Politics-based comedy slowly makes return as March presidential election looms ahead

SK Inc., the holding firm of South Korea's No. 3 conglomerate SK Group, said Wednesday it is paying out 447.6 billion won ($373.9 million) in dividends for the fiscal 2021 in an effort to promote shareholder value. The company's board approved the year-end dividend payment of 6,500 per common stock and 6,550 won per preferred share, amounting to 368.3 billion won, SK said in a regulatory filing. SK paid the interim dividends of 1,500 won per common stock, or 79.3 billion won, in August last year

South Korea's Defense Minister Suh Wook held a meeting with Canada's top envoy in Seoul on Wednesday to discuss the regional security situations, including the Korean Peninsula, his ministry said. Talking with Ambassador Mark Fletcher, Suh noted that the two countries have maintained close ties in the defense sector through various channels, including the Asian Security Summit, also known as the Shangri-La Dialogue and the Seoul Defense Dialogue, according to the ministry. Canada hopes for the d

McDonald‘s is bringing its fan-favorite Spicy Chicken McNuggets to Korea for a limited time, the company in Seoul said last week. Seasoned with cayenne and chili pepper, the spicy version of the iconic menu item created a huge buzz in the US when released as a limited time offer in 2020. The fast food giant is hoping to further capture the Korean palate, which is characterized by a love for spice. The Spicy McNuggets are available for a limited time only from  Feb. 4 to early May. F

South Korean stocks closed higher for a second day in a row on Wednesday amid hopes of strong corporate earnings. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) advanced 22.38 points, or 0.81 percent, to close at 2,768.85 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 530 million shares worth some 10.2 trillion won ($8.5 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 757 to 125. Institutions bought a net 197 billion won and foreigners purchased 239 b

Blockchain firm focuses on metaverse, AI, new businesses this year

South Korea‘s daily COVID-19 cases nearly reached 50,000 during the 24 hours of Tuesday, due to the quickly-spreading omicron variant, the government said Wednesday. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the country reported 49,567 new COVID-19 infections on Tuesday, raising the total to 1,131,248. It is the first time that the country’s daily figure has surpassed 40,000, according to government data. The figure was around 11,000 more than the previous dail

Samsung Electronics has come under heightened pressure to offer hefty pay increases amid strike threats from its minority labor unions over stalled wage talks, according to industry sources Wednesday. As the Korean tech giant has no majority labor union, an in-house management-labor council has held wage talks since October last year. But the two sides have failed to narrow their differences until recently. Sources say the council’s employee representatives this week lodged new demands

Samsung Electronics invested more money into its chip plants and equipment in 2021 than any of its competitors including Intel and TSMC. According to the South Korean chip giant Wednesday, the company poured 43.6 trillion won ($36.4 billion) for upgrades to and the expansion of its chip plants in Korea and China where advanced DRAM chips and vertical NAND flash memory chips are produced. The funds were also used for the expansion of an advanced 5-nanometer production line at its foundry plan

Asiana Airlines said Wednesday that it has been certified by Skytrax, a leading review site for airlines, as a 5-Star Airline for the quality of its airport and onboard product and staff service. The airline has been winning the highest rating for 16 consecutive years since 2007. This year, Asiana Airlines has also been certified with the highest Skytrax 5-Star COVID-19 Airline Safety Rating that reviews airline health, hygiene, and cleanliness standards. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, t

2 million doses of Nuvaxovid expected to be rolled out by end of month

South Korea’s Hana Financial Group has nominated Vice Chairman Ham Young-joo, who led its flagship lender’s smooth operation and business rebranding after its grueling acquisition of Korea Exchange Bank seven years ago, to be the next chairman of the banking group. On Tuesday, the firm’s chairman nomination committee tapped Ham as the sole nominee for the position, citing his performance in generating profit and bolstering stability in business. Ham has also shown “extra