The new chairman of Hana Financial Group on Sunday pledged to help the group become Asia’s top financial company by improving its global profile, nonbanking investment and digital finance. “At this time when the financial industry is at an inflection point of blurring boundaries, an accelerating aging population and slowing growth, I will (help the company to) improve shareholders and corporate ...

PARIS (AFP) -- Scientists have discovered microplastics in human blood for the first time, warning that the ubiquitous particles could also be making their way into organs. The tiny pieces of mostly invisible plastic have already been found almost everywhere else on Earth, from the deepest oceans to the highest mountains as well as in the air, soil and food chain. A Dutch study published in the...

A takeover deal of debt-laden SsangYong Motor appears to have fallen into a quagmire again as its buyer, local electric bus manufacturer Edison Motors, failed to pay the bill. The consortium led by Edison Motors failed to pay the remaining payment of 274.3 billion won ($224.1 million) by Friday, local media reported Sunday, quoting industry sources. Without complete payment, the Edison Motors-l...

The night of March 9 marked the closet election in modern South Korean history as exit polls had predicted, defying expectations that it was a clear win for now President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol. But when results of ballot counting in the richest areas in southeastern Seoul -- Gangnam, Seocho and Songpa -- started to come in, the balance began to tip in favor of Yoon. In Gangnam and Secoho, he carri...

He believes that his motivation for business expansion lies in people. “Those working in the F&B business are normally paid less but work more. Their pay is about half the level compared to those in the US,” said Hong. “They deserve better treatment. And that’s why I want to build a company that can grow and succeed in the long term, with talented, passionate people,” he said, adding that his c...

Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn met former US Vice President Mike Pence in Seoul last week and discussed a wide range of issues centering on bilateral ties between South Korea and the US, and the growing geopolitical uncertainty over the Ukraine war. On the war in Ukraine, Kim pointed out that companies are going through a rough time due to the economic crisis caused by international confli...

The presidential transition committee is reviewing several ways for governmental reorganization, including abolishing the Gender Equality Ministry without eliminating its essential functions. Yoon has pledged to abolish the Gender Equality and Family Ministry, which is the Ministry of Women and Family in Korean. Yoon considers the ministry as obsolete, and has questioned the existence of systema...

LS Cable & System, LS Group’s cable manufacturing unit, has been solidifying its leadership in the floating solar farm market by developing custom cables and landing large-scale supply contracts, according to the company on Sunday. Earlier this month, the cable maker inked an agreement to supply power cables to Goheung Bay floating solar power plant in South Jeolla Province. The deal covers the ...

China, Russia push to ease sanctions In contrast, China and Russia unitedly and openly dismissed the US proposal to tighten economic sanctions on North Korea as an act of increasing tensions on the Korean Peninsula at the UNSC meeting. Instead, the world’s two most powerful autocracies underscored that their draft resolution to ease sanctions on North Korea is “still on the table.” The proposal...

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol will send a consultation delegation to the United States to discuss issues regarding the US-South Korea alliance and current affairs before his inauguration, Yoon’s office said on Sunday. “Yoon will send a Korea-US policy consultation delegation to hold comprehensive and practical consultations with the US administration,” Yoon’s spokesperson Kim Eun-hye said in a s...

Based on the eponymous novel by Korean American author Lee Min-jin, “Pachinko” chronicles the hopes and dreams of a Korean immigrant family across four generations. The show centers around the life of Sunja, a woman born to a poor family in Busan in the early 1900s who had to move to Japan during the Japanese colonial period. The streaming platform operator also released the first episode on its...

South Korean steelmaker Posco has been recognized for its sustainability efforts by the World Steel Association, the company said Sunday. The World Steel Association, also known as worldsteel, has picked as Posco as one of the 39 sustainability charter members which proactively embraces the sustainability principles of the steel industry, according to the South Korean steel giant. A total of 142...

GENEVA (AFP) -- Gilbert Houngbo, the former prime minister of Togo, was on Friday elected the next head of the International Labour Organization, and will become the first African to lead the UN agency. After two rounds of voting, the ILO's governing body elected the 61-year-old to succeed British trade unionist Guy Ryder, who steps down at the end of September, after 10 years in the job. "You ...

South Korea’s daily COVID-19 cases have decreased for four straight days, according to data reported by the country’s health authorities, Sunday. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the country recorded 318,130 COVID-19 infections during the 24 hours of Saturday, staying below 400,000 for the fourth consecutive day. The total caseload reached 11,815,841. The country’s ...

The share price of South Korean telecommunications firm KT hit the highest level in a year on Friday, as its shareholder meeting and a carve-out of its key business is drawing to a close next week. A KT common share, which trades on the Korea Exchange, hit the 52-week high at 35,300 won ($28.84) during the intraday trade Friday. The closing price came to 35,000 won apiece, up 1.2 percent from Th...