Most Popular
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Opposition-led Assembly unilaterally passes bill to probe Marine's death
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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 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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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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Key suspects grilled over alleged abuse of power in Marine death inquiry
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Hanwha E&C hit by local and overseas sales dip
Hanwha Engineering and Construction saw its sales drop about 650 billion won ($594 million) last year, due to slowing overseas and domestic performance, data showed Thursday. According to the corporate analysis service CEO Score, Hanwha E&C’s overall sales dipped 17.2 percent compared to 2013 to come in at 3.12 trillion won. The fall was fueled by both overseas and domestic sales dropping respectively by 14.4 percent and 19.1 percent. The company’s domestic decline has been attributed to its dec
IndustryMay 14, 2015
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POSCO launches executives’ panel to drive reform
POSCO, the country’s largest steelmaker, on Thursday launched a reform committee as it struggles to reform its image and business structure. The committee is headed by POSCO CEO Kwon Oh-joon, and its members include all in-house directors, and the chiefs of POSCO’s five largest subsidiaries including Daewoo International, POSCO Engineering and Construction, and POSCO Energy. Under the committee, five subcommittees will oversee changes in the areas of restructuring, responsible management, human
IndustryMay 14, 2015
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IFEZ rises as global investment center
The Incheon Free Economic Zone is emerging as a global city, with 94 percent of foreign direct investment in eight free economic zones in Korea coming to the IFEZ.The free economic zone was started in 2003 to become a hub city in Northeast Asia, and has shown remarkable growth since. IFEZ has achieved its initial FDI goal and brought in $1.7 billion, about 9 percent of the total FDI in South Korea ($19 billion) and a 2.5 percentage point increase from the previous year.IFEZ has also hosted a tot
IndustryMay 14, 2015
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U.N. agency advises BOK to keep key rate
South Korea’s central bank should keep the key rate unchanged and turn to alternative means of injecting liquidity in the near future, a U.N. economic institution reported Thursday. In its Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2015, the U.N. Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific warned that further rate cuts by the Bank of Korea may be difficult to execute due to the already high level of household debt.“The central bank may have to consider alternative means of in
May 14, 2015
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AmorePacific owner's stock holdings top 10 tln won
The chairman of South Korea's top cosmetics maker AmorePacific Group become the country's second businessman with stock holdings worth more than 10 trillion won (9.2 billion) on Thursday as shares of listed subsidiaries surged, industry data showed.Suh Kyung-bae had 10.37 trillion won of shares in the four group subsidiaries as of Thursday, according to the data complied by corporate tracker Chaebul.com. Suh follows Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee, who holds stocks worth 12.35 trillion won, S
May 14, 2015
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Seoul shares up 0.3 pct ahead of BOK meeting
South Korean stocks closed higher Thursday, as investors digested the options expiration ahead of the central bank's rate-setting meeting this week, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index climbed 6.17 points, or 0.29 percent, to finish at 2,120.33. Trading volume was moderate at 424.2 million shares worth 5.04 trillion won ($4.61 billion) with gainers outnumbering decliners 465 to 335."We could've seen more sell-offs as the options e
May 14, 2015
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Biz leaders of S. Korea, Japan urge efforts for economic bloc
Business leaders of South Korea and Japan called for joint efforts to boost economic cooperation between their countries Thursday, while vowing support for ongoing negotiations to form a regional economic bloc through free trade pacts. The call came at the end of an annual meeting of businesspeople from the two countries, hosted by the Korea-Japan Economic Association. This year's meeting, held in Seoul from Wednesday, was attended by some 300 business leaders from both countries. The two-da
May 14, 2015
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Samsung heir yet to divest Samsung SDS shares after lock-up
Lee Jay-yong, the heir apparent of South Korea's No. 1 conglomerate Samsung Group, is unlikely to offload shares of Samsung SDS Co., one of the group's key IT arms, although the lock-up period for the stocks held by major shareholders has expired, industry sources said Thursday.Samsung SDS was listed on South Korea's main bourse in November, and the six-month lock-up period for large shareholders' stakes ended earlier Thursday, which means that Jay-yong and his family members are now allowed to
IndustryMay 14, 2015
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Korean Air's loss narrows in Q1
Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea's top air carrier, said Thursday its loss narrowed in the first quarter of this year from a year earlier on the back of reduced fuel costs and a higher number of passengers.Consolidated net loss came to 133.1 billion won ($121.95 million) in the January-March period, compared with a 155.76 billion won loss a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. Sales edged down 0.9 percent on-year to 2.87 trillion won, while operating profit jumped nearly nine
May 14, 2015
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Hanjin Shipping swings to profit in Q1
Hanjin Shipping Co., South Korea's leading shipping line, said Thursday that it swung to the black in the first quarter from a year earlier thanks to lower fuel costs and better streamlined shipping routes.Net profit came to 22.91 billion won ($21 million) in the January-March period, a turnaround from a loss of 224.45 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. Operating profit came to 155.03 billion won during the cited period, also switching back to the black from a l
May 14, 2015
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Finance minister touts S. Korea as investment haven
South Korea has become a safe haven for overseas investors by successfully differentiating itself from emerging markets that have been hurt by the U.S. central bank's tapering, Seoul's economic czar said Thursday.Speaking at a global investors conference in Seoul, Choi Kyung-hwan said that each time the economy was hit by external shocks in the past, its financial and economic stability has actually become sounder."South Korea's external soundness improved after the 1997 Asian financial crisis,
May 14, 2015
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S. Korea seeks to begin FTA talks with Central America
South Korea will call on Central American nations this week to begin negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA), the foreign ministry said Thursday.First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yong will deliver the call during a meeting with member nations of the Central American Integration System in Guatemala City on Friday, the ministry said in a press release.SICA, which was launched in 1991 to promote political and economic integration in the region, is made up of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras
May 14, 2015
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Chinese firms urged to remain confident in N. Korea
China has encouraged its companies doing business in North Korea to remain confident, despite strained political ties between the two neighbors.The Chinese ambassador to North Korea, Li Jinjun, made the remarks at a meeting on Wednesday with a group of Chinese businessmen in North Korea, the Chinese Embassy in Pyongyang said in a statement. Li told the Chinese businessmen that he has briefed North Korean officials on China's ambitious Silk Road project aimed at reviving the ancient trade route b
May 14, 2015
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S. Korea's IT exports to China slow sharply in 2014
South Korea's exports of information technology and electronics goods to China slowed sharply in2014 as the world's No. 2 economy relied more on local products and technologies, a report showed Thursday. Shipments of South Korean tech products to China edged up 1.4 percent on-year to US$103.7 billion last year, far lower than the15.8 percent surge in 2013, according to the report by the Shanghai office of the Korea International Trade Association.In line with the change in China's policy, the gr
TechnologyMay 14, 2015
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Shinsegae bets on duty-free bid with landmark store
South Korean retail giant Shinsegae on Thursday announced plans to renovate its landmark outlet, one of the oldest buildings in central Seoul, into a duty-free shop in what could be its latest effort to win a highly competitive bid to run duty-free stores in downtown Seoul.Some six consortiums and companies, including Lotte Duty Free, Hotel Shilla and Hyundai Department Store, are reportedly preparing to take part in an upcoming bid for duty-free store operational licenses in downtown Seoul. The
IndustryMay 14, 2015
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S. Korea's economy entering expansionary phase: OECD data
An index of South Korea's leading economic indicators hit a near four-year high in March, signaling the economy is entering an expansionary phase, data by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development showed Thursday.The Paris-based organization said the composite leading indicator for South Korea reached 102.0 in March, up 0.2 point from February and the highest since the 102.1 tallied in April 2010. March marked the ninth straight month of increase.A reading above 100 means a count
May 14, 2015
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S. Korea ranks No. 1 in global mobile app usage: report
South Korea has trumped other major countries in terms of mobile application usage, with smartphone owners in the country spending most of their time on social messengers, a report showed Thursday. The index gauging the mobile data usage by South Korean smartphone users reached 125 in the first quarter, outpacing the United States' 100 and the 90 held by Japan, according to the latest report by online-based global mobile app tracker App Annie. Britain and Germany trailed with 80 and 70, respecti
TechnologyMay 14, 2015
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Daum Kakao's Q1 net down 40.4 pct on-quarter
Daum Kakao Corp., the operator of South Korea's top mobile messenger KakaoTalk, said Thursday its first-quarter profit dipped 40.4 percent in the first quarter from three months earlier, dented by falling advertisement revenue.Consolidated net profit came to 30.8 billion won ($28.1 million) in the January-March period, compared with the 51.7 billion won posted a quarter earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. Operating profit also dropped 38.3 percent on-quarter to 40.3 billion won, wi
May 14, 2015
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IMF cuts S. Korea's growth forecast this year to 3.1 percent
The International Monetary Fund lowered its forecast for South Korea's economic growth this year to 3.1 percent Wednesday, saying growth momentum has stalled since last year's Sewol ferry disaster.The latest forecast is down from the 3.3 percent growth the agency forecast in last month's World Economic Outlook report. The IMF has been cutting its forecast for South Korea's gross domestic product growth since October when it predicted 4 percent growth."Growth momentum that had been building since
May 14, 2015
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Galaxy S6 less attractive than its predecessor: U.S. consumer agency
Samsung Electronics Co.'s latest flagship Galaxy S6 smartphone lags behind its predecessor, the Galaxy S5, in most performance reviews, a U.S. consumer agency said Thursday, with the new model less attractive to users who want to find alternatives to Apple Inc.'s iPhones.According to U.S.-based Consumer Reports, a non-profit organization that grades products for consumers' rights, Samsung's Galaxy S5 released last year topped the list of smartphones studied, outpacing its upgraded version in ter
TechnologyMay 14, 2015