The Shin-Hanul 2 nuclear reactor in southern South Korea began a six-month test operation this month to go into full operation next March, according to a state-run nuclear power agency Monday. The 1.4 gigawatt reactor in the coastal county of Uljin, some 215 kilometers southeast of Seoul, was loaded with fuel and entered into testing last week, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. said. If the test run goes without a hitch, the reactor is expected to be put into full operation in around March as

In the upcoming Korean Thanksgiving holiday of Chuseok, the first since the official end of the three-year pandemic, South Koreans are eyeing travel to Japan while giving fruit as gifts, a recent analysis showed Tuesday. According to a big data analysis on social media of 2023 Chuseok trends conducted by KPR digital communication lab, there is a growing interest in overseas travel as well as gifts that reflect consumers' personal values. The data revealed an increase in keyword searches rel

South Korea's whiskey imports surged by 40 percent year-on-year through August, signaling the potential for record-breaking annual inbound whiskey shipments this year. Whiskey product imports totaled 22,799 tons in volume from January to August this year, marking a significant increase from 16,267 tons recorded during the same period in 2022, according to data from the Korea Customs Service. If the current import trend continues, this year's volume is likely to surpass the 2002 record

South Koreans are more likely to travel domestically than abroad during the upcoming six-day Chuseok holiday, the longest in six years, a recent survey showed Wednesday. According to a weekly survey on travel plans and patterns conducted by the research firm Consumer Insight, among respondents going on trips during the Chuseok break, 16 percent plan to go on domestic trips while 4 percent plan to travel abroad. The survey was conducted on some 2,000 Koreans between two to five weeks before the C

The state-run Korea Post said Tuesday that Rep. Cho Hae-keun of the ruling People Power Party has been named president of the national postal service. An expert in administration, Cho studied his undergraduates in the field at Sungkyunkwan University and went on to earn a master’s degree in Public Administration from Syracuse University in the US. After passing the 38th Civil Service Exam, he first embarked on his career in the public sector in 1995 and held several posts at Korea Post,

South Korean retail giant and the nation’s fifth-largest conglomerate Lotte Group has carried on diverse corporate social responsibility projects this year, under the slogan “From heart to heart." Earlier this month, Lotte hosted the “17th Korea Brand Expo” in Jakarta, Indonesia, bringing together small and medium-sized enterprises looking to enter the local market. Over four days, it provided business counseling for 50 Korean enterprises, giving tips about Indonesia

The wealth gap between younger and older adults has widened over the last few years, largely depending on whether they own houses or not, according to the country’s statistics agency, Wednesday. According to the Statistics Korea’s report, the wealth gap between adults aged 40 and above and adults younger than 40 has widened by 45 percent over the last three years, from 160 million won ($118,000) in 2019 to 230 million won in 2022. Kim Mee-roo, a researcher at the Korea Development In

Asiana Airlines’ initial response to a recent midair door-opening incident was "inappropriate" and will be fined for it, the South Korean government's investigation showed, Rep. Park Sang-hyuk of the main opposition Korea Democratic Party said Wednesday. According to a report Park received from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the ministry has imposed a fine on Asiana Airlines and recommended country’s second largest air carrier take corrective actio

Hyundai Steel said Wednesday it will showcase its eco-friendly solutions at the Steel & Metal Korea 2023 exhibition, which takes place in Daegu on Oct. 11-13. During the industry’s largest trade show, the company said, it aims to renew its commitment to a low-carbon future, electric blast furnace technologies and its carbon-neutral trajectory. At the heart of the exhibition is the company's “Pathway to Green Steel" concept, charting Hyundai Steel's journey towards

Manpower Korea, the global workforce solutions provider with over two decades of experience, offers a thorough, strategic reference check service, one of the most important phases in the hiring process. Reference checks are conducted to learn more about candidates’ background, experiences and skills, assessing their eligibility and potential for certain positions. The Korean branch of ManpowerGroup shared two examples that showed how vital the role of methodical, expert-led reference check

Korean construction companies’ overseas orders increased 20 percent in the January to August period from a year earlier to exceed $20 billion, industry data showed. Local builders obtained $21.9 billion in overseas orders between January and August, up from $18.3 billion over the same period last year, according to the International Contractors Association of Korea. It marks the first time that the builders have received overseas projects worth over $20 billion in the first eight months of

The Korean government on Tuesday said it plans to supply an additional 120,000 public homes by this year to help ease the housing crunch in the sluggish market. The plan came after the government held a meeting earlier in the day attended by Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho, Land Minister Won Hee-ryong and Financial Services Commission Chairman Kim Joo-hyun. Since the second half of last year, rising construction costs and an increase in real estate project financing borrowing rates have worse

From left: Hana Financial Group Vice Chairman Lee Eun-hyung, Korean Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Park Joon-yong and Saad Al-Khalb, CEO of Saudi Export-Import Bank (Saudi EXIM), pose for a photo after signing a partnership deal at the headquarters of Saudi's National Development Fund in Riyadh, Monday. Hana became Korea's first commercial bank to forge business ties with Saudi EXIM. The two institutes aim to expand financial cooperation to explore new global projects in the Middle East an

South Korean retail giant and the nation's fifth-largest conglomerate Lotte Group is reportedly resorting to liquidating billions of won in assets as it grapples with flagging performance posted across its major subsidiaries. According to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure board, Lotte Holdings reported 211.7 billion won ($157 million) in operating profits in the January-June period this year, down 19 percent from the same period last year (261.2 billion won). Lo

Starting in October, major South Korean milk companies will raise their product prices, following the Korea Dairy Committee's decision to increase the cost of raw milk by the highest rate in 10 years. Namyang Dairy Products said it will raise the price of its 900 milliliter-carton of milk by 4.6 percent starting in October. As a result, the products' price at discount stores is estimated to rise to 2,900 won ($2.15), from its current 2,800 won. The company added it will also raise th

The Korean Federation of Community Credit Cooperatives, the nation’s leading mutual financial institution, said Tuesday it has successfully hosted a regional workshop in collaboration with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific last week. Under the theme of digital inclusion and community development, the two-day event discussed the solutions to achieve Sustainable Development Goals -- a universal call to end poverty and inequality by the UN -- through d

Posco International said Tuesday that it inked a preliminary joint venture agreement with US grain company Bartlett and Co., in a move to enhance its global food supply network. The agreement was signed in Kansas City, US, on Monday with top executives including Posco International Vice Chairman and CEO Jeong Tak, and Bob Knief, CEO of Bartlett and Co., in attendance. The US company owns some 15 grain terminals through which it supplies major grains including corn, wheat and soybeans to the dome

Samsung Biologics said Monday the company participated in CSLA's flagship investor forum which was held in Hong Kong on Sept. 11-14, to promote the company’s vision and business strategy. The investors’ forum, one of the largest of its kind in Asia, is held by CLSA, an institutional broker and investment group owned by CITIC Securities. Around 400 Asian companies and some 3,000 people from the industry joined the latest edition of the forum. Samsung Biologics was the only Korean

KB Financial Group's outgoing chair, Yoon Jong-kyoo, said Monday that he hopes his successor will realize his unattained goal to grow the group as a top-10 financial firm in the world. "I previously said I want to turn the group into the 'Samsung of finance,' but now that I look back, I feel a lot of regret when thinking about how much progress we've made (on global stage)," Yoon said at a press conference held at the group’s headquarters in Seoul. He will ste

Korean AI semiconductor startup Rebellions said Monday that its chips were set to undergo quality testing at data centers of IBM Research's AI Hardware Center in New York. IBM Research's AI Hardware Center conducts exhaustive quality testing for enterprise-grade data center processors. It evaluates the reliability of the chip until it reaches an acceptable level of performance. Earlier this year in April, Rebellions gained global attention when its Atom chip outperformed Nvidia's