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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Seoul shares down 0.46 pct in late-morning trade
South Korean stocks traded 0.46 percent lower late Monday morning due to losses in blue-chip exporters, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 9.03 points to 1937.66 as of 11:20 a.m.Big-cap tech names led the decline, with market bellwether Samsung Electronics plunging 2.75 percent and the leading electronic components maker Samsung Electro-Mechanics falling 3.11 percent. Top steelmaker POSCO also shed 3.41 percent.Carmakers also traded in negative territory,
Jan. 28, 2013
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Hana Financial to buy additional shares in KEB
Hana Financial Group Inc. said Monday it plans to buy an additional 40 percent stake in the Korea Exchange Bank (KEB) in April by swapping shares, taking firmer control of South Korea's No. 5 lender.Hana Financial completed the deal to buy a 51.02 percent stake in KEB from Lone Star Funds for 4.69 trillion won ($4.34 billion) in February 2012, making it Korea's No. 3 banking group. It also bought further stakes to raise its holdings to 60 percent last year.The group said it plans to buy the rema
IndustryJan. 28, 2013
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People who never married may die earlier
Not having a permanent partner or spouse during midlife is linked to a higher risk of premature death during that part of one‘s life, U.S. researchers say.Dr. Ilene Siegler and colleagues at Duke University Medical Center analyzed data for 4,802 people who took part in the University of North Carolina Alumni Heart Study -- an ongoing study of individuals born in the 1940s.The study authors were particularly interested in stability and change in patterns of marital and non-marital status during m
TechnologyJan. 28, 2013
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Seoul shares open lower on earnings woes
South Korean stocks got off to a weak start on Monday as investors shed holdings amid lingering concerns over fourth-quarter corporate earnings, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 10.71 points, or 0.55 percent, to 1,935.98 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Key exporters lost ground. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics, which announced its quarterly results on Friday, slumped 2.19 percent and top steelmaker POSCO fell 1.09 percent.The local currency was
Jan. 28, 2013
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Seoul begins preparations for launch of Naro space rocket
South Korea began preparations Monday for what will be the third launch of the Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1 (KSLV-1) by moving the space rocket to its launch pad.The KSLV-1, also known as Naro, is set to blast off Wednesday from the country's Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, located 480 kilometers south of Seoul.The transfer of the space rocket from its storage facility to the launch pad began earlier in the day, and Naro is expected to be in place around 5 p.m., according to
TechnologyJan. 28, 2013
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Male workers taking paternity leave surge in 2012
The number of male workers taking paternity leave soared nearly 30 percent last year, but their rate still came far behind that of their female counterparts, government data showed Monday.According to the data compiled by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the number of male employees getting paternity leave in2012 came to 1,790, up 27.6 percent from a year earlier.Since the measure was introduced in 1987, the number of fathers applying for the time off has been on a steady rise, with only tw
IndustryJan. 28, 2013
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Trade minister determined to get WTO’s top post
To boost the stagnant global economy and reinstate the multilateral trade framework, it’s crucial for Korea to play the role of an international arbitrator, bridging developed and developing countries, according to Trade Minister Bark Tae-ho.“Despite the general consensus on lifting trade barriers and opening markets, the talks on multilateral trade have seen little progress over the past 10 years,” Bark told The Korea Herald in an interview.“Such depression created a rift between developed and
Jan. 27, 2013
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Outdoor gear and clothing market bulging
The Korean market for outdoor gear and clothing was expected to continue growing on the burgeoning demand for outdoor activities, Samsung Fashion Institute said Sunday. This year, the market for such products is expected to grow to 6.4 trillion won, up 11 percent from 2012, the think tank said in a forecast. Last year, the market had reached 5.75 trillion won, up from 4.35 trillion won in 2011 and 3.25 trillion won in 2010. Major outdoor brands have vowed to take advantage of the situation to ag
IndustryJan. 27, 2013
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Foreign low-cost carriers pushing to tap Korea
Several foreign budget carriers are setting their sights on South Korea as the country’s low-cost air travel market is expected to continue to grow considerably, industry sources said Sunday.Japanese low-fare airline Jetstar Japan has recently decided to offer flights to South Korea and China and conducted a field study of Gimhae International Airport on the outskirts of Busan, South Korea’s second-largest city, according to the sources.Singapore’s budget carrier Tiger Airways is reportedly cons
IndustryJan. 27, 2013
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Per-capita GNI hits all-time high in 2012
South Korea’s per-capita gross national income (GNI) is estimated to have reached an all-time high in 2012 despite the country’s low economic growth, the finance ministry Sunday.The country’s nominal per-capita GNI probably came to US$22,720 last year, up 1 percent from the previous year’s $22,489, according to the ministry.The ministry’s estimate is based on the assumption that the country’s nominal gross domestic product expanded 3.2 percent in 2012 from a year earlier, amounting to 1,240.5 tr
Jan. 27, 2013
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Hanwha to upgrade 2,000 workers
Hanwha Group has become the first of the nation’s top 10 industrial groups to upgrade the employment status for a substantial number of its non-regular workers.On Sunday, the company said a total of 2,043 individuals of non-regular status would be elevated to regular employee status to receive benefit packages and equal promotion opportunities.The figure included those who had been hired as contracted workers but were promised to be upgraded to regular worker status after two years. More than ha
IndustryJan. 27, 2013
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Foreign investors scurry to leave Seoul
Foreign investors are scurrying to exit the South Korean stock market with a net selling binge, possibly shifting to the Japanese market as a weaker yen whets their investor appetite, analysts said.Overseas investors sold off local stocks worth a combined net 1.54 trillion won (US$1.45 billion) in the Seoul bourse for the last two weeks, according to the data by the Korea Exchange (KRX).They sold off a net 490 billion won last Friday, the largest daily net selling since 498 billion won tallied o
IndustryJan. 27, 2013
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Heavy industries’ market cap slides on cheap yen
Despite the ambitious goals of local shipbuilders to attract more orders based on technological breakthroughs and more offshore plants, Korea’s heavy industries appear to have been hit by the rapid fall of the Japanese yen.During the past four months, automakers and shipyards saw their combined market capitalization plunge 34 trillion won ($32 billion), industry data showed Sunday.Companies selling to Japanese counterparts earn less due to a stronger won, while those who vie with Japanese firms
IndustryJan. 27, 2013
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Financial holding firms’ profits slide
Korea’s four major financial holding companies are about to post their worst annual earnings for 2012, with their stock prices likely to take a hit going forward.Four holding companies ― Shinhan, KB, Woori and Hana ― are expected to post a combined net profit of 7.87 trillion won in 2012, down almost 1 trillion won, from a year earlier, according to FNGuide, an online securities information provider.This fall could reach 2 trillion won in total should Hana Financial leave out negative goodwill w
Jan. 27, 2013
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Korean banks begin yuan lending for trade settlements
The Bank of Korea said Sunday that it has allowed 12 local commercial banks, beginning with Korea Exchange Bank, to extend renminbi-denominated loans to Korean traders for the first time.This comes as Korea’s central bank and the People’s Bank of China agreed to let their companies settle trade bills with their respective currencies using part of the two sides’ currency swap deal worth 64 trillion won or 360 billion yuan.Korean importers would be able to borrow from their local lenders that will
Jan. 27, 2013
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Kyobo Life not to go public in 2013: sources
Kyobo Life not to go public in 2013: sourcesKyobo Life Insurance Co., South Korea’s second-largest life insurer, is unlikely to seek an initial public offering (IPO) this year due to worsening market conditions at home and abroad, industry sources said Sunday.Citing no need to raise funds and a global economic slowdown, Kyobo Life Insurance has decided not to list its shares on the domestic stock market, according to the sources.It marks the second consecutive year that Kyobo Life Insurance has
IndustryJan. 27, 2013
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GM mulls Brazil options with CEO’s global reshuffling
As General Motors Co. Chief Executive Officer Dan Akerson works on a global corporate reorganization, the decisions he faces are playing out in one of the company’s most important emerging markets: Brazil. The automaker is evaluating how it will structure management in the country after the former president of GM Brazil, Grace Lieblein, switched to head of global purchasing in December. GM is holding off on replacing her as it determines what kind of role the person will have, said Jaime Ardila,
MobilityJan. 27, 2013
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Jaguar bets on China to defray royalty payments
Jaguar Land Rover Plc, the luxury unit of India’s biggest automaker, is betting surging sales in China will help it defray royalty payments triggered by the company setting up factories outside the U.K. Jaguar is liable to pay royalties to Ford Motor Co., which sold the brands to Tata Motors Ltd. in 2008 for $2.5 billion, for use of the platform required to make its best-selling cars when manufactured outside the U.K., it said in a U.S. regulatory filing on Jan. 23. The unit of Mumbai-based Tata
MobilityJan. 27, 2013
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Camry drives Toyota toward revival
An hour before the awards ceremony was set to begin, Toyota Korea was informed that its Camry would be crowned the 2013 Korea Car of the Year. It was a stunning feat for a foreign brand ― it was unprecedented for an imported car to grab the honor ― and especially for Toyota which had stood resilient against the widespread doubt that had shrouded the release of the vehicle last January. Toyota had pretty much known that its hybrid compact Prius would win the “green car” award, but did not expect
MobilityJan. 27, 2013
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Galaxy S4 rumored for March release
Samsung Electronics, the world’s top cellphone maker, is expected to organize a major ceremony to unveil its latest Galaxy S4 in the U.S.The “Mobile Unpacked” event for the newest Galaxy phone is likely to be held on March 22, according to media and industry sources last week. SamMobile, an online community dedicated to delivering news involving Samsung, also cited insiders who said that the Korean electronics firm will ship the new Galaxy S4 beginning in April. It also said Samsung was planning
IndustryJan. 27, 2013