Most Popular
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Contentious grain bill put directly to plenary meeting for vote
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Yoon's approval rating plunges to all-time low
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Will tug-of-war between doctors, government end soon?
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Climate impacts set to cut 2050 global GDP by nearly a fifth
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Trilateral talks acknowledge ‘serious’ slumps of won, yen
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[KH Explains] Hyundai's full hybrid edge to pay off amid slow transition to pure EVs
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North Korea removes streetlights along cross-border roads with South
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Russia's denial of entry of S. Korean national unrelated to bilateral ties: Seoul official
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S. Korea votes in favor of Palestinian bid for UN membership
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Farming households dip below 1m for first time in 2023
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[Newsmaker] Samsung chief’s parole to be decided
Every summer around this time, South Korea releases hundreds of prisoners either on parole or pardons, in celebration of Liberation Day on Aug. 15. This year, the traditional practice of clemency has drawn particular attention as it could include one of the richest men in the country: Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, the de-facto chief of Samsung Group. Come Monday, a parole committee within the Ministry of Justice will convene for a final review of candidates, which will det
Aug. 8, 2021
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Vaccine bookings for 18 to 49 to start Monday
Vaccinations for people aged 17 to 49 will start Monday, as South Korea struggles to clamp down a fourth wave of the coronavirus. The upcoming vaccine roll out will be crucial in the country’s plan to reach herd immunity by November, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said, as it covers over 16 million people considered the most socially active among all age groups. Eligible are those born after Jan. 1, 1972, and before Dec. 31, 2003, a group that includes some 17-year-old
Aug. 8, 2021
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Kakao aims to expand Korea’s subscription ecosystem, has eyes on Japanese webtoon market
Kakao Corp., the No. 1 mobile messenger app operator in South Korea, said Friday that it plans to expand the domestic ecosystem for subscription-based platforms while also seeking to grow its profit in the Japanese webtoon market. The plans were revealed during the firm’s earnings call for the second quarter. During the call, Kakao announced that it had achieved 42 percent on-year growth in sales for the April to June period, posting 1.35 trillion won ($1.18 billion). Its operating p
Aug. 6, 2021
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[News Focus] Samsung’s edge in memory chips threatened?
Amid the global chip race, news that Micron and SK hynix have developed the most advanced memory chips and are ready for their market debut have given rise to concern here that Samsung Electronics may be losing its leading edge in its core business. Responsible for nearly 70 percent of its revenue, memory chips are the mainstay of Samsung, which alone account for about 70 percent of all operating profits earned by the country’s top 10 sales firms. While Samsung stayed quiet on its te
Aug. 5, 2021
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6 of 10 parents willing to have children vaccinated: survey
More than 6 out of 10 South Korean parents are willing to have their children vaccinated, a local survey has found. A research team at Busan National University Hospital published the findings Thursday after it had surveyed 343 individuals across the country between May 25 and June 3. A total of 226 of those polled were parents with children under 18, while the rest were children and adolescents between the ages of 10-18. The survey was conducted when the inoculation age limit was 16, the r
Aug. 5, 2021
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S. Korea to step up support to fight ransomware attacks
South Korea's ICT ministry said Thursday it will expand support to small businesses to help them ward off ransomware threats after it raised the country's cyberthreat warning level a day earlier. Cyberattacks using ransomware, a type of malware that holds a target's data hostage by locking up systems until a ransom is paid, have been on the rise in South Korea, with 78 such attacks reported to the country's internet security agency in the first half of the year, compared with 39 in 2019 and 127
Aug. 5, 2021
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S. Korea's 5G users top 16m: data
The number of smartphone users on 5G mobile networks topped 16 million as of June, data showed Thursday, as subscriptions to the latest generation networks continued to grow despite a lack of new flagship 5G phones. The total number of 5G users reached 16.47 million in June, accounting for around 23 percent of the total 71.63 million mobile subscriptions in the country, according to the data from the Ministry of Science and ICT. The latest data marks an increase from 15.84 million in May. Sout
Aug. 5, 2021
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China turns against video games just as Korean firms see signs of thaw
Shares of South Korea’s major game developers and publishers declined on Tuesday after Chinese state media slammed games as “spiritual opium,” highlighting the close link between the two neighboring countries within the global gaming industry as well as risks linked to China’s regulatory whims. The turmoil was sparked by a state-run media outlet in China that published a negative article about gaming and called for stricter controls on “addictive” games. As
Aug. 4, 2021
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Celltrion to develop mRNA COVID-19 vaccine
South Korean pharmaceutical giant Celltrion announced Wednesday that the company will develop a messenger RNA vaccine that can protect against COVID-19 variants, under a partnership with US-based biotech firm TriLink BioTechnologies. TriLink is a San Diego-based contract development and manufacturing organization for synthesis of nucleic acids and mRNA capping analogs. “Under the partnership with TriLink, (Celltrion) will develop a mRNA vaccine platform, through which the company could
Aug. 4, 2021
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S. Korea ups cyber threat warning as attacks increase
South Korea's ICT ministry said Wednesday it raised the country's cyber threat warning level by one notch higher from the lowest level to respond to growing cyberattacks and threats related to the country's COVID-19 relief funds. The government has a five-tier cybersecurity alert system, which is set at the second-lowest level as of 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT. Under the higher alert level, the Korea Internet & Security Agency will expand monitoring o
Aug. 4, 2021
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Boryung‘s blood pressure drug Kanarb reduces risk of strokes, vascular events: report
Boryung Pharmaceutical on Tuesday disclosed clinical trial results that showed its hypertension drug Kanarb is effective in controlling the blood pressure of patients who have experienced a stroke. By keeping patients’ blood pressure under control, the drug helped reduce the risk of recurrent strokes and major vascular events, it added. The clinical study was conducted at 27 medical institutions in Korea during a 24-week period, involving 1,035 patients who previously experienced an i
Aug. 3, 2021
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Korea’s IPTV operators attempt to carve out ‘tablet TV’ niche
IPTV operators in South Korea are attempting to nurture a new segment -- “tablet TV” -- to meet growing demand for another TV screen, as more people tend to stay home due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. Streaming on-demand video via mobile phones and tablet computers is nothing new, as millions of Koreans already enjoy Netflix and other services. For IPTV operators that rely heavily on fixed-line networks, however, such a “cord-cutting” trend in which viewers dit
Aug. 3, 2021
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[Battery+] ‘Solid-state batteries are exaggerated’
The idea is so simple but powerful. By replacing inflammable liquid solution inside conventional lithium-ion batteries with solid materials, solid-state batteries would eliminate fire concerns, have a greater life span, support faster charging, offer a lighter weight and provide greater capacity. The race has already begun among rising solid-state battery startups and established lithium-ion players, including the South Korean trio LG Energy Solution, SK Innovation and Samsung SDI, to debut
Aug. 3, 2021
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Manta aims to become ‘Netflix of webcomics’
Manta, a global webcomic subscription service launched by South Korean digital content firm RIDI, is fast gaining a foothold in the North American market, the company said Tuesday. Three months after its November launch, Manta had become the most popular app in the free cartoon chart of Google’s app store in the US. After six months, it achieved the milestone of 1 million downloads, the firm said. It is now available in 175 countries. The early success of Manta comes amid the grow
Aug. 3, 2021
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Samsung’s QLED TVs receives carbon foot print certification
Two Neo QLED TVs from Samsung Electronics were carbon footprint certified by the Carbon Trust, a UK-based global climate change consultancy, the company announced Tuesday. The models -- the 75-inch Neo QLED 8K and 65-inch Neo QLED 4K -- are the first TV products with resolutions higher than 4K to receive recognition from the British organization. The Carbon Trust certificate is awarded to products that reduce carbon footprint over the product’s entire life cycle. Samsung said it
Aug. 3, 2021
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Ransomware attacks on Korean companies on the rise: KISA
The number of ransomware attacks on Korean companies, organizations and schools is on the rise and hackers are using more sophisticated techniques to exploit vulnerabilities in security systems, the country’s state-run cybersecurity body warned. Ransomware refers to malware that infects computer and mobile devices by exploiting system vulnerabilities, and threatens to destroy data unless a ransom is paid. According to the Korea Internet & Security Agency, 78 ransomware attacks on
Aug. 2, 2021
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Bill aims to force game makers to compensate for ‘unfair’ rollbacks
A revision bill has been proposed to allow game players to withdraw from their contracts with game developers and get refunds when faced with unfair practices. “If game developers and publishers decide to roll back their games to a previous version as a result of their own mistakes, they must provide proper compensations to game players,” said Rep. Yang Jung-suk, an independent lawmaker, who authored the draft of the revision bill to the Act on the Consumer Protection in Electronic
Aug. 1, 2021
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S. Korean government launches central IRB to expedite clinical trials of COVID-19 vaccines, treatments
South Korea‘s first centralized institutional review board kicked off operations Friday, amid hopes it would expedite the review of drugs and treatments used to treat serious conditions, including COVID-19. An institutional review board, or IRB, is a constituted group designated to review and monitor biomedical research involving human subjects. Many hospitals, universities and other medical institutions in South Korea have their own IRB, but there was no state-authorized central IRB. &l
July 30, 2021
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Kakao founder becomes richest person in S. Korea
Kim Beom-su, the founder of the company behind South Korea’s most popular messaging app KakaoTalk, is now the richest person in the country, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index on Friday. Kim has seen his fortune reach $13.4 billion this year, surpassing Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman and de-facto leader Lee Jae-yong, whose net worth was estimated at $12.1 billion. Kim’s assets grew by $6 billion in 2021 alone as Kakao shares soared 91 percent, boosted by the stock m
July 30, 2021
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LG at top of its game in global home appliance market
Not long ago, bulky refrigerators with the logos of Whirlpool of the United States or Miele of Germany were the symbols of well-off families in South Korea. Now, a neat collection of appliances from local brands that boast sleek designs, delicate colors and high-tech functions have become a self-esteem booster for many Koreans. Behind this shift, which is by no means driven by old-fashioned patriotism, is LG Electronics, dubbed by many locals as the king of white appliances. Proving itsel
July 30, 2021