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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Korea’s homegrown nanosatellite successfully launches into space
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Aging population to drive down Korea's housing prices from 2040: experts
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External risks dent Korean economy: Bahk
The South Korean economy is faced with increasing uncertainty due to external downside risks such as Greece’s possible exit from the eurozone and international sanctions against Iran, Seoul’s top economic policymaker said Wednesday.In a weekly meeting of senior economic officials, Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan said external uncertainties have disrupted the steady pace of the country’s recovery.“There has been an easing of jitters coming into this week, but the global financial market remains uns
May 23, 2012
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Korean investment in China drops sharply
South Korean direct investment in China fell more than 5 percent annually over the past five years, a report showed Wednesday, stoking concern over weaker market presence in the world’s second-largest economy.According to the report by the Korea Center for International Finance, South Korean companies’ direct investment in China shrank at an average annual rate of 5.4 percent between 2007-2012.The decline caused the percentage of South Korea’s direct investment in China to fall from 5.4 percent
May 23, 2012
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Shares fall 1.1% on pre-summit eurozone gloom
South Korean stocks fell 1.1 percent Wednesday on concerns a European Union summit meeting will not be able to resolve mounting eurozone woes and concerns Greece may default, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.EU leaders were scheduled to meet for an informal summit in Brussels on Wednesday, local time.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 20.07 points to 1,808.62, snapping a two-day gaining streak.Trading volume was moderate at 438 million shares worth
May 23, 2012
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European funds account for 72% of capital outflow
European funds accounted for 72.4 percent of all money that left South Korea this month amid mounting market jitters over a Greek exit from the eurozone, the financial regulator said Wednesday.According to the Financial Supervisory Service, British and other European funds sold off various holdings worth 2.38 trillion won ($2.03 billion) in the first 21 days of this month.Overall, foreign investors withdrew a net 3.29 trillion won in funds during the same period, with U.S. investors withdrawing
May 23, 2012
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Prosecutors raid Hana Capital office
Investigators raided Hana Capital headquarters in southern Seoul on Wednesday over allegations of a suspicious deal with the troubled Mirae Savings Bank, news reports said.The search of the financial firm, one of affiliates of Hana Financial Group, came after Mirae Savings Bank chairman Kim Chan-kyung’s testimony to the prosecution that former Hana group chairman Kim Seung-yu was involved in a paid-in capital increase of the savings bank last September, the reports said.Kim Chan-kyung was arrest
May 23, 2012
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Korea, Paraguay agree open-skies accord
South Korea and Paraguay reached an open-skies accord on Tuesday to meet future two-way demand for passengers and cargo, the Seoul government said.Under the agreement, South Korean airlines will be allowed to fly an unlimited number of times to the South American country, the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs said. At present, there are no direct flights linking the two countries.At the talks held in Seoul, both sides concurred that the pact will help fuel personnel exchange and f
May 23, 2012
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Seoul to extend tax incentives to boost R&D investment
The government said on Wednesday it will push to extend tax breaks and incentives to spur corporate investment in research and development through 2015.Tax credits worth 2.3 trillion won ($1.96 billion) last year for R&D investment to develop new growth engines and core technologies, special exceptions in taxation (worth 92.1 billion won) for state endowments related to R&D and tax credits (106 billion won) for investment in R&D facilities are set to expire this year.The government said it will
May 23, 2012
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Korea urged to shift IT focus to software
South Korea should focus on cultivating software talents and relax regulations on the information and communication industry if it wants to survive in the fast-changing global IT industry, a presidential council reported Tuesday.The President’s Council on National ICT Strategies made the suggestions during a report to President Lee Myung-bak, stressing that South Korea, once considered an IT power due to its advanced hardware technologies, is fast losing ground in what is now a software-centered
TechnologyMay 23, 2012
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Google completes Motorola Mobility takeover
SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) ― Google closed Tuesday its $12.5 billion deal for Motorola Mobility, a key manufacturer of smartphones and other devices that puts the Internet giant in head-to-head competition with Apple.“The acquisition will enable Google to supercharge the Android ecosystem and will enhance competition in mobile computing,” the California-based Internet giant said in a statement.Chief executive Larry Page said Google was acquiring “a great American tech company, with a track record of ov
TechnologyMay 23, 2012
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Evernote powers up relationship with Korea
U.S. mobile app start-up opens local office in SeoulEvernote, a U.S. mobile app start-up, is diving into the Korean market to provide local support in Korean for local users and deepen relations with its developers, its chief executive said Wednesday.As an initial step, the California-based firm opened a Korean office in southern Seoul on Tuesday, following the establishment of a Beijing office last month, according to Phil Libin, founder and CEO of Evernote.“We come to Korea because we think Ko
TechnologyMay 23, 2012
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Vitamin C helps babies of smoking moms
Pulmonary function of babies born to women who smoked during pregnancy was significantly improved if the women took vitamin C, U.S. researchers say.Dr. Cindy McEvoy, associate professor of pediatrics at Oregon Health & Science University Doernbecher Children's Hospital, said the study involved newborns of 159 smokers and randomized them to daily vitamin C -- 500 milligrams or placebo -- before 22
TechnologyMay 23, 2012
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15,000 job applications in 10 years… still no job
Desperate jobseeker in the United Kingdom has resorted to begging for a job in the streets after being rejected 15,000 times in the past 10 years, according to news reports.Robin Norton, who reportedly has a masters degree in history along with several National Vocational Qualifications, walks down a road wearing a sandwich board that says “Hire me, plese?!”“Wearing the sign is a last-ditch attempt for me to get work,” says 40-year-old Norton. He says he is willing to work at any full-time job.N
May 23, 2012
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Calif. passes 'self-driving' cars bill
California's Senate passed a bill to create guidelines for autonomous vehicles' -- self-driving cars -- to be tested and operated in the state, officials said.The bill will now go to the state Assembly for consideration next month, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday.The passage in the Senate comes as Google Inc., Caltech and other groups are busy developing vehicles that use radar, video camera
MobilityMay 23, 2012
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Chances of nuclear accident put higher
Catastrophic nuclear accidents such as Chernobyl and Fukushima are more likely to happen than previously assumed, German researchers say. (MCT)Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz have calculated that given the operating hours of all civil nuclear reactors and the number of nuclear meltdowns that have occurred to date, such disasters may occur once every 10 to 20 years.Tha
TechnologyMay 23, 2012
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OECD trims Korean growth outlook to 3.3%
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said Tuesday that South Korea’s economy will slow to 3.3 percent in 2012 from 3.6 percent in 2011 due to the deepening European debt woes.But the OECD said in its economy outlook report that the Korean economy will pick up next year to achieve 4 percent growth.In terms of global recovery, the Paris-based OECD said that it is slowly regaining momentum and that the world economy will grow by 3.4 percent in 2012 and 4.2 percent by 2013. It w
May 22, 2012
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Korean Air goes green
Korean Air, the official airliner for the 2012 IUCN World Conservation Congress, is at the vanguard of the aviation industry’s fight against climate change with the introduction of more environment-friendly aircraft and a company-wide campaign to save energy. The nation’s flag carrier expects its sponsorship for the meeting to be held on Jeju Island from Sept. 6-15 will be an opportunity to promote its efforts to cut carbon emissions. “We are glad to be sponsoring a meaningful global event such
IndustryMay 22, 2012
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Privately invested projects sap public coffers
Excessive demand forecast, minimum revenue guarantee add to fiscal burdenAn apology was recently posted at stations on Seoul subway line No. 9. The line operator apologized for its abrupt notice of the plan to raise fares. It said it would temporarily postpone the fare hike, which it had sought to implement from June 16. Last month, the private operator of Seoul subway line No. 9 shocked citizens with an abrupt notice of its decision to raise fares by 500 won. The company later caved in under st
IndustryMay 22, 2012
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Samsung C&T wins $726m orders
Samsung C&T Corp., one of South Korea’s leading construction and trading companies, said Tuesday it has won three overseas orders worth $726 million.The company said it secured a high-rise development and building remodeling project worth a combined $534 million in Singapore, and a $192 million hotel construction project in Mongolia.The two orders in Singapore involve construction in the Marina Center region in the city state’s central business district.The company is already engaged in 12 other
May 22, 2012
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LG 3-D TV wins excellent reviews
LG Electronics Inc.’s 2012 Cinema 3-D smart TVs have received excellent reviews from European information technology media outlets, industry sources said Tuesday.Sources said that Britain-based CNET media named the South Korean consumer giant’s 47-inch LM960V model its “Editor’s Choice” for its precise contrast, viewer-friendly recreation of vivid colors and smart functionality as well as three-dimensional picture quality.It added that the very thin bezel enhances the overall refinement of the T
IndustryMay 22, 2012
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Chung foundation supports entrepreneurs
Hyundai Motor Co. and the Chung Mong-koo Foundation signed an agreement on Tuesday to create 1,500 jobs for youth by fostering a young businesspersons’ establishment of social enterprises.To attain the goal, the two sides agreed to foster 150 social enterprises for the coming five years, foundation officials said. The automaker and its foundation said the agreement was their long-term solution to bringing down the unemployment rate among young adults and promote social entrepreneurship in Korea.
IndustryMay 22, 2012