Most Popular
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Korea enters full election mode
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Seoul bus drivers go on general strike, cause morning rush hour delays
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Immigrant woman stabbed to death by Korean husband
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Lee Jong-sup resigns as envoy to Australia
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Yellow dust engulfs S. Korea, advisory alert issued
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Official campaigning kicks off for April 10 elections
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S. Korea to boost support for single-parent families
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Court upholds jail term for man who attempted to murder ex-girlfriend
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Kia EV9 wins world car of year
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Korea misses out on global bond index boost
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Samsung Electronics ranks 20th on Forbes' Global 2000 list
Samsung Electronics Co., the world's top maker of smartphones, memory chips and flat-panel TVs, joined the elite 25 companies on the annual Global 2000 list of biggest publicly traded companies released by Forbes, ranking 20th this year, up six notches from last year.Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's leading automaker, ranked 89th, also up from last year's 96th spot, according to the list on the Forbes' Web site on Friday.A total of 65 South Korean firms, including POSCO (184th), Shinhan Financia
IndustryApril 19, 2013
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Seoul shares open lower on large-cap losses
South Korean stocks got off to a weak start Friday, dented by blue-chip losses amid lackluster corporate earnings here and abroad, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 5.75 points, or 0.3 percent to 1,894.31 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics slid 1.6 percent, with second-largest listed firm Hyundai Motor retreating more than 2 percent. Major banking groups also trended lower, with No. 3 Hana Financial dropping 1.3 per
April 19, 2013
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Mobile sign-up fees to be abolished by 2015
The three mobile carriers ― SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus ― will be banned from charging new customers phone sign-up fees after 2015 under the new government’s drive to slash the financial burden on ordinary households.In its policy briefing to President Park Geun-hye on Thursday, the Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning said it would ban the start-up fees in the mobile industry on a step-by-step basis.The ministry plans to instruct the three companies to initially cut 40 percent of the curr
IndustryApril 18, 2013
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[Graphic News] 1 in 5 Korean men to die of illnesses linked to smoking
One out of 5 Korean men is projected to die of an illness linked to smoking, according to research by the state-run Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs. The institute unveiled the study Thursday as the Ministry of Health and Welfare pushes to raise prices of cigarettes to help smokers kick the habit. The research claimed that 79,917, or 21.6 percent, of about 370,000 high school seniors in 2010 were likely to die of smoking-related illness by age 85.It added that 26.9 percent of adults
TechnologyApril 18, 2013
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Fixing graveyard-shift sleep disorders
We find it hard to fall asleep when we travel to the United States or Europe, waking up often during the night. This leads to fatigue during the day, drowsiness, decreased appetite and concentration. Such symptoms are referred to as “jet lag,” and are caused by the biological clock in the hypothalamus of the brain. The biological clock set in Korea does not quickly adjust to the time zone in another country. It usually takes one day to adjust for one hour of time difference. For example, in orde
TechnologyApril 18, 2013
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Beer taste alone triggers reward chemical in brain
PARIS (AFP) ― The taste of beer, even without any effect from alcohol, triggers a key reward chemical in the brain, according to a study on Monday that explores how people become hooked on booze.Neurologists at the University of Indiana asked 49 men to drink either their favorite beer or Gatorade, a non-alcoholic sports drink, while their brains were scanned by positron emission tomography.The goal was to look at dopamine, a chemical in a part of the brain called the ventral striatum that gives
TechnologyApril 18, 2013
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Korea needs to be proactive, open more for FDI: foreign chambers
Korea needs to implement more proactive policies and further open its market to boost foreign direct investment, foreign chambers said at an economic forum hosted by Herald Corp. in Seoul on Thursday.“Korea is a very unique country with an advanced economy and relatively high growth rate. There are various attributes that make Korea an attractive place to make investments,” said Henry An, cochairman of the American Chamber of Commerce’s taxation committee.But he added that the country should try
April 18, 2013
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FSC reveals 5-year financial road map
The country’s top financial regulator unveiled the direction for financial policies for the next five years during an economic policy forum held in central Seoul on Thursday.The revival of failed-but-restarting enterprises, pro-customer financial inclusion and a sound financial system are the new administration’s three major polivy priorities, said Ko Seung-bum, head of the financial policy department at the Financial Services Commission.In his presentation at the forum “Hear from the New Govern
April 18, 2013
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Official expects 2.7-percent growth on stimulus measures
The Ministry of Strategy and Finance said that the Korean economy would be able to achieve a trend of 4 percent growth should it swiftly put its stimulus package and fiscal policy into action.It said Korea’s gross domestic product could grow around 2.7 percent for 2013 with an extra budget of nearly 20 trillion won, including 2 trillion won in public funds.“The government’s recent economic measures signify its commitment to overcome the low-growth trap in which Korea has been growing below 1 per
April 18, 2013
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Korea vows no discrimination against foreign firms
Foreign businesses will receive equal opportunity and treatment under the government’s business policies, foreign business leaders heard from government officials on Thursday.Government officials reassured that there would not be any “negative spillovers” to either the foreign business community or the general corporate sector from the incumbent administration’s plans to expose the underground economy, while pursuing fiscal balance and soundness. “We still believe foreign investment is a part of
April 18, 2013
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Korean unit to lead Renault’s design projects in Asia
Renault Samsung Motors said Thursday that the carmaker had revamped its existing design center to become “Renault Design Asia,” leading the Renault-Nissan Alliance’s car design projects on the continent. The Korean unit of France-based Renault Group will play a leading role in developing the next generations of its flagship mid-size sedan SM5 and the QM5 sport utility vehicle, the company said.The new announcement came after Carlos Tavares, chief operating officer of Renault, hinted in January t
IndustryApril 18, 2013
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Securities regulators to get more probe powers
Korea’s securities regulators will be entitled to investigate alleged stock manipulation cases with “special criminal authority” under the Park Geun-hye administration’s commitment to weeding out unfair trading.The government unveiled policies Thursday to grant criminal authority to Finance Services Commission investigators monitoring the brokerage industry and some nongovernmental inspectors at the Financial Supervisory Service.“The authority allows the securities inspectors to immediately hand
April 18, 2013
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Hyun pledges cooperation with World Bank to help poor countries
South Korea’s finance minister has promised to step up cooperation with the World Bank in helping improve the lender’s aid-delivery system and sharing its development experience with other poor countries, his office said Thursday.Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok is visiting Washington to attend a meeting of the group of 20 advanced and emerging countries. The promise was made during his meeting with World Bank president Jim Yong Kim on Wednesday (local time), according to the Finance Ministry.The W
April 18, 2013
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ESCAP sees lower Asia-Pacific growth as ‘new normal’
The U.N. Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific said Thursday that Asia-Pacific economies would see “subdued” growth this year after last year’s sharp slowdown.In its annual report, the regional arm of the United Nations said it expected South Korea to grow 2.3 percent in 2013.South Korea’s Finance Ministry earlier projected the same growth rate for this year.“An important finding is that the relatively subdued growth compared to the pre-global financial crisis period could beco
April 18, 2013
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LG CEOs visit suppliers to seek ways for shared growth
Some 30 chief executives of LG Group visited two suppliers of LG Electronics on Thursday to seek ways to strengthen the group’s competitiveness through shared growth with smaller firms. They included LG Group chairman Koo Bon-moo, LG Electronics vice chairman Koo Bon-joon, LG Chem vice chairman Kim Bahn-suk, LG Uplus CEO Lee Sang-chul and LG Display CEO Han Sang-beom, officials said. Their first destination was Mirae Korea, a TV frame maker located in Cheonan, 92 kilometers south of Seoul. Throu
IndustryApril 18, 2013
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Cosmetics firms’ sales soar last year
South Korean cosmetics companies saw their sales rise at an alarming clip last year helped by women’s increased spending on cosmetics despite the protracted economic downturn, industry data and sources said Thursday. “Local cosmetics companies enjoyed a boom in their sales last year despite a prolonged economic slump as women increased spending on cosmetics,” an industry source said. “The companies’ sales are expected to grow between 10 percent and 20 percent this year.” LG Household & Health Ca
April 18, 2013
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Imported beer sales grow at double-digit rate in Q1
Sales of imported beer at local discount chains grew at a double-digit pace in the first three months of the year as consumers’ taste is shifting in favor of foreign-made beer instead of locally made beer, industry sources and data said Thursday. The government’s regulation to promote the fair trade of alcoholic beverages was one of the reasons behind a drop in locally made beer sales and a steep growth in imported beer sales, industry sources said. In January, the National Tax Service launched
April 18, 2013
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Regulator to consider TV viewing fee raise
The nation’s broadcasting regulator said Thursday it will consider raising a public broadcaster’s monthly viewing fee this year in an effort to stabilize its finances.“We will come up with measures to stabilize finances of public broadcasters,” the Korea Communications Commission said in a 2013 policy report to President Park Geun-hye.The report did not directly mention KBS, the country’s largest public broadcaster. However, a KCC member said during a press briefing on the plan on Wednesday that
April 18, 2013
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LH hires senior employees
The Korea Land & Housing Corp. recently launched a “silver employee” project to boost senior employment and to fulfill its social role as public organization.The ceremony, held Tuesday at LH headquarters in Bundang, Gyeonggi Province, was attended by Vice Land Minister Park Kee-poong, LH president Lee Ji-song and some 500 senior employees, officials said.The silver employment project is a representative legacy of the housing corporation that was first initiated back in 2010 under the lead of its
IndustryApril 18, 2013
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Could Korea become an Asian gas trading hub?
It is often said that Asia is on the cusp of entering a “golden age” of natural gas as a commercial energy source. The rapid growth of natural gas in Asia reflects efforts to improve energy security and curb environmental problems caused by oil and coal. But the future role of gas in the region will depend on whether a market-based pricing system is introduced based on supply and demand conditions.The Asian natural gas market is the fastest-growing gas market in the world. The supply of natural
April 18, 2013