Most Popular
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Korean labor force to shrink by 10 million by 2044: report
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[AtoZ Korean Mind] Does your job define who you are? Should it?
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Allegations surrounding BTS resurface, enraged fans demand apology
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Students with history of violence will be barred from becoming teachers
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Probe of first lady on Dior bag allegations set to begin
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'Super Rich in Korea' will leave viewers appreciating Korea more: producers
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Top prosecutor pledges 'speedy, strict' probe into first lady's luxury bag allegations
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Medical feud leaves hospitals in financial crisis
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'Queen of Tears' riding high on Netflix chart
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Chip up cycle won’t stay long: SK chief
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Seoul shares to trade higher on eased Mideast tension
South Korean stocks are expected to trade higher next week on eased concerns over a conflict between the United States and Iran, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 2,206.39 points on Friday, up 1.37 percent from a week earlier.Earlier this week, Seoul shares lost ground sharply after Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite Quds Force, was killed in a US drone strike, which led to a hike in global oil prices. Although South Korean shares rebounded
Jan. 11, 2020
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Investors accuse Lime, Shinhan, Woori of fraud after hedge fund debacle
Three individual investors have filed criminal complaints against representatives of Lime Asset Management, Shinhan Investment and Woori Bank, accusing them of fraud and capital market law violations in the sale of private equity funds, the investors’ legal representatives said Friday.Local law firm Hannuri said it had filed complaints with the Southern District Prosecutor’s Office against six officials from the three companies on behalf of the three investors.Lime Asset is accused o
Jan. 10, 2020
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Samsung Electronics again hits record high amid rosy outlook
Shares in Samsung Electronics again climbed to a record high Friday on an outlook for an earlier-than-anticipated recovery in global demand and prices for chips, while foreign investors continued to net purchase local stocks for a sixth consecutive session.Samsung, the world's No. 1 memory chipmaker, surged 1.54 percent to close at 59,500 won ($51.23), one day after spiking3.17 percent to reach the highest level since its listing in 1975. The broader KOSPI advanced 0.91 percent to close at
Jan. 10, 2020
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Foreigners turn net buyers of Korean stocks, but continue to dump bonds in Dec.
Foreign investors snapped a four-month selling streak to net purchase South Korean stocks in December but continued to reduce their investment in local bonds for a third month, central bank data showed Friday.Foreigners net bought $660 million worth of local stocks in the month, marking a sharp turnaround from a net selling of $2.44 billion the month before, according to the data from the Bank of Korea.Foreign investors had net sold local stocks for four consecutive months since August, dumping
Jan. 10, 2020
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Samsung Electronics shares hit all-time high on recovery hopes
Samsung Electronics shares hit a record high Thursday on expectations of a faster-than-expected recovery in global chip demand and prices. The world's largest chipmaker closed at 58,600 won ($50.53), up 3.17 percent from the previous session's close.The adjusted stock price is the tech giant's highest since it was listed on the Seoul bourse in 1975. The previous record was 57,220 won on Nov. 1, 2017. Samsung Electronics' preferred stocks jumped 3.64 percent to a yearly high of 48,400 won.
Jan. 9, 2020
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KOMSCO holds over 800 IP assets as of 2019
The state-run Korea Minting and Security Printing & ID Card Operating Corp. added 69 new intellectual property assets in 2019, bringing its total to 830, officials said Thursday. The affiliated technology research institute applied for 77 IP registrations, including 32 patents, 17 design rights, 16 computer programs, and nine trademarks in 2019. Of them, 69 were approved by the Korean Intellectual Property Office.The accumulated IP assets of KOMSCO as of end-December were up 9.1 percent from
Jan. 9, 2020
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Shinhan Financial kicks off tailor-made fund with KKR
Shinhan Financial Group said Thursday it has created a tailor-made fund worth $200 million with global private equity fund operator Kohlberg Kravis Roberts.The move reflected Shinhan’s efforts to grow beyond the local market and promote its global alternative investment capacity down the road.It also came in line with a memorandum of understanding on global alternative investment partnership that the two counterparts had signed in September 2018. The latest fund, tailor-made exclusively fo
Jan. 9, 2020
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KDB, K-Growth to earmark W400b fund for supply chain autonomy
South Korea‘s state-owned lender Korea Development Bank and state-led fund-of-funds management company Korea Growth Investment (K-Growth) are looking for partners to earmark a combined 400 billion won ($344.9 million) to support materials and components sectors here and ensure national self-sufficiency in manufacturing supply chains.With the state backing 220 billion won, the funds are intended to foster the growth of Korean firms dedicated to materials components and equipment and ultimat
Jan. 9, 2020
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Kakao hits yearly high on Q4 earnings hope
Shares of Kakao Corp., the operator of South Korea's largest messaging app, Kakao Talk, climbed to a yearly high on the Seoul bourse Thursday, helped by a rosy quarterly earnings outlook. Kakao stocks closed at 164,000 won ($141.56), up 2.82 percent from the previous session's close.The tech firm's stock rally came amid high hopes for the firm's earnings last year. NH Investment & Securities estimated Kakao's quarterly sales to grow 26.4 percent to 85.1 billion won in the October-December pe
Jan. 9, 2020
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[News Analysis] Can Delivery Hero-Woowa deal reshape Korea’s food delivery market?
For decades, free door-to-door food delivery service has been a common option for all kinds of South Korean restaurants.Not just pizzas, fried chicken and Chinese food, but also soups and meat dishes are just a phone call away – for delivery to homes, offices and even parks and other public spaces. The advent of digitalization, however, has led to the rise of online on-demand food delivery service platforms. Homegrown mobile apps, including Baedal Minjok, Yogiyo, Baedaltong, as well as exp
Jan. 8, 2020
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Stock market adds just 1 company to ‘W1tr club’ last year
The South Korean stock market saw only one listed firm join its 1 trillion won ($849 million) market capitalization club last year, reflecting the overall sluggish performance, according to the Korea Exchange on Wednesday.The local stock market operator said in its report that there were 194 listed companies in the exclusive club at the end of last year, just one more than the previous year.Seoul’s benchmark Kospi welcomed three new big caps, for a total of 168. The tech-laden secondary Ko
Jan. 8, 2020
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SK hynix hits all-time high on improved market outlook
Shares in SK hynix Inc., the world's second-largest DRAM maker, traded at an all-time high on Wednesday on expectations that the chipmaking sector is set to improve this year after bottoming out in the fourth quarter of last year.SK hynix finished at 97,400 won ($83.18) on Wednesday, up 3.62 percent from the previous session's close, bucking a 1.11 percent dip in the benchmark KOSPI. The shares touched a record high of 99,500 won at 11:15 a.m., the highest-ever quotation. Investors bet that the
Jan. 8, 2020
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Lime Asset’s fund fiasco weighs on local banks
More than one-third of local fund operator Lime Asset Management’s now-frozen private equity fund was sold via Korean commercial banks last year, the financial watchdog said Tuesday, further igniting trust issues involving lenders already facing criticism for misselling risky financial products. As of late July, domestic banks, including Woori Bank, Shinhan Bank and KEB Hana Bank, had sold a combined 2 trillion won ($1.72 billion) of the fund on behalf of Lime Asset, according to an ongoin
Jan. 7, 2020
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Trademark for ‘Pengsoo’ still available to EBS
The Korean Intellectual Property Office on Tuesday released a statement to dispel the latest concerns that the trademark for “Pengsoo,” a YouTube celebrity penguin character, may be acquired by an irrelevant third party.“An increasing number of third parties have been submitting trademark applications (ahead of the original content creators), seeking to make profits,” the IP office said.“Following news reports related to the Pengsoo trademark issue, we felt the need
Jan. 7, 2020
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Moon’s shareholder engagement push to empower pension funds
South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday called for the swift revision of laws to allow institutional investors to ramp up shareholder engagement in the domestic market. This, he stressed, would prevent abuses of power in the business world. In his New Year’s speech, Moon urged the government to amend the Capital Markets Act and the Commercial Act, saying the proposed changes were critical to ensure fairness in the domestic market.“Fairness is the backbone of innovation and incl
Jan. 7, 2020
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Korean stock market hit by US-Iran conflict
The Korean stock market was impacted by the intensifying geopolitical tensions between the US and Iran, with negative repercussions expected to continue, according to analysts Monday.Seoul’s benchmark bourse Kospi opened sharply low -- down 21.49 points, or 0.99 percent, from the previous session. The weak start continued through the day and it closed at 2,155.07. The tech-heavy Kosdaq also slipped 14.62 points, or 2.18 percent, to 655.31.Most large caps in the local market were in negativ
Jan. 6, 2020
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How to allure Parisians? Marketing startup Ppanam has an answer
France, a beauty and fashion powerhouse, has been a hard nut to crack for many Korean cosmetics companies. Although local South Korean brands have spent a huge amount on marketing since the 1980s to gain traction there, they have seen little success. Making matters worse, social media has rapidly transformed marketing trends, meaning traditional marketing through TV commercials and offline stores are not as effective as before.Korean influencer marketing startup Ppanam’s CEO Ham Dong-hyuk
Jan. 6, 2020
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[News Focus] ESG drive of Korean banks in spotlight
Bringing both financial sustainability and transparency have been the focus of South Korean banks amid growing calls around the world for good corporate governance practices and increased predictability in the market.Companies here -- both financial and nonfinancial -- floated an almost combined $13 billion worth of environmental, social and corporate governance-linked bonds in 2019 alone, nearly double from the previous year’s corresponding figure of $7 billion, according to data provided
Jan. 6, 2020
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Korea's FX reserves hit record high in Dec.
South Korea's foreign exchange reserves climbed to a record high in December on the back of the weakening of the US greenback, which pushed up the dollar value of other foreign currencies held by the country, central bank data showed Monday.The country's foreign exchange reserves came to $408.82 billion as of the end of last month, up $1.36 billion from a month earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea.The amount marks the world's ninth largest.The increase "mainly stems from an
Jan. 6, 2020
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[News Focus] Who’s going to be fintech star in 2020?
An inflow of new players is likely to intensify the heated digitalization race in South Korea’s financial industry this year, along with the industry-wide efforts to expand the scope of business and accelerate innovation. Taking a bold step in a heavily regulated country in terms of customer information protection and security, traditional banks and financial institutions late last year started what is called an open banking service.Offering new business opportunities to small-sized financ
Jan. 5, 2020