Most Popular
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1 in 3 Koreans live alone, family types becoming diverse
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Korea, Japan finance chiefs vow to tame rampant FX market volatility
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K-pop group's manager dismissed for setting up spycam in theater dressing room
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K-pop singer lost consciousness after being hit by foul ball, cancels show
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Contentious grain bill put directly to plenary meeting for vote
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Korean Muslim YouTuber's plan to build mosque in Incheon goes viral
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Why is Apple Pay struggling to get purchase in Korea?
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Yoon's office denies considering liberal figures for key posts
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Seoul says Fu Bao loan 'not going to happen'
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[Today’s K-pop] BTS pop-up event to come to Seoul
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S. Korea and NASA begin development of space telescope
The Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute will begin a space project to develop a space telescope with the US space agency NASA and the California Institute of Technology, the ICT Ministry here announced Wednesday. The space project, titled the Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explore, or SPHEREx, is a two-year mission designed to launch a space telescope that would collect data that could help understand the history of the universe, the
Jan. 6, 2021
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Game and artificial intelligence, unusual guests to local pop music scene
Artificial intelligence technology restores the voices of deceased musicians to sing contemporary songs. A game company airs a song competition show for the soundtrack of its title game. The local music scene continues to evolve, with the convergence of media, technology and industries. South Korean game company Nexon adopted a TV competition show format to best fit Dungeon and Fighter, an arcade-style action game. The five-episode series, available on YouTube channel Dingo Music, has garn
Jan. 6, 2021
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Korean Air extends mileage expiration dates amid pandemic
Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea's biggest carrier, said Wednesday it will extend the expiration dates of mileage that expired at the end of 2020 and mileage that expires at the end of 2021 to 2022 amid the coronavirus pandemic. In June, Korean Air already extended mileage points due to expire at the end of 2020 by one year to 2021 as travel demand dried up due to the pandemic. With the additional mileage extension, Korean Air plans to kick off its revamped SKYPASS mileage program in April 20
Jan. 6, 2021
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‘Repurposing’ of MMR vaccine floated as COVID-19 preventive
It may not be just an age-related lack of immunity that explains the higher death rates among senior citizens in the novel coronavirus pandemic. Some scholars are paying attention to the inverse correlation between the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine coverage and COVID-19 fatality in their search for a possible deterrent against COVID-19 infection. Among them is Professor Kook Hoon of Chonnam National University Hospital’s pediatrics department. He says MMR vaccines could help mit
Jan. 6, 2021
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Korean Air clears hurdle for Asiana takeover
Shareholders of Korean Air Lines Co. agreed to change its corporate mandate to clear a hurdle for its takeover of Asiana Airlines, the airline said on Wednesday. In a meeting at its headquarters in Seoul, nearly 70 percent of stockholders who were present voted to pass an amendment of an article, drastically lifting the cap on total outstanding stocks from 250 million to 700 million. With the amendment, the company can push ahead with its plan to issue 173.6 million new shares to raise capita
Jan. 6, 2021
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FSC to ease regulations on financial firms to spur growth
South Korea’s top financial regulator has vowed to eliminate regulatory hurdles and outdated rules that hinder local financial companies from rolling out innovative services. “The year 2021 is a crucial time for the country as we need to overcome the economic fallout from COVID-19 and carry out future strategies for taking a lead in the post-COVID era,” Financial Services Commission Vice Chairman Doh Kyu-sang said during an online meeting on the future outlook and competitiv
Jan. 6, 2021
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Samsung heir visits R&D center to better prepare for post-pandemic era
Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, the de facto leader of South Korea's top conglomerate, Samsung Group, on Wednesday visited the company's research and development (R&D) hub to check its future technologies for the post-pandemic era. Lee discussed Samsung's long-term strategy with senior executives at Samsung Research and was briefed on the company's latest projects on next-generation telecommunication technologies, server and artificial intelligence (AI) solutions, according
Jan. 6, 2021
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S. Korea, NASA start building space telescope
South Korea's science ministry said Wednesday it has started manufacturing a space telescope in a joint project with the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The Ministry of Science and ICT said NASA has approved the preliminary design for the Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx), paving the way for its construction. The space telescope was first planned and
Jan. 6, 2021
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S. Korea to provide most of pandemic emergency handouts by Lunar New Year's holiday
South Korea plans to provide a huge chunk of its emergency handouts to smaller merchants hit hard by the new coronavirus outbreak by the Lunar New Year's holiday in early February, the finance minister said Wednesday. The country plans to provide 9.3 trillion won ($8.6 billion) in relief funds to small businesses stung by state-imposed shutdowns over virus cases and the self-employed reeling from the economic fallout of the pandemic. "The government will start to provide the emergency han
Jan. 6, 2021
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S. Korea, Pakistan seek to broaden ties in economy, energy
South Korea and Pakistan agreed Wednesday to expand their bilateral economic ties in on-going energy projects in the South Asian nation. The two nations held the third round of the Korea-Pakistan Joint Trade Committee virtually, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. During the meeting, Seoul requested that Islamabad consider using South Korean consortiums in the planned construction of two hydroelectric power plants with a capacity of 470 megawatts (MW) and 215 MW, respectiv
Jan. 6, 2021
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Key shareholders unload additional stake in Doosan Fuel Cell
Nine shareholders of Doosan Fuel Cell Co. sold their combined 8.13 percent stake in the fuel cell maker via a block deal, the company said Wednesday. "The stake sale was a part of Doosan Group's self-rescue plan," a company official said by phone. The shareholders were reported to have raised around 274.5 billion won ($252.7 million) via the block deal. The shareholders include Park Jeong-won, chairman of cash-squeezed Doosan Group. After the sale, the combined stake in Doosan Fuel
Jan. 6, 2021
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Imported car sales rise 4.5% in Dec. despite pandemic
Sales of imported vehicles in South Korea rose 4.5 percent last December from a year earlier due to strong demand for German cars, an industry association said Wednesday. The number of newly registered foreign vehicles climbed to 31,419 units last month from 30,072 a year earlier despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA) said in a statement. For the whole of 2020, foreign carmakers sold 274,859 autos, up 12 percent from 244,780 in the
Jan. 6, 2021
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Kospi touches 3,000 points with retail investors’ buying binge
South Korean retail investors, who have been on a buying spree in recent months, brought benchmark indexes to fresh highs during intraday trading Wednesday. The Kospi touched 3,000 points for the first time in the market’s 38-year history in the early morning session, stretching to as high as 3,027.16 points. But the Kospi pulled back to close at 2,968.21 points, down 22.36 points, or 0.8 percent, shy of the previous session‘s close. The Kospi had maintained a record run for six c
Jan. 6, 2021
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GC Pharma completes phase 2 trial of COVID-19 plasma therapy treatment
South Korean biotech company GC Pharma said Wednesday it has completed phase two clinical trials of its plasma therapy treatment for the novel coronavirus. The plasma therapy, known as GC5131A, is a type of hyperimmune globulin drug that uses blood plasma taken from people who have fully recovered from COVID-19. GC Pharma wrapped up the phase two clinical study on Dec. 31 and plans to file for a conditional approval to the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety during the first quarter of thi
Jan. 6, 2021
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More than 200 million people used Samsung's fitness app in 2020
Samsung Electronics Co. said Wednesday its fitness tracking app was used by more than 200 million people around the globe in 2020 as the South Korean tech giant tries to further expand usability of its health platform. Samsung Health, which was first launched in 2012, offers various health-related features from virtual exercises to tacking of sleep patterns, heart rate and blood pressure. "In the past year alone, Samsung Health users burned around 3 billion calories and took around 78 tri
Jan. 6, 2021
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SK Innovation to issue 'green bond' worth $1b for US battery plant
SK Innovation Co., a South Korean refinery-to-battery company, plans to issue a green bond worth 1.09 trillion won ($1 billion) to expand its electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturing capacity in the United States, officials said Wednesday. SK battery America Inc., the Korean firm's US subsidiary, will issue the green bond, a type of financing for eco-friendly projects, later this month to build its second EV battery plant in Georgia, a company spokesperson said. The new fund will be an exte
Jan. 6, 2021
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Hyundai, Kia suffer 7.3% drop in US vehicle sales in 2020
Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp. said Wednesday their US vehicle sales fell 7.3 percent in 2020 from a year earlier amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Hyundai and Kia, South Korea's two biggest carmakers, sold a combined 1,208,374 vehicles in the world's most important automobile market last year, down from 1,304,109 units the previous year, the companies said in separate statements. Hyundai's US sales fell 9.7 percent to 622,269 units last year from 688,771 a year ago, while
Jan. 6, 2021
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Exports of kimchi hit all-time high through Oct. amid pandemic
South Korea's exports of kimchi reached an all-time high in the first 10 months of 2020, data showed Wednesday, on the back of growing global demand for healthier foodstuffs amid the new coronavirus pandemic. Outbound shipments of kimchi over the January-October period of last year came to $119 million, rising 36.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Korea International Trade Association (KITA). The export volume also set a fresh high of 32,000 tons during the ci
Jan. 6, 2021
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S. Korea's FX reserves up for 9th straight month in December
South Korea's foreign reserves rose for the ninth straight month in December last year, supported by an increase in investment returns, central bank data showed Wednesday. The nation's foreign reserves came to a record high of $443.1 billion as of end-December, up $6.72 billion from a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). Foreign reserves consist of securities and deposits denominated in overseas currencies, International Monetary Fund reserve positions, special drawing rights a
Jan. 6, 2021
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NPS to oppose Korean Air’s capital increase scheme
South Korea’s public pension fund the National Pension Service said Tuesday it would vote against Korean Air’s plan to issue new common shares, which is deemed pivotal to the planned takeover of debt-ridden rival Asiana Airlines. NPS, which was holding a 6.96 percent stake in Korean Air as of September, said in a statement the flag carrier’s move to issue new shares is detrimental to its shareholder value. The red flags range from Korean Air‘s hasty decision to acquire
Jan. 5, 2021