Most Popular
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Korean labor force to shrink by 10 million by 2044: report
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[AtoZ Korean Mind] Does your job define who you are? Should it?
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Allegations surrounding BTS resurface, enraged fans demand apology
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Students with history of violence will be barred from becoming teachers
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Top prosecutor pledges 'speedy, strict' probe into first lady's luxury bag allegations
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'Super Rich in Korea' will leave viewers appreciating Korea more: producers
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Medical feud leaves hospitals in financial crisis
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'Queen of Tears' riding high on Netflix chart
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Samsung mocks Apple over iPhone alarm glitch
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Chip up cycle won’t stay long: SK chief
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[Newsmaker] Pension fund’s political neutrality, independence questioned
For most South Koreans, the national pension fund is the last bastion for their years after retirement. Launched in 1988, the 28-year-old pension operator currently has more than 21 million subscribers contributing 9 percent of their income every month.The power the National Pension Service yields in the capital markets is enormous. By size, the NPS is the world’s fourth-largest pension fund and has more than 5 percent of shares in about 290 companies. National Pension Service (The Korea Herald
Dec. 27, 2016
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Posco strives to lead automotive steel market
Korea’s top steelmaker Posco has been making aggressive investment moves to take the lead in the global automotive steel market, shipping 8.7 million tons of automotive steel to global carmakers last year, which made up 10 percent of the world’s total production of such steel. Only 20 of some 800 steelmakers around the world are able to produce automotive steel as it requires high technical skills. Posco’s continuous galvanizing line plant in Thailand (Posco)In January, the steelmaker showcased
Dec. 27, 2016
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Daewoo E&C collects W387.1b for project in Morocco
Daewoo Engineering and Construction said Tuesday it has received about 387.1 billion won ($323 million) of construction fees in the past two months from Morocco’s Safi Energy Company for building a coal power plant. The Korean company kicked off construction of the Safi Independent Power Project this year, but there have been some concerns over the construction fees, as the payment was delayed. The company said the payment is nearly completed, with the remaining small amount due early next year.
Dec. 27, 2016
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Former welfare minister summoned over Samsung merger
The Chairman of the National Pension Service Moon Hyung-pyo was summoned Tuesday by the independent counsel team on the suspicion of having pressured the National Pension Service to favor the merger between Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries last year, when he was welfare minister. Moon was summoned as a witness but may turn into a suspect during the investigation, according to local news reports.Before entering the office of the special counsel, Moon denied the alleged influence-peddling, saying,
Dec. 27, 2016
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Korean Air vows to strengthen security training
Korea‘s largest air carrier vowed Tuesday to strengthen security training for its air cabin crew following strong public backlash for a seemingly weak response to an unruly passenger on Dec. 20.Korean Air President Chi Chang-hoon told reporters at a press conference at Korean Air’s Training Center in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, that the airline would be improving its training procedures for cabin crew to focus more on drills for real-life scenarios. Korean Air flight attendants practice restraining unrul
Dec. 27, 2016
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LG Group, first to officially withdraw from FKI
South Korea‘s fourth-largest conglomerate LG Group on Tuesday announced its withdrawal from the Federation of Korean Industries, marking the first major firm to officially withdraw from the controversial business lobby group.LG Group notified the FKI that it will no longer participate as a member from 2017, and that it will not pay the 5 billion won ($4.14 million) membership fee, the company said in a press release.LG Group Chairman Koo Bon-moo had expressed willingness to withdraw membership e
Dec. 27, 2016
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Korea starts process to build 6 new frigates by 2026
South Korea has signed a 16.6 billion won ($13.8 million) deal with Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. for the planning of six new naval frigates, the state defense procurement agency said Tuesday. The Batch-III project calls for the Defense Acquisition Program Administration to inject a total of 2.8 trillion won into the building of six 3,000-ton frigates by 2026. These ships will form an integral part of the Navy's defense strategy. This image provided by the Defense Acquisition Program Administrat
Dec. 27, 2016
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Korean Air revises rules to allow more use of force against in-flight violence
South Korea's largest flag carrier Korean Air Lines Co. said Tuesday that it has instructed its flight attendants to more actively consider the use of force, including tasers, during cases of in-flight violence.The move follows a widely publicized incident where a 35-year-old South Korean man went on a near rampage while drunk on a Korean Air flight from Hanoi, Vietnam, to South Korea last week. This photo provided by Korean Air shows a 35-year-old South Korean passenger tied to his seat followi
Dec. 27, 2016
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Pension fund chief grilled over Samsung's merger deal
The chief of South Korea's state-run pension fund was questioned by investigators looking into the scandal surrounding President Park Geun-hye and her friend Tuesday over allegations he unlawfully influenced a decision to back Samsung Group's merger plan last year.Moon Hyung-pyo, chief of the National Pension Service, appeared before the special probe team's office in southern Seoul to undergo questioning over suspicions he played a role in the merger plan of the country's largest family-run bus
Dec. 27, 2016
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Shipbuilders face gloomy order outlook for 2017
South Korea's top three shipbuilders are expected to suffer from tough business conditions in 2017 with their orders likely to reach levels similar to this year, industry sources said Tuesday.In the face of a global vessel glut and fiercer competition from Chinese rivals, the three shipyards -- Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Samsung Heavy Industries Co. and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. -- are struggling to set their order targets for next year, according to the sources.Industry le
Dec. 27, 2016
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Korea to remove import tariffs on 68 products in 2017
South Korea will remove import tariffs levied on 68 products including facility equipment for new industries next year as part of efforts to foster emerging industrial sectors, the finance ministry here said Tuesday.Starting from Jan. 1, the rate cut, which is part of the country's flexible tariff system, will be worth a combined 445.7 billion won ($372 million), down 8.2 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.The flexible tariff system refers to a governm
Dec. 27, 2016
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Has siblings’ race to Shinsegae leadership begun?
Market rumors are circulating over a possible battle between the son and daughter of Shinsegae Group Chairwoman Lee Myung-hee over the future leadership of the retail giant, with the latter making a rare public appearance earlier this month and securing two exclusive licenses to operate duty free-shops in a year.Shinsegae Inc. President Chung Yu-kyung made a surprise visit to Daegu on Dec. 15 to celebrate the opening of Shinsegae Department Store in the city. The event was considered rather surp
Dec. 26, 2016
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Independent counsel steps up probe of Samsung’s bribery allegations
The independent counsel team is speeding up its probe into whether Samsung paid kickbacks to President Park Geun-hye and her longtime friend Choi Soon-sil in exchange for backing the merger between its construction arm Samsung C&T and marketing subsidiary Cheil Industries last year.According to local news reports Monday, the counsel team has secured significant evidence and testimony that former Welfare Minister Moon Hyung-pyo had ordered the ministry’s affiliated organization National Pension S
Dec. 26, 2016
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Pork gift sets in demand due to anti-graft law
The anti-graft law that limits public officials, journalists and private school teachers from giving or receiving gifts worth more than 50,000 won ($41.70), has changed the trend of gift sets for the upcoming Lunar New Year -- mainly from beef to pork, industry sources said Monday.Lotte Department Store introduced its first-ever pork gift set earlier this month as part of a preliminary sales event held for the New Year. The upcoming Lunar New Year on Jan. 28, is the first traditional holiday sin
Dec. 26, 2016
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Korea to strengthen green tea industry, boost exports
The South Korean government on Tuesday rolled out plans to strengthen the country’s green tea industry over the next 10 years, with aims to boost local tea production and exports. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said it will enact policies to double the country's green tea production to 120 billion won ($160 million) and green tea exports to $1 million by 2026. “We hope to revitalize Korea’s stagnant tea industry to reposition it as one of the country’s economic growth driver
Dec. 26, 2016
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Korea to close 10 aged coal power plants by 2025
South Korea will shut down 10 aging coal-fired power plants by 2025 as part of its efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions and curb fine dust, a related ministry said Monday. The government also plans to replace environmental facilities at 43 other coal plants in the nation in the initiative expected to cost a total of 11.6 trillion won ($9.67 billion) by 2030, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.The ministry has signed an accord with five local power plant operators on the p
Dec. 26, 2016
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[Herald Interview] Air France-KLM combines European touch with comfort of home
Stefan Vanovermeir returned to South Korea this June as the new general manager for Air France-KLM in Korea, Japan and New Caledonia, 10 years after working in the country as Air France Korea’s commercial director.Many things have changed over the past decade, Vanovermeir said, but one thing has stayed the same -- Korea is intensely competitive and is the perfect place to try out new strategies through customers who are vocal about what they want.“Korean consumers are responsive, more demanding,
Dec. 26, 2016
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Doosan Heavy bags W2.8tr deal with India
Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction has bagged a deal worth 2.8 trillion won ($2.3 billion) to build two coal-fired plants in India, the company said Monday. Korea’s top equipment maker said its overseas corporation Doosan Power Systems India received the notice of award from the Uttar Pradesh provincial government to build the Obra-C coal power plant and Jawaharpur coal power plant in northern India. With each comprised of two 660-megawatt plants, the total production capacity of the power
Dec. 26, 2016
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Domino's Pizza leads local industry in sales in 2015: report
Domino's Pizza led the local industry in sales last year, while local franchise Pizza Maru came out on top in profit, a report showed Monday.According to the report from the Fair Trade Commission, Domino's Pizza posted average sales of 748.76 million won ($624,400) per shop in 2015, followed by Pizza Alvolo with 521.45 million won and Pizza Hut with 481.74 million won.The report is based on an analysis of the top 10 pizza brands here.A local brand, Pizza School, had the largest number of franchi
Dec. 26, 2016
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[From the scene] Japan’s race to revolutionary future in 2020
The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles on the moves made by the companies and governments of South Korea, China and Japan in entering the new industry 4.0 era. This is the fourth installment. -- Ed. TOKYO -- For the Tokyo Olympics in 1964, Japan unveiled the Shinkansen bullet train, broadcast live TV images via satellite and used computers to record statistics, the first such attempt for the global games. Now, over five decades later and four years away from another Olym
Dec. 25, 2016