Most Popular
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Actor Jung Woo-sung admits to being father of model Moon Ga-bi’s child
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Wealthy parents ditch Korean passports to get kids into international school
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Man convicted after binge eating to avoid military service
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First snow to fall in Seoul on Wednesday
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Final push to forge UN treaty on plastic pollution set to begin in Busan
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Korea to hold own memorial for forced labor victims, boycotting Japan’s
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Nvidia CEO signals Samsung’s imminent shipment of AI chips
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Job creation lowest on record among under-30s
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NK troops disguised as 'indigenous' people in Far East for combat against Ukraine: report
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Opposition leader awaits perjury trial ruling
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Producer prices up for 8th month in June
South Korea's producer prices gained 0.4 percent on-month in June due to a modest rise in prices of industrial goods, extending their monthly gains for the eighth straight month, central bank data showed Wednesday. The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, stood at 109.06 in June, compared with 108.65 a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The May index advanced 6.4 percent from the previous year, the BOK data showed. The prices of agricultural goo
July 21, 2021
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4 companies to recall nearly 49,000 vehicles over faulty parts
BMW, Porsche, Kia Corp. and Nissan Motor Corp. will voluntarily recall nearly 49,000 vehicles to fix faulty components, the transport ministry said Wednesday. This is the latest in a series of recalls by carmakers in South Korea and vehicle importers due to problems with vehicle components. The companies are recalling a combined 48,939 units in 15 kinds of models, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a statement. The problems include a faulty fuel hose in BMW's MINI Coo
July 21, 2021
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Samsung Electronics shares hit year's second-lowest mark
Samsung Electronics, which holds one-fifth of the South Korean stock market’s value, has been suffering continuous price declines in recent weeks, hitting the second lowest mark of the year on Tuesday. The stock price of the world’s largest chipmaker fell as low as 78,400 won ($68.30) earlier on Tuesday, before closing at 79,000 won, the second lowest level this year. Compared to 96,800 won six months ago, the price level is 18 percent lower. On hopes for an economic recovery, ma
July 20, 2021
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Kakao’s Ground X picked as preferred bidder for BOK’s digital currency project
South Korea’s central bank on Tuesday named Ground X, a blockchain subsidiary of the nation’s tech giant Kakao Corp., as the preferred bidder for the partner position on its pilot digital currency development program. The Bank of Korea in May uploaded posts on its website seeking businesses interested in a 10-month partnership deal as a technological supplier to develop its central bank digital currency. It plans to close the deal by the end of the month before kicking off the pi
July 20, 2021
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GC Pharma partners with Speragen to develop first in class drug for a rare disease
South Korean biopharmaceutical firm GC Pharma has partnered with US-based biotech firm Speragen to develop a cure for a rare disease, according to the company, Tuesday. According to GC Pharma, the two companies will develop an enzyme replacement therapy for a rare disease called succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase deficiency, which currently has no treatment. The two companies aim to start preclinical studies this year and phase 1 and 2 clinical trials during the second half of 2023. Under
July 20, 2021
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Samsung Bioepis begins late stage clinical trial of ustekinumab biosimilar
Samsung Bioepis said Tuesday that the company has started a Phase 3 clinical trial for its ustekinumab biosimilar candidate, SB17. SB17 is the the South Korean biopharmaceutical company’s 10th biosimilar pipeline. The reference ustekinumab product is Stelara, a prescription medicine developed by Johnson & Johnson’s pharmaceutical unit Janssen, used to treat patients with plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. First approved in 20
July 20, 2021
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Korean aviation, oil industries brace for impact of EU’s green jet fuel mandate
As the European Union aims to impose a new tax on aviation fuel and require all flights within its borders to use a certain amount of sustainable aviation fuels, or SAFs, major South Korean refineries are watching closely whether the initiatives will jump-start a new market for green jet fuels. According to a climate package announced by EU last week, free emitting permits for air carriers will disappear after 2026 and a tax on kerosene -- the most common jet fuel -- will be gradually introd
July 20, 2021
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Doosan Heavy to invest more in US NuScale Power
South Korea's top power plant builder Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co. said Tuesday that it has decided to invest $60 million to expand its stake in NuScale Power LLC., a US small modular reactor (SMR) maker. Doosan Heavy already invested $44 million in the unlisted SMR maker in 2019, along with other local investors, and signed a deal to provide core parts to be used for the construction of SMRs, a new type of light water reactor for nuclear power plants. Doosan Heavy, however,
July 20, 2021
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Google delays enforcing a new in-app commission policy amid growing concerns
Google has decided to postpone the application of a 15-30 percent cut on in-app purchases of digital content via its Play Store from late September this year to March next year, amid growing complaints from independent developers and content creators. The move comes as Korean legislators are pushing for a revision to the law aimed at blocking Google from enforcing such a mandatory commission policy on all in-app purchases made by local users. It is not the first time Google has changed the s
July 20, 2021
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Lotte Food aims to double canned ham exports
South Korean food company Lotte Foods is expanding the exports of its canned ham products with a goal of doubling the profit from ham exports this year, the company said Tuesday. Lotte Foods said it achieved $9.4 million from exporting a total of 1,111 tons of canned ham in 2020 -- accounting for almost half of the country’s total ham exports at 2,249 tons in the year. As of June this year, the company had exported 921 tons of its canned ham products, accounting for 51 percent of the
July 20, 2021
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Renault Samsung Motors’ Mobilize offers convenient traveling for subscribers
As the subscription economy is expanding its scope into the automotive industry, Renault Samsung Motors’ Mobilize offers easy traveling for those planning to embark on a summer break, the automaker said Tuesday. Unlike other car rental programs, Mobilize, which is Renault Samsung’s monthly car subscription service, does not charge by mileage, and comes without an early termination fee, the automaker said. Renault Samsung said Mobilize subscribers can use its major vehicle lineup
July 20, 2021
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KakaoBank looks to spur innovation via W2.55tr IPO
KakaoBank, South Korea’s leading mobile-only bank, said Tuesday that it aims to become the nation’s No. 1 retail bank leading innovation in finance through its market debut on the nation’s main board Kospi next month. “KakaoBank has proved business capacity of a mobile application as it secured 16.15 million users (as of first quarter this year) and turned into the black within 1 1/2 year (after establishing the firm in 2017),” Yun Ho-young, chief executive office
July 20, 2021
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[Advertorial] LG Chem reinvents recycling through door-to-door plastic retrieval service
LG Chem said Tuesday it will create an environmental, social and governance business model that encompasses the entire life cycle of plastic -- from its production and use to retrieval and recycling. According to South Korea’s leading chemicals firm, it has joined together with zero-waste packaging startup Innerbottle to establish an eco-friendly platform where residents can simply put empty plastic containers of beauty products inside a bag outside their doors and let a worker pick th
July 20, 2021
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Despite virus resurgence, ADB revises up Korea’s GDP growth forecast to 4%
As the South Korean economy faces the grave impact of the fourth wave of COVID-19, it is also being forecast to expand 4 percent this year due to strong exports and investments, the Asian Development Bank said Tuesday, revising up its previous projection of 3.5 percent. In an updated economic forecast, the regional lender cited “facility investment that reflected expansion in the digital economy,” as well as robust “export of information technology and transport equipment&r
July 20, 2021
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Seoul stocks down for 3rd day on virus concerns
South Korean stocks extended their losing streak to a third consecutive session Tuesday, following a US stock plunge that stemmed from concerns that the resurgence in the new coronavirus and its variants may deter economic recovery. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) retreated 11.34 points, or 0.35 percent, to close at 3,232.7 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 963 million shares worth some 15.1 trillion won ($13.1 billi
July 20, 2021
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Housing price drop likely to affect consumer spending, employment: BOK
An abrupt fall in housing prices in South Korea could deal a substantial blow to the nation’s consumer spending and the job market amid high levels of household debt, a report by the central bank showed Tuesday. Consumer spending and employment rate could both plummet 4 percent in the next two years if the median housing price falls 20 percent in the same period, according to the Bank of Korea’s calculations. The calculation adopted a high loan-to-value ratio of 75 percent and ref
July 20, 2021
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Korean Air explores satellite launches from planes
Korean Air said Tuesday it recently began a joint research project with Seoul National University, backed by the Republic of Korea Air Force, to explore the possibility of using large commercial aircraft for air launching. As part of the project, the South Korean national carrier will analyze the current technological capabilities, how to apply core technologies to the project, annual operating costs, and aircraft modification in order to develop an air-launch system with the Boeing 747-400.
July 20, 2021
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Korea goes all-out to prevent power outages
South Korea is making all-out efforts to ensure a stable supply of electricity as the nation’s power reserve is expected to plummet to its lowest level this week, amid a record-breaking heat wave and surge in electricity consumption, government officials said Tuesday. To prevent possible power shortages, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said it will resume operations of three nuclear reactors along the southeastern coast within this month. The reactors were stopped for mainten
July 20, 2021
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Korea Aerospace wins $240m trainer jet deal in Indonesia
Korea Aerospace Industries Co. (KAI), South Korea's sole aircraft manufacturer, said Tuesday it has received a $240 million trainer jet deal in Indonesia. Under the deal, KAI will supply six T-50 advanced trainer jets to the Indonesian air force from Dec. 16, 2021, to Oct. 30, 2024, the company said in a regulatory filing. In 2012, KAI achieved $400 million worth of deals to supply 16 T-50 trainer jets. As of Tuesday, KAI has exported a total of 154 trainer jets worth $3.1 billion -- 70 T-50
July 20, 2021
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SK Materials to form EV battery material JV with US-based Group 14
SK Materials Co., a semiconductor and display material subsidiary under SK Group, said Tuesday it will form a joint venture with Group 14 Technologies to tap into the lithium-ion battery material business. SK Materials said it plans to invest 60 billion won ($52 million) to hold a 75 percent stake in the joint venture with Group 14 Technologies, a US-based provider of lithium-silicon battery material designed to enhance the energy density of batteries. The joint venture will build a lithium-si
July 20, 2021