Most Popular
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[Exclusive] Korean military set to ban iPhones over 'security' concerns
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Korean, Romanian leaders discuss defense tech, nuclear energy
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S. Korea calls on Japan to confront history amid Yasukuni Shrine visit
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Yoon’s jailed mother-in-law excluded from latest parole list
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Hybe and Min Hee-jin, CEO of Hybe sublabel Ador, lock horns
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[Herald Interview] 'Amid aging population, Korea to invite more young professionals from overseas'
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[Pressure points] Leggings in public: Fashion statement or social faux pas?
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Korea’s homegrown nanosatellite successfully launches into space
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Nicaragua shuts down Seoul embassy
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Rocket engine expert, ex-NASA exec to lead Korea's new space agency
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Ministry seeks to revise part of Korea-ASEAN free trade pact
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy is gearing up to renegotiate the Korea-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement, demanding greater tariff reductions, according to officials.The ministry will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, jointly with the Korea International Trade Association, to canvass local academic and industrial circles on the utility of the multilateral trade pact, according to officials.Its key concern is to promote trade openness for strategic export items in Vietnam and Malaysia.The c
May 13, 2013
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Hyosung begins mass-producing Korean-developed carbon fiber
Hyosung Corp., a South Korean maker of textiles and heavy machinery, began mass-producing the country’s first indigenous carbon fiber Monday, significantly reducing the need for imports, the government said.With a ceremony marking the construction of the plant in Jeonju, some 240 kilometers southwest of Seoul, Hyosung started commercial production of carbon fiber, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.Carbon fiber is an advanced material that is 10 times stronger but weighs abo
May 13, 2013
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SK Hynix signs deal with Chongqing
SK Hynix, the world’s second-largest chip supplier, signed a deal with the Chinese city of Chongqing for chip testing and packaging, the Seoul-based company said on Monday.Under the agreement, the two sides will establish a joint corporation based on a memorandum for investment. Chongqing will be responsible for the backend processing involving mainly the testing and packaging of chips, the company said. SK Hynix appeared to believe that the investment would be mutually beneficial, with the chip
TechnologyMay 13, 2013
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GS EPS to build Asia’s top biomass plant in Korea
GS EPS Co., a local energy firm, said Monday that it will spend 300 billion won ($269.5 million) to build Asia’s No. 1 biomass generation plant in a bid to tap deeper into the renewable power industry.The envisioned plan calls for GS EPS to construct the plant that will use a mix of agricultural byproducts to generate electricity in Dangjin, some 123 kilometers south of Seoul.In a groundbreaking ceremony held earlier in the day, the company said it plans to complete the plant by August 2015. The
TechnologyMay 13, 2013
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LG to invest W120b in environmental safety
LG Electronics Inc., the world’s third-largest smartphone maker, said Monday that it plans to spend 120 billion won ($107.8 million) to beef up its environmental safety program, including chemical spill prevention, by 2015. LG also said it will expand the number of chemical experts and improve its fire protection system as part of the plans. The investment plan came after a highly poisonous hydrofluoric acid leak at Samsung Electronics Corporation’s main chip plant took place on Thursday in the
TechnologyMay 13, 2013
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Relocated ministers in Sejong City faced with poor work efficiency
SEJONG (Yonhap News) ― Most official schedules of heads of government ministries and agencies relocated here have been executed outside this administrative city, data showed Monday, highlighting the still-poor work efficiency caused by the long commuting distance and lack of proper infrastructure to support daily work.Under the capital relocation plan first suggested by then presidential candidate Roh Moo-hyun in 2002, the government is seeking to move dozens of its offices and public organizati
May 13, 2013
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Rate cut may not help ease poor families’ debt burdens
A rate cut by South Korea’s central bank may not help ease low-income families’ debt-serving burdens as their debt holdings stood relatively low and income growth remained stagnant, data showed Monday.In a surprise move, the Bank of Korea on Thursday cut the benchmark seven-day repo rate by a quarter percentage point to 2.5 percent in a bid to support the government’s stimulus drive.BOK Gov. Kim Choong-soo said in a press conference that the rate reduction would ease debt-serving burdens for low
May 13, 2013
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KB affiliates look overseas in social contribution efforts
KB Financial Group and its major subsidiaries have set out to strengthen their global operations of community services for 2013.The nation’s leading financial group currently serves over 400,000 corporate clients and 26 million retail customers through a network of around 1,200 branches at home and abroad.It incorporated four key categories ― youth, global, environment and senior welfare ― to fulfill corporate social responsibilities.Back in November 2011, KB Financial launched a large-scale soc
May 13, 2013
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Food makers frown at Lotte’s copycat behavior
Choco Pie has been a legendary snack for nearly 40 years since Orion created it in 1974.The two small, round chocolate-covered layers of cake packed with marshmallow filling melted the hearts of people around the world including North Koreans after they spread in the isolated country through the inter-Korean industrial park in Gaeseong.Just four years after its launch, Orion Choco Pie met a copycat rival at home. Lotte Confectionery introduced the same snack with the same name in 1978.Orion file
IndustryMay 13, 2013
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Samsung to spend W1.5tr on science, ICT research
Samsung Group will invest 1.5 trillion won ($1.34 billion) over the next 10 years on a foundation for nurturing future technologies focused on basic science, materials engineering, and information and communication technology to buttress the Park Geun-hye government’s “creative economy” drive. Scheduled to be established in June, the Samsung Research Foundation will begin with 300 billion won this year to invest 750 billion won by 2017, when another 750 billion won will be granted over the ensui
May 13, 2013
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Samsung to set up foundation amid 'creative economy' push
Samsung Group, South Korea's No. 1 conglomerate, said Monday it plans to to establish a foundation to bolster the country's growth engine in line with the government's push to cultivate economic development.The Samsung Research Foundation, slated to open in June, will support research and development in basic science, materials engineering, and information and communication technology, the company said.The group will inject 1.5 trillion won ($1.34 billion) by 2022, starting with 300 billion won
IndustryMay 13, 2013
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Seoul shares down slightly in late-morning trade
South Korean stocks traded 0.03 percent lower late Monday morning, led by losses in large-cap exporters, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 0.49 points to 1,944.26 as of 11:20 a.m. Hyundai Motor lost 1.06 percent, with Korea Zinc, a local major zinc smelter slumping nearly 5 percent. In contrast, telecom and construction firms gathered ground. No. 1 mobile carrier SK Telecom surged 5.12 percent and GS Engineering & Construction rose 0.9 percent. T
May 13, 2013
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Seoul shares turn higher after weak start
South Korean stocks turned higher after a weak start Monday, as further depreciation of the Japanese yen stopped short of unnerving investors, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 0.93 points, or 0.05 percent, to 1,945.68 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Autos and utilities lent support to reverting to gains, with Hyundai Motor rising 0.53 percent and state-run electricity provider Korea Electric Power Corp. climbing 1.5 percent. Top-cap Samsung Electron
May 13, 2013
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S. Korea's stock market cap edge down in 2013
Total capitalization for South Korea's stock market edged down in March from end-2012 amid the protracted economic slump, the bourse operator said Monday.The value of shares listed on the main board and the secondary market came at US$1.1 trillion last month, down 2.08 percent from the end of 2012, the Korea Exchange (KRX) said, citing data by the World Federation of Exchanges.South Korea accounted for 2.01 percent of the total global stock market cap, ranking as the world's 15th-largest bourse,
May 13, 2013
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Samsung, LG keep close eye on depreciating yen
Samsung, LG and a number of other conglomerates and exporters such as Hyundai Motor have been operating emergency taskforce teams since late last year to cope with the falling Japanese currency, industry sources said on Sunday.Airlines ― Korean Air and Asiana Airlines ― are no exception, as their latest fiscal figures show they are in an uphill battle against the depreciating yen. These teams were assembled mostly in November or December last year on the first signs from internal research units
May 12, 2013
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[Graphic News] Financial complaints on rise
Consumers’ complaints against the nation’s financial institutions have gradually increased over the past three years, data showed. According to a report released by the Financial Supervisory Service, the number of complaints consumers filed with the financial authorities amounted to 94,794 cases last year, a 11.9 percent increase from 2011, which posted 84,731 cases.Of the total complaints in 2012, 48,000 cases were about insurance. Policyholders’ major complaints were about insurance companies’
May 12, 2013
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Coming Woori chief to lead group sale
Financial regulators recently conducted close inquiries into the eligibility of several candidates for the next chairmanship of the state-funded Woori Financial Group “in terms of policy direction code,” market insiders said Sunday.Regulatory officials also admitted that a significant requirement for the position was a commitment to privatize the 12 trillion won-injected financial group during his or her tenure.While several candidates are vying for the Woori chairmanship, an official of the Fin
May 12, 2013
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STX, Japanese investor in dispute over energy firm
Cash-strapped STX Group, the nation’s fourth-largest shipbuilder, is reportedly in a dispute with Orix, a Japanese financial service provider, over the management rights to its affiliate STX Energy.The alleged conflict between the two companies started as Orix, which had bought a 43.1 percent stake in STX Energy for 360.1 billion won ($330 million) as a financial investor in December last year, emerged as the firm’s biggest shareholder by increasing its shareholding to 50.1 percent last month. O
IndustryMay 12, 2013
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[Photo News] Tycoon selling fruits
IndustryMay 12, 2013
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Banks’ household lending surges again
Commercial banks saw their outstanding loans extended to the household sector snowball about 1 trillion won ($909 million) in April from a month earlier, data from the Financial Supervisory Service showed Sunday.After falling 3.4 trillion won in January and 1.5 trillion won in February, the combined lending balance in the banking sector started to climb again from March, when the loans increased by 100 billion won on a monthly basis.In April, the banks’ outstanding loans came to 460.6 trillion w
May 12, 2013