Most Popular
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Medical profs at top hospitals suspend surgeries, clinics
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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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Samsung chip business back on track, logs W1.9tr operating profit in Q1
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Shinsegae faces showdown with investors over SSG.com's delayed IPO
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[Music in drama] Rekindle a love that slipped through your fingers
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Ex-pro baseball player who killed debtor appeals sentence
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Hopes rise for possible Gaza truce deal
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S. Korea discussed possible participation in AUKUS Pillar 2 with Australia: defense minister
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[New faces of Assembly] Architect behind ‘audacious initiative’ believes in denuclearized North Korea
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Korea eyes change in pension sharing system
South Korea is pushing to overhaul a system for sharing national pensions on divorce in line with a recent ruling by the Constitutional Court, officials said Thursday.According to the National Assembly and the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Rep. Jung Choun-sook and other lawmakers have tabled a revision bill to the National Pension Act that calls for not splitting the pension with an ex-spouse for the period when the couple doesn't live together due to separation or other reasons. (Yonhap)Curre
Feb. 16, 2017
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Korea's auto exports retreat in Jan.
South Korea's auto exports fell for the first time in three months in January on decreased working days and contracted demand from global markets, government data showed Thursday.The total value of autos shipped overseas reached $2.86 billion last month, down 4.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. (Yonhap)The January downturn came after the country's monthly auto exports have logged an on-year growth in November and December
MobilityFeb. 16, 2017
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Chinese smartphone makers seek high-end market
Chinese smartphone makers have been rolling out pricey models to play catch up with Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co., which dominate the high-end smartphone market in the country, a Seoul trade body said Thursday.According to the Shanghai office of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, Chinese smartphone maker Jinli unveiled a new model late last year wrapped in alligator leather that fetches roughly $2,480. The same model in cow skin carries a price tag of some $1,020. Chinese smar
IndustryFeb. 16, 2017
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Govt. to check odd beef prices amid industry doldrums
The South Korean government is set to look into a widening price gap between the wholesale and retail prices of local beef, officials said Thursday, as it is feared to further hurt the industry and consumer spending already daunted by the new anti-graft law.The producer price of Korean beef, known as hanwoo, stood at 45,252 won ($39.80) per kilogram as of Tuesday, down 26.7 percent from four months earlier, according to the government's livestock data. An employee is stacking packs of Australia
IndustryFeb. 16, 2017
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Samsung’s Lee Jae-yong attends warrant hearing
Samsung Group’s de facto leader Lee Jae-yong is attending a court hearing for his possible arrest on charges of bribing President Park Geun-hye. Lee, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, appeared at the Seoul Central District Court at around 10 a.m. Thursday to attend the hearing on his arrest warrant. A decision is expected to come near or past midnight. It is the second time that the executive faces possible arrest in connection to the country’s largest corruption scandal that led to Presiden
IndustryFeb. 16, 2017
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Sales of luxury imported cars top 20,000 in 2016
Sales of imported luxury cars continued to grow despite a sharp drop in overall sales of imports last year, industry data showed Thursday, reflecting an apparent economic polarization among local consumers.In 2016, the number of newly registered foreign-made vehicles each priced over 100 million won ($87,600) came to 20,384, accounting for over 9 percent of the total 225,279 imported cars sold here, according to the data from the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association. Dimitris
MobilityFeb. 16, 2017
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Korea sends letter of protest to FT over report on currency manipulators
The South Korean government has sent a letter of protest to international daily newspaper Financial Times over its recent news report that Seoul has intentionally devalued its currency, a government official said Thursday.In the article titled "Donald Trump's anger at Asian currency manipulators missed target" moved on Monday, the FT said that South Korea and Taiwan are the "obvious culprits" of currency manipulation. (Yonhap)"Neither Seoul nor Taipei clearly declares their currency intervention
Feb. 16, 2017
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Koreans spent $429 per person on medicines in 2015
South Koreans spent an average $429 per person in 2015 to purchase medicines and medical supplies, slightly down from the previous year's $446, data showed on Thursday.According to the data compiled by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, South Koreans' average spending on medicine in 2015 was the 15th highest among the 29 member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. (Yonhap)The health ministry compiles the data in dollar conversion for comparison with other OECD m
Feb. 16, 2017
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Startup eyes supply of homegrown FMD vaccine next year
South Korean startup Pharos Vaccine Inc. said Thursday it may supply a homegrown vaccine against food and mouth disease next year as the country is grappling with the worst outbreak of the animal disease in seven years.South Korea is suffering from a serious undersupply of FMD vaccines as the country is hit by the simultaneous outbreak of type A and type O viruses. Since the first outbreak on Feb. 5, nearly 800 cows have been culled so far, raising concerns that the animal disease is spreading n
TechnologyFeb. 16, 2017
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It's good time to review, renegotiate Korea-US FTA
After five years of implementation, it is a good time for the United States and South Korea to review their bilateral free trade agreement and improve it through renegotiation, a top adviser to US President Donald Trump said.Heritage Foundation founder Edwin Feulner, who served as a senior adviser to Trump's transition team, made the remark in an exclusive interview with Yonhap News Agency and Yonhap News Television, corroborating concern that renegotiation of the trade deal is inevitable. Edwin
Feb. 16, 2017
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SsangYong Motor back in the black
SsangYong Motor announced Wednesday that the company posted its highest sales volume in 14 years last year, resulting in an operating profit of 28 billion won ($25 million) and net profit of 58.1 billion won.The company, which is the fourth-largest South Korea-based automobile manufacturer, sold a total of 155,844 units worldwide in 2016. Exterior view of SsangYong Motor Company’s Tivoli SUV. (SsangYong Motor Company)“Last year, the company was able to recover its market share thanks to the Tiv
MobilityFeb. 15, 2017
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Tesla expected to hit Korean market in May
Major US electric car maker Tesla is expected to hit the Korean auto market this May after completing the registration process with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.The ministry said Wednesday that the registration for Tesla as a manufacturer has been finalized. The company said it will begin sales from May.This Sept. 7, 2016 photo provided by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety shows a Tesla Model S before crash safety testing. (Yonhap - AP)Tesla first submitted for the
MobilityFeb. 15, 2017
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Naver, Kakao aim to transform e-commerce with ‘chatbots’
South Korean internet technology giants Naver and Kakao have begun to incorporate artificial intelligence “chatbots” into their platforms, seeking to become key stakeholders in the fast-growing online commerce sector. Chatbots are AI-powered computer programs that can mimic human conversations and react to spoken or written prompts to deliver services. Global IT firms like Facebook and Google have already introduced chatbots for businesses on its mobile messengers which can handle tasks such as
TechnologyFeb. 15, 2017
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KB Financial Group opens 3rd branch in Cambodia
KB Financial Group said Wednesday it has opened a third bank branch in Cambodia in the latest move to strengthen its business in the Southeast Asian country.The opening of the KB Kookmin Bank branch earlier in the day drew some 100 local and South Koreans, including KB Financial Chairman Yoon Jong-kyoo, according to KB Financial. KB Financial Chairman Yoon Jong-kyoo (2nd from left) attends a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the opening of the third branch of KB Kookmin Bank in Toul Tom Poung in southw
Feb. 15, 2017
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Job data reflects manufacturing, youth frustration
South Korea’s jobless rate inched up in January, as job conditions in the manufacturing sector continued to deteriorate and more young people stopped looking for work, government data showed Wednesday. The jobless rate in January stood at 3.8 percent, up 0.1 percentage point from a year earlier, data from the Ministry of Strategy and Finance showed. It marks the highest since April 2016, when the tally was 3.9 percent. The number of jobless people exceeded the 1 million mark in Ja
Feb. 15, 2017
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Hyundai Ioniq EV tops US list as 'greenest car'
The Hyundai Ioniq electric vehicle has been named the greenest car in the United States, beating its global rivals the BMW i3 and the Toyota Prius Eco, the South Korean manufacturer of the car, Hyundai Motor Co., said Wednesday.The Ioniq Electric topped a list of environmentally friendly vehicles sold in the United States that was put together by a non-profit organization, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. The Hyundai Ioniq Electric Vehicle (Hyundai Motor)The list, posted on
MobilityFeb. 15, 2017
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Stock market left unperturbed by the assassination of Kim Jong-nam
The assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s half-brother, Kim Jong-nam, is likely to have a minimal impact on the South Korean stock market.Lee Kyung-min, a researcher working for Daishin Securities, said to local media, “Kim Jong-un’s aggressive action may shrink the investor’s confidence, but the effect will be limited, since Kim Jong-nam did not have a specific role in the relationship among the two Koreas and China.” (Yonhap)Although investor confidence may drop due to potential d
Feb. 15, 2017
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Korea under pressure to cut trade surplus with US
South Korea’s exports jumped 72.8 percent from a year earlier in the first 10 days of this month, the latest customs data showed, continuing an upward trend since November.The on-year growth in the country’s outbound shipments accelerated from 2.5 percent in November to 6.4 percent in December and 11.2 percent last month. (Yonhap)Attributed partly to a base effect reflecting underperformances the year before, the recent stretch of increase should be good news for trade officials here, who have b
Feb. 15, 2017
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[News Analysis] FTC may lose exclusive right to charge businesses
South Korea’s anti-trust watchdog is under mounting pressure to scrap its long-held exclusive right to charge businesses for fair trade violations which opposition lawmakers say have been impotent to monitor chaebol’s unlawful practices against smaller firms.The current law prevents prosecutors from indicting companies for competition law violations unless the Fair Trade Commission files an accusation. Rep. Choi Woon-yeol of the Democratic Party of Korea and Rep. Chae Yi-bae of the People’s Part
IndustryFeb. 15, 2017
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[Photo News] Shinsegae Dept. Store launches jewelry brand
Shinsegae Department Store said Wednesday it has created a new jewelry brand called Addir that focuses on diamonds. Its products will be designed, sourced, manufactured and sold through Shinsegae Department Store. Addir opens at the department store’s Daegu branch Thursday and its Gangnam branch Friday. Addir at Shinsegae Daegu is shown in the picture. (Shinsegae Department Store)
IndustryFeb. 15, 2017