Most Popular
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[AtoZ into Korean mind] Humor in Korea: Navigating the line between what's funny and not
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[Exclusive] Korean military set to ban iPhones over 'security' concerns
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Yoon seeks rebound, taps 5-term lawmaker as chief of staff
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Medical standoff deepens as doctors reject new med school plan, talks
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Korean, Romanian leaders discuss defense tech, nuclear energy
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[Graphic News] 77% of young Koreans still financially dependent
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[Herald Interview] Why Toss invited hackers to penetrate its system
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S. Korean envoys convene to navigate strategy amid Middle East tensions
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North Korea fires several short-range ballistic missiles into sea: JCS
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Samsung, SK hynix investors dump shares on Nvidia crash
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Average monthly income of wage earners up 4.1% in 2019
The average monthly income of South Korean wage earners rose 4.1 percent in 2019 from a year earlier amid a hike in the minimum wage, data showed Wednesday. Salaried workers earned 3.09 million won ($2,800) per month on average in 2019, compared with 2.97 million won in 2018, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. Median income of wage earners amounted to 2.34 million won in 2019, up 6.3 percent from the previous year. Median income is a measure of a mid-point income that divides
Feb. 24, 2021
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BOK governor strikes back at FSC chief over online payment data
Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol on Tuesday reiterated his opposition to a revision bill that would enable the Financial Services Commission to collect online payment data, lamenting that the regulator lacks understanding of the separate but complementary roles of the two institutions. Lee was striking back at FSC chief Eun Sung-soo, who refuted the central bank’s open criticism of the bill it likened to “Big Brother” of George Orwell’s landmark dystopian novel “1984
Feb. 24, 2021
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Watchdog orders banks to compensate investors for damages from Lime misselling
South Korea’s financial watchdog on Wednesday ordered two Korean commercial banks -- Woori Bank and the Industrial Bank of Korea -- to compensate end-investors for at least half of the damages they incurred in a 1.7 trillion won ($1.5 billion) misselling scandal involving now-defunct hedge fund Lime Asset Management. The authorities held the banks accountable for “poor efforts in the exercise of their duties to protect investors” when they sold nearly 300 billion won worth of
Feb. 24, 2021
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Hyundai to replace batteries in some 82,000 Kona, other EVs over fire risks
Hyundai Motor Co. said Wednesday it will replace batteries in some 82,000 Kona EV and two other electric vehicles sold globally due to potential fire risks, which could cost about 1 trillion won ($899.7 million). Hyundai will begin the replacement of the battery management system (BMS) in 75,680 Kona EVs, 5,716 IONIQ EV and 305 Elec City buses from March 29 in the domestic market and from April in overseas markets, the company said in a statement. The battery system subject to the replacement
Feb. 24, 2021
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Regulator fines SKT, its ITPV affiliate over unfair biz practice
South Korea's antitrust regulator said Wednesday it has decided to fine top mobile carrier SK Telecom Co. and its internet protocol TV subsidiary a combined 6.4 billion won ($5.7 million) for hampering market competition. SKT unfairly supported SK Broadband Co. between 2016-2019 when its subsidiary sold the IPTV service program through the top carrier's distribution channels, according to the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC). SKT paid part of sales fees totaling about 19.9 billion won to ret
Feb. 24, 2021
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Trade terms up for 10th straight month in January
South Korea's terms of trade gained for the 10th consecutive month in January, as export prices rose at a faster pace, central bank data showed Wednesday. The nation's net terms-of-trade index for goods -- a gauge of trade terms -- increased 7 percent last month from a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). It marked the 10th straight month of an on-year rise since April last year, when the trade terms logged the first on-year hike in over two years on low oi
Feb. 24, 2021
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S. Korea expands public Wi-Fi availability
South Korea's ICT ministry said Wednesday it made over 15,000 new public Wi-Fi service zones available across the country and in buses last year, bringing the total locations with free public Wi-Fi to over 57,000. The Ministry of Science and ICT said the public can access free Wi-Fi in 28,132 public locations, such as bus stations, public facilities and parks, and also in 29,100 buses. By region, there are 2,529 public Wi-Fi locations in Seoul, with 4,358 locations in the surrounding Gyeonggi
Feb. 24, 2021
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Korea Shipbuilding bags W570b order from Europe
Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. said Wednesday that it has secured a 570 billion won ($514 million) order from a European company. Under the deal to build six 45,700-ton ConRo vessels, Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co. will deliver the ships starting in the first half of 2023, Korea Shipbuilding said. The ConRo vessel refers to a hybrid of a car carrier and a container carrier. Hyundai Mipo Dockyard has been leading the global ConRo ship market, building 19 ConRo ships, or 40 percen
Feb. 24, 2021
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Samsung starts mass-production of power-efficient SSD for data centers
Samsung Electronics Co. said Wednesday it has started mass-production of a power-efficient solid state drive (SSD) for data centers that also boasts enhanced security solutions. The South Korean tech giant said PM9A3E1.S is the industry's first data center-use SSD product based on sixth-generation V-NAND chips. It supports the standards of Open Compute Project (OCP), an organization that sets hardware and software standards in data centers. Samsung, the world's leading memory chip producer, sa
Feb. 24, 2021
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Biz sentiment improves for March on eased uncertainties: poll
South Korea's business sentiment improved for March on decreased economic uncertainty, with more companies expecting a recovery down the road, a poll showed Wednesday. The business survey index (BSI) of the country's top 600 companies by sales reached 109.2 for next month, up 19.1 points from February, the Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI) said in a statement. "The business index got a boost from expectations that the rollout of new coronavirus vaccines and recovery in global deman
Feb. 24, 2021
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Land ministry picks new sites for housing development project
The land ministry said Wednesday it has selected new sites for its housing development project aimed at increasing supplies in urban areas and curbing housing prices. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said it has selected a vast area spanning 1,271 square meters in Gwangmyeong and Siheung in Gyeonggi Province as the site for approximately 70,000 new homes. The two satellite cities are located about 12 kilometers southeast of Yeouido, a major business district in eastern Seoul.
Feb. 24, 2021
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LG Electronics to allow rivals to use its smart TV platform
LG Electronics Inc. said Wednesday its smart TV platform will be used by other TV makers this year as the company eyes boosting its software capability. LG said some 20 TV manufacturers, including RCA, Konka and Ayonz, will release TVs installed with its webOS platform. To attract more TV brands using its smart TV platform, LG said it has also signed partnerships with streaming giants like Netflix, YouTube and Amazon, as well as remote controls solution provider Universal Electronics Inc. The
Feb. 24, 2021
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Samsung tops global TV market for 15th straight year in 2020: report
Samsung Electronics Co. remained the world's leading TV vendor for the 15th straight year in 2020 on the back of its QLED and large TVs, a report showed Wednesday. The South Korean tech giant had a market share of a record 31.9 percent in terms of sales revenue last year, up from 30.9 percent a year earlier, according to data from industry researcher Omdia, extending its lead in the global TV market for the 15th consecutive year. Samsung was followed by its South Korean rival LG Electronics In
Feb. 24, 2021
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Seoul stocks open lower on inflation worries
South Korean stocks opened lower Wednesday, tracking overnight tech losses on Wall Street that stemmed from US inflation concerns. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 11.46 points, or 0.37 percent, to 3,058.63 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Samsung Electronics retreated 0.49 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix shed 0.36 percent. Top automaker Hyundai Motor moved down 0.2 percent, with internet portal operator Naver declining 1.02 percent. Leading chemica
Feb. 24, 2021
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S. Korea's exports tipped to rise 8.9% in February: poll
South Korea's exports are expected to rise 8.9 percent on-year in February to extend gains for a fourth month on robust shipments of chips and automobiles, a poll showed Wednesday. The country's outbound shipments are expected to reach $44.5 billion this month, according to the poll by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency. The survey was conducted on six local brokerage houses. Imports were estimated at $42.7 billion this month, resulting in a trade surplus of $8.1 bill
Feb. 24, 2021
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Steelmakers moving to rev up output on rising demand
South Korean steelmakers are rushing to ramp up capacity utilization in an effort to meet rising demand at home and abroad, industry sources said Wednesday. The move comes amid stabilizing international steel prices due to a drop in China's steel exports, and expectations for an increase in domestic demand for steel used in construction. According to the sources, leading steelmaker Posco has decided to postpone repair work on a cold-rolled steel plant in Gwangyang on the south coast, originall
Feb. 24, 2021
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Listed firms' dividends surge 47% in 2020
South Korean listed companies' dividend payouts soared nearly 47 percent in 2020 from a year earlier thanks to a jump in payments by top-cap Samsung Electronics Co., a corporate tracker said Wednesday. According to CEO Score, 613 firms listed on the main stock market paid out a combined 37.34 trillion won ($33.6 billion) last year, up 46.7 percent from the previous year. The businesses cover those which have so far put out their dividend payouts for fiscal 2020. The jump came as Samsung Elect
Feb. 24, 2021
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Manufacturers' business sentiment rises for 2nd month in March
South Korean manufacturers' business sentiment rose for the second straight month in March, but worries about sluggish consumption remained amid the coronavirus pandemic, central bank data showed Wednesday. The business sentiment index (BSI) for local manufacturers came to 85 for March, up from 81 for February, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The index measures manufacturers' outlook on business conditions in the following month. A reading below 100 means pessimists outnumb
Feb. 24, 2021
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Samsung Heavy, Brazilian authorities reach $149m settlement in bribery probe
Samsung Heavy Industries Co. said Tuesday that it has reached a settlement with Brazilian state prosecutors and auditors over a graft probe surrounding drillship orders by the company. The company said in a regulatory filing that it has agreed to pay 812 million reais ($149 million) in a leniency deal with Brazil’s Office of the Comptroller General, Office of the Attorney General and the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, accepting the results of an investigation into a criminal case inv
Feb. 23, 2021
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Samsung SDI to inject W1tr into Hungary battery plant
Samsung SDI said Tuesday it will inject 1 trillion won ($900 million) into its battery plant in Goed, 30 kilometers north of Budapest, Hungary. In a regulatory filing, the battery maker said its European subsidiary Samsung SDI Hungary issued rights worth 403.8 billion won. Samsung SDI will also guarantee debt worth 538.4 billion won for the subsidiary, the company said. Samsung SDI explained that the rights offering is intended to shore up funds for expansion, including the construction of t
Feb. 23, 2021