South Korea's market for convenient coffee beverages expanded nearly 6 percent in the first half of the year amid the coronavirus pandemic, a market tracker said Tuesday. The size of the local ready-to-drink coffee market stood at 672.9 billion won ($574 million) in the January-June period, up 5.9 percent from a year earlier, according to Nielsen Koreanclick. Canned coffee accounted for the largest portion at 258.6 billion won, followed by cup coffee with 217.5 billion won and bottled coffee w

Economy Aug. 24, 2021

The ruling party and the government on Tuesday agreed to draw up the biggest ever annual state budget of 605 trillion won ($518.7 billion) for 2022 to finance the country's efforts to tackle the COVID-19 crisis. This represents a slight increase from this year's budget of 604.7 trillion won, including the regular budget of 558 trillion won and two rounds of COVID-19 response extra budget, they said. "The party and the government shared their commitment to allotting sufficient resources ne

Politics Aug. 24, 2021

Samsung Electronics Co. expanded its dominance in the global DRAM market in the second quarter of the year, a report showed Tuesday, thanks to bullish demand and chip price hikes. The South Korean tech giant registered a 43.6 percent share of the global DRAM flash market in terms of revenue in the April-June period, up 1.6 percentage points from a quarter earlier, according to market tracker TrendForce. Samsung's revenue came to $10.51 billion in the second quarter, up 30.2 percent from a qua

Industry Aug. 24, 2021

Citibank Korea Inc. has again postponed a decision on the exit plan for its retail banking unit amid differences over sale terms, industry sources said Tuesday. Citibank Korea, the South Korean unit of Citigroup Inc., had originally planned to hold a board meeting on Aug. 26 to determine how to sell the retail banking division. But the lender has decided not to put its exit plan on the meeting's agenda, putting off its decision until September, according to the sources. It marks the second p

Market Aug. 24, 2021

K-pop sensation BTS' mega-hit "Butter" placed eighth on this week's Billboard main singles chart, staying in the top 10 for 13 consecutive weeks. The summery song dropped one notch to No. 8 on the Hot 100 chart after earlier spending nine weeks at No. 1, Billboard said on its website Monday (US time). In the Digital Song Sales category, "Butter" led for a 12th week, with 55,000 downloads, it said. "Butter" had sat atop the main singles chart for nine nonconsecuti

K-pop Aug. 24, 2021

South Korea's consumer sentiment dipped in August over a spike in COVID-19 infections, marking the second consecutive monthly decline, central bank data showed Tuesday. The composite consumer sentiment index (CCSI) came in at 102.5 for August, down 0.7 point from the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). A reading above 100 means optimists outnumber pessimists. The latest reading marks the second monthly decline since June, when the index stood at 110.3. The

Economy Aug. 24, 2021

Typhoon Omais weakened into an extratropical cyclone Tuesday morning, after making landfall around midnight Monday, flooding roads and houses, and forcing more than 10,000 people to evacuate in southern South Korean cities that lay in its path. Typhoon warnings issued the previous day were all lifted, but the weather service forecast heavy rains of up to 200 millimeters with strong winds, as well as occasional lightning and thunder, to continue throughout the day in the coastal areas and southe

Social Affairs Aug. 24, 2021

South Korea's corporate direct financing fell 3 percent on month in July due to a decline in sales of bonds, data showed Tuesday. Local companies raised a combined 21 trillion won ($17.9 billion) by selling stocks and bonds in July, down 657.6 billion won from a month ago, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Corporate stock sales soared 73.3 percent to 4.05 trillion won, with the value of initial public offerings jumping to 3.08 trillion won. Local businesses

Economy Aug. 24, 2021

Typhoon Omais reached close to South Korea's southern resort island of Jeju on Monday, bringing heavy rains and strong winds, the weather agency said. The typhoon, packing a maximum wind speed of 25.3 meters per second, arrived near Seogwipo city of Jeju at around 7:40 p.m., and was travelling northeastward, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). It is forecast to be downgraded to an extratropical cyclone after midnight, but continue to bring heavy downpours and strong w

Social Affairs Aug. 23, 2021

A dance party was held at one of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK)'s bases in South Korea last week where participants allegedly drank alcohol and danced without wearing masks while ignoring social distancing rules amid the pandemic, sources said Monday. The party took place at a club inside Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, some 70 kilometers south of Seoul, on Saturday, according to the sources. Images obtained by Yonhap News Agency show dozens of individuals dancing side by side without wearing face

Defense Aug. 23, 2021

South Korea will have 170 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines available next year for the country's population of 52 million, a top Cheong Wa Dae official said Monday. President Moon Jae-in's Chief of Staff You Young-min made the comment apparently aimed at easing public concerns about the supply of vaccines during a National Assembly session. The total volume of vaccines that South Korea will be able to use in 2022 will reach 170 million doses, more than treble the nation's population, he said

Social Affairs Aug. 23, 2021

Unionized sailors and other sea-based workers of South Korea's largest shipper HMM Co. have voted in favor of staging their first-ever strike after wage negotiations with the company reached a deadlock, industry sources said Monday. Around 92 percent of the seafarers who have participated in the vote supported the proposed walkout, and they plan to hand in letters of resignation to the management Wednesday, according to the sources. The union added it is still open to reach a last-minute agree

Industry Aug. 23, 2021

A parliamentary committee on Monday approved a contentious bill that requires the installation of surveillance cameras in hospital rooms despite strong opposition from medical groups. The Health and Welfare Committee gave its nod to the bill to revise the Medical Service Act in a plenary session. The bill, if finally passed at the National Assembly's general meeting, would mandate the installation and operation of closed-circuit TV cameras in hospital operation rooms. The passage came nine mo

Politics Aug. 23, 2021

South Korean stocks steeply rebounded Monday, rising nearly 1 percent, helped by robust economic data and easing concerns about the US Fed's tapering timeline. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) advanced 29.7 points, or 0.97 percent, to close at 3,090.21 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 564 million shares worth some 13.2 trillion won ($11.2 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 788 to 94. Foreigners sold a net 31 bi

Market Aug. 23, 2021

South Korean biopharmaceutical firm Samsung Bioepis Co. said Monday it has won approval from European authorities for the sale of its ophthalmology biosimilar, Byooviz. The European Commission granted the marketing authorization on ranibizumab biosimilar, previously known as SB11, which references Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis' blockbuster medication Lucentis. It is the first biosimilar referencing Lucentis to be commercialized in the European Union. The Novartis product registered $1.93

Industry Aug. 23, 2021