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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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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Yoon, Lee end first talks with differences, agree to meet more
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Woman gets suspended term for injuring boyfriend with knife
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China outpaces Korea in smaller OLED shipments for 1st time
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[Grace Kao] Hybe vs. Ador: Inspiration, imitation and plagiarism
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What is Hybe’s next move?
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Samsung chief bolsters ties with Germany’s Zeiss
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Seoul shares up 0.82 pct in late-morning trade
South Korean stocks traded 0.82 percent higher late Monday morning, driven by gains in heavy industries and chemical companies, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shot up 15.42 percent to 1,885.58 as of 11:20 a.m.Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world's biggest shipyard, soared 2.5 percent, and LG Chem, a leading chemical maker, jumped more than 3 percent. In contrast, shipping lines trended lower, with STX Pan Ocean slumping 3.5 percent. The local currency was c
Aug. 26, 2013
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S. Korea's conglomerates cut investment by 8 pct in first half
South Korea's 10 major conglomerates slashed their investments by 8.2 percent in the first six months of this year, data showed Monday, despite the government's efforts to boost corporate investments.The combined investments by 75 companies affiliated with the country's top 10 business groups reached 36 trillion won (US$32 billion) between January and June, compared with 39.2 trillion from a year ago, according to data compiled by CEOscore, a website that tracks the country's top 10 conglomerate
Aug. 26, 2013
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Bankers' average annual income tops 120 mln won: data
The average annual income of bankers in South Korea reached 120 million won (US$107,768) last year, with a few banks raising their salaries by a double-digit figure over a few-year period, data showed Monday.The 2012 annual income of full-time employees at 11 banks rose at an average rate of 11.5 percent last year, from 83 million won in 2010, according to the data by the Financial Consumer Agency, a local advocate group.Hana Bank raised the pay of its workers by a whopping 57.46 percent between
Aug. 26, 2013
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Level of S. Korea's foreign reserves might not be sufficient: experts
The level of South Korea's foreign reserves might not be sufficient enough to cope with a possible steep cross-border capital outflow sparked by external market volatility, experts said Monday.According to data provided by the Bank of Korea, the finance ministry and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), South Korea held US$329.7 billion worth of foreign reserves as of end-July.This is about 130 percent of what the IMF recommended for South Korea.The ratio, however, is lower than those of other
Aug. 26, 2013
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Sales of Hyundai, Kia jump 15.9 pct in BRIC
Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's top two carmakers, saw their sales in the so-called BRIC markets jump more than 15 percent in July from a year ago, data showed Monday.Hyundai and Kia sold a combined 190,000 vehicles in Brazil, Russia, India and China in July, up 15.9 percent from 164,000 units from the same period a year earlier, according to the data released by Hyundai's Korea Automotive Research Institute.Hyundai and its smaller sister company Kia are the two major flags
IndustryAug. 26, 2013
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Half of working population employed by small, medium firms
More than half of South Korea's economically active people are employed by small and medium enterprises, data showed Monday, due mainly to the growing presence of the services sector in the local economy.According to the data by the Statistics Korea, workers employed at small and medium firms came to 12.6 million in 2011, accounting for 50.3 percent of the country's 25 million economically active population.Economically active population refers to people over the age of 15 who are either working
IndustryAug. 26, 2013
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Futures firms' Q1 net hikes 80.1 pct
South Korean futures companies saw their earnings soar 80.1 percent in the first quarter of fiscal2013 from three months earlier, largely due to a hike in brokerage and derivatives investment income, the financial regulator said Monday. The combined net loss of seven local futures firms came to 6.1 billion won ($5.47 million) in the April-June period, compared with 3.4 billion won the previous quarter, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). The increase in their profits is attribu
IndustryAug. 26, 2013
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Science points to a new global warming source: the sea
Oceans that grow more acidic through Man‘s fossil fuel burning emissions, can amplify global warming by releasing less of a gas that helps shield Earth from radiation, a study said Sunday.And the authors warned the potentially vast effect they uncovered is not currently factored into climate change projections.Scientists say that Man’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions contribute to planetary warming by letting the Sun‘s heat through the atmosphere but trapping heat energy reflected back from Earth
TechnologyAug. 26, 2013
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Seoul shares open higher on large-cap gains
South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Monday, led by bullish large-cap shares, as investors opt for risky bets on the main bourse after steep falls last week, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) climbed 8.87 points, or 0.47 percent, to 1,879.03 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Auto and telecom stocks gathered ground, with Hyundai Motor soaring 2.19 percent and top mobile carrier SK Telecom rising 1.4 percent. Market watchers expect the KOSPI to move
Aug. 26, 2013
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Korea braces for ‘jeonse’ crunch
Seoul office worker Jasmine HS Kim and her husband are contemplating what to do when their apartment lease expires at the end of this year.Their owner has already notified them through a real estate agent that she is considering shifting to billing monthly rents, and would no longer accept large-sum deposits, or “jeonse.”This has prompted them to start looking for available and affordable jeonse apartments in Seoul, but Kim said there are not many choices in the market. Apartment prices are too
Aug. 25, 2013
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[Graphic News] Sodium and potassium content in food
The Korea Consumer Agency analyzed the nutritional content of kimchi sold in retail giants and found that it contains 643 mg of sodium per 100 g. The amount is higher than those of smoked ham and sausage. Excessive intake of sodium can cause high blood pressure.
Aug. 25, 2013
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Samsung SDI poised to sign deal with Tesla
Samsung SDI and Tesla Motors are in the final stage of signing a contract for the Korean firm to supply lithium ion batteries for the California-based electric carmaker, according to industry sources.“We understand SDI and Tesla are undergoing last-minute tests before the Korean company starts to supply its batteries,” said a source close to the matter. Final steps before the contract is inked include testing the battery life, which will be conducted by Samsung SDI, coupled with driving and safe
IndustryAug. 25, 2013
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LG’s curved OLED TV hits European market
LG Electronics has launched the sales of its curved OLED TV in Germany, company officials said Sunday. Slated to hold a launching event of the product at the HIFI Profis electronics trade show in Frankfurt on Wednesday, the home appliance maker said it would soon begin selling the product in other European countries.“LG is fully committed to delivering the most advanced OLED TVs to European customers,” said Lee In-kyu, vice president and head of the TV division at LG’s home entertainment company
IndustryAug. 25, 2013
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Samsung retains flat-panel TV market lead
Samsung Electronics topped the global flat-screen TV market by sales in the first half of this year, solidifying its status as the world’s top TV maker for the 30 fiscal quarters since 2006. Samsung recorded a 27.1 percent market share in the flat-panel TV market, followed by its longtime rival LG with 16.3 percent and Japan-based electronics firm Sony with 6.7 percent. Samsung also secured the top spot in the LCD, PDP and 3-D TV markets, marking 25.9 percent, 45.2 percent and 31.4 percent marke
IndustryAug. 25, 2013
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Most top conglomerates seeing market prices fall
Nine of the top 10 local conglomerates ― all except SK Group ― have suffered a drastic fall in their market capitalization so far this year.According to the Korea Exchange and financial news provider FnGuide on Sunday, the aggregate market value of the 90 listed companies affiliated to the top 10 conglomerates was 630.9 trillion won ($567 billion) at the close of Friday trading.This was 65.6 billion won or 9.4 percent down from the 696.5 billion won at the beginning of the year.The sharpest drop
IndustryAug. 25, 2013
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Brokerages’ quarterly net profit tumbles
The quarterly net profits of local brokerages declined sharply in the first fiscal quarter this year, the nation’s financial regulator said on Sunday. The Financial Supervisory Service said that the 62 securities companies operating here posted a combined quarterly net profit of about 120 billion won ($108 million) in the January-March period, down 73.3 percent from the 446 billion won in the previous quarter. Twenty-one of the 62 securities companies operating here ― 13 local firms and eight fo
Aug. 25, 2013
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POSCO seeking to develop clean energy in Mongolia
South Korea’s leading steelmaker POSCO said Sunday it is moving to develop a new type of clean energy in resource-rich Mongolia together with a local company there.POSCO said it has joined hands with MCS Group, one of the largest private companies in Mongolia, to start a coal-to-liquid business in the country and is in the process of obtaining approval from Ulan Bator.To that end, the steel giant set up a joint venture with MCS, named Baganuur Energy Corp.CTL refers to converting coal to liquids
CompaniesAug. 25, 2013
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Hyundai Motor loses W145.2b from Saturday strike
South Korea’s largest carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. is estimated to have lost 145.2 billion won ($130.3 million) Saturday as its workers boycotted that day’s overtime shifts, sources said.According to the sources, Hyundai Motor failed to produce 7,104 cars Saturday as its unionized workers did not show up to work for their weekend work shift.The move came after Hyundai’s 46,000 union workers staged a partial strike Friday, a day after their leaders failed to work out differences with the management
IndustryAug. 25, 2013
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Shinhan Bank introduces new credit rating for loans
Shinhan Bank, the banking unit of Shinhan Financial Group, adopted an independently developed credit rating model to assess loan applications of low-credit customers, the bank said Sunday. The “Hope Credit Assessment Model” is the country’s first attempt to invent and apply a separate barometer to rate the credit of low-income customers, the bank stated.The Hope Credit Assessment Model is expected to benefit many low incomers who had been marginalized in the general credit assessment system, und
BusinessAug. 25, 2013
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KB Kookmin Bank boosts social sharing
Providing retail loan and deposit services may seem like KB Kookmin Bank’s only business to many domestic consumers.With a new chief executive in place to lead Korea’s leading retail bank, president and CEO Lee Kun-ho aims to change this long-standing perception to show that KB is not always about business, by further extending a helping hand to society.KB Kookmin Bank can create its own “success story” only by increasing social sharing and contribution through efforts by its employees, the bank
Aug. 25, 2013