wide range of fields, from finding new drugs against COVID-19 to predicting effects of climate change. The government plans
May 28, 2021
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Number of Toss Securities subscribers surpasses 3m in three months
Toss Securities, an online brokerage firm owned by fintech firm Viva Republica, said Friday that the number of stock trading accounts on its platform has surpassed 3 million. The 3 million accounts amount to around 30 percent of 9.14 million individual investors in the nation. Launched on Feb. 3, the company attracted new customers by running a series of promotional events. More than 1.7 million new customers joined the Toss platform during a five-day event in February that handed each new c
May 28, 2021
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S. Korea to levy 20% tax on cryptocurrency transactions starting next year as planned: govt.
South Korea plans to impose a 20 percent income tax on capital gains from cryptocurrency transactions starting next year as planned, the government announced Friday, despite growing investor calls for delaying the taxation plan. The government announced the plan after discussing the matter during a vice-ministerial interagency meeting chaired by Koo Yoon-cheol, head of the government policy coordination under the Prime Minister's Office. Gains from cryptocurrency transactions will be classifie
May 28, 2021
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Seoul stocks increase on economic rebound hopes
South Korean stocks increased Friday on hopes for a quick economic rebound, taking a cue from improved US economic data. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 23.22 points, or 0.73 percent, to close at 3,188.73 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 954 million shares worth some 13.4 trillion won (US$12 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 596 to 262. Foreigners bought a net 139 billion won, while retail investors s
May 28, 2021
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Naver aims for zero carbon emissions by 2040
Naver, the largest portal operator in South Korea, said Friday that it had a plan to cut its greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2040. The internet company came up with the plan, “2040 Carbon Negative,” because greenhouse gas emissions are forecast to surge for the next 10 years in line with the growing data traffic at internet data centers. The company’s plan aims to reach the same carbon neutrality goal that the government is pursuing, but 10 years earlier. As an examp
May 28, 2021
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Apple offers trade-in program for LG phone users
Apple Korea has launched a trade-in program to attract current users of smartphones made by LG Electronics, industry sources said Friday. The move is seen as part of the US phone vendor’s efforts to expand its presence in the South Korean market. According to sources in the telecom industry, Apple is running a smartphone exchange program with three Korean mobile carriers, which pay 150,000 won ($135) to those who replace their LG phones with iPhones. People who have used LG’s 4G
May 28, 2021
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S. Korea to decide on another extra budget after gauging tax revenue, public financing need
South Korea plans to take into account tax revenue situations and demand for increasing public finances before it decides on whether to draw up another extra budget in the latter half of 2021, a senior government official said Friday. First Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-weon also said the government will focus its economic policy on underpinning an accelerating economic recovery in the second half. Talk of another extra budget emerged from the ruling party after President Moon Jae-in said Thur
May 28, 2021
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Architect of Moon’s income-led growth scheme to lead KDI
The Korea Development Institute, a state-funded think tank, has appointed the architect behind President Moon Jae-in’s income-led growth policy as its new head. Hong Jang-pyo was the chief secretary for economic affairs and led the presidential committee on income-led growth in 2018. He was said to have orchestrated policy drafts that were later blamed by Moon’s critics for failing to narrow economic disparities to which they were intended for. Hong’s three-year term will st
May 28, 2021
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Hyundai Motor seeks to sell Beijing No. 1 plant site: sources
Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's biggest carmaker, is seeking to sell an idle plant site in China to a local district government, industry sources said Friday. Hyundai Motor plans to sell the site of the No. 1 Beijing plant, which has been suspended since April 2019, to the Shunyi administrative district, a person familiar with the matter told Yonhap News Agency over the phone. The plant's suspension came after Hyundai suffered years of sluggish sales in China due to the lingering impact of po
May 28, 2021
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GM Korea to resume full operation next week
GM Korea, the local subsidiary of the Detroit-based carmaker General Motors, will be resuming operations of its key manufacturing plants here, months after a global semiconductor shortage sent them reeling and halted production. The company will return to its regular operation and production level starting next week, as part of its US headquarters’ decision to normalize global productivity, officials said Friday. “But as the semiconductor shortage prolongs, we will need to assum
May 28, 2021
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Banks' lending rates inch down in April
South Korean banks' lending rates edged down in April amid a slight decline in deposit rates, central bank data showed Friday. The average interest rate charged on new bank loans came to 2.74 percent in April, down 0.03 percentage point from the previous month, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The BOK cut the key interest rate to a record low of 0.5 percent in May last year after delivering an emergency rate cut of half a percentage point in March to cushion the impa
May 28, 2021
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Institutions' investment in foreign securities down 1.7% in Q1
South Korean institutions' investment in foreign securities fell 1.7 percent in the first quarter as they reduced their holdings of foreign sovereign bonds, central bank data showed Friday. The combined value of foreign securities held by institutional investors came to $363 billion as of end-March, down $6.1 billion from three months earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). Foreign securities include stocks, bonds and so-called Korean paper, which refers to foreign currency-denominated
May 28, 2021
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S. Korea to extend consumption tax cut on passenger cars by another 6 months
South Korea plans to extend a cut in the consumption tax on passenger cars by another six months in a bid to boost domestic demand hit by the pandemic, the finance minister said Friday. A 30 percent cut in the consumption tax on the purchase of passenger cars is supposed to expire at the end of June, but the country will extend it until the end of this year, according to Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki. In July 2018, the government slashed the auto consumption tax to 3.5 percent from 5 percent an
May 28, 2021