Most Popular
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Can Jennie break the K-pop solo artist slump?
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Yoon, Marcos agree to upgrade military, infrastructure, nuclear ties
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'Culinary Class Wars' producers deny trying to spice up results
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Ex-president's daughter investigated for drunk driving accident
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[Exclusive] Korea’s defense acquisition agency fails to meet legal standard for women representation
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Seoulites celebrate coexistence at Wellness Seoul 2024
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First lady’s Dior bag scandal to be at center of Assembly audit
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Yoon honors veterans of Korean War in trip to Philippines
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20 minors registered as CEOs making over 100 million won
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Netflix, streaming platforms come under fire for loose ratings
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[Green Paradox] Three things holding back Korea’s solar takeoff
As part of President Moon Jae-in’s Green New Deal initiative, South Korea is rolling out solar farms more than ever before. Last year, the country installed 53,454 new solar farms worth 4.1 gigawatts, a record annual increase, according to the Korea Energy Agency. The record is set to be broken, as another 4.4 GW are planned this year. Despite the country’s bold ambitions, experts say Korea lacks grid infrastructure, clear rules and proper incentives to support the staggering q
Feb. 4, 2021
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SK Materials, Hyosung Chemical’s NF3 gas ‘selling like hotcakes’
SK Materials and Hyosung Chemical’s NF3 gas is enjoying an unprecedented boost in sales as demand for semiconductors and displays have spiked amid the pandemic. NF3, short for nitrogen trifluoride, is a special type of gas used during the manufacturing process of semiconductor, display and solar panels. The gas removes residue left on inner walls of the manufacturing chamber. “Thanks to the recovery of global chip and display industries, NF3 is currently selling like hotcakes,&rd
Feb. 4, 2021
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While auto sector thrives, gap widens between companies
South Korea’s automotive industry was one of the few sectors to weather the COVID-19 pandemic with few ill effects, managing to expand in 2020 with prospects for further strides amid market changes in 2021. Not only did the pandemic encourage consumers to rely on personal cars for transportation, but the fast growth of electric vehicles and autonomous driving technology gave momentum to the industry at a time it was desperately needed. But on a closer view, the rich-get-richer dilemma
Feb. 4, 2021
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IK HealMade’s FFP2 masks ready for global market
Korean mask company IK HealMade on Thursday said that it is more than ready for the full-fledged global exports of its FFP2-certified and US FDA-approved masks. The company’s remark is targeted for Europe, as in January the southeastern German state of Bavaria made it compulsory for people to wear FFP2 masks in shops and on public transport. The FFP2 certification signifies the mask has passed some 20 tests and demonstrated successful filtration of more than 94 percent of aerosol conten
Feb. 4, 2021
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Hyosung’s Cho Hyun-sang promoted to vice chairman
South Korean industrial conglomerate Hyosung Group, strong in its textile and chemical businesses, has named Cho Hyun-sang its new vice-chairman, the company said on Thursday. The move comes nearly four years after Cho was appointed president in 2016. In an announcement of his new role, the company explained the appointment is to strengthen responsible management and proactively respond to the “changing business environment as a result of the prolonged coronavirus pandemic and the fourth
Feb. 4, 2021
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S. Korea to spend more for future cars under New Deal scheme
South Korea's industry ministry said Thursday it plans to raise 200 billion won ($179 million) this year to nurture eco-friendly automobiles and other state-of-the-art technologies, in line with the country's New Deal drive announced last year. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said it has clinched a memorandum of understanding with a slew of industrial and financial partners, including Hyundai Motor Group. Of the fund, the government plans to chip in 50 billion won, followed by Hyund
Feb. 4, 2021
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KT&G Q4 net nearly triples on increased exports
KT&G Corp., South Korea's dominant tobacco company, said Thursday its fourth-quarter net profit nearly tripled as exports increased despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Net profit for the three months ended December jumped to 307.71 billion won ($276 million) from 116.83 billion won a year earlier helped by robust overseas sales of tobacco products, the company said in a statement. "The seven-year supply contract signed with a Middle Eastern company early last year and increased exports to
Feb. 4, 2021
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Samsung's Q4 smartphone sales rise in US: report
Samsung Electronics Co.'s smartphone sales in the United States rose in the fourth quarter of 2020 on the back of its budget flagship model, a report showed Thursday, despite overall market decline. Samsung and Apple Inc. were the only smartphone makers to post sales growth in the United States in the last three months of 2020, according to market researcher Counterpoint Research. The South Korean tech giant saw 5 percent on-year growth in its US smartphone sales in the fourth quarter, while A
Feb. 4, 2021
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Top court upholds guilty convictions of Samsung executives in union-busting case
The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the guilty convictions of dozens of former and current Samsung executives accused of sabotaging labor union activities at a subsidiary company in 2013. The court confirmed a 16-month prison sentence for Kang Kyung-hoon, a vice president at Samsung Electronics Co., on charges of violating labor union laws. It also confirmed the acquittal of Lee Sang-hoon, former chairman of Samsung Electronics' board of directors, citing the illegal means by which evidence w
Feb. 4, 2021
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Samsung Heavy wins W230b order from Oceania
Samsung Heavy Industries Co. said Thursday that it has won a 230 billion-won ($206 million) order from an Oceanian company. Under the deal, two 13,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) container carriers will be delivered from the first half of 2023, the company said. Samsung Heavy has bagged orders of five ships -- one liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier and four container carriers -- worth a combined $600 million so far this year. The amount of the orders accounted for 8 percent of its orde
Feb. 4, 2021
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GM Korea to cut production from next week
GM Korea Co., the South Korean unit of General Motors Co., said Thursday it will cut vehicle production by half at one of its three plants from next week due to a lack of semiconductor chips. GM Korea's planned output reduction is in line with US parent GM's decision to cut production at its local and overseas plants. GM Korea said it will take down production at the No. 2 Bupyeong plant, just west of Seoul, to half capacity from Monday. "We are working closely with our supply base to fi
Feb. 4, 2021
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European sales of Samsung Bioepis' 3 biosimilars up 7.8% in 2020
South Korean drugmaker Samsung Bioepis Co. said Thursday sales of its three biosimilar products in Europe climbed nearly 8 percent in 2020 from a year earlier. Combined sales of the three autoimmune biosimilars -- Benepali, Flixabi and Imraldi -- stood at $795.8 million last year, up 7.8 percent from a year earlier, the company said. The company cited an earnings report of its US partner Biogen. Samsung Bioepis is a joint venture between Samsung Biologics -- a biopharmaceutical unit of South K
Feb. 4, 2021
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Coupang offers pre-order promotion on Xiaomi ‘Mi Watch’ series
Coupang said Wednesday it has launched an exclusive pre-order promotion event for its customers ahead of the launch of Xiaomi’s smart watches “Mi Watch” and “Mi Watch Lite” in South Korea. According to the e-commerce giant, the promotion is intended for consumers interested in health and exercise, as the hashtag #WOD, short for “workout of the day,” has been trending lately amid the pandemic. The event will give Coupang customers the chance to get
Feb. 3, 2021
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South Korea approves special import of Pfizer vaccine
South Korea on Wednesday gave special approval to Pfizer’s COVID-19 mRNA vaccine Comirnaty, specifically for the batch to be imported through the global COVAX facility. As per this decision, a total of 117,000 doses of Comirnaty will arrive in Korea after mid-February, the country’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said. As the vaccine needs to be administered twice, the COVAX batch can cover around 60,000 people. Authorities have made clear that the initial batch of vaccines are
Feb. 3, 2021
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Kumho Tire, union tentatively OK wage deal
Kumho Tire Co. and its labor union said Wednesday they have reached a tentative wage deal for the year of 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The tentative wage agreement comes after the company's 2,700-strong union threatened to stage a general strike to demand a wage increase and restore the bonus system in a vote held Jan. 28. The company proposed a wage freeze and a cash bonus worth 1 million won ($900) per worker and signed a contract that guarantees job security for current workers. The uni
Feb. 3, 2021
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Watchdog approves Apple’s correction scheme for ‘unfair market practices’
Apple’s yearslong antitrust dispute in South Korea seemed to settle as the nation’s watchdog accepted the US tech giant’s redeeming plan to spend some 100 billion won ($89.73 million) in supporting consumers and small-sized businesses. The Fair Trade Commission said Wednesday that it has approved the financial package suggested by the local unit of Apple Inc. to wrap up its alleged unfair market practices in the past. “This is the first time that a correction scheme
Feb. 3, 2021
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Panel prices to stay high after explosion at S. Korean plant: report
An explosion accident at a glass substrate plant in South Korea is likely to exacerbate the tight supply of display panels and maintain their prices at a high level, market watchers said Wednesday, burdening TV makers' procurement efforts. The explosion occurred last Friday when workers were replacing old pipes connected to a furnace at AGC Fine Techno Korea Co.'s glass substrate manufacturing plant in Gumi, some 250 kilometers south of Seoul. The accident injured nine workers, according to the
Feb. 3, 2021
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Amorepacific 2020 net profit down 90.2% to W21.9b
Amorepacific Corp. on Wednesday reported its 2020 net profit of 21.9 billion won ($19.6 million), down 90.2 percent from a year earlier. The company said in a regulatory filing that operating profit for the year fell 66.6 percent on-year to 143 billion won. Annual revenue decreased 20.6 percent to 4.43 trillion won. (Yonhap)
Feb. 3, 2021
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Amorepacific remains in red in Q4
South Korea's top cosmetics maker Amorepacific Corp. said Wednesday its fourth-quarter net loss increased 1.7 percent year-on-year largely due to the impact from the coronavirus pandemic. The company's net loss came to 58.9 billion won ($52.8 million) in the October-December period, compared to 57.9 billion won a year ago, the company said in a regulatory filing. Operating loss stood at 9.2 billion won, marking a steep decline from 45.9 billion won the previous year.
Feb. 3, 2021
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'Safety first' policy a challenge for Samsung SDI's battle in EV battery market?
From Apple to General Motors, global tech giants and automakers are in a tight race to develop or utilize electric vehicles to catch up with market champion Tesla. Against this backdrop, the size of the global EV battery market is set to reach 182 trillion won ($167.5 billion) in 2025 from last year’s 38.8 trillion won. For Samsung SDI, the battery manufacturing affiliate of Samsung Group, its EV battery business road map is anticipated to take flight in the upcoming years, save for a
Feb. 3, 2021