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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Opposition-led Assembly unilaterally passes bill to probe Marine's death
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[Music in drama] Rekindle a love that slipped through your fingers
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Inflation eases in April, continues bumpy ride
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Golden chance to liquidate babies’ gold rings?
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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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[New faces of Assembly] Architect behind ‘audacious initiative’ believes in denuclearized North Korea
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On May Day, labor unions blast Yoon's foreign nanny proposal
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Construction industry shifts focus to emerging markets
Apartment construction cranes move construction material at a POSCO Engineering and Construction construction site. (Bloomberg)South Korean builders are expected to expand investment into the world’s emerging markets this year as they seek ways to sustain growth amid tough market conditions in the Middle East, which previously was the top client for the industry. The global oil price plunge and fierce competition were the main factors that propelled Korean contractors to seek new business opport
Dec. 31, 2014
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Hyundai Heavy, unionists strike tentative wage deal
Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. said Thursday it has reached a tentative agreement on wages with its unionized workers, putting an end to the partial strikes that have taken place since last November. Under the agreement, the shipbuilding conglomerate agreed to increase basic pay by 37,000 won (US$33.94) per month, a 2 percent hike, and give workers company stocks equivalent to 150 percent of the base monthly salary together with another 2 million won as a bonus.The company also agreed to include i
Dec. 31, 2014
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Korean Air ex-VP's sister slammed for vowing revenge over 'nut rage'
A family member of the former Korean Air Lines Co. executive at the center of the "nut rage" scandal came under fire on Wednesday after prosecutors revealed a text message in which she promised to "take revenge" on behalf of her sister. Cho Hyun-min promised her sister Hyun-ah she would "take revenge no matter what" via a text message on Dec. 17 in apparent outrage over the ongoing probe into a row involving nuts that delayed the departure of a flight. The 31-year-old Cho, who currently holds an
Dec. 31, 2014
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Hyundai, Kia set 2015 sales goal at 8.2 mln units
South Korea's top carmaker, Hyundai Motor Co., and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors Corp. are aiming to sell 8.2 million units globally next year, about 1.5 percent higher than their global sales this year, industry sources said Wednesday.Although the final decision on these figures is yet to be made, Hyundai's and Kia's sales targets for overseas markets are likely to stand at 3.18 million units and 1.44 million units, while those for the home turf may come to 1.87 million and 1.71 million, res
Dec. 31, 2014
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Gov't to waive surtax on emission rights trading starting in Feb.
The government is moving to waive the levying of surtaxes on emission rights trading starting in February to reduce the burden on companies and fuel the growth of related eco-friendly industries, the finance ministry said Tuesday. It said a decision has been made to include emission rights on the surtax exception list, although technically it could be taxed. The move comes after companies complained they are already hard-pressed to meet greenhouse gas reduction quotas set by Seoul and that p
Dec. 30, 2014
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S. Korea's industrial output advances in Nov.
South Korea's industrial output advanced in November from a month earlier, helped by demand for cars and semiconductors and related parts, a government report showed Tuesday. According to the report by Statistics Korea, production in the mining, manufacturing, gas and electricity industries moved up 1.3 percent last month from a month earlier. The gains come after industrial production fell 1.7 percent in the previous month. Automobiles output surged 9 percent on-month, with computer chips
Dec. 30, 2014
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Sharing Korea’s forest restoration experience
According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, around 13 million hectares of forest ― an area the size of Greece ― were converted to other land uses or lost through natural causes each year from 2000 to 2010. Continued deforestation and landscape degradation pose serious obstacles to maintaining biodiversity and the environment, as well as to eliminating poverty and hunger. Consequently, they threaten the resilience capacity of both people and natural ecosystems. Today, there is a grow
Dec. 29, 2014
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[SUPER RICH] Highest-earning billionaires of 2014
The year 2014 has been quite an eventful one for the superrich. Their assets and rankings have changed considerably, while new billionaires have emerged and others have forfeited their entire fortunes overnight. As the status of the superrich is primarily decided by assets, numbers are the best way to gauge their achievements. To the superrich ― who in many ways control their country’s economy ― these numbers mean more than wealth. They are a reflection of their business philosophy and strategy.
Dec. 29, 2014
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Officials face punishment over ‘nut rage’
The South Korean government will slap disciplinary measures on eight ministry officials for the poor handling of an investigation into the so-called “nut rage” incident involving Korean Air. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Monday that it decided on the measures following an internal inspection launched after it came under public scrutiny for failing to make a thorough investigation into the misconduct of Heather Cho, the heiress to the nation’s largest airline. “I deeply
Dec. 29, 2014
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Worries grow over safety of budget carriers
Korean budget carriers appear anxious in the wake of the disappearance of an AirAsia commercial jet over the weekend, as safety is the chief concern for consumers flying low-cost airlines. Asia has seen a boom in the number of budget carriers since 2000, largely driven by the region’s growing middle class and eased regulations. Among them, Malaysia-based AirAsia is the largest discount airline operating more than 220 routes across the region. Since the company started business in 2001, its marke
Dec. 29, 2014
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Samsung, Hyundai take 20 percent of corporate net income
South Korea’s two biggest companies ― Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor ― accounted for nearly 20 percent of the combined net income of local firms last year, data showed Monday, in the latest sign of the concentrated wealth of a few major exporters. The combined sales of the nation’s top 10 conglomerates came to 1.07 quadrillion won ($974 billion) in 2013 to represent 24.8 percent of the total sales by 517,000 firms, while the ratio of their net earnings fell to 41.9 percent of the total, a
Dec. 29, 2014
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Shin-Hanul nuclear plant nears completion
ULJIN, North Gyeongsang Province ― The steady progress being made at Shin-Hanul nuclear power plant unit 1 has made it clear that Korea will soon have its first fully indigenously built nuclear facility. According to Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, the nation’s nuclear reactor operator, the Shin-Hanul plant in Uljin, North Gyeongsang Province, will become the first to be equipped with an indigenous advanced pressurized reactor that can generate up to 1,400 megawatts of energy. This reactor will for
Dec. 29, 2014
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Hottest products of 2014
Tayo BusTayo Bus is a state-run bus project that features characters from the animated TV series “Tayo the Little Bus” by Iconix Entertainment.“Tayo the Little Bus” is about the adventures of Tayo, a little blue bus, and his group of friends. Launched in March, this one-month event to mark National Public Transportation Day gained huge popularity, especially among young passengers.Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon said the idea for the Tayo buses came from a request on his Twitter account last year from
Dec. 29, 2014
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Best things of 2014
With 2014 coming to a close, Koreans are left with a string of memorable items, services and cultural products.To compile its “10 best things” lists, The Korea Herald tracked down what captivated consumers throughout the year. The 10 categories range from books and movies to cars and imported beer, to big gainers on the stock market and top local brands ― a wide array of fields that offer an intriguing glimpse into Koreans’ preferences this year. There’s no question that a host of cultural miles
Dec. 29, 2014
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Starbucks introduces simpler WiFi amid discrimination issues
Starbucks Coffee Korea said Monday it has introduced a simpler authentication for WiFi in local shops, as consumers complained about discrimination after the company had required local customers to fill out twice as many fields compared with those for foreigners. In the new Korean-language WiFi authentication webpage showcased Monday, users were only asked to type in their name and a valid email address, and were given choices whether or not to give their mobile phone numbers for promotions or
Dec. 29, 2014
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Ministry under fire for flight upgrades
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Friday that a handful of its officials had been provided seat upgrades from the nation’s top airlines, adding to the suspicion of collusion between aviation officials and Korean Air, which has come under scrutiny over the so-called “nut row.” The ministry found that 35 aviation-related officials, including the affiliated Seoul Regional Aviation Administration, were found to have received seat upgrades from Korean Air and Asiana Airlines bet
Dec. 28, 2014
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Korea’s 2014 tax revenue to fall short of target
South Korea’s 2014 tax revenue is expected to fall short of the government’s earlier target amid a prolonged economic slowdown, the parliamentary budget office said Sunday.The National Assembly Budget Office said that the gap between the government’s goal and actual tax revenue is expected to be between 11.7 trillion won ($10.6 billion) to 12.7 trillion won, compared with 8.5 trillion won tallied for last year. In 2012, the difference stood at 2.8 trillion won.If confirmed, South Korea is expect
Dec. 28, 2014
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Gov’t to ax red tape hampering businesses
South Korea’s government said Sunday that it would scrap 114 administrative rules cited by local companies for hindering businesses, at a time when it is trying to get companies to increase investment to jump-start the economy.The decision reached at a meeting between representatives from the business sector and policymakers in Seoul comes after economic organizations suggested scrapping 153 rules in mid-November.The Prime Minister’s Office and Finance Ministry said all changes would be made wit
Dec. 28, 2014
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[Newsmaker] KHNP chief apologizes over reactor crisis
The head of Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power apologized Sunday over the recent internal data leaks at the country’s nuclear reactors and a gas leak at the construction site of an atomic reactor that killed three workers.The executive also tried to reassure the public, stressing that all of its plants were safe from cyberattacks. “The cyberattacks have been persistent but I assure you that the nuclear plants are being safely guarded,” said Cho Seok, chief executive of the KHNP, the operator of the n
Dec. 28, 2014
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Herald to use Ecochem’s plastics for news delivery
Herald Corp.’s Ecochem will provide its environmentally friendly plastics to its news media affiliates The Korea Herald and The Herald Business. The two news outlets will deliver their newspapers in Ecochem’s biodegradable plastic bags to their readers for the first time in Korea, enabling all three Herald Corp. companies to further boost customer value. “We hope the eco-friendly plastics used in the newspaper industry for the first time will help protect the environment,” Ecochem said in a sta
Dec. 28, 2014