Most Popular
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Exports to US reach all-time high, widen gap with China
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Trump rekindles criticism: US forces defending 'wealthy' S. Korea 'free of charge'
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[Music in drama] Rekindle a love that slipped through your fingers
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S. Korea discussed possible participation in AUKUS Pillar 2 with Australia: defense minister
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Opposition-led Assembly unilaterally passes bill to probe Marine's death
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[New faces of Assembly] Architect behind ‘audacious initiative’ believes in denuclearized North Korea
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Seoul Metro to seek legal action against malicious complaints
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Illit, mired in controversy, remains on Billboard charts for 5th week
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On May Day, labor unions blast Yoon's foreign nanny proposal
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Golden chance to liquidate babies’ gold rings?
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SME exporters vulnerable to sharp fall in the yen
The recent sharp fall in Japanese yen’s value poses a threat to local small and medium exporters to Japan, due in part to a lack of currency hedging strategy, the Korea International Trade Association said Thursday.“SME exporters tend to be more vulnerable to currency fluctuation than conglomerates simply because local SMEs have made little investment in developing a strategy to lower risk caused by currency volatility,” a KITA official said. “Most conglomerates have dozens of personnel who deal
Jan. 24, 2013
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Olive Young breaks into China
In a few months, the first overseas store of Olive Young, Korea’s largest health and beauty store chain, will open near Shanghai’s Jiuguang Department Store, backed by a legion of CJ Group affiliates and riding on hallyu.“With K-beauty, K-food and K-pop zones brandishing products promoted by hallyu stars, the Shanghai outlet will look similar to our two-story flagship store in Seoul’s Myeong-dong, only about half the size,” Kim Jin-gook, head of CJ Olive Young’s merchandise division, said in an
IndustryJan. 24, 2013
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Seoul shares dip 0.8 pct on currency woes
South Korean stocks inched down 0.8 percent Thursday as the currency volatility in the foreign exchange market continued to weigh down on investor sentiment, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 15.93 points to finish at 1,964.48. Trading volume was high at 551.2 million shares worth 4.46 trillion won (US$4.18 billion) with losers far outnumbering winners 518 to 289."Shares of local carmakers and technology fi
Jan. 24, 2013
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Hyundai Motor posts record high net profit in 2012
Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's largest automaker, said Thursday that its 2012 earnings reached a record high on robust sales in overseas markets.Net profit reached 9.06 trillion won (US$8.96 billion) last year, up 11.7 percent from 8.1 trillion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.Operating profit rose 5.1 percent to 8.4 trillion won in the same period, with sales rising 8.6 percent to 84.5 trillion won, the company said."We continued brisk performance in 2012," Hyundai
Jan. 24, 2013
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Taiwanese ramen bowl has iPhone dock
A Taiwanese company has dubbed its latest product, a ramen noodles bowl with an iPhone dock, the “anti-loneliness bowl.”MisoSoupDesign partners Minnie Jan and Daisuke Nagatomo, who attended Columbia University together, said they were inspired to create the “anti-loneliness bowl” when they spotted a man eating alone while clutching his phone, the New York Daily News reported Wednesday.“He just couldn‘t let the phone go!” Jan said. “We thought it would be a good idea to help him restore his manne
TechnologyJan. 24, 2013
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S. Korea's Naro space rocket set to blast off on Jan. 30
South Korea will again seek to join the elite global space club next week with a third launch of its Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1 (KSLV-1), the science ministry said Thursday.The space rocket, also known as Naro, will be launched Wednesday from the country's Naro Space Center, 480 kilometers south of Seoul, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said in a released statement. The decision came at a meeting of the Launch Preparation Committee."After reviewing launch preparations and wea
TechnologyJan. 24, 2013
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Online game ‘ArcheAge’ to see a watershed for success this weekend
Korean online game “ArcheAge” is expected to face a turning point for success this weekend.XLGAMES, developer of “ArcheAge,” released a game installation package called “Smart Package” through local convenience stores on Dec. 21. The package included game client installation DVDs, the game’s original soundtrack and a 10-day free play coupon.The package, which costs 3,900 won, was popular with customers who were waiting for one of the most anticipated blockbuster titles of 2013. On the day of its
TechnologyJan. 24, 2013
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Seoul shares down 0.09 pct in late-morning trade
South Korean stocks traded 0.09 percent lower late Thursday morning due to losses in large-cap exporters, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) dipped 1.8 points to 1,978.61 as of 11:20 a.m.Tech giant Samsung Electronics fell 0.61 percent and LG Display, a major screen supplier of Apple, dropped 2.42 percent.Carmakers continued bearish movement amid the yen weakness, with industry leader Hyundai Motor sliding 1.38 percent.However, top steelmaker POSCO rose 1.94
Jan. 24, 2013
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U.S. trade body to review Apple-Samsung patent ruling
The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has decided to review a judge's ruling that could potentially lead to an import ban on several Samsung Electronics Co. products on rival Apple Inc.'s home turf.In a decision made on Wednesday in Washington, the ITC said it would review the preliminary ruling that found Samsung smartphones and tablet PCs infringed upon four patents held by the iPhone maker.In October, ITC Administrative Law Judge Thomas Pender ruled that Samsung mobile devices infring
IndustryJan. 24, 2013
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Global Internet hit 2012 speed bump: study
Global Internet connection speeds around the world slowed in late 2012, according to a survey released Wednesday that suggested a temporary stall in broadband gains.Akamai Technologies‘ third quarter “State of the Internet” report also showed China remained the biggest source of computer attacks, and that Brazil and China appear to have the biggest surge in Web use. The global average connection speed decreased by some seven percent between the second and third quarters of 2012 to 2.8 megabytes
TechnologyJan. 24, 2013
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Seoul shares start lower on poor economic data
South Korean stocks opened lower Thursday on the country's lower-than-expected growth, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 12.52 points, or 0.63 percent, to 1,967.89 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Large-cap shares led the decline, with market bellwether Samsung Electronics falling 1.36 percent.Top shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries lost 1.1 percent and No. 1 carmaker Hyundai Motor slid 1.83 percent.The country's central bank said earlier in the day th
Jan. 24, 2013
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U.S. panel approves heavy duties on Korean washers
A U.S. trade panel on Wednesday approved heavy anti-dumping duties on South Korean-made washing machines, ending a domestic process initiated by a petition by Whirlpool Corp., a Michigan-based home appliance maker.The United States International Trade Commission (USITC) announced that it "determined that a U.S. industry is materially injured by reason of imports of certain large residential washers from Korea that the U.S. Department of Commerce has determined are subsidized and from Korea and M
IndustryJan. 24, 2013
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Korea’s 2012 GDP hits three-year low at 2%
Korea’s economy grew by 2 percent in 2012, the slowest in three years, due to low consumption and a sharp decline in facility investment stemming from the global economic slowdown, the Bank of Korea said Thursday.The actual growth rate of the nation’s gross domestic product is lower than the initial forecast of 2.4 percent made in October 2012, and the lowest since 2009 when growth expanded by just 0.3 percent during the global financial crisis. The BOK said the GDP grew 0.4 percent in the fourt
Jan. 24, 2013
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Samsung buys time with ITC review
The U.S. International Trade Commission has decided to review a previous preliminary ruling to ban the sales of Samsung Electronics’ smartphones. The move is likely to buy the company some time, but may not be all good news for the Korean electronics maker. The review will be for four of the six patents that a judge of the commission had ruled to be infringing Apple’s patents. Both Samsung and Apple appealed the ruling, which had been reached in October last year. Many viewed the ruling at the t
TechnologyJan. 24, 2013
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Korea moves to rein in currency strength
The Korean won is being pushed to the edge by two major international currencies of the U.S. dollar and the Japanese yen, raising concerns over Korean exports, the country’s main growth engine.With Japan joining the U.S. in monetary easing to stimulate its economy, there is a high chance that the Korean won will further strengthen against their currencies, causing its top-selling automobiles and tech gadgets to lose their price competitiveness overseas.Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan has stepped i
Jan. 23, 2013
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Royalty payments near $8b
Korea spent about $7.7 billion on royalty payments, including the usage of intellectual property rights, to foreign firms for the first 11 months of 2012, data from the Bank of Korea and Idea Bridge Asset Management showed Wednesday.The payments posted a 5.5 percent growth from the previous year, according to the central bank. But royalties paid to local information technology firms remained at $3.24 billion during that period, bringing the overall balance to a deficit of $4.45 billion, accordin
Jan. 23, 2013
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4 Korean think tanks listed in world rankings
Four Korean research institutions were recognized for being in the world’s top 150 think tanks, a report showed on Tuesday.The list released by an academic program at the University of Pennsylvania placed the government-affiliated Korea Institute for International Economic Policy at 55th. Three other Korean institutes made the 2012 Global GoTo Think Tank Index. The Korea Development Institute took 58th place, the East Asia Institute was 65th and the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Secu
TechnologyJan. 23, 2013
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Female vice president named GM Korea CFO
GM Korea Co., the local unit of U.S. General Motors Co., said Wednesday that a female vice president has been named its chief financial officer.Minerva Matibag, currently the CFO for GM’s Brazil unit, will also be in charge of finances for the firm’s operations in Vietnam and Uzbekistan, GM Korea said in a statement. The first woman CFO of GM Korea will start her job on Feb. 1, the company added.The Filipina started her financial career at GM’s Asia Pacific office in 1997 and went on to financia
MobilityJan. 23, 2013
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Samsung taps former Sony exec to head Japanese arm
Masaaki Tsuruta, a former executive at Sony of Japan, was tapped as the head of Samsung Electronics Japan, Samsung officials confirmed Wednesday.Tsuruta, 56, was appointed to the post as of Jan. 1 to overlook the Japanese corporation, which is mandated to handle mostly equipment and parts, such as semiconductors and LCD panels.Samsung Electronics had reshuffled its Japanese operations in March last year by disassembling its existing entity to form two separate offices: one for handling smartphon
IndustryJan. 23, 2013
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LSIS wins power system order for KEPCO-Alstom JV
LSIS, a leading cable company in Korea, said Wednesday it was selected as a preferred bidder to manufacture a high-voltage direct current system, an advanced electric power transmissions technology, for KEPCO-Alstom Power Electronics System. KEPCO-Alstom Power Electronics System is a joint venture firm between state-run KEPCO and France-based Alstom for electricity-related businesses. The deal will transfer the HVDC technology to LSIS and support the company to tap into the lucrative, high-end e
Jan. 23, 2013