Most Popular
-
1
Opposition-led Assembly unilaterally passes bill to probe Marine's death
-
2
Inflation eases in April, continues bumpy ride
-
3
Golden chance to liquidate babies’ gold rings?
-
4
Seoul to more than double military drones by 2026 to counter NK threats
-
5
Seoul alerts overseas missions to NK terror threats
-
6
Russia sent more than 165,000 barrels of refined petroleum to N. Korea in March: White House
-
7
[New faces of Assembly] Architect behind ‘audacious initiative’ believes in denuclearized North Korea
-
8
Over 60% of S. Koreans support W100m childbirth incentive: survey
-
9
‘Inside Out 2’ adds four new emotions, explores teenage life
-
10
Questions raised over fair promotion of RM, NewJeans
-
Robot to take ‘self-awareness’ test
A robot developed by scientists at Yale University in Connecticut could soon pass a landmark test by recognizing itself in a mirror, the researchers say.Such a feat would be considered evidence of self-awareness and represent an advance toward robots that can think for themselves, they said.The robot, dubbed Nico, will take the test in coming months, Justin Hart, the doctoral student leading the research, told BBC News.“It is a spatial reasoning task for the robot to understand that its arm is o
TechnologyAug. 24, 2012
-
Seoul shares open lower on growth concerns
South Korean stocks got off to a weak start Friday following fresh concerns over the global economic slowdown, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 20.91 points, or 1.08 percent, to 1,921.63 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Large-cap exporters led the decline, with market bellwether Samsung Electronics slumping 1.17 percent and leading automaker Hyundai Moto
Aug. 24, 2012
-
Slump, changing tastes dent whiskey sales
The volume of whiskey sold in Korea in the first half of this year plunged, apparently due to the ongoing economic slump, data showed on Thuesday.According to a report by the Korea Alcohol and Liquor Industry Association, whiskey sold in the first six months this year amounted to 1.18 million liters, down 38.9 percent from the same period last year.Such a trend can be attributed to consumers not buying high-priced liquors in the economic downturn, market observers said. Also, a change in drinkin
Aug. 23, 2012
-
Environmentalists warn of risks of Arctic drilling
MOSCOW (AP) ― Environmental activists warned Tuesday that drilling for oil in the Russian Arctic could have disastrous consequences because of a lack of technology and infrastructure to deal with a possible spill in a remote region with massive icebergs and heavy storms.Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund unveiled a report assessing the risks of an oil spill in the Pechora Sea in Russia’s Arctic, where state-owned Gazprom has installed a huge drilling platform and is pioneering sea drilling i
TechnologyAug. 23, 2012
-
Stomachache and diarrhea in children during summer
In the summer, the warm weather allows the rapid growth of bacteria contamination in food, causing food poisoning and bacterial diarrhea. Children who consume foods contaminated with bacteria develop nausea, severe abdominal pain and diarrhea after 3-24 hours. They can also experience headaches or fever. Food poisoning often occurs in group catering, such as restaurants, parties, summer camps and kindergarten meals. Foods such as meats, fish, seafood, ham, salad, cream, eggs and milk often are a
TechnologyAug. 23, 2012
-
Mental benefits of music lessons last a long time
LOS ANGELES ― Lapsed musical instrumentalists (and their disappointed parents): Take heart! The child that gets even a few years of formal musical training before quitting those weekly lessons continues to show evidence that his or her brain has been changed in ways that improve mental function, says a new study.The latest research found that even years after they stopped practicing, young adults who had taken as little as two or three years of instrumental music training in their elementary or
TechnologyAug. 23, 2012
-
Concern raised over kids’ use of smartphones
Use of digital devices at early age can do kids more harm than good, experts warnAs smartphones and tablet computers become more popular, more parents are using them to babysit their children, with plenty of apps available to entertain infants, toddlers and pre-school kids. “A smartphone and for-kids apps are a must for our family at restaurants, in the car or often at home,” said Kim Sun-min.Her 28-month-old daughter is a frantic fan of Pororo, the main character of TV animation series “Pororo
TechnologyAug. 23, 2012
-
Conglomerates, financial sector tighten belts on economic slump
A slew of companies are tightening their belts by cutting jobs and wages and making employees go on mandatory leaves of absence as the stagnant economy drags out, with mounting household debts discouraging consumption.Korea’s second-quarter household credit, or credit purchases and loans for households extended by financial institutions, hit a record high of 922 trillion won ($814.5 billion) as of the end of June, up 10.9 trillion won from three months earlier, the Bank of Korea said Thursday.Wi
IndustryAug. 23, 2012
-
DHL opens new global logistics hub in Busan
DHL Global Forwarding, the air and ocean freight operator of Deutsche Post DHL, said Thursday that it has opened a global logistics hub in Korea’s southern port city of Busan ― the eighth of its kind globally and first in Northeast Asia. The Bonn, Germany-based company said it has injected 500,000 euros ($627,000) in completing the Busan Multinational Gateway that will reduce transit times by up to seven days through new 13 direct services. “Busan’s location between Japan and China makes it an i
IndustryAug. 23, 2012
-
Shares inch up 0.38% on bargain hunting
South Korean stocks edged up 0.38 percent Thursday as investors scooped up local shares for bargain hunting following a recent fall, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 7.35 points to close at 1,942.54, snapping a four-session bearish run. Trading volume was heavy at 594.7 million shares worth 4.15 trillion won ($3.67 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 460 to 335.“Foreign investors picked up large-cap shares t
Aug. 23, 2012
-
In U.S., Hyundai chief stresses product quality
Hyundai Motor Group chairman Chung Mong-koo stressed a prompt response to the recent sales recovery of Japanese rivals in his visit to the Korean auto behemoth’s U.S. operations on Wednesday. Chung urged, among other things, to secure product quality as Hyundai has already increased production capacity by recently switching from a two-shift to a three-shift system, where three sets of workers change turns each day, in U.S. factories. “The smooth operation of U.S. plants is essential in order to
IndustryAug. 23, 2012
-
Iran’s Bank Mellat loses lawsuit in Korea over financial sanctions
An Iranian bank has lost a legal battle with Korea’s Finance Ministry to cancel a 2010 decision that suspended the bank’s local branch, a measure following international sanctions over Tehran’s suspected nuclear weapons program, court officials said Thursday. The Seoul Administrative Court in a Thursday ruling rejected a request from Bank Mellat to nullify the decision, officials said. Korea put 102 Iranian entities, including the Bank Mellat branch, and 24 individuals under government supervisi
Aug. 23, 2012
-
SKT develops image-recognition solution for ads
SK Telecom, Korea’s biggest telecom operator, has developed an image recognition solution for outdoor advertising.The solution, which will be adopted at the International Finance Center in Yeouido, can analyze a group of people visiting the IFC Mall for demographic information such as age and gender, after photographing them with full high-definition cameras placed above or below large digital advertising screens.Such real-time customer statistics gathered through SK Telecom’s image solution wil
TechnologyAug. 23, 2012
-
Business lobby group opposes move to raise corporate taxes
KCCI tenders wish list to ruling and opposition parties ahead of presidential electionFour months ahead of the Dec. 19 presidential election, a major business lobby group submitted their wish list to political parties urging them not to raise corporate taxes.In the recommendation letter handed over to ruling and opposition parties on Thursday, the Korea Chamber of Commerce & Industry said it hopes, above all, the next administration will not raise corporate taxes.The KCCI claimed that the recent
IndustryAug. 23, 2012
-
KEPCO tightens belt to close deficit
Korea Electric Power Corp. has adopted a series of cost-cutting measures to offset its deficit caused by the nation’s below-cost electricity rates.Officials at the state-run company said they have saved about 1.4 trillion won ($1.2 billion) on average annually from in-house measures over the past four years. The cost-saving measures included a voluntary return of salaries of executives in 2008 and a wage freeze of employees and executives in 2009 and 2010. KEPCO has also downsized its organizat
Aug. 23, 2012
-
Dissonance hinders aid to small businesses
Mismatch remains in views of what small exporters needAhn Yong-joon opened his auto frame manufacturing company TLtek in 2000, using former business connections to form contracts with car companies in Japan. Looking beyond doing business locally, he set his sights abroad from the start. “There is no other choice than to export,” Ahn said, considering the limited size of the local market.A decade later, nearly 60 percent of his $26.4 million in sales in 2011 came from exporting to Japan, Europe a
Aug. 23, 2012
-
10 employees chosen for lunch with Samsung boss
Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-hee will hold a luncheon with 10 company employees on Sept. 4 in a bid to strengthen communication channels with its staff.According to Samsung Group, a total of five male and five female employees at Samsung affiliates were chosen to join the luncheon conducted for the first time.“We reviewed the person’s gender, company and rank in a comprehensive manner to develop the final list,” said a Samsung official. “Rather than focusing on the unique applications, w
IndustryAug. 23, 2012
-
KPMA picks Dong-A’s Kim as new board chairman
Korea Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association picked Kim Won-bae, CEO of Dong-A Pharm, as its 10th chairman of the board during a meeting on Wednesday.Kim graduated from Seoul National University and has worked at Dong-A Pharm since 1974. He served as head of the research team of the company and became its CEO. KPMA also elected 12 new vice chairs who are either CEOs or senior executive vice presidents of pharmacy companies, such as Kim Jung-woo, president of Chong Kun Dang Pharm.Kim replaced Y
Aug. 23, 2012
-
Google online maps embark on Arctic adventure
Google set out Wednesday to take users of its free online mapping service on an Arctic adventure with help from an Inuit community in the Canadian tundra.Prime Minister Stephen Harper joined the effort as the Internet titan's Street View team arrived in the hamlet of Cambridge Bay in the Northwest Passage for one of its most remote projects to date."The goal of this project is to share with a glob
TechnologyAug. 23, 2012
-
Green tea fights cancer, but drinking it won’t work
A chemical found in green tea can fight two types of skin cancer cells, experts say.Drinking the tea has no effect on cancer cells because the extract is too weak. However, when green tea extract is directly applied to cancer cells, the cells shrink or even disappear, according to news sources.Scientists at the University of Strathclyde and the University of Glasgow found in their research that green tea extract has epigallocathechin gallate (EGCg), a chemical that fights cancer cells without an
TechnologyAug. 23, 2012