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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Samsung SDI to make turnaround this year: analysts
Samsung SDI is expected to make a turnaround this year due to the increased battery supply for Samsung’s flagship smartphone Galaxy S8 alongside revenue generated from the polarizing film business, analysts said Wednesday. Last year, Samsung SDI posted an operating loss of 926 billion won ($831 million), mainly because of its money-losing battery business that accounts for 65 percent of total sales. The battery unit posted an operating loss of 451 billion won due to slowing market demand, the No
TechnologyMarch 29, 2017
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Marginal households, firms hinder economic recovery
Korea needs to move faster to prevent a possible economic disruption stemming from a rising number of marginal households and businesses, economists here say.The predicament of the country’s households and enterprises struggling to service their growing debt is set to be exacerbated down the road as interest rates will likely climb.(123RF)Since June, the Bank of Korea has held its key rate at a record low of 1.25 percent to help bolster the sluggish economy, which is forecast to grow below 3 per
March 29, 2017
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[Monitor] Korean households post first interest balance deficit
Households paid more in interest than gaining interest from their deposits, posting the first such deficit in 2016, Bank of Korea said Wednesday.The so-called interest balance came to a minus as the households’ interest payments grew at a faster pace than interest income, and as financial institutions charged more interest on loans to boost their earnings. The income from interest on deposits at banks and financial institutions reached an estimated 36.1 trillion won, up 5.4 percent from 2015. In
March 29, 2017
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Hankook Tire to globalize through reforms in distribution
Hankook Tire is setting out to fortify its distribution capacity this year as part of efforts to solidify its status as a global top-tier brand, the company said Wednesday.To suit customers, whose preferences have been diversifying with the development of automobiles, the company is considering putting forward T’Station as a multi-brand shop. Following its launch in July 2004, some 560 stores are now operated nationwide to provide total service for automobiles.Going forward, T’Station stores wil
IndustryMarch 29, 2017
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Nongshim launches new stir-fried Neoguri
Nongshim recently released its first seafood stir-fried udon ramen, “Stir-fried Neoguri,” which puts a spin on the popular 35-year-old Neoguri ramen, the company said Wednesday. Stir-fried Neoguri (Nongshim)Nongshim released the latest product on Feb. 27, but began its research in 2013, when the popularity of “Jjapaguri,” a combination of Jjapaghetti (instant black bean noodle ramen) and Neoguri hit the nation. It took the company two years to translate Neoguri’s original flavor into a stir-frie
IndustryMarch 29, 2017
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Global auto-parts makers to promote products at Seoul Motor Show
Global auto parts companies will participate in the Seoul Motor Show to promote their products and expand business ties with their South Korean counterparts, the exhibition's organizing committee said Wednesday.Auto parts makers from Germany, Mexico, Columbia, Israel and the Czech Republic will join the biennial motor show in a bid to supply their products to South Korean carmakers, the Organizing Committee for Seoul Motor Show said in a statement. In this photo taken during the Seoul Motor Show
MobilityMarch 29, 2017
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'Korea still has room for monetary policy to support growth'
Cho Dong-chul, one of the seven members of the Bank of Korea’s key rate-setting committee, said Wednesday that Korea should still seek a monetary policy to sustain the nation’s weak growth.His comment is in contrast with the view of BOK Gov. Lee Ju-yeol, who has repeatedly emphasized that the era of monetary policy has nearly ended and the government should use more aggressive expansionary fiscal policy to support growth. Cho Dong-chul, one of the seven members of the Bank of Korea’s monetary po
March 29, 2017
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[News Focus] Multinational firms using royalties to avoid tax: expert
Multinational firms in South Korea tend to transfer much higher proportions of their revenues to their headquarters overseas in dividends and royalties than their Korean counterparts, an expert said Monday.Payments in royalties and dividends are categorized as expenses, which in turn lowers their reported earnings to the Korean authorities.Some companies may take advantage of such system to avoid paying corporate taxes, which needs extra monitoring by the National Tax Office, said Kim Kab-lae, a
March 29, 2017
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3M Korea, local drugmakers face temporary import, sales ban
South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on Tuesday slapped 3M Korea and two local drugmakers with a temporary import, marketing and sales ban for breaching local pharmaceutical regulations.The local branch of US-based 3M, 3M Korea, which produces and sells office supplies and medical products here, faces a one-month sales ban on three products the ministry found were imported and sold from 2011 to 2015 without undergoing proper declaration procedures.The three 3M products include the 3M C
IndustryMarch 29, 2017
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Korean households' surplus funds fall in 2016
Surplus funds held by South Korean households and nonprofit institutions fell in 2016 from a year earlier as they reduced their investments in stocks and bonds, central bank data showed Wednesday.The excess funds held by households and nonprofit institutions came to 70.5 trillion won ($63 billion) at the end of last year, down from 94.2 trillion won from the previous year, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea." (Yonhap)The surplus funds held by households and nonprofit institutio
March 29, 2017
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Korea's rice production costs down for 3 straight yrs in 2016
Rice production costs in South Korea fell for three straight years in 2016 due to a decline in land-borrowing expenses, a government report showed Wednesday.Farmers spent 674,340 won ($605) to grow rice on a 1,000-square meter paddy last year, down 2.5 percent from the previous year's 691,869 won, according to the report by Statistics Korea. (Yonhap)Total costs, including the ones to buy fertilizer and pesticides, inched up 0.8 percent on-year to 440,821 won, but the rise was offset by a fall in
IndustryMarch 29, 2017
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Corporate watchdog slaps W1.8b fine on Lotte, Shilla duty-free shops
South Korea's corporate watchdog said Wednesday that it has imposed a combined 1.8 billion-won ($1.6 million) fine on two duty-free shop operators -- Lotte and Shilla -- for colluding on discount events.Hotel Lotte Co., the operator of the country's biggest Lotte Duty Free, and Hotel Shilla Co., the accommodations unit of Samsung Group that operates Shilla Duty Free, allegedly colluded to exclude electronic devices from their regular promotions held five times a year between September 2009 and M
IndustryMarch 29, 2017
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Seoul shares nearly flat in late-morning trade
South Korean stocks traded nearly flat late Wednesday morning, as a fall in shares of domestic-focused firms offset gains in tech issues, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index was up 0.33 points, or 0.02 percent, to 2,163.64 as of 11:20 a.m.Shares of Samsung Electronics and SK hynix jumped more than 1 percent, with those of LG Display, a leading flat panel maker, soaring nearly 3 percent. In contrast, SK Telecom, the country's top mobile carrier, shed nearly 2 percent. B
March 29, 2017
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Korea's top 50 brands estimated to be worth W136tr
South Korea's top 50 brands are estimated to be worth 136 trillion won ($122 billion), data showed Wednesday, with Samsung Electronics Co. standing as the most expensive on the list.According to the data compiled by industry tracker Interbrand the combined brand value of South Korean company names advanced 6 percent on-year in 2017. (Yonhap)By company, Samsung Electronics topped the list with an estimate of 50.7 trillion won, followed by Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. with 13.8 trillion
IndustryMarch 29, 2017
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Woori Bank offers W85b credit facility in China
South Korea's Woori Bank said Wednesday it has offered a won-denominated usance letter of credit worth 85 billion won ($76.2 million) to some Chinese banks, including the Bank of China and the Bank of Communications. The facility allows South Korean firms doing businesses in China to help ease their risks related to foreign currency fluctuations, Woori Bank said in a statement. (Yonhap)Using the credit facility, a South Korean firm can swiftly receive a payment with the Korean currency when it
March 29, 2017
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Daewoo Shipbuilding workers urged to share pain for survival
The chief of cash-hungry Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. urged its workers Wednesday to accept a pay cut and other bold restructuring moves to overcome its worsening financial status.In a message delivered through an in-house broadcast to its workers, Jung Sung-leep, president of Daewoo Shipbuilding, said this is the last chance for him and his workers to survive.(Yonhap)"Our creditors and shareholders demand that we share pain and implement self-rescue efforts," Jung said, adding t
IndustryMarch 29, 2017
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Samsung has no plans to sell refurbished Galaxy Note 7 in US
Samsung Electronics Co. is not planning to release the refurbished version of the ill-fated Galaxy Note 7 phablet in the United States, an industry tracker said Wednesday.Citing Samsung sources, Consumer Reports said the refurbished phablets will not be sold nor rented out in the US. (Yonhap)Earlier this week, Samsung said it will seek to sell refurbished Galaxy Note 7s, whose production was suspended last year due to safety issues.The tech giant unveiled the Galaxy Note 7 in early August, but
IndustryMarch 29, 2017
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Korean petrochemicals firms accelerating overseas push
South Korean petrochemicals firms, led by LG Chem Ltd., are seeking to diversify their export destinations and establish more overseas production facilities, in a bid to reduce their dependence on China, industry sources said Wednesday.According to the sources, LG Chem, the country's No. 1 player in the chemicals sector, is attempting to expand its presence in the North American and the European markets to sell its high-end products, thus trimming the portion of its exports to China that current
IndustryMarch 29, 2017
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Cosmetics export to China soars in Jan-Feb despite THAAD row
South Korea's export of cosmetics products to China jumped in the first two months of this year from a year earlier, industry data showed Wednesday, underscoring solid gains in trade despite the trade row between Beijing and Seoul over a US anti-missile system. The outbound shipments of cosmetics goods to the world's second-largest economy surged 51.6 percent on-year to $270 million in the January-February period, according to data by the Korea Cosmetics Association. (Yonhap)They posted a 10 pe
March 29, 2017
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SK hynix joins bid to buy Toshiba's memory business
South Korea's major chipmaker SK hynix Inc. decided to join the preliminary bid to purchase the memory chip business of Japan's Toshiba Corp., industry sources said Wednesday.SK hynix is estimated to have suggested more than 10 trillion won ($8.9 billion) for the deal. (Yonhap)The South Korean company said it cannot comment on any details on the deal, including whether it actually aims to buy the memory business.Industry sources said SK hynix may seek to establish a consortium with Japanese fina
TechnologyMarch 29, 2017