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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New celebrity-endorsed therapy for face contouring requires only a pair of rubber bands
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Rapper jailed after public street fight with another rapper
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[KH Explains] No more 'Michael' at Kakao Games
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Woman gets suspended term for injuring boyfriend with knife
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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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Samsung chief bolsters ties with Germany’s Zeiss
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KT launches new mobile plans for foreign residents
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Business community opposes move to tax cash reserves
South Korea’s business community on Thursday protested proposals by the government to tax corporate cash reserves, stressing that such actions will only hurt investment and not benefit the economy.The Federation of Korean Industries, which represents the interests of the country’s large family-run conglomerates known as chaebol, said companies need cash reserves to deal with potential uncertainties in the future and that most of the money set aside has already been earmarked for use to buy land
IndustryJuly 17, 2014
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Controversy mounts over opening of customer data
The nation’s top-ranking private lenders have lately been determined to grow out of their conventional loan business and expand into the savings bank sector, but entry comes with a price ― submitting their customer database to an organization overseeing local banks. The government insists that it is necessary for the lenders to offer such information to the Korea Federation of Banks, or KFB, if they hope to step into the second-tier banking industry, but lenders raised concerns about the side-ef
July 17, 2014
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Will easier mortgage lending help revive housing market?
South Korea appears to be set to introduce revised regulations on mortgage loans to allow prospective homebuyers to borrow more in a move to revive the slumping housing market, but questions linger on the validity of the solution. The Ministry of Strategy and Finance, under the new finance chief Choi Kyung-hwan, is preparing to raise the loan-to-value ratio to 70 percent from the current 50 percent for most home trade in the country. Choi has repeatedly said the revised loan rules would help man
July 17, 2014
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Seoul shares hit yearly high, won pares gains
South Korean stocks advanced to their highest level this year on Thursday, fueled by growing speculation over a rate cut in Asia’s fourth-largest economy and sound economic data from the U.S., analysts said Thursday. The Korean won also rose against the U.S. dollar, snapping its two-day loss.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 7.42 points, or 0.37 percent, to 2,020.90, the highest closing of the year. The index rose to as high as 2,025.41 points at one point, but pared gains in
July 17, 2014
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Foreign IBs split on next rate direction: report
Foreign investment banks showed mixed views on the future direction of South Korea’s key interest rate, a report said Thursday, with the country’s central bank facing growing pressure on a rate cut. Earlier this month, the monetary policy committee of the Bank of Korea decided to keep the base rate unchanged at 2.5 percent for a 14th straight month. The report released by the Korea Center for International Finance showed that BNP Paribas projected the BOK is unlikely to cut the rate as Asia’s fo
July 17, 2014
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KEPCO to sell Seoul office plot via open bidding
South Korea’s state-run power company announced Thursday it will sell the land of its Seoul headquarters, expected to fetch up to 4 trillion won ($3.8 billion), through open bidding within this year.The plot is one of the most expensive and coveted real estate properties, measures 79,342 square meters, and sits in a spot in the southern part of the capital that can be turned into a composite business center. Hyundai Motor has officially expressed its intent to buy the land to build a new corpora
IndustryJuly 17, 2014
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POSCO to sell off three affiliates to improve finances
POSCO, the country’s No. 1 steelmaker, said on Thursday that it will be selling off its stakes in three affiliates in a bid to improve its financial circumstances. The company will be selling parts of its holdings in the liquefied natural gas terminal in Gwangyang, and also spin off POSFINE, a company that sells ground blast-furnace slag to cement companies, and POSCO Uruguay S.A.“If the sales take place without complications, it will mark the first step in POSCO’s new strategy to focus on key b
IndustryJuly 17, 2014
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Finance minister voices veiled support for rate cut
Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan made remarks Thursday at the parliament that could be interpreted as signs of support for a rate cut by the country’s central bank.“I can’t say exactly what should be done about interest rates, but I believe that my message about the current economy has been sufficiently communicated,” Choi said at a Strategy and Finance Committee of the National Assembly. “Nothing could be more explicitly mentioned (about interest rates) than this.”The remarks were in response t
July 17, 2014
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Government will announce opening of rice market Friday
The South Korean government will officially announce Friday its plan to liberalize the rice market, officials said on Thursday. Lee Dong-phil, minister of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, will make the announcement following an economic ministers’ meeting. But the minister reportedly will not propose detailed tariff rates on rice imports, as it require the approval of other members of the World Trade Organization, according to officials. The government has long been expected
July 17, 2014
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CrucialTec to develop fingerprint solution for mobile banking
CrucialTec, a leading fingerprint solution developer, said Thursday that it would develop a fingerprint authentication solution to be featured on financial authentication certificates for online banking services in South Korea. Once the authentication solution is developed later this year, smartphone users would be able to use fingerprint identification when accessing mobile banking services on their smartphones, instead of the conventional password-based authentication process, which is deemed
TechnologyJuly 17, 2014
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Foreign IBs split on next rate direction: report
Foreign investment banks showed mixed views on the future direction of South Korea's key interest rate, a report said Thursday, with the country's central bank facing growing pressure on a rate cut. Earlier this month, the monetary policy committee of the Bank of Korea decided to keep the base rate unchanged at 2.5 percent for a 14th straight month. The report released by the Korea Center for International Finance showed that BNP Paribas projected the BOK is unlikely to cut the rate as Asia's fo
July 17, 2014
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Korea's biz community opposes gov't move to tax cash reserves
South Korea's business community on Thursday protested proposals by the government to tax corporate cash reserves, stressing that such actions will only hurt investment and not benefit the economy.The Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), which represents the interests of the country's large family-run conglomerates known as chaebol, said companies need cash reserves to deal with potential uncertainties in the future and that most of the money set aside have already been earmarked for use to bu
July 17, 2014
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KT&G net 4.3 percent down in Q2 on stronger won
KT&G Corp., South Korea's largest tobacco manufacturer, said Thursday its second-quarter net profit decreased 4.3 percent from a year earlier due to stronger local currency.Net income stood at 184.3 billion won ($179.2 million) in the April-June period, compared with 192.7 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. Sales, however, rose 8.5 percent to 992.3 billion won in the cited period, and operating profit surged 15.1 percent to 286.3 billion won. The numbers reflect
IndustryJuly 17, 2014
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Lawmaker proposes M&A incentives to restructure securities industry
South Korea should encourage local brokerage houses to seek more mergers and acquisitions (M&A) by offering incentives and foster investment banks with diversified asset businesses in a bid to reorganize the faltering financial market, a ruling party lawmaker said Thursday.South Korean brokerage houses have been in a prolonged slump due to decreasing brokerage fees stemming from slow trading on the stock market. Out of 62 brokerage houses, about 10 have been put up for sale in the local M&A mark
July 17, 2014
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New Finance Minister Choi to unleash economic stimulus
South Korea’s new finance minister seems to have one overriding priority: to spur growth. Choi Kyung-hwan, the newly minted deputy prime minister and finance minister, reiterated on Wednesday that the nation needed preemptive measures as growth in Asia’s fourth-largest economy has stalled due largely to weak domestic consumption.Choi Kyung-hwanChoi said in his inauguration speech that he would deploy “bold macroeconomic policies” until he sees “signs of recovery and improvement in consumer senti
July 16, 2014
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Naver’s Line files for Tokyo IPO
Line Corp., the Japan-based affiliate of South Korea’s Naver Corp. was seen to be preparing for a debut in the U.S. and Japanese stock markets, according to a regulatory filing by Naver on Wednesday. “We have submitted the related documents to the Tokyo Stock Exchange for a flotation,” Naver said in a regulatory filing. It also said it may pursue an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange or NASDAQ, echoing comments from its chief financial officer Hwang In-joon last year. Yoon Wo
July 16, 2014
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Samsung C&T wins $678m Mumbai convention center deal
Samsung C&T, the construction and trading arm of Samsung Group, has won an order worth $678 million to build a commercial complex in Mumbai, India, the company said Wednesday. Samsung C&T inked the deal with Reliance Industries, India’s third-most valuable company, for the construction of the Dhirubhai Ambani International Convention and Exhibition Center.The DAICEC is a mixed-use development project located in the heart of the Bandra Kurla Complex, a commercial complex in the suburbs of Mumbai.
IndustryJuly 16, 2014
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(Photo News) Shared growth
Shinsegae Group president Kim Hae-sung (right) shakes hands with Lee Il-kyoo, chairman of Small Enterprise and Market Service, after signing an agreement promising 10 billion won ($9.7 million) of support from the retail giant over five years for the growth of traditional markets, at the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Seoul on Wednesday. (Lee Sang-sub/The Korea Herald)
IndustryJuly 16, 2014
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20th Century Fox to build theme park in S. Gyeongsang
Global entertainment provider 20th Century Fox has signed on with Australian media company Village Roadshow to open an integrated leisure complex in the southern part of the country ― a project that is expected to create a total added value of 2.2 trillion won ($2.1 billion), according to industry sources. The two companies and the South Gyeongsang Province government signed a tripartite memorandum of understanding on Wednesday at the Foreign Press Center Korea. South Gyeongsang Province, 20th C
July 16, 2014
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Seoul shares end flat
South Korean shares finished almost flat on Wednesday as Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen expressed worries over overvalued stocks and hinted at an earlier-than-expected rate hike while concerns over corporate earnings continued at home, analysts said. The local currency fell to its lowest in over two months against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 0.76 point to 2,013.48 after swerving in and out of negative terrain. Trading volume was moderate at 311 millio
July 16, 2014