Most Popular
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Yoon, Lee end first talks with differences, agree to meet more
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What is Hybe’s next move?
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Medical profs at top hospitals suspend surgeries, clinics
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Police to open alleged stalking probe over pastor over Dior bag scandal
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Samsung chip business back on track, logs W1.9tr operating profit in Q1
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[News Focus] Lee tells Yoon that he has governed without political dialogue
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Hopes rise for possible Gaza truce deal
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Shinsegae faces showdown with investors over SSG.com's delayed IPO
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Ex-pro baseball player who killed debtor appeals sentence
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Seventeen shows who is the ‘Maestro’ of K-pop in greatest hits album
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Marking 10 years, KB accelerator nurtures 255 startups
More than 250 startup companies have joined KB Financial Group’s accelerator program over the past 10 years to scale up businesses into unicorns in the fintech industry. KB Financial Group held an event on Tuesday marking the 10th anniversary of the KB Innovation HUB Center, the first organization dedicated to fostering and supporting startups in the financial sector. Since KB Innovation HUB Center’s inception in 2015, the group launched its startup accelerator program, KB Starters
CompaniesApril 30, 2024
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Financial groups maintain capital adequacy despite ELS risk
Korean banking groups maintained solid capital adequacy despite significant payouts for consumer compensation due to misselling equity-linked securities tracking a Hong Kong index. Industry sources reported that the average capital adequacy ratio, or Common Equity Tier 1, among five major Korean financial groups -- KB, Shinhan, Hana, Woori, and NongHyup -- was 12.8 percent in the first quarter of this year, a slight decline from 13 percent in the previous term and 12.9 percent from the same peri
IndustryApril 30, 2024
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Seoul shares up for 3rd day on Samsung, batteries
South Korean stocks finished up for a third consecutive session Tuesday backed by a strong earnings performance by top cap Samsung Electronics and overnight US stock gains. The local currency fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 4.62 points, or 0.17 percent, to 2,692.06. Trade volume was moderate at 450 million shares worth 11.1 trillion won ($8.03 billion). Winners outpaced losers 439 to 408. Institutions and foreign investors combined bought a net 52
MarketApril 30, 2024
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Hopes rise for possible Gaza truce deal
JERUSALEM -- Hopes rose Monday for a long sought-after cease-fire and hostage release deal after almost seven months of war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas. Washington's top diplomat said he was "hopeful" Hamas would accept the offer, which his British counterpart said could see the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners. After meeting in Cairo, the Hamas delegation left Egypt and returned to Qatar "to discuss the ideas and the proposal ... and we are keen to respond as qu
World NewsApril 30, 2024
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[Photo News] Samsung Olympic Experience Zone
Samsung Electronics said Monday it has opened the Samsung Olympic Experience Zone ahead of the upcoming Olympics in Paris. The venue, a collaboration with Pritzker Architecture Prize winner Jean Nouvel, will operate from March 3 to Oct. 31 to display diverse Galaxy devices. Samsung has been the official partner of the Olympics and Paralympics for about four decades. (Samsung Electronics)
IndustryApril 30, 2024
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Naver, Intel, KAIST join forces to set up AI lab in Korea
Naver, Intel and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology will set up a joint lab in Korea to lead the new global ecosystem for artificial intelligence semiconductors, KAIST announced Tuesday. The joint lab called NIK AI Research Center will be established on the KAIST campus in Daejeon in the first half of this year and begin research in July. KAIST said that the joint research center will be run for three years, adding that its operation can be extended depending on research achi
TechnologyApril 30, 2024
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Namhae to extend beer festival period
The Namhae German Village Oktoberfest, which takes place in Namhae, South Gyeongsang Province, has decided to extend its festival period to four days for the first time since its launch in 2010. The village, long known for its distinctly foreign ambience in South Korea, has garnered local travelers' attention with its annual beer festival based on Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany. The decision to extend the festival period, previously held for two to three days, was made in response to its ri
TravelApril 30, 2024
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Around 50% of people with disabilities aged 65 or above: report
As South Korea is predicted to soon become a super-aged society, more than half of the population with disabilities were found to be age 65 or above for the first time in 2023, said the Ministry of Health and Welfare on Tuesday. According to the Health Ministry’s report released on Tuesday, up to 2.65 million of the total population were registered as having some sort of disability. The total population was 51.71 million as of last year according to Statistics Korea. Out of the number of p
Social AffairsApril 30, 2024
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Leaders of S. Korea, Angola agree to boost economic, trade cooperation
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and his Angolan counterpart, President Joao Lourenco, agreed Tuesday to enhance economic and trade cooperation during their talks in Seoul, resulting in the signing of a strategic framework tailored to promote trade and investment. Lourenco became the second Angolan president to have visited South Korea, following Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who visited here in 2001. Korea and Angola established diplomatic ties in 1992. Yoon's office said agreements signed
PoliticsApril 30, 2024
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Medical profs at top hospitals suspend surgeries, clinics
Some medical professors at the country’s three major hospitals, Seoul National University Hospital, Severance Hospital and Korea University Hospital, suspended surgeries and outpatient clinics on Tuesday for one day, as previously announced, to protest the government’s plan to expand the number of new medical students by 2,000 a year. The main hall at SNUH’s Cancer Hospital was without medical staff Tuesday, while a number of patients wandered around the ward, having just learn
Social AffairsApril 30, 2024
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Shinsegae faces showdown with investors over SSG.com's delayed IPO
Korean retail giant Shinsegae Group's e-commerce unit SSG.com faces mounting pressure from investors to recoup the 1 trillion won ($727 million) investment made between 2019 and 2022 amid its delayed market debut hit by lukewarm sales in recent years. According to industry sources on Tuesday, Shinsegae is in last-minute discussions with Affinity Equity Partners and BlueRun Ventures, the two private equity funds that are reportedly considering exercising a put option to sell back their stake
IndustryApril 30, 2024
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K-pop executives recognized on Billboard’s 2024 International Power Players List
Several executives of the K-pop companies SM Entertainment, Kakao Entertainment and Hybe have been recognized on Billboard’s 2024 International Power Players List. This annual list complied by Billboard names executives who made remarkable business achievements outside the US and contributed to the growth of the global music record industry. Joseph Chang, Co-CEO of Kakao Entertainment, Co-CEOs of SM Entertainment Jang Cheol-hyuk and Tak Young-jun, and SM Chief A&R officer Lee Sung-su m
K-popApril 30, 2024
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TXT to embark on world tour next month
K-pop boy group TXT is set to kick off its third world tour, “Act: Promise,” with a three-day concert at the KSPO Dome in Seoul May 3-5. According to Big Hit Music, TXT is expected to offer an immersive experience in its show with a set list and videos that convey a story, and special stage effects. The group will turn the main stage of the KSPO Dome into a circular stage surrounded 360 degrees by the audience. They also implemented twice as many LED screens, stage props and light ef
K-popApril 30, 2024
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Rival parties lock horns over state pension reform plan
The rival parties clashed on Tuesday over the possibility of adopting a new state pension reform plan, which pushes for an increase in contributions for a bigger future benefit. The new pension reform plan is based on a survey conducted and released by the parliamentary special committee on pension reform on April 21. The survey, which involved 500 respondents across the country aged 18 or older, showed that 56 percent preferred to pay significantly larger contributions to the National Pension S
PoliticsApril 30, 2024
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S. Korea ramps up parental education
The Ministry of Education unveiled measures Tuesday to strengthen support and education for parents, understanding that the capabilities of parents, who are in charge of educating children, should be reinforced for the healthy growth of students, according to officials. The fourth ministerial social affairs meeting introduced new comprehensive policies to offer parents more opportunities to participate in school activities, conduct active communication with teachers and learn how to be "goo
Social AffairsApril 30, 2024
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[Survive & Thrive] Like my hair? Get yours done at a Korean hair salon, if you know how
If you thought perfect hair was only possible in Korean dramas or on K-pop stages, you might be surprised to see so many Koreans on the street with voluminous, perfectly styled hair. The secret may lie in Korean hair salons, or rather, in their abundance. According to KB Financial Group's Management Research Institute, the number of hair salons in Korea, including barber shops, surpassed 110,000, as of September 2020. This translates into 21.3 salons per 10,000 people. To put this in cont
Hashtag KoreaApril 30, 2024
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Ministry launches special team to end dog meat consumption by 2027
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs on Tuesday launched a special commission dedicated to ending dog meat consumption in the country by 2027. Earlier on Jan. 22, the ministry had introduced a task force to iron out the details of implementing a government plan to end the practice, with a revision to the related law taking effect Tuesday. The task force has become an official entity under the ministry, comprising 13 members, including officials from the Ministry of Interior and S
IndustryApril 30, 2024
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SK Telecom to unveil LLM for telecom carriers in June
SK Telecom, Korea's largest wireless carrier by the number of subscribers, said Tuesday it aims to introduce a large language model specializing in telecom-related terms as early as June. The upcoming telecom-specific LLM is developed from general-purpose LLMs such as ChatGPT and Claude. SK Telecom joined hands with global Big Tech firms including OpenAI and Anthropic to develop the LLM. Telco-specific LLMs are more adjusted to the telecommunications domain and better at understanding use
TechnologyApril 30, 2024
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GS E&C secures W600b LNG terminal project
South Korean construction giant GS Engineering & Construction announced Tuesday that it has won a contract worth 600 billion won ($435 million) to build a new liquefied natural gas terminal in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province. The Northeast Asia LNG Hub Terminal Project aims to establish a large-scale energy storage facility in the southwestern city of Yeosu. Expected to take about 42 months, the project will involve the construction of two LNG storage tanks, each with a capacity of 200,000 kilo
IndustryApril 30, 2024
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Zerobaseone to kick off first world tour in September
Zerobaseone is embarking on its first overseas tour to connect with global fans. The nine-member group announced the tour news through their official social media on Monday by posting a teaser poster for "Zerobaseone The First Tour." The group will kick off the concert series on Sept. 20-22 at Seoul's Kspo Dome, followed by shows in Singapore on Sept. 28, Bangkok on Oct. 5, Manila on Oct. 12, Jakarta on Oct. 26, Macau on Nov. 2-3, Aichi from Nov. 29 to Dec. 1, and Kanagawa on Dec.
K-popApril 30, 2024