Most Popular
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10-man S. Korea lose to Indonesia to miss out on Paris Olympic football qualification
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Hybe-Ador feud should have limited effect on Hybe's overall performance: analysts
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Second Gimpo civil servant found dead, after apologizing for not finishing work
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DP leader says he will meet Yoon without conditions
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First-ever meeting of president, opposition chief set to finally happen
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NewJeans' singles, Japanese debut to proceed as planned, despite Hybe-Ador feud
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Blinken calls on China to press N. Korea to end its 'dangerous' behavior
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Experts raise concerns about Japan putting pressure on Naver over Line
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Samsung mobile chief, Google device head meet in Seoul
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Ship linked to NK arms shipments to Russia is moored in China: State Dept.
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Authorities at odds over growth
The Bank of Korea and the Ministry of Strategy and Finance seem to be at odds over the country’s growth prospects, raising the possibility of another round of debate over the key base rate.The central bank announced Thursday better-than-expected gross domestic product growth of 0.9 percent in the first quarter owing to improved exports and revived facility investment. But the government still says it is time for monetary policy to kick in and work alongside fiscal policy so the economy can break
April 25, 2013
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[Graphic News] Seoul posts poor growth in equities
South Korea lagged far behind major countries in growth of stock prices this year due mainly to lackluster private consumption and a slowdown in export performance upon Japan’s weakening yen. According to an adjusted index unveiled by the U.S.-based Morgan Stanley Capital International, the country recorded minus 0.5 percent growth on-quarter of composite equity prices during the first quarter.The MSCI Index for the shares on the Korean bourse dropped from 575.311 at the end of 2012 to 572.151 a
April 25, 2013
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Fish feat: Reef predator uses sign language to hunt
PARIS (AFP) ― The roving coralgrouper, a predator fish of the tropical reef, uses sign language to advise fellow hunters of hiding prey, according to a study published on Tuesday.It is the first time that a fish has been known to make “referential gestures,” or specific signs that alert a partner to an object of mutual interest, it said.Reporting in the journal Nature Communications, a trio of biologists at Switzerland’s University of Neuchatel and Cambridge University in England studied how the
TechnologyApril 25, 2013
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KISTI launches first English journal on IT
The state-funded Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information has launched the first English-language journal of information science in Korea. The quarterly Journal of Information Science Theory and Practice publishes outcomes of research on diverse theories of information science and their application. KISTI plans to increase its publication frequency in the years to come. The institute held an event April 18 at its headquarters in Daejeon to celebrate the launch of the journal.Co-edit
TechnologyApril 25, 2013
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KFDA bans sale of children’s Tylenol syrup
The Korea Food and Drug Administration has prohibited sale of two Tylenol syrup products for children, saying they may contain unsafe levels of acetaminophen, officials said.Acetaminophen, generally used for inflammatory pain, is known to be safe but the drug can cause liver damage if taken in excess, they added.The drug administration has also informed hospitals and pharmacies of its decision and requested them not to prescribe or sell the drug. The two products are Children’s Tylenol Syrup 100
TechnologyApril 25, 2013
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KCDC issues malaria alert to travelers
Travelers planning overseas trips need to pay extra attention to malaria infection, as the major transmission season for the disease starts in June, the state-run Korea Centers for Disease Control said Thursday.Seventy-eight percent of malaria cases in Korea last year occurred between June and September. The country had about 500 malaria reports, mostly from plasmodium vivax, the most frequent cause of recurring malaria. KCDC officials recommended travelers to wear long shirts and pants outdoors
TechnologyApril 25, 2013
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Underarm odor
There are two types of sweat glands ― the apocrine glands that produce odor, and the eccrine glands that produce ordinary sweat. Osmidrosis refers to over-secretion of the apocrine glands in the axillary region, or the armpit, causing an unpleasant underarm odor. 1. Sweat glandsApocrine glands are distributed over the skin of the body from 4-5 months after birth, and gradually disappear, leaving behind those in only a few places such as the axilla, external auditory canal, areola, around the nav
TechnologyApril 25, 2013
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Panel recognizes FTA damages for SMEs
The Korean Trade Commission ruled that three small-sized companies last year suffered direct trade losses from the effectuation of the Korea-EU or Korea-U.S. free trade agreements, officials said Thursday.The three corresponding firms were a pork processor, a spinning machine accessory producer and a wine manufacturer.The first two experienced a drastic fall in sales in the first half of last year due to the increase of imports from Europe. The wine company was hit by the mass imports of U.S. wi
IndustryApril 25, 2013
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Incheon Airport to host ACI conference in 2014
Incheon International Airport won the bid to host the 2014 Airports Council International Asia-Pacific Regional Assembly, Conference and Exhibition, company officials said Thursday. The selection was made at this year’s conference held in Phuket, Thailand, from April 22-25. Lee Young-keun, acting president of the airport, said the conference will be held from May 26-28 at COEX in southeastern Seoul, adding that he expected to welcome around 600 guests. “Incheon Airport has been named the best ai
April 25, 2013
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Samsung Electro-Mechanics Q1 net soars 39 percent
Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co., a South Korean industrial parts maker, said Thursday its first-quarter net profit jumped 39 percent from a year earlier on the back of growing demand for mobile components.Net profit reached 97.8 billion won ($87.5 million) in the January-March period, compared with a profit of 70.4 billion won in the previous year, the company said in a regulatory filing.Revenue climbed 17 percent on-year to 2.04 trillion won in the past quarter, and operating profit surged 20 per
April 25, 2013
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POSCO sees 53.5% rise in Q1 operating profit
The nation’s top steelmaker POSCO recorded 14.6 trillion won ($13 billion) in total sales, 717 billion won in operating profit, and 292 billion won in net profit in the first quarter of the year, company officials said Thursday.The holding company of POSCO alone recorded 7.7 trillion won in sales and 581 billion won in operating profit, which was a 4.8 percent fall and a 53.3 percent rise from the previous quarter, respectively.“Though the total sales level fell slightly due to the fall in globa
IndustryApril 25, 2013
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NTS tries to allay probe concerns of entrepreneurs
The nation’s top tax official has sought to ease concerns among businesspeople about the government’s move to strengthen its tax monitoring of firms and vowed to support them with proper tax management.Speaking at a meeting with a group of enterprises organized by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Thursday, National Tax Service Commissioner Kim Duk-joong also urged business circles to join its push for “clean taxation” polices. The meeting was organized to appease businesspeople who
April 25, 2013
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Hyundai Motor: Can manage currency effects
Hyundai Motor said Thursday that its operating profit declined 10.7 percent to 1.868 trillion won ($1.679 billion) in the first quarter despite increased car deliveries globally. Sales reached 21.36 trillion won, a 6 percent increase from a year ago.The nation’s largest carmaker sold 1,171,804 vehicles globally between January and March, up 9.2 percent from the same period last year. In Korea alone, its sales decreased 0.7 percent to 153,728 vehicles.The company said that currency effects, coupl
IndustryApril 25, 2013
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Galaxy S4 lands in Seoul
Samsung Electronics on Thursday unveiled its Galaxy S4, the latest in its flagship Galaxy series, in Seoul at the company headquarters. The country’s three mobile carriers ― SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus ― will start offering network and phone services for the S4 starting today. On Saturday, Samsung’s latest smartphone will become available through carriers in a total of 155 countries, the company said during a media event on Thursday. The firm indicated that despite the global popularity of the G
TechnologyApril 25, 2013
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FSC to scrap joint guarantee on loans
Regulators are poised to impose a ban later this year on joint guarantees on loans extended by secondary financial firms, following the earlier abolishment of the lending practice among commercial banks.Over the past several decades, lenders have demanded that some individuals or smaller businesses submit third-party debt guarantees when applying for loans. Such guarantees have frequently triggered a chain reaction of bankruptcy for guarantors, such as families, relatives and friends, when borro
April 25, 2013
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Daewoo Int’l net triples on equity investment profits
Daewoo International Corp., a leading South Korean trading company, said Thursday that its net income more than tripled in the first quarter from a year ago, boosted by a sharp increase in profits from its equity investments. Net income came to 24.9 billion won ($22.4 million) in the January-March period, compared with 7.6 billion won a year ago, the trading company said in a regulatory filing. Sales, however, fell 10.8 percent to 4.07 trillion won in the same period, with operating profit dropp
IndustryApril 25, 2013
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Affiliates of STX suffer liquidity crunch
Major affiliates of STX Group, a South Korean shipping conglomerate, suffered a liquidity crunch last year, data showed Thursday, raising concerns over the firms’ deteriorating financial status.According to the data compiled by the Financial Supervisory Service, four out of the business group’s five listed firms saw their current ratio, the key barometer of liquidity, fall below 100 percent in 2012.The current ratio refers to a firm’s ability to repay debts maturing in one year, with higher numb
IndustryApril 25, 2013
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eBay Korea backs small business exports
Exports through online commerce are drawing attention as an example of “creative economy,” a key policy task of the Park Geun-hye administration, as they create new jobs and add value.eBay Korea, which runs the nation’s two largest online shopping malls Gmarket and Auction, has been serving as the window to overseas markets for small businesses through unsparing investments and various assistance programs. eBay is the only Korean retailer to run an online export program for small businesses. The
IndustryApril 25, 2013
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CJ chairman soars on Forbes Korea’s rich list
CJ Group chairman Lee Jay-hyun shot up more than 10 spots on Forbes Korea’s list of the wealthiest Koreans, the publication said on Thursday.Lee catapulted to 10th place from No. 22 last year on the list of the 50 richest people in the country. Lee’s company has played a big role in Korean entertainment amid the Korean Wave, and the chairman’s wealth jumped 70 percent on-year to $1.7 billion.The increase was mostly thanks to an 84 percent rise in the stock prices of CJ Corp., the group’s holding
IndustryApril 25, 2013
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Public firms’ swelling debts threaten Korean economy
The debt of the nation’s top 28 state-owned companies whose assets exceed 2 trillion won ($1.8 billion) swelled to equal the national debt last year, posing a major threat to the Korean economy.The combined debt of large public companies such as Korea Land & Housing Corp. and Korea Electric Power Corp. reached 392.96 trillion won in 2012, up 8.7 percent from 361.4 trillion won a year earlier, the data compiled in accordance with each firm’s regulatory filings said. Meanwhile, the national debt r
April 25, 2013