Most Popular
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Opposition-led Assembly unilaterally passes bill to probe Marine's death
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Golden chance to liquidate babies’ gold rings?
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Inflation eases in April, continues bumpy ride
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Seoul to more than double military drones by 2026 to counter NK threats
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Russia sent more than 165,000 barrels of refined petroleum to N. Korea in March: White House
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Seoul alerts overseas missions to NK terror threats
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Key suspects grilled over alleged abuse of power in Marine death inquiry
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Over 60% of S. Koreans support W100m childbirth incentive: survey
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‘Inside Out 2’ adds four new emotions, explores teenage life
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Questions raised over fair promotion of RM, NewJeans
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GS Retail to open first convenience store in Vietnam next month
GS Retail, a major Korean convenience store chain operator that runs GS25, said Friday that the company will open its first branch in Vietnam in January. Starting with the first branch opening in mid-January, GS Retail plans to launch a total of four convenience stores in Vietnam’s largest city Ho Chi Minh next month, the company said. (Yonhap)GS Retail expects its annual earnings to reach tens of billions of won from loyalties and also dividends, mainly from the joint venture it forged with Vi
IndustryDec. 29, 2017
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Apple to reduce costs of battery replacement
US tech giant Apple Inc. said Friday it will cut the cost of battery replacement for iPhone models, amid criticism that the company intentionally slowed down older smartphones."Apple is reducing the price of an out-of-warranty iPhone battery replacement by $50 — from $79 to $29 — for anyone with an iPhone 6 or later whose battery needs to be replaced, starting in late January and available worldwide through December 2018," the company said.Apple's Seoul-based office said the policy will also b
TechnologyDec. 29, 2017
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Market rates forecast to rise in Jan.
South Korea's market interest rates are likely to trend higher in January due to a rise in US Treasury sales, a report said Friday.The yield on South Korea's three-year government bonds is projected to continue its uptrend next month due to overseas factors, ranging from 2 percent to 2.3 percent, according to the report by the Woori Finance Research Institute.Currently, the return on three-year government bonds hovers around 2.1 percent. The report said January's upturn will likely result from A
MarketDec. 29, 2017
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Budget smartphone manufacturers eye Korean market
Budget smartphone manufacturers are strengthening their model lineup in the South Korean market, industry sources said Friday, in a bid to attract consumers seeking cheaper options in the new year.Samsung Electronics Co. plans to release the 5.6-inch Galaxy A8 and the 6-inch Galaxy A8 Plus in January, which retain many of the top features of Samsung's high-end devices, such as the mobile payment system Samsung Pay. (Yonhap)The price tag on the devices is estimated at around 600,000 won ($560), w
TechnologyDec. 29, 2017
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Domestic stock funds draw huge money over past month
South Korean domestic stock investment funds have attracted more than 3 trillion won ($2.8 billion) over the past month amid expectations for a market rally in January, a market tracker said Friday.Equity funds focused on local stocks posted a net money inflow of 3.54 trillion won in the month to Thursday, according to FnGuide. In particular, domestic equity funds lured as much as 1 trillion won over the past week, it added.The jump was attributed to hopes for a stock market rally in the new yea
MarketDec. 29, 2017
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Korea's consumer prices rise 1.5% in Dec.
South Korea's consumer prices growth accelerated in December on a rise in prices of industrial goods and financial services, government data showed Friday.The country's consumer price index climbed 1.5 percent this month from a year earlier, compared with the previous month's 1.3 percent on-year gain, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.From a month earlier, the index also moved up 0.3 percent in December.Core inflation, which excludes volatile oil and food prices this month, grew
IndustryDec. 29, 2017
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Apple faces legal suits in Korea for slowing down iPhone
Apple faces multiple lawsuits in South Korea after admitting to slowing down iPhones as the batteries aged. This is to be the first class-action suit in Asia on the issue after iPhone owners filed at least nine class-action lawsuits in the US and Israel. The latest legal action comes after the US tech giant admitted to slowing down older iPhone models to keep them running at optimal performance and stop the batteries from shutting down. (AP-Yonhap)Korean law firm Hannuri said Thursday it would r
TechnologyDec. 28, 2017
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Seoul, Washington to kick off FTA talks next week
South Korea and the United States are to start the first round of negotiations to amend their bilateral Free Trade Agreement on Jan. 5 in Washington, Seoul’s Trade Ministry said Wednesday.The move to revise the 5-year-old trade deal, triggered upon US President Donald Trump’s request, is expected to raise differences between the two countries regarding their stances toward the automobile and agricultural and livestock goods sectors.“During the forthcoming negotiations, we plan
EconomyDec. 28, 2017
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Korea to provide more frequency bands for new industries, social infrastructure in 2018
In a move to make South Korea a more convenient and safe country, the government will increase the supply of frequency bands for emerging industries and households next year by easing related regulations, the Ministry of Science and ICT announced Thursday. As part of the government’s plans for a 3 percent growth next year, the ICT Ministry unveiled its plan to provide frequency bands and set standards for new industries such as autonomous driving, wireless charging, Internet of Things and drone
TechnologyDec. 28, 2017
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[Newsmaker] Korea's Drug Ministry confirms safety of locally-sold sanitary pads
South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on Thursday concluded that the level of chemical substances found in sanitary pads sold here are not hazardous to the human body. The conclusion came after the ministry conducted toxicity tests on sanitary pads, tampons, panty liners and diapers sold in Korea to check for levels of 74 volatile organic compounds such as cholorobenzene and acetone.“After conducting reviews and toxicity tests on 74 VOCs found in sanitary pads, we’ve concluded that thei
IndustryDec. 28, 2017
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President Moon vows support for scientists, new research
President Moon Jae-in promised to double support for young scientists and their research projects Thursday, also vowing to nearly double government investment in independent research and development programs."The government will support with all its strength the path of science that you will walk," the president said in a meeting with some 200 students at his office Cheong Wa Dae. The participants included some 150 college students on a presidential science scholarship program."First of all, we
TechnologyDec. 28, 2017
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Samsung Heavy Industries to sign W210b deal to build LNG carrier
Samsung Heavy Industries said Thursday that it will sign a deal worth 210 billion won ($195 million) to build a liquefied natural gas carrier.It will ink the contract with a foreign shipping company by the end of the year, Samsung Heavy Industries officials said. The name of the company, however, remained undisclosed. (Yonhap)With the deal, orders secured by the shipbuilder this year will reach $6.9 billion for 28 ships, surpassing its annual target of $6.5 billion. The ship maker also said it
IndustryDec. 28, 2017
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2017 foreign-language newspaper journalist awards held
The Foreign Language Newspapers Association of Korea awarded outstanding reporters of the year at a ceremony held at the Korea Press Center in Seoul on Wednesday. Song Su-hyun, reporter at The Korea Herald, Lee Hee-soon, international desk editor at the Korea Times, Seo Ji-eun, senior reporter at Korea JoongAng Daily, and Wang Haina, reporter at Aju News, were awarded during the event. From left, The Korea Herald reporter Song Su-hyun, Korea JoongAng Daily senior reporter Seo Ji-eun, Foreign La
IndustryDec. 28, 2017
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'Exclusive' contracts between business partners to be banned: FTC
South Korea unveiled a series of measures Thursday aimed at promoting "fair" transactions between large firms and smaller business partners, the centerpiece of which is preventing "exclusive" contracts. Under the measures, the Fair Trade Commission, the country's corporate watchdog, said the government will step up efforts to raise transparency in transactions between large players and smaller ones. In such dealings, bigger companies have used their dominant market positions to excessively engag
IndustryDec. 28, 2017
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Govt. to require real-name transactions in cryptocurrency trading
The government said Thursday it is banning the use of anonymous virtual accounts in cryptocurrency transactions as part of efforts to curb virtual currency speculation.Hong Nam-ki, minister of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, made the announcement after a meeting of vice ministers from related ministries, saying the government "can't let this abnormal situation of speculation go on any longer."Under the measure, only real-name bank accounts and matching accounts at virtua
MarketDec. 28, 2017
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Hyundai Motor, foreign brands ordered to recall nearly 1m vehicles: ministry
Hyundai Motor Co. and several foreign automakers will voluntarily recall nearly one million vehicles to fix faulty parts, the transport ministry said Thursday.Hyundai Motor's recall -- set to begin on Jan. 4 -- affects 510,265 units of the Sonata NF built between Jan. 5, 2004 and Dec. 12, 2013, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said.The ministry said 405,018 units of Grandeur TG sedans produced between Sept. 23, 2004 and Dec. 10, 2010 are also subject to the voluntary recall mov
MobilityDec. 28, 2017
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BOK to keep expansionary monetary policy in 2018
South Korea's central bank said Thursday that it will maintain an expansionary monetary policy next year, but it will keep close tabs on economic conditions in order to tailor its policies accordingly."The domestic economy is expected to pull off stable growth next year, but the central bank will stay expansionary on low inflationary pressure," said the Bank of Korea in a report on its annual monetary strategy for 2018. "While closely looking into growth and consumer prices, the B
EconomyDec. 28, 2017
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Financial regulator warns of bitcoin bubble
The chief of South Korea's financial watchdog has warned against a bitcoin bubble, saying the price of the virtual currency may plunge in the future."I bet the bubble in bitcoin will burst later," Choe Heung-sik, governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, told a year-end meeting with journalists Wednesday. "Companies existed during South Korea's IT bubble in the early 2000s, but that is not the case for bitcoin."The regulator hinted that South Korea has no solution to the
MarketDec. 28, 2017
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Cosmetics industry eyes growth recovery in 2018
South Korea's cosmetics industry is looking to regain growth in 2018 after taking a big hit from China's retaliation against Seoul over a missile row this year, sources said Thursday.In March, China banned sales of group tours to South Korea in retaliation against Seoul's decision to deploy an advanced US missile defense shield, which Beijing sees as a security threat.The move has dealt a big blow to South Korean cosmetics manufacturers and retailers, whose main customers were Chinese tourists.T
IndustryDec. 28, 2017
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Korea, US to kick off trade deal renegotiation next week
WASHINGTON -- South Korea and the United States will kick off negotiations to amend their bilateral free trade agreement next week, Seoul's trade ministry said Wednesday.The first round of talks will be held in Washington on Jan. 5 following months of preparation triggered by the Donald Trump administration's request to revise the pact.US President Trump has blamed the five-year-old deal, known as KORUS, for the growing US trade deficit with South Korea. But Seoul has pointed to macroeconomic fa
EconomyDec. 28, 2017