Most Popular
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Exports to US reach all-time high, widen gap with China
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Trump rekindles criticism: US forces defending 'wealthy' S. Korea 'free of charge'
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Opposition-led Assembly unilaterally passes bill to probe Marine's death
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[Music in drama] Rekindle a love that slipped through your fingers
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Inflation eases in April, continues bumpy ride
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Golden chance to liquidate babies’ gold rings?
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Seoul Metro to seek legal action against malicious complaints
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[New faces of Assembly] Architect behind ‘audacious initiative’ believes in denuclearized North Korea
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Illit, mired in controversy, remains on Billboard charts for 5th week
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On May Day, labor unions blast Yoon's foreign nanny proposal
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Korea to help local software firms make headway in global stage
South Korea will inject a total of 38.6 billion won ($33.9 million) over the next two years to support local small and mid-size software firms become more globally competitive, the ICT ministry said Sunday.Under the so-called Global Creative Software project spearheaded by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, 16 companies in various software sectors such as security and system software will receive support. (123RF)The government has been making various efforts to assist promising so
TechnologyApril 30, 2017
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Local think tank ups Korea's growth forecast on exports, investments
A local private think tank said Sunday it has raised its growth outlook for South Korea this year, helped by increased exports and facility investments.The Korea Institute of Finance projected the country's gross domestic product to increase by 2.8 percent for 2017, higher than its earlier estimate of 2.5 percent growth forecast in October.It said the economy should expand 2.6 percent in the first half followed by 2.9 percent gains in the July-December period.The upward revision came as the glob
EconomyApril 30, 2017
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Korea's external earnings to fall 2.7% if China exports drop 10%: KIET
South Korea's external earnings will fall by 2.7 percent if exports to China contract by 10 percent, a report by a state-run think tank showed Sunday.The report analyzing global trade friction released by the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade showed Asia's fourth-largest economy being hurt if there is trade-related trouble between South Korea, the United States and China. KIET said that while Seoul will be affected if there are complications with the United States and trade prot
EconomyApril 30, 2017
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Korea to suffer $17b loss in exports if FTA with US renegotiated
South Korea's exports to the United States are expected to suffer losses as much as $17 billion over five years if the two nations renegotiate a bilateral free trade deal, according to a report on Sunday. South Korea's businesses remain concerned after US President Donald Trump told Reuters in an interview last week that he will either renegotiate or scrap the free trade deal with South Korea, calling it "horrible." If tariff rates are revised under renegotiation, South Korea's a
EconomyApril 30, 2017
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Semiconductors top contributors to industrial output, autos limiting growth: data
Semiconductors remained the top contributor to South Korea's industrial output last year as autos limited overall growth, government data showed Sunday.Data compiled by Statistics Korea showed computer chips ranking No. 1, pushing up the country's industrial production for the second year in a row in 2016.It said refined petroleum and petrochemical products came in second and third place, respectively. (Yonhap)"The ranking shows the shift in leading industries as the fourth-largest economy shows
IndustryApril 30, 2017
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Big biz CEOs paid average 22-times more than ordinary workers: data
Chief executive officers leading South Korea's biggest businesses receive salaries that are on average 21.9-times higher than those of ordinary employees, a local market researcher said Sunday.According to FN Guide, CEOs at the 30 largest companies in terms of market capitalization, took home substantially more pay than the average worker in 2016, with the gap widening to more than 50 to 60-fold in some cases. The data was based on 28 companies that released the salaries of their workers. It sai
MarketApril 30, 2017
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Value of shares owned by 100 richest stockholders exceed W100tr
The combined value of shares owned by South Korea's 100 richest stockholders surpassed 100 trillion won ($87.7 billion), swelled by rising stock markets, industry data showed Sunday.Despite geopolitical risks surrounding North Korea, the nation's benchmark KOSPI index closed at a near six-year high last week. The index gained about 9 percent from the end of last year. As of last Friday, the combined value of shares owned by the 100 richest stockholders stood at 100.8 trillion won, up 7.2 t
MarketApril 30, 2017
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LPG vehicles decrease by 90,000 in 2016: data
The number of liquefied petroleum gas vehicles registered in South Korea dropped by 90,000 last year mainly due to price hikes for fuel and the lack of new models made by local carmakers, industry data showed Sunday.According to the auto industry and transport ministry, there were 2.18 million LPG powered vehicles in the country as of late 2016, down 90,547 from the previous year. The number of cars that run on the relatively "clean" fuel source made up 10 percent of all vehicles in the country.
MobilityApril 30, 2017
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Lotte, Shilla win bid for new Incheon airport duty-free stores
The duty-free units of Lotte Group and Hotel Shilla Co. have won licenses for the new duty-free stores at the new Incheon airport terminal due to open later in the year, the customs authority said Saturday. Lotte Duty Free and Shilla Duty Free tendered their preliminary bids late last month for two sections of Incheon International Airport terminal (T2), slated to start operation in October, and they were shortlisted by the Incheon International Airport Corp. last week. (Yonhap)Due to an amendm
IndustryApril 29, 2017
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Samsung regains top spot in Q1 smartphone market
Samsung Electronics Co. regained the top status in the global smartphone market in the first quarter of the year, even before the release of its latest Galaxy S8, data showed Saturday.The South Korean tech giant sold about 7.9 million smartphones during the January-March period to account for a market share of 22.8 percent, the data compiled by industry tracker IDC showed. Its US archrival Apple Inc. came in second with a 14.9 percent share. (Yonhap)The latest figure marks a turnaround from the
TechnologyApril 29, 2017
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ZOIT launches IoT-enabled fitness bike in Beijing
Health care startup ZOIT announced Friday that it recently signed a business collaboration contract with its Chinese partner company PURE SPORTS, and released its new, independently developed fitness bike in Beijing. The new product is the IMBIKE, a successor to the Z-BIKE released in Korea in 2016. Compared to its predecessor, the IMBIKE is more durable and has a more streamlined design. Visitors try out the IMBIKE at a hands-on demonstration booth at the Beijing National Aquatics Center. (Phot
TechnologyApril 28, 2017
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[Newsmaker] Kumho chief refuses to give up trademark rights of tire unit
Kumho Asiana Group Chairman Park Sam-koo announced Friday that he will not relinquish Kumho Tire’s trademark rights to China’s Doublestar Co., which is currently in negotiations to acquire Korea’s No. 2 tire company. Park had announced last week that he would not exercise his right to buy back the company’s tire-making affiliate, but it appears he is still looking to throw a wrench in Doublestar’s acquisition of the brand, which would allow it to become China’s largest tiremaker. Kumho Asiana C
IndustryApril 28, 2017
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Mobile carriers see modest growth in Q1, explore non-telecom sector
South Korea’s three mobile carriers posted moderate growth in their earnings in the first quarter of this year, but they seek steeper growth by shifting from their traditional mobile communications business to new content, software and artificial intelligence businesses. According to earnings announcement by KT on Friday, the No. 2 telecom business recorded an 8.3 percent on-year increase in its first-quarter operating profit, reaching 417 billion won ($366.7 million). Revenue stood at 5.6 trill
TechnologyApril 28, 2017
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Posco E&C turns profitable following ‘100-day turnaround’
Posco Engineering & Construction has found itself back in the black after completing its “100-day turnaround” strategy, which involved increasing project profit margins and minimizing expenses, according to Posco E&C earlier this week. The company incurred large-scale deficits last year due to losses from overseas projects such as its construction order for CSP Steel Plant Complex -- the largest-ever overseas steel plant construction order won by Posco E&C. However, Posco says it has bounced bac
IndustryApril 28, 2017
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Foreign luxury brands’ profits fall in Korea
Luxury brands including Balenciaga and Ferragamo are seeing falling profits in Korea as savvy consumers increasingly buy luxury items directly from overseas or during outlet sales.According to filings with the Financial Supervisory Service, several companies saw significant decreases in profits in 2016. (Yonhap)Ferragamo Korea’s operating profit fell 12 percent on-year to reach 5.9 billion won ($5.2 million), while Fendi Korea’s operating profit fell 11 percent. Dior suffered losses coming to 8
IndustryApril 28, 2017
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OB expands product lineup
Oriental Brewery, South Korea’s largest brewer, has launched six new products in the past two years, as part of efforts to satisfy the growing number of local customers looking for a variety of choices.Breaking the market tradition of launching new products every one or two years, the South Korean unit of Anheuser-Busch InBev has introduced six products since June 2015. The limited edition of Hoegaarden Cherry (Oriental Brewery)From the Premier OB Weizen launched in June 2015 to a limited editi
IndustryApril 28, 2017
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Seoul stocks slip from 6-year high, Samsung continue to rise
South Korean stocks snapped their six-day winning streak on Friday, slipping from their six-year high, as investors cashed in recent gains, analysts said. The Korean won fell against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 4.02 points, or 0.18 percent, to close at 2,205.44.Trade volume was moderate at 263 million shares worth 5.64 trillion won ($4.96 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 502 to 285.The local stock market opened higher as top market cap Samsung Ele
MarketApril 28, 2017
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Korea's economy facing uncertainties despite signs of recovery
South Korea's economy is still facing uncertainties, although it has shown signs of recovery, the nation's financial regulator said Friday. The South Korean economy expanded 0.9 percent in the first-quarter of this year, growing at the fastest pace since the second-quarter of last year, the Bank of Korea said this week. "There are estimates that show signs of recovery in exports and facility investment," Zhin Woong-seob, governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, said at a me
EconomyApril 28, 2017
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Hankook Tire Q1 net falls 13% on high costs
Hankook Tire Manufacturing Co., the world's seventh-biggest tiremaker by sales, on Friday posted a 13-percent on-year drop in its first-quarter net profit due to high manufacturing costs. Net profit for the three months that ended on March 31 fell to 171.15 billion won ($151 million) from 196.66 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a statement. (Yonhap)"A rise in the cost of raw materials used to make tires in the first quarter affected earnings," a company spokesman said.The company
IndustryApril 28, 2017
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Govt. moving to check Trump's statement to scrap Seoul-Washington FTA
The South Korean government is trying to figure out the exact meaning of US President Donald Trump's statement that he will fix or scrap a bilateral free trade deal between the two countries, officials here said Friday.In an interview with Reuters, Trump called the South Korea-US free trade agreement "horrible," saying, "We are going to renegotiate that deal or terminate it." His comments came days after Vice President Mike Pence said earlier that Washington will review and r
EconomyApril 28, 2017