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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[Grace Kao] Hybe vs. Ador: Inspiration, imitation and plagiarism
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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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Police to open alleged stalking probe over pastor over Dior bag scandal
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'Queen of Tears' finale sets record viewership ratings as tvN's most-watched series ending
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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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Liberal bloc moves to rewrite student rights ordinance
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[Weekender] Overseas shopping one click away
Lee Jeong-kyu, a 65-year-old pensioner, recently bought a Barbour waxed jacket, a hot-selling fashion item in Korea, on a U.K. online shopping site. “The price was 20 to 30 percent cheaper than in Korea. Free shipping was also available,” he said. “Among other things, it’s great to feel like a young trend-setter because overseas shopping was unthinkable when I was young.”In the era of one-click Internet shopping, Korean customers are flocking to global online shopping sites. For cheaper deals, t
Nov. 28, 2014
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[Weekender] Bargain hunting overseas changes local retail landscape
Forget city traffic and the shortage of parking spaces in shopping areas. More South Koreans are shopping on overseas e-commerce sites, with products ranging from simple fashion items to appliances.The so-called “jikgu-jok” — a tribe of shoppers buying goods directly on foreign websites — is growing rapidly here, as more people seek to dodge local retailers’ high markups on imported goods and have a wider range of choice.Jikgu-jok calls themselves “smart consumers.” They claim they pay less for
Nov. 28, 2014
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[Weekender] Korean retailers offer bargains to compete with Amazon on Black Friday
South Korean retailers are offering Black Friday bargains to lure local consumers who are buying Samsung TVs and foreign goods overseas with just the click of a mouse.Local department stores and e-commerce sites have launched sales ― with up to 60 percent off ― ahead of U.S. retail sales on Friday, challenged by the increasing popularity of direct-buying at foreign e-commerce sites. “Many retailers are afraid of losing young consumers, who go to U.S. websites to buy Samsung and LG’s electronic d
Nov. 28, 2014
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[Weekender] Asian shoppers flock to Korean online shops
When Connie Pang, 33, wanted to buy Korean cosmetics, she had only two options until a decade ago: Taking a four-hour flight to Korea or buying overpriced imports.Now, things have changed. The Chinese office worker simply turns to Korean online shopping malls to buy Korean items ranging from clothing to home appliances. It saves her both time and money, she said.“I visit Korean Web stores whenever I need Korean goods. It is much cheaper, even considering the overseas shipping fees and tariffs,”
Nov. 28, 2014
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[Weekender] Language barrier, online security turn foreign shoppers away
Despite a surge in foreign purchases on Korean online shopping sites, some barriers still hamper the shopping experiences. Common complaints include: poorly translated websites, excessive Internet security and limited delivery options. In a bid to meet the growing demand from foreign nationals, major online retailers have launched foreign language services, mostly in English and Chinese. But much of the content is poorly translated, with some detailed information only available in Korean. “It is
Nov. 28, 2014
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Homeplus showcases Korean food in Malaysia
Homeplus, the nation’s second-largest supermarket chain, launched a Korean food fair in Malaysia with Korea’s Agriculture Ministry on Thursday, the company said. A total of 20 food companies participated in the two-week-long food fair, part of the retailer’s global shared growth program, “Taste of Korea.” The Korean arm of U.K.-based Tesco is showcasing more than 150 Korean food products at 20 stores during the fair, including about 30 halal products that target the nation’s large Muslim populat
Nov. 28, 2014
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Falling oil prices may lift consumption, investment
Tumbling oil prices, caused by Thursday’s decision by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to maintain oil production levels, is expected to improve consumption and investment in oil-dependent companies, industry sources said. However, there are lingering worries that oil’s continued slump may push consumer prices low enough to cause deflation, damaging economic growth. “The drop in the cost of oil imports may be a good sign for the Korean economy as a whole except some industri
Nov. 28, 2014
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Retailers eye Incheon duty-free bids
A new bidding war has started among retail giants over business licenses to operate duty-free stores at Incheon International Airport, the main gateway to Korea. Lotte and Shilla currently dominate the business. On Thursday, the Seoul Customs Service made a public notice about the opening of a bid, as the current business contracts expire in February. Since 2000, Incheon International Airport Corp., the airport operator, has renewed duty-free business licenses every five years. Sales at duty-fre
Nov. 28, 2014
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Hanwha names Kim as chemical arm CEO
Kim Chang-beumHanwha Group, the nation’s 10th-largest conglomerate by assets, named Kim Chang-beum, CEO of Hanwha Advanced Materials, as new head of its chemical arm Hanwha Chemical. “Top management of Hanwha Chemical will take a bigger role in the group’s business portfolio, following a recent deal with Samsung,” the group said in a press release. By taking the two chemical arms of Samsung ― Samsung General Chemicals and Samsung Total ― Hanwha has taken the top post in the nation’s petrochemica
Nov. 28, 2014
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Mobile carriers to sell new iPads from next week
South Korea’s mobile carriers said Friday they will start selling the new iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3 from early next month, following their Seoul debut in October. The latest tablet series by Apple will be available for purchase at retail stores from Dec. 3, SK Telecom and KT Corp. said in a press release. The release comes about a month after the tablets were first unveiled in South Korea on Oct. 31. A few thousand of them will be available for prepurchase, starting from Friday, until the stock
Nov. 28, 2014
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SK ends battery venture with Germany’s Continental
SK Innovation, South Korea’s top petrochemicals company, said Friday it will end a battery-cell joint venture with German partner Continental AG due to slow growth in demand for electric cars.SK Innovation and Continental, Europe’s second-largest car parts maker, established a joint venture in January 2013 to develop and produce lithium-ion battery systems for vehicles. Although the companies agreed to invest 270 million euros ($336 million) over five years, they are ending the partnership early
Nov. 28, 2014
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Korean unit of Macquarie Funds Group censured for malpractice
The South Korean unit of Australia-based asset manager Macquarie Funds Group faces a three-month business suspension and was fined 100 million won(US$91,000) for business malpractice linked to bond trading, the country's financial watchdog said Friday.According to the Financial Supervisory Service, Macquarie Investment Management Korea has been involved in the business malpractice of "parking" bonds at brokerages for a certain period, not immediately recording bond purchases on the balance sheet
Nov. 28, 2014
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S. Korea's industrial output shrinks in Oct.
South Korea's industrial output shrank in October from a month earlier, affected by sluggish activities in the manufacturing sector, a government report showed Friday.According to the report by Statistics Korea, production in the mining, manufacturing, gas and electricity industries dropped 1.6 percent last month from a month earlier. Compared with a year earlier, it fell 3.2 percent.Production in the service sector, however, inched up 0.8 percent on-month and expanded 2.6 percent from a year ea
Nov. 28, 2014
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Local consumers await Black Friday
Kim Yoo-jin, a high school teacher, has been eagerly waiting for America’s Thanksgiving holiday, definitely not to eat turkey but to shop online on Black Friday, the day following America’s biggest national holiday. Most major American retailers offer big discounts to kick off the holiday shopping season on that day. Kim has been expecting to buy some electronic devices as high-end gadgets are 50 percent cheaper than those in the local market on the big sales day. Sam’s Club, a retail company ow
Nov. 27, 2014
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Watchdog seeks criminal charges against handset subsidy violations
South Korea’s communications watchdog said Thursday it will seek criminal charges against local mobile carriers for violating the new handset subsidy payment law that caused problems for buyers of Apple’s new iPhone 6. The Korea Communications Commission said after a meeting that it is also considering referring the executives of the three mobile carriers to the prosecution to hold them responsible for the illegal subsidies. The move comes weeks after the KCC warned in early November that there
Nov. 27, 2014
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Car output to reach 4.51 million units in 2015
Vehicle output in South Korea is expected to rise slightly to 4.51 million units in 2015 from this year, thanks to growing demand, a report by a state-run industrial think tank showed Thursday.According to the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade, next year’s numbers represent a 0.5 percent gain from the 4.49 million cars that are expected to be produced in the country this year.Domestic sales of automobiles should increase 1.7 percent on-year to a little over 1.66 million units ne
Nov. 27, 2014
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Korea logs current account surplus for 32nd month
South Korea posted a current account surplus for the 32nd straight month in October on a rise in exports and a fall in dividend payments overseas, data showed Thursday.The current account surplus reached $9.01 billion last month, compared with a revised $7.41 billion in September, according to the preliminary data by the Bank of Korea. The current account is the broadest measure of cross-border trade.With the October data, the country’s accumulated current account surplus during the January-Octo
Nov. 27, 2014
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Investment advisory firms’ net soars in fiscal H1
Korea’s investment advisory companies saw their earnings soar 173 percent in the first half of fiscal 2014 from a year earlier due to a rise in returns from equity investments, the financial watchdog said Thursday.The combined net profit of 166 local and foreign investment advisers reached 51.6 billion won ($46.5 million) between April and September, compared with 18.9 billion won in the same period last year, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.The firms close their books on March 31
Nov. 27, 2014
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Internet of Things to affect Thanksgiving holiday shopping
Kang Hak-dongThe number of smart devices in your home, on your body and around your office is increasing every day. By 2020, there could be as many as 30 billion devices hooked up to the so-called Internet of Things, or IoT.Presumably, this massive network of gadgets, household appliances and even jewelry, will know a lot about your life. A wristband for your smartphone, for example, might take your vital statistics, which would be transmitted to your doctor in nearly real-time. If your blood pr
Nov. 27, 2014
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Hyundai Heavy workers go on first strike in two decades
Unionized workers at Hyundai Heavy Industries, the nation’s top shipbuilder, staged a partial strike on Thursday for the first time in 20 years over an annual pay dispute with the management. The negotiations between the two sides have been deadlocked since May despite more than 50 rounds of talks to reach an agreement on pay and incentives for 2015. Unionized workers gathered at the company’s headquarters located in the southeastern port city of Ulsan and went on a strike for four hours from 1
Nov. 27, 2014