Most Popular
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Tensions heighten ahead of first president-opposition chief meeting
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Seoul to provide housing subsidy to married couples with newborns
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[KH Explains] No more 'Michael' at Kakao Games
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Rapper jailed after public street fight with another rapper
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Woman gets suspended term for injuring boyfriend with knife
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Samsung chief bolsters ties with Germany’s Zeiss
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Nominee for chief of anti-corruption body pledges 'independence, effectiveness'
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Med schools expect 1,500+ new admission slots next year
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NewJeans pops out ‘Bubble Gum’ video amid troubles at agency
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KT launches new mobile plans for foreign residents
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S. Korea's M&A market hits record in 2014
The value of mergers and acquisitions in South Korea hit a record high last year from big deals struck as part of broader industry restructuring and ample liquidity available in the market, data showed Monday.The local M&A market nearly doubled to $79.7 billion in 2014 from the previous year. It increased more than four times from the $20.4 billion in 2011, according to Bloomberg's Global M&A Market Review.Although the total number of M&As actually fell to 468 in 2014 from 482 a year ago, large
IndustryFeb. 2, 2015
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E-Land Group to build logistics complex, training institute in Shanghai
South Korean retail giant E-Land Group said Sunday it has started construction of an integrated logistics center and training institute in Shanghai to expand its regional presence in Asia.The conglomerate, whose business ranges from fashion apparel and restaurants to hotels, said a ceremony marking the start of construction was held late last week.It said the 200 billion won ($182.5 million) project is the largest ever logistics center approved by local authorities to a foreign company in the me
IndustryFeb. 2, 2015
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S. Korea faces possible oversupply of rice on record output, imports
South Korea may face an oversupply of rice this year as its output reached a five-year high while rice consumption continues to shrink, government officials said Monday.According to the officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the country's self-sufficiency rate for rice is expected to reach 97 percent in 2015.The country's overall output of rice inched up 0.3 percent on-year to some 4.24 million tons in 2014.South Korea is also required to import at least 408,700 tons
Feb. 2, 2015
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Seoul shares open higher on autos, shipbuilders
South Korean stocks opened higher Monday on the back of gains in carmakers and shipbuilders, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index moved up 4.42 points, or 0.23 percent, to 1953.68 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Carmakers traded higher, with Hyundai Motor adding 0.59 percent and its smaller sister Kia Motors climbing 0.33 percent. Its auto parts arm Hyundai Mobis added 1.41 percent.Shipbuilders also opened higher, with Hyundai Heavy Industries adding 5.31 percent and
Feb. 2, 2015
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Exports' contribution to economic growth falls to lowest since financial crisis
South Korea's exports have been contributing less and less to national economic growth in recent years, a report showed Monday, falling to the lowest level since the 2008 financial crisis.Exports were also not creating as many jobs as before, the same report said.According to the report by the Korea International Trade Association, the rate of exports' contribution to economic growth was measured at 37.7 percent in 2013, down from 51 percent tallied in 2012.This marked the lowest since 2008 when
Feb. 2, 2015
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Foreign-made cars become white elephants for insurance industry
Lee Yun-ok, a 60-year-old owner of a humble coffee shop in Seoul, shudders when recalling a small but painful experience from a car accident.A few years ago, she was pulling her car out from an on-street parking lot after work one evening. She was on a glitzy Gangnam street in the southern part of the city commonly teeming with expensive luxury vehicles like BMWs and Mercedes Benzes.She was going in reverse at a low speed but wasn't aware of a BMW parked at a crossroad nearby. Her car touched th
MobilityFeb. 2, 2015
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S. Korea ranked 12th in IoT penetration
South Korea ranked 12th among the world's 20 major economies in terms of readiness for the Internet of Things technology, a report showed Monday.Asia's fourth-largest economy was given 52.2 points out of 100 in the National Absorptive Capacity index for IoT, according to the report released by market researcher Accenture. A higher number indicates a more IoT-friendly environment.The United States took the top spot at 64 points, trailed by Switzerland with 63.9 points and Finland with 63.2 points
Feb. 2, 2015
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S. Korea's current account surplus slips in Dec.
South Korea's monthly current account surplus slipped from a record high in the previous month but extended its surplus streak for the 34th straight month in December, data showed Monday.The current account surplus reached $7.22 billion last month, down from a revised $11.32 billion in November, according to preliminary data by the Bank of Korea. The current account is the broadest measure of cross-border trade.With the December data, the country's accumulated current account surplus hit a recor
Feb. 2, 2015
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Hyundai's i10 hatchback sales top 2 mln
South Korea's top automaker Hyundai Motor Co. said Monday that accumulated sales of its i10 hatchback broke the two-million mark last year, about seven years after the company first launched the model sold only outside its home market.The record marks the first time for one of its non-Korean region models to get past two million units in sales, according to the carmaker.The five-door city car was first targeted for the Indian auto market in 2007, and nearly 1.89 million units have been sold ther
MobilityFeb. 2, 2015
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Foreign cigarette brands outperform KT&G
For the first time in nearly three decades, foreign cigarette makers in Korea outperformed Korean brands in market share on the strength of their low-price strategies, data showed Sunday.According to data from the nation’s two convenience store chains, foreign brands earned about 55 percent market share in sales and 60 percent in volume in January, dethroning the long dominant KT&G, the only Korean cigarette-maker.This is the first time in 29 years that KT&G lost grip of its dominant market shar
Feb. 1, 2015
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Samsung takes over Brazil’s largest printing solutions provider
Samsung Electronics Co. has taken over Brazil’s No. 1 printing solutions company, Simpress, to bolster its printing business in the Latin American market, industry sources said Saturday.The tech giant recently signed a contract to take over a 100-percent stake in Simpress with a plan to run it as a subsidiary, they said.The Sao Paulo-based firm provides printing outsourcing solution services to local companies, financial and public organizations.Samsung plans to sell its printers through Simpres
IndustryFeb. 1, 2015
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Korea’s exports shrink 0.4% on-year in January
South Korea’s exports inched down from a year earlier in January, but its trade surplus jumped as imports dropped at a faster rate, the government said Sunday.The country’s overall outbound shipments slipped 0.4 percent on-year to $45.37 billion last month, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.Imports plunged 11 percent on-year to about $39.84 billion.The trade surplus came to $5.53 billion, compared with a surplus of $810 million in the same month last year.January marked the
IndustryFeb. 1, 2015
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Antitrust watchdog takes aim at global tech firms
Korea’s antitrust watchdog said Sunday it will be looking at global tech companies that may be abusing their monopolistic control to disrupt fair competition in the local market, a move some insiders say may extend to Google and Apple. “The plan is to check the information technology and electronics sectors to see whether the dominant actors are abusing their control,” Fair Trade Commission chairman Jeong Jae-chan said, adding that greater resources will be allocated to examining the local mobil
Feb. 1, 2015
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Shares forecast to trade higher this week
The South Korean stock market is anticipated to rise this week on expected dovish remarks by some U.S. Federal Reserve Board members and possible gains in cyclical shares, analysts said Saturday.The country’s key stock market index, the KOSPI, inched up 0.7 percent from a week ago to 1,949.26 on Friday.Seoul shares got off to a strong start earlier in the week as institutions snapped up shares of builders and chemical firms despite lingering concerns over Greek election results, in which the ant
IndustryFeb. 1, 2015
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SK Group, local governments team up to back start-ups
DAEJEON ― The Daejeon Creative Economy Innovation Center, an institute run by SK Group to support start-ups, has become a hotbed of business creativity. Housed at KAIST, one of Korea’s most prestigious tech and science universities, the creative economy center was jointly established by Daejeon Metropolitan City, KAIST, and SK Group last October with an aim to nurture entrepreneurs and help fledgling businesses conduct research and development and commercialize their technology at home and abroa
TechnologyFeb. 1, 2015
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Twitter may face probe over pornography
American social media service Twitter may experience a tough year in Korea as it is likely to face government scrutiny over its lack of action against pornography distribution.According to the Korea Communications Standards Commission, a special task force against online distribution of pornography will kick off as early as February, with a particular focus on foreign social media such as Twitter.Twitter founder and chairman Jack Dorsey. (Bloomberg)“We will closely look into these media. We are
IndustryFeb. 1, 2015
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LG Electronics beefing up solar energy business
LG Electronics said it would invest around 160 billion won ($145 million) to beef up its solar power business until mid-2015. “LG has issued corporate bonds to invest in lines for n-type solar modules and infrastructure maintenance at the firm’s Gumi plants,” the company said in its financial report filed at Korea Exchange last week. LG said it would execute a series of investment plans by the end of July this year. At its meeting with analysts and reporters last Thursday, Chung Do-hyun, LG’s ch
TechnologyFeb. 1, 2015
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Carmakers gear up for plug-in vehicle war
Falling oil prices are not expected to put a brake on the zeal for battery-powered, plug-in clean cars, as global automakers are competing to expand their electric vehicle lineup to win the battle for the clean car market. Carmakers have diversified their lineups of plug-in hybrids and fully electric vehicles. The trend was well reflected through the 2015 North American International Auto Show in Detroit from Jan. 12-25. “At the show, most of global carmakers clearly delivered a message that the
MobilityFeb. 1, 2015
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BMW cars found vulnerable to unlocking by hackers
By tapping into a security flaw in a digital-service system, hackers could wirelessly open BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce vehicles in minutes, according to a report by German auto club ADAC. About 2.2 million vehicles equipped with BMW’s ConnectedDrive service were vulnerable, ADAC said. BMW’s electric car i3 EV, fitted with ConnectedDrive. (BMW)The Munich-based carmaker said it upgraded the system to close the security gap and that the software update will take place automatically when a vehicle co
MobilityFeb. 1, 2015
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U.S. auto sales outlook rises
An improving job market and cheap gasoline is likely to add 200,000 more car sales this year than analysts estimated just two months ago, according to a new survey. After a strong finish to 2014 ― November and December were two of the year’s three best months ― most analysts surveyed by Bloomberg increased their 2015 estimates, raising the average projection to 16.9 million deliveries. As recently as mid-November, the average estimate was for sales to rise about 200,000 to 16.7 million cars and
MobilityFeb. 1, 2015