Most Popular
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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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Key suspects grilled over alleged abuse of power in Marine death inquiry
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S. Korean children, teens grow taller, mature faster than before: study
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Army takes group action against Hybe for neglecting BTS
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Marine Corps commander summoned by CIO for questioning on alleged influence-peddling case
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[Graphic News] Number of coffee franchises in S. Korea rises 13%
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Some junior doctors are returning: Health Ministry
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Ador CEO's request for exclusive right to terminate NewJeans' contract with Hybe refused in February
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Woman dangling from power lines rescued by residents holding blanket
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Naver will consider company benefits in deciding on selling Line shares: CEO
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New home permits shrink 5.1% on-year in 2016
New home permits issued in South Korea dropped 5.1 percent from a year earlier last year, the government said Wednesday, amid ongoing government efforts to limit the supply of new homes.Construction permits issued for new homes came to 726,048 in 2016, compared with 765,328 issued the previous year, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. (Yonhap)The drop was attributed to a sharp decrease in Seoul and its surrounding area.New home permits issued in Seoul plunged 26.2 pe
Jan. 25, 2017
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Korea's land prices grow despite cut in transactions in 2016
South Korea's land prices continued to increase from a year earlier in 2016, also growing at the fastest rate in nine years, the government said Wednesday.Land prices increased 2.7 percent in 2016 from a year earlier, accelerating from a 2.4 percent on-year gain in 2015 and marking the fastest rise since a 3.89 on-year spike posted in 2007, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. (Yonhap)The increase in land prices also far outpaced the 1 percent on-year gain in overall
Jan. 25, 2017
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Korea's 2016 ICT exports slip 6 pct on weak global demand
South Korea's exports of information and communications technology products dropped 6 percent in 2016 from a year earlier due to weak global demand, government data showed Wednesday.Outbound shipments of ICT products hit $162.5 billion last year, compared to $172.89 billion tallied the year before, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The Galaxy Note 7 by Samsung Electronics Co. is displayed at a smartphone store in Seoul. (Yonhap file photo)ICT exports plung
IndustryJan. 25, 2017
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Korea to accelerate restructuring of shaky industries in 2017
South Korea will accelerate its corporate restructuring drive in shaky industries like shipbuilding and steelmaking in 2017 in a bid to gain a foothold for the future industrial revolution, the government said Wednesday.At a ministerial-level meeting in Seoul chaired by Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho, the government reviewed action plans on revamping four key industrial sectors -- shipbuilding, steelmaking, shipping and petroleum -- and came up with detailed schemes for this year. South Korea's Fina
IndustryJan. 25, 2017
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Premium gifts still popular despite overall sales drop in holiday gifts
Retailers whose sales of gift sets for the Lunar New Year holiday dropped this year said Wednesday that the top-end presents, priced well over 1 million won ($857), remained highly popular, a sign economists say attests to the economic gap in the country.Lotte Department Store annually markets its "prestige L" limited gift sets, packaging premium-class beef, wine, fish and other foods. Twenty of 30 sets available for dried yellow croaker fish, priced at 3.6 million won, have already been sold, a
IndustryJan. 25, 2017
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Korea's stock funds suffer W1t of outflows in 3 weeks
South Korea's stock funds have suffered massive redemptions in the first three weeks of this year apparently on profit-taking, data showed Wednesday, as no further momentum is expected in the equity market dogged by uncertainties.Domestic stock funds, excluding exchange traded funds, posted 1.03 trillion won ($850 million) of net outflow this year as of Monday, according to fund information provider KG Zeroin. An image of stock funds. (Yonhap)It came after a total of net 7.9 trillion won outflow
Jan. 25, 2017
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Korean companies stay with same accounting firm too long, undermining transparency
South Korean companies tend to work with the same accounting firm for a long period of time, an analysis showed Wednesday, a practice partly blamed for corroborated cover-ups of financial troubles that later blow up in damaging losses for lenders and investors.The analysis by corporate watcher CEO Score of 483 companies said that as of end of 2015, the firms on average stayed with the same accountant for 6.8 years. The trend compares to Japan where, by law, a contract with an accounting firm is
Jan. 25, 2017
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Auto exports to US sink amid Trump woes
South Korea's auto exports to the United States fell for the first time in seven years last year amid concerns that the Trump administration may take protectionist measures on vehicle imports, industry data showed Wednesday.According to the data compiled by the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association, automakers here shipped 964,432 cars to the US last year, a 9.5 percent on-year fall. (Yonhap)The cars were worth $15.58 billion, also down 9.8 percent.In contrast, US vehicle imports here surg
IndustryJan. 25, 2017
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Unfair equity trading grows 37% in 2016
The number of unfair trading cases in South Korea's equity market reported to the nation's financial watchdog increased more than 37 percent on-year in 2016, as it tightened monitoring and supervision, data showed Wednesday.The Financial Supervisory Service said it caught a total of 208 suspected unfair trade practices, such as insider trading, stock manipulation and fraud, during the year, up 37.7 percent from a year earlier. An image of the Financial Supervisory Service provided by Yonhap News
Jan. 25, 2017
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LG to unveil two smartwatches with Google's new operating system
LG Electronics Inc. plans to unveil two smartwatches featuring Google's new watch version of its operating system next month, an industry source said Wednesday. Co-developed with Google, the two smartwatches with the Android Wear 2.0 operating system will be released at an annual technology fair, the Mobile World Congress show, in Spain, according to the source. This photo shows LG Electronics Inc.'s Urbane Luxe smartwatch (Yonhap file photo)It would be the first time that LG and Google debut t
IndustryJan. 25, 2017
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Conglomerates' cash holdings jump
South Korea's leading conglomerates are estimated to have increased their cash holdings last year, raising hopes for ample dividends, investment officials said Wednesday with supportive data.Samsung Electronics, the head of the pack, on Tuesday announced last year's operating profit at 29.2 trillion won ($25 billion), the fifth consecutive year of a sum nearing 30 trillion won. Cash and cashable assets totaled 88.2 trillion won, a record for the IT giant after increasing by close to 17 trillion
Jan. 25, 2017
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Hyundai Rotem set to win W490b train supply deal from Egypt
Hyundai Rotem Co., the train making unit of Hyundai Motor Group, may soon sign a 490 billion-won ($420 million) deal to supply train cars to Egypt, the company said Wednesday.The South Korean firm has been named the sole preferred bidder for the deal to supply 256 train cars, according to a company official. South Korea's high-speed train developed and built by Hyundai Rotem (Hyundai Rotem)"The company will sign the deal as soon as its receives a letter of offer and acceptance from the Egyptian
IndustryJan. 25, 2017
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Korea's trade ministry meets with US business people
South Korea's trade ministry on Wednesday held a meeting with US business people to seek ways to bolster bilateral economic cooperation under the new Trump administration.In a breakfast meeting with the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea in Seoul, Vice Trade Minister Woo Tae-hee said the two countries have had a close relationship in terms of economy and trade, with the Korea-US free trade agreement playing a big role. (Yonhap)"We expect the members of AMCHAM to promote that the KORUS FTA has
Jan. 25, 2017
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US-Korea trade deal even more important after US withdrawal from TPP
The US free trade agreement with South Korea has become even more important to American businesses as President Donald Trump withdrew the US from a massive Asia-Pacific free trade deal, a top official of the US Chamber of Commerce said Tuesday.Tami Overby, senior vice president for Asia at the largest US business lobby, made the remark during a discussion at George Washington University, a day after Trump signed an executive order pulling out of the 12-nation trade deal, known as the Trans Pacif
Jan. 25, 2017
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SK’s takeover welcomed by market amid high expectations on chip boom
SK’s surprise takeover of LG’s wafer business was welcomed by market watchers Tuesday, as it raised expectations of the country’s third-largest conglomerate fortifying the semiconductor business.SK Holdings, the holding unit of SK Group, revealed in a regulatory filing Monday that it has agreed to acquire a 51 percent stake in LG Siltron, a wafer manufacturing unit owned by LG Corp. for 620 billion won ($531.6 million).(Yonhap)According to market watchers Tuesday, SK’s deal with LG reflects SK G
TechnologyJan. 24, 2017
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[NEWS FOCUS] Trump’s TPP abandonment fans trade fears in Korea
On his first full weekday in office Monday, US President Donald Trump signed an executive action to abandon a multilateral trade deal involving 12 countries, underlining his tough trade policy and raising concerns over a possible renegotiation of the South Korea-US Free Trade Agreement. The Trans-Pacific Partnership, a free trade pact between 12 Asia-Pacific countries and a legacy of former President Barack Obama, was signed in February 2016 after five years of negotiations. It was considered a
Jan. 24, 2017
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Hana Financial's net jumps 47.9% on-year in 2016
Hana Financial Group Inc., a major South Korean banking group, said Tuesday its net profit surged 47.9 percent in 2016 from a year earlier on synergy effects.Net profit came to 1.345 trillion won ($1.15 billion) in 2016 on a consolidated basis, compared with 909.7 billion won a year ago, the group said in a regulatory filing. (Yonhap)The earnings were Hana's strongest annual results since 2012.Interest income came to 4.642 trillion won in 2016, up 2.3 percent from a year earlier.The group's net
Jan. 24, 2017
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Ex-Daewoo Shipbuilding chief additionally charged with breach of trust, bribery
A former CEO of cash-strapped Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. was additionally charged with breach of trust and bribery on suspicions of inflicting some tens of billions of won in losses to the shipyard, prosecutors said Tuesday.The prosecution accused Nam Sang-tae, 66, of allegedly causing some 26.3 billion won ($25.5 million) in losses to the company by making business decisions based on his ties to certain acquaintances. Nam, who headed the company from 2006 to 2012, is currently
IndustryJan. 24, 2017
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OB supports children through ‘Happy Library’ project
Oriental Brewery has launched this year’s first “Happy Library” project to improve after-school programs for children in conjunction with the Headquarters for Community Child Center, the company said Tuesday. The project is part of the company’s social responsibility program involving the renovation of child education facilities and provision of various education kits and books.For this year’s project, the company selected three community child centers in Seoul, Gwangju and Cheongju that were in
CompaniesJan. 24, 2017
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Korea's crowdfunding is half success
Crowdfunding in South Korea has been half successful over the first year, data showed Tuesday, as the authorities pledged more efforts to promote the system.A total of 18 billion won ($15.4 million) has been raised so far from 7,172 investors to fund 121 projects, according to the Financial Services Commission. Yim Jong-yong, chairman of the Financial Services Commission, delivers a speech at a ceremony to mark the first anniversary of the introduction of the crowdfunding system in Seoul on Jan.
Jan. 24, 2017