South Korea’s state-run banks are gearing up for major overseas business expansions this year, in line with the global economy adopting measures to return to normalcy from the pandemic. Korea Development Bank, the nation’s development financial lender that provides local firms risk capital, is likely to upgrade its current office in Frankfurt, Germany, to a branch by the end of the year. KDB Chairman Lee Dong-gull visited Germany in August last year to prepare for the office’

Main opposition presidential candidate cuts ties with Kim Chong-in, vows to start over

Jung Ji-won, a graphic designer at a fashion company, always thought it was a waste to discard countless pieces of leftover fabric every day.  Inspired by the piles of discarded cloth samples and fabric pieces, Jung came up with an idea to create a brand that makes hats from recycled fabric, such as Mipan regen that is made from reclaimed waste. “I believe that the MZ generation spend money based on their values. That’s why I thought the brand I created, Crayon Studio, could a

CJ Bioscience aims to secure 10 pipelines and 2 license-outs by 2025

South Korea’s financial institutions -- including banks, brokerages and credit card companies -- launched an all-in-one banking service Wednesday for customers to manage their financial data spread across financial firms in one place. Called “MyData,” the service was put on a trial run in December before 33 financial institutions officially started offering it this week to help customers make more informed financial decisions looking at their account balances, loans and insura

South Korean rapper-songwriter B.I showcased his song “Nineteen” on Grammy’s digital performance series “Global Spin,” featuring on the show as the first South Korean artist. Known for its music awards Grammy kicked off “Global Spin” in September to celebrate the diversity of music around the world. Each episode of the biweekly series has featured performances by aspiring artists and groups to celebrate both the creators and their home countries. Gramm

Rookie boy band Omega X welcomed the frosty season and hopped on the January music craze by dropping their second EP, “Love Me Like,” Wednesday afternoon, coming four months after their previous release. In an online press conference Wednesday, the 11-member group described the latest effort as “an album that aims to show that Omega X is a band that could have different tunes and concepts tailored to them.” The group added that their five-song package is different from

‘Parasite’ star readying himself for new types of characters by building physique

South Korea's chief financial regulator said Wednesday that he is looking into loan and interest rates set by financial institutions amid complaints that their spread is widening, deepening the financial burden on many consumers. Jeong Eun-bo, head of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), made the remarks as criticism has grown that banks and other financial firms are quicker to increase their loan rates than raise rates on deposits. The rate hikes are in line with the central bank's push t

South Korean sci-fi horror "The Silent Sea" was the most-viewed non-English TV show over a recent one-week period among those on Netflix, the global video streaming service said Wednesday. The drama topped Netflix's official weekly chart for non-English TV programs with 47.8 million hours of viewing for the week from Dec. 27-Jan. 2, far outnumbering "The Queen of Flow: Season 2" with 29.5 million hours and "Money Heist: Part 5" with 26.3 million hours. It marked a

A KTX bullet train en route to Busan from Seoul derailed in central South Korea on Wednesday, injuring some passengers, the operator said. The Korea Railroad Corp. (KORAIL) and firefighters said the derailment occurred at 12:58 p.m., when the KTX-Sancheon train was entering a tunnel in Yeongdong of North Chungcheong Province, 214 kilometers south of Seoul. One passenger car from the train went off the tracks near the Yeongdong Tunnel after being apparently hit by a steel structure that fell fr

Young voters abandon ship, increasingly disfavor main opposition candidate

‘S. Korea can join democracy coalitions or deal with China on its own’

South Korea's military on Wednesday reported 28 additional COVID-19 cases, including 25 breakthrough infections, raising the total caseload among its personnel to 3,360. Of the new cases, 14 are from the Army, nine from units under the direct control of the defense ministry, two from the Air Force, two from the Marine Corps and one from the Navy. Currently, 233 military personnel are under treatment. Of the total military caseload, 1,552 are breakthrough cases. (Yonhap)