Most Popular
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Korea’s homegrown nanosatellite successfully launches into space
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[Herald Interview] 'Amid aging population, Korea to invite more young professionals from overseas'
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Nicaragua shuts down Seoul embassy
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Hybe's multilabel system tested amid conflict with Ador
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Rocket engine expert, ex-NASA exec to lead Korea's new space agency
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SNU profs to suspend treatment for one day
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SK hynix pledges W20tr to ramp up DRAM production at home
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Over-50s, men, single-person households take up majority of those filing for bankruptcy
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Ministry denies blame for Jamboree debacle
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Pianist Cho Seong-Jin named Berlin Philharmonic's artist-in-residence
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Wolseong nuclear reactor shuts down
A nuclear power generator in the southeastern city of Gyeongju came to a halt on Monday due to a detected malfunction, its operator said. No radiation leak was reported.The Reactor-1 at Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant, located some 400 kilometers southeast of Seoul, was shut down at 9:39 p.m. during normal operations due to a turbine halt signal, according to Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co.The operator said it is looking into the exact cause of the shutdown, adding the nuclear reactor is in a safe
TechnologyOct. 30, 2012
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Samsung to widen lead on Apple in smartphone market
Samsung Electronics Co. will likely widen its lead over closest rival Apple Inc. in the smartphone market share largely thanks to its diverse range of products, a report showed Tuesday.The South Korean tech leader is expected to hold a 37 percent share of the global smartphone market in 2013, selling 284 million units globally, Korea Investment & Securities Co. predicted in the report.It was comparable to the iPhone maker's 20.4 percent, equivalent to 157 million units. The difference between t
IndustryOct. 30, 2012
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Korea's current account surplus widens in Sept.
South Korea's current account surplus widened in September from the previous month as exports expanded at a faster rate than imports weathering the local currency's gain, the central bank said Tuesday.The current account surplus reached US$6.07 billion in September, up from a revised $2.5 billion in the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The current account is the broadest measure of cross-border trade.The September figure was the largest monthly surplus since a record high of
Oct. 30, 2012
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Over 40% of Korean adults have been to university
About 40 percent of South Korean adults have attended college or university, according to recent research, a significant jump from 7 percent 40 years ago. Statistics Korea announced on Monday that 43.2 percent (15.87 million) of the total adult population (36.7 million) in 2010 had attended college or university. The number includes dropouts and recipients who did not yet earn their diplomas. In 1970, only 6.6 percent (0.99 million) among the total adult population of 15.1 million were college o
Oct. 29, 2012
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Galaxy beats iPhone in U.S. ‘torture tests’
Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy S3 defeated Apple’s iPhone 5 in “torture tests” that were posted by U.S. tech media site CNET on the video-sharing portal YouTube. CNET has performed various extraordinary experiments on the latest smartphones and tablet PCs to publicize the results online. Both the iPhone 5 and Galaxy S3 passed three experiments ― being put in a fridge for two hours, plunged into a fish tank and wrapped and roasted in an oven for an hour, according to the report. Although a temperatu
TechnologyOct. 29, 2012
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GS-SK consortium wins $1b Thai plant deal
GS Engineering and Construction said Monday that a Korean consortium with SK Engineering and Construction has won a $1 billion contract to build a large-scale oil plant in Thailand.The 60-40 consortium established by the two leading Korean builders had participated in the project bidding announced by Integrated Refinery and Petrochemical Complex, an affiliate of the state-run Petroleum Authority of Thailand. The two companies plan to cooperate to build an oil-refining plant and related facilitie
IndustryOct. 29, 2012
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Top 1% of firms pay nearly 90% of corporate taxes
Corporate taxes paid by the top 1 percent of South Korean businesses made up nearly 90 percent of the total, data showed Monday, suggesting that a small number of large conglomerates are dominating markets.According to the data provided by the National Tax Service, the country’s top 1 percent out of 460,614 corporations paid a combined 32.7 trillion won ($29.8 billion) in corporate taxes last year.The amount, from which tax exemptions and reductions were subtracted, accounted for 86.1 percent of
IndustryOct. 29, 2012
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Biz sentiment hits 3-month low for November
South Korean manufacturers’ business confidence for November dipped to a three-month low as the growth outlook remained bleak amid the global economic downturn, the central bank said Monday.The index of manufacturers’ outlook on business conditions came in at 70 for November, down from 72 tallied for October, according to a monthly survey by the Bank of Korea. The index measures manufacturers’ expectations for the coming month.The November index marked the lowest reading since the index for Augu
IndustryOct. 29, 2012
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Shares stay flat on external woes, U.S. growth
South Korean stocks closed unchanged Monday as protracted uncertainties over global growth weighed down investor sentiment despite forecast-beating U.S. growth data, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar. After bobbing in and out of positive territory, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index finished at 1,891.52, up 0.09 points from Friday’s close. Trading volume was moderate at 365.6 million shares worth 4.11 trillion won ($3.74 billion) with losers outpacing ga
Oct. 29, 2012
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Russia emerging as destination for Korean cars
Russia was the second-largest destination for Korean cars this year, while exports to Germany and the U.K. showed moderate growth with the market slowing in Italy and Spain, according to a report.The Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association said Monday that 154,732 Korean-made cars were exported to Russia during the nine months this year, next to 509,330 vehicles sold in the U.S. During the same period back in 2002, Korean carmakers sold only 4,632 cars in Russia. In 2009, they saw a 75 percen
IndustryOct. 29, 2012
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Shinhan pursues ‘compassionate finance’
“Compassionate finance” has been the tagline for a key corporate philosophy of Shinhan Financial Group lately.Shinhan Financial chairman Han Dong-woo presented what the nation’s third-largest financial group has been doing for “compassionate finance” at the 2012 Dow Jones Sustainability Index international conference early this month at Seoul’s Shilla Hotel.Shinhan Financial’s “compassionate finance” was chosen as the most leading example of “creating shared value” among Korean companies.The ann
Oct. 29, 2012
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Samsung expands smart business in Vietnam, China
Samsung Electronics, already a leading business force in most emerging nations, is determined to solidify its footing in Vietnam and China, widely regarded as two of the most significant and influential overseas markets for both Korea and the world. The company has previously invested extensively in the regions, but is expected to further expand, armed with bigger investments and incentives for both markets.Reflecting the urgency of the issue, Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-hee earlier thi
IndustryOct. 29, 2012
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Won climbs most among Asian currencies
The Korean won has climbed the most against the U.S. dollar among Asian currencies since July as quantitative easing by Europe, the U.S. and Japan added to global liquidity, some of which flowed into Asian emerging markets.The Korean won has gained 4.3 percent against the greenback since July 2 when European Central Bank president Mario Draghi hinted at a nontraditional monetary policy, marking the steepest appreciation among Asian currencies, according to data from the Bank of Korea.The domesti
Oct. 29, 2012
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NPS works to stop expats paying for no benefit
When working abroad, some people find themselves paying two lots of pension payments, even though they will only receive one set of benefits.To address this, Korea has concluded social security agreements with 24 countries to prevent workers from being forced to make pension payments both overseas and in Korea. The agreements are designed to help non-Koreans who have worked in Korea but are not eligible for pension benefits because they failed to fulfill the minimum contribution period of 10 to
IndustryOct. 29, 2012
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Opaque, top-down system leaves some expats bitter
Last year saw the total number of foreign workers in Korea surpass 700,000 for the first time, a consequence of an ever-rising demand for foreign labor. For many, Korea offers the chance to earn a living and acquire new skills in an exciting new environment. For others, however, thriving in a work culture often vastly different from their own is a constant struggle.One skilled worker from India found the rigid, hierarchal company culture at his workplace, one of the country’s biggest semiconduct
Oct. 29, 2012
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Eco-innovation awareness in Asian SMEs remains low
A survey found that Asian SMEs have a lack of understanding of eco-innovation and more active public engagement about eco-innovation will be needed in Asia. ASEIC conducted the pilot survey in 2011 to get a better idea of the status of eco-innovation in SMEs in ASEM member countries. The pilot survey used a random sample of 1,180 SMEs across 12 ASEM member countries. The 12 ASEM member countries are China, Japan, India, Indonesia, South Korea and Vietnam in Asia and Austria, Denmark, France, Ger
Oct. 29, 2012
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ASEIC’s path to the future
I was very pleased to hear that Korea was selected as the host country of the secretariat for the United Nations Green Climate Fund, or GCF, which will play an important role in addressing climate change worldwide. I know that Korea still has a long way to go, but it made me very proud as being named the host of the GCF clearly indicates that Korea has become a leader in global green growth. Korea deserves credit for becoming the home to the GCF. Many sectors of the nation have been pursuing gre
Oct. 29, 2012
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Korea leads driving eco-innovation for SMEs of ASEM
For the past four years, Korea has made contributions to bridging between developed and developing countries in many sectors, ranging from political to business areas. Green growth is one such sector as the nation has taken a leading role globally by adopting green growth as one of its key development strategies for the first time in the world in 2009. In line with a vision for a green future, the Small and Medium Business Administration under the Ministry of Knowledge Economy has made contribut
Oct. 29, 2012
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Kyobo Life chief wins Asia insurance award
Kyobo Life Insurance chairman Shin Chang-jae won the top award at this year’s Asia Insurance Industry Awards in recognition for his exceptional leadership and pioneering a new life insurance culture.Shin was chosen as the “Personality of the Year” at the annual award ceremony held in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday, being the first Korean insurance company chief executive to receive the honor.“Shin has endeavored to put the company on the right track and establish a firm customer-oriented corporate cultu
Oct. 29, 2012
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Scientists discover method to ’read dreams’
Japanese scientists claimed that they have found a way to decipher dreams, according to a report in science journal Nature.By analyzing activity in certain brain regions of a person who is dreaming, it is possible to predict the contents of the dream, according to Yukiyasu Kamitani of ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories in Kyoto, Japan.“We built a model to predict whether each category of content was present in the dreams,” said Kamitami. His study was presented earlier this month, at th
TechnologyOct. 29, 2012