Most Popular
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'Super Rich in Korea' will leave viewers appreciating Korea more: producers
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Probe of first lady on Dior bag allegations set to begin
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Top prosecutor pledges 'speedy, strict' probe into first lady's luxury bag allegations
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'Queen of Tears' riding high on Netflix chart
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With Indonesia unable to pay full share, what’s next for KF-21 fighter project?
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[KH Explains] Can tech firms' AI alliances take on Nvidia?
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Speaker floats dual citizenship as solution to falling births
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Local filmmakers criticize ‘The Roundup: Punishment’ monopoly of screens
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[Grace Kao, Meera Choi] Has money displaced romance on dates?
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Police seek arrest warrant for med student who killed girlfriend
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Imports of crude, oil products soar in 2010
Korea’s imports of crude and refined oil products surged in 2010 from a year earlier, fueled by greater local and export demand, a government report showed Tuesday.According to the report by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, the country brought in $89.6 billion worth of crude and refined oil products last year, compared with $65.5 billion the previous year.Crude imports jumped 35.4 percent on-yea
Feb. 15, 2011
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Finance minister warns of growing inflation burden
Korea’s economy could face a “burden” from growing inflationary pressure, the nation’s top economic policymaker said Tuesday, stressing that the government will push to head off price instability.“If raw material prices continue to rise, it could pose a burden on our economic recovery,” Finance Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun was quoted as saying during a meeting with other key policymakers.“In the short
Feb. 15, 2011
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S. Korea's female workers up in 2010 on economic recovery
The number of female workers in South Korea grew in 2010 as the economic recovery boosted employment among women job seekers, data showed Tuesday.The average number of female workers came to 9.91 million last year, up 142,000 from a year earlier, according to the data offered by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and Statistics Korea.Female workers have been on a steady increase in recent years
Feb. 15, 2011
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US sees China as top economy: poll
WASHINGTON, (AFP) - Most Americans believe China is the world's leading economy, even though in reality the rising Asian power's GDP trails that of the United States, a poll said Monday.Some 52 percent of Americans said China was the "leading economic power in the world today," against 32 percent who said their own country, the Gallup poll said. The percentage who said China has soared over recent
Feb. 15, 2011
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Obama budget to cut $1.1 trillion in deficits
Proposal trims defense spending, limits tax benefits for the rich and freezes many domestic programsWASHINGTON (AP) ― President Barack Obama will send Congress on Monday a $3 trillion-plus budget for 2012 that promises $1.1 trillion in deficit reduction over the next decade by freezing many domestic programs for five years, trimming military spending and limiting tax deductions for the wealthy.Jac
Feb. 14, 2011
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Underground economy shrinks to 17% of GDP
The size of the so-called underground economy in Korea has been shrinking steadily since the early 1990s due to increased transparency of financial transactions, a report showed.According to the report by the Korea Institute of Public Finance, the size of the untaxed portion of the Korean economy was estimated at 17.1 percent of the gross domestic product in 2008, lower than 28.7 percent in the 19
Feb. 13, 2011
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Greece blasts demand on asset sale
Athens slams debt inspectors after IMF and EU visit, accusing them of overstepping rolesATHENS (AP) ― An indignant Greece slammed EU and International Monetary Fund inspectors overseeing its efforts to reform its debt-crippled economy, accusing them Saturday of overstepping their role and interfering in Greece’s internal affairs.In an unusually harshly worded, pre-dawn statement, government spokes
Feb. 13, 2011
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Household debt rises in 2010
Korea’s household debt, a major economic risk factor, rose sharply last year, raising concerns about an increase in defaults, a private credit appraiser reported Sunday.At the end of December, financial institutions had 722.8 trillion won ($642 billion) in outstanding loans to the household sector, up 6.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the Korea Credit Bureau.Of the total, unsecured hou
Feb. 13, 2011
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BOK may raise rates in March over price pressures
The Bank of Korea may raise borrowing costs again as early as March to counter inflation pressures after unexpectedly leaving policy unchanged Friday. Governor Kim Choong-soo and his officials held the seven- day repurchase rate at 2.75 percent in a split decision, after economists had forecast a quarter-point increase. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and HSBC Holdings Plc say the next move will be next
Feb. 13, 2011
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Prices of daily necessities up in Jan.: report
Prices of many daily necessities increased in January despite government efforts to fight rising inflation, a report by the state-run consumer protection watchdog showed Sunday. The report by the Korea Consumer Agency showed that of the 80 everyday consumer necessities monitored such as sugar, cereals and detergents, prices for 53 of the products, or 66.3 percent, went up in the cited month co
Feb. 13, 2011
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Korea strives to curb home rent prices
Policymakers plan to expand financial benefits for tenants and further ease regulations to control surging housing rent prices in the country, the Ministry of Land, Transportation and Maritime Affairs said Friday.The latest set of measures is particularly targeted at reducing the deposits for “jeonse,” a Korean rent system under which tenants pay a lump-sum deposit to rent a house for a certain te
Feb. 13, 2011
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IMF calls for global monetary reform
IMF chief urges bigger global role for yuan, emerging economies' currenciesWASHINGTON (AFP) ― IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn on Thursday said the currencies of China and other emerging economies should play a greater role in global finance, as part of a bid to promote monetary stability.Strauss-Kahn, the managing director of the 187-nation International Monetary Fund, backed the inclusion of the
Feb. 11, 2011
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Korea, U.S. sign supplementary FTA accord
Korea and the U.S. have signed their recently concluded free trade agreement, paving the way for the pending pact to be ratified in both countries, Seoul‘s trade ministry said Thursday.In December last year, both countries reached a final agreement focusing on U.S. demands that South Korea soften its automotive safety and environmental standards.The Korea-U.S. free trade agreement, known as the K
Feb. 10, 2011
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Refiners’ profit margins not small: minister
New Minister of Knowledge Economy Choi Joong-kyung Thursday reaffirmed the government’s intent to intervene in the local refining market to contain the recent petrol price hike.“The profit margins of local oil companies are 3 percent, even after giving out salaries. Considering that they do not have many other costs, the figure is not at all small compared to those of other manufacture industries,
Feb. 10, 2011
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Obama to send South Korea trade deal to Congress
President Barack Obama plans to send the U.S.-South Korea free trade agreement to Congress in the next few weeks, but ``serious issues'' are holding up deals with Colombia and Panama, his top trade official said Wednesday.U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk told the House Ways and Means Committee that Obama hopes Congress will approve the South Korean pact this spring. The administration says that
Feb. 10, 2011
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Seoul petrol prices hit 30-month high
Policymakers, refiners argue over whether the cause is tax or profit marginsThe average price of regular unleaded gasoline in Seoul broke through the 2,000-won level for the first time in more than 30 months on Wednesday, despite the government’s recent efforts to control the country’s rising fuel prices.According to state-run Korea National Oil Corp., the price of regular unleaded gasoline on Tue
Feb. 9, 2011
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Cabinet OKs supplementary U.S. FTA
The Cabinet on Tuesday endorsed a supplementary agreement to the free trade deal concluded between Korea and the United States, a government spokesman said.In December, the two countries came to a final consensus on the bilateral free trade agreement after revising terms on issues such as auto tariffs and pork, paving the way for the parliamentary ratification of a pact that was originally signed
Feb. 8, 2011
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EU parliamentary panel endorses Korea FTA
BRUSSELS (AFP) ― A key European parliament committee endorsed Monday a major free trade deal with Korea after securing safeguards to protect Europe’s auto makers.The International Trade Committee voted overwhelmingly, 21-4, to send the deal, hailed as the most ambitious free trade pact ever negotiated by the European Union, to the full parliament for a final vote.Doubling EU trade with Korea, the
Feb. 8, 2011
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Economy faces risks despite recent pickup
Korea‘s economy still faces many uncertainties despite its recent rebound, a government report said Tuesday, urging more efforts to achieve a “sustained” recovery by coping with lingering downside risks at home and abroad. Debt problems in advanced nations, growing inflationary pressure in emerging countries and unrest in the Middle East are cited as downside factors that could weigh on the Korean
Feb. 8, 2011
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Central government to directly manage rivers
The central government plans to tighten its grip on the management of water resources nationwide in a move apparently aimed at expediting its controversial river renovation projects. The work to clean up and develop Han, Nakdong, Geum and Yeongsan rivers has been delayed by the recalcitrant provincial governments in charge of them. The Ministry of Land, Transportation and Maritime Affairs said Tue
Feb. 8, 2011