Most Popular
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Yoon, Lee end first talks with differences, agree to meet more
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What is Hybe’s next move?
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China outpaces Korea in smaller OLED shipments for 1st time
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[Herald Interview] Mom’s Touch seeks to replicate success in Japan
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Medical profs at top hospitals suspend surgeries, clinics
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'Queen of Tears' finale sets record viewership ratings as tvN's most-watched series ending
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Police to open alleged stalking probe over pastor over Dior bag scandal
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Samsung chip business back on track, logs W1.9tr operating profit in Q1
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[News Focus] Lee tells Yoon that he has governed without political dialogue
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Seoul to deploy more military doctors to fill med prof void
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Korean Air grilled over cover-up
The probe into the Korean Air “nut rage” incident intensified as the prosecutors appeared to have shifted their focus to determining whether Heather Cho and other employees were involved in destroying related evidence. The Seoul Seobu District Prosecutors’ Office summoned a handful of employees from the country’s biggest air carrier on Friday as witnesses and implemented a travel ban on them. Prosecutors were questioning the employees to establish whether they were involved in systematically des
Dec. 19, 2014
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Natural gas price to be cut by 5% next month
The local price of natural gas supplied by the state-run Korea Gas Corp. will be cut by an average 5 percent from the start of next year, the government said Friday.The move follows a recent plunge in the global prices of oil and natural gas, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.“Despite a recent appreciation of the Korean won, there exist a few factors, such as a cut in global oil prices, that warrant a reduction of natural gas prices,” it said in a press release.The announce
Dec. 19, 2014
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Cheil Industries surges on hopes for addition to global indices
Shares of Cheil Industries Inc., the de facto holding firm of South Korea’s top conglomerate Samsung, rose by the daily permissible limit of 15 percent Friday on news that global index providers would add the company to their indices earlier than expected.Cheil Industries closed at 129,500 won ($117) on the second day of trading. On its market debut on Thursday, the company closed at 113,000 won, more than doubling its initial public offering price of 53,000 won.The country’s benchmark index, th
Dec. 19, 2014
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Local refiners undervalued, show signs of rebound
Stock prices of South Korean oil refiners have almost halved this year from a continued slide in oil prices and a glut of petroleum products, but they are showing signs of rebounding on hopes for reduced losses on inventory and improving margins, analysts said Friday.SK Innovation Co., the holding company of the country’s leading refiner SK Energy Co., has risen some 8 percent this month to end at 86,300 won ($78.50) on Thursday, although the price was still some 40 percent off from the 141,500
Dec. 19, 2014
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Hanwha’s financing for Samsung acquisitions still unclear
Hanwha Group, set to take over four Samsung affiliates, has come under question regarding its ability to finance the 2 trillion won ($1.82 billion) deal, while rumors circulate that the country’s 10th-largest family-run conglomerate may resort to selling shares of its subsidiaries to raise cash.In November, Hanhwa announced it would acquire four of Samsung Group’s chemical and defense affiliates. The announcement immediately raised speculation about how it will secure the needed cash, with some
Dec. 19, 2014
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Finance minister pledges structural reforms
Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan said Friday that the government would focus on structural reforms in key economic sectors next year to improve the fundamentals of the South Korean economy and revive the nation’s growth potential.“The government will increase the efficiency of the public sector and boost the dynamics of the financial industry, to help create a virtuous circle between the financial sector and the real economy,” Choi said in a government meeting in Seoul.He said that he would push
Dec. 19, 2014
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SK hynix, Toshiba to end court dispute, start cooperative relations
South Korea's No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix Inc. said Friday it has agreed to settle a lawsuit with Japanese tech firm Toshiba Corp. and cooperate in developing new technologies."The lawsuit between the two will be dropped as we agreed to pay Toshiba $278 million as a settlement," SK hynix said in its regulatory filing. The chipmaker did not reveal further details, citing the terms of the agreement between the two companies.Toshiba had sued the South Korean company in March through the Tokyo District
Dec. 19, 2014
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Samsung mulls raising dividend payout by up to 50 pct for 2014
South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. said Friday it is considering raising its dividend payout for the year by up to 50 percent in order to boost shareholder value and join a drive to help pep up sagging domestic demand. "As a special dividend, we are actively considering paying dividends that are 30 or 50 percent more than last year," the flagship unit of the country's top conglomerate said in a regulatory filing. The exact amount of dividends will be decided at a board meeting sl
Dec. 19, 2014
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Gov't to raise dividend payout ratio of state-invested companies to 40 pct by 2020
South Korea plans to raise the average dividend payout ratio of state-invested companies to 40 percent by 2020, the finance ministry said Friday, as policymakers try to generate more revenue to meet growing outlays. The move comes amid criticism that the government is not being adequately compensated for its extensive stakes in public companies that stood at 61.7 trillion won (US$56 billion) as of this year. For its holdings in 29 large companies, such as the Industrial Bank of Korea, Korea E
Dec. 19, 2014
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Cheil Industries surges on hopes for addition to global indices
Shares of Cheil Industries Inc., the de facto holding firm of South Korea's top conglomerate Samsung, rose by the daily permissible limit of 15 percent Friday on news that global index providers would add the company to their indices earlier than expected. Cheil Industries closed at 129,500 won (US$117) on the second day of trading. On its market debut on Thursday, the company closed at 113,000 won, more than doubling its initial public offering price of 53,000 won. The country's benchmark i
Dec. 19, 2014
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Hanwha's financing for Samsung-buying still unclear
Hanwha Group, set to take over four Samsung affiliates, has come under questions about the ability to finance the 2 trillion won (US$1.82 billion) deal, while rumors circulate that the country's 10th-largest family-run conglomerate may resort to selling shares of its subsidiaries to raise cash. In November, Hanhwa announced it will acquire four of Samsung Group's chemical and defense affiliates. The announcement immediately raised speculation about how it will secure the needed cash, with some
Dec. 19, 2014
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Samsung to freeze executives' wages amid challenges
South Korea's top conglomerate Samsung Group said Friday it has decided to freeze wages for its executives next year, a move apparently reflecting attempts to recoup falling returns from primary businesses. Paychecks for around 2,000 executives at the business group, including Samsung Electronics Co., will be fixed throughout 2015.Incentive pay, however, will continue to be provided depending on each divisions' earning performances, the group said. "The pay freeze is aimed at urging the exec
Dec. 19, 2014
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Samsung heirs pocket 6 tln won in Cheil Industries IPO
Samsung Group's three heirs reaped nearly 6 trillion won as the group's de facto holding company, Cheil Industries Inc., more than doubled its initial public offering (IPO) price in its market debut, data showed Thursday.Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee's three children -- Jay-yong, Boo-jin and Seo-hyun -- earned 5.9 trillion won (US$5.4 billion) from the IPO, roughly 733 times their 8.1 billion won investment, according to the data by conglomerate information tracker Chaebul.com.Shares of Cheil Ind
Dec. 18, 2014
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Korean Air to pay heavily for ‘nut rage’
Korean Air will have to pay a much higher price than expected for the misconduct of its executive Heather Cho that set off an intense public backlash, industry sources said Thursday.They noted that Korean Air and its holding company Hanjin-Kal lost almost 240 billion won ($217 million) in terms of market value since the prosecution’s investigation started on Dec.12. Despite the favorable business environment that includes low fuel prices, Korean Air’s shares declined 5 percent over the week, whi
Dec. 18, 2014
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Aekyung forays into hotel business
Aekyung Group, a midsize retailer and household goods manufacturer, on Thursday opened its Novotel Ambassador Suwon in Gyeonggi Province ― its first foray into the hospitality industry. The five-star hotel ― featuring 287 rooms, banquet halls, function rooms and restaurants ― is expected to become a landmark of Suwon, the capital and largest city of Gyeonggi Province, the company said. “The hotel is situated near Suwon train station and will be part of the ‘AK Town,’ along with nearby AK Plaza d
Dec. 18, 2014
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POSCO to open center for creative economy
POSCO, the nation’s top steelmaker, said Wednesday it would open a center for creative economy and innovation in Pohang, a major port city in North Gyeongsang Province, early next year. The steelmaker has sought to build a hub to help incubate start-ups at the home of its steel mill since President Park Geun-hye announced a three-year roadmap for economic growth last February. The administration said it would construct 17 nationwide centers for bolstering the creative economy and innovation by 2
Dec. 18, 2014
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Hyundai Motor’s China sales up 7.6 % in November
Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea’s largest carmaker, said Thursday that its auto sales in China grew 7.6 percent in November, driven by brisk demand for its Avante compact model.Hyundai Motor said that it sold a total of 99,045 vehicles in China last month, compared with 92,008 tallied during the same month a year earlier. This marked the third straight month of sales increase, though the growth rate slowed from the previous month’s 15.5 percent gain. The hike is attributable to more sales of Land
Dec. 18, 2014
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Cheil Industries roars in market debut
Cheil Industries Inc., the de facto holding firm of South Korea’s top conglomerate Samsung, more than doubled its initial public offering price on its first trading day Thursday after raising 1.5 trillion won ($1.35 billion), the country’s largest IPO in four years.Stocks of Cheil Industries closed at 113,000 won, up 7,000 won, or 6.6 percent, from its opening price of 106,000 won. The IPO price was 53,000 won, the top of its marketed range. The country’s key stock index, the KOSPI, shed 0.14 pe
Dec. 18, 2014
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Four public corporations fined 15.4b won for unfair trading
South Korea’s antitrust watchdog on Thursday slapped 15.4 billion won ($13.9 million) in fines on four public corporations and their affiliates for unfair trade practices.The Fair Trade Commission said Korea Electric Power Corp., Korea Expressway Corp., Korea Railroad Corp. and Korea Gas Corp. and their affiliates favored some companies over others in their business dealings, while at the same time forcing partner companies to undercut prices.“All corporations cited for unfair practices have bee
Dec. 18, 2014
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S-Oil awards firefighters
S-Oil, a leading refinery in Korea, conferred the 2014 Hero Firefighters Award to eight Korean firefighters on Wednesday to recognize their contribution and to help improve their working and living conditions. “Whenever I hear news of a fire, which breaks out more often in the cold winter, I feel deeply touched and have great gratitude for the firefighters and their amazing instinct to jump into the flames to rescue people and for devoting their energy into putting out fires,” said S-Oil CEO Nas
Dec. 18, 2014