Most Popular
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[AtoZ into Korean mind] Humor in Korea: Navigating the line between what's funny and not
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Yoon seeks rebound, taps 5-term lawmaker as chief of staff
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Medical standoff deepens as doctors reject new med school plan, talks
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[Exclusive] Korean military set to ban iPhones over 'security' concerns
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[Herald Interview] Why Toss invited hackers to penetrate its system
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[Graphic News] 77% of young Koreans still financially dependent
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Korean, Romanian leaders discuss defense tech, nuclear energy
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S. Korean envoys convene to navigate strategy amid Middle East tensions
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North Korea fires several short-range ballistic missiles into sea: JCS
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Samsung, SK hynix investors dump shares on Nvidia crash
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[Herald Interview] K-pop, Chinese tourist influx turn Swarovski’s eyes to Korea
The Korean pop culture wave spreading across the globe has even touched the jewelry industry, said Hermann Winkler, senior vice president of sales operations in North Asia at Swarovski. “When you put ‘K (for Korea)’ in front of something, it suddenly works magic,” Winkler said in an interview with The Korea Herald last week. He visited Seoul to speak at the International Luxury Conference 2015 held May 20-21. “And I am definitely hoping for ‘K-crystal’ to be developed. I am sure it will soon bec
May 27, 2015
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POSCO’s steel mill project gets Chinese approval
POSCO, the country’s leading steelmaker, was granted approval by the Chinese government to build a steel mill there with an annual capacity of 3 million tons, the company said Wednesday. Once the company gets the green light from the South Korean government, POSCO will build the facilities in the southwestern city of Chongqing, which will produce steel using the firm’s self-developed Finex technology. The development comes less than two years after the company and Chinese steelmaker Chongqing Ir
May 27, 2015
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Sales at discount outlets, department stores gain in April
Sales at South Korea's department store chains grew slightly from a year earlier last month, with those of major discount outlet chains also showing signs of improvement, the government said Wednesday.The combined sales of three major department store chains gained 1.3 percent from the same month last year in April, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.The increase marked a turnaround from a 5.7 percent on-year drop in the previous month."Sales at department stores rose from a
May 27, 2015
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Samsung to merge two major units
Cheil Industries and Samsung C&T ― two key affiliates of Samsung Group ― announced Tuesday they would merge in September, aiming to become a 60 trillion won ($59 billion) global enterprise by 2020. Cheil Industries is the de facto holding company of Samsung Group, and Samsung C&T is the group’s construction and trading arm.“The merger will pave the way for us to become a leading company in people’s lifestyles ranging from fashion to food, housing and leisure, alongside bio-industry. It will also
May 26, 2015
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POSCO subsidiary to submit debt workout plans
POSCO Plantec on Tuesday decided to submit workout plans to its creditors, the company said on Tuesday.The main creditor, the Korea Development Bank, will decide whether to approve the plans early June.If the plans are rejected, and the parent company declines to inject more funds into the unit, POSCO Plantec will become POSCO’s second subsidiary in its 47-year history to be put under court supervision.The plant parts unit also confirmed that about 89.2 billion won ($81.2 million) of its loans i
May 26, 2015
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[SUPER RICH] Jack Ma enters Korean market to expand Alibaba empire
Jack Ma, the chairman and founder of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. who holds assets worth $36.4 billion, visited South Korea for the third time on May 17 to announce the launch of the Korea Pavilion on T-Mall, a business-to-consumer online retail channel.T-Mall is a profitable business for Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., with gross merchandise volume of 763 billion yuan (about $123 billion) last year.The Korea Pavilion, which opened May 18, deals with Korean retail items. The decision stems from the po
May 26, 2015
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[SUPER RICH] Kumho Asiana chief in last-minute takeover talks
Kumho Asiana chairman Park Sam-koo is making a last-ditch effort to bring former affiliates back together with the acquisitions of Kumho Buslines and Kumho Industrial. The 70-year-old Park is in final negotiations with a private equity fund jointly run by IBK Securities and KStone Partners, which hold a 100 percent stake in Kumho Buslines, to retake the intercity bus transportation unit, according to sources on Tuesday.“The two sides are bargaining over the price and an extension of the payment
May 26, 2015
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Construction permits for new homes surge in April
The number of construction permits issued for new homes surged last month from a year earlier, the government said Tuesday, apparently reflecting a recovery in the country's property market.The number of new home permits issued in April came to 51,345, up 20.2 percent from the same month last year, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.April marked the fourth consecutive month of an on-year gain.The number of new home permits issued in the first four months of the year
May 26, 2015
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Hyundai, Shilla link up on duty-free
Hotel Shilla and Hyundai Development Co. launched a joint venture on Monday to run a downtown duty-free store in Seoul, a burgeoning duty-free market worth 3.2 trillion won ($2.9 billion). The event comes a week before the firms join a bid for a new downtown duty free license to be issued in Seoul later this year, which is expected to be a tight race against major competitors ― Hanwha Galleria, Lotte Duty Free and SK Networks.If the joint venture is granted the downtown duty-free license in July
May 25, 2015
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Hyundai Heavy Industries restructures financial units
Hyundai Heavy Industries is streamlining its financial units as part of an ongoing group-wide restructuring to ride out financial difficulties. The shipbuilder said Friday that it would realign the businesses of Hyundai Finance Corp., Hyundai Venture Investment and Hyundai Futures as part of its large-scale restructuring efforts to streamline business operations and combat the group’s financial crisis.Hyundai Finance chairman Chung Mong-il, the eighth son of the late Hyundai Group founder Chung
May 25, 2015
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SK unit exports own lubricant brand to Saudi Arabia
SK Lubricants, the lubricant oil production unit of South Korea’s top oil refiner SK Innovation, will begin exporting its own lubricant oil brand ZIC to Saudi Arabia.The company announced Monday that it has signed a licensing deal with Rabigh First Lubricants Co.― a subsidiary of Saudi-based pipe coating company Globetech ― to supply ZIC products.Until the agreement expires in 2020, Rabigh First Lubricants will pay a brand royalty for all profits related to ZIC sales. The Korean lubricant firm w
May 25, 2015
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Top 10 conglomerates spend W2tr on severance
South Korea’s top 10 conglomerates handed out more than 2 trillion won ($1.8 billion) in severance pay last year, as they undertook restructuring measures and cut their payrolls, market data showed Monday.A total of 97 subsidiaries established under the 10 conglomerates paid out an aggregate of 2.09 trillion won in severance pay in 2014, up 33.3 percent from the previous year, according to data released by Chaebul.com.Hanwha Group ― which owns seven subsidiaries ― saw the greatest on-year increa
May 25, 2015
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Mobile banking usage jumps 13 pct in Q1
Daily usage of mobile banking in South Korea increased 13 percent from three months earlier in the first quarter as more people opted to use their smartphones for banking transactions, central bank data showed Monday.The volume of daily transactions processed via smartphones averaged 40.4 million in the January-March period, compared with 35.7 million in the fourth quarter of last year, according to the Bank of Korea.By amount, daily mobile banking transactions averaged 2.3 trillion won ($2.1 bi
May 25, 2015
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Foreign bond investment keeps uptrend in April
Foreign investment in South Korean bonds continued to increase in April, with their holdings hovering over the 100 trillion (US$92 billion) won mark for five months running, data showed Sunday.Foreign holdings of bonds listed on the local bourse stood at 102.7 trillion won as of the end of April, up 100 billion won from the previous month, according to the data by the Financial Supervisory Service and the related industry.The amount of won-denominated bonds held by foreign investors had been on
May 24, 2015
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Korea's golfware market keeps growing amid weak consumption
Despite the overall slump in private consumption, South Korea's golfware market is expected to post solid growth this year as more younger people enjoy the sport, industry sources predicted Sunday. According to the Korea Leisure Industry Institute and golf-related clothing makers, the country's golfware market will likely grow 7.14 percent on-year to 3 trillion won (US$2.75 billion) in 2015.The expected increase is mainly due to people in their 20s and 30s enjoying golf thanks to greater accessi
May 24, 2015
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Korea faces second ‘investor-state dispute’
Hanocal Holdings, a Dutch subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi-based International Petroleum Investment Company, has filed a lawsuit against the South Korean government through the World Bank’s International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes.This is the second time that Korea is facing international arbitration under the “investor-state dispute settlement” process. Korea is one of the few countries subject to ISDS requests filed by foreign investors in the wake of stipulations in the Korea-U.S
May 22, 2015
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POSCO sells stake in Australian firm in restructuring drive
The country’s leading steelmaker, POSCO, announced Thursday that it had sold off its entire stake in the Australian copper mining firm Sandfire Resources. POSCO’s 15.2 percent stake in the firm was sold for 130 million Australian dollars ($102.7 million). POSCO acquired the Sandfire shares in 2008 for about A$290 million as part of its efforts to diversify its raw materials sources.Although Sandfire has been profitable, POSCO categorized its investment in the firm as a nonessential asset and sol
May 21, 2015
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Trade Ministry, Chinese firms discuss new biz opportunities
South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy stepped up efforts to attract new Chinese investors to the country by inviting more than 60 Chinese firms to Seoul on Thursday to discuss new business opportunities.Aiming to attract more than $5 billion (5.47 trillion won) in Chinese investment this year, the ministry offered one-on-one consultations linking Chinese companies to Korean firms in diverse industries as part of “China Week,” held this week from Monday to Friday.A total of 61 Chin
May 21, 2015
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Time for companies to show true colors on climate change
The Paris summit on climate change coming up in December will be a test of the ability of world leaders to read science accurately, and to act in the long-term interests of their countries and their planet.But the spotlight is also on business.Traditionally understood to be a major source of the problem, the private sector is now becoming a necessary part of the solution.The first cracks in the ice of corporate inactivity came in 2009, as the United Nations mounted a climate change summit in Cop
May 21, 2015
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[Herald Interview] ‘Korean culture boon for luxury brands’
South Korea has become the darling of global high-end luxury jewelers, with more people being educated about luxuries on top of its very unique celebration culture, said Francis Srun, managing director of Asia-Pacific at the French luxury jewelry house Boucheron. “The celebration of ‘100-days into the relationship’ culture (where men and women buy and wear identical rings) is very interesting and very promising. We say why not 200 days? 300 days?” Srun said in an interview with The Korea Herald
May 21, 2015