Most Popular
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[Exclusive] Korean military set to ban iPhones over 'security' concerns
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Korean, Romanian leaders discuss defense tech, nuclear energy
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[Graphic News] 77% of young Koreans still financially dependent
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S. Korea calls on Japan to confront history amid Yasukuni Shrine visit
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Yoon’s jailed mother-in-law excluded from latest parole list
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Hybe and Min Hee-jin, CEO of Hybe sublabel Ador, lock horns
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[Pressure points] Leggings in public: Fashion statement or social faux pas?
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Yoo Jae-suk, Yoo Yeon-seok team up in 'Whenever Possible'
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Korea’s homegrown nanosatellite successfully launches into space
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Aging population to drive down Korea's housing prices from 2040: experts
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Samsung, LG washers get top scores from U.S. magazine
U.S. magazine Consumer Reports has given top ratings to washers manufactured by South Korea’s major home appliance makers Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc. in its latest survey, industry sources said Sunday.The February issue of Consumer Reports said Samsung’s front-loading WF457 and WF455 washers received the “excellent” level in washing performance, energy efficiency, water efficiency and vibration, and got “very good” in quietness to garner 89 points in total.LG’s WM8000 front-l
TechnologyJan. 20, 2013
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Shares may lose ground this week on Vanguard exit
The South Korean stock market is likely to be weighed down by the effects of a U.S. fund manager’s decision to gradually exclude Seoul shares from its benchmark index, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index finished at 1,987.85 last week, down 0.44 percent from a week earlier. The KOSPI, which started this week on the 2,000 level, lost ground, dogged by concerns over U.S. debt ceiling talks and Vanguard Group’s move to switch into a benchmark index which excludes
Jan. 20, 2013
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Hyundai Heavy wins $1.1b offshore facility order from Norway
Hyundai Heavy Industries, or HHI, the world’s biggest shipbuilder, said Sunday it sealed an $1.1 billion deal with Statoil ASA, a state-run oil and gas operator in Norway, for the construction of offshore gas facilities. This is the second time for HHI to win an offshore facility construction order from the Norwegian company. The floating facility called a spar platform, which will weigh 64,500 tons, will be built in the Aasta Hansteen gas field in the North Sea by March 2016. The offshore faci
Jan. 20, 2013
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Korea last in OECD in female graduate employment
South Korea’s employment rate of female college graduates ranked at the bottom among a group of the world’s advanced nations, with the country having the largest difference between employment rates for men and women, data showed Sunday.According to the data compiled by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, only 60.1 percent of college-educated South Korean women were employed as of 2011, marking the lowest rate among 33 OECD member nations.Turkey was second from the bottom,
Jan. 20, 2013
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Hong Kong-based fund bids for Ssangyong E&C
Hong Kong-based private equity firm VVL expressed its willingness to participate in a bidding to take over Ssangyong Engineering & Construction Co., industrial sources said Sunday.If successful, VVL will become the largest shareholder of the Korean builder firm, replacing the state-run Korea Asset Management Corp., or KAMCO, Ssangyong’s current largest shareholder. Ssangyong E&C has been accepting applications from developers here and abroad since last November. The bid will most likely close be
IndustryJan. 20, 2013
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Cheap yen poses threat to exporters
The Korean won strengthening against major currencies is estimated to undermine exports from the information technology and automobile industries, a private research institute said Sunday.In particular, the Japanese yen’s weaker position against the won was identified as a serious threat to the price competitiveness of Korea’s IT and car producers by Hyundai Economic Research Institute.While the two sectors are the nation’s top growth engines, HERI estimated that Korea sees a drop in product exp
Jan. 20, 2013
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U.S. back-up camera rule to double auto LCD demand
Shipments of liquid crystal displays for use in cars will almost double by 2016 from 2012 levels, as an expected mandate in the U.S. for rear-view cameras in autos boosts demand, researcher IHS forecast. Deliveries of full-color LCDs used in autos will reach almost 117 million units by 2016, up 89 percent from 2012, El Segundo, California-based IHS said in a report dated Jan. 17. Each year sales will grow between 15 percent and 23 percent, with shipments crossing the hundred-million-unit mark in
MobilityJan. 20, 2013
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The beauty within the beast
The Korea Herald, in cooperation with carmakers, offers test-driving experiences to executive officials at Korean or multinational companies here. The opinion below is the author’s own. For any inquiry into this column, please contact jylee@heraldcorp.com. ― Ed.If you perceive driving in big cities as negotiating an asphalt jungle, the BMW X5 is definitively the king of beasts.Snow, ice and subzero temperatures are weather conditions utterly foreign to my Caribbean background, where the elements
MobilityJan. 20, 2013
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Mercedes-Benz, BMW getting on front-wheel-drive path
For decades, Mercedes-Benz and BMW have made rear-wheel drive central to their definitions of performance and luxury, even as the rest of the industry embraced front-wheel drive long ago.But both German marques, among the last holdouts, are about to cave.Just before the Detroit auto show last week, Mercedes-Benz showed off the CLA 250, a compact, four-door coupe, the first front-wheel-drive car bearing the brand’s three-pointed star logo. BMW also said at the show that it plans to offer front-wh
MobilityJan. 20, 2013
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Korean recipe for smallest Chevy
General Motors, whose typical cash cows include trucks and sport utility vehicles, is profiting recently from a long-ignored segment ― the mini city car.With higher gasoline prices and growing appetite for smaller cars, the U.S. auto giant last year newly added the Spark mini car to its Chevrolet global lineup.The Spark, overcoming earlier skepticism among GM executives and dealers, sold 12,385 vehicles in the six months up to December. The researcher IHS Automotive forecasts the sales figure co
MobilityJan. 20, 2013
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Global companies sport localization strategies to win Korean hearts
It is a serene atmosphere with a Korean traditional teahouse-like interior where people sit down on top of flat cushions on a wooden floor. But the drinks served are Starbucks coffee.Korea’s first drive-through Starbucks opened in Gyeongju, capital of the ancient kingdom of Silla, in September, with Silla designs everywhere.The stair railing to the traditional tearoom on the upper floor is designed after the banisters around the historic Anapji pond where the royals and the upper class partied d
IndustryJan. 20, 2013
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NYC sorbet said effective flu treatment
A New York ice cream company unveiled a new treat it says is specially formulated for flu sufferers.The Influenza Sorbet is a combination of lemon, spicy cayenne pepper and a healthy dose of Maker's Mark bourbon whiskey that will clear the sinuses and soothe scratchy throats.Jeni Britton Bauer, owner of Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams, told the New York Post her sorbet, derived from an old family remedy, has been getting rave reviews."People tell me it's the only thing that makes them feel better,"
TechnologyJan. 20, 2013
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LG Optimus G sells over 1 million units
LG Electronics Inc. said Friday it has sold more than 1 million Optimus G smartphones worldwide since the flagship device’s launch last year.The milestone comes roughly four months after the South Korean handset manufacturer unveiled the 4.7-inch display phone that runs on Qualcomm Inc.’s Snapdragon S4 Pro processor.In September, LG introduced two premium smartphones ― the Optimus G and the Optimus Vu 2 ― as part of efforts to regain its presence in the mobile market.The company has released the
IndustryJan. 18, 2013
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Seoul should brace for end of global credit easing: BOK
South Korea’s top central banker said Friday that the country should brace for the possibility that major central banks may end their march toward credit easing.“It does not seem that the financial crisis will further worsen. There is a chance that major central banks may unwind their drives for quantitative easing,” Bank of Korea (BOK) Gov. Kim Choong-soo said in a monthly meeting with local bank heads.Major central banks including the U.S. and Japan have launched a massive bond-buying program
IndustryJan. 18, 2013
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Nongshim shows interest in Woongjin Foods: sources
Nongshim Co., South Korea’s top instant noodle maker, has expressed keen interest in buying Woongjin Foods Co., a beverage unit of cash-strapped Woongjin Group, industry sources said Friday.The move comes as Woongjin Holdings Co. and its creditors have reached an agreement on sales of the food unit to ramp upWoongjin’s debt rescheduling program. The mid-sized group has been placed under court receivership last year due to financial difficulties.Nongshim has vowed to strengthen beverage business
IndustryJan. 18, 2013
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IBM outlines strategies for mutual growth
IBM Korea on Friday announced strategies to more efficiently work with its business partners in a ceremony attended by more than 500 company executives, including the new IBM president Shirley Yu-Tsui. IBM is currently working together with more than 1,000 business partners and vendors, while on a global level, its partners now number more than 130,000. IBM’s main priorities for working with partners involve jointly developing new markets and offering key solutions based on advanced technology,
IndustryJan. 18, 2013
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SK affiliates undergo major reshuffling
SK Group affiliates on Friday announced a reshuffle that affected six companies including SK Innovation, the group’s holding company. Among the affiliates, SK Innovation promoted 29 executives including its president and CEO Koo Jay-young, who was appointed vice chairman and CEO.The company also elected its first-ever female executive in the vice president level: Kang Sun-hee, who was named secretary-general of the board of directors and sustainable growth director. Five other affiliates includi
IndustryJan. 18, 2013
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Korean IT sector clicks onto Africa
Africa, one of the least tapped markets in the world, has become the target of local IT companies that are eagerly eyeing the continent for business opportunities. In particular, electronics firms such as Samsung and LG Electronics, along with telecom KT, are actively moving to grab a larger share in Africa where the customer base for electronic products is growing at a fast pace. Until now, electronics makers have prioritized mostly the U.S. and European markets, but market saturation, not to m
IndustryJan. 18, 2013
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GSK chief tapped to head pharmaceutical association
Kim Jin-ho, the chief executive of GlaxoSmithKline Korea, was elected this week as chairman of the Korea Research-based Pharmaceutical Industry Association, one of the largest organizations for pharmaceutical companies here with over 30 members. Kim was the second Korean following Lee Dong-soo, CEO of Pfizer Korea, to take up the post, according to industry sources. Kim will start his duties as the new chairman beginning Feb. 1, the association said. “The status of Korean companies in the global
IndustryJan. 18, 2013
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Sony selling Madison Avenue HQ building for $1.1 bn
Sony shares rocketed 12.20 percent Friday after the embattled Japanese consumer electronics giant said it was selling its US headquarters in Manhattan for $1.1 billion as part of a huge restructuring.The Tokyo-listed shares finished at 1,149 yen, boosted by a weak yen and after the announcement that New York-based commercial property firm Chetrit Group was leading a consortium that agreed to buy the Madison Avenue skyscraper.The sale, expected to close in March, comes as the firm undergoes a cor
IndustryJan. 18, 2013