news highlight

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  PharmaResearch Annual Sales Top 500 Billion Won for First Time PharmaResearch said its annual sales topped 500 billion won for the first time in 2025, driven by growth in its medical device and cosmetics businesses. In a regulatory filing on Tuesday, the company said 2025 revenue rose 53% from a year earlier to 535.7 billion won on a consolidated basis. Operating profit increased 70% to 214.2 billion won. The company said it posted broad-based growth across all business segments, with medical devices and cosmetics leading results. “An increase in do February 4, 2026
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  Polestar’s Rise: From Swedish Racing Roots to a Fast-Growing EV Brand What happens when Volvo’s belief that “safety can’t be an option” meets a racing mindset built on pushing performance to the limit? In an EV market dominated by established names such as Tesla, Volkswagen and Hyundai, Sweden-born Polestar has positioned itself as a performance-focused electric brand with an unusual origin story: a European automaker’s safety-first DNA combined with China-based manufacturing and ownership ties. With competition expected to intensify amid concerns about o February 4, 2026
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  Ryoo Seung-wan, Zo In-sung lead spy action film “Humint” ahead of Lunar New Year Director Ryoo Seung-wan of “Veteran” and “Smugglers” is returning with the spy action film “Humint,” starring Zo In-sung, Park Jeong-min, Shin Se-kyung and Park Hae-joon, aiming for the Lunar New Year holiday box office. A press screening and news conference for the film were held Tuesday afternoon at CGV Yongsan I’Park Mall in Seoul. Ryoo and cast members Zo, Park Jeong-min, Shin and Park Hae-joon attended. “Humint” refers to intelligence work using human networks — informants. Set in V February 4, 2026
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  South Korea Pharma-Bio Brief: Dong-A Launches Pureka; Yuhan Marks 100 Years; Celltrion, Samsung Biologics Updates Dong-A Pharm launches Pureka, a stick-pack salad with 41 fruits and vegetables Dong-A Pharm said Tuesday it has launched Pureka, a single-serve stick pack that contains 41 fruits and vegetables for convenient consumption. The company said the product targets consumers seeking to improve eating habits for health management. It is positioned around the “reverse eating” trend — eating vegetables, then protein, then carbohydrates — aimed at moderating post-meal blood sugar spikes, offering February 4, 2026
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  Heritage agency unions file complaint against former chief over Kim Keon Hee allegations The controversy over allegations that Kim Keon Hee, wife of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, improperly used national heritage sites has escalated into an internal clash at the Korea Heritage Service. The agency’s internal audit led to heavy discipline for working-level officials who followed instructions, while excluding Choi Eung-chon, who led the agency at the time — a result unions described as scapegoating. Some in the civil service say the fallout will be hard to resolve unless admin February 4, 2026
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  Hanwha to Debut AI-Enabled Loitering Precision-Guided Weapon at Saudi Defense Show Hanwha is set to unveil advanced weapons systems to the global market for the first time, including an artificial intelligence-enabled “loitering precision-guided weapon (L-PGW).” Hanwha Aerospace, Hanwha Systems and Hanwha Ocean said Tuesday they will take part in the World Defense Show 2026 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from Feb. 8-12 with their largest-ever integrated booth, covering 677 square meters (including 50 square meters outdoors). The biennial show is being held for the third time t February 4, 2026
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  Hanwha Ocean Tops 1 Trillion Won in Operating Profit After 3 Years, Labor Tensions Loom Hanwha Ocean has reached 1 trillion won in operating profit three years after its launch, strengthening earnings stability across Hanwha Group as the shipbuilder focuses on LNG carriers and specialty vessels. According to the industry on Tuesday, Hanwha Ocean said in a regulatory filing that its 2025 consolidated revenue rose to 12.6884 trillion won and operating profit climbed to 1.1091 trillion won as sales of commercial and specialty ships increased. Revenue was up 18% from a year earl February 4, 2026
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  Mortgage Rates Top Unsecured Loan Rates at South Korea’s Five Biggest Banks Mortgage rates at South Korea’s five biggest banks — KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori and NH NongHyup — have risen above unsecured personal-loan rates across the board, upending the usual pricing rule that secured loans cost less. The shift is increasingly being seen as a new normal, leaving borrowers facing maturities or rate resets weighing whether to use cheaper unsecured loans to pay down part of their mortgages. As of Feb. 4, the banks’ five-year fixed or hybrid mortgage rates rang February 4, 2026
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  Lotte Chemical posts 2025 operating loss of 943.6 billion won as deficit widens Lotte Chemical said Tuesday it posted 2025 consolidated revenue of 18.483 trillion won and an operating loss of 943.6 billion won. Revenue fell 7.1% from a year earlier, while the operating loss widened 3.2%. The company has remained in the red for four straight years since 2022, citing oversupply of commodity petrochemical products from China. In the fourth quarter, revenue totaled 4.7099 trillion won and the operating loss was 433.9 billion won. Its basic materials business — Lotte Ch February 4, 2026