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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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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Opposition-led Assembly unilaterally passes bill to probe Marine's death
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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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On May Day, labor unions blast Yoon's foreign nanny proposal
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[KH Explains] Will alternative trading platform shake up Korean stock market?
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POSCO expects Chongching steel plant to break ground next month
POSCO, South Korea’s largest steelmaker, is expected to start building a steel plant in Chongqing, China, as early as next month, reports said Monday.“Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang has vowed to approve the construction of the project as soon as possible. We could receive an authorization next month, at the earliest,” POSCO chairman Kwon Oh-joon told reporters after a meeting with Yang in Seoul on Saturday. But a POSCO spokesperson stressed that nothing had been fixed yet, saying the chairman wa
Jan. 26, 2015
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Korean firms set to raise dividend payouts for 2014
South Korean companies are set to increase dividend payouts for 2014 under growing government pressure to return more to shareholders, data showed Monday. Among the 18 listed companies that have announced their dividend plans as of Friday, 15 said they would deliver more to shareholders with their 2014 dividends to be paid standing at 1.84 trillion won ($1.7 billion), up 38 percent from the previous year, according to disclosure filings by each firm.Among them, NCsoft Corp., an online game devel
Jan. 26, 2015
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Kim & Chang recognized as top 10 global tax law firm
Kim & Chang ranked ninth among the world’s top tax law firms, the Korean company said Monday.The Korean firm earned the honor from the U.K.-based Legalese, which published the Tax Directors Handbook 2015 after analyzing the tax practices of law firms globally.According to the annual book, Kim & Chang has 152 tax lawyers, about 21 percent of all its lawyers. “Kim & Chang is the only law firm put on the list of the top 10 tax law firms in the Asia-Pacific region,” the company said in its release.T
Jan. 26, 2015
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Corporate direct financing edges up in 2014
Direct financing by South Korean companies edged up in 2014 from a year earlier on large-size initial public offerings, the financial watchdog said Monday.Local companies raised a combined 121.94 trillion won ($113.15 billion) from stock and bond sales throughout last year, compared with 121.5 trillion won the previous year, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.Stock offerings contributed to the slight rise, totaling 5.77 trillion won last year, up 10.8 percent from 5.2 trillion won a
Jan. 26, 2015
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Exports fall for second year in won terms: report
Exports calculated using the Korean won declined for the second year in a row in 2014, despite South Korea’s outbound shipments hitting record annual levels, trade data showed Monday.Numbers released by the ministry of trade and industry and the Korea International Trade Association showed Asia’s fourth-largest economy exporting $573.1 billion worth of goods last year, up 2.4 percent from 2013.In contrast, when converted to the local currency, exports dipped 1.5 percent to 603 trillion won.It wa
Jan. 26, 2015
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KT chief vows to up global sales to 2 tln won by 2016
The head of South Korea's No. 2 mobile carrier KT Corp. pledged Monday to lift the company's global sales to 2 trillion won (US$1.85 billion) by 2016, as it opts to increase sales of mobile infrastructure technology overseas and invest more in future businesses like the Internet-of-Things (IoT). "We'll strive to demonstrate more visible results in the global market based on our strong network platform service as an innovative enterprise that represents this country," KT Chairman Hwang Chang-gyu
Jan. 26, 2015
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Korean, Chinese CEOs discuss cooperation
South Korean business leaders met with Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang and some 50 Chinese businesspeople to discuss ways to boost cooperation in trade and business between the two countries in Seoul on Saturday.Some 50 Korean top executives including Hyundai Motor Group chairman Chung Mong-koo and LG Group chairman Koo Bon-moo met with the vice premier on the sidelines of his three-day visit to Korea to promote tourism and commercial ties. “The two countries have a mutual interest in expanding t
Jan. 25, 2015
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Daelim records huge Q4 loss
Daelim Industrial, one of Korea’s biggest construction companies, recorded a loss in the fourth quarter of last year due to costs from overseas projects in the Middle East.The Seoul-based builder’s regulatory filing last week reported an operating loss of 222.7 billion won ($205 billion) in the three months to Dec. 31, an improvement from the 319.5 billion won loss it suffered in the same period the year before. The company reported a 4.8 percent jump in fourth-quarter sales at 2.55 trillion won
Jan. 25, 2015
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S. Korean firms' China investment hits 8-year high
South Korean companies' investment in China reached an eight-year high in 2014 amid their growing interest in the world's second-largest economy following the conclusion of a bilateral free trade deal, data showed Sunday.South Korean firms invested a combined $3.97 billion in China last year, up 29.7 percent from the previous year, according to the data by the Beijing office of the Korea International Trade Association.The amount accounted for 3.3 percent of overall foreign direct investment in
Jan. 25, 2015
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Hyundai, Kia's dividend payout ratios lag far behind global peers
Despite their recent announcements to pay higher cash dividends to investors, South Korea's two leading carmakers, Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp., lag far behind global rivals in terms of payout ratio, data showed Sunday.Last week, Hyundai said it will pay a cash dividend of 3,000 won ($2.77) per share to its shareholders, up 54 percent from what it paid a year earlier. It would cost the company around 817.3 billion won in total.Its sister Kia also raised its cash dividend payout to 3,00
Jan. 25, 2015
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S. Korean exports of instant noodles to Japan dip in 2014
South Korean exports of instant noodles to Japan plunged 23.5 percent in 2014 from the previous year, data showed Sunday, amid growing anti-South Korean sentiment in the neighboring country.Shipments of South Korea's ramyeon, or instant noodles, came to $24.47 million last year, compared with $32 million the previous year, according to the data by the state-run Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp. and industry sources.The volume of exports also nose-dived 26 percent to 5,534 tons last year fr
Jan. 25, 2015
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Global sales of mobile displays hit record high in 2014
Global sales of displays for smartphones and other mobile devices soared to a record high in 2014, with the number topping 2 billion units for the first time, industry data showed Sunday.Worldwide shipments of mobile displays stood at 2.01 billion units last year, up from 1.83 billion the previous year, according to the data by market tracker DisplaySearch.The value of mobile displays sold also reached a record high of $30.13 billion, exceeding the $30 billion mark for the first time.Thin film t
Jan. 25, 2015
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AgriVogue brings Canada’s Saskatoon berries to Korea
Saskatoon berries, Canada’s indigenous superfruit, will soon become available to South Korean consumers for the first time.Prairie Berries’ Saskatoon berry spread, syrup and topping as well as its dried berries will have their official market debut during the Lunar New Year holidays at Shinsegae Department Store branches in Seoul, said AgriVogue, the local representative of Prairie Berries.“Saskatoon berries will present South Korean consumers with a new culinary taste and joyful experience of C
Jan. 23, 2015
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Hanwha Q Cells closes solar plant in Germany
Hanwha Q Cells, a Germany-based solar power business unit of Hanwha Group, announced Thursday that it would end its production operations in Germany from March 1 and relocate them to Malaysia. The solar photovoltaic-maker will maintain its research and development operations in Germany.“Behind the decision is weakening demand for solar cells and modules in Europe and higher labor costs than other regions,’’ a Hanwha Group official said. The group added the restructuring of Hanwha Q Cells would h
Jan. 23, 2015
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Hyundai E&C net up 3 pct in 2014 on overseas orders
Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co., South Korea's No. 2 builder, said Friday its 2014 net profit advanced 3 percent from a year earlier as it won major construction projects overseas.The bottom line came to 586.7 billion won ($541.1 million), up from 569.6 billion won in 2013, while operating profit and sales both jumped 20.9 percent and 24.7 percent, respectively, the company said in a regulatory filing."Hyundai E&C has logged a remarkable earnings record despite difficult business conditio
Jan. 23, 2015
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Overseas direct purchases by S. Koreans reach new high in 2014
Overseas direct purchases made by South Koreans reached an all-time annual high of $1.54 billion in 2014, as consumers sought better bargains and a wider choice of products, the customs service said Friday.The total represents a 39 percent increase compared to $1.04 billion brought in from abroad in 2013, the Korea Customs Service said. It said the total number of items purchased last year reached 15,530 from 11,159 in 2013.Most direct purchases are made on overseas online shopping malls and mar
Jan. 23, 2015
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Search warrants on Daum Kakao user data grow fourfold in 2 years
Search warrants on user data of Daum Kakao Corp., South Korea's Internet portal and mobile messenger venture, grew fourfold in the last two years, the company said in its transparency report released Friday, amid heightening public concerns over privacy violations by authorities.Daum Kakao received 8,636 court orders to submit dialogues, sign-in logs and ID addresses in 2014, compared with 2,174 tallied in 2012.The disclosure comes after its rival Naver Corp., the operator of South Korea's No. 1
Jan. 23, 2015
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Hyundai Motor to tighten belt
Hyundai Motor, the nation’s largest automaker, said on Thursday that although the company had achieved growth in car sales and revenue last year, its profits dropped to a four-year low. The carmaker said it sold a total of 4.96 million vehicles last year, up 4.8 percent from 2013. It posted 89.3 trillion won ($82.2 billion) in sales, a 2.2 percent rise from the previous year. Despite higher sales, its operating profit fell 9.2 percent to 7.55 trillion won ($6.96 billion) in 2014 over 2013. This
Jan. 22, 2015
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Analysts upbeat on Jeju Air
A sanguine outlook is expected for Jeju Air, South Korea’s largest low-cost airline owned by Aekyung Industrial, ahead of its initial public offering set for the second half of the year.With a growing number of Korean passengers opting for no-frills airlines to cut costs, Jeju Air has been expanding its market share ― both in domestic and international flights ― as the country’s first budget carrier since it took to the skies in 2005. A passenger aircraft of Jeju Air. ( Jeju Air)Now the airline
Jan. 22, 2015
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GM Korea unveils latest Cruze model in local market
GM Korea Co. uncloaked on Thursday the latest edition of its Cruze compact car that comes with an upgraded design for the sedan first introduced in the local market in 2011. “The Amazing New Cruze 2015 is just the first step of much more to come,” said Sergio Rocha, head of GM Korea during a media event held in western Seoul. “This year, we’ll have 10 launch events in South Korea, starting today with the Cruze 2015.” Sergio Rocha, president and CEO of GM Korea, poses in front of the “Amazing New
Jan. 22, 2015