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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'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
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‘Actually’ unemployed population nears 4 million in Nov.: data
The number of “actually” unemployed people in South Korea has reached nearly 4 million as job seekers tend to give up on finding work amid prolonged weak labor market conditions, data showed Friday.According to the data by Statistics Korea, the country’s actually unemployed totaled about 3.89 million as of November last year, slightly down from 3.94 million tallied a year earlier.Actual unemployed people refer to those who give up looking for work, temporarily quit seeking employment to prepare
IndustryJan. 4, 2013
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Seoul shares open lower on U.S. losses
South Korean stocks started lower Friday following overnight losses on Wall Street, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 4.73 points, or 0.23 percent, to 2,014.68 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Market bellwether Samsung Electronics slid 1.04 percent and LG Electronics, South Korea's second-largest home appliances maker, dipped 0.13 percent.Carmakers were also sluggish, with industry leader Hyundai Motor retreating 0.97 percent and its smaller affiliate K
Jan. 4, 2013
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S. Korea's foreign reserves reaches new high in Dec.
South Korea's foreign exchange reserves reached a new record high in December on the back of an increase in investment profits and higher conversion value of non-dollar assets, the central bank said Friday.The country's foreign reserves reached $326.97 billion in December, up $880 million from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).Foreign reserves consist of securities and deposits denominated in overseas currencies, along with International Monetary Fund reserve positions, sp
Jan. 4, 2013
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Corporate regulator removes 11 firms from watch list
South Korea's antitrust watchdog said Friday that it has taken 11 companies off the list that limits mutual investments and loan guarantees.The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said the number of corporate affiliates on the list stood at 1,791 as of end-December, down from1,802 tallied in the previous month.Eighteen companies were newly added to the list, while 29 affiliates were taken off over the past month, the FTC said.The net decline comes as the political community is pushing for a fairer busin
IndustryJan. 3, 2013
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Zodiac may look to buy STX Pan Ocean
Zodiac Maritime Agencies, a global ship owner and manager, could be interested in acquiring STX Pan Ocean, Korea’s leading operator of bulk carriers, industry sources said.The London-based ship management company, owned by the Ofer family, is believed to have emerged as one of the potential overseas candidates to purchase a controlling 36.8 percent stake in the Korean shipping company, the sources claimed.The 36.8 percent is held by STX, the parent holding company, STX Offshore & Shipbuilding, S
IndustryJan. 3, 2013
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Korea may attain $30,000 per capita GDP around 2017
Korea may attain the goal of per capita gross domestic product of $30,000 by around 2017, analysts predicted on Thursday. Surpassing the $30,000 mark is widely regarded as a yardstick to determine if a country is advanced. But the analysts said whether the nation will be able to attain the feat depends on sustained economic growth and the pace of the local currency’s gain.Analysis has it that the Korean currency should appreciate about 33 percent to the U.S. dollar from the current level. The In
Jan. 3, 2013
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Critics say grounding shows Arctic drilling danger
ANCHORAGE (AP) ― The grounding of a petroleum drilling ship on a remote Alaska island has refueled the debate over oil exploration in the U.S. Arctic Ocean, where critics for years have said the conditions are too harsh and the stakes too high to allow dangerous industrial development.The drilling sites are 1,600 kilometers from Coast Guard resources, and environmentalists argue offshore drilling in the Arctic’s fragile ecosystem is too risky. So when a Royal Dutch Shell PLC ship went aground on
TechnologyJan. 3, 2013
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Space travel might speed up Alzheimer’s: U.S. study
WASHINGTON (AFP) ― Long journeys into deep space, including a mission to Mars, could expose astronauts to levels of cosmic radiation harmful to the brain and accelerate Alzheimer’s disease, according to U.S. research.The NASA-funded study involved bombarding mice with varied radiation doses, including levels comparable to what voyagers would experience during a mission to Mars, and seeing how the animals managed to recall objects or locations.Mice that were exposed to radiation were far more lik
TechnologyJan. 3, 2013
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Gas guzzlers: New insights into birth of giant planets
PARIS (AFP) ― Astronomers using the most advanced land telescope in the world said on Wednesday they had unlocked knowledge about how formidable “gas giant” planets such Jupiter and Saturn come into being.These vast but uninhabitable worlds are created by gobbling up gas and dust that envelope young stars in a murky disc, they believe.The evidence comes from observations of a youthful star called HD 142527 which is located more than 450 light years from Earth.Stars are born from a cloud of cosmi
TechnologyJan. 3, 2013
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Park hopes to transform Korea into start-up nation
Following is the 11th in a series of articles on President-elect Park Geun-hye’s key policies ― Ed. Korea has entered a period of low growth. A slew of analysts say it is heading in a direction similar to Japan’s “Lost Decade.”With 1 percent growth coupled with the global economy facing further slowdown in 2013, the outlook for Korean exports, the country’s main source of growth, is not looking rosy.President-elect Park Geun-hye, who has an engineering background, sees a need to overcome future
TechnologyJan. 3, 2013
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Brain image study: Fructose may spur overeating
This is your brain on sugar ― for real. Scientists have used imaging tests to show for the first time that fructose, a sugar that saturates the American diet, can trigger brain changes that may lead to overeating.After drinking a fructose beverage, the brain doesn’t register the feeling of being full as it does when simple glucose is consumed, researchers found.It’s a small study and does not prove that fructose or its relative, high-fructose corn syrup, can cause obesity, but experts say it add
TechnologyJan. 3, 2013
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Influenza viruses on rise as winter deepens
As the cold spell tightens its grip on the country, reports of flu-like illnesses have grown in the last few weeks. Health authorities advised Thursday that people maintain personal hygiene and consider flu shots to avoid illness.The number of people suspected of having influenza per 1,000 outpatients was 2.8 in the third week of December, a slight increase from 2.7 surveyed a week before, Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a report. If the rate reaches more than 4, the hea
TechnologyJan. 3, 2013
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Get your new year off to a healthy start
People often make New Year’s resolutions to quit smoking or start regular exercise to improve their health. However, many fail to keep to their resolutions for even a month. Everyone knows how to keep healthy, but it is no simple task to hold back on things you want and do things you do not like. It is very difficult to keep to your goals without a special motivation when you are tired or busy. If a friend of the same age as you dies suddenly or is diagnosed with a serious disease unexpectedly,
TechnologyJan. 3, 2013
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LG Group vows to refuse gifts of money from vendors
LG Group on Thursday said it will refuse any monetary gifts from its vendor companies. It also will urge its executives to hold smaller wedding ceremonies as a part of the company’s ethics campaign. LG said the rules regarding the money gifts ― money that Koreans give at weddings or funerals ― will be applied to all of LG’s affiliates starting this year. Employees also will be banned from taking presents or money from vendors for promotions. “We have outlined these new rules and passed them arou
IndustryJan. 3, 2013
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Won’s rise causes concern
The Korean won has been gaining against the U.S. dollar since the second half of last year, raising concerns among policymakers about whether the exchange rate will break the psychological threshold of 1,000 won per dollar.Korea has maintained its policy, even through currency intervention, for a weak won as a means to support exports, the country’s main growth driver, as a strong won makes Korean products more expensive overseas.Should the won show signs of gaining further, the government is mo
Jan. 3, 2013
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Hyundai slashes prices on flagship models
Hyundai Motor has decided to lower the prices of its larger flagship models by up to 1 million won ($940), bucking a seasonal trend of other carmakers that have already announced new price hikes this year. Hyundai said Thursday it will offer 10 versions of its five brand models, including the Sonata, Genesis and Santa Fe, at discounted prices from Jan. 1, with no change made to their specifications. The price of the best-seller sedan Sonata has been lowered from 26.5 million won to 26.28 million
IndustryJan. 3, 2013
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Shares down on strengthening won
South Korean stocks finished 0.58 percent down Thursday as the strengthening won weighed heavily on the local big-name exporters, analysts said. The local currency gained ground against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 11.69 points to 2019.41. Trading volume was moderate at 484.5 million shares worth 5.99 trillion won ($5.64 billion) with gainers outnumbering losers 440 to 375.“Large-cap exporters such as Hyundai Motor are directly affected by the weakening Ja
Jan. 3, 2013
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LTE subscribers grow 13-fold in 2012
The number of South Koreans who subscribed to the long-term evolution network increased more than 13 times last year as a growing number of people opted to connect their smartphones to the faster mobile network, data showed Thursday.The country’s LTE subscriber base reached 15.9 million as of the end of 2012, expanding 13.4-fold from a year earlier, according to industry data. The figure translates to 40,000 new LTE subscriptions a day.The number of Korean LTE subscribers is estimated to account
TechnologyJan. 3, 2013
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Halla Climate falls as Hyundai switches supplier
Halla Climate Control Corp. fell the most in almost five months in Seoul trading after Hyundai Motor Co. chose Japan’s Denso Corp. to supply air-control equipment.Halla Climate, a maker of car air-control systems and components, slumped 11.4 percent to 21,400 won at the close in Seoul, its biggest drop since Aug. 7. South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI index declined 0.6 percent.Hyundai Motor will use Denso’s air-control parts for U.S.- made Sonata sedans, the auto company, South Korea’s biggest carmak
Jan. 3, 2013