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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Looming power shortage issue forces way onto national agenda
The power shortage issue, triggered by the suspension of two nuclear reactors Tuesday due to the use of substandard components, is turning into a key national agenda as the country is expected to face the worst-ever summer electricity shortage this year.The sudden shutdown of the Shin-Kori Reactor 2 in Busan and Shin-Wolsong Reactor 1 in North Gyeongsang Province brings the number of nuclear reactors out of action to 11, which raises a severe power shortage issue. Korea currently runs 23 reactor
IndustryMay 29, 2013
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[Graphic News] Only 12 of 23 reactors in operation
Korea currently has 23 nuclear reactors nationwide, generating 30 percent of the nation’s total electricity consumption. According to the Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, only 12 out of the 23 reactors are in operation. With the shutdown of two more reactors, the number of halted reactors increased to 10. They have been suspended mainly for maintenance.This is why Koreans are faced with fears of a power shortage in this summer. The lost power supply of 2 million KW translates to 80 percent of Busan’
May 29, 2013
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Companies increase career opportunities for minorities
A government survey of multicultural families released earlier this year showed that 53 percent of female immigrants married to Koreans were employed, higher than the employment rate of women here in general.About half of those women who were in work, however, were engaged in manual or day labor, indicating difficulty in getting quality jobs. About one-fifth were service workers and 14 percent were engaged in mechanical handling. Only 3 out of 10 employed immigrant women had a work contract that
May 29, 2013
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Corporate Korea supports multicultural families
It has become a clich to say that multicultural families are fast changing Korea’s demographic landscape. Once a homogenous society, the country is welcoming diverse cultures and races as more people from abroad start families with Koreans and adopt the country as their home. State figures show that there are up to 60,000 students in schools nationwide who hail from multicultural households. For these second-generation kids, Korea is actually the only home they know.But despite the fact these ne
IndustryMay 29, 2013
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Control cable fraud behind reactor shutdown
The root cause of the suspension of two nuclear reactors and the resulting electricity shortage was faulty control cables, which may have led to a radiation leak in the worst case scenario, according to the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission.The disputed cable is a safety feature, intended to deliver action signals to the nuclear reactor’s cooling and shut-off system when an abnormality is detected.“Should these cables fail to perform their function, the possibility of a radiation leak may n
May 29, 2013
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Meritz under fire for delaying report on personal data leak
Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance Co. is under fire for reporting to regulators a massive leak of customers’ personal data three months after the fact. The insurance firm went through a massive leak of personal data of some 164,000 clients back in February, which went unreported to state regulator Financial Supervisory Service until Tuesday. The company issued a public statement and online apology about the delayed report the next day.“It was hard to understand how a case so severe got to us so lat
May 29, 2013
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LG Chem to supply biggest energy storage system in U.S.
LG Chem, one of the world’s leading makers of lithium-ion batteries, has been selected by Southern California Edison to deliver the largest battery energy storage system in the U.S., the Seoul-based company chemicals company said on Wednesday. The project, named Tehachapi Wind Energy Storage Project, funded by the Department of Energy, involves powering up a 32 MWh battery energy storage system for Southern California Edison, a dominant electricity supplier in Southern California, company offici
IndustryMay 29, 2013
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Pernod Ricard to help preserve oceans near Busan
Pernod Ricard Korea plans to collaborate with Korea Maritime University in preserving the marine environment in Busan.The Korean unit of France’s beverage giant said Wednesday that it had inked a memorandum of understanding with the university to launch the project. Officials promised to support environmental research in Busan over the next three years.The company said it will put 1,000 won ($0.88) from each sale of Imperial Classic 12 City Edition-Busan, a brand exclusively for regional consume
IndustryMay 29, 2013
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LH to promote public welfare through housing know-how
As the nation’s housing coordinator, the Korea Land & Housing Corporation chose to achieve its social responsibility through its specialty, which is to create a pleasant housing environment for local communities.“The key concept of LH’s social contribution projects is to improve living conditions, especially for the low-income bracket,” said an official of the public corporation.Since 2010, LH has been funding the establishment and operation of social enterprises within its public apartments nat
May 29, 2013
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Hynix won’t supply chips to Samsung
SK Hynix Semiconductor, the world’s No. 2 chipmaker, will not supply mobile dynamic random access memory chips to Samsung Electronics, mostly due to a supply incapacity from the smaller player.“The June plans seem to have fallen through because SK Hynix’s supplies can’t meet Samsung’s demands,” said one industry watcher on Wednesday, speaking anonymously.He added that margins also played a role, noting that there was no reason for the smaller chipmaker to try and sell mobile DRAM chips when PC D
TechnologyMay 29, 2013
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Samsung to cut Qualcomm reliance
Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest smartphone maker, appears to be dramatically reducing its reliance on top U.S.-based telecommunications chipmaker Qualcomm, with the latter unlikely to secure a bigger contract when an existing deal expires later this year, industry sources said on Wednesday. Samsung currently supplies Qualcomm with 5,000 logic chip wafers each month, which was only half of the 10,000 wafers that the U.S. company had hoped to receive. The wafers are an essential telecommu
TechnologyMay 29, 2013
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Samsung Electronics explores new design
The management team from Samsung Electronics Co. held a strategy meeting focused on design on Wednesday. At Samsung Electronics headquarters in Seocho-gu, Seoul, the whole entourage of executives, including top managers Yoon Boo-keun and Shin Jong-kyun, joined the meeting to discuss the company‘s plans for their new design.“During the conference, new ideas on current design trend in the electronics market and strategies were exchanged,” Yoon said. “Everyone at the meeting agreed that consumers s
TechnologyMay 29, 2013
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‘Discount for Korean cosmetic brands offers little value’
South Korea’s cosmetic brands are offering almost year-long “discount campaigns,” but consumers do not feel substantial benefits due to the continued increases of official prices, industry sources said. A host of cosmetic companies have raised the official prices for their major products by as much as 54 percent this year alone. Such steep increases in the official prices offset the benefit of discount programs, distorting the pricing mechanism of the industry.“Cosmetic brands are competitively
IndustryMay 29, 2013
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Seoul shares hit 2-month high on recovery hopes
South Korean stocks rose to the highest level in two months on Wednesday as solid U.S. economic data underpinned prospects for the global recovery, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 14.98 points or 0.75 percent to 2,001.20, the highest closing since March 29. Trading volume was moderate at 355.6 million shares worth 4.68 trillion won (US$4.14 billion) with gainers outpacing losers 460 to 350. "Foreig
May 29, 2013
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NTS probing 23 businesses, individuals for possible offshore tax evasion
South Korea's tax agency said Wednesday that it has launched an investigation into 23 businesses and individuals suspected of evading taxes through paper companies established in tax haven regions. The National Tax Service added that it has completed a probe into 83 offshore tax evasion cases, which led to collecting about 479.8 billion won ($424.6 million) in additional taxes.The move is part of pan-governmental efforts to push for fair tax justice and expand the overall revenue base for growin
IndustryMay 29, 2013
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Prosecution raids Shinhan Bank over CJ Group's slush fund probe
Prosecutors on Wednesday raided the headquarters of Shinhan Bank as part of an investigation into allegations that CJ Group, a food and entertainment conglomerate, managed a massive slush fund overseas and evaded taxes.The prosecution has been looking into the origin and use of 24 billion won (US$21 million) that the Tokyo branch of Shinhan Bank, South Korea's No. 3 lender, loaned to CJ Group's overseas corporate body.A team of investigators and prosecutors of the Seoul Central District Prosecut
May 29, 2013
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Seoul shares up 0.44 pct in late-morning trade
South Korean stocks traded 0.44 percent higher late Wednesday morning as investor sentiment was relieved by solid U.S. economic data and prospects for central banks' loose monetary policies, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 8.69 points to 1,994.91 as of 11:20 a.m. STX Pan Ocean, STX Group's troubled shipper, jumped by the daily limit of 15 percent on speculation that the state-run Korea Development Bank would take over the shipper. Market leader Sa
May 29, 2013
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Kakao to unveil PC messenger in June
Kakao Corp., the operator of namesake mobile messenger Kakao Talk, said Wednesday it will unveil the PC version of its popular messenger application in June, a move that could dramatically change the landscape of South Korea's instant messaging market. Kakao Talk is a free messenger application that runs on the Android and iOS operating systems. Launched in 2010, it now has more than 90 million users worldwide, rivaling similar apps such as NHN Corp.'s LINE and California-based messenger Whats
IndustryMay 29, 2013
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Prosecution raids Shinhan Bank over CJ Group's slush fund probe
Prosecutors on Wednesday raided the headquarters of Shinhan Bank as part of an investigation into allegations that CJ Group, a food and entertainment conglomerate, managed a massive slush fund overseas and evaded taxes.The prosecution has been looking into the origin and use of 24 billion won ($21 million) that the Tokyo branch of Shinhan Bank, South Korea's No. 3 lender, loaned to CJ Group's overseas corporate body.A team of investigators and prosecutors of the Seoul Central District Prosecutor
IndustryMay 29, 2013
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Samsung’s Galaxy Note 3 to adopt high-powered camera
Samsung Electronics Co. is expected to put out the Galaxy Note 3 with an upgraded camera later this year.The sequel to the company’s flagship “phablet” Galaxy Note will likely feature a 13-megapixel camera as well as some of the most versatile picture-taking capabilities found on a smartphone, local media reported citing Samsung sources. The camera will be powered by 3x optical zoom, better shutter speeds and optical image stabilization technology.Such technologies are speculated to put Samsung’
TechnologyMay 29, 2013