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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Aging population to drive down Korea's housing prices from 2040: experts
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North Korea holds drills simulating nuclear counterattack against enemy
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Bond turnover hits record high in 2012
The turnover of the South Korean bond market reached an all-time high in 2012 due to investors’ flight to safety, with the value of stock transactions dropping to a four-year low, industry data showed Sunday.The amount of bonds traded on the local market came to 7,320 trillion won ($6.88 trillion) last year, topping the 7,000 trillion won mark for the first time, according to the data by the Korea Exchange and the Korea Financial Investment Association.The turnover of government bonds traded rea
Jan. 6, 2013
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Shares to stay flat on gloomy Q4 earnings outlook
South Korean stocks are expected to move in a tight range this week with investors sitting on the sidelines amid the announcement of fourth-quarter performances of local firms, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index finished at 2,011.94 in the first week of 2013, up 0.75 percent from the previous week.The KOSPI soared in the first trading session of this year on rising optimism following the settlement of the U.S. fiscal cliff issue.The U.S. Congress passed a budget bill t
Jan. 6, 2013
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Yu-Tsui from China to lead IBM Korea
IBM said on Sunday it has appointed Shirley Yu-Tsui, general manager of IBM’s global business services for China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, as the new chief executive of IBM Korea.Yu-Tsui has been named one of China’s top 10 women professional management leaders in 2004, and person of the year in China’s IT service the following year.She will be replacing Lee Hui-sung, who has headed IBM Korea for the past eight years. Lee was promoted to vice president of strategy for the growth market unit at IBM
IndustryJan. 6, 2013
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Korea to provide 191 billion won to ADB
South Korea will provide the Asian Development Bank with an all-time high 191.2 billion won ($179.4 million) this year to assist developing countries, the government said Saturday.“South Korea decided to provide the assistance to the Asian Development Fund after reaching an agreement on the country’s share of expenses last year,” an official from the Ministry of Strategy and Finance said.Introduced by the regional lender ADB in 1968, the fund aims to provide loans to developing countries at a lo
Jan. 6, 2013
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Korea to impose fines on buildings with open doors
Starting Monday, buildings and commercial shops in South Korea that keep their doors open while running heaters will face as much as 3 million won ($2,800) in fines, officials said Saturday. The measure is part of the government’s mandatory campaign to save electricity as the nation is bracing for an unusually cold winter amid risks of a possible power shortage. Big commercial buildings such as hotels and department stores will be required to keep their thermostats at 20 degrees Celsius or lower
Jan. 6, 2013
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Is BMW invincible?
The nation’s import car market is rushing into a fierce sales war. With Korean carmakers planning only five launches this year, foreign brands are hinting at intensified offensives, with around 50 new models.For import brands, their main goal, among others, is taking even a tiny bite out of the growing sales pie of German carmakers, especially BMW, the best-selling foreign brand here for three consecutive years. German brands ― BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Volkswagen ― topped import car sales la
MobilityJan. 6, 2013
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Porsche 911 triggers my racer instinct
The Korea Herald, in cooperation with carmakers, offers a test-driving experience to executive officials at multinational companies or ranking diplomats here. The opinion below is the author’s own. For any inquiry into this column, please contact jylee@heraldcorp.com. ― Ed. By Kim Byung-chul, Director of Philip Morris KoreaI sat ― no, drove ― in the lap of luxury when I had the opportunity to take the new Porsche 911 Carrera S for an outing on a recent weekend. The car is one of the fastest cars
MobilityJan. 6, 2013
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Hyundai-Kia top midsize car sales in U.S.
Hyundai and Kia topped U.S. car sales in the midsize segment for the second consecutive month in December, industry data showed Sunday. Hyundai Motor Group, which owns Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors, sold 32,834 midsize sedans in the U.S. market last month, slightly outpacing Japan’s Toyota that sold some 31,000 units. The Korean auto giant grabbed the top position in the segment in November for the first time since its entry into the U.S. market, largely driven by Hyundai’s Sonata and Kia’s K5 se
MobilityJan. 6, 2013
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Sales of iPhone 5 miss market expectations
Sales of Apple Inc.‘s iPhone 5 in South Korea have fallen short of market expectations largely because of its belated debut in the country, industry sources said Sunday.As of Friday, about 400,000 units of Apple’s latest gadget were sold in the South Korean market, well below an earlier estimate of up to 2 million, according to the sources.On Dec. 7, SK Telcom Co. and KT Corp., the country‘s two biggest mobile carriers, kicked off the release of the first iPhone that runs on the fourth-generatio
IndustryJan. 6, 2013
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Credit card firms suspend interest-free installment purchases
Local credit card firms have suspended interest-free installment purchases for card-accepting businesses with annual sales over 100 billion won (US$93.9 million) following a revised financial act, market sources said Saturday.According to the sources, South Korean credit card firms stopped their interest-free installment purchase services for businesses, including large discount stores, airliners, and mobile carriers.The suspension came as local credit card member stores refused to follow the re
BusinessJan. 5, 2013
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Lock & Lock unlocks Chinese market
South Korean cookware maker Lock & Lock Co. said Friday that its glass container sales in China are estimated to have grown about 60 percent last year on its efforts to tap deeper into the world’s most populous country.Lock & Lock’s glass container business is estimated to have logged 70 billion won ($65.8 million) in sales in China in 2012, up nearly 63 percent on-year from 43 billion won in 2011, company officials said.With China’s disposable income rising and Chinese people’s eating habits be
IndustryJan. 4, 2013
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Listed firms’ quarterly earnings to miss expectations
Fourth-quarter earnings of South Korea’s major listed companies are expected to hover below earlier forecasts due to a protracted global economic slump, data showed Friday.The combined operating profit of 116 listed firms is estimated at 26.5 trillion won ($24.9 billion) for the October-December period, according to the data based on predictions made by local brokerage houses and compiled by local financial information provider FnGuide.The estimate is down 1.13 percent from the 26.8 trillion won
IndustryJan. 4, 2013
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Gucci to raise prices of bags and wallets
Italian luxury brand Gucci has decided to raise the prices of some of its main products, to the ire of designer brand lovers here. The price for the popular Soho tote bags and other leather goods will be increased by up to 11 percent, starting from Jan. 14, Gucci Korea officials were quoted as saying Friday.The price hike, the first since April 2011, was decided by the company’s head office in Florence, Italy, and will be applied to all Gucci stores around the world. Once the change is made, the
IndustryJan. 4, 2013
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Woori eager to spin off card unit
Woori Financial Group is struggling to follow in the footsteps of KB Financial and Hana Financial by spinning off a credit card business from Woori Bank.In 2011, KB Financial Group launched a stand-alone credit card firm after the money-spinning unit was merged with the bank in 2003. In 2010, Hana Financial Group spun off Hana SK Card and began marketing cooperation with several SK Group subsidiaries.An official in the Financial Supervisory Service said Friday that the regulator was making inqui
Jan. 4, 2013
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Hanjin Group children get promotions
Hanjin Group Cho Yang-ho’s three children ― Hyun-ah, Won-tae and Hyun-min ― were all promoted in the company’s recent personnel reshuffle. The eldest, Hyun-ah, 39, was promoted to vice president of Korean Air, along with her younger brother Won-tae, 38. They were given the promotions just three years after they were made executive vice presidents in 2009. Cho Hyun-min, born in 1983, was made a managing vice president of the company. She had been a rank immediately below just two years earlier. K
IndustryJan. 4, 2013
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Samsung, LG fined for LCD price-fixing in China
LG Display agreed to pay damages ordered by the Chinese government for fixing the price of its panels, while Samsung Display said it would need more time to look into the issue.On Friday, the world’s two top makers of liquid-crystal display panels ― Samsung and LG Display ― were ordered to pay $35 million in damages by China’s National Development and Reform Commission for price-rigging its panels.The commission said it fined Samsung 101 million yuan ($16.2 million) and LG 118 million yuan, for
IndustryJan. 4, 2013
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Foreigners’ securities holdings hit record
Foreign shareholdings in Korean stocks and bonds have hit a record-high due to monetary easing overseas that led to the inflow of funds investing in higher yielding and riskier assetsEquity and debt investments by foreign investors reached 502.6 trillion won in total as of the end of 2012, mainly driven by funds from Europe and the U.S. where central banks had been printing and pumping money to stimulate their economies, according to Financial Supervisory Service data. It showed that the U.S. wa
Jan. 4, 2013
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Milky Way may have 100 billion planets
U.S. astronomers say a study suggests planets are in fact the cosmic norm and estimate the Milky Way galaxy contains at least 100 billion planets.A team of astronomers at the California Institute of Technology made the estimate while analyzing planets orbiting a star called Kepler-32, worlds they say are representative of the vast majority in the galaxy and are a perfect case study for understanding how most planets form.Kepler-32's planets were detected by the Kepler space telescope, and the re
TechnologyJan. 4, 2013
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Samsung, LG fined for LCD price-fixing in China
LG Display agreed to pay damages ordered by the Chinese government for fixing the price of its panels, while Samsung Display said it would need more time to look into the issue.On Friday, the world’s two top makers of liquid-crystal display panels ― Samsung and LG Display ― were ordered to pay $35 million in damages by China’s National Development and Reform Commission for price-rigging its panels.The commission said it fined Samsung 101 million yuan ($16.2 million) and LG 118 million yuan, for
TechnologyJan. 4, 2013
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'Korean customers are too picky'
An online article pointing out difficulties in the Korean market sparked fresh debate over the cause of recent withdrawal-spree of foreign companies. A blogger familiar with the matter posted Wednesday an article titled “Foreign companies leaving Korea: Have the locals successfully kicked the invaders out?” on his blog.A series of foreign enterprises recently decided to leave Korea in various industries. Global IT companies Yahoo Korea, Motorola, HTC, and RIM, as well as financial companies Gold
IndustryJan. 4, 2013