Most Popular
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Seoul Fireworks Festival ends smoothly, but leaves piles of trash
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[AtoZ into Korean mind] The price of numbers: How rankings shape lives in Korea
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Yoon set for talks with Marcos in Philippines
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Can Jennie break the K-pop solo artist slump?
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Baseball star Hwang Jae-gyun, T-ara's Jiyeon file for divorce mediation
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[Exclusive] Korea’s defense acquisition agency fails to meet legal standard for women representation
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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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2 US B-1B bombers conducted joint drill with S. Korean Air Force on Oct. 1 Armed Force Day
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[KH Explains] Can G-Star level up?
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[Herald Interview] ‘COVID-19 to affect humans’ short-term evolution’ Macrogen CEO
A human life is not only determined by the genomic structure, but also by what types of viruses and microbiomes the body interacts with. CEO Yang Gap-seok of Macrogen, a company that has recently been touted as an essential cogwheel in the research to understand the novel coronavirus, says that what COVID-19 is doing will affect our short-term evolution. The company Yang represents has been leading the research for the virus specific to Korea. Macrogen was the first to identify nine muta
March 26, 2020
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Korean refiners cut export price as storage supplies max out
South Korean refiners are exporting more petrochemical products at lower prices as their storage facilities have reached their limit due to a sharp fall in domestic demand, industry sources said Thursday. According to the state-run Korea Natural Oil Corp.’s oil information provider Petronet, the domestic consumption of petroleum goods in February sank to 72.12 million barrels -- the lowest figure since 70.82 million barrels of April 2016 -- while outbound shipments in February rose 8.28
March 26, 2020
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Korea’s supply chain vulnerable to coronavirus crisis
The novel coronavirus pandemic has exposed the vulnerability of South Korean industries that are deeply integrated with the global supply chain. Korea’s global value chain participation rate was 55 percent and ranked sixth among 18 developed economies of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries as of 2017, according to a recent report of the Korea International Trade Association. The nation’s active role in global production, in turn, has revealed frag
March 26, 2020
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GM Korea, union reach provisional agreement on wage talks
GM Korea Co. and its labor union said Wednesday that they have reached a provisional agreement on their long-drawn wage talks. The understanding on wages and collective bargaining for the 2019 calendar year, comes after nine months of negotiations, with unionists giving up their demands for an increase in basic wages and special bonuses, the South Korea unit of US auto giant GM said. The carmaker said that while it could not afford to increase wages for its employees, it will give so-called i
March 25, 2020
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Discount promotions to support farmers as virus delays school openings
The COVID-19 outbreak is dealing a blow to farms and fisheries, particularly straining their supply plans for school feeding. In efforts to support the agro-fishery industry, the country’s major retailers stepped up to embark on various promotions to clear out stock on Wednesday. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs on Monday, the recent government decision to postpone the opening of schools for two more weeks until April 6 would lead to damages to about 40
March 25, 2020
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[Monitor] Local e-remittance market grows rapidly
The average amount of money transferred through local e-remittance services within a day during 2019 has increased by 124.4 percent to reach 235 billion won from a year earlier, according to Bank of Korea data Wednesday. The average amount of money transferred through e-remittance services in 2019 was 104.6 billion won, up by 76.7 percent from 35.5 billion won in 2018. The average daily uses of e-remittance services in Korea has marked 76.7 percent increase from a year earlier to mark 25 mi
March 25, 2020
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Korean plants, shops around world close on coronavirus spread
Many industrial facilities and retail shops run by South Korean businesses across the globe are suspending operations as governments are ordering weekslong lockdowns amid the growing coronavirus spread, according to industry sources Wednesday. Korea’s biggest steel provider Posco has decided to close its processing centers in Italy, Malaysia and the Philippines following government directives. Posco-ITPC, a stainless steel processing center located near Verona, northeastern Italy -- w
March 25, 2020
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Yongsan Garrison apartment complex to open to public in April
An apartment complex located inside the Yongsan Garrison -- US Forces Korea headquarters before its relocation to Pyeongtaek -- will be temporarily open to public from April 28, the Land Ministry said Wednesday. It is the first time the public will have access in 116 years. In 1904, the Japanese military established its headquarters in Yongsan, central Seoul, after the Russo-Japanese War. In 1957, USFK moved in after the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. Since 2017, the US military has be
March 25, 2020
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Korean oil refiners forced to keep plants rolling despite pandemic losses
South Korean oil refiners are facing heavy losses due to the coronavirus pandemic, but are unable to shut down their plants without causing further problems. According to a domestic oil refinery unit SK Innovation, the company is unable to close its facilities despite a mounting operating loss as oil must keep flowing through the pipes. “Car manufacturers can simply halt their assembly lines and resume operation again, but that’s not the case for refineries. When oil heated up in
March 25, 2020
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Posco donates W5b, actively participates in virus relief efforts
South Korea’s largest steelmaker Posco is actively participating in relief efforts for regions affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, the company said Wednesday. Posco, which has its main headquarters and a number of factories in one of the hard-hit region of North Gyeongsang Province, has donated 5 billion won ($4.06 million) for support on Feb. 27, about a month after it delivered relief goods worth 1 billion won to China. According to the company, Posco group delivered 4 billion won, wh
March 25, 2020
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Posco signs with clients to use Innovilt brand
South Korea’s largest steelmaker Posco said Wednesday it has signed agreements with 17 local companies for certification of 23 products of its premium construction steel materials brand Innovilt. Construction steel materials are generally used in buildings, houses, roads and bridges, but are not exposed outside, making it difficult to identify which steel products were used. In November last year, Posco launched the integrated steel bran Innovilt which allows consumers to easily recogn
March 25, 2020
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[Monitor] Korea’s employment quality deteriorates
South Korea’s employment quality has deteriorated compared to advanced countries since the 2008 global financial crisis, with the number of part-time workers increasing 49 percent. The Korea Economic Research Institute -- a think tank of Federation of Korean Industries -- analyzed the employment trend of workers working less than 30 hours per week in seven major countries by using statistics from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Most workers are categorized as
March 25, 2020
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Hanwha chief’s eldest son appointed Hanwha Solutions’ board director
Hanwha Solutions pledged a shift to an eco-friendly business and named Vice President Kim Dong-kwan as executive director of the company’s board. The decisions were made at the firm’s general shareholders meeting at a hotel in Jung-gu, central Seoul, Tuesday. Kim Dong-kwan, the eldest son of Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn, entered the group in 2010. Having been promoted to vice president of Hanwha Solutions last year, Kim this year has taken the reins of Hanwha Group&rsquo
March 24, 2020
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Asiana Airlines to extend unpaid leave of absence
With the coronavirus spread clipping the wings of the South Korean aviation industry, Asiana Airlines has decided to take stringent measures to further tighten its belt. The air carrier has extended the unpaid leave of absence for all employees to 15 days at the least from April, compared to 10 days this month. This would leave it operating with half of the workforce for the time being. Executives will also have their wages slashed by 60 percent, an additional 10 percent cut. “We wil
March 24, 2020
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[Contribution] In confronting COVID-19, US and Korea are stronger together
A crisis always reveals a nation’s true character and strength. In the case of their response to the emergency caused by COVID-19, the people and government of the South Korea won praise from around the world for their collective resilience and collaboration. As the first country outside of China to face a major outbreak of COVID-19, Korea’s response was rapid, smart and effective. Through innovative drive-thru testing, rapid diagnosis and transparent information sharing, Korea h
March 24, 2020
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LSIS changes name to LS Electric
LS Industrial Systems said Tuesday it will change its name to LS Electric and accelerate the expansion of its global business. The South Korean electric power and automation equipment provider has retained the name LSIS since 2005 after previously being known as LG Industrial Systems. The firm separated from LG Group in 2003. LS Electric said the change reflected the company’s strong commitment to strengthening its global business and customer-centered management. “(The name) I
March 24, 2020
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Korean firms buy back shares amid coronavirus crisis
With South Korea’s stock market staring at a prolonged bearish phase amid the coronavirus spread, major conglomerates have begun to buy back their own shares to reassure fleeing investors. Over the past two months, Korean stocks have crumbled and major firms have lost their market value by a third. To assure investors, major listed firms have decided to either buy or cancel their treasury stocks. The nation’s largest steelmaker Posco said Tuesday Chairman Choi Jung-woo and 51 ex
March 24, 2020
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German business community donates over W1b for coronavirus relief
The Korean-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry said Tuesday that donations amounting to 1.06 billion won ($84,300) have been made by 14 German companies and eight individual members to support those affected by the COVID-19 outbreak here. According to KGCCI, the proceeds have been donated directly or via the Korea Red Cross, Hope Bridge Korea Disaster and Community Chest of Korea to provide hospitals, disaster response facilities as well as self-isolated people and vulnerable low-income f
March 24, 2020
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Casinos forgotten from government support despite annual tithe
Casinos have been left out from the government’s coronavirus relief loans despite their hefty contributions of 10 percent of sales every year. To support coronavirus-hit tourism and show business, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on Wednesday last week had allocated 100 billion won ($79 million) for special loans from its Tourism Promotion Fund. Despite the casino industry being a majority donor for the funds and also suffering significantly from the virus spread, the loans
March 23, 2020
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‘Experience from MERS made Korea’s COVID-19 test kits possible’
The outbreak and containment of the novel coronavirus in South Korea have drawn international attention to the country’s ready use of real-time polymerase chain reaction test kits. Korea has allowed for the emergency use of new RT-PCR kits, with which the nation is conducting around 10,000 tests daily at some 90 collaborating research labs, according to the Korean Society of Laboratory Medicine. In the month or so between Feb. 7 and March 10, over 350,000 tests were analyzed at private i
March 23, 2020