Most Popular
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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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[KH Explains] No more 'Michael' at Kakao Games
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Rapper jailed after public street fight with another rapper
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Woman gets suspended term for injuring boyfriend with knife
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Samsung chief bolsters ties with Germany’s Zeiss
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Nominee for chief of anti-corruption body pledges 'independence, effectiveness'
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NewJeans pops out ‘Bubble Gum’ video amid troubles at agency
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Med schools expect 1,500+ new admission slots next year
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KT launches new mobile plans for foreign residents
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Kakao to launch smart speaker this month
South Korea's top mobile messenger operator Kakao Corp. on Tuesday showcased its smart speaker, Kakao Mini, which will officially hit shelves later this month.Kakao, which also holds the country's No. 2 portal Daum under its wing, said the Kakao Mini will come with its artificial intelligence platform, Kakao I, along with voice recognition and software that can understand natural languages.The Kakao Mini is equipped with four high-end microphones to accurately capture users' speech. As the devic
TechnologySept. 5, 2017
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GM Korea workers to stage partial strike
Workers at GM Korea Co. will stage a partial strike Tuesday to demand higher wages as the company has not offered any satisfactory terms in this year's wage talks, the union said.GM Korea union said its day-shift workers in the company's plant in Bupyeong, about 30 kilometers west of Seoul, will carry out a four-hour strike and night-shift workers will also walkout for four hours. "The planned strikes are a normal part of wage negotiations," union spokesman Dang Sung-geun said by phone. (Yonhap
MobilitySept. 5, 2017
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Korea's FX reserves hit record high in August
South Korea's foreign exchange reserves hit a record high in August due to a hike in the value of non-dollar currencies when converted into the US greenback, central bank data showed Tuesday.As of the end of August, the country's foreign exchange reserves came to $384.84 billion, up $1.08 billion from the previous month, the Bank of Korea said in a statement.Foreign exchange reserves consist of securities and deposits denominated in overseas currencies, as well as International Monetary Fun
MarketSept. 5, 2017
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Credit unions see combined profit slightly fall in H1
South Korea's credit unions, or member-owned financial cooperatives, saw their combined net profit fall 1.3 percent on year for the first half of this year, due to a rise in loan-loss provisions, data showed Tuesday. The combined net profit of 2,258 credit unions, including Nonghyup and Suhyup banks, stood at 1.21 trillion won ($1.06 billion) for the January-June period, down 16.1 billion won from a year earlier, according to the data by the Financial Supervisory Service. Their combined loan-los
EconomySept. 5, 2017
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Kakao Bank implements W500b capital hike
Kakao Bank, South Korea's second Internet-only bank, implemented a 500 billion won ($441.9 million) capital increase on Tuesday as a part of a refinancing plan to bolster its lending business. Kakao Bank, launched in late July with paid-in capital of 300 billion won, has attracted about three million accounts and extended loans worth 1.4 trillion won as of Aug. 27. The capital hike was made by issuing 100 million new shares worth 5,000 won each.Major shareholders of Kakao Bank, including Korea I
MarketSept. 5, 2017
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Ice cream sales fall amid fewer children, popular alternatives: report
South Korea's ice cream sales have declined in the past few years in the face of fewer children and the growing popularity of alternatives, such as ice coffee and shaved ice, a report said Tuesday.Per capita annual consumption of ice cream fell to 58 servings in 2015 from 71 servings in 2013, according to the report written by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.The report attributed the decrease to the drop in the number of kids, the main consumers of ice cream, and the drastic
IndustrySept. 5, 2017
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Koreans' awareness of mobile payment high: poll
South Koreans' awareness of mobile payment services ranks high among major advanced and emerging countries, a poll showed Tuesday, as many tech-savvy consumers turn to their smartphones for settlements.According to the survey of 18,180 consumers in 23 countries by global opinion research firm Ipsos, 64 percent of South Korean respondents said they are aware of a mobile payment service that they can use immediately.It is the fourth-highest figure among the surveyed countries. China tops the list
TechnologySept. 5, 2017
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Seoul stocks open higher on techs, autos
South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday after suffering a sharp decline in the previous session following Pyongyang's nuclear provocations. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 6.74 points, or 0.29 percent, to 2,336.39 in the first 15 minutes of trading.On Sunday, Pyongyang claimed it successfully conducted a test of a hydrogen bomb that can be loaded on an intercontinental ballistic missile. Tech shares led the recovery, with top cap Samsung Electronics advancing 0.13 p
MarketSept. 5, 2017
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Korea‘s current account surplus narrows to $7.26b in July
South Korea's current account surplus narrowed in July from a year earlier due to an increased deficit in the services balance, central bank data showed Tuesday.The country's current account surplus reached $7.26 billion in July, compared with a surplus of $8.41 billion a year earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.The figure represents the 65th straight month of the balance being in the black. The current account is the biggest measure of cross-border trade.The BOK at
EconomySept. 5, 2017
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Korea's growth ranking among OECD tumbles in Q2
South Korea's economic growth ranking among major advanced and emerging economies plunged 10 spots in the second quarter from three months earlier as its recovery lost ground, data showed Tuesday.Asia's fourth-largest economy expanded 0.6 percent on-quarter in the April-June period, compared with a 1.1 percent expansion for the first quarter, according to the data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.It was the 18th-highest on-quarter gain among 27 OECD member nations w
EconomySept. 5, 2017
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No new import restriction imposed on S. Korea for two months
South Korea has faced no new import restrictions or related investigations by foreign countries for the past two months in a positive sign for the export-driven economy, data showed Tuesday.No South Korean products were subjected to fresh import regulations in the form of anti-dumping duties, countervailing duties, safeguards or a combination of them during the July-August period, according to the data from the Korea International Trade Association .Since reporting zero cases, the number of impo
EconomySept. 5, 2017
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Korean automakers’ sales retreat in Chile
South Korean carmakers posted weaker sales in the Chilean car market in the first half of this year, according to data compiled by a local automotive association.Hyundai Motor, which had topped the market with sales of 31,398 units in 2016, gave away the top spot to Chevrolet during the January-July period this year, according to the National Automotive Association of Chile on Monday.During the seven-month period, Hyundai Motor held 9.1 percent market share with sales of 17,276 small and midsize
MobilitySept. 4, 2017
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[Newsmaker] Naver regretful of FTC’s designation of founder Lee Hae-jin as ‘owner’
Naver expressed regrets Monday over the South Korean antitrust watchdog’s decision to add the company as well as its founder Lee Hae-jin to a new corporate watch list, citing plans to review legal actions to challenge the FTC’s interpretation. South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission on Sunday designated Korea’s biggest portal website operator Naver as a “large corporation” with founder Lee as its effective owner, a move which requires the Korean internet giant and Lee to follow new antitrust regula
TechnologySept. 4, 2017
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Yuhan-Kimberly queries validity of sanitary pad toxicity study
Personal care products company Yuhan-Kimberly on Monday released an official statement questioning the validity of a study conducted last year on the toxicity of sanitary pads being sold in Korea.“The Food and Drug Safety Ministry has stated that the scientific validity of the study is questionable, which is why we are waiting for the results of the government’s ongoing study instead before making any definitive claims,” a spokesperson for the company said. The statement came after news reports
IndustrySept. 4, 2017
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Lotte considers pulling out of Incheon Airport
Lotte Duty Free is considering pulling its duty-free business out of Incheon Airport’s Terminal 1 in the wake of falling sales, according to an official with the company Monday.“We are in the midst of negotiations with the airport to adjust rent costs, but closing our outlet at the airport is a serious consideration,” the official said. Korea’s largest duty-free operator has seen sales numbers decrease sharply, following tensions between China and Korea due to the latter’s decision to deploy an
IndustrySept. 4, 2017
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Silver bar sales rise 10-fold as middle class join flight to safety
Following North Korea’s nuclear weapons test Sunday, sales of silver bars soared by 10 times on Monday, according to the Korea Gold Exchange.Silver bars are in high demand among middle-class investors seeking an affordable alternative to gold bars as a safety haven currency during times of geopolitical uncertainty.KGE said sales of 1-kilogram gold bars numbered 194 on Monday morning alone, rising sharply from daily sales of 20 on average.A 1-kilogram silver bar was trading at around 840,00
EconomySept. 4, 2017
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Daewoo Shipbuilding wins W470b order for 5 oil tankers
Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., a major shipyard here, said Monday that it has secured a 470 billion won ($420 million) order to build five very large crude carriers.Under the deal with Hyundai Merchant Marine Co., South Korea's top shipping firm, Daewoo Shipbuilding, said it will deliver the vessels by September 2019.Last week, Hyundai Merchant said it plans to spend 470 billion won to buy five new VLCCs and 182 billion won to acquire two container vessels. Seoul-based headquarter
IndustrySept. 4, 2017
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Markets in red on NK downward momentum
Markets in South Korea took a downturn Monday in the wake of the most powerful nuclear bomb test by North Korea on Sunday, drawing a mixed forecast on the aftereffect from local analysts.The main bourse index Kospi closed at 2,329.65, down 1.19 percent, while the tech-heavy secondary Kosdaq tumbled 1.68 percent to 650.89. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics‘ stock price fluctuated, starting 2.02 percent lower in the opening and closing at 0.95 percent lower.Of the Kospi-listed top 20 p
MarketSept. 4, 2017
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Trump’s KORUS FTA opt-out a ‘real possibility’: expert
Amid continued ambiguity regarding the fate of the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement, some industry experts are predicting high odds that US President Donald Trump may actually terminate the trade deal, following North Korea’s escalating threats, which are adding tension to the political and economic climate between South Korea and the US. “While some people view Trump’s threats as being bluffs, in my expert opinion, Trump deciding to back out of the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement
EconomySept. 4, 2017
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Korean firms’ woes over THAAD deepen
South Korean companies struggling with restraints on their businesses in China are likely to come under more pressure with the deployment of additional launchers of a US anti-missile battery here set to begin as early as this week.Beijing seems unlikely to ease its stance on the issue in the wake of North Korea’s sixth and most powerful nuclear test Sunday.China began to take retaliatory measures in July last year when Seoul agreed to deploy the US missile shield known as the Terminal High
EconomySept. 4, 2017