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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2 US B-1B bombers conducted joint drill with S. Korean Air Force on Oct. 1 Armed Force Day
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Firefighters’ 3,000 won meals spark nutrition concerns
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Yoon honors veterans of Korean War in trip to Philippines
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Legendary Lotte founder passes away, leaving behind bitter sons
Lotte Group founder and Honorary Chairman Shin Kyuk-ho passed away Sunday at age 97, leaving as his legacy a self-made business empire, although his later years were marred by a family feud.He was the last of the first-generation founders of the major conglomerates -- the other four being Samsung, Hyundai, LG and SK. Shin was a self-made entrepreneur who started Lotte as a maker of chewing gum and grew the business into the nation’s fifth-largest conglomerate, operating in the food,
Jan. 19, 2020
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[Monitor] Eco-friendly cars on rise in Korea
Amid growing interest in environmental issues in Korea, the number of eco-friendly cars registered here exceeded 600,000 vehicles for the first time, data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport showed. The number of eco-friendly vehicles, including electric cars, hydrogen cars and hybrids, stood at 601,048 units as of the end of December last year. The share of the total number of registered vehicles increased from 2.0 percent in 2018 to 2.5 percent last year.The cumulativ
Jan. 19, 2020
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JP Morgan 2020 closes, with deals hanging in air
SAN FRANCISCO -- The 38th JP Morgan Healthcare Conference 2020 came to a close Thursday, with small and big deals still covered under wraps.Being the biggest annual gathering of pharmaceuticals companies presenting each of their pipelines’ research progress, JP Morgan conference in San Francisco has often concluded in mega deals that drew eyes. In 2015, Korea’s Hanmi Pharmaceutical was invited to the conference, where it presented its major pipelines and ended up licensing out to big
Jan. 19, 2020
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SK Biopharmaceuticals CEO promises new drug every other year
SAN FRANCISCO -- Korean central nervous system drug developer SK Biopharmaceuticals’ CEO Cho Jeong-woo vowed to acquire a novel drug approval every two years, speaking to reporters during the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference 2020 in San Francisco on Wednesday. SK Biopharmaceuticals has so far received two approvals from US Food and Drug Administration; one for sleep disorder treatment Sunosi (solriamfetol), licensed out to Jazz Pharmaceutical and the other for partial onset epilepsy tr
Jan. 19, 2020
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Majority of big listed firms have no women on boards
Eight out of 10 listed Korean companies with assets of more than 2 trillion won ($1.7 billion) were found to have no women on their boards of directors, showing that the invisible barrier to top management is still strong, data showed Sunday.Local corporate tracker Chaebol.com found that 114 of the 143 listed companies with total assets of more than 2 trillion won had no female directors based on the lists of executives submitted at general shareholders meetings last year. Hyundai Motor, SK
Jan. 19, 2020
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S. Korea to spend big on next-generation chip sector
South Korea said Sunday that it will invest 1 trillion won ($863 million) in the next 10 years to nurture the next-generation semiconductor sector.According to the science ministry, cutting edge artificial intelligent (AI) and system-on-chip (SoC) technology, low energy consumption, high performance new devices and ultrafine fabrication processing will help the country to overcome its heavy dependence on memory semiconductors. South Korea has already spent some 1 trillion won in the past five ye
Jan. 19, 2020
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Hyundai, Kia tipped to have logged improved earnings in 2019
South Korea's top two automakers -- Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. -- are expected to deliver improved earnings results for 2019, aided by brisk sales of sport utility vehicles and the weak local currency, industry data showed on Sunday.According to earnings forecasts by brokerages compiled by Yonhap Infomax, Hyundai Motor is believed to have logged a net profit of 3.4 trillion won ($2.93 billion) on an operating income of 3.5 trillion won, which marks a 105 percent and a 46 percent rise
Jan. 19, 2020
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Court to check on Samsung’s fulfillment of compliance rules before sentencing Lee
The Seoul High Court said it will take into account the effectiveness of a new internal compliance committee at Samsung Electronics in its ruling on Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong’s jail term, during the fourth hearing of Lee’s retrial on Friday. The court said it will designate third-party experts to check on the implementation of compliance rules at Samsung, and only successful results will be considered in its decision on the length of imprisonment for Lee in the bribery case inv
Jan. 17, 2020
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Samsung de facto leader Lee Jae-yong attends fourth hearing of retrial
Samsung Electronics’ de facto leader Lee Jae-yong on Friday appeared at the Seoul High Court with his lawyers to attend the fourth hearing of the retrial on Lee’s bribery scandal involving former President Park Geun-hye. Lee remained silent on questions asked by reporters on the scene. At the entrance to the Seoul High Court, a group of people from local labor unions demonstrated in support of more jail time for Lee. For this hearing, Samsung tried to bring CJ Group Chairman Sohn Kyu
Jan. 17, 2020
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Hyundai Kona EV reaches highest altitude to set Guinness record
Hyundai Motor Co.'s Kona Electric vehicle has set a Guinness world record for the highest altitude achieved in an electric car, the company said Sunday. The Kona Electric built in Hyundai Motor's Indian plant reached the Saula Himal peak that is 5,731 meters high, beating the previous record height of 5,715 meters set by the ES8 sport utility vehicle of Chinese electric carmaker Nio in September 2018, Hyundai said in a statement.The Kona Electric, which can travel up to 452 kilometers on a singl
Jan. 17, 2020
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Incheon airport partners with Indonesian firms to win local deal
The operator of South Korea's main gateway said Friday it has partnered with Indonesia's two state-owned companies to win a local airport expansion project. The Incheon International Airport Corp. signed a "consortium agreement" with Indonesia's airport operator PT Angkasa Pura 1 and public builder PT Wijaya Karya to obtain the deal to expand the Batam Hang Nadim Airport, IIAC said in a statement. Batam Indonesia Free Zone Authority began the bidding process in May last year and a
Jan. 17, 2020
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KT to form alliance with 5 telcoms on 5G mobile edge computing
KT Corp., one of South Korea's major mobile carriers, said Friday it will form an alliance with five global telecommunication firms to develop 5G mobile edge computing solutions.KT said it will create the 5G Future Forum with America Movil of Mexico, Rogers Wireless of Canada, Telstra of Australia, Verizon Wireless of the United States and Vodafone of Britain.The alliance will focus on developing global specifications and standards for 5G MEC interoperability, according to KT.MEC is a key techn
Jan. 17, 2020
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[Monitor] Asset ranks of conglomerates change in decade
The ranking of fair assets held by large conglomerates in South Korea has changed over the past decade, with only seven out of 59 surveyed firms having maintained the same rank, data from corporate tracker CEOScore showed.CEOScore surveyed assets and capital of firms with assets of at least 5 trillion won ($4.3 billion) -- defined as large conglomerates by the Fair Trade Commission. Among the top six groups, Samsung, Hyundai and SK saw their assets rise rapidly by at least 100 trillion won from
Jan. 16, 2020
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Celltrion chairman floats possibility of company consolidation
SAN FRANCISCO – South Korean biopharmaceutical firm Celltrion is likely to be consolidated with two of its subsidiaries -- Celltrion Healthcare and Celltrion Pharm -- by as early as 2021, if the shareholders approve, a top executive said WednesdaySpeaking at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference 2020 in San Francisco, Chairman Seo Jung-jin also did not rule out the consolidation of two other subsidiaries -- Celltrion Skincure and Celltrion Entertainment. Although Seo has announced his retire
Jan. 16, 2020
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Samsung Biologics to open first US entity by April
SAN FRANCISCO -- Samsung Biologics said Wednesday it will open a contract development (CDO) laboratory in San Francisco Bay Area by April, signaling its first expansion outside South Korea. Speaking on the company’s aggressive global expansion plans, Vice President John Rim, who accompanied CEO Kim Tae-han at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference 2020 in San Francisco, said that the CDO lab in the US will place Samsung Biologics closer to potential partners with promising molecules. “T
Jan. 16, 2020
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[From the Scene] Neuroscience takes center stage at JP Morgan 2020
SAN FRANCISCO -- The key takeaways from the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference 2020 held in San Francisco this week have been the increased attention to neuroscience and cell and gene therapies among global pharmaceutical companies.Neuroscience was a recurring theme in participating firms’ research. Big pharmas Biogen, Roche, Eli Lilly, Takeda and others put forth their pipelines for Alzheimer’s disease, Huntington’s disease and Parkinson’s disease for investors to take a lo
Jan. 16, 2020
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[Weekender] Korea’s obsession with tallness
“I’m a 12-year-old girl and 158 centimeters tall. All my best friends are at least 160 centimeters in height. My goal is to eventually reach 180 centimeters. Please advise how I can grow taller.” The anonymous writer of the post on web portal Naver speaks for many others -- children and parents alike -- in their quest to stand above others, literally.The average height of Koreans was 170 centimeters for men and 157 centimeters for women in 2017, according to the national statis
Jan. 16, 2020
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SK E&C to produce solid oxide fuel cells in Korea with Bloom Energy
SK Engineering & Construction said Thursday that it had formed a joint venture with Bloom Energy, a US-based energy firm, to produce solid oxide fuel cells from this year, a first in South Korea. According to SK E&C, it inked a joint venture agreement with Bloom Energy in September last year, cementing their plans to distribute the fuel cells and build factories in Korea. A manufacturing facility is under construction in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, and the companies will start
Jan. 16, 2020
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Samsung Biologics readies for potential Alzheimer’s deals
SAN FRANCISCO -- Kim Tae-han, the CEO of Samsung Biologics, said Wednesday that he expects to take on contract manufacturing deals for Alzheimer’s disease treatments, and that the company will be ready when the opportunity arises. Kim, speaking to investors at JP Morgan Healthcare Conference 2020 in San Francisco, said Biogen’s Alzheimer’s pipeline aducanumab has proven its efficacy through data. The only hurdle to US Food and Drug Administration approval, Kim said, was the com
Jan. 16, 2020
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[Photo News] Top Korean biopharma rivals boast friendship
Celltrion Chairman Seo Jung-jin (left) and Samsung Biologics CEO Kim Tae-han were locked in a warm embrace in front of reporters at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference 2020 on Wednesday at Westin St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco. Seo and Kim, the heads of Korea’s leading biopharmaceuticals firms, said that despite the aura of competition that is often portrayed, they are actually close friends. Their relationship dates back to the early days when both of them were working at Samsung Elec
Jan. 16, 2020