Page 13 - South Korea

Blackstone nears deal to sell S Korean pharma wholesaler to MBK Partners

The sale would mark Blackstone's first major exit in South Korea, a market in which it established a locally-based team two years ago

Amid tensions with China, US, Japan, S Korea hold drills in disputed sea

A US carrier strike group led by the USS Theodore Roosevelt has held a three-day joint exercise with its allies Japan and South Korea as US President Joe Biden met for talks with leaders from Japan and the Philippines at the White House. The duelling military and diplomatic maneuvers are meant to strengthen the partners' solidarity in the face of China's aggressive military actions in the region. A number of US and South Korean guided missile destroyers and a Japanese warship joined the April 10-12 drill in the disputed East China Sea, where worries about China territorial claims are rising. The Associated Press was one of several news organizations allowed a front-row look at the drills. Rear Adm. Christopher Alexander, commander of Carrier Strike Group Nine, said the three nations conducted undersea warfare exercises, maritime interdiction operations, search and rescue drills and work focused on communication and data sharing. He told journalists Thursday on the Roosevelt that th

South Korea's PM, top officials offer to resign after election defeat

South Korea's prime minister and senior presidential officials offered to resign en masse on Thursday, after their conservative ruling party suffered a crushing defeat in parliamentary elections. The results of Wednesday's elections were a huge political blow to President Yoon Suk Yeol, likely setting back his domestic agenda and leave him facing an intensifying political offensive by his liberal opponents during his remaining three years in office. Prime Minster Han Duck-soo and all senior presidential advisers to Yoon, except those in charge of security issues, submitted their resignations, according to Yoon's office. It didn't immediately say whether Yoon accepted their resignations. Executive power in South Korea is heavily concentrated in the president, but the prime minister is the No. 2 official and leads the country if the president becomes incapacitated. Yoon said he will humbly uphold the public sentiments reflected in the election outcome and focus on improving people's

Big Oppn win in S Korean parl election poses setback to President Yoon

South Korea's liberal opposition parties appeared set to win a landslide victory in Wednesday's parliamentary election, vote counts showed, a result that could make conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol a lame duck for his remaining three years in office. With most of the votes cast counted, the main opposition Democratic Party and its satellite party appear to have won a combined 175 seats in the 300-member National Assembly. Another small liberal opposition party was expected to win 12 seats under a proportional representation system, according to South Korean media tallies. Yoon's ruling People Power Party and its satellite party were projected to have obtained 109 seats. The final official results were expected later Thursday. But the outcome means the liberal opposition forces would extend their control of the parliament, though they will likely fail to garner the super majority of 200 seats that gives them legislative powers to pass bills vetoed by a president and even impeach

S Korea elections: Voters to decide President Yoon Suk Yeol's fate

The record-high turnout for early voting has garnered the attention to whether the final turnout would exceed 70%

South Korea to invest $7 billion in AI by 2027 to retain edge in chips

South Korea plans to significantly expand research and development in AI chips such as artificial neural processing units (NPUs) and next-generation high-bandwidth memory chips

S Korea launches 2nd military spy satellite as tensions with N Korea rise

South Korea has launched its second military spy satellite into space, days after North Korea reaffirmed its plan to launch multiple reconnaissance satellites this year. The Koreas each launched their first spy satellites last year North Korea in November and South Korea in December amid heightened animosities. They said their satellites would boost their abilities to monitor each other and enhance their own missile attack capabilities. South Korea's second spy satellite was launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sunday evening local time, which was Monday morning in Seoul. South Korea's Defense Ministry said in a statement that the satellite was successfully separated from a rocket. It said it will check whether the satellite functions properly via its communications with an overseas ground station. Under a contract with SpaceX, South Korea was to launch five spy satellites by 2025. South Korea's first spy satellite launch on Dec. 1 was made from California's ...

North Korea fires intermediate range missile into S Korea's eastern waters

North Korea on Tuesday test-fired a suspected intermediate-range ballistic missile toward waters off its eastern coast, South Korea's military said, adding to a series of weapons demonstrations that have raised tensions in the region. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missile was launched from an area near the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, but it did not immediately confirm how far the weapon flew. The North had said last month that it tested a solid-fuel engine for its new-type intermediate-range hypersonic missile as it tries to expand its arsenal of weapons aimed at remote US targets in the Pacific, including the military hub of Guam. It was the North's first known launch event since March 18, when North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised a live-fire drill of artillery systems designed to target South Korea's capital. Japan's coast guard shared an assessment of the country's Defense Ministry that the missile has already landed but still urged caution for vessels .

Electric vehicle industry continues to lose charge on localisation woes

Poses a hurdle as cells, which account for half the EV price, continue to be imported

India, South Korea, and Japan to stay busy with IPOs while China stalls

While IPOs returned to major venues in Europe and the US, the slowdown in Asia was mostly due to Beijing's decision to ramp up scrutiny of domestic new share sales as it tries to boost confidence

S Korea's President Yoon vows not to back down in face of doctors' strike

South Korea's president vowed Monday not to back down in the face of vehement protests by doctors seeking to derail his plan to drastically increase medical school admissions, as he called their walkouts an illegal collective action that poses "a grave threat to our society. About 12,000 medical interns and residents in South Korea have been on strike for six weeks, causing hundreds of cancelled surgeries and other treatments at university hospitals. In support of their action, many senior doctors at their teaching schools have also submitted resignations though they haven't stopped treating patients. Officials say they want to raise the yearly medical school cap by 2,000 from the current 3,058 to create more doctors to deal with the country's rapidly aging population. Doctors counter that schools can't handle such an abrupt increase in students and that it would eventually hurt the country's medical services. But critics say doctors, one of the best-paid professions in South Korea,

South Korea's production of semiconductors rises by most in 14 years

The memory-chip market that underpins South Korea's semiconductor industry is notorious for its boom-and-bust cycle

South Korea firm to give workers $75,000 bonus to have babies, help country

Korean construction giant Booyoung announced the financial incentive as the country is faced with falling birth rates amid rising cost of rearing a child

South Korea's Hyundai Motor Group to invest $51 bn won over 3 years

Hyundai Motor Group includes flagship Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia, which together are the world's number three automaker by sales

Doctors in South Korea submit resignations, widening medical school dispute

Senior doctors at major hospitals in South Korea began submitting their resignations en masse Monday in support of medical interns and residents who have been on a strike for five weeks over the government's push to sharply increase medical school admissions. The senior doctors' action won't likely cause an immediate worsening of hospital operations in South Korea because they have said they would continue to work even after submitting their resignations. But prospects for an early end to the medical impasse were also dim, as the doctors' planned action comes after President Yoon Suk Yeol called for talks with doctors while suggesting a possible softening of punitive steps against the striking junior doctors. About 12,000 interns and medical residents have faced impending suspensions of their licenses over their refusal to end their strikes, which have caused hundreds of cancelled surgeries and other treatments at their hospitals. They oppose the government's plan to increase the ..

Senior doctors in South Korea to submit resignations amid deepening dispute

Senior doctors at dozens of hospitals in South Korea planned to submit their resignations Monday in support of medical interns and residents who have been on a strike for five weeks over the government's push to sharply increase medical school admissions, their leader said. The senior doctors' action won't likely cause an immediate worsening of hospital operations in South Korea because they have said they would continue to work even after submitting their resignations. But prospects for an early end to the medical impasse were also dim, as the doctors' planned action comes after President Yoon Suk Yeol called for talks with doctors while suggesting a possible softening of punitive steps against the striking junior doctors. About 12,000 interns and medical residents have faced impending suspensions of their licenses over their refusal to end their strikes, which have caused hundreds of cancelled surgeries and other treatments at their hospitals. They oppose the government's plan to

Kim visits tank unit, touts war preparations amid tensions with Seoul

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised a tank exercise and encouraged his armoured forces to sharpen war preparations in the face of growing tensions with South Korea, the North's state media said Monday. Kim made those comments Sunday while visiting his top tank group, the Seoul Ryu Kyong Su Guards 105th Tank Division. The unit's name marks how it was the first North Korean military unit to reach the South Korean capital in 1950 when a North Korean surprise attack triggered a war that dragged on for almost four years. Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have heightened after Kim in past months dialled up his military demonstrations, including tests of nuclear-capable missiles designed to target South Korea, the United States and Japan, while issuing threats of nuclear conflict against its rivals. Washington, Seoul and Tokyo have responded by strengthening their combined military exercises and updating their deterrence plans built around strategic US assets. Photos published by No

Doctors in S Korea facing license suspensions, all you need to know

South Korea is poised to start suspending the licenses of thousands of striking junior doctors as a punitive measure against their weekslong walkouts that have shaken hospital operations. Starting next week, the government said it will inform the striking medical interns and residents of its final decision to suspend their licenses for missing a government-imposed February 29 deadline to return to work. It's still unclear whether the move will prompt the doctors to end their strikes, and the standoff could still deepen as some senior doctors plan to submit resignations on Monday in a show of solidarity with the junior strikers. Here are the latest developments on the strikes touched off by the government's announcement in early February that it would recruit 2,000 more medical students yearly. WHY ARE THEIR LICENSES BEING SUSPENDED? Since early March, the South Korean government has been taking a series of administrative steps to suspend the licenses of about 12,000 junior doctors

Will suspend licence of striking junior doctors starting next week: S Korea

South Korea's government said on Thursday it will start suspending the licenses of striking junior doctors next week. Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo made the comments during a briefing as he repeated demands for the doctors to return to work immediately. More than 90 per cent of the country's 13,000 medical interns and residents have been on strike for about a month to protest the government's plan to sharply increase medical school admissions. Their strikes have caused hundreds of cancelled surgeries and other treatments at hospitals. The government has been taking a series of administrative steps to suspend their licenses after they missed a government-set, February 29 deadline to return to work. Officials say the recruitment plan is aimed at adding more doctors to prepare for South Korea's rapidly aging population in a country whose doctor-to-population ratio is one of the lowest in the developed world. But doctors say schools can't handle an abrupt, steep increase in student

Kim Jong Un supervised tests of artillery systems targeting Seoul: N Korea

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised a live-fire drill of nuclear-capable "super-large" multiple rocket launchers designed to target South Korea's capital as he vowed to boost his war deterrent in the face of deepening confrontations with rivals, state media said Tuesday. The report came a day after the South Korean and Japanese militaries said they detected North Korea firing multiple short-range ballistic missiles toward waters off its eastern coast, adding to a streak of weapons displays that have raised regional tensions. Experts say North Korea's large-sized artillery rockets blur the boundaries between artillery systems and ballistic missiles because they can create their own thrust and are guided during delivery. The North has described some of these systems, including the 600 mm multiple rocket launchers that were tested Monday, as capable of delivering tactical nuclear warheads. Photos published by the North's official Korean Central News Agency showed at least six ..