Most Popular
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1 in 3 Koreans live alone, family types becoming diverse
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Korea, Japan finance chiefs vow to tame rampant FX market volatility
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US 'incredibly concerned' about suspected NK-Iran military ties
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Sewol victims commemorated on tragedy's 10th anniversary
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K-pop group's manager dismissed for setting up spycam in theater dressing room
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Chanel, Louis Vuitton see muted growth in Korea
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K-pop singer lost consciousness after being hit by foul ball, cancels show
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Korean Muslim YouTuber's plan to build mosque in Incheon goes viral
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[Kim Seong-kon] Democracy and the future of South Korea
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Yoon's office denies considering liberal figures for key posts
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Seoul begins review for third space rocket launch
A panel of experts will start reviewing launch plans for the country’s first space rocket this week, which could help set a specific blastoff date, the government said Thursday.A review committee will hold its first meeting Friday after the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology filed its request for a launch late last month.The ministry said earlier that the launch, which will be the third of its kind, will likely take place before October. The first two launches of South Korea’s first l
TechnologyMarch 8, 2012
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Income gap widens in Korea
Income among the poorest people in South Korea grew at a slower pace than other income earners last year, further widening the overall wealth gap between the haves and have-nots, data showed Thursday.According to the data by Statistics Korea, those in the lowest 10 percent income bracket earned less than the equivalised disposable income of 643,000 won ($572.5) last year. The richest 10 percent earned at least 3.1 million won.Based on the results, the richest income earners made 4.82 times more
March 8, 2012
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Detection of radiation in Japanese fish on rise
Korea is more frequently finding radioactive materials in fishery products from Japan but has no immediate plans to ban imports as their levels are far below the maximum intake limits, the quarantine office said Thursday.In the first two months of the year, the country has detected traces of radioactive materials, such as cesium, in 32 separate shipments of fisheries products from Japan, according to the Animal, Plant and Fisheries Quarantine and Inspection Agency.The figure represents an over 5
March 8, 2012
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Earth braces for biggest space storm in five years
The biggest space weather storm in five years is hurtling toward Earth, threatening to disrupt power grids, GPS systems, satellites and airline flights, experts say. (Yonghap News) The brunt of the stor
TechnologyMarch 8, 2012
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World first: Images of atoms moving in a molecule
Laser-induced electron diffractionScientists on Wednesday said they had recorded the first real-time images of atoms moving in a molecule, a feat that captured movement lasting less than one millionth of a billionth of a second.The exploit entailed directing an ultra-fast laser onto molecules of nit
TechnologyMarch 8, 2012
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Ape genes show we have gorillas in our midst
Our ancestors made the evolutionary split with gorillas around 10 million years ago, but we still share a remarkable number of genes with the great ape, according to a groundbreaking study published on Wednesday. A worldwide consortium of scientists sequenced the genome of the western lowland gor
TechnologyMarch 8, 2012
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World first: Images of atoms moving in a molecule
Scientists on Wednesday said they had recorded the first real-time images of atoms moving in a molecule, a feat that captured movement lasting less than one millionth of a billionth of a second.The exploit entailed directing an ultra-fast laser onto molecules of nitrogen and of oxygen. Its pulse of
TechnologyMarch 8, 2012
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Apple unveils 'new iPad' with sharper screen
Apple gave the new iPad a bunch of new features but no new name.When it goes on sale next week in the U.S. and several other countries, it will be “the iPad” or perhaps “the new iPad” -- not “iPad 3” or “iPad HD,” as some had speculated.The new ipad (AP-Yonhap News)The new iPad unveiled Wednesday co
IndustryMarch 8, 2012
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US studies confirm Europe close on 'God particle'
More scientists are getting closer in the search for the ``God particle'' of physics that would help explain the fundamentals of the universe, but they haven't found it yet. In the hunt for the Higgs boson, which is key to understanding why matter has mass, two teams of physi
TechnologyMarch 7, 2012
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Hanwha Group names 5 new CEOs
Hanwha Group said Wednesday it has appointed new chief executives of its five affiliates as part of its sweeping reshuffle aimed at reinforcing its charge into sunrise industries. The Korean conglomerate said it also promoted 102 employees to executive positions, up from 90 last year.The new commanders-in-chief are Shim Kyung-seop at the group’s industrial powder unit, Park Se-hoon at Hanwha Galleria, Han Woo-je at Hanwha Venture Capital, Lee Yul-guk at Hanwha 63 City and Kwon Hyuk-woong at Yeos
IndustryMarch 7, 2012
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Customs agency uncovers tax evasion through oil smuggling
The Korea Customs Service uncovered an oil smuggling case by two distribution entities who dodged some 4.3 billion won in taxes while selling oil from Singapore, the agency said Wednesday.The tax authority arrested one and filed complaints against seven others involved in smuggling 9.45 million liters of base oil used for making lubricant, it said. The Korea Customs Service is after the other three who fled during the investigation process.“We caught a total of 11 people who smuggled unrefined o
March 7, 2012
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Top conglomerates continue to add subsidiaries: FTC
The business expansion of Korean conglomerates shows no sign of abating, with the number of their affiliated companies increasing for 10 consecutive months, according to the antitrust authorities Wednesday.According to the Fair Trade Commission, the nation’s 55 biggest companies saw the number of their affiliates grow to 1,667 this month from 1,554 in April last year since their cross-shareholdings started to face limitations. In February alone, an additional 29 companies were newly established
IndustryMarch 7, 2012
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POSCO completes stainless steel mill in Vietnam
POSCO said on Wednesday it completed the construction of a cold-rolled stainless steel mill in Vietnam, raising its annual production capacity in the Southeast Asian country to 235,000 tons.POSCO invested $130 million to build the new plant, which has a production capacity of 150,000 tons a year, to help meet the fast growing demand for stainless steel in the region.The Korean steelmaker in 2009 acquired Vietnam’s Asia Stainless Corp. near Ho Chi Minh, renamed it POSCO VST and expanded its facil
IndustryMarch 7, 2012
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Hyundai chief stresses creativity
Chairman Chung wins award for ‘2011 Top Manager in the World’Hyundai Motor chairman Chung Mong-koo reiterated that the company should make a breakthrough in Europe with unique strategies.Chung, who is visiting the 82nd Geneva International Motor Show in Switzerland, called for Hyundai’s European corporations to cope with the European crisis with a creative mindset.Chung was quoted by Hyundai executives as saying, “Though the European market is the origin of the global economic slowdown, Hyundai
MobilityMarch 7, 2012
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BAT cuts prices of Vogue amid sales drop
British American Tobacco Korea plans to lower the prices of its Vogue cigarettes less than a year after a controversial markup that triggered a plunge in sales and a customer migration to rivals.The local unit of the multinational tobacco giant said Wednesday it would bring the prices of Vogue back to 2,500 won ($2.20) per pack, down from 2,700 won, starting Monday.The pullback is aimed at better competing with other ultraslim cigarettes, the company said, chiefly KT&G Corp.’s Esse, which has lo
IndustryMarch 7, 2012
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Professor Yoon named to head KIF
Prof. Yoon Chang-hyun of University of Seoul has been named chief of the Korea Institute of Finance.The Korea Federation of Banks, the majority shareholder of the state-run KIF, is poised to appoint Yoon to the post in the coming weeks as the incumbent chief Kim Tae-joon will see his term expire this month.The 52-year-old nominee is a professor of Business Administration at University of Seoul and has worked as the secretary of Citizens United for Better Society.He is also known as a conservativ
March 7, 2012
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‘Lone Star may challenge tax on KEB sale’
U.S. private equity firm Lone Star Fund is reviewing measures to challenge a 391.5 billion won ($348 million) withholding tax on its sale of Korea Exchange Bank to Hana Financial Group Inc., a source said Wednesday. The amount equal to 10 percent of Lone Star’s KEB sale proceeds was paid to the National Tax Service on Monday as a withholding tax, a Hana Financial Group official said. “Hana Financial and Lone Star agreed to the fact that the tax must be paid so we paid the withholding tax as sche
March 7, 2012
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Samsung Everland, Kyobo Life unlikely to go for IPO this year
Two Korean heavyweights are now unlikely to get listed on the stock market this year, forcing investors to readjust their bets on the much-anticipated initial public offerings. Samsung Group said on Wednesday that it has no plans to list shares of Samsung Everland, the group’s de facto holding firm, on the local stock market. Separately, industry sources said Kyobo Life Insurance is now expected to halt its plan to pursue an IPO this year in the face of volatile market conditions.“We have no pla
March 7, 2012
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FSS to punish Samsung Card for massive customer data leak
The Financial Supervisory Service is set to take disciplinary action against Samsung Card for leaking customer information.The credit card firm’s CEO Choi Chi-hun also faces a regulatory sanction for allegedly negligent internal control.According to the FSS and police, the personal information of about 1.92 million customers of Samsung Card was leaked by a former employee between January 2010 and August 2011.FSS officials say punitive measures against the company and its CEO are inevitable.The r
March 7, 2012
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Samsung refuses to confirm Apple’s proposal on patent litigation
Samsung Electronics on Wednesday said it was unable to confirm news reports that Apple put forward proposals to the firm that would settle some pending patent litigation cases.“We can’t confirm the reports at this point, but it is not true that we held an emergency meeting of executives involving the issue and our position on the ongoing patent battle with Apple remains the same,” said a Samsung official.On Wednesday, Dow Jones cited an anonymous source as saying that Apple made proposals to Sam
IndustryMarch 7, 2012