Most Popular
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Exports to US reach all-time high, widen gap with China
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Trump rekindles criticism: US forces defending 'wealthy' S. Korea 'free of charge'
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[Music in drama] Rekindle a love that slipped through your fingers
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Opposition-led Assembly unilaterally passes bill to probe Marine's death
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S. Korea discussed possible participation in AUKUS Pillar 2 with Australia: defense minister
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[New faces of Assembly] Architect behind ‘audacious initiative’ believes in denuclearized North Korea
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Seoul Metro to seek legal action against malicious complaints
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Illit, mired in controversy, remains on Billboard charts for 5th week
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Golden chance to liquidate babies’ gold rings?
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On May Day, labor unions blast Yoon's foreign nanny proposal
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Korea’s tourism industry thrives despite global slowdown
Korea’s travel industry is in full bloom despite the global economic slowdown, thanks to the weaker yen and tumbling oil prices pushing people for overseas travels, along with the Chinese tourist influx that has been around for a while. According to Yonhap and industry reports, HanaTour, the country’s largest tourist agency, sold a total of 610,296 overseas travel packages between January and March. This is some 23.9 percent up from 492,385 in the same period last year. As a result, the company
May 14, 2015
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[Photo News] Innovation honored
KT chief operating officer Koo Min-seong (left) and Rwanda’s Minister of Youth and ICT Jean Philbert N Sengimana pose during the awarding ceremony of Global Telecom Business Innovation Awards in London on Wednesday. Olleh Rwanda Networks, or oRn, a joint venture between KT and the Rwandan government, won the innovation award for building LTE network infrastructure across the African country since 2013. (KT)
May 14, 2015
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AmorePacific profits surge 50% in Q1
AmorePacific Group’s first quarter profits surged 49.9 percent as sales of its cosmetics subsidiaries continued to grow in the domestic and international markets, company officials said ThursdaySouth Korea’s leading cosmetic and beauty product-maker said profits in the first three months jumped to 320 billion won ($293 million) from 213 billion won in the same period last year, while revenues rose 26.7 percent to 1.44 trillion won.“Strong revenue growth in the domestic and overseas markets drove
May 14, 2015
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U.N. Global Compact to hold summit in Korea next week
The U.N. Global Compact will host the “UNGC Korea Leaders Summit 2015” in Seoul next week, organizers said Thursday.Around 400 officials across governments, corporations, and academia from both Korea and abroad are expected to attend, including U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Global Green Growth Institute Council chair Suslio Banbang Yudhoyono, and John Elkington, the cofounder of Volans.This year’s summit plans to introduce the main UNGC initiatives as well as B4P (Business for Peace) to So
May 14, 2015
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SK Innovation announces first voluntary redundancies in 18 years
SK Innovation, South Korea’s top oil refiner, has announced a voluntary retirement scheme for its employees for the first time in 18 years since the 1997 Asian financial crisis.The company made the announcement Wednesday via its intranet, saying that the company is receiving applications for those who want to voluntarily leave the company. Any employee aged over 44 who has worked for more than five years, or aged under 44 who has worked more than 10 years, can apply. The VRS employees will recei
May 14, 2015
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Hanwha E&C hit by local and overseas sales dip
Hanwha Engineering and Construction saw its sales drop about 650 billion won ($594 million) last year, due to slowing overseas and domestic performance, data showed Thursday. According to the corporate analysis service CEO Score, Hanwha E&C’s overall sales dipped 17.2 percent compared to 2013 to come in at 3.12 trillion won. The fall was fueled by both overseas and domestic sales dropping respectively by 14.4 percent and 19.1 percent. The company’s domestic decline has been attributed to its dec
May 14, 2015
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POSCO launches executives’ panel to drive reform
POSCO, the country’s largest steelmaker, on Thursday launched a reform committee as it struggles to reform its image and business structure. The committee is headed by POSCO CEO Kwon Oh-joon, and its members include all in-house directors, and the chiefs of POSCO’s five largest subsidiaries including Daewoo International, POSCO Engineering and Construction, and POSCO Energy. Under the committee, five subcommittees will oversee changes in the areas of restructuring, responsible management, human
May 14, 2015
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IFEZ rises as global investment center
The Incheon Free Economic Zone is emerging as a global city, with 94 percent of foreign direct investment in eight free economic zones in Korea coming to the IFEZ.The free economic zone was started in 2003 to become a hub city in Northeast Asia, and has shown remarkable growth since. IFEZ has achieved its initial FDI goal and brought in $1.7 billion, about 9 percent of the total FDI in South Korea ($19 billion) and a 2.5 percentage point increase from the previous year.IFEZ has also hosted a tot
May 14, 2015
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Samsung heir yet to divest Samsung SDS shares after lock-up
Lee Jay-yong, the heir apparent of South Korea's No. 1 conglomerate Samsung Group, is unlikely to offload shares of Samsung SDS Co., one of the group's key IT arms, although the lock-up period for the stocks held by major shareholders has expired, industry sources said Thursday.Samsung SDS was listed on South Korea's main bourse in November, and the six-month lock-up period for large shareholders' stakes ended earlier Thursday, which means that Jay-yong and his family members are now allowed to
May 14, 2015
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Shinsegae bets on duty-free bid with landmark store
South Korean retail giant Shinsegae on Thursday announced plans to renovate its landmark outlet, one of the oldest buildings in central Seoul, into a duty-free shop in what could be its latest effort to win a highly competitive bid to run duty-free stores in downtown Seoul.Some six consortiums and companies, including Lotte Duty Free, Hotel Shilla and Hyundai Department Store, are reportedly preparing to take part in an upcoming bid for duty-free store operational licenses in downtown Seoul. The
May 14, 2015
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Lotte mall strives to regain trust
Inside the new Lotte World Mall in southeastern Seoul on Sunday afternoon, the atmosphere at last felt like what a mall of its scale should look like on a weekend ― crowded and bustling with people.For the first time in months, most of the mall’s store clerks were busy attending to a rare influx of customers while many restaurants saw its tables fill to capacity.After Lotte finally gained permission from the Seoul Metropolitan Government to reopen the aquarium and the cinema complex on Tuesday f
May 13, 2015
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Qatari sovereign fund to buy Keangnam skyscraper in Hanoi
The Qatar Investment Authority has agreed to buy the Keangnam Hanoi Landmark Tower in Vietnam for $800 million and gained exclusive rights for the ensuing negotiations, it was reported Wednesday. According to investment bankers and news reports, the Qatari sovereign wealth fund has notified Colliers International, the manager of the Korean-funded building’s sale, that it will accept the $800 million appraisal price granted by a Korean court. The QIA initially offered $600 million but has decided
May 13, 2015
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DSME mulls acquisition of STX cruise ship builder
Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering is reviewing plans to acquire the defunct STX Group’s French cruise-ship maker. According to news reports, DSME was planning to acquire a two-thirds stake in STX France.The company, however, downplayed the reports, saying that the plans were in their early stages. “The company has received a proposal regarding the acquisition of STX France, (but) so far nothing has been decided,” the company said in the statement. STX France is a subsidiary of STX Offsh
May 13, 2015
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GS Energy, KNOC secure 3% stake in UAE oil fields
A South Korean consortium sealed a landmark deal on Wednesday to secure a 3 percent stake in the Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Oil Operations, which operates the biggest onshore oil fields in the United Arab Emirates.The new deal grants the South Korean consortium ― comprised of GS Energy and the Korea National Oil Corp. ― developing rights to ADCO’s oil fields for 40 years, alongside other foreign companies including France's Total and Japan's Inpex.Over the 40 year period, Korea is expected to
May 13, 2015
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Korean firms encouraged to invest in Eastern Germany
South Korean businesses were encouraged to invest in Eastern Germany, as German investment specialists and company leaders shared insights about business prospects in the country’s new federal states at a meeting hosted by the Korean-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Seoul on Wednesday.Officials from Germany Trade & Invest ― an organization that helps foreign companies enter German markets ― discussed current business conditions and investment flows in the new federal states of Germany,
May 13, 2015
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New body to deal with W100tr in postal assets
The government will create a state-run institution to operate the 100 trillion won ($91.2 billion) asset that is currently managed by the Postal Savings and Insurance Bureau, the Finance Ministry said Wednesday. In a national finance strategy meeting at Cheong Wa Dae, Finance Vice Minister Bang Moon-kyu said the launch of a state managed monitoring body will help lessen the uncertainties in the asset management sector that may lead to increased financial threats amid years of low interest and sl
May 13, 2015
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Visibility worsened significantly before Asiana jet's hard landing in Japan
Visibility had worsened significantly when a passenger plane of South Korea's No. 2 flag carrier Asiana Airlines Inc. crash landed at an airport in Japan last month, a preliminary investigation showed Wednesday.The results of the month-long investigation conducted by the Japan Transport Safety Board, however, did not pinpoint the exact cause of the accident that took place in mid-April. Nor did it mention any possible fault or mistake by the pilots that could have led to the accident.The results
May 13, 2015
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S. Korean milk powder makers turn to China on low birthrate
South Korean milk powder makers are revving up exports to China, data showed Wednesday, as they search for new profit sources to make up for falling sales at home due to a tumble in baby births.South Korea's weekly milk powder consumption came in at 13,555 tons last week, nearly halving from 25,472 tons 20 years earlier, according to the data by the Korea Dairy Committee.The drop is attributed to the country's birthrate, which reached 1.21 in 2014, one of the lowest rates among member nations of
May 13, 2015
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Asiana to reduce flights to Saipan on services for Hiroshima
Asiana Airlines Inc., South Korea's second-largest flag carrier, said Wednesday that it will reduce its flights to Saipan as part of efforts to address a plane shortfall caused by the recent resumption of its Hiroshima route that was temporarily halted following a hard landing accident in Japan. The Asiana Airlines Flight 162, carrying 73 passengers and seven crew members, came to a stop after veering off the runway, as it tried to land in the Hiroshima Airport on April 14. The Airbus320 passeng
May 13, 2015
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NCsoft Q1 net down 2.57 pct
NCsoft Corp., one of South Korea's leading game makers, said Wednesday its first-quarter net profit shed 2.57 percent from a year earlier but managed to push up sales helped by popularity of its flagship Lineage games.Net profit came to 35.6 billion won ($32.4 million) on a consolidated basis in the January-March period, compared with the 36.5 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.Sales moved up 5.59 percent on-year to reach 188.1 billion won in the first quarter, a
May 13, 2015