Most Popular
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Blinken calls on China to press N. Korea to end its 'dangerous' behavior
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New celebrity-endorsed therapy for face contouring requires only a pair of rubber bands
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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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[Weekender] How DDP emerged as an icon of Seoul
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Rapper jailed after public street fight with another rapper
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Doctor group's incoming head renews call for govt. to scrap medical school quota hike for dialogue
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Woman gets suspended term for injuring boyfriend with knife
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[KH Explains] No more 'Michael' at Kakao Games
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NewJeans pops out ‘Bubble Gum’ video amid troubles at agency
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Seoul shares down 0.32 pct in late-morning trade
South Korean stocks traded 0.32 percent lower late Friday morning, led by losses in autos and logistics firms, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 6.22 points to 1,943.58 as of 11:20 a.m.Carmakers traded lower, with No. 1 player Hyundai Motor falling 1.5 percent and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors losing 0.56 percent. Top auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis shed 5.95 percent.Logistics firms also lost ground, with Hyundai Glovis falling 1.16 percent and CJ Korea
April 12, 2013
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Seoul shares open higher on U.S. gains
South Korean stocks opened higher on Friday, following an overnight Wall Street rally fueled by growing anticipation of an economic recovery, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved up 3.85 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,953.65 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Shares gathered ground across the board, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics adding 0.52 percent and top shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries adding 0.5 percent. NHN, the operator of South Korea's m
April 12, 2013
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BOK freezes key rate despite forecast of low growth
The Bank of Korea’s monetary policy committee Thursday left the benchmark interest rate for April untouched at 2.75 percent, marking a freeze for the sixth consecutive month despite its forecast of the nation’s low economic growth for this year.The central bank said gross domestic product growth is projected to stay at 2.6 percent this year, lower than its 2.8 percent forecast three months ago.Some Finance Ministry officials had hoped ― or predicted ― that the BOK would slash the rate in conside
April 11, 2013
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Korea’s big companies face tougher tax probes
Big businesses are expected to face stringent tax audits and probes by the country’s tax agency following a state auditor’s demand for strengthened tax regulations.The National Tax Service said that it plans to boost its tax inspections on companies with sales of more than 50 billion won ($44.2 million), which amounts to about 1,170 enterprises in the country, as well as increase the duration of its regular audits to six to eight months from the current three to four months. The tax collecting a
April 11, 2013
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How thinking too much could give you gray hair
There is a joke that if an intelligent person thinks too much they develop gray hair, while a less intelligent person who thinks too much becomes bald. There is a legend that when Marie Antoinette, the wife of Louis XVI of France failed to evacuate and was due to be executed, she developed gray hair in just one night of mental suffering. However, does thinking too much really lead to the development of gray hair?Gray hairs are a symptom of aging. Most people start going gray in their 40s, but so
TechnologyApril 11, 2013
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Doctors use brain scans to ‘see’ pain
Scientists reported Wednesday in a provocative new study that they were able to “see” pain on brain scans and, for the first time, measure its intensity and tell whether a drug was relieving it. Though the research is in its early stages, it opens the door to many possibilities.Scans might be used someday to tell when pain is hurting a baby, someone with dementia or a paralyzed person unable to talk. They might lead to new, less addictive pain medicines. They might even help verify claims for di
TechnologyApril 11, 2013
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Cosmetics fair puts Korean beauty center stage
The secret to Korean-style beauty will be unlocked next month when the curtain is raised on the 2013 Cosmetics & Beauty Expo in Osong, North Chungcheong Province. Up to 2,000 buyers from 300 companies are to participate during the 24-day exhibition from May 3-26, with 1 million people expected to attend, the event organizers said.The event, the first of its kind, is designed to showcase how much Korean cosmetics makers have advanced, along with offering a stage for other global cosmetics manufac
BusinessApril 11, 2013
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Low margin on overseas deals adds to woes of builders’ balance sheets
GS Engineering & Construction, the nation’s No. 4 builder, recorded a huge deficit in the first quarter, raising further concerns on the future of the struggling construction industry.The first quarterly operating loss of GS E&C came to 535.5 billion won ($474 million), officials said Wednesday. Also, the yearly loss is estimated to reach 798.8 billion won, with 684.4 billion won during the first half of the year.The company, however, said that its profit level will recover by the end of the yea
April 11, 2013
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NTS unveils plans for 5-year underground economy crackdown
The National Tax Service on Thursday vowed to focus on tax collection from the nation’s underground economy to secure funds needed to promote the government’s welfare programs.Revealing its 2013 policy direction at a meeting of heads of NTS’ local offices in Seoul, the tax agency said it hopes to secure an extra 28.5 trillion won ($25.2 billion) in the five-year plan to secure an increased welfare budget, aside from its usual tax collection activities. The tax agency said it would focus its inve
April 11, 2013
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GS Shop to air fee-free programs for small vendors
GS Shop, the nation’s No. 1 home shopping company, said Thursday that it will start airing commission-free programs introducing products made by smaller firms. The decision comes after four local home shopping channels, including GS, and government offices agreed in January on their cooperated efforts to support small- and mid-sized firms.Starting from April 14, GS plans to air a 45-minute program twice a month for selected quality items. No commission fees will be charged and all the profits fr
IndustryApril 11, 2013
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Hyundai Heavy bags $1.9b order from Chevron
Hyundai Heavy Industries Co, South Korea’s leading shipbuilder, said Thursday that it has clinched a $1.9 billion deal to build an offshore oil production facility for Chevron Corp.Under the deal with the U.S. energy group, Hyundai heavy will build the so-called floating oil production and storage facility which is capable of processing 100,000 barrels of crude oil and 190 cubic meters of natural gas a day, and storing up to 1.05 million barrels of crude oil.The facility, 292 meters long, 57.4 m
IndustryApril 11, 2013
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SK Innovation wins patent lawsuit over LG Chem
SK Innovation, a key affiliate of SK Group, won the second round of its patent lawsuit against LG Chem over a key material used for electric car batteries, according to the company in a press release.On Thursday, the Patent Court of Korea dismissed the appeal that LG Chem filed at the end of 2012 to challenge the Korean Intellectual Property Tribunal’s decision to uphold SK Innovation.“The successive wins of SK Innovation in a legal battle with LG Chem testifies to SK Innovation’s technological
IndustryApril 11, 2013
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Shares gain on stimulus hope
South Korean stocks closed 0.73 percent higher Thursday, buoyed by the United States Federal Reserve’s decision to maintain stimulus measures, analysts said.The local currency gained against the greenback.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index climbed 14.22 points to finish at 1,949.80. Trading volume was moderate at 380.3 million shares worth 4.71 trillion won ($4.17 billion) with advancers far outpacing decliners 552 to 244.“The Federal Reserve’s decision to maintain its stimulus meas
April 11, 2013
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Lee heading off to Europe: source
Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-hee may have yet another trip abroad soon, this time to Paris, a source said Thursday. The source said the visit is scheduled for next week, and it comes just a week after he returned from a three-month trip to Hawaii and Japan. However, a Samsung spokeswoman denied his trip schedule to Europe next week. The source said Lee may take a look around the Milan Furniture Fair in Italy, then head to Paris. Samsung Electronics is taking part in the 52nd Salone Inter
IndustryApril 11, 2013
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FDI in Q1 hits record high amid security concerns
The amount of foreign direct investment into Korea hit a record high of $3.39 billion in the first quarter of this year, a 44.7 percent increase from a year ago, despite rising security concerns on the Korean Peninsula, according to data released Thursday by the Ministry Trade, Industry and Energy. “The data showed that the impact of geopolitical risks created by North Korea on investment decisions of foreigners were limited for the first three months of the year,” a ministry official said. The
IndustryApril 11, 2013
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BOK boosts credit supply for small firms
The Bank of Korea said Thursday that it has decided to ease its credit policy to increase its supply of low-interest loans through commercial banks to small and medium enterprises.The central bank raised its aggregate credit ceiling to 12 trillion won ($10.6 billion) from 9 trillion won, which has been maintained since October 2012.Loans will be extended to SMEs and start-ups that have “exceptional” technology with interest rates of 0.5-1.25 percent, down from 1.25 percent through a rise in the
April 11, 2013
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Korean Air becomes No. 2 shareholder of Czech Airlines
Korean Air said Thursday that it signed a takeover deal for a 44 percent stake in Czech Airlines, becoming the first Korean air carrier to secure shares in a foreign counterpart.The Korean flag carrier now has become the second-largest shareholder of the European airliner, next to Czech Aeroholding, the state-controlled parent company of the airline which owns 51.7 percent of shares. “We expect a synergy effect with the new alliance between the two airlines, which have extensive experience and f
IndustryApril 11, 2013
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LG Uplus offers free calls to LTE subscribers
LG Uplus said on Thursday that it will introduce a new monthly mobile plan that offers unlimited voice calls for its LTE smartphone subscribers.Lee Sang-chul, vice chairman of the telecommunications company, said that its subscribers will be able to freely call mobile phones with their smartphones running on the fourth-generation LTE networks for as much as 69,000 won ($61) per month.While introducing eight new monthly mobile plans that offer free voice calling options, the plans range from 34,0
IndustryApril 11, 2013
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25% of big firm chiefs to be excluded from pay disclosure rule
One in every 4 chief executives at South Korea’s top listed conglomerates will likely be exempt from disclosing his or her salary, despite the government’s latest move to revamp rules to shore up corporate transparency, data showed Thursday.The number of registered chief executive officers at the top 50 family-owned large enterprises known as chaebol, stood at 38, according to the data compiled by the Financial Supervisory Service. The remaining 12 were either not registered C-suite members or r
April 11, 2013
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SK Hynix makes overseas efforts for social contribution activities
SK Hynix is going overseas with its social contribution activities, launching global campaigns with a matching grant as well as employees’ donations.The world’s No. 2 memory chipmaker said that it has been gearing up efforts to increase its social contribution abroad in a bid to create a favorable workplace that emphasizes social welfare projects as well as employees’ happiness.The company has been launched a number of projects that include the word “happiness” in its operations since it was acq
BusinessApril 11, 2013