The combined net profit of listed South Korean companies rose 165.8 percent in the first nine months of this year from a year earlier, the bourse operator said Wednesday. The combined net profit of 586 out of 670 firms listed on the main Kospi bourse came to 128 trillion won ($108 billion) in the January-September period, up from 48.19 trillion won during the same period of last year, according to the data compiled by the Korea Exchange (KRX). The bourse operator excluded 84 out of 670 compani

Soprano Sumi Jo has been inducted into the Asian Hall of Fame, her agency SMI Entertainment announced Wednesday.　 Founded in 2004 in Seattle by the Robert Chin Foundation, the Asian Hall of Fame works to recognize Asian excellence, cultural unity and racial equity by honoring Asian contributions in national and international narratives. Jo, a celebrated soprano, is the first Korean national to be inducted to the Asian Hall of Fame. She is also the first opera and classical music artist to be i

Korea’s top cosmetics maker Amorepacific has won the top prize at this year’s Mecenat Awards, in recognition of its contribution to the arts. The Korea Mecenat Association held an awards ceremony Wednesday at the Westin Josun in central Seoul to honor local businesses and individuals who have supported the art scene. This year’s Mecenat Award was given to Amorepacific, in recognition of the Sulwha Cultural Exhibition managed by its luxury skincare brand Sulwhasoo for the p

Tenor John Noh, who appeared on cable channel JTBC’s audition show “Phantom Singer 3,” has received multi-platinum certification from the local recording industry. More than 20,000 physical copies of Noh’s latest album, “The Classic Album: NSQG,” have sold since its release in September under Warner Music Korea. According to Noh’s agency, Credia, the local recording industry gives multi-platinum certification to albums that sell more than 20,000 physic

Kospi targets range from 2,750 to 3,500, with brokerages citing inflation, election as swing factors

The Korean Consumer Agency on Wednesday issued a scam warning over websites and emails with a “top-sale-korea.com” URL. The institution has received a total of 66 consumer complaints regarding the address as of Oct. 20, it said. In 65 percent of the cases, the sites arbitrary canceled orders without giving a refund. The rest concerned vendors going out of contact after delivery of defective or faulty products. Customers were lured into the websites via social media advertise

Private fund house MBK Partners said Wednesday it had reached a final close for its second flagship fund at $1.8 billion to invest under a “special situations” strategy. The East Asia-focused opportunistic fund, named MBK Partners SSF II, is estimated to be the largest special situations fund managed by an Asia-based investment firm since 2019, according to market intelligence service firm Preqin. Special situations refer to an investment strategy in which a fund manager bets on a

South Korean insurer Kyobo Life Insurance plans to go public on the Korea Exchange by 2022, a process stalled due to a shareholder feud over the past few years, the company said Wednesday. The initial public offering will lay the groundwork for the company to turn into a financial group with a holding company structure to offer a wider range of financial services other than insurance, setting aside its yearslong battle against minority shareholders, according to the company. The life insurer,

App store operators will face a fine of up to two percent for forcing developers to use their own in-app payment systems, the country's telecommunications regulator said Wednesday. Under the enforcement decree of the revised law aimed at curbing Google Inc. and other app store operators' dominance, such app store operators will have to pay one percent of their revenue for delays in reviewing apps, according to the Korea Communications Commission (KCC). In August, South Korea made amendments to

Conservative presidential candidate says he is open to summit with NK leader, but “not for show”

South Korean companies increased their third-quarter investment by 7 percent from last year, mostly led by those in the IT and electronics sector, market data showed Wednesday.  According to an analysis by CEO Score, 336 of the country’s top 500 corporations which released their Q3 performance reports executed investments totaling 124.4 trillion won ($105 billion) from July to September.  Such figure is 8.4 trillion won higher than a year ago. By business category, IT and elec

South Korea will shorten the wait for COVID-19 booster shots as the daily count of new cases rose above 3,000 and breakthrough infections continued to send people to hospitals. 　Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum told a government meeting on Wednesday that the six-month wait for a booster will now be cut to four months for people who are older than 60 and residents of long-term care facilities. People aged 50 and up will be eligible for booster doses five months after their primary vaccine series.

Samyang Foods said Wednesday it had inked a partnership deal with United Arab Emirates retailer Sarya General Trading to accelerate Spicy Buldak Ramen sales in the Middle East. Under the 2.5 billion-won ($2.1 million) deal signed on Tuesday, Sarya will be Samyang’s exclusive distribution partner in the country. The two plan to increase export volume to 50 billion won by 2023, it said. UAE is the region’s biggest market for Samyang. Currently, some 71 percent of Korean instant no