Most Popular
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Yoon sorry for shortcomings but insists policies were right
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1 in 3 Koreans live alone, family types becoming diverse
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Korea, Japan finance chiefs vow to tame rampant FX market volatility
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US 'incredibly concerned' about suspected NK-Iran military ties
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Korean won weakens amid heightened uncertainty
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Sewol victims commemorated on tragedy's 10th anniversary
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K-pop group's manager dismissed for setting up spycam in theater dressing room
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Chanel, Louis Vuitton see muted growth in Korea
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K-pop singer lost consciousness after being hit by foul ball, cancels show
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Conservative bloc divided over Han’s role in election defeat
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Credit card spending up 9.2 percent in Oct.
South Korea’s credit card spending climbed 9.2 percent in October from a year earlier due to rising consumer prices and improved employment, a trade association said Tuesday.Purchases made with credit cards totaled 43.6 trillion won ($40.6 billion) in October, up 3.7 trillion won from the previous year, according to the Credit Finance Association.On the other hand, transactions made with plastics edged down 4.9 percent on-month in October, as local credit card spending surged temporally in Septe
Dec. 18, 2012
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Korea’s top 10 hits in the year 2012
Cultural content and IT products continue to dominate Samsung Economic Research Institute’s annual top 10 list of consumer favorites.The 2012 list gleaned from experts and 19,701 Internet survey respondents evenly split services and products. Singer Psy’s “Gangnam Style,” the global sensation, was No. 1 favorite as nearly 90 percent of respondents included in their top 10 selection. It was followed by: k “Anipang,” a smartphone puzzle game; l 2012 Galaxy series smart devices; m vehicle black box
Dec. 18, 2012
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‘KOSPI will reach a new historical high by mid-year’
I expect the Korean Stock Exchange to pass its April 27, 2011, historical high of 2,231 by the middle of 2013. The KOSPI suffered a knee-jerk plunge after the Greek crisis erupted in mid-2011, and entered a gradual-but-choppy upchannel in August of that year. The upper range of this upchannel will cross 2,231 around mid-June 2013. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Citi and UBS have all forecast the KOSPI will rise to 2,300 by the end of 2013. I agree with these forecasts, which are supported by a s
Dec. 18, 2012
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Grandsons coming to the fore at chaebol
The third generation is coming under a growing spotlight in the family-owned conglomerate sector as heirs apparent of the incumbent chairmen and grandsons of the late chaebol founders.The second generation business leaders such as Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-hee and Hyundai Motor chairman Chung Mong-koo have successfully carried out power transitions to their sons over the past few years.Chung Yong-jin, a son of Samsung founder Lee Byung-chull’s daughter, opened the third-generation era
IndustryDec. 18, 2012
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KB Financial Group builds up global network for expansion
KB Financial Group is stepping up its efforts to strengthen its overseas network by opening branches and business cooperation with financial institutions overseas.Korea’s leading financial group believes such efforts will help it secure a new source of income.The lender is focusing on the financial markets of China, Indonesia, India and Vietnam, whose rapid growth is expected to continue in the future.The latest move by KB Financial Group to expand its overseas network was to establish a corpora
Dec. 18, 2012
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KEPCO outlines set of measures to control peak electricity demand
With another cold spell expected on Tuesday, the Korea Electric Power Corp., the nation’s sole electricity transmission and distribution operator, is on alert to prevent blackouts caused by surges in energy demand.The electricity supply has failed to keep up with demand during energy peak seasons for the past few years. Together with the Ministry of Knowledge Economy and other energy-related organizations, the state-run utility company has developed an energy contingency plan to keep daily elect
Dec. 18, 2012
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SK chairman Chey steps down
SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won stepped down from his top post to remain as a "strategic" shareholder, the group said on Tuesday. The country’s No. 3 conglomerate named SK Chemical vice chairman Kim Chang-keun to succeed Chey.The conglomerate’s top decision-making council held a meeting, attended by heads of its 17 major affiliates, at its headquarters in downtown Seoul to decide on Kim to lead the group beginning this month.Chey will still hold the chief executive positions at SK Holdings, SK
IndustryDec. 18, 2012
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Homeplus chairman conferred CEO award
Homeplus chairman Lee Seung-han received “2012 Korea’s Excellent Business CEO Award” in a business conference hosted by the Korean Standard Association in Seoul on Tuesday. Lee was presented the award in recognition of his strengths as a business leader in quality management, adherence to shared growth, and supporting corporate social responsibilities, the retailer company said. Upon receiving the honor, Lee said that a corporation needed two things: a business vision based on growth and high ma
TechnologyDec. 18, 2012
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International court acquits Congo rebel leader
The International Criminal Court has acquitted a Congolese militia leader of all charges of leading fighters who destroyed a strategic village in eastern Congo in 2003, hacking to death and raping some 200 people including women and children. Tuesday's acquittal of Mathieu Ngudjolo is only the second verdict in the court's 10-year history and the first time it has cleared a suspect.Prosecutor Fatou Besnouda immediately indicated she would appeal and ask for Ngudjolo to be kept in custody.Ngudjol
IndustryDec. 18, 2012
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Seoul shares gain 0.51 pct on foreign buying
South Korean stocks closed 0.51 percent higher on Tuesday on the back of foreigners' buying, but the gain was capped due to remaining corporate uncertainties, analysts said. The local currency fell slightly against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 10.02 points to finish at 1,993.09. Trading volume was moderate at 446.9 million shares worth 4.55 trillion won ($4.24 billion) with gainers outnumbering losers 426 to 384."We've seen steady foreign inflows
Dec. 18, 2012
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U.S. court dismisses Apple's request to ban sales of Samsung products
A U.S. court dismissed Apple Inc.'s request to permanently ban sales of some Samsung Electronics Co. devices in the country, granting an upper hand to the South Korean handset maker in the patent war between the two tech giants, a local court filing showed Tuesday.Following a pro-Apple jury verdict in late August, the iPhone maker had filed for an injunction to permanently ban sales of 26 Samsung products in the U.S.Samsung refuted that 23 of those models were already off the market, and others
TechnologyDec. 18, 2012
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Frogs in milk could lead to new drugs
An old Russian way of keeping milk from going sour by putting a frog in the bucket of milk has led to the finding of new antibiotic substances, scientists say.Organic chemist A.T. Lebedev of Moscow State University and colleagues have identified a number of potential new antibiotic compounds in the skin of the Russian Brown frog, a study published in the American Chemical Society‘s Journal of Proteome Research reported.Amphibians secrete antimicrobial substances called peptides through their ski
TechnologyDec. 18, 2012
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Study: Early humans had a taste for grass
About 3 million years ago the diet of our very early ancestors in central Africa is likely to have consisted mainly of tropical grasses, researchers say. A new study led by Oxford University of the fossilized teeth of three early hominim Australopithecus bahrelghazali individuals analyzed carbon isotopes in the teeth and found the signature of a diet rich in foods derived from tropical grasses and sedges, flowering plants resembling rushes, a university release reported. The discovery suggests
TechnologyDec. 18, 2012
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Saber-tooth cat fossil found in Nevada
Paleontologists working near Las Vegas say they‘ve made an important and rare fossil find, the bones of a saber-tooth cat.“I hate to say we hit the jackpot, this being Vegas -- but we did!” Eric Scott, curator of paleontology at the San Bernardino County Museum in California, told the Highland (Calif.) News.“Meat-eaters are generally uncommon in the fossil record. This makes fossil remains of extinct carnivores very rare and special -- and very tough to find.”Saber-toothed cats, so named for the
TechnologyDec. 18, 2012
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GSK, Pfizer reduce Korean staff to stave off challenges
Top-ranking pharmaceutical companies in Korea are expected to prune their workforces in the face of challenges both at home and abroad including sluggish economic conditions and a number of deep-seated shortcomings that are finally being addressed. GlaxoSmithKline, the largest pharmaceutical company in Korea in terms of sales, is planning to hand out early retirement packages to up to 100 employees ― more than 10 percent of its workforce of 750 ― before the year is over. The firm is currently re
IndustryDec. 17, 2012
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Rising foreign investment in Korean stocks may lead to bubble
The share of foreign investment in the Korean stock market rose to its highest since the global financial crisis in 2008-2009 as global liquidity increased thanks to policy rate cuts and quantitative easing by major economies in the U.S. and Europe. “Ample global liquidity revived the preference for risky assets, while foreign-exchange gains due to the Korean won’s strength and Korean firms’ stable profits attracted foreign investors,” said Lee Soo-jung, a researcher at Korea Investment and Secu
Dec. 17, 2012
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Shares slip on U.S. fiscal cliff woes
South Korean stocks retreated 0.6 percent on Monday as investors sat on the sidelines while keeping a wary eye on stalled spending cut talks in the United States. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 11.98 points to close at 1,983.06. Trading volume was moderate at 360.4 million shares worth 4.19 trillion won ($3.90 billion) with decliners outpacing gainers 497 to 309. “Investors felt more pressure as the deadline for an agreement
Dec. 17, 2012
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Daewoo Shipbuilding wins deal to build 2 LNG carriers
Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., a South Korean shipbuilder, said Monday that it has clinched a contract from a Canadian shipping company to build two liquefied natural gas carriers.Under the deal with Teekay Corp., Daewoo Shipbuilding will deliver the vessels with a capacity of 173,000 cubic meters of LNG by 2016, the company said.The contract also includes an option of three more carriers, it added.The shipbuilder, however, did not disclose the financial terms of the contract.Each
IndustryDec. 17, 2012
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Hyundai Mobis completes plant in Slovakia
Hyundai Mobis Co., South Korea’s biggest auto parts manufacturer, said Monday that it has kicked off production of conventional braking systems at its plant in Slovakia.Hyundai Mobis, an auto parts arm of Hyundai Motor Group, spent 50 billion won ($46.6 million) to complete the line to produce the braking system components at its Slovakia plant located in the northern region of Zilina.The new production line will have an annual production capacity of 600,000 conventional braking system component
MobilityDec. 17, 2012
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KEPCO names ex-vice minister as new CEO
KEPCO, the state-run power distributor, named former Vice Knowledge Economy Minister Cho Hwan-eik as its new CEO in its shareholders’ meeting in Seoul on Monday. The top priority for KEPCO’s new CEO Cho will be to control power demand and supply during the wintertime, industry sources said. KEPCO seems to have selected Cho to more effectively push for KEPCO’s drive to business expansion overseas, the sources said. Cho once led the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency.He also served as a senio
Dec. 17, 2012