Most Popular
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Korea enters full election mode
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Immigrant woman stabbed to death by Korean husband
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Seoul bus drivers go on general strike, cause morning rush hour delays
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Lee Jong-sup resigns as envoy to Australia
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Yellow dust engulfs S. Korea, advisory alert issued
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Official campaigning kicks off for April 10 elections
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S. Korea to boost support for single-parent families
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Court upholds jail term for man who attempted to murder ex-girlfriend
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Kia EV9 wins world car of year
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Korea misses out on global bond index boost
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Korean Air picked as best in China
Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea’s No. 1 flag carrier, said Thursday it has been selected as the best airline brand in China by a Chinese travel magazine.The Travel and Leisure Tourism Award recognizes the extensive flight services provided by Korean Air in China, and the efforts made to upgrade service, the airline company said. The company has also been at the forefront of making social contributions to help Chinese communities.The latest accolade comes after Korean Air won the monthly travel
March 1, 2012
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Crude oil imports rise 13.2% in Feb.
Korea, the world’s fifth- largest oil importer, increased purchases of crude by 13.2 percent in February.Imports rose to 80.1 million barrels in February from 70.7 million a year earlier, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said in an e-mailed statement Thursday, without giving reasons for the rise. The nation’s crude-import bill increased 34.6 percent to $9.4 billion as prices rose 18.9 percent to an average $117 a barrel, it said.Korea, which imports almost all of its oil, urged companies and in
March 1, 2012
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Korea, China open preliminary meeting on FTA
Korea and China opened a two-day preliminary working-level meeting in Seoul on Thursday to discuss how formal negotiations between the two countries to conclude a free trade agreement will be conducted.The meeting will be a place to set the “framework of negotiations” with the aim of launching official talks before the end of June, according to news reports.The reports said the Korean government will propose to divide negotiations into two ― one dealing with sensitive issues like farm products a
March 1, 2012
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Hyundai Motor to support 2013 Universiade
Hyundai Motor has been selected as a sponsor for the 2013 Summer Universiade, which will be held in Kazan, the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan, a federal subject of Russia.The carmaker will support about 1,100 vehicles such as the Equus and Avante, dubbed Solaris in the Russian market, for the biennial sports event.It will also offer 340 buses for transportation of more than 10,000 student players from about 170 countries under a contract with the organizing committee.Hyundai Motor signed a
March 1, 2012
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LG Electronics wins U.S. Energy Star Partner award
LG Electronics Inc., one of South Korea’s leading consumer appliance manufacturers, said Thursday it has won a 2012 Energy Star Partner of the Year award.The honor, given by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy, recognized LG’s steady contributions to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by making energy efficient products.The award, which was launched in 2001, also lauded the company’s efforts to educate consumers about eco-friendly products.Last year, 406 pro
TechnologyMarch 1, 2012
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Korea posts trade surplus of $2.2b in Feb.
Korea posted a trade surplus of $2.20 billion in February buoyed by a steady rise in overseas demand for locally made goods, a government report showed Thursday. The favorable trade balance is a turnaround from the $2.03 billion deficit tallied for the previous month, according to the monthly report by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy.Exports came to $47.18 billion last month, up a solid 22.7 percent on-year, with imports jumping 23.6 percent to $44.98 billion, the report said.“Overseas demand
March 1, 2012
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Google implements controversial new privacy policy
Google’s controversial privacy policy revamp was put into effect Thursday, although the Internet giant was under pressure from regulators and civic groups in Korea who voiced concerns over its plan to merge user data.Under the new scheme, information from some 60 Google services such as its flagship search engine, Gmail and YouTube will be treated as a single trove of data.The consolidation of private data has prompted privacy concerns globally, as it appears almost impossible to opt out of Goog
IndustryMarch 1, 2012
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Retail giants in competition to cut prices
Big discount stores cut prices of everyday goods amid increasing inflationary pressureThe country’s two largest discount store chains are making moves to cut prices of daily goods for up to one year amid the government’s effort to curb inflationary pressure.Homeplus said Thursday that it is offering an average of 13 percent discount ― ranging from 5 to 50 percent ― on 400 different everyday goods at its 126 chain stores and internet shopping sites until February next year. The discounted items i
March 1, 2012
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Financial sector lags behind global leaders: KCCI poll
Korea’s competitiveness in the financial sector lags behind global leaders such as the United States and Britain, a poll indicated Thursday.The survey carried out on 158 chief executive officers from the country’s financial firms, assessed the local industry’s competitive rating at 67.6 of a possible 100 points, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry said.The possible 100 points is a benchmark set by the KCCI to reflect the perceived competitive level of leading U.S. and British financial in
March 1, 2012
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Builder sentiment posts modest gains in Feb.
Business sentiment among Korean builders made modest gains in February after plunging to a 17-month low the previous month, a report showed Thursday.The monthly construction business sentiment index gained 4.4 points from a month before to reach 66.7, according to the report by the Construction and Economy Research Institute of Korea.An index reading below 100 indicates pessimists outnumber optimists.“The figure represents an improvement compared to January’s tally, but still highlights the seri
March 1, 2012
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Breeding top global banking firm still elusive dream for Korea
Korean banking groups are pumping up efforts to boost their overseas profiles amid a rapidly saturating domestic market, but going global remains an elusive dream for them due to a litany of hurdles, market watchers say. Although there is an urgent need to nurture local banking groups into global players and further promote the competitive edge of the local financial sector, the task is riddled with challenges, both internal and external.The challenges include the fragile recovery of the global
March 1, 2012
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Department stores enjoy brisk business
Korean department stores did brisk business during a two-month-long Korea Grand Sale event designed to attract foreign shoppers, retail industry sources said Thursday.Sources said purchases made by foreigners at Shinsegae Department Store, one of the country’s leading luxury retailers, jumped 69 percent from Jan. 9 through Feb. 29 from a year earlier.Of those gains, 70 percent of Shinsegae’s sales at its main downtown outlet were to Chinese nationals who visited the country during the period.“Th
March 1, 2012
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Hana Financial chief faces probe
Group dismisses allegation that management engaged in irregularitiesWith his retirement just several weeks away, Hana Financial Group chairman Kim Seung-yu has been accused of committing irregularities during his involvement in the group’s takeover of Korea Exchange Bank from Lone Star Funds.A group of lawyers, professors and civic groups filed a complaint against the Hana Financial chief with the prosecution for breach of trust last Wednesday.Hana’s 26 executives also face a criminal investigat
March 1, 2012
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Samsung’s Android dominance puts squeeze on HTC and Motorola
Google’s Android has surged past Apple’s iPhone to become the biggest smartphone platform, attracting a crowd of phone makers. Yet Samsung Electronics Co.’s growing dominance may threaten the software’s success and crimp sales growth for some competitors. Companies such as HTC Corp. and Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. risk being squeezed between South Korea’s Samsung and China’s Huawei Technologies Co. HTC, which introduced its HTC One phone this week at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, s
TechnologyMarch 1, 2012
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Biosimilars hog limelight at biotech forum in Seoul
Merck, Celltrion, Hanwha show off progress, boost prospects at specialized eventBiotechnology and medical experts on Wednesday underscored the significance of biosimilars as a key driving force behind the global pharmaceutical industry at a forum in Seoul.Some 250 officials at drug companies, state agencies and consultancies from around the world took part in the 2012 Global Biopharma Technology and Policy Forum hosted by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in Korea and the state-run Korea He
IndustryMarch 1, 2012
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Infanrix listed as mandatory vaccine
GlaxoSmithKline’s Infanrix IPV, a diphtheria, tetanus toxoids and acellular pertussis vaccine, has been added to the state’s compulsory vaccines for infant list, the vaccine maker said Wednesday. Therefore, infants will be able to get inoculations at the ages 2, 4 and 6 months and 4 years for 5,000 won a session at nearby public health care centers or designated clinics and hospitals. The vaccine requires four separate inoculations. This is half the previous number of injections, the vaccine mak
TechnologyMarch 1, 2012
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Prices of 6,500 drugs to fall 14%
The prices of 6,506 drugs given on the National Health Insurance scheme will fall by 14 percent on average from April 1, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said Tuesday. The number of the drugs accounts for a little less than half of 13,814 drugs covered by the state insurance program, the ministry said. Those exempt from the price cut have been patented, specialized for rare and hard-to-treat diseases, or are already cheap enough. The measures are expected to save about 700 billion won from the
TechnologyMarch 1, 2012
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Five hospitals picked for infants
The Ministry of Health and Welfare has added five hospitals to the list of those that must be equipped with intensive care units for newborns. The selected hospitals are Bundang Seoul National University Hospital in Gyeonggi Province, Inha University Hospital in Incheon, Dankook University Hospital in Daejeon, Chosun University Hospital in Gwangju and Ulsan University Hospital in Ulsan. With the latest designation there are now 18 general hospitals that have or will have special units for infant
TechnologyMarch 1, 2012
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Women have rare egg-producing stem cells, Harvard scientists claim
WASHINGTON (AP) ― For 60 years, doctors have believed women were born with all the eggs they’ll ever have. Now Harvard scientists are challenging that dogma, saying they’ve discovered the ovaries of young women harbor very rare stem cells capable of producing new eggs.If Sunday’s report is confirmed, harnessing those stem cells might one day lead to better treatments for women left infertile because of disease - or simply because they’re getting older.“Our current views of ovarian aging are inco
TechnologyMarch 1, 2012
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Beware of spring depression
It is high time to beware of seasonal depression. It occurs most frequently before or after the winter, when the early spring breeze begins to blows away the winter cold. As the spring gets closer, however, we are at increased risk of committing suicide as symptoms of depression are most intense. In recent years several Korean celebrities have committed suicide while suffering from depression. Most of these deaths occurred in the spring. Suicide is the greatest potential evil that can result fro
TechnologyMarch 1, 2012