Samsung SDS Co. on Wednesday reported its third-quarter net profit of 199.4 billion won ($170.8 million), up 23.9 percent from a year earlier. The company said in a regulatory filing that it posted 222 billion won in operating profit for the quarter, compared with 219.8 billion won a year ago. Sales rose 13.9 percent to 3.38 trillion won. The operating profit was 3.8 percent lower than the average estimate, according to the survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agenc

The United States and South Korea are aligned on the need to engage with North Korea diplomatically, but may differ when it comes to when and what steps should be taken to bring the recalcitrant North back to the dialogue table, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Tuesday. His remarks come amid a South Korean push for a declaration of the end of the Korean War that it insists can be a catalyst to restart dialogue with North Korea. "We may have somewhat different perspectives o

South Korea's corporate direct financing edged up in September from the previous month due to a surge in bond sales, data showed Wednesday. Local companies raised a combined 19.6 trillion won ($16.8 billion) by selling stocks and bonds in September, up 1.4 percent from a month ago, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Corporate bond sales swelled 18.2 percent on-month to 17.6 trillion won in September. In contrast, local firms' stock sales tumbled 54.5 percent

South Korea's consumer sentiment rose to the highest level in four months in October as an accelerated pace of COVID-19 vaccination raised hope for a return to normal life, central bank data showed Wednesday. The composite consumer sentiment index (CCSI) came in at 106.8 in October, up 3 points from the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea. The reading is the highest since the index rose to 110.3 in June. A reading above 100 means optimists outnumber pessimists. The g

At the end of October, an intergovernmental working group will meet again to push for an international treaty governing multinational companies’ responsibility for upholding human rights. The working group, created in 2014 by the UN Human Rights Council, holds annual sessions that are attended faithfully by a large cohort of human rights advocates, environmentalists and members of social development organizations. But, while many countries, mostly from the Global South plus China, send rep

In March 2022, South Korea will hold its next presidential election. All Koreans are anxiously awaiting the important day when they will have a new leader. Indeed, there is a compelling reason why the Korean people are eager to have an extraordinarily competent leader as their new president. South Korea is now facing an unprecedented series of economic, diplomatic and national security crises on the heels of the ongoing pandemic, intensifying US-China conflicts and the resumption of North Kore