Most Popular
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10-man S. Korea lose to Indonesia to miss out on Paris Olympic football qualification
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Hybe-Ador feud should have limited effect on Hybe's overall performance: analysts
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Second Gimpo civil servant found dead, after apologizing for not finishing work
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DP leader says he will meet Yoon without conditions
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First-ever meeting of president, opposition chief set to finally happen
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NewJeans' singles, Japanese debut to proceed as planned, despite Hybe-Ador feud
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Blinken calls on China to press N. Korea to end its 'dangerous' behavior
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Experts raise concerns about Japan putting pressure on Naver over Line
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Samsung mobile chief, Google device head meet in Seoul
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Ship linked to NK arms shipments to Russia is moored in China: State Dept.
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Samsung founder’s commemoration event tainted by family discord
YONGIN, Gyeonggi Province ― The late Samsung founder Lee Byung-chull’s 25th commemoration ceremony was marred on Monday by family discord caused by an inheritance lawsuit.Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-hee and his family members including heir apparent Lee Jay-yong, and about 100 Samsung senior executives paid their respects to the founder at around 11 a.m. at the family burial ground in Yongin.Hong Ra-hee, chairman Lee’s wife and chief of Ho-Am Art Museum, and Lee’s two daughters Boo-jin
IndustryNov. 19, 2012
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Pollution hurts brain function in elderly
Living in areas of high air pollution is an environmental risk to seniors' brain health and function, U.S. researchers found."The study shows the unexpectedly adverse effects of air pollutants on brain function in the elderly," Caleb Finch, the ARCO/William F. Kieschnick Professor in the Neurobiology of Aging at the University of Southern California at Davis, said in a statement.Jennifer Ailshire -- a sociologist, demographer and postdoctoral student at the USC Davis School of Gerontology -- sai
TechnologyNov. 19, 2012
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The brains behind freestyle rap
Freestyle rap, an improvised style of the music genre associated with back-to-front baseball caps, baggy jeans and gold chains, has burst onto the science stage, shedding light on the workings of the brain.Researchers at the National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders in the United States have examined freestyle rappers' brains to see which areas light up during the creative phase.The stream-of-consciousness singing style involves artists making up lyrics on the spot, guided
TechnologyNov. 19, 2012
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Seoul shares start higher on U.S. gains
South Korean stocks opened higher Monday as investor sentiment was boosted by last week's gains on Wall Street, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) climbed 13.77 points, or 0.74 percent, to trade at 1874.60 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Shares gathered ground across the board, with market bellwether Samsung Electronics increasing 0.84 percent and leading carmaker Hyundai Motor adding 0.46 percent. Top builder Hyundai Engineering & Construction climbed 1.15
Nov. 19, 2012
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Overseas construction orders top $50 bln for 3rd year
Overseas orders won by South Korean builders surpassed $50 billion for the third straight year in 2012, due to increased demand from the Middle East, Latin America and Africa, data showed Monday.Local builders signed deals worth $51.6 billion during the January-November period, up 13 percent from the same period last year, according to the data released by the International Contractors Association of Korea.Still, industry officials said it remained unclear whether the companies could achieve the
IndustryNov. 19, 2012
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Economy, election force companies to slim down
Korea’s corporate landscape is expected to witness some major pruning as companies, most noticeably the conglomerates, are avidly slimming down amid a deepening economic slump worldwide.Politics, however, also may be playing a part in their downsizing, as major presidential candidates are proposing pledges devised to ensure fair competition ― essentially meaning that conglomerates will face more restrictions to give their smaller counterparts a bigger advantage. The country’s top 10 industrial g
IndustryNov. 18, 2012
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Black box-installed cars to get insurance discount
South Korea’s insurance companies are to offer a maximum 5 percent discount on insurance for cars equipped with black boxes, according to industry sources on Saturday. Local insurers including Dongbu Insurance, Meritz Insurance, Hanwha General Insurance, LIG Insurance, AXA Direct and Hyundai Hicar Direct decided to give a discount of 5 percent; Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance 4 percent; and Green Non-life Insurance and Ergo Daum Direct 3 percent. The discount for black-box equipped cars was only
IndustryNov. 18, 2012
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Candidates converge on science policy
The three major presidential candidates may differ on key policies but all believe that Korea’s future depends on science and technology for growth.Their policies in the field converge in many aspects, including plans to revive the ministry for science and technology, as well as increasing support for research and innovation.The Saenuri Party’s Park Geun-hye has the most extensive agenda. An engineering graduate, she prioritizes developing the software industry, supporting start-ups and establis
TechnologyNov. 18, 2012
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Korean e-procurement system booming worldwide
KONEPS, or Korea Online E-procurement System, is drawing more attention from abroad than ever, the Public Procurement Service said. The Korean e-procurement system provides a convenient one-stop service, enabling users to process all necessary operations for procurement ― registration, bidding, contract, and payment ― together, PPS said. Korea has signed multiple memorandums of understanding with 19 countries worldwide on e-procurement. PPS Administrator Kang Ho-in said, “Exporting KONEPS is an
Nov. 18, 2012
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Procurement agency leads transparency and digitalization
The Public Procurement Service is paving the way for advanced public procurement policies with innovative ideas based on expertise from more than half a century in service. The centerpiece of its achievements is without argument the digitalization of the public procurement process, according to Kang Ho-in, the agency administrator.But the agency also played a major role in introducing local companies to foreign procurement agencies, in addition to unwavering support for small and medium-sized fi
IndustryNov. 18, 2012
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Samsung: Apple must reveal HTC settlement over patents
Samsung Electronics Co. asked a court to force Apple Inc. to turn over a copy of its settlement with HTC Corp., saying it’s “highly relevant” to Apple’s request for an order blocking sales of Samsung smartphones.It’s “almost certain” that Apple’s settlement with HTC covers some of the patents at issue in its dispute with Samsung, according to a filing Firday by the Suwon, South Korea-based company in federal court in San Jose, California. The agreement may undermine Apple’s claim that Samsung’s
Nov. 18, 2012
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Higher won dents small exporters’ biz sentiment
Almost nine out of 10 of the country’s small and medium-sized enterprises believe the rising local currency against the U.S. dollar will result in a weaker bottom line, data showed Saturday.According to a survey of 112 local SMEs by the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business, 88.2 percent replied the higher won will have an adverse impact on their earnings.The local currency closed at 1,092.20 won against the greenback on Friday, remaining below the 1,100 won mark since Oct. 25, when the
Nov. 18, 2012
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LGE spends 6% of sales in research
South Korean handset maker LG Electronics Inc. said Saturday it spent more than 6 percent of its earnings on research and development through September of this year in a bid to develop high-end products.The company said it had allocated 2.26 trillion won ($2.08 billion), or 6.06 percent of its sales of 37.4 trillion won earned during in the January-September period, up 1.1 percentage points from a year earlier.Market watchers said South Korea’s No. 2 tech giant increased its research fund to dev
Nov. 18, 2012
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Shares likely to stay flat this week
The South Korean stock market is likely to be stagnant this week as uncertainties over the U.S. fiscal cliff continue to dent investor sentiment, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 1,860.83 this week, down 2.29 percent from the previous week, as shares lost ground across the board.Foreign investors went on a selling spree, unloading a net 520 billion won ($476 million) on the main bourse, with retail investors scooping up a net 80 billion won. Institutions pu
Nov. 18, 2012
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Korea’s exports to Middle East rise 14.1% by October
South Korea’s exports to the Middle East rose 14.1 percent in the first 10 months of the year from a year earlier thanks to strengthened consumption power in the oil-rich region, customs data showed Sunday.According to the data by the Korea Customs Service, shipments of South Korean products to Middle East countries rose 14.1 percent to $30.3 billion in the January-October period, compared with last year’s annual volume of $32.8 billion.However, shipments to the European Union and Japan shrank 1
Nov. 18, 2012
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Homeplus faces backlash for duplicity
Homeplus, one of the nation’s biggest retailers, faced public criticism as it was found to have registered to open a new store on the day it promised small and medium-sized merchants to refrain from opening new stores. The retailer registered to open a large store in Osan, Gyeonggi Province, on Oct. 22, the same day it announced plans to create a win-win consultation body with small-and medium-sized merchants and other large retailers including E-Mart and Lotte Mart. The Osan city government app
IndustryNov. 18, 2012
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Samsung Electronics takes largest global TV market share
Samsung Electronics held the biggest share of the global television market in the third quarter this year, U.S. marketing research firm NPD DisplaySearch said Sunday. The affiliate firm of American market research company NPD Group Inc. said that Samsung Electronics rated No. 1 in the July-September quarter by taking a 25.2 percent share in the global flat-screen TV market. According to the same analysis, four types of Samsung TVs ― liquid crystal display, light-emitting diode, plasma display pa
TechnologyNov. 18, 2012
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Starbucks sees Korea as first priority in Asia
China may be the all-important market for future growth of Starbucks, which is intensifying expansion there. But for now Korea is most important in Asia, said Darrel Kim, director of Channel Business Development Asia Pacific at the world’s biggest coffee chain. “Starbucks senior leadership, starting with CEO Howard Schultz, look at Korea with a very high priority. We have so much growth aspiration here,” the Asian chief of Starbucks Global Consumer Products Group said in a recent interview with
IndustryNov. 18, 2012
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LG head outlines strategies to battle crisis
LG Group chairman Koo Bon-moo said a time of crisis was the best litmus test for measuring a company’s core competence, calling on LG executives to get through its current rough patch and map out plans for progress in the next year.Maintaining the quality of goods and services, timely investment, developing future technologies and securing the right human resources were the goals that Koo set out for the LG chief executives, who started their annual reports to Koo on this year’s achievement reco
IndustryNov. 18, 2012
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Fiat faces Brazil challenge as Hyundai threatens profit
Fiat SpA and Volkswagen AG have dominated Brazilian auto sales for years, holding the top two spots. Now, General Motors Co. and Asian rivals are gaining share in a market the European carmakers had been counting on to offset weak demand in their home region.Brazilian auto production capacity will jump 50 percent by 2014 as South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co. and other carmakers ramp up new factories, according to Brazilian supplier organization Sindipecas. The added potential output, which comes as
MobilityNov. 18, 2012