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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Korean firms downbeat on Jan. biz outlook
South Korean companies are pessimistic about their business conditions in 2018 due to unfavorable factors at home and abroad, a poll showed Thursday.The business survey index of the nation's top 600 firms by sales came to 96.5 for January, unchanged from the previous month, according to the Korea Economic Research Institute.It marks the 20th straight month that the index has hovered below the benchmark 100.A reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists, while a reading above the benchm
IndustryDec. 28, 2017
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Korea's industrial output rebounds in November
South Korea's industrial output rebounded in November from a month earlier on an improvement in the automaking and machinery sectors, government data showed Thursday.Production in the mining, manufacturing, gas and electricity industries rose 0.2 percent on-month in November, following an adjusted 1.5 percent on-month dip in the previous month, according to the data by Statistics Korea.From a year earlier, industrial output, however, sank 1.6 percent, following a 6.1 percent on-year decline in O
IndustryDec. 28, 2017
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Samsung leaders’ stock value surges by W6tr
The family members in control of the Samsung empire have earned nearly 6 trillion won ($5.6 million) in stock value increases this year, despite a series of unfortunate events that suspended the planned generational transfer of power.Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee saw his stock value rise by nearly 4 trillion won this year, due to a stock rally the tech giant continued throughout the year, CEOScore, a local corporate tracker, said in its report released Wednesday.Though Lee has been hospitalized s
IndustryDec. 27, 2017
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Economic policies to focus on improving quality of life in 2018
South Korea’s key economic policy goal for next year is to create jobs and innovate growth, under a mid- and long-term vision to improve people’s quality of life, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance said Wednesday.The nation’s economy is expected to grow 3 percent next year on the back of a solid global economy and a series of policy measures by the Moon Jae-in administration, while the per capita gross national income will reach the $30,000 level, according to the ministry.&l
EconomyDec. 27, 2017
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Thousands of bakers at Paris Baguette give up direct hiring
More than 4,100 bakers at Paris Baguette, South Korea's largest bakery franchise, have opted not to be directly hired by the franchise operator SPC Group in a snub to the government.The Ministry of Employment and Labor has said SPC Group should directly hire bakers, saying that the food and beverage giant violated the country's labor laws in connection with the hiring conditions of more than 5,300 bakers and cafe workers at its franchise stores.The bakery chain has been accused of giving direct
IndustryDec. 27, 2017
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Sanitary pads, face masks to list all ingredients on packaging
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on Wednesday announced its main policy changes regarding consumer safety for the upcoming year including stricter regulations regarding ingredient labeling.The policy changes included those addressing major consumer safety crises in 2017 involving traces of pesticides found in eggs, as well as volatile organic compounds found in menstrual care products.The ministry will expand the categories of products that will be required to label all ingredients to includ
IndustryDec. 27, 2017
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[Newsmaker] Will Samsung unveil foldable phones next year?
Anticipation is rising over Samsung’s foldable smartphone, with concept images and videos of the so-called Galaxy X making the rounds every month. However, industry insiders are cautious about the high expectations, saying there are still many unaddressed technical challenges. A new concept video of the Galaxy X from US tech media outlet Tech Configuration caught attention Wednesday. It showed that the device’s 5-inch display can be used as a normal smartphone in the folded mode and as an 8-inch
TechnologyDec. 27, 2017
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Home shopping channels charge biggest commissions on sales: FTC
Home shopping TV channels charged the biggest commissions on sales this year compared with department stores, online malls and discount outlets, South Korea's antitrust watchdog said Wednesday.Home shopping channels received an average 28.4 percent commission, the Fair Trade Commission said, citing its survey of 19 home shopping channels, department stores, online malls and large discount outlets.The comparable figures were 22 percent for department stores, 21.9 percent for discount outlets and
IndustryDec. 27, 2017
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More sophisticated AI, autonomous driving techs to appear in 2018: report
Artificial intelligence will operate more like humans, while human drivers will be less needed for the level 4 autonomous driving next year, a report by LG Economic Research Institute forecast Wednesday. The institute cited AI and level 4 autonomous driving technologies among the top 10 major technologies that will prevail the information communications technology industry next year under the four biggest trends: hyper-intelligence, hyper-automation, hyper-connection, and hyper-convergence. LG
TechnologyDec. 27, 2017
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CrucialTec expands into biomedical business
CrucialTec, a Korean biometrics business, said Wednesday it will expand into the biomedical market next year with a plan to provide products like smartphone thermometer and diabetes diagnosis kit.The company said it plans to add biomedicine as a new business area at its shareholders’ meeting in January. The announcement comes after years of research and development projects with domestic and foreign institutes including Texas A&M University in the US based on a judgment that 2018 will be an oppo
TechnologyDec. 27, 2017
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Economic policies center on boosting job creation, quality of life in 2018
South Korea will implement its economic policy next year to boost job creation and innovative growth, which will help improve quality of life, while laying the foundation to tackle the country's chronic low birthrate and maintain a decent economic expansion over the mid-to-long haul, the finance ministry said Wednesday.The economy is expected to grow at around 3 percent next year, following this year's estimated 3.1 percent expansion, on the back of the solid global economy and a series of polic
EconomyDec. 27, 2017
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Korea agrees to adopt ‘fast track’ approvals for next-generation medical devices
South Korea’s government and businesses have agreed to newly adopt “fast-track” approval procedures for next-generation medical devices whose success hinges on entering the market ahead of competitors. They also agreed to push for new policies that would allow innovative medical devices to be certified on a global basis, as well as adopt a new “value-based” evaluation system for novel medical technologies with immediate value to society.The consensus was forged during an inaugural marathon polic
TechnologyDec. 27, 2017
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Role of conglomerates' outside directors minimal: report
Outside directors at South Korea's major conglomerates play an insignificant role in corporate decisions, with their agenda disapproval rate remaining very low, a government report showed Wednesday.Of the 4,361 motions forwarded for approval by the board of 169 listed companies in the one-year period from April 2016, only 17 were rejected, altered or pigeonholed, according to the report from the Fair Trade Commission.The number accounts for a mere 0.39 percent of the total, and only four agenda
IndustryDec. 27, 2017
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Korea introduces driver’s license test for hearing impaired
The state-run Korea Road Traffic Authority (KoROAD) has introduced a driving test that uses a head-up display for the hearing impaired, it said Tuesday. The head-up display, or HUD, refers to technology that projects navigation information onto the windshield. It is often installed in vehicles to boost driver’s safety and convenience.Before the introduction of the latest system, a tester seated on the passenger seat had to manually give directions to a hearing-impaired applicant, KoROAD said. A
MobilityDec. 27, 2017
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[Best Brand] Land Rover Korea expands presence in SUV market
Land Rover Korea is poised to top the country’s sport utility vehicle market based on its unique driving performance and luxury brand image.Rapidly expanding its presence, the SUV powerhouse ranked No. 3 among import carmakers by monthly sales this September, selling 1,323 units. Riding on the popularity of its all-new Discovery premium family SUV and the Range Rover Velar midsize SUV released this summer, as well as the steady-selling Discovery Sports midsize SUV, Land Rover Korea has sold 9,28
MobilityDec. 27, 2017
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31% of workers have invested in virtual currencies: survey
More than three out of every 10 South Korean workers have invested in cryptocurrencies to make a quick buck, a recent survey showed Wednesday.Of the 941 salaried people questioned, 31.3 percent have invested in virtual currencies, according to the survey conducted by online job portal Saramin.The average investment per capita was 5.66 million won ($5,300).Investments of less than one million won were made by 44.1 percent of correspondents, while 18.3 percent invested between one million won and
MarketDec. 27, 2017
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Korea GDP to lose big from high corporate taxes
The South Korean economy will likely take a hit from a reversal of top corporate tax rates in Asia's fourth-largest economy and the United States, a local think tank said Wednesday.South Korea has decided to raise the maximum corporate tax rate to 25 percent from the current 22 percent, while the comparable rate for America will go down to 21 percent from the existing 35 percent.In a related report, the Korea Economic Research Institute estimated the reversal would cause South Korea's gross dome
IndustryDec. 27, 2017
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Samsung chief earns some W4tr from stock rally
Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee has seen the value of his stock assets rise by nearly 4 trillion won ($3.7 billion) this year thanks to a rally of the tech giant on the local bourse, a market tracker said Wednesday.According to CEO Score, Lee, who has been hospitalized since May 2014 after he suffered a heart attack, had 18.1 trillion won in stock holdings as of Friday, up 3.9 trillion won from a year earlier.Lee is the sole South Korean whose stock holdings are valued at 10 trillion wo
MarketDec. 27, 2017
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SK Telecom mulls legal action against KT
SK Telecom is considering legal action against KT claiming defamation, amid continuing accusations by the rival company that SKT illegally damaged KT’s Olympic network cables, according to the company’s officials Tuesday. With less than 45 days left until the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics kick off in Gangwon Province, the spat between the country’s two biggest mobile carriers appears to be escalating.“The company is mulling a defamation suit against KT as the accusations are getting nowhere,”
TechnologyDec. 27, 2017
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[Newsmaker] SK Chairman Chey seeks sharing economy
The sharing economy can simply refer to well-known platforms like Uber and Airbnb, or in the broader sense of all democratized marketplaces. Unlike its vibrant use in North America, though, the term remains relatively unfamiliar to the public here. Now a Korean chaebol is seeking to bring this economic concept to life in the South Korean market.Chey Tae-won, the chairman of telecom and energy giant SK Group and the nation‘s fifth-richest man, according to The Investor, has been pursuing ways to
IndustryDec. 26, 2017