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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GM Korea recalls 7,000 cars over defective shaft
GM Korea Co., the South Korean unit of U.S. automaker General Motors Co., is recalling more than 7,000 cars sold here for a defective shaft in the transmission that may break, causing the loss of power, the government said Thursday.The recall affects 4,649 Lacetti compact vehicles and 2,606 Chevrolet Captiva family SUVs that were produced between July 24, 2008 and May 29, 2012, according to the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs.Renault Samsung Motors Co., the local unit of France’
Dec. 20, 2012
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Shares edge up on U.S. budget cut talks
South Korean stocks closed slightly higher Thursday as investors stayed on the sidelines following another bump on the U.S. fiscal spending talks overnight, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 6.41 points to finish at 1,999.50. Trading volume was moderate at 416.2 million shares worth 5.43 trillion won ($5.05 billion) with decliners outpacing gainers 408 to 395. “All that investors are waiting for now is for the U.S
Dec. 20, 2012
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Financial sector wary of Park’s economic democratization drive
The financial sector is on high alert to keep tabs on where the incoming government’s “economic democratization” policies are headed.Saenuri Party’s Park Geun-hye had laid out a much more moderate approach to economic democratization compared to her rival Moon Jae-in of the Democratic United Party, but scrutiny on the financial sector is likely to grow under her rule compared to the incumbent government.First of all, if Park strongly pushes for various measures to resolve the household debt prob
Dec. 20, 2012
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Park’s victory good for Korean markets: investors
HONG KONG (Yonhap News) ― The victory of a conservative contender in South Korea’s presidential election is seen to be rather positive for Asia’s fourth-largest economy and its markets, with no drastic change in the country’s policies expected, market watchers said Thursday.Park Geun-hye, a candidate from the conservative ruling Saenuri Party, won a tight but decisive election victory earlier in the day, becoming South Korea’s first female president-elect. Park, the daughter of the late Presiden
Dec. 20, 2012
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LG to take part in U.S. project for smart grid
LG Electronics said Thursday it agreed to take part in a smart grid project with U.S.-based Pecan Street Inc. in Austin, Texas.The firm will participate in the project as a member of the industry advisory council and will provide expertise in the research of smart homes, energy management and consumer electronics until 2015.LG’s primary focus will be on the development of effective home energy management systems, according to its officials.The company will install its advanced air conditioners,
IndustryDec. 20, 2012
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Public projects may face review under Park
Park Geun-hye’s election to president is expected to see changes in key projects that have been pushed under the Lee Myung-bak administration. During her campaign, Park tried to distance herself as far as possible from the unpopular incumbent president. Industry watchers predict major revisions to controversial projects, while some policies could be maintained in line with the ruling Saenuri Party’s political direction. The Four River Restoration project, arguably President Lee’s most controvers
IndustryDec. 20, 2012
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KT, NISA to aid building data center in Brunei
Mobile carrier KT said Thursday that it has signed an agreement with the National Information Society Agency to join a development consulting project to build a state-run National Data Center in Brunei.Through the project, Brunei will be able to establish an information center to hold and process industrial data. The total consulting expenses for building the NDC in the Southeast Asian state amount to about 2.8 billion won ($2.6 million), the mobile carrier said. KT added that the consulting pro
TechnologyDec. 20, 2012
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Card service fees on 2 million retailers cut
The burden of small and mid-sized retailers will be eased as the Financial Supervisory Service has instructed credit card companies to slash their transaction service fees.Over the past few years, some 1 million retailers continued to demand credit card issuers to cut the service charge for consumers’ payments for goods with their credit cards.After talks between the regulator FSS and the credit card industry, about 2 million retailers will see service fees lowered to a level deemed more reasona
Dec. 20, 2012
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Samsung set to see record profit in Q4: analysts
Samsung Electronics is expected to reach a new record high in its fourth-quarter earnings with the arrival of the industry’s seasonal peak during the year-end holiday season.Local analysts are projecting that the global IT behemoth’s sales and profit figures will further hit the firm’s highest ― up as high as 55.65 trillion won ($50 billion) and 8.83 trillion won, respectively ― from October to December.Samsung has been renewing its profit figure quarter after quarter with the firm logging a rec
IndustryDec. 20, 2012
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Shinhan acquires stake in Indonesian bank
Shinhan Bank, the flagship unit of South Korea’s No. 4 banking group, Shinhan Financial Group Co., said Thursday it has signed a deal to acquire a stake in an Indonesian bank.Under the deal, the South Korean bank will purchase a 40 percent stake in Bank Metro Express, whose net assets stand at $70 million, with non-performing loans accounting for 0.72 percent.A non-performing loan refers to debts that have been overdue for more than three months and thus put creditors at a high risk of being una
Dec. 20, 2012
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Neighbor star found to have five planets
Five planets are orbiting a sun-like star not far the Earth, one in the so-called "habitable zone" where liquid water can exist, British astronomers say.An analysis of existing planet-hunting data by astronomers at the University of Hertfordshire with international colleagues uncovered the quintet of planets circling the star Tau Ceti, the BBC reported.The star is the second nearby one known to host planets, joining Alpha Centauri, our sun's closest neighbor.The five planets include worlds with
TechnologyDec. 20, 2012
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S. Korean corporate failures hit 8-month low in Nov.
The number of South Korean corporate bankruptcies fell to the lowest level in eight months last month amid the protracted downturn, the central bank said Thursday. The number of firms that went belly-up totaled 93 last month, compared with 116 in October, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).It is the lowest since 90 firms recorded in March. The on-month drop in corporate bankruptcies is largely attributable to the economic situation not becoming any worse amid continued government efforts to bo
IndustryDec. 20, 2012
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Seoul shares open higher on new gov't hopes
South Korean stocks got off to a strong start on Thursday, boosted by expectations for the president-elect and her new government scheduled to take office next year, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) advanced 11.48 points, or 0.58 percent, to 2,004.57 in the first 15 minutes of trading. On Wednesday, ruling conservative candidate Park Geun-hye won the presidential election against rival Moon Jae-in of the liberal opposition by garnering 51.6 percent of the vo
Dec. 20, 2012
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U.S. imposes heavy duties on Korean washers
The U.S. Commerce Department announced Wednesday that it has reached a final decision to slap heavy anti-dumping duties on South Korean-made washing machines.In a ruling described by the American firm Whirlpool Corp., the department determined that LG, Samsung and Daewoo have sold large washers in the U.S. at "dumping margins of 9.29 percent to 82.41 percent."The anti-dumping duties for the two leading South Korean makers of electronics products -- LG and Samsung -- were set at 13.02 percent and
IndustryDec. 20, 2012
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Samsung’s retreat in Europe signals strategic turnaround
Samsung Electronics has dropped its request for a ban on the sale of a number of Apple’s smartphones and tablet computers in Europe, signaling it may be gearing toward a new strategy in the high-profile patent war with the iPhone maker. Samsung spokespeople said on Tuesday that the company has abandoned the request to “compete with actual products, and not with litigation.” Samsung also said it has acted “in the interest of protecting consumer choice.” The move came a day after a U.S. federal ju
IndustryDec. 19, 2012
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Hana Financial takes initiative in social contributions
Hana Financial Group is carrying out a variety of social contribution activities, as a promise for shared growth with the underprivileged in the local and overseas market.Earlier this year, Hana Bank, the group’s flagship unit, finished a tree planting event in Thai Binh Phu and Nam Phu, Vietnam, aimed at enriching the mangrove woods in the region.Mangrove woods are thought to help prevent global warming by absorbing Carbon-dioxide and protect coastal areas from natural disasters.In the event, a
Dec. 19, 2012
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Korea, Hong Kong agree on customs cooperation
HONG KONG (Yonhap News) ― Korea and Hong Kong have agreed to cooperate on customs services, officials here said Wednesday. Joo Yung-sup, the commissioner of the Korea Customs Service, and Clement Cheung, the commissioner of Hong Kong Customs and Excise, signed the agreement Tuesday in Seoul on the sidelines of a customs cooperation conference between the two sides, Hong Kong officials said.The conference offered a platform for the customs offices from South Korea and from Hong Kong to update the
Dec. 19, 2012
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Korea’s labor productivity drops in 3rd quarter
South Korea’s labor productivity fell from a year earlier in the third quarter amid the protracted economic slowdown, a report showed Wednesday.The country’s overall labor productivity moved down 1.8 percent on-year to 104 in the July-September period, led by losses in the construction industry, where the productivity index plunged 14.1 percent, according to a report by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy.Labor productivity is measured by dividing industrial output by labor input during a given pe
Dec. 19, 2012
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Korea bans Brazilian beef imports over mad cow disease
Korea has suspended beef imports from Brazil due to fears of mad cow disease according to Valor, a Brazilian economic daily, on Tuesday. The Korean authorities could not be reached for confirmation Wednesday, a national holiday for the presidential election.South Korea became the sixth nation to ban Brazilian beef imports after China, Japan, South Africa, Egypt and Saudi Arabia after confirmation of a 2010 case of atypical bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE, in Parana state by Brazil’s agr
Dec. 19, 2012
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Volkswagen Korea aims to sell over 20,000 cars next year
Volkswagen Korea, the local importer of Germany’s Volkswagen Group, said Tuesday that it will seek to sell more than 20,000 vehicles in the South Korean market next year by strengthening its best-selling car lineup.“We set our 2013 sales target at 23,000 units with 35 percent growth from this year. Next year will be our second take-off for joining the 20,000 vehicle club,” said Volkswagen Korea in a statement.Volkswagen Korea sold 16,613 units through November this year, up nearly 42 percent on-
TechnologyDec. 19, 2012