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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Indicators point to continued slowdown
A total of seven out of 10 economic indicators were found to be manifesting slower growth as of October, with two of the indices on the decline, according to government figures. The seven included the business survey index and consumer survey index ― critical measures of future expectations that companies and consumers harbor toward future economic and business conditions.Indices measuring production and construction completed were shown to be sliding, with the only indicator on the rise being t
Nov. 12, 2012
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Foreign start-ups hope city’s support breeds success
The following is the first in a series of stories featuring support and networking systems for foreigner-owned businesses in Korea. ― Ed.Lia Iovenitti, president of market entry assistance company Conselit, put it like this:“The more you’re successful, the more money you earn, the more taxes you pay, the more Korean employees you employ. So the more successful we are, the better it goes for the Seoul Metropolitan Government and for the business situation. It’s a win-win situation for us to becom
Nov. 12, 2012
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Air France seeks more Koreans in first class
Korea is a strategic market for Air France more than ever before, said Pellerin Bndicte, general manager of the French airline’s first-class services, because of the global economic crisis. “About 75 percent of our clients are from international markets, and French ones, who are very loyal and mostly well-known corporates, only take up about 25 percent,” Bndicte told The Korea Herald last week. “Due to the economic crisis, however, we don’t see a growth in La Premire customers out of France. It
IndustryNov. 12, 2012
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FTA with Turkey unlikely to bring significant benefit to Korea: report
A free trade agreement with Turkey will not likely have significant benefits for the South Korean economy as its impact on growth, tax reduction and job creation might remain marginal, a report showed Monday.South Korea and Turkey had held four rounds of FTA negotiations since April 2010 and both announced the conclusion of their talks on trade of products in March.The two countries plan to conclude negotiations on the service and investment sectors as well within a year of implementing their de
Nov. 12, 2012
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New European chamber of commerce to be established this week
A new European Chamber of Commerce will be established in Korea soon as the Korean government approves it within this week.“The Ministry of Knowledge Economy plans to give the final approval for the establishment of a new European Chamber of Commerce in Korea by the end of the week,” a ministry spokesperson told The Korea Herald on Monday. The new organization for European companies operating in Korea will replace the European Union Chamber of Commerce in Korea, or EUCCK, which shut down in Sept
IndustryNov. 12, 2012
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Online bookstores fined for commercial infringement
South Korea’s online bookstores were slapped with a collective 25 million won ($22,984) in fines and corrective orders for deceiving customers with fabricated data, the nation’s antitrust watchdog said Monday. The country’s major online bookshops -- Yes24, Interpark, Kyobo Books and Aladin -- allegedly displayed newly released publications on their websites’ section called “new this week” and “IT’S BEST” in return for receiving advertising fees ranging from 500,000 won to 2.5 million won per bo
IndustryNov. 12, 2012
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Microsoft demonstrates live speech translation
Microsoft unveiled speech translation technology that turns English into Chinese instantly.The software preserves intonation and cadence so the translated speech still sounds like the original speaker. Microsoft chief researcher officer Rick Rashid demonstrated details of the technology in a blog post following a presentation he gave in Tianjin, China, in late October.He said that the demo is the result of 60 years of work and some breakthroughs in the last two years. These breakthroughs, he sai
TechnologyNov. 12, 2012
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Love makes brain ‘blind’
When a person looks at the person he or she adores, parts of the brain linked to judgment, fear or other negative emotions close down, according to a new study by British scientists.“When you look at someone you are passionate about, some areas of the brain become active … But a large part is deactivated, the part that plays a role in judgment,” said Semir Zeki, professor from Department of Cognitive Neurology, University College London. In the study “The neural basis of romantic love,” Zeki and
TechnologyNov. 12, 2012
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Eating late linked to weight gain
A study on mice has suggested that eating at night can affect metabolism and cause weight gain.“A relatively modest shift in food consumption into what is normally the rest period for mice can favor energy storage,” said Georgios Paschos from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, who participated in the research.According to the study, mice that had the “clock gene” ARNTL removed from them tend to eat in the daytime instead of at night, which is unusual because mice
TechnologyNov. 12, 2012
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Hamburger takes balloon ride into space
A group of Harvard students say they aren‘t sure what happened to the first hamburger to be launched into space, but they suspect a squirrel made off with it.The burger was carried into space last month aboard a helium balloon and was missing from its container when the balloon fell back to earth and landed in a tall tree in Massachusetts.Renzo Lucioni told The Boston Globe he and his colleagues had to hire a tree trimmer to go up the 100-foot tree and retrieve the deflated balloon, but the sand
TechnologyNov. 12, 2012
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Seoul shares open lower on foreign selling
South Korean stocks opened lower on Monday as foreign investors and institutions offloaded local shares, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) declined 5.27 points, or 0.28 percent, to 1899.14 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Big-cap tech firms led the decline, with market bellwether Samsung Electronics falling 0.45 percent and flat panel giant LG Display sliding 1.13 percent. Top chipmaker SK hynix moved down 1.57 percent.Logistics shares also traded in negativ
Nov. 12, 2012
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Korea posts first surplus in cultural trade balance
Buoyed by surging popularity overseas of K-pop, the nation’s trade balance in the culture and entertainment service sector was positive for the first time ever, data showed Sunday.The trade surplus of cultural and entertainment products, including movies, music, TV programs and games, reached $37.3 million over the first three quarters this year, according to financial information provider FnGuide and the Bank of Korea. The turnaround is noteworthy as the balance had been in the red in the indus
IndustryNov. 11, 2012
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Samsung takes up half of U.S. premium TV market
Samsung Electronics topped TV sales in the U.S. for the first nine months of the year, and took up nearly half of the country’s premium TV market share. The South Korean electronics giant took up 29.1 percent of the U.S. television market up for the January-September period, NPD Group, a North American market research company, said on Sunday. Samsung was followed by Vizio, which took up 11.5 percent, LG Electronics with 10.2 percent, Sharp with 7.4 percent, and Panasonic with 5.4 percent. Samsun
IndustryNov. 11, 2012
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Pundit predicts presidents, storms and life with statistics
WASHINGTON (AP) ― Forget political pundits, gut instincts, and psychics. The mightier-than-ever silicon chip seems to reveal the future.In just two weeks this fall, computer models displayed an impressive prediction prowess.It started when the first computer model alerted meteorologists to the late October disaster headed for the U.S. Northeast from a bunch of clouds in the Caribbean. Nearly a week later, that weather system became Hurricane Sandy and grew into a superstorm after taking a once-i
TechnologyNov. 11, 2012
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Over 70% of Korean firms back FTA with China
More than seven in 10 South Korean companies support a free trade agreement between China and South Korea, calling for the government to take proactive measures to minimize potential damage, a poll showed Sunday.The survey of 500 South Korean companies conducted by the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry found that 71.3 percent of the respondents favored an FTA with China, with 28.7 percent opposing it. However, 84.8 percent of the companies polled said that the South Korean government shoul
Nov. 11, 2012
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Number of nighttime entertainment spots falls
The number of room salons, night clubs and other entertainment spots in South Korea declined for a third straight year in 2011, affected by the prolonged economic slump, the country’s tax agency said Sunday.According to data by the National Tax Service, the number of people running such nighttime entertainment spots came to 6,548 last year nationwide, down 10.25 percent or 748 from a year earlier.This marked the third straight year of declines since 2009, when it stood at 7,491. The figures are
Nov. 11, 2012
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SK launches global fund for overseas investment
SK Group, South Korea’s third-largest conglomerate, has set up a global fund to secure capital needed for the group’s overseas investment efforts, its officials said Sunday.The private equity fund named “SK KDB Global Investment Partnership” was formed in cooperation with the state-run Korea Development Bank and the National Pension Service, according to the officials.The fund size is about 500 billion won ($459.7 million), and SK Group expects that the amount could reach up to 1 trillion won in
Nov. 11, 2012
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Shares set to remain tepid on U.S. ‘fiscal cliff’
The South Korean stock market is likely to remain downbeat this week as uncertainties over the U.S. “fiscal cliff” continue to dent investor sentiment, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index finished at 1,904.41 last week, down 0.74 percent from the previous week, as steep losses in key automakers weighed on the main index.The KOSPI plunged to the low 1,900-level as shares of Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors tumbled following their fuel efficiency scandal in the United States.
Nov. 11, 2012
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Financial firms to eliminate up to 3,400 workers this year
Financial companies in South Korea will likely cut their workforces by up to 3,400 this year, industry data showed Sunday, pointing to harsh times that they are experiencing in the face of the prolonged economic slump.Korean banks and foreign banks operating in the country will cut a combined 1,800 workers by the end of this year, while insurers will reduce their workforce by 600. Card and capital companies will also eliminate about 1,000 workers, according to the data.The number of jobs to be e
Nov. 11, 2012
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LS Cable & System chief to head LS Group
LS Group said Sunday that its board members have picked LS Cable & System chairman Koo Cha-yol as the next chairman of the business group.The incumbent LS Cable chairman will replace the outgoing chairman John Koo, who is scheduled to step down from his post on Dec. 31. The two figures are cousins.John Koo will be in charge of supportive activities for the conglomerate in terms of fostering talented employees, overhauling corporate culture, upgrading brand image and enhancing social contribution
IndustryNov. 11, 2012