Most Popular
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10-man S. Korea lose to Indonesia to miss out on Paris Olympic football qualification
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Hybe-Ador feud should have limited effect on Hybe's overall performance: analysts
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Second Gimpo civil servant found dead, after apologizing for not finishing work
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DP leader says he will meet Yoon without conditions
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First-ever meeting of president, opposition chief set to finally happen
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NewJeans' singles, Japanese debut to proceed as planned, despite Hybe-Ador feud
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Blinken calls on China to press N. Korea to end its 'dangerous' behavior
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Experts raise concerns about Japan putting pressure on Naver over Line
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Samsung mobile chief, Google device head meet in Seoul
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Ship linked to NK arms shipments to Russia is moored in China: State Dept.
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Top 10 firms suffer decline in 2011 profits
South Korea’s top 10 business groups saw their earnings decline in 2011 on the economic downturn and rising costs of raw materials, data showed Wednesday.According to the data compiled by Chaebol.com, a corporate information provider on large businesses, the combined net profit of 81 listed companies affiliated with the country’s top 10 conglomerates reached 35.8 trillion won ($31.8 billion) last year, a drop of 19 percent from a year earlier.Their operating income also declined 13.3 percent to
March 21, 2012
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E-Mart promises greater support for suppliers
E-Mart, the country’s largest supermarket chain, said Wednesday that it will provide support funds worth 300 billion won ($260 million) to its partner firms as part of its shared growth plan.In a press conference that invited 100 chiefs of its partner firms, E-Mart chief executive Choi Byung-ryul announced four major directions for shared growth including developing products together with its partners and giving greater financial support to smaller firms.The other two are expanding the number of
IndustryMarch 21, 2012
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Korea discusses cooperation with developing countries
About 50 investment authorities and high-level officials from 32 developing nations attended a forum in Seoul on Wednesday to explain their development plans and meet with Korean officials and businessmen. The Korean government spelled out its policy for industrial and resource cooperation as well as official development assistance plans for developing countries at the Global Industry Cooperation Forum hosted by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency.About 30 foreign diplomats in Seoul and
March 21, 2012
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Germany to show futuristic marine tech at Yeosu Expo
Germany is getting ready to showcase the country’s futuristic marine technologies at the 2012 Yeosu Expo with its deputy ambassador to Korea introducing its planned pavilion at an event in Seoul on Wednesday.“Expo 2012 Yeosu is very meaningful and important for Korea and Germany since both nations are closely related to the sea,” Johannes Regenbrecht, German deputy ambassador to Korea, said during a press conference. The event’s motto is “Seavolution,” meaning preservation of the sea and sustain
March 21, 2012
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Gori-1 unit chief decided not to report power loss: NSSC
The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission on Wednesday said the chief of the Gori-1 nuclear power plant had decided not to report a power outage at the unit on Feb. 9 to higher authorities.The panel last week launched a probe into the temporary power failure at the Gori-1 unit in Busan and why it was only reported to the head of the Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co. more than a month later.“The chief of the Gori-1 unit entered the main control room during the power loss and decided not to repor
IndustryMarch 21, 2012
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Samsung gets tough on antitrust obstruction
Conglomerate says still deciding disciplinary action after watchdog’s W400m fineSamsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-hee was reportedly enraged over its flagship electronics arm’s antitrust hindering, with Samsung Group announcing it will devise prevention measures involving the incident on Wednesday.“I heard that the chairman was in fury over the incident. There was a strong reprimand,” said Rhee In-yong, chief of communications at Samsung Group, during a weekly briefing following the meeting
IndustryMarch 21, 2012
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KNOC to join group for El Paso assets
Korea National Oil Corp., South Korea’s state energy developer, said it will join an Apollo Global Management LLC-led group that agreed to buy El Paso Corp.’s oil and gas exploration business for $7.15 billion.The group, which includes Riverstone Holdings LLC and Access Industries Inc., will probably make the acquisition in the first half, the Anyang, South Korea-based company, known as KNOC, said on Tuesday in an e-mailed statement, without giving a value or details of its proposed holding.“The
March 21, 2012
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RBS to shut down some units in Korea
Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, Britain’s biggest state-owned lender, will wind down some operations in South Korea, Indonesia and Singapore, retreating from an earlier plan to sell them.The U.K. lender is to close the cash equities, equity capital markets and corporate finance units in Korea, as well as the cash equities operations in Indonesia and Singapore, Yuk Min-hui, a spokeswoman for RBS in Hong Kong, said in an e- mailed response to queries. About 70 people will be affected, she said.R
March 21, 2012
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KB chief invited to G100 meeting
KB Financial Group chairman Euh Yoon-dae has been invited to the meeting of globally influential chief executives, dubbed G100 Europe.It will be the first time for a Korean CEO to participate in the meeting of about 100 global senior figures, which will be held in London from March 27-28.He is scheduled to attend a variety of discussions such as “The role of CEOs during the changing period” and “Changes in the banking sector’s effects on the manufacturing industry.”The G100 members include Jack
March 21, 2012
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Shares drop on China, global political worries
Korean stocks finished 0.73 percent lower Wednesday as worries about China’s growth prospects and North Korea dampened investor appetite for risks, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark KOSPI declined 14.92 points to 2,027.23. Trading volume was moderate at511 million shares worth 5.1 trillion won ($4.53 billion) with losers leading gainers 542 to 273. “The local bourse underperformed against other stock markets in Asia,” said Lee Young-won, an analyst at H
March 21, 2012
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Korea’s labor productivity grows in Q4
Growth in South Korea’s labor productivity accelerated in the fourth quarter of 2011 from three months earlier, helped by solid export gains, a government report showed Wednesday.According to the report by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, the labor productivity index for all industries in the three month period increased 3.3 percent on-year to 112.6, up from 109.0 tallied a year earlier.The on-year growth rate of labor productivity sank to 1.1 percent in the third quarter of last year after re
March 21, 2012
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FSC faces dilemma over new card firms
Financial regulator under fire for approving only KB Kookmin, Hana-SKThe Financial Services Commission is being seen as inconsistent in its policy to approve businesses of new credit card firms.After KB Financial Group launched a stand-alone credit card firm, named KB Kookmin Card, in March 2011, other financial groups and banks have been striving to follow suit.Among them are Woori Financial, Nonghyup Financial, Korea Development Bank and Standard Chartered Bank Korea.In January, FSC chairman K
March 21, 2012
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Windows 8 expected to be unveiled in Oct.
Microsoft Corp. will finish work on Windows 8 this summer, setting the stage for personal computers and tablets with the operating system to go on sale around October, according to people with knowledge of the schedule. The initial rollout will include devices running Intel Corp. and ARM Holdings Plc chips, making good on Microsoft’s promise to support both standards, said the people, who declined to be named because the plans are confidential. In embracing ARM technology, Microsoft is using the
TechnologyMarch 21, 2012
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Tech companies vying to offer free text services
Popularity of free mobile messenger apps hits standard texting services hardLee Sung-ha, a 31-year-old office worker, has sent far fewer text messages since he started using mobile messenger services such as Kakao Talk and more recently Apple’s iMessage. Under his payment plan, he is allowed to send 300 messages every month without charge. But he said he now sends fewer than 30. “My voice minutes also slipped in recent months. I feel I’m wasting money on a useless service,” he said. “Even some p
IndustryMarch 21, 2012
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Hana chairman to donate special bonus
Kim Seung-yu, the outgoing chief of Hana Financial Group Inc., on Wednesday said he would donate all of the 5 billion won ($4.5 million) special bonus he expects from the group to schools and scholarship foundations.“The management has not confirmed whether the special bonus will be given out or not but whatever I get will be donated to schools or scholarship foundations,” a PR spokesman at the group confirmed of Kim’s comments to the press. The comments come only a day after news reports condem
March 21, 2012
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Overheating problem on the new iPad?
Some early purchasers of U.S. company Apple Inc.'s new iPad tablet computer are reporting the unit is generating too much heat.Several users have posted on Apple support forums about their experience with heating on the third-generation tablets, USA Today reported Tuesday."Mine seems to get very war
TechnologyMarch 21, 2012
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Children will lose weight if parents do
U.S. researchers said if a parent is worried about the weight of their child, the parents should lose weight themselves and their children will too. Kerri N. Boutelle, an associate professor of pediatrics and psychiatry at University of California, San Diego, and Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego,
TechnologyMarch 21, 2012
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Debate resurfaces on taxing clergy
Finance minister stresses equitable taxation; religious groups welcome the move but call for proper preparation Korea’s Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan touched off a debate about levying taxes on clergy to ensure equitable taxation, a highly sensitive topic that directly involves the country’s religious communities. “In principle, priests, ministers and monks should not be exempt from paying taxes on their earnings,” Bahk said in a TV interview Monday. “In the past, the country was lax in terms
March 20, 2012
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Food styling key to exports: aT chief
Food manufacturers will need to be creative in adapting flavors to local tastes and aesthetics to popularize more Korean cuisine on the international stage, the head of a state-run agriculture trade agency said. “How we export Korean food now won’t take our food to the American dining table. Food exporters need to brand each dish with a standardized name, twist flavors to fit local taste, and give it a unique brand,” CEO Kim Jae-soo of the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp. said in a recent
IndustryMarch 20, 2012
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LG’s new products to expand China market
LG Electronics on Tuesday rolled out some 50 products for the Chinese market this year, as part of moves to build up its presence in the country. About 500 industry people and local reporters attended the launch at Kerry Hotel in Beijing, company officials said. Especially at the center of attention was the company’s Cinema 3-D TV, whose “bezel-less” design helps users feel more involved in 3-D films, they said. With the ambitious model, LG plans to step up efforts to expand market share in Chi
IndustryMarch 20, 2012