Most Popular
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Blinken calls on China to press N. Korea to end its 'dangerous' behavior
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Hybe refutes Ador CEO Min's denial of breach of trust
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S. Korea, Japan could consider simplified entry agreement: Seoul official
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New celebrity-endorsed therapy for face contouring requires only a pair of rubber bands
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[Weekender] How DDP emerged as an icon of Seoul
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[Herald Interview] Guggenheim Museum makes a push for technology-based art with LG
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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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Tensions heighten ahead of first president-opposition chief meeting
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'The Roundup: Punishment' becomes fastest 2024 film to top 2 mln admissions
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New chief named to anti-corruption body
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FTC opposes presidential candidates' chaebol reform plans
The head of South Korea's antitrust watchdog voiced his opposition Thursday to some measures being pushed by presidential candidates to reform the country's large conglomerates, known as chaebol.The three major candidates have called for an overhaul of sprawling conglomerates under the name of "economic democratization" in what critics say is meant to curry favor with voters ahead of the Dec. 19 presidential election.Fair Trade Commission Chairman Kim Dong-soo cautioned against imposing a ceilin
Nov. 22, 2012
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Over 70 percent of foreign residents in S. Korea employed: report
More than seven of every 10 foreign residents in South Korea are currently employed with nearly half of them working in the manufacturing industry, a government report showed Thursday.According to the report released by Statistics Korea, there were a little more than 1.11 million foreigners aged 15 years or more with work permits in South Korea as of the end of June.Of that total, some 791,000 were employed, posting an overall employment rate of 71 percent at the time of the country‘s first surv
IndustryNov. 22, 2012
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Service, sales workers puff away more than others: report
More service and sales workers in South Korea smoke than those in other job groups, a report said Thursday, suggesting occupation-specific measures should be taken to encourage people to kick the habit.The smoking rate of male service and sales workers aged 19-34 was 62.6 percent, topping that of people in other job groups, according to the report by Prof. Kim Seong-ryeol of Soonchunhyang University. The report is based on a survey of 9,283 people aged 19 years or older throughout the country.Th
TechnologyNov. 22, 2012
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Seoul set to launch space rocket on Nov. 29
South Korea plans to launch the Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1 (KSLV-1) next week in its third attempt to send a rocket into space from its own soil, a government committee said Thursday."Nov. 29 has been set as the candidate launch date," the Naro Launch Preparation Committee said in a released statement. "The possible time of the launch will be between 4 and 6:55 p.m. with the actual time to be decided on the launch date."It said, however, that both the date and time were still tentative as bad
TechnologyNov. 22, 2012
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Seoul shares start higher on U.S. gains
South Korean stocks opened higher Thursday as investor sentiment got a boost from overnight gains on Wall Street following improved jobs data, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) climbed 15.25 points, or 0.81 percent, to trade at 1,899.29 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Shares gathered ground across the board, with market bellwether Samsung Electronics increasing 1.08 percent and top steelmaker POSCO adding 0.81 percent. No. 2 carmaker Kia Motors edged up 0.3
Nov. 22, 2012
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Korea's exports on growing trend in Nov.: data
South Korea's exports are likely to gain ground in November, weathering the global economic slowdown and the local currency's ascent to the U.S. dollar, data showed Thursday.The value of Korea's outbound shipments reached US$28.2 billion during the first 20 days of this month, up 1.7 percent from a year earlier, according to estimates by the finance ministry and the state-run customs agency.The uptrend comes after South Korea's exports grew 1.1 percent in October from a year earlier, the first o
Nov. 22, 2012
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Shares slip on renewed Greece woes
South Korean stocks shed 0.32 percent Wednesday as eurozone leaders’ failure to sort out a Greece aid plan unnerved investor sentiment, analysts said. The local currency lost ground against the U.S. dollar. After opening higher, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index retreated 6.14 points to close at 1,884.04, snapping a two-day rally. Trading volume was moderate at 371.6 million shares worth 3.90 trillion won ($3.59 billion), with losers outstripping gainers 545 to 271. “Uncertainties
Nov. 21, 2012
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Samsung C&T as prime bidder for Turkey hospital
A consortium led by Samsung C&T Corp., the construction and trading arm of South Korea’s Samsung Group, has been selected as a preferred bidder for a $750 million project to build a large hospital in Turkey, a Samsung official said Wednesday.The order placed by Turkey’s government calls for the construction of a 540,000-square-meter hospital in the southeastern Turkish city of Gaziantep, according to the official.The South Korean builder is expected to win a portion worth $180 million out of the
Nov. 21, 2012
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Korea Exchange to launch new stock index next week
South Korea’s stock market operator, the Korea Exchange, said Wednesday it will introduce a new stock index to provide reliable data to investors seeking safer and profitable investments.The index, dubbed the S&P/KRX Dynamic Asset Exchange Index and based on the KOSPI 200 Index and 10-year U.S. Treasuries, is scheduled to be launched at the first trading session of next week, the KRX said. It will be presented from 9:01 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., with the base standing at 1,000.000, it added.The KOSPI 2
Nov. 21, 2012
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Hyundai Motor tops Australian customer satisfaction survey
Hyundai Motor has recently topped the automotive section of the 2012 Canstar Blue, Australia’s leading customer satisfaction survey across industries, the carmaker said Wednesday. The survey, conducted by a local market research firm Colmar Brunton, questioned 7,500 Australian customers who have purchased a new car over the past three years. Among the seven categories surveyed, Hyundai won a maximum five-star score in overall satisfaction, reliability, value for money and after-sales service. Th
IndustryNov. 21, 2012
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KB Financial bolsters Chinese operations
KB Financial Group established a local corporation in China and opened a Beijing branch of its banking unit on Wednesday in a move to advance into Asia’s biggest economy. Over 400 key financial figures from both countries including KB Financial Group chairman Euh Yoon-dae, KB Financial president Lim Young-rok, and officials from China Banking Regulatory Commission attended the opening event, according to KB. “It is a necessary step to strengthen KB Financial Group’s future growth engines to adva
Nov. 21, 2012
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BOK chief urges firms to boost investment, jobs
South Korea’s top central banker called for local companies Wednesday to expand investment and create more jobs in a bid to help the economy recover from a prolonged slowdown.Bank of Korea Gov. Kim Choong-soo said in a meeting with six heads of large firms that companies are facing tough business conditions amid the global downturn, but they should play a key role in helping the Korean economy pull out of the longstanding slowdown.“It may be difficult for companies to make investments under such
Nov. 21, 2012
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Car exports to Africa soar on rising demand
Shipments of South Korean vehicles to African countries rose sharply in the first nine months of the year thanks to rising demand with the region’s political situations stabilized, a trade association said Wednesday.According to the Korean Automobile Manufacturers Association, a total of 146,976 cars were exported to Africa through September this year, up 21.4 percent from 121,030 units shipped to the region last year.However, car exports to Asian countries plunged 18.2 percent on-year to 129,07
Nov. 21, 2012
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Samsung Card demands more commission from Costco
Samsung Card, the local credit card exclusively used at Costco Wholesale, has demanded higher commission from Costco, industry sources said on Wednesday.Samsung reportedly demanded Costco to double the commission rate to up to 1.9 percent from the current 0.7 percent. The rate imposed on Costco had been significantly lower than the industry average, which is about 1.6 percent, according to the Financial Services Commission. Aside from Costco, Samsung Card notified its decision to raise rates for
IndustryNov. 21, 2012
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Lee’s leadership, innovative thinking behind Samsung’s 25 years of growth
Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-hee had said one genius can feed millions of others, stressing the significance of creativity of employees.“We have to hire the best. A genius person is worth more than $1 billion,” said Lee, who has been leading Samsung Group since 1987.As the third son of Samsung founder Lee Byung-chull, the 70-year-old business leader had instructed his staff to “change everything except your wife and kids.”While Samsung Group in the late 1980s was overly focused on mass p
IndustryNov. 21, 2012
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[Newsmaker] Dong-A Pharm owner in disgrace over probes
Kang Shin-ho, chairman of the nation’s top pharmaceutical company Dong-A Pharmaceutical, is being hit with a barrage of criticism over scandals that have hit him and his company.The most recent charge against the company is that it sought to create slush funds worth tens of billions won by purchasing gift cards ― a type of prepaid card ― and reselling them for cash. The prosecution is investigating allegations that Dong-A created the funds to offer kickbacks to local hospitals. The pharmaceutica
IndustryNov. 21, 2012
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Hana Bank to raise funds by collecting used cell phones
Hana Bank kicked off on Monday a fundraising event to help out children in impoverished Asian nations by collecting used cell phones. Hana accumulates 1,000 won every time someone donates a used cell phone to the bank. It plans to raise more funds by selling rare metals found in the phones. The raised fund will be used to support children and schools in Asian countries including Vietnam, Myanmar and Mongolia. “It can also support the low-income class as new jobs are created in the process of dis
IndustryNov. 21, 2012
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ZTE sees Korean market test bed for global match
China’s No. 1 smartphone maker ZTE Corp. said it will target the Korean niche-market of smartphones, calling its Korean operation a screen-test for the global war against Korean tech titans such as Samsung and LG.Currently the Chinese handset firm targets the low-cost, third-generation device sector of the Korean smartphone market. In contrast to public opinion that Korea has completely switched over to Long Term Evolution devices, about 10 percent of customers in Korea are still willing to purc
TechnologyNov. 21, 2012
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Big-box retailers take on Internet
Big-box retailers are confronting their Internet competition head-on this holiday season.As the peak shopping period kicks off this week, Target and Best Buy will be leading the charge against Amazon and other Internet rivals by matching prices that shoppers find online.“The holiday is evolving,” said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at NPD Group. “It’s a paramount issue and retailers had to respond.”The first-time offer is a reaction to the practice known as “showrooming,” in which consume
TechnologyNov. 21, 2012
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Samsung’s smartphone shipments forecast to top 60m in Q4
HONG KONG (Yonhap News) ― Samsung Electronics Co.’s smartphone shipments will likely exceed 60 million units in the fourth quarter of this year, proving its prowess in the world’s mobile phone market despite its ongoing patent war with Apple Inc., an investment bank said Wednesday.UBS estimated that Samsung Electronics will sell 61.5 million units of smartphones in the October-December period, up 5 percent from an estimated 58 million in the previous quarter. The number could reach as high as 63
TechnologyNov. 21, 2012