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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Woman gets suspended term for injuring boyfriend with knife
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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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[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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Still too few women execs
Corporate Korea is still fostering few women executives, according to figures from CEO Score, a website devoted to governance issues at the nation’s top conglomerates. Women accounted for only 1.5 percent of the of executives at the top 10 industrial groups, reaching 5,201. This means there were fewer than two female executives for every 100. The survey was conducted on 93 of the listed affiliates of the groups, and also 94 of their non-listed sister companies. Samsung led the pack with 39 femal
IndustryJan. 31, 2013
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[Newsmaker] Naro launch paves way for economic upgrade
The successful launch on Wednesday of the Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1, or the Naro, has brought South Korea, as Education, Science and Technology Minister Lee Joo-ho put it, a “step forward” in advancing its space technology.This was Korea’s latest and third launch of a rocket carrying a science satellite into space.Experts, however, said the mission to see large economic returns in space development was only half-complete, given that the Naro was a “joint-venture” rocket with key engine techno
Jan. 31, 2013
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Worried Sick
There is an expression “worried sick.” Although it is just a saying for most people, for others it is quite real. Those who worry about having a major illness regardless of being healthy, those who worry about dying any minute from sudden anxiety, those who don’t appear in front of the public in case they make mistakes, and those who continuously worry about everything that happens in their daily lives, can all suffer from anxiety along with somatization that cannot be explained by physical fact
TechnologyJan. 31, 2013
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More than 40,000 TB patients found last year
Korea had more than 40,000 patients with tuberculosis last year, the highest number counted by the state-run disease control agency since 2001, officials said.According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 40,126 tuberculosis patients were newly discovered in 2012, which accounted for 43 percent of patients with infectious diseases in the same year. Patients suffering from varicella were the second-largest group with 21,770, followed by patients with trombiculiasis and epidem
TechnologyJan. 31, 2013
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Free monthly lectures to look at mental health
A series of lectures to inform the public about mental health issues will take place in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province.The lectures, which are free and open to all, will be given by Park Han-son, a neuropsychiatrist at St. Andrew’s Neuropsychiatric Hospital. They will take place in the hospital’s main auditorium at 2 p.m. on the third or fourth Sunday of each month.“Mental health problems are one of the main public health issues in Korea,” said Park. “However, the stigma about mental illness has been
TechnologyJan. 31, 2013
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Court to rule on Samsung family feud
The ongoing legal battle among Samsung family members will see a new development Friday as the Seoul Central District Court is scheduled to rule on the first trial concerning the claims over the late Samsung founder’s inheritance that has grown into a multi-billion-dollar conglomerate.The main bone of contention is the claim by Lee Maeng-hee, elder brother to Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-hee, to more than 4 trillion won of Lee and Samsung’s assets. The elder Lee claims that he is worth t
IndustryJan. 31, 2013
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FSC to allow financial firms to invest in nonprofit affiliates
South Korea’s financial regulator said Thursday it will submit a bill that would allow financial firms to invest in their non-profit affiliates, a move to loosen rules following a controversy over the banning of a local bank from funding its affiliated high school. The Financial Services Commission unveiled the bill, which excludes financial firms’ non-profit entities from those banned from transferring assets within firms under the same ownership.The bill is set for a 40-day public comment peri
Jan. 31, 2013
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Hyundai gears to take bigger slice of Euro car market
Hyundai Motor Group said Thursday it would step up efforts to take a bigger slice of the sales pie in Europe. The market is widely expected see a silver lining of recovery in car sales as early as 2014 after sluggish sales for more than a decade. “Carmakers have long waited to secure an earlier edge in Europe after the prolonged recession there. This year would be the year for them to specify their full-fledged efforts for next year,” said Park Hong-jae, executive vice president and chief of Hyu
IndustryJan. 31, 2013
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Shares slip on losses by banks and insurers
South Korean stocks ended 0.13 percent lower on Thursday mainly due to losses in banks and insurers. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 2.49 points to 1,961.94. Trading volume was moderate at 394.3 million shares worth 4.4 trillion won ($4 billion), with decliners outnumbering gainers 445 to 370.“Basically, we didn’t have much good news from abroad. There were concerns over U.S. growth as well as the Italian stock market’s sharp f
Jan. 31, 2013
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Number of licensed money lenders halves in 5 years
The number of licensed money lenders in South Korea has halved in the last five years, largely due to worsening business conditions, industry data showed Thursday. The number of money lenders registered with municipalities reached 9,170 as of last Friday, down 49.6 percent from 18,500 tallied in 2007, according to the data by the Consumer Loan Finance Association. The sharp decline came as local money lenders have been facing difficulties in running their businesses as the financial authorities
Jan. 31, 2013
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Korea Exchange still under state control
The nation’s main bourse has not been excluded from the yearly list of public agencies, the Ministry of Finance announced Thursday.In its unveiling of the 2013 list for public agencies, the Finance Ministry said the Korea Exchange will still be placed under state control this year. The government has “no stake” in the bourse.While the ministry under the Lee Myung-bak administration designated it as a public agency in 2009, there has been growing criticism as no such case exists in financial mark
Jan. 31, 2013
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GS Homeshopping posts record-high profit
GS Homeshopping, the nation’s No. 2 homeshopping outlet, on Thursday said it achieved a record-high profit in the fourth quarter on the back of improved sales margins. The Seoul-based company’s quarterly operating profit in the October-December 2012 period rose by over 80 percent from the same period the previous year to reach 50.8 billion won ($46.6 million), while sales rose by more than 10 percent to 818.2 billion won. Most of the sales appeared to be coming from fashion items, according to E
IndustryJan. 31, 2013
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SKT banned from receiving new customers
The 20-day business suspension for SK Telecom, the country’s top mobile carrier, began on Thursday. The company is banned from receiving new customers from Jan. 31 to Feb. 21. SKT is also prohibited from accepting subscribers of its competitors ― KT and LG Uplus ― during the period.The business suspension, as well as fines, was given to the nation’s three telecoms by the Korea Communications Commission in response to massive illegal subsidies in the latter half of last year.Without the option of
IndustryJan. 31, 2013
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SK chairman’s sentence jars corporate sector
The four-year sentence handed down to the SK chairman on Thursday sent jitters through the local corporate sector, particularly among the conglomerates, as it signaled that Korea was ready to clamp down on irregularities at all costs. With the sentence, Chey Tae-won was immediately put behind bars, which added to the shock that SK along with the rest of the corporate sector was feeling, industry watchers said. The Seoul Central District Court jailed Chey for embezzlement of nearly 50 billion won
IndustryJan. 31, 2013
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Hyundai Mobis net profit jumps 17%
Hyundai Mobis Co., South Korea’s leading auto parts maker, said Thursday that its net profit jumped 17 percent last year from a year earlier on increased sales.Net profit reached 3.54 trillion won ($3.25 billion) last year, compared with a profit of 3.03 trillion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.Sales also spiked 17 percent on-year to 30.79 trillion won over the cited period, and operating income also surged 10.2 percent to 2.91 trillion won, it said.The auto parts mak
IndustryJan. 31, 2013
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Hyundai Steel’s sales and profits fall
Hyundai Steel, the nation’s second-largest steel manufacturer, saw a decrease in its sales and operating profits last year, while its net profit grew.In its annual regulatory filing on Thursday, the company said that it recorded 14.1 trillion won ($13 billion) in sales last year, 870.8 billion won in operating profit and 791.4 billion won in net profit.The sales and operating profits fell by 7.4 percent and 31.9 percent respectively on-year, but the net profit saw a 7.6 percent rise, officials s
IndustryJan. 31, 2013
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Samsung Electro-Mechanics profit up 26% in 2012
Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co., a South Korean industrial parts maker, said Thursday its net profit jumped 26.1 percent last year on the back of growing demand for mobile components.The company’s annual net profit reached 441 billion won ($404.4 million) in 2012, compared with 349.5 billion won in the previous year, the company said in a regulatory filing.Revenue climbed 31.2 percent on-year to 7.9 trillion won last year, while operating profit more than doubled to 580.5 billion won in the cited
IndustryJan. 31, 2013
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Samsung Heavy 2012 net slips 6.4%
Samsung Heavy Industries Co., a South Korean shipbuilder, said Wednesday that its earnings sank 6.4 percent in 2012 from a year earlier as it set aside reserves against compensation for damage caused by the country’s largest oil spill.Net profit reached 796 billion won ($734 million) last year, compared with 851 billion won reported a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.Sales gained 8.2 percent on-year to reach 14.49 trillion won in 2012, and operating income surged 11.4 percen
IndustryJan. 31, 2013
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HHI to run solar energy units
Hyundai Heavy Industries introduced an electricity generation system using solar energy in an effort to curtail expenses and promote green growth.Last month, HHI installed a solar power facility at the front gate of its Ulsan head office, officials said Thursday.This became the company’s fourth solar energy unit, following those built last year on the rooftops of the Gunsan wind power plant, Eumseong solar plant and Ulsan main plant.The four units, consisting of modules and inverters manufacture
IndustryJan. 31, 2013
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Korea to expand renewable energy’s role in power supply
Korea’s dependency rate on renewable energy sources in total electricity supply is likely to rise to 12 percent by 2027, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy seid on Thursday. In the first National Energy Basic Plan for 2008 to 2030, the energy policy master plan, the portion of electricity from renewable energy sources to the total supply by 2027 was put at 7 percent.The new target for renewable energy sources came in a draft of the 6th Basic Plan for Long-Term Electricity Supply and Demand for 20
Jan. 31, 2013