South Korean pharmaceutical giant Celltrion Inc. said Thursday its new biosimilar of the arthritis drug Humira has won approval from Canadian authorities. Yuflyma, an adalimumab biosimilar with a high concentration, is used to treat patients with rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and inflammatory diseases. Yuflyma requires only half the solution administered to patients compared with the existing...

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, who doubles as head of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, suggested redefining private-public partnerships in his New Year’s message released Thursday, calling for a more mutually beneficial mechanism that helps spur innovations across industries. Chey urged businesses to first change their mindsets, saying that gone are the days where making profits, cre...

Presidential nominee Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea voiced his opinion against joining the US-led diplomatic boycott of the upcoming Beijing Olympics, saying South Korea should prioritize its own interests in its unique diplomatic circumstances. In a press event Thursday hosted by the Korea News Editors’ Association, Lee said South Korea should consider itself as a country...

Shinsegae and Seoul Auction are teaming up to expand operations in arts, NFTs and metaverse fields, South Korea’s largest art auction house said Thursday. The department store operator will purchase 28 billion-won ($23.6 million) of new shares issued by Seoul Auction, according to a DART announcement posted by the two firms on Wednesday. When the acquisition is finalized on Jan. 6, Shinsegae wi...

Samsung Electronics Co. said Thursday it sold four times as many foldable Galaxy Z series phones this year as last year, further solidifying its lead in the fast-growing new smartphone segment. While the South Korean tech giant did not disclose the exact tally, the total sales of the Galaxy Z series is believed to be around 8-9 nine million units this year, led by the popularity of the Galaxy Z ...

Ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung has widened his lead over his main opposition rival Yoon Suk-yeol to 11 percentage points in a hypothetical four-way race, a survey showed Thursday. Lee of the liberal Democratic Party garnered 39 percent support against Yoon of the conservative People Power Party's 28 percent, according to the survey of 1,000 adults conducted Monday through Wedn...

South Korea’s legislators are on track to grant final approval on lowering the age limit for people to run for office, with both ruling and opposition parties backing the bill that aims for better representation and diversity in local politics. The proposed revision to the Public Official Election Act asks the age requirement for electoral eligibility to be lowered from the current 25 to 18 when...

Former President Park Geun-hye was to be released at Thursday midnight, when the presidential pardon takes effect, after spending four years and nine months in prison for several corruption convictions. According to the Ministry of Justice, the amnesty of Park was to take effect at midnight. Park was to be released from her room at Samsung Medical Center in Seoul, where she has been receiving tr...

South Korean banks' mortgage rates hit the highest level in more than 7 years in November amid rising borrowing costs, central bank data showed Thursday, Banks' mortgage loan rate averaged 3.51 percent in November, up 0.25 percentage point from a month earlier, according to the data by the Bank of Korea (BOK) This marked the highest since July 2014, when the corresponding rate was 3.54 percent....

A delegation of the International Association of Prosecutors took part in the United Nations’ anti-corruption conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, from Dec. 13-17, the organization announced Wednesday. The IAP and other international organizations discussed ways to significantly reinforce international cooperation in the fight against corruption during the ninth session of the Conference of the...

South Korea's construction business sentiment gained for a second month in December thanks to increased year-end orders, a poll showed Thursday. The construction business survey index (CBSI) came to 92.5 this month, up 4.1 points from the previous month, according to the survey by the Construction and Economy Research Institute of Korea. Yet the December figure remains below par. A reading belo...

South Korea's imports via e-commerce reached a new all-time high in 2021 as more people purchased foreign goods online, government data showed Thursday. The country's e-commerce imports stood at $4.15 billion in the first 11 months of this year, up 25.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. The amount for the 11-month period surpasses the full-year f...

The government on Thursday hinted at easing a real estate holding tax for those who have become temporary multiple homeowners following a call from the ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung. "There are some positive sides (of Lee's proposal)," Koo Yun-cheol, Minister for Government Policy Coordination, said in a MBC radio interview. He added that the government is currently discussi...

The floor leader of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) on Thursday demanded a meeting with President Moon Jae-in following revelations that a state investigative agency checked the phone records of its presidential nominee, the nominee's wife and dozens of party lawmakers. The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) has come under fire over revelations that it ...

South Korean Olympic short track champion Shim Suk-hee has declined to appeal a recent two-month ban, an official confirmed Thursday, though the skater is mulling other options to get herself reinstated for the Beijing Winter Games in February. The Korea Skating Union (KSU) slapped Shim with the two-month penalty on Dec. 21, over her disparaging remarks on South Korean teammates and coaches in t...