SoftBank Group Corp. sold about $1.69 billion worth of its stake in Coupang Inc., the South Korean e-commerce giant whose stock surged and then tumbled after its initial public offering in March. SoftBank sold 57 million shares at $29.685 on Sept. 14, the company said in a statement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Japanese company is still Coupang’s largest shareholder. Masayoshi Son has stepped up sales of stakes in his portfolio of public companies in recent months

The Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism began Thursday under the theme of “Crossroads, Building the Resilient City,” exploring how the pandemic has transformed and impacted living spaces. 　The third edition of the biennale encompasses five conflicting themes -- “Above/Below,” “Heritage/Modern,” “Craft/Digital,” “Natural/Artificial” and “Safe/Risk” -- focusing on how cities can become more resilient. The 2021 event

  The World Bank is canceling a prominent report on business conditions around the world after investigators found staff members were pressured by the bank's leaders to alter data about China and some other governments. The bank said Thursday it would discontinue ``Doing Business'' following an investigation prompted by internal reports of ``data irregularities'' in its 2018 and 2020 editions and possible ``ethical matters'' involving bank staff. Staff members changed data on China to im

Eastar Jet Co., a debt-ridden South Korean budget carrier, said Friday it has submitted restructuring plans to a bankruptcy court to finalize an acquisition deal with a local property developer, aiming to resume flights next year. Eastar Jet submitted its debt repayment and other rehabilitation plans to the Seoul Bankruptcy Court, three months after Sung Jung Co. signed a deal to buy an 80 percent stake in the low-cost carrier for 108.7 billion won ($97 million). Eastar is required to first

Returning a year and half after their smash-hit second full-length album, K-pop boy band NCT 127 said the main concern in preparing new album “Sticker” was going beyond themselves. They achieved the goal -- and much more -- with preorders for their third studio album “Sticker” surpassing 2 million copies Thursday, triple the number of their second studio album “NCT #127 Neo Zone” even before the release of the album the following day. During a media showc

NCT127 held a showcase on Friday to roll out its third full album “Sticker.” 　 “It has been almost 1 1/2 years and I am nervous and excited at the same time,” said Doyoung, asking fans to enjoy the moment as well. 　 Since its previous song “Kick It” was a huge hit, it put pressure on the band, members said. 　 “Preparing for this album, we were worried and anxious if we could do better, if we would be able to put on a cooler performance,” Taeyong

Financial watchdog defies court ruling to hold financial institutions responsible for failing to protect consumers

Time ran out Friday for cryptocurrency exchanges to announce the closure of their services if they would not be operable after Sept. 24, marking a critical time that will decide the fate of many cryptocurrency exchanges in the country. More than 30 cryptocurrency exchanges were expected to give notice for a service shutdown by the end of Friday, as 24 exchanges have not applied for the Information Security Management System and 10 failed to acquire a certificate, according to industry source

Shinhan Bank said Friday that it has acquired a minority stake in a local information and communication technology solutions and services provider to bolster its partnership for development of a new corporate banking platform. Shinhan Bank acquired a 1.97 percent stake worth 72.3 billion won ($61.4 million) in Douzone Bizon for a strategic partnership, which would allow the lender to utilize the ICT solutions firm’s corporate accounting and e-commerce data. Shinhan and Douzone Bizon ha

South Korean stocks closed higher Friday ahead of a three-day holiday as investors weighed the pace of the economic recovery from the pandemic. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 10.42 points, or 0.33 percent, to close at 3,140.51 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 575 million shares worth some 14.6 trillion won ($12.4 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 491 to 380. Foreigners bought a net 46 billion won, while

Hyundai Motor Group has begun test operating a robot to inspect safety at its automotive plant, in collaboration with robotics startup Boston Dynamics, the group said Friday. Hyundai Motor Group, which operates two leading automotive companies Hyundai Motor and Kia, said it has deployed Spot, Boston Dynamics’ quadruped robot, to inspect safety at Kia AutoLand Gwangmyeong, Kia’s automotive plant facility in Gyeonggi Province. It is the first joint project between Hyundai and Bosto

Chuseok sparks COVID-19 worries for partially vaccinated Korea

SKC, the chemical affiliate of SK Group, will cooperate with Kuwait’s state-operated petrochemical giant Petrochemical Industries Company to expand its environment-friendly plastic business in Kuwait, the company said on Friday. PIC is the world’s fifth petrochemical firm by production volume. SKC and PIC established the joint venture SK picglobal in March 2020. SKC said the company inked a memorandum of understanding with PIC and SK picglobal in Los Angeles on Thursday there to

President Moon Jae-in will attend a virtual meeting of the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate on Friday to discuss global warming ahead of the UN climate summit, known as COP26, to be held in Glasgow, Scotland in October. The MEF is a US-led initiative that aims to ramp up supplies of clean energy while reducing carbon emissions. US President Joe Biden will convene the Friday meeting to strengthen the climate ambitions of the 17 members, including Australia, Canada, China, the EU and

The 13th DMZ International Documentary Film Festival wrapped up after an eight-day run on Thursday at Megabox Baekseok branch in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. “Though I am thankful and satisfied with the safe ending of the festival, I wish more people were able to enjoy and learn about the outstanding works from many documentary directors,” festival director Jung Sang-jin said during the closing ceremony. “Since we are slowly entering the era of living with COVID-19, the organiz