Korea’s oil imports from US grow to all-time high in 2019 The United States has a growing share in South Korea’s oil imports as local oil refiners have diversified sources of crude oil beyond the Middle East market to ensure supply stability.The Korea Nation..

Korea’s toy, stationery, bike markets losing steam amid ultra-low birth rates Korea’s toy, stationery and bicycle companies are pressing the panic button as the country’s youth population, key contributors to their business, is fast shrinking. According to data released by the ..

Renault Samsung Motors ends factory shutdown, wage talks to resume on Feb. 4 Renault Samsung Motors Corp. has lifted the partial shutdown of its plant in Busan as its labor union decided to suspend the strikes on Tuesday to resume wage talks. The South Korean unit of French c..

Google slapped $743,249 fine over YouTube Premium’s charging without consent in Korea South Korea has slapped an 867 million won ($743,249) fine on Google as its YouTube Premium service to charge users without proper consent after a free one-month trial violates the local telecommunica..

LS Group 3rd-gen successor resigns from Yesco Holdings CEO in 10 days Koo Bon-hyuk, third-generation successor of South Korea’s family-run LS Group, has given up the chief executive officer title of Yesco Holdings just 10 days after his succession with an excuse that he..

Fly Gangwon runs flights to Taiwan with half of seats vacant in the first mo Fly Gangwon, among the newest to join South Korea’s budget carriers, has run its new international route to Taiwan with more than half of the seats vacant in the first month of service, raising concer..

GS E&C gears up for new biz, acquires 3 modular construction firms overseas South Korea’s GS Engineering and Construction Corp. (GS E&C) has acquired three foreign modular construction firms, speeding up its foray into the global housing construction market under the new lead..

Hyundai Glovis Q4 OP up 19% on growing logistics services for global carmakers Hyundai Glovis, the logistics unit of South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group, posted a 19 percent increase in operating profit in the fourth quarter ended December 31 last year, thanks to the brisk pure ca..

S. Korea’s Hanwha Q Cells named top photovoltaic brand in Europe, Australia South Korea’s solar cell and module maker Hanwha Q Cells Co. was named top photovoltaic (PV) brand for the seventh year in a row in Europe, and fifth in Australia, the company said on Wednesday. The..

Hyundai Merchant CEO eyes profit turnaround in Q3 South Korea’s leading shipper Hyundai Merchant Marine Co. is expected to return to profit from the third quarter, on the back of its full membership in a major shipping alliance and deployment of more..

Posco Chemical to supply $1.6 bn battery cathode materials to LG Chem Posco Chemical Co., a refractory and secondary battery materials making unit of South Korea’s steel giant Posco, has signed a 1.85 trillion won ($1.59 billion) deal to supply cathode materials to the ..

Hyundai Heavy Group bags $228.5 mn worth shipbuilding orders South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries Group shipyards have bagged a combined 267 billion won ($228.5 million) orders to build five vessels in Korea and Europe. Hyundai Mipo Dockyard in a public dis..

Hana Financial Group offers to buy The-K Non-life Insurance, seek capital increase for IB biz South Korea’s Hana Financial Group has proposed to acquire The-K Non-life Insurance Co. from Korean Teachers` Credit Union and conduct a new rights offering worth 500 billion won ($431 million) for Ha..

Celltrion to invest $515 mn for biopharmaceutical plant in China for 5 yrs South Korea’s major biosimilar manufacturer Celltrion Inc. will invest over 600 billion won ($514.5 million) to build the largest biosimilar manufacturing plant in China with an annual capacity of 120..

Samsung Elec puts meritocracy over seniority in annual reshuffle Samsung Electronics has finalized its annual executive shakeup, showing its growing focus on young and high-performing talent. The world’s largest chip and smartphone maker on Tuesday announced the ..

SK Biopharma’s sleep disorder drug cleared in Europe SK Biopharmaceuticals Co., a biopharma unit under South Korea’s SK Group, will soon be able to reap the first royalty sales from a license deal for its sleep disorder drug Sunosi (solriamfetol) as the..

Kakao acquires 1% stake in Hanjin KAL to ramp up biz cooperation South Korea’s leading mobile messenger app operator Kakao Corp. took over 1 percent stake in Hanjin KAL, the holding entity of Hanjin Group, amid intensifying owner family feud over the helm at the tr..

Naver’s Band tops Korea’s social media market South Korea’s top internet portal Naver Corp. maintained its leadership in the local social media market in December despite strong competition from global social media giants Instagram and Facebook t..

Korea’s chip exports dip below 20% share, autos jump back to No. 2 South Korea’s top export item semiconductors dipped back below the 20 percent share in total outbound shipments last year as the industry suffered its worst year in a decade, while autos reclaimed the..

Jeju Air, Jin Air prepping possible buyout of Air Busan: sources South Korea’s top two budget carriers Jeju Air and Jin Air are preparing a possible buyout opportunity for another low-cost name Air Busan under the country’s second largest full-service carrier Asian..

Celltrion stuns the market with merger and expansion plan for this year Major South Korean biosimilar manufacturer Celltrion Inc. is seeking to combine Celltrion Healthcare Co. and Celltrion Pharm Inc. under one roof to rebrand itself as a comprehensive drug multinational..

Korean pharmas make deeper impression at J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference Korea’s pharmaceutical industry displayed its changed global status coupled with main track presentations by the sector’s top players in San Francisco this week where some 9,000 executives from 450 he..

Korea to facilitate widened use of medical records for scientific purposes The Korean government announced on Wednesday it will expand the use of patient data and allow for the recycling of discarded human fat for drug development and other scientific purposes to foster a re..

Korean retailers employ AI to comb out fake consumer reviews Large Korean online retailers such as 11Street and eBay Korea have employed artificial intelligence to comb out fakes or paid consumer reviews amid increasing power of SNS influencers over consumer be..

KT and Samsung Medical Center unveil 5G-based smart hospital solutions South Korean telecommunications giant KT Corp. is backing Samsung Medical Center to apply smart and connectivity solutions to medical treatment powered by 5G network to enable remote and automated med..

Daewoong Pharm eyes bigger Muslim markets with world’s first halal certification in Indonesia South Korea’s Daewoong Pharmaceutical is aspiring to penetrate the Southeast Asian and Middle East pharmaceutical markets with large Muslim populations, carrying on momentum of the world’s first halal..

Korean biosimilar makers advancing into Japan Korean biosimilar makers are making strides toward a high-end pharma market in Japan, bringing the number of locally available Korean-made biologics to five in total.Dong-A ST and ChongKunDang are the..

Korean pharmas show active late-stage clinical development in China Korea’s major biopharmaceutical companies are actively pursuing the opportunity to increase their presence in China by entering a phase 3 study, the final phase of human clinical trials ahead of apply..

Celltrion Healthcare to expand direct Remsima sales in Europe after Turkey inroads South Korea’s Celltrion Healthcare Co., the distribution and marketing arm of the country’s biosimilar giant Celltrion Inc., is expanding its reach in Europe after maiden success in Turkey with direct..

SKT chief proposes Samsung and Kakao of `hyper-cooperation` on AI development SK Telecom argued for a united Korean front to better compete with multinationals on artificial intelligence front and envisions aggressive stretch to mobility and other future industries by dropping ..

Daewoong Pharm to unveil roadmap on drug development in U.S. South Korea’s Daewoong Pharmaceutical said on Thursday it will lay out its strategy to accelerate drug development and its penetration into the global market during JP Morgan Healthcare Conference to ..

Korea’s telco giants pitch how 5G can bring next-gen tech to life at CES South Korea’s telecommunications majors running at the front in 5G pitched how future technologies can become a reality on 5G network to seek hardware partners at the CES 2020. SK Telecom Co. showcas..

Korean pharmas, bio-tech cos accelerate inroad to China for future growth South Korean pharmaceutical and bio-technology companies are betting big on China as their next key market, hoping to repeat the success of a few pioneering Korean drug companies enjoying steady sales..

GenNBio to develop new immunosuppressants in partnership with Genexine GenNBio Inc., a Korean organ transplant company, has signed an exclusive license deal with Genexine Inc. to commercially develop the latter’s two candidate molecules GX-P1 and BSF-110 into next-gen im..

Medipost completes trials of stem cell therapy in Korea to treat Alzheimer’s Medipost Co., a Korean stem cell therapy company, announced on Monday it has completed phase 1 and 2a clinical trials to evaluate its investigational stem cell drug to treat Alzheimer’s disease. The..

Korean presence biggest after US and China at this year’s CES South Korea will be the third largest exhibitor at this year’s CES, the world`s biggest consumer-electronics exhibition opening on Tuesday, with nearly 400 tech names joining the tradeshow to display ..

Vatech releases world’s first veterinary CT scanner and dental panoramic X-ray Medical imaging solutions provider Vatech will release the world’s first veterinary CT scanner that can help diagnosis of cancer and tumor, as well as dental panoramic radiography machine to capitaliz..

S. Korea’s CMG Pharma files sales approval for schizophrenia drug in U.S. South Korea’s CMG Pharmaceutical Co. has filed an application with the U.S. Federal Drug Administration (FDA) to market its schizophrenia medication Depipzo (aripiprazole). The pharmaceutical compan..

SK Innovation to showcase future car solutions at CES 2020 SK Innovation Co., energy solution unit of South Korea’s SK Group, will show off its battery and material technologies for future mobility solutions at the upcoming world’s biggest consumer electronic..

Samsung Elec ready to start 3nm process on chip production Samsung Electronics Co. has leapfrogged its chipmaking rivals in next-generation chip technology by becoming the world’s first to commercialize the 3 nanometer process in wafer fabrication. Jay Y. L..

Korea Exchange to create ESG team to facilitate socially responsible investment The Korea Exchange, the operator of Seoul’s bourse, has decided to create a social, environmental, and governance (ESG) team to help investors better determine the future financial performance of comp..

Samsung BioLogics reports earnings surprise in Q4 with OP up 353% South Korea’s biosimilar manufacturer Samsung BioLogics Co. surprised the market after posting a more than fourfold increase in its operating profit in the fourth quarter ended December last year than..

Elliot sells off stakes in Hyundai Motor firms, ending 20-mo proxy fight U.S activist investor Elliot Management that had waged a proxy fight against Hyundai Motor Group has sold off its entire stakes in Hyundai Motor companies last year, a move that is expected to acceler..

Kakao Pay gets pre-approval to take over Baro Investment & Securities Kakao Pay, mobile payment service under South Korea’s leading messenger app KakaoTalk, has passed the government’s review process for its acquisition of Baro Investment & Securities Co., moving a step..

Kia Motors Q4 OP surges 54.6% on year on brisk SUV sales, weak won Kia Motors Corp., like its bigger affiliate Hyundai Motor Co., posted better-than-expected results in the fourth quarter, fueled by strong sport utility vehicle sales with higher price tags and a weak..

Hyundai Motor Q4 OP up 148% on year, full 2019 sales top $1 billion South Korea’s largest automaker Hyundai Motor Co. reported a sharp jump in earnings for the final quarter of 2019 thanks to robust sports utility vehicle sales and favorable currency rates. Hyundai ..

Samsung Elec stock rally may hit breaks due to 30% cap rule Shares of Samsung Electronics Co. that have been flying high are faced with an unexpected hurdle as South Korea’s sole stock exchange operator is mulling applying its new rule to prevent a certain sto..

Korea to launch financial data exchange in March South Korea will launch a financial data exchange in March to facilitate transactions of data between buyers and sellers of financial institutions, fintech firms, retailers and telcos. The Financial ..

Analysts project Korean stock market rally in H1 South Korean stocks have regained most of the ground lost in the October 2018 plunge, with analysts projecting the benchmark index to reclaim the 2,390 mark in the first half of the year. The main K..

Analysts up price targets on Posco after earnings improvement Shares of South Korea’s leading steel maker Posco have been rapidly picking up thanks to its cost-cutting efforts and strengthening steel prices in China.On Monday, Posco shares added 2.28 percent fro..

Korean battery makers to become winner in burgeoning European EV market The European electric vehicle market has elbowed out the United States to become the world’s second largest EV market last year, raising expectations that Korea’s top three battery makers that have ma..

Korean gov’t mulls imposing 20% other income tax on cryptocurrency gains The South Korean government may classify gains from cryptocurrency trading as other income such as lottery or prize-winning, which is subject to 20 percent tax. According to multiple sources from th..

KB`s chance to buy Prudential Life rises as Woori stays out of initial tender KB Financial Group has emerged as the strongest contender in the preliminary race for Prudential Life Insurance Co., but with the possibility still open for a later entry by Woori Financial Group in t..

NH Investment & Securities to buy new office building in Yeouido for $863 mn South Korea’s NH Investment & Securities Co. will acquire an office building in Parc 1 complex under construction in Seoul’s financial district of Yeouido at around 1 trillion won ($863 million) for i..

Lime Asset freezes additional withdrawal, putting $1.4 bn in suspension South Korea’s troubled hedge fund manager Lime Asset Management Co. has alerted it will be freezing withdrawal from additional funds maturing from March amid liquidity shortage to place a total of 1.6..

Foreign investors’ ownership in Kospi hit 13-year-high in 2019 Foreign investors’ ownership of South Korean stocks hit a 13-year-high at the end of last year, making them over $90 billion rich from owning Korean shares.According to the Korea Exchange and Financia..

Korean Inc. in a flurry to find replacements for outside directors of more than 6 yrs As many as 566 listed companies in South Korea must rush to newly hire outside directors after the government pushed ahead with a new law capping the term for outside board member to six years without..

Direct Korean won-Chinese yuan turnover hit record high in 2019 Direct currency transactions between the Korean won and Chinese yuan hit an all-time high last year, suggesting recovery in business activities between the two countries that had been disrupted by a r..

Korea’s entry into FTSE’s global govt bond index may draw $2 bn per month A monthly average of $1.5 billion to $2 billion in foreign capital could be added to the Korean market if Korean papers join the World Government Bond Index (WGBI), one of the world’s three major bond..

Korean car insurance premiums expected to rise average 3.5% this year South Korean non-life insurers are raising premiums for their car policies starting this month by an average of 3.5 percent to offset increasing losses from the higher loss ratio. According to indus..

Aging population is Korea’s biggest challenge: OECD Secretary-General The biggest challenge facing South Korean society is its rapidly aging population, said Angel Gurria, Secretary-General of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Korea needs..

Korea fin min forecasts economic rebound this year South Korea’s Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki showed confidence of an economic rebound this year, placing a positive meaning on the 2 percent growth in 2019. "(The Korean economy) defended the psycholo..

Korea’s 2019 GDP growth at 10-yr low, Q4 GDP expands 1.2%: BOK The South Korean economy expanded 2 percent in 2019, the slowest annual growth in a decade due to subdued domestic demand and dwindling exports. But growth in the final quarter picked up at 1.2 percen..

EXIM Bank to expand credit line for component industry, overseas infrastructure projects South Korea’s state lender Export-Import Bank of Korea (EXIM Bank) pledged to provide 69.3 trillion won ($59.4 billion) in loans to components and equipment businesses as well as overseas infrastructu..

Korea’s Jan 1-20 exports down 0.2% on year, but chip shipments recover South Korea’s exports are poised to extend a losing streak for 14 straight months in January but the fall sharply slowed down from double-digit declines in the recent months thanks to a recovery in me..

Korea’s producer prices add 0.7% on year in Dec, ending 5-month decline South Korea’s producer prices added 0.7 percent year over year in December led by strong agricultural and fishery product prices, snapping the five-month negative streak and raising hopes for a pickup..

Korean automakers’ 2019 output falls below 4-mn for the first time in decade South Korean automakers saw their combined annual production in 2019 fall below 4 million units for the first time in a decade, underscoring waning competitiveness of Korea’s pillar manufacturing indu..

BOK chief suggests pause in easing amid govt fight with housing prices South Korea’s central bank chief drew the Maginot Line on how far the Korean interest rate can go and indicated a pause before venturing beyond the current historic low of 1.25 percent upon signs of i..

Korea’s job growth in Dec fastest in 5 yrs, manufacturing loss largest in ‘19 South Korea added 516,000 jobs in December, the fastest growth in more than five years, and finished 2019 at its best-ever employment rate. But the feat could be discredited as details show that manuf..

Korea’s unemployment benefits reach all-time high in 2019 South Korea doled out record unemployment benefits last year as the jobless numbers in the 40s skidded for four years in a row amid a slump in the manufacturing and self-employed segments. State unem..

Economists unanimous in BOK inaction Friday, rate cut likely delayed to 2H Signs of bottoming-out in the Korean economy would likely stall additional monetary action, with economists unanimous in predicting the central bank to stay pat on rates when the Bank of Korea board d..

Korea’s jobless ratio of late-20s remain highest among OECD members Job scarcity for South Koreans fresh out of college has become structural, with the jobless rate in the age group staying highest among the countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and D..

S. Korea’s exports up 5.3% in Jan 1-10 on chip demand recovery South Korea’s exports entered a positive momentum in the New Year, raising hopes that external trade demand could finally snap out of a losing streak that stretched more than a year. The country’s ex..

S. Korea’s outstanding gov’t, quasi-state bonds near $900 bn in 2019 Outstanding debt issued by the government and public enterprises of South Korea passed the milestone of 1,000 trillion won ($861.5 billion) last year amid record-sized fiscal spending to prop up econo..

DuPont to inject $28 mn to build photoresist production line in S. Korea DuPont has decided to invest $28 million in South Korea to build production facilities for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) photoresists used in manufacturing semiconductor chips, a move that is expected to ..

S. Korea likely to post its largest-ever fiscal deficit in 2019 South Korea’s fiscal deficit stretched to a record high by November last year as the government kept up aggressive fiscal expansion despite reduced tax revenue from economic slowdown. According to the..

Govt to focus on SOC investment in H1 to revive economy The Korean government confirmed a plan to advance about 60 percent of this year’s super budget in the first half, with a focus on massive spending in social overhead capital projects to revive growth ..

Korea’s state oil firm sells 25% stake in Tolmount project to ease liquidity strains State-run Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC) offloaded half of its stake in the Tolmount gas project in the British North Sea, retrieving up to $300 million to help shore up its finances. Dana Petrole..

Customer satisfaction scores for Korean firms hit record high in 2019: NCSI Customer satisfaction in overall industries in South Korea went up in 2019 to reach an all-time since the survey began in 1998 as Korean businesses vied to win consumer confidence regardless of econom..

Korea’s FDI shrinks for first time in 6 yrs, outbound invest at record high Foreign direct investment (FDI) in South Korea last year contracted for the first time in six years while overseas investment by Korean companies has surged at an overwhelming pace, underscoring Korea..

Korean men taking paternity leave hit record high in 2019 The number of South Korean men on paternity leave hit an all-time high last year, an encouraging sign for a country battling one of the world’s lowest birthrates.Some 22,297 men in the corporate secto..

S. Korea removed from US illegal fishing country list South Korea was cleared from the U.S. preliminary list of countries violating fishing rules in Antarctica. The Korean Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said Wednesday that the U.S. National Oceanic and..

Follow-up measures to be taken to support use of anonymous data in Korea The South Korean government is preparing follow-up measures as the so-called three data-related bills recently passed the National Assembly to allow the use of pseudonym and anonymous information.Inte..

S. Korea to dispatch independent naval unit to the Strait of Hormuz South Korea’s military will expand the deployment of its anti-piracy unit currently operating off the coast of Africa to the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic global oil shipping route under heightening t..

S. Korea reports first case of new Coronavirus in visitor from China South Korea on Monday confirmed the first case of new Coronavirus that has sickened more than 200 and has resulted in at least two deaths in China so far. The Korea Centers for Disease Control & Pre..

Korea kicks off $173 mn state project to develop smart building technologies South Korea has launched a smart building technology project to bring more innovation to construction sites with massive investment of 200 billion won ($173 million) for the next six years, the Minist..

Airplane registrations in Korea up 2.2% on year to 853 in 2019 The number of registered airplanes in South Korea came to 853 last year, up 2.2 percent from the previous year, but the growth rate over the past four years slowed down, the Ministry of Land, Infrastr..

Korean govt to spend $862 mn in next-gen chip technology by 2029 The South Korean government will invest more than 1 trillion won ($861.7 million) over the next 10 years to accelerate the development of next-generation chip technology to cement its leadership in th..

KVLY and Hstyle to develop Korea-China collaborative fashion brand South Korea’s content distributor and media platform provider KVLY joined up with China’s largest online fashion mall Hstyle to carry out a joint fashion project in another sign of pickup in normaliza..

Ford, BMW, Toyota to recall 7,700 cars in S. Korea Five carmakers and importers including one motorcycle brand will recall more than 7,700 vehicles to fix faulty parts and address injury risk, Korea’s transport ministry said Thursday.The five companie..

Korean retail, tourism biz buoyant amid recovery signs of Chinese group tourism South Korea’s retail and hospitality industries are getting their hopes up on full-scale recovery of Chinese tourists and Beijing’s outright removal of group tour ban to Korea ahead of Lunar New Year ..

Netflix ordered to amend unfair subscription terms in S. Korea Netflix will amend a total of six unfair terms and conditions for South Korean subscribers upon the order of the country’s antitrust regulator, a move that has made Korea the first country where the g..

Delays in domestic flights can be reimbursed in S. Korea Flyers can demand partial reimbursement on their ticket fare if domestic flights in Korea are delayed for one to two hours and can also be compensated for any damage, loss or delay in their luggage, a..

Grocery shopping share in Korean family spending at 5 yr-low as Koreans cook less The share of food supplies against total monthly spending by Korean families fell to the lowest in five years last year to reflect changes in lifestyle, with more preferring to order in or settle for ..

Korean FX unaffected as Seoul remains on U.S. currency watch list The Korean won stayed calm after the United States kept South Korea on its watch list for currency practices while lifting its designation of China as a currency manipulator on Monday. The Korean wo..

Samsung Elec to devote this year’s home division to 8K TV and robotics Samsung Electronics Co. will devote this year to making 8K screen a TV mainstream and introducing an array of new innovations including home robots in the first half. “Our biggest focus this year in ..

CEOs in Korea most skeptical of economy in East Asia survey, prefer overseas capex Korean business leaders were more skeptical about the global and domestic economic outlook than their counterparts in Japan and China and more tilted towards spending capital outside than home, accord..

S. Korea govt most passive in East Asia in backing transition to 4.0 age: survey The government in South Korea was deemed far passive compared with Chinese and Japanese counterparts in responding to the transition to the fourth industrial revolution, a cross-border survey on busin..

S Korean pres extends another invite to NK leader to visit Seoul South Korean President Moon Jae-in warned North Korean leader Kim Jong-un that his return to military provocations would “help no one” and offered him yet another invite to Seoul for a breakthrough in..

South Korea to launch air quality monitoring satellite in Feb South Korea next month will launch a new geostationary earth orbit satellite that would track air pollutants and ocean environment in real time, hoping to aid the worsening air pollution in East Asia...

EU to boost garment industry in Myanmar The new phase of the European Union’s SMART Textile and Garments project will bring together brands, trade unions and business associations to boost social and environmental sustainability in Myanmar’..

Report: Wage growth sluggish for Msian youths, low-income households KUALA LUMPUR: Slowing income growth among lower-income households and younger workers has contributed to perceptions of Malaysians being “left behind”, reported the 1st edition of the World Bank’s Mal..

Japan Coast Guard to `eliminate` Chinese drones TOKYO -- The Japan Coast Guard plans to stop using and procuring Chinese-made drones in fiscal 2020 due to concerns over information security, Nikkei has learned. It will be the second case in which C..

Tesco may sell Thailand, Malaysia businesses LONDON: Britain`s biggest supermarket chain Tesco said on Sunday it had started a review of its businesses in Thailand and Malaysia, including looking at a possible sale. It said in a statement that ..

Baht concerns abound More than two decades ago, the baht suffered heavy devaluation as a result of speculation, forcing Thailand`s central bank to de-link the local currency from the US dollar and adopt a managed floating..

Singapore resident employment rate edges up but income growth slows: MOM SINGAPORE - The resident employment rate was slightly higher in June this year compared to the same month last year despite economic headwinds, according to an advance labour force report on Thursday ..

US promotes inclusive agriculture-led growth in Kachin State Myitkyina - US Ambassador Scot Marciel met with more than 60 members of the Kachin State agriculture sector in Myitkyina last Thursday, to discuss how the new US Agency for International Development (..

PM declares new tourism perks The government is set to revise the perks for investment in tourism and related services. Officials also pledge to introduce additional short-term measures to stimulate tourism during the high season..

Power shortages again in dry season, says prime minister Cambodia will face power shortages again from the end of this year throughout the dry season, Prime Minister Hun Sen said on Thursday. Speaking at the official launch of the National Strategic Develo..

Myanmar lags as ASEAN sees record FDI Foreign direct investment (FDI) into Myanmar still lags other countries in ASEAN, according to a report issued by the ASEAN Secretariat last week. The report ASEAN Investment Report 2019: FDI in Serv..

Foreign investors turned net buyers of Malaysia`s debt securities Foreign investors turned net buyers of Malaysia`s debt securities in September with total foreign holdings expanded to RM189.1 billion. This is after FTSE Russell decided to keep the country in the..

Viet Nam, Cambodia issue joint statement Viet Nam and Cambodia have issued a joint statement on the occasion of the Viet Nam visit by Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen from October 4-5 at the invitation of h..

Myanmar, Thailand accelerate plans to link, electrify Dawei SEZ Myanmar and Thailand will speed up development of a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and deep sea port at Dawei in Tanintharyi Region, officials said during the 9th Myanmar - Thailand Joint Coordinating Co..

BoT optimistic about Q3 growth on tourism, stimulus Thailand`s economic growth in the third quarter is likely to improve from the second quarter`s reading, mainly thanks to positive tourism growth and the government`s economic stimulus measures, says t..

Vietnam GDP in first three quarters climbs to 9-year high Local gross domestic product (GDP) climbed nearly 7 per cent in the first three quarters of 2019, reaching its highest level for the last nine years. Director General of the General Statistics Of..

Evergrande partners with global leading automotive firms to bolster new energy vehicle dev. China`s conglomerate China Evergrande Group has joined hands with the world`s five leading automotive engineering and technology enterprises to further optimize its industrial chain layout in the new ..

Myanmar launches workplace guide to respecting local culture Foreign executives and managers in Myanmar can now rely on a handbook about respecting the local culture in the workplace when it comes to defusing possible cross-cultural misunderstandings and potent..

Myanmar vows to take stricter action on illegal trade Myanmar will take strict action against illegal trade with the aim of substantially reducing the volume of fake or illegal products entering the market, said U Soe Win, Minister of Planning and Financ..

Thailand hosts 37th ASEAN Ministers on Energy Meeting Country Thailand`s Ministry of Energy has showcased its success in nominating Thai enterprises to win ASEAN Energy Awards 2019, with a total of 23 qualifying firms, setting a record for the highest number of ..

Cambodia Government unveils tourism masterplan to increase visitors The government is set to roll out the Four-Strategic Plan for Tourism Development aimed at reviving tourism in the Kingdom`s northern provinces, an inter-ministerial committee meeting has decided. ..

Parasite adds historic SAG Awards win, first for foreign-language film South Korean dark social satire film “Parasite” was crowned at the 2020 Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards for outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture on Sunday for the first time for a fo..

Kakao M strengthens music contents business Kakao M, entertainment unit of South Korea’s top messenger operator Kakao Corp. has reorganized its record labels to strengthen content competitiveness. According to entertainment industry sources o..

Maekyung Media Group’s MBN Y Forum to kick off on Feb.18 Maekyung Media Group will hold MBN Y Forum, its annual youth mentoring forum, on February 18 at Jangchung Arena in Central Seoul.Under the theme of ‘LIFE is YOURS’, Maeil Business Newspaper and Maeil ..

Naver Webtoon takes over Korean AI startup V.DO Naver Webtoon, a content distributing subsidiary of South Korea’s biggest portal Naver Corp., acquired local artificial intelligence (AI) startup V.DO that has been supported by Naver’s startup accele..

“Parasite” becomes first Korean film nominated for Oscar’s best picture Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite” has become the first South Korean film to be nominated for a best picture Oscar as well as for five more categories including the best director, making history in a century-o..

BTS new album ‘Map of the Soul: 7’ out on Feb. 21 K-Pop superstar BTS will release its new album ‘Map of the Soul: 7” on February 21 and preorder begins on Thursday, its agency Big Hit Entertainment Co. announced on Wednesday at the group’s global fa..

Korea stays fourth in global game industry South Korea’s game industry maintained fourth global rank, with sales at 14.29 trillion won ($12.14 billion) in 2018. Game revenue rose 8.7 percent from 2017, exceeding the global average gain of 7.1..

Parasite adds Golden Globe trophy to its lengthy list of awards Bong Joon-ho’s black family satire “Parasite” was crowned the best foreign film at the 2020 Golden Globes on Sunday, opening a new chapter in South Korean film history and lifting its award prospects ..

BTS comeback, SuperM tour and other acts to delight K-pop fans in 2020 K-pop is geared to make bigger global strides in 2020, with BTS poised to drop their new album and other idol groups prepping world tours. The most anticipated event of the year is undoubtedly the c..

Pengsoo at peak of stardom to toll the Boshingak bell for New Year Ten-year-old genderless penguin character Pengsoo who has become omnipresent in Korean media both online and offline in less than a year of debut will celebrate this year’s rise to stardom by joining ..

ATU Partners creates esports fund to acquire DragonX team, invest in Azyt South Korean private equity fund ATU Partners has launched a fund dubbed ATU Esports Growth Fund to acquire the world’s famous League of Legends esports team DragonX and invest in California-based tal..

Big-screen smartphones in high demand in Korea by Lineage 2M and game enthusiasts Big-screen smartphones are in high demand in Korea following the release the blockbuster mobile games like Lineage 2M. LG Electronics Inc. said Sunday that it has sold about 900,000 units of LG V50 T..

Korean film distributors beef up 2020 pipeline to dethrone Disney South Korean film distributors have bolstered their movie pipeline next year after losing their home turf to Walt Disney Company who swept box offices with Frozen 2. Walt Disney Company Korea was th..

Korean film “Parasite” shortlisted for Oscars’ best foreign film and original song category Cannes-winning movie “Parasite,” a South Korean black comedy thriller film directed by Bong Joon-ho, was shortlisted for best international feature film by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scien..

Korean game pipeline packed after blockbuster Lineage 2M Emboldened by the blockbuster debut of NCSoft’s new mobile MMORPG title Lineage 2M, Korean game publishers are out to win back the market leadership from Chinese rivals, with new releases planned back..

Parasite earns Golden Globe nod after sweeping major U.S. film awards South Korean director Bong Joon-ho’s dark social satire film “Parasite” is poised to rewrite Korean film history having scored a surprise Golden Globe nomination after sweeping major film awards in No..

Academic seminar on BTS phenomenon to be held next week in Seoul Scholars around the world will gather in Seoul next week to discuss the cultural phenomenon and extraordinary fandom behind the K-pop boyband sensation BTS. The Korean Society for Journalism & Commu..

Lineage 2M hits homerun after its predecessor, topping Google Paly Store in 4 days Mobile MMORPG title Lineage 2M by online game maker NCSoft Corp. became the most popular game app on the Google Play Store in sales as of Sunday, beating its predecessor Lineage M, the company said. ..

NCSoft new mobile MMORPG Lineage 2M opens, ready to break records Mobile MMORPG title Lineage 2M – second series in two years – has been met with much fanfare as it became playable from midnight Wednesday. Pre-orders rewarding in-game items topped 7.38..

Lineage 2M playable on both phone and PC under NCSoft cross play platform South Korea’s leading online game developer and publisher NCSoft Corp. has unveiled its new PC-mobile interconnected game platform, PURPLE, whose beta service is due on Nov. 27, enabling users to play..