New engine for national growth lies in provinces, governor says

LAS VEGAS/SEOUL -- Samsung Electronics vice chairman and CEO Han Jong-hee told reporters on Wednesday that the doors for collaboration with panel supplier LG Display is “wide open” for its launch of organic light-emitting diode television sets. At a press conference in Las Vegas, when asked about the rumored partnership with its archrival in TV industry ahead of the world’s largest tech show CES 2022, Han said, “I cannot say because there is nothing confirmed regarding

Park Byeong-seug hopes for constitutional amendment, supports end-of-war declaration

Both men struggle with negative public images, but there is little chance of changing nominees now

South Korea is ready to take measures to stabilize the foreign exchange market, if needed, a senior government official said Thursday, as the Korean currency has sharply weakened against the US dollar in recent weeks. First Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-weon said the government plans to closely monitor the forex market amid the prospects for the won's further descent as the US Federal Reserve would raise its policy rate at a faster-than-expected pace. "The government plans to step up effo

Heads of the nation’s financial policymaker and watchdog held their first meeting of the year on Thursday and vowed to cooperate on adopting stronger preemptive measures to counter lingering pandemic risks. Financial Services Commission Chairman Koh Seung-beom and Financial Supervisory Service Gov. Jeong Eun-bo agreed to make risks tied to the nation’s household debt growth, accumulating debt of the self-employed and small business owners and the non-banking sector their top priori

South Korean stocks retreated for the second straight session Thursday, largely as the US Federal Reserve minutes stoked concerns that the Fed may push harsher-than-expected rate hikes. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) decreased 33.44 points, or 1.13 percent, to close at 2,920.53 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 774 million shares worth some 13.1 trillion won ($10.9 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 665 to

Starbucks Korea, the nation’s No. 1 specialty coffee chain, said Wednesday it is considering bumping up the price for a cup of Americano in almost eight years due to the price surge in coffee beans imported from overseas. “Even when other franchise coffee shops have increased their coffee prices, we have fixed our price rate. It was bearable back then, but since COVID-19, the price of coffee beans and other materials such as syrups have begun to soar just too much,” an offici

Police are stepping up an investigation into South Korea's single largest embezzlement case that has engulfed a local medical equipment producer, officers said Thursday, following the arrest of a suspect the previous day. A 45-year-old employee of Osstem Implant Co., identified only by his surname Lee, was arrested at his residence in Paju, 30 kilometers north of Seoul, on Wednesday on charges of embezzling 188 billion won ($157 million) from the dental implant maker. The arrest came just five

More than 16,000 people joined a year-end bell-ringing festival hosted by the Seoul city government in the metaverse, the digital arm of the city said Thursday. The Seoul Digital Foundation said an accumulated 16,067 people joined the metaverse festival marking the new year during its eight-day run from Dec. 25. The metaverse event included a midnight bell-ringing ceremony on New Year's Eve, to which some 3,000 people connected simultaneously, according to the foundation. The popular year-end

Coway introduced its latest home appliances at the Consumer Electronics Show 2022 in Las Vegas on Wednesday, highlighting its smart solution-embedded products such as mattresses, water purifiers, air purifiers and bidets. Under theme of “We innovate for your better life,” Coway showcased the adjustable Smart Care Air Mattress which has been applied with its patented technology.  According to the company, its mattress can detect the user’s body pressure and sleeping posit

In a last-ditch effort to regain eligibility for the Beijing Winter Games, South Korean Olympic short track speed skating champion Shim Suk-hee has filed for a court injunction against a ban by the sport's national federation, a source said Thursday. The source, privy to the legal proceedings, said Shim asked the Seoul Eastern District Court on Monday to nullify a two-month suspension by the Korea Skating Union (KSU), which was issued on Dec. 21 last year. The court plans to hold a hearing for

Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, which has topped the global shipbuilding industry for the past 50 years, will embark a new mission to become a “future builder,” the company’s CEO said at the Consumer Electronics Show 2022 on Wednesday. “Starting from the sea, HHI Group’s technological innovation will change the lives of people in the future,” said Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings CEO Chung Ki-sun during the group’s debut press conference at CES. Speci

South Korean shipbuilders received the largest orders in eight years in 2021, and the country ranked the world's No. 1 in terms of the construction of high value-added vessels, the industry ministry said Thursday. Local shipbuilders won new orders totaling 17.44 million compensated gross tons (CGTs) last year, more than doubling from the previous year's 8.23 million CGTs, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. It is the largest since 2013 when the figure