Most Popular
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Contentious grain bill put directly to plenary meeting for vote
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Yoon's approval rating plunges to all-time low
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Will tug-of-war between doctors, government end soon?
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Climate impacts set to cut 2050 global GDP by nearly a fifth
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Trilateral talks acknowledge ‘serious’ slumps of won, yen
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[KH Explains] Hyundai's full hybrid edge to pay off amid slow transition to pure EVs
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North Korea removes streetlights along cross-border roads with South
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Russia's denial of entry of S. Korean national unrelated to bilateral ties: Seoul official
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Farming households dip below 1m for first time in 2023
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S. Korea votes in favor of Palestinian bid for UN membership
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Banks slash deposit rates below 3%
Commercial banks are cutting interest rates on deposit products, reportedly betting that the Bank of Korea will cut the monthly benchmark rate by 25 basis points to 2.5 percent next week.Amid their recent rush to lower the rates, there are few savings products that offer rates of 3 percent or more to depositors.The nation’s two largest banks ― KB Kookmin and Woori ― decided to conduct the policy starting April 1.Woori Bank has lowered the rates on 16 deposit products by 0.1 percentage point. As
April 2, 2013
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Hyundai Rotem wins 1 trillion won deal in India
Hyundai Rotem, a local train maker affiliated with Hyundai Motor Group, said Tuesday that it recently won India’s largest-ever train project worth about 1 trillion won ($900 million). The company is to deliver a total of 636 trains by 2017 to the state-run Delhi Metro Rail Corporation for the city’s two new subway lines, Nos. 7 and 8. The competition to win the lucrative deal was fierce, with global big names such as Canada’s Bombardier, France’s Alstom and Germany’s Siemens heating up the race.
IndustryApril 2, 2013
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Ssangyong escapes capital impairment
Ssangyong Engineering & Construction narrowly escaped total capital impairment status but should improve its financial condition by the end of the second quarter to avoid shutdown by the local stock market, company officials said Tuesday.The troubled builder said through a public announcement on Monday that it submitted a report to the nation’s stock trader Korea Exchange, proving that it was bailed out of its capital impairment.Boosted by the creditors’ debt-to-equity swap program, the company’
IndustryApril 2, 2013
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ICT Ministry opens first global forum
The Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning said Tuesday that it held its first international meeting in preparation for the plenipotentiary conference of the International Telecommunication Union in Busan in 2014.The meeting, attended by 100 representatives from 38 member countries in the Asia-Pacific region, was the initial step to gain global ICT leadership, according to ministry officials. It was also recorded to be the first global gathering organized since the launching of the new min
TechnologyApril 2, 2013
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Hyundai Oilbank tops in operating profit
Hyundai Oilbank, the nation’s fourth-largest oil refinery, was the best performer among its competitors in the first quarter of this year, data from the Financial Supervisory Service said Tuesday. According to the data, operating profit of Hyundai Oilbank, an affiliate of Hyundai Heavy Industries, fell 43.3 percent to 307 billion won ($269 million) from the same period a year ago. At a glance, the company seems to be seeing an earnings shock, but three other top oil refineries ― SK Innovation, G
IndustryApril 2, 2013
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Foreign residents eligible for debt relief program
Foreigners and multicultural families residing in South Korea are likely to become eligible to receive the same benefits as South Korean citizens under the government’s new debt restructuring program, an official at the nation’s financial regulator said Tuesday.“The National Happiness Fund wouldn’t reject applicants based on nationality,” said an official at the Financial Services Commission, adding that, “our program will not discriminate against foreign debtors simply because of their country
April 2, 2013
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Foreigners’ stock purchase peaks in March
Overseas investors’ net buying of shares of KOSDAQ-listed companies recorded an 8-moth high in March the Korea Exchange said Tuesday. Foreigners’ net purchase of KOSDAQ shares continued for three consecutive months, from January to March 2013, the public stock exchange’s data showed. The foreigners’ net purchase particularly shot up between January and February, from 26 billion won ($23.4 million) to 348.7 billion won. Both the new government’s expanded subsidiary budget for small and medium exp
April 2, 2013
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Samsung Corning dividends beat net profit
Samsung Corning Precision Materials handed out stock dividends that were almost double the net profit of the company last year, industry sources said this week.In 2012, the maker of display and electronics materials recorded an annual net profit of 1.35 trillion won, down by almost 40 percent from the previous year. Sales were at 3.2 trillion won, down approximately 30 percent on-year. Despite the sluggish performance, shareholder dividends for last year stood at 2.1 trillion won, double the net
IndustryApril 2, 2013
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Russian transport project led by RZD seeks Korean investors
The city of Moscow is seeking to attract Korean investors and corporate partners in constructing and managing transportation hubs in a large-scale project aimed at solving the city’s longstanding traffic problem.The Moscow city government is planning to build a network of 55 transportation hubs, dubbed the “Transportation Interchange Hub,” in partnership with the country’s largest transport carrier OJSC “RZD” (Open Joint Stock Co. “Russian Railways”).Each TIH will house transportation infrastruc
IndustryApril 2, 2013
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HR management in low-growth period
Concerns are rising that low global economic growth will persist for a long time. Even if a lengthy trough does not materialize, a robust rebound cannot be expected soon. Under these circumstances, corporate management is under heavy pressure to keep costs in check, raise productivity and secure new growth engines. For Korean companies, where labor productivity is just 49 percent of that of the U.S., these tasks are especially challenging. To succeed, they will need to reshape how they handle th
April 2, 2013
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Companies battle to be brides’ best buy this spring
No matter how sluggish the nation’s economy seems, sales of items sought by soon-to-wed couples such as home appliances and furniture are strong, particularly with spring around the corner.In Korea, it is tradition for the groom or his family to provide the first home, either through buying it or a rental process called “jeonse” where a large deposit is paid up front, then returned in full at the end of the lease. The building owners make money off the interest rather than monthly rent. The brid
April 2, 2013
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KOMIPO opens 2nd school in Indonesia
Korea Midland Power Co., the state-run power generator, opened the second elementary school in the Grobogan region of Java Island, Indonesia, last Thursday as part of its global citizenship efforts, the company said in a press release. Consisting of one wing each for elementary and kindergarten pupils, the new KOMIPO school is equipped with modern conveniences and facilities. The total budget for the project amounted to 320 million won ($287,511), which was financed equally by KOMIPO and KOICA’s
IndustryApril 2, 2013
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AmorePacific scales up social aid programs
AmorePacific, one of the nation’s leading cosmetics companies, has renewed its website, “Make up your life,” to bolster its efforts for social contribution. The newly launched website will combine all the contributory campaigns being carried out by up to 10 or more of the company’s different cosmetic brands, and also will be open to all who seek to participate in such activities. Customers who want to take part in the firm’s volunteering campaigns, for instance, can do so via the site, AmorePaci
IndustryApril 2, 2013
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Climate change increases ice around Antarctica: study
The melting of ice sheets caused by climate change may be the cause of Antarctic ice expansion, Dutch scientists claimed in a recent study.Climate scientists at the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, led by Rechard Bintanja, conducted a study to figure out why ice sheets are expanding in the South Pole while the North Pole has seen its sea ice shrinking over the last three decades.Scientists had been aware of the fact that melted ice forms a cold, fresh layer that protects sea ice from
TechnologyApril 2, 2013
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Seoul shares trade almost flat in late-morning trade
South Korean stocks traded almost flat late Tuesday morning as investor sentiment was dented by lower-than-expected economic data from the United States and China,analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 0.69 points, or 0.03 percent to 1996.68 as of 11:20 a.m. Tech blue chips gathered ground, with market bellwether Samsung Electronics rising 1.06 percent and top flat panel manufacturer LG Display adding 0.63 percent. In contrast, logistics shares traded l
April 2, 2013
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Samsung grabs over 10 pct share of global chip market in 2012
Samsung Electronics Co., the world's top memory chip maker, extended its share of the global chip market to more than 10 percent last year on the back of a growth in system semiconductors, industry data showed Tuesday.According to the data compiled by market information provider iSupply, Samsung accounted for 10.3 percent or US$31.26 billion of the global semiconductor market last year to rank second among the world's major chip makers. Last year, the global chip market shrank 2.2 percent on-yea
IndustryApril 2, 2013
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Samsung spends some 12 tln won on R&D in 2012
Samsung Electronics Co., the world's top maker of smartphones, memory chips and flat-panel TVs, spent around 12 trillion won (US$10.69 billion) on research and development activities last year to secure cutting-edge technologies, a report showed Tuesday.According to its 2012 business report, Samsung spent 11.9 trillion won on R&D activities last year, up 15.6 percent from 10.29 trillion won in 2011.The 2012 figure also represents 5.9 percent of last year's sales totaling 201 trillion won, the re
IndustryApril 2, 2013
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Seoul shares open higher on stimulus hopes
South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday as investor sentiment got a boost from the government's envisioned stimulus measures to beef up the economy, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) edged up 0.87 points, or 0.04 percent, to 1,996.86 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Tech shares traded higher, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics rising 0.4 percent and its smaller rival LG Electronics adding 0.62 percent. Mobile carriers also gathered ground, w
April 2, 2013
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Deregulation, tax cuts aim to revive real estate market
The government announced a set of real estate measures on Monday in a widescale effort to revive the country’s sluggish housing market through deregulation and tax cuts.“Through these comprehensive measures, we have sent out a signal to the (real estate) market, urging it to normalize,” Land Minister Suh Seoung-hwan said in a news conference. “What matters now is implementing the details as soon as possible.”Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok said the long-slumping housing market “could weigh on our
April 1, 2013
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[Power Korea] KT leaps beyond telecommunications
The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles titled Global Brand as part of the first installment of Power Korea. Korea’s success story is a 60-year-old tale written by not one, but many who worked to build one of the world’s most powerful nations from the ashes of war. This Global Brand series is designed to honor those who made this Korean Dream come true. This is the 13th part of the Global Brand series. ― Ed.It is nothing new that the telecommunications industry is already a much satu
IndustryApril 1, 2013