Most Popular
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Blinken calls on China to press N. Korea to end its 'dangerous' behavior
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New celebrity-endorsed therapy for face contouring requires only a pair of rubber bands
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Tensions heighten ahead of first president-opposition chief meeting
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Seoul to provide housing subsidy to married couples with newborns
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[Weekender] How DDP emerged as an icon of Seoul
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Rapper jailed after public street fight with another rapper
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Doctor group's incoming head renews call for govt. to scrap medical school quota hike for dialogue
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Woman gets suspended term for injuring boyfriend with knife
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[KH Explains] No more 'Michael' at Kakao Games
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[Music in drama] An ode to childhood trauma
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Samsung set to see record profit in Q4: analysts
Samsung Electronics is expected to reach a new record high in its fourth-quarter earnings with the arrival of the industry’s seasonal peak during the year-end holiday season.Local analysts are projecting that the global IT behemoth’s sales and profit figures will further hit the firm’s highest ― up as high as 55.65 trillion won ($50 billion) and 8.83 trillion won, respectively ― from October to December.Samsung has been renewing its profit figure quarter after quarter with the firm logging a rec
IndustryDec. 20, 2012
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Shinhan acquires stake in Indonesian bank
Shinhan Bank, the flagship unit of South Korea’s No. 4 banking group, Shinhan Financial Group Co., said Thursday it has signed a deal to acquire a stake in an Indonesian bank.Under the deal, the South Korean bank will purchase a 40 percent stake in Bank Metro Express, whose net assets stand at $70 million, with non-performing loans accounting for 0.72 percent.A non-performing loan refers to debts that have been overdue for more than three months and thus put creditors at a high risk of being una
Dec. 20, 2012
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Neighbor star found to have five planets
Five planets are orbiting a sun-like star not far the Earth, one in the so-called "habitable zone" where liquid water can exist, British astronomers say.An analysis of existing planet-hunting data by astronomers at the University of Hertfordshire with international colleagues uncovered the quintet of planets circling the star Tau Ceti, the BBC reported.The star is the second nearby one known to host planets, joining Alpha Centauri, our sun's closest neighbor.The five planets include worlds with
TechnologyDec. 20, 2012
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S. Korean corporate failures hit 8-month low in Nov.
The number of South Korean corporate bankruptcies fell to the lowest level in eight months last month amid the protracted downturn, the central bank said Thursday. The number of firms that went belly-up totaled 93 last month, compared with 116 in October, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).It is the lowest since 90 firms recorded in March. The on-month drop in corporate bankruptcies is largely attributable to the economic situation not becoming any worse amid continued government efforts to bo
IndustryDec. 20, 2012
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Seoul shares open higher on new gov't hopes
South Korean stocks got off to a strong start on Thursday, boosted by expectations for the president-elect and her new government scheduled to take office next year, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) advanced 11.48 points, or 0.58 percent, to 2,004.57 in the first 15 minutes of trading. On Wednesday, ruling conservative candidate Park Geun-hye won the presidential election against rival Moon Jae-in of the liberal opposition by garnering 51.6 percent of the vo
Dec. 20, 2012
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U.S. imposes heavy duties on Korean washers
The U.S. Commerce Department announced Wednesday that it has reached a final decision to slap heavy anti-dumping duties on South Korean-made washing machines.In a ruling described by the American firm Whirlpool Corp., the department determined that LG, Samsung and Daewoo have sold large washers in the U.S. at "dumping margins of 9.29 percent to 82.41 percent."The anti-dumping duties for the two leading South Korean makers of electronics products -- LG and Samsung -- were set at 13.02 percent and
IndustryDec. 20, 2012
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Samsung’s retreat in Europe signals strategic turnaround
Samsung Electronics has dropped its request for a ban on the sale of a number of Apple’s smartphones and tablet computers in Europe, signaling it may be gearing toward a new strategy in the high-profile patent war with the iPhone maker. Samsung spokespeople said on Tuesday that the company has abandoned the request to “compete with actual products, and not with litigation.” Samsung also said it has acted “in the interest of protecting consumer choice.” The move came a day after a U.S. federal ju
IndustryDec. 19, 2012
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Hana Financial takes initiative in social contributions
Hana Financial Group is carrying out a variety of social contribution activities, as a promise for shared growth with the underprivileged in the local and overseas market.Earlier this year, Hana Bank, the group’s flagship unit, finished a tree planting event in Thai Binh Phu and Nam Phu, Vietnam, aimed at enriching the mangrove woods in the region.Mangrove woods are thought to help prevent global warming by absorbing Carbon-dioxide and protect coastal areas from natural disasters.In the event, a
Dec. 19, 2012
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Korea, Hong Kong agree on customs cooperation
HONG KONG (Yonhap News) ― Korea and Hong Kong have agreed to cooperate on customs services, officials here said Wednesday. Joo Yung-sup, the commissioner of the Korea Customs Service, and Clement Cheung, the commissioner of Hong Kong Customs and Excise, signed the agreement Tuesday in Seoul on the sidelines of a customs cooperation conference between the two sides, Hong Kong officials said.The conference offered a platform for the customs offices from South Korea and from Hong Kong to update the
Dec. 19, 2012
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Korea’s labor productivity drops in 3rd quarter
South Korea’s labor productivity fell from a year earlier in the third quarter amid the protracted economic slowdown, a report showed Wednesday.The country’s overall labor productivity moved down 1.8 percent on-year to 104 in the July-September period, led by losses in the construction industry, where the productivity index plunged 14.1 percent, according to a report by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy.Labor productivity is measured by dividing industrial output by labor input during a given pe
Dec. 19, 2012
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Korea bans Brazilian beef imports over mad cow disease
Korea has suspended beef imports from Brazil due to fears of mad cow disease according to Valor, a Brazilian economic daily, on Tuesday. The Korean authorities could not be reached for confirmation Wednesday, a national holiday for the presidential election.South Korea became the sixth nation to ban Brazilian beef imports after China, Japan, South Africa, Egypt and Saudi Arabia after confirmation of a 2010 case of atypical bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE, in Parana state by Brazil’s agr
Dec. 19, 2012
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Volkswagen Korea aims to sell over 20,000 cars next year
Volkswagen Korea, the local importer of Germany’s Volkswagen Group, said Tuesday that it will seek to sell more than 20,000 vehicles in the South Korean market next year by strengthening its best-selling car lineup.“We set our 2013 sales target at 23,000 units with 35 percent growth from this year. Next year will be our second take-off for joining the 20,000 vehicle club,” said Volkswagen Korea in a statement.Volkswagen Korea sold 16,613 units through November this year, up nearly 42 percent on-
TechnologyDec. 19, 2012
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Korean auto parts makers to further grow on China
HONG KONG (Yonhap News) ― South Korean auto parts makers will likely continue to increase profits thanks to China’s automobile markets, a report said Wednesday.Parts makers with high earnings contributions from Chinese subsidiaries, such as Mando Corp., Sungwoo Hitech Co. and Hwashin Co., are expected to enjoy sound earnings growth, Woori Investment & Securities said in a report.“We believe that China will continue to post leading global auto sales growth in 2013 thanks to the Chinese government
Dec. 19, 2012
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Samsung overtakes Nokia as top handset maker
Samsung Electronics overtook Nokia as the top mobile phone brand this year and took the lead over Apple in smartphones, a U.S. research firm said Tuesday. According to IHS iSuppli, the Korean electronics giant made 29 percent of global cell-phone shipments this year, up from 24 percent in 2011. Finland-based Nokia, however, saw its market share fall to 24 percent from 30 percent over the past year, ending its 14-year reign on top. In the meantime, Apple’s share slightly increased from 19 percent
IndustryDec. 19, 2012
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Hyundai Hmall slapped with W54.2b tax fine
Home shopping company Hyundai Hmall said on Tuesday that it was slapped with a tax penalty from the National Tax Service for underpayment of sales tax. The fine is worth about 54.2 billion won ($50.5 million), which accounts for about 6.5 percent of the company’s 832.4 billion won in capital. The state-run tax agency imposed the penalty on the company for not following its sales commission tax policy, having paid less tax than other major home shopping firms for the last five years.Hyundai Hmall
IndustryDec. 19, 2012
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SK scheduled for restructuring next year
SK Group, the nation’s No. 3 conglomerate, is expected to restructure its affiliates in 2013 following a change of leadership earlier this week. Issuing a gloomy outlook of the country’s economy for next year, local analysts predicted that SK may go through a reorganizing of its affiliates that have overlapping business projects. The reported merger of SK Planet and SK Marketing & Company signaled the first step of the conglomerate streamlining its subsidiaries.The two companies are expected to
IndustryDec. 19, 2012
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KB’s expansion plans hit snag as ING takeover fails
KB Financial Group’s plan to diversify business appears to have hit a snag as its push to take over ING Life’s Korean arm ended up a damp squib.KB Financial Group chairman Euh Yoon-dae has sought to bolster its non-banking business to grow into what he called a “mega bank” that could compete with global banks.But the apparent blow to Euh that left a blot on his career is expected to negatively affect the nation’s No. 2 financial group’s future course in regard to its endeavors for mergers and ac
Dec. 19, 2012
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LG defeats U.S. firm’s patent claims in German court
A German court has ruled in favor of LG Electronics Inc. on a technology patent suit filed by U.S. technology firm Rovi Corporation, company officials said Wednesday.The ruling handed down Tuesday by a court in Mannheim, Germany said that LG Electronics did not infringe on a patent on organizing preferred channels for televisions.In April last year, the U.S. electronic program guide solution provider filed for an injunction with the German court against LG Electronics to ban sales of its televis
TechnologyDec. 19, 2012
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Intel smartphone chips as energy efficient as competitors: report
In a milestone that is expected to help Intel’s push into the smartphone and tablet markets, the Santa Clara, California, tech giant finally has made its brainy microchips as energy efficient as those from companies using a design by Britain-based ARM Holdings, which now dominate the mobile market, according to a new report.That’s important for Intel, which for years got the cold shoulder from phone and tablet makers because its power-hungry chips shortened the battery life of mobile devices. Wi
TechnologyDec. 19, 2012
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Microsoft, HTC draw closer to create smartphone rally
Microsoft Corp. Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer, on a swing through Taiwan this month, made time to meet with Peter Chou, his counterpart at HTC Corp.On Chou’s agenda: the low screen resolution that prompted HTC to scrap plans for a bigger smartphone using Microsoft’s mobile software, a person familiar with the matter said this week.Ballmer needs to stay on Chou’s good side. HTC could help his company vie with Apple Inc. and Google Inc. in the 718- million-unit smartphone market, where, ac
TechnologyDec. 19, 2012