Most Popular
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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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[KH Explains] No more 'Michael' at Kakao Games
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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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Samsung chief bolsters ties with Germany’s Zeiss
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NewJeans pops out ‘Bubble Gum’ video amid troubles at agency
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Med schools expect 1,500+ new admission slots next year
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Nominee for chief of anti-corruption body pledges 'independence, effectiveness'
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[Grace Kao] Hybe vs. Ador: Inspiration, imitation and plagiarism
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Playing on home field
Hyundai Motor Group has recently made an unprecedented decision to cut the prices of its flagship cars that it markets on its home turf of Korea. As of Jan. 1, Hyundai Motor has begun to offer five midsize and large models, including the Sonata, Genesis and Santa Fe, at discounted prices of up to 1 million won less than their 2012 versions. Its affiliate Kia Motors on Wednesday announced price cuts for popular models, unveiling the new K9 with a lowered price tag even though high-end features su
MobilityJan. 13, 2013
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Mercedes-Benz Korea names woman CEO
Mercedes-Benz Korea named Britta Seeger, 44, as its new chief executive to become the first foreigner and female to head operations here, the company said on Sunday.Seeger’s prior work experience includes senior manager at the Daimler Group headquarters in Germany. The newly appointed CEO is expected to start her work in March, the company said, to take over from the late Thomas Urbach who passed away in November last year. Seeger’s career at Daimler began in 1992 at the sales division of the co
IndustryJan. 13, 2013
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Sporty new ’K8’ may spice up Kia's K series
Kia Motors is likely to add a “K8” to its flagship lineup of the K series, to feature a new vehicle that would be sportier and more casual in its appearance, an industry source told The Korea Herald on Sunday. “Kia has already asked suppliers to provide the auto parts for the K8. This new car is expected to be a sportier sedan coming between the K7 and K9 series,” the source said on condition of anonymity. Considering the sluggish sales of the pricier K9 luxury sedan, he said the new lineup -- f
IndustryJan. 13, 2013
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KAIST looking to boost KTX speed
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology is looking to integrate its indigenously-developed online electric vehicle technology into the country’s flagship KTX high-speed train to achieve speeds of more than 300 kilometers per hour.The state-run research university’s OLEV teams are putting their heads together with Korea Rail Network Authority, a rail engineering company, and Korea Railroad Research Institute to overcome the speed barriers posed by electrical grids that hang above and p
IndustryJan. 13, 2013
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Finance Ministry to reevaluate all fiscal spending plans from scratch
The Ministry of Strategy and Finance said Sunday that it will reevaluate all of its existing fiscal spending plans from scratch to come up with the necessary funds needed to meet President-elect Park Geun-hye's campaign pledges, sources from the presidential transition team said Sunday. Park, who takes office as the country's first woman chief executive on Feb. 25, has said she will need 134.5 trillion won(US$127.3 billion) over the next five years to follow through on the various promises
Jan. 13, 2013
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S. Korea expected to launch space rocket on Jan. 25
South Korea is expected to try again to launch its space rocket later this month after successfully conducting experiments to check if all systems are working properly, a government source said Sunday. The official said South Korean and Russian researchers are expected to discuss results of repairs made to the rocket late last year and touch on the present state of the Naro-1 rocket. He added Seoul successfully carried out combustion tests on the kick motor on the locally built second stage
TechnologyJan. 13, 2013
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Global handset shipments top 1.74 billion in 2012
Worldwide sales of mobile phones, including smartphones and feature phones, reached 1.74 billion last year, growing 1.8 percent from the previous year, data showed Sunday.The on-year growth was attributed to robust demand for some of the latest models in the smartphone market, such as Samsung Electronics Co.'s Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note 2 phones as well as Apple Inc.'s iPhone 5, according to the data by Strategy Analytics.Strong shipments of the Samsung and Apple phones, combined with seasonal de
TechnologyJan. 13, 2013
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LINE eyes 100 million users
NHN Japan, a subsidiary of South Korea's top portal operator NHN Corp., is likely to see the number of its "LINE" messenger users break the 100 million mark this week, sources said Sunday. LINE, launched in June 2011, is the company's free group messenger application that runs on the Android, Blackberry and iOS operating systems. The service, which has been launched in roughly 230 countries, has ranked No. 1 in downloads on Google Play and App Store platforms in 41 countries. After garne
TechnologyJan. 13, 2013
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Gov't to conduct detailed safety tests on Gori, Wolsong reactors
The government plans to conduct detailed safety tests on two nuclear reactors that have exceeded their original operating life cycles to ensure no problems occur, an official said Sunday. The official, who declined to be identified, said the Nuclear Safety Commission will include plans to conduct so-called stress tests on the Gori 1 and Wolsong 1 reactors in a report to President-elect Park Geun-hye's transition committee. A stress test refers to a series of experiments that push the reactors
TechnologyJan. 13, 2013
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S. Korea's leading export products on decline
South Korea saw the number of its leading export products fall from a year earlier, raising alarm bells over the country's trade competitiveness, data showed Sunday. The number of South Korea's leading export products reached 61 in 2011, down from 71 the previous year, according to the data by the financial industry and the Korea International Trade Association (KITA). Leading export products refer to product categories in which South Korea ranks first in export market share. The data show
Jan. 13, 2013
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Hyundai-Kia emerges as biggest exporter to Germany: VDIK
South Korea's Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group emerged as the biggest exporter of automobiles to Germany last year, industry data showed Sunday. Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp. have sold 155,673 units in the biggest European market in 2012, according to data by the International Association of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (VDIK). Renault SA came second with 150,740 units and Skoda third with 142,611 units last year. Hyundai-Kia was third with 128,931 units in 2011, when Ren
MobilityJan. 13, 2013
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Younger people's economic participation hits 27-yr low
Economic participation among younger people in South Korea dropped to the lowest level in about 27 years, data showed Saturday, indicating the frozen job market is taking its toll especially on young job seekers.According to the data by Statistics Korea, the economic participation rate among those in their 20s stood at 60.1 percent last month, down from 62.3 percent tallied in the same month a year earlier.The figure marked the lowest level since February 1986, when the rate was 59.6 percent.The
Jan. 12, 2013
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Seoul shares to trade in tight range next week
South Korea's stock market is expected to trade in a tight range next week with economic indicators from China and the currency exchange being among the major factors that will determine its direction, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 1,996.67 this week, down 0.75 percent from a week earlier after undergoing choppy trading.The local currency's ascent against the dollar and the weakening yen of Japan could weigh on the market amid worries th
Jan. 12, 2013
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Won hits 17-month high to dollar
The South Korean won soared to a 17-month high against the U.S. dollar on Friday as rate freezes by central banks here and abroad prompted a weaker greenback, dealers said. After breaching the 1,060 mark as soon as the market opened, the local currency ended at 1,054.70 won against the U.S. dollar, up 5.7 won from Thursday and the highest close since Aug. 2 last year. The rate freeze by the Bank of England and the European Central Bank on Thursday caused the greenback to further depreciate, deal
Jan. 11, 2013
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Samsung teams up with Japan firms for memory tech
Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s top memory chip and smartphone maker, said Friday it has set up a joint venture in the United States with Japanese tech giants as they move to develop new memory technologies.Samsung, Panasonic Corp., Sony Corp. and Toshiba Corp. launched “Next Generation Secure Memory” earlier this month to collaborate on a new content protection technology for flash memory cards that are used in mobile devices.The four participants respectively own 25-percent stakes in the
TechnologyJan. 11, 2013
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Korea’s economic freedom ranking falls: report
NEW YORK (Yonhap News) ― The world ranking of South Korea’s economic freedom dropped by three notches this year, an international report said Thursday, citing the country’s corruption problems as hurting “equity” and “trust” in the government.According to the report jointly compiled by the U.S. think tank Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal, South Korea came in 34th out of 177 countries in terms of economic freedom, down from 31st last year. It also ranked 8th out of 41 Asia-Pacific
TechnologyJan. 11, 2013
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Seeds of conflict remain at Ssangyong despite reinstatement
Despite Ssangyong Motor’s Thursday agreement to reinstate 455 workers on unpaid leave from 2009, another labor dispute is looming at the nation’s fifth-largest carmaker. At the center of the brewing controversy is how to deal with those who voluntarily resigned or were fired during the restructuring process in 2009. The carmaker didn’t include them in the list of reinstatement, but labor circles, including the Korean Metal Workers Union, have urged the company to rehire them as they left the com
Jan. 11, 2013
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Transition team may upgrade status of small business agency
The transition team of President-elect Park Geun-hye is expected to consider elevating the administrative status of the Small and Medium Business Administration, which oversees policy support for smaller businesses. On Friday, the state-run agency offered its policy briefing to the transition team, emphasizing the necessity for it to be upgraded to a ministerial-level government office to carry out relevant policies more efficiently. The agency, affiliated with the Ministry of Knowledge Economy,
Jan. 11, 2013
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NTS targets tax evasion suspects, shadow economy
A key part of the incoming Park Geun-hye administration’s fiscal policy is to cover 6 trillion won ($5.7 billion) each year of its increased welfare budget with taxes collected from the “underground economy.”For this, the National Tax Service is preparing to gain more access to the Financial Intelligence Unit’s information on cash transactions and conduct tax inquiries on sectors highly suspected of tax evasion.“We first need to establish the necessary infrastructure ― that is, greater access to
Jan. 11, 2013
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Former bodyguard sues Bieber for assault, wages
LOS ANGELES (AP) ― A former bodyguard for Justin Bieber sued the pop superstar Thursday seeking more than $420,000 in overtime and other wages and claims he was repeatedly struck by the singer during an October confrontation. Moshe Benabou’s lawsuit claims Bieber berated him and repeatedly punched him in the chest after a disagreement about how to handle a member of the Grammy-nominated singer’s entourage. After he walked away, Bieber fired him, Benabou’s lawsuit claims.Benabou claims he was mis
Jan. 11, 2013