Most Popular
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Contentious grain bill put directly to plenary meeting for vote
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Yoon's approval rating plunges to all-time low
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Will tug-of-war between doctors, government end soon?
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Climate impacts set to cut 2050 global GDP by nearly a fifth
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Trilateral talks acknowledge ‘serious’ slumps of won, yen
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[Graphic News] More Koreans say they plan long-distance trips this year
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[KH Explains] Hyundai's full hybrid edge to pay off amid slow transition to pure EVs
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North Korea removes streetlights along cross-border roads with South
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Russia's denial of entry of S. Korean national unrelated to bilateral ties: Seoul official
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Farming households dip below 1m for first time in 2023
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Red Bull linked to three deaths in Canada
Energy drinks have caused three Canadian teenagers to die and have had serious side effects on 35 other Canadians since 2003, Health Canada documents show.The three male teens, two 15-year-olds and an 18-year-old, died after drinking Red Bull, The Toronto Star reported. Red Bull also appears in more side-effect reports than any other similar product.Health Canada and the energy drink companies said side-effect reports show only a suspected connection between a product and side effect but no medi
TechnologyNov. 20, 2012
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S. Korea's household spending on food hits 11-year high
Spending by South Korean households on food and other groceries surged to the highest level in 11 years in the first half of this year amid a prolonged economic slump, data showed Tuesday.According to the data released by the Bank of Korea, the country's total household spending rose 4.7 percent from a year earlier to nearly 324 trillion won ($298 billion) in the January-June period.Of the total, the amount spent on food and non-alcoholic beverages came to 44 trillion won, up 6.3 percent from th
Nov. 20, 2012
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Korea, China, Japan to declare launch of 3-way FTA talks
PHNOM PENH (Yonhap News) -- South Korea, China and Japan plan to declare the official start of negotiations to forge a three-way free trade pact when their trade ministers meet on the sidelines of a regional summit in Cambodia this week, officials said Monday.In May, the three Asian economic powers agreed to launch talks within this year toward a free trade deal. However, the prospect of negotiations was later thrown into doubt when territorial and sovereignty spats flared anew among the three h
Nov. 19, 2012
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Alcohol-related mental illness increases
The number of people with alcohol-induced psychiatric disorders is growing, particularly in men in their 60s.According to the National Health Insurance Corporation, the number of patients with mental illnesses brought on by excessive drinking has increased from 66,196 in 2007 to 78,357 in 2011 on the annual average of 4.3 percent. Men in their 60s had the highest prevalence rate of alcoholic mental disease with 583 per 100,000 people. About 64,000 men suffered from psychiatric disorder due to ex
TechnologyNov. 19, 2012
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Dongbu Insurance pays highest starting salary
Dongbu Insurance Co. pays the highest annual salaries to first-year employees, beating the former best-paying company Samsung Fire and Marine Insurance Co., according to news reports. Unlike the public conception that Samsung affiliate companies offer the highest annual starting salaries, Samsung Fire and Marine Insurance Co. ranked No. 3 despite its No. 1 performance in business Yonhap News said. Before tax reduction, the annual salaries for first-year employees with bachelor’s degrees was the
TechnologyNov. 19, 2012
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Drug use, unsafe sex fuel hepatitis C cases
Drug injection, tattooing, body piercing and sexual promiscuity are rising causes of hepatitis C infection in Korea, a study showed Monday.According to a research team at Seoul National University Hospital in Bundang, Gyeonggi Province, 28 percent of 1,173 respondents who are currently undergoing hepatitis C treatment at five teaching hospitals in Seoul and Busan said they had more than four sexual partners while in a comparison group only 10 percent had as many partners. Drug injection has also
TechnologyNov. 19, 2012
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Obesity, hypertension on the increase
The risk of obesity, hypertension and diabetes among the Korean population is rising, possibly due to lack of exercise and excessive sodium intake, the government said in a report released on Monday. According to a joint report by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the prevalence rates of high blood pressure and diabetes in people over 30 years old were 28.5 percent and 9.8 percent in 2011, respectively, a slight increase from 26.9 percent and 9
TechnologyNov. 19, 2012
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Naro space rocket launch likely on Nov. 29
South Korea will likely launch a space rocket next Thursday, the government said Monday, two days after the arrival of a replacement for a defective part in the rocket partly built by Russia.“When considering the time needed to thoroughly examine the new part and prepare for a launch, Nov. 29 is technically the most suitable for a third launch of the Naro rocket,” the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said in a press release.The ministry added the Launch Preparation Committee will be
Nov. 19, 2012
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Samsung files suit against LG’s patents on OLED
Samsung Electronics Co. of South Korea has filed a lawsuit against LG Display Co., the world’s No. 2 maker of liquid crystal displays, seeking the invalidation of some of the latter’s patents on organic light-emitting diode panel technologies, company officials said Monday.In the suit filed with a local intellectual property tribunal, Samsung claimed that seven patents held by LG Display are invalid as they lack innovation.In September this year, LG Display filed a suit against tech giant Samsun
Nov. 19, 2012
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LS Cable & System wins $435m order from Qatar
LS Cable & System, a leading South Korean wire and cable maker, said Monday it has signed a $435 million deal to build a submarine power cable in Qatar.Under the deal with Qatar Petroleum, the Gulf state’s state-run energy company, LS Cable & System will install 200 kilometers of 132 kV high-voltage power cable to connect Ras Laffan Industrial City, about 80 kilometers north of Qatar’s capital of Doha, to Halul Island.The South Korean cable maker won the turnkey project by beating a consortium o
Nov. 19, 2012
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KT&G to launch Tonino Lamborghini overseas
The nation’s best-selling tobacco manufacturer KT&G Corp. will export 300,000 packs of its premium tobacco brand “Tonino Lamborghini” to Hong Kong by the end of November. KT&G has already sold “Tonino Lamborghini” in Chinese duty-free shops since September, with its first import order at 488,000 packs. China and Hong Kong together form the largest, most competitive tobacco market in the world, the company said. “From the beginning, Tonino Lamborghini was meant to be launched worldwide,” a KT&G o
TechnologyNov. 19, 2012
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Shares gain on eased fiscal cliff woes
South Korean stocks closed 0.93 percent higher Monday as waned fear over the U.S. fiscal cliff whetted investor appetite, analysts said. The local currency gathered ground against the U.S. dollar. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 17.27 points to finish at 1,878.10. Trading volume was light at 345.7 million shares worth 3.20 trillion won ($2.93 billion) with advancers outstripping decliners 600 to 236. “Talks between President Obama and the Congress over the fiscal cliff last week refle
Nov. 19, 2012
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Law change lets KAMCO manage Ssangyong E&C
Ssangyong Engineering & Construction will continue to operate under the government after the state-run Korea Asset Management Corp. failed several times to find a new owner for the ailing firm.As ministers agreed on a law revision on assets belonging to the state at a recent Cabinet meeting, the government is entitled to own Ssangyong E&C over the coming years even if the sale process led by KAMCO fails again.Under the initial law, KAMCO was banned from holding its stake in Ssangyong E&C after 2
IndustryNov. 19, 2012
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Households’ financial soundness worsens: data
The financial health of South Korean households has deteriorated for a third consecutive year, with the default rate in the low-rated group rising fast amid an economic slowdown, data showed Monday. An index measuring households’ credit soundness came to 99.73 in the January-June period, compared with 101.12 and 100.49 tallied in 2010 and 2011, respectively, according to the Korea Credit Bureau, a local credit appraiser. The assessment of household’s financial health by the KCB is based on relat
Nov. 19, 2012
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Korean Air to expand aerospace business
Korean Air is speeding up efforts to nurture the aerospace business as its future growth engine, unveiling on Monday a plan to create a 1-million-square-meter industrial cluster in Busan by 2020. Adding to its existing 710,000-square-meter tech center, established in 1976, the nation’s largest flag carrier plans to set up a new 230,000-square-meter center and related facilities at another 150,000-square-meter site in the coming years.Korean Air is the only air carrier in the world that both prod
IndustryNov. 19, 2012
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Hyundai Motor matches BMW for profitability
Hyundai Motor saw its profitability match the level of BMW, far outperforming several major automakers such as Volkswagen and General Motors.Hyundai Motor’s ratio of operating profit to revenue in the vehicle sector came to 10.91 percent during the third quarter, which is nearly equivalent to the 10.94 percent of BMW.Few carmakers are enjoying a double-digit figure, and Volkswagen and GM recorded below 7 percent.Market insiders say it is noteworthy that Hyundai Motor, whose main products are aim
IndustryNov. 19, 2012
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‘Less is more’ is Puma Korea’s key strategy
Wearing a pair of sneakers or a t-shirt with the Puma logo was a sure-fire way to be “in” among teenagers here about a decade ago. Cheesy knock-offs reading “Pama” or “Fuma” were easily spotted on the streets, reflecting the popularity of the German brand. During the past few years, however, the fever has waned. Olivier Lorans, general manager of Puma Korea, said that he is well aware of this, and has plans to win back the teens. “During those couple of years, it was not clear what the brand sto
IndustryNov. 19, 2012
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Unfamiliar scents open up purses
The nation’s imported perfume market is not only untouched by the extended economic slowdown ― it’s enjoying its heyday. Sales of imported perfumes are soaring at local department stores, up about tenfold compared to those of cosmetic products which dropped hard this year. The spotlight is not on the licensed perfumes produced by luxury brands like Gucci, Chanel or Dior, but rather on the recently launched “premium” perfumes such as Joe Malone or diptyque, which are less familiar and more expens
IndustryNov. 19, 2012
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Samsung founder’s commemoration event tainted by family discord
YONGIN, Gyeonggi Province ― The late Samsung founder Lee Byung-chull’s 25th commemoration ceremony was marred on Monday by family discord caused by an inheritance lawsuit.Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-hee and his family members including heir apparent Lee Jay-yong, and about 100 Samsung senior executives paid their respects to the founder at around 11 a.m. at the family burial ground in Yongin.Hong Ra-hee, chairman Lee’s wife and chief of Ho-Am Art Museum, and Lee’s two daughters Boo-jin
IndustryNov. 19, 2012
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Pollution hurts brain function in elderly
Living in areas of high air pollution is an environmental risk to seniors' brain health and function, U.S. researchers found."The study shows the unexpectedly adverse effects of air pollutants on brain function in the elderly," Caleb Finch, the ARCO/William F. Kieschnick Professor in the Neurobiology of Aging at the University of Southern California at Davis, said in a statement.Jennifer Ailshire -- a sociologist, demographer and postdoctoral student at the USC Davis School of Gerontology -- sai
TechnologyNov. 19, 2012