Most Popular
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Korea enters full election mode
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Immigrant woman stabbed to death by Korean husband
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Seoul bus drivers go on general strike, cause morning rush hour delays
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Lee Jong-sup resigns as envoy to Australia
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Yellow dust engulfs S. Korea, advisory alert issued
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Official campaigning kicks off for April 10 elections
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S. Korea to boost support for single-parent families
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Court upholds jail term for man who attempted to murder ex-girlfriend
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Kia EV9 wins world car of year
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Korea misses out on global bond index boost
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Samsung mass-produces first all-in-one bioprocessor
Samsung’s all-in-one bioprocessorSamsung Electronics said Tuesday it has started mass-producing the world’s first all-in-one bioprocessor that collects and analyzes biological information such as heart rate and body fat in a single chip. In recent years, global device-makers have been piling into the soaring health care device market, but most of their fitness trackers have not gone much beyond heart rate or sleep quality monitors. With the unprecedented one chip solution, Samsung said it aims t
Dec. 29, 2015
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Debt is Korea’s biggest economic problem: FSC
Yim Jong-yongFinancial Services Commission Chairman Yim Jong-yong pinpointed household and corporate debt as the biggest potential problems for the Korean economy, calling for “fierce reforms” to guard against them. “The debt problem, (particularly) of households and corporates, is the biggest risk to our economy,” the chief financial regulator said in his year-end press meeting in central Seoul, Tuesday. Korea’s economy faces multiple challenges, including an uncertain global economic outlook,
Dec. 29, 2015
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After accord, Seoul begins work on fund for former sex slaves
Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam meets victims of Japan’s wartime sex slavery in Seoul on Tuesday. YonhapThe Seoul government on Tuesday set the ball rolling to execute Monday’s bilateral agreement with Tokyo to settle the issue of Japan’s wartime sexual slavery, despite escalating controversy over the ambiguity of the clauses and objections from the victims and civic groups.Seoul’s Foreign Ministry began its internal preparatory work for the establishment of a fund to support the Korean victi
Dec. 29, 2015
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Third Hanwha scion steps into limelight
Hangwha E&C manager Kim Dong-sun. YonhapKim Dong-sun, the third son of Hanwha Group chairman Kim Seung-youn, showed up at the media briefing Dec. 21 to showcase the Galleria Duty Free 63, the company’s duty-free store in Yeouido, southwest Seoul. Unlike the usual hierarchical introduction, Dong-sun came forward right after Hanwha Gelleria Time World CEO Hwang Yong-deuk, outranking four other vice presidents of the company. He also stood at the center when posing for photos at the opening of the
Dec. 29, 2015
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Kumho chairman’s passion: Nurturing classical music talent
Kumho Asiana Group chairman Park Sam-koo (third from right) and pianist Cho Seong-jin (third from left) pose in November in Japan. Cho, the winner of the 2015 International Chopin Competition, participated in Kumho Foundation’s training program. Kumho Asiana Cultural FoundationOn Christmas Eve at the Kumho Art Hall in central Seoul, an old man approached a little boy sitting at the back row of the front bloc during the intermission of the Kumho Soloists’ recital.“Why don’t you come and sit with
Dec. 29, 2015
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U.S., U.N. commend sex slavery settlement
A day after Seoul and Tokyo pulled off a compromise in their sex slavery row, the U.S., the U.N. and other actors in the international community churned out praise and support, displaying hopes for an end to the decades-old historical animosity. While acknowledging the need for Japan to follow through on its promises, they stressed the significance of what is supposed to be a “final and irreversible” closure of the dispute that has long plagued relations between the two neighbors and staunch U.S
Dec. 29, 2015
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Rushed sex slavery deal blasted
Despite a much-touted breakthrough with Japan on sex slavery, criticism is simmering over Seoul’s apparently rushed negotiations that led to its failure to consult beforehand with the victims, leaving room for potential diplomatic blunders and political backlash at home. Monday’s announcement came as a surprise to many because the bilateral director-general-level talks had made little headway during the 11 rounds since April 2014. Even early this month, diplomatic sources remained skeptical of t
Dec. 29, 2015
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Opposition party changes name
Striving to renew its image prior to the April general elections, the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy revised its name to “Together Democratic Party” on Monday.With this, the party moved closer to its former and most recognized name “Democratic Party,” and also removed any trace of defected cochairman Ahn Cheol-soo, whose signature slogan is “new politics.”“The party decided that the title Together (‘deobuleo’ in Korean) Democratic Party, though not 100 percent in accord with
Dec. 29, 2015
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Underground economy still huge
Shortly after President Park Geun-hye took office in early 2013, her administration announced a plan to collect an additional 27.2 trillion won ($23.3 billion) in tax revenue over the next five years by shedding light on underground business activities. The envisioned tax revenue was part of a scheme for financing Park’s welfare programs without raising tax rates as she promised during her election campaign.In a parliamentary audit of the National Tax Service in September, taxation officials sai
Dec. 28, 2015
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Hyundai highlights Genesis, global talent in reshuffle
Hyundai Motor Group on Monday promoted 368 staff at the executive level of 25 affiliates, highlighting the company’s globalization strategy as well as its new standalone premium sedan brand, the Genesis. Luc Donckerwolke and Manfred Fitzgerald“The promotion is designed to beef up our core competitiveness in future technologies, quality and brands, to become the global market leader,” a Hyundai spokesman said. The company appointed Luc Donckerwolke as the head of Hyundai Design Center, and Manfre
Dec. 28, 2015
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Hanwha opens skyscraper duty-free store
Hanwha Group, the country’s ninth-largest conglomerate, opened the Galleria Duty Free 63, a new urban duty-free store located in the iconic 63 City building of Yeouido, southwestern Seoul, on Monday. It aims to generate more than 500 billion won ($430 million) in sales with annual growth of more than 14 percent. The burgeoning duty-free unit under Hanwha Galleria Time World ― retail arm of the group ― threw open 60 percent of the 10,153 square-meter store stocked with 369 glitzy brands attractin
Dec. 28, 2015
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Lotte replaces duty-free chief
In the aftermath of its failure to retain the license for an urban duty-free shop, Lotte Group appointed Chang Sun-wook as the new head of Hotel Lotte’s duty-free operations on Monday.Chang will replace Lee Hong-kyun, who resigned after taking responsibility for having to shut down Lotte Duty Free Shop in Jamsil, southern Seoul. Lee will remain as an advisor.The country’s fifth-largest conglomerate said Chang, who currently heads Lotte’s advertising agency Daehong Communications, has a long hist
Dec. 28, 2015
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History of American rock ’n’ roll offers vision for K-pop’s future
A former Korean journalist has published a book that traces the holy grails of rock ‘n’ roll based on his journey across the musical heartlands of the U.S.“In Search of Rock ‘n’ Roll Heritage: American Rock Music Landmarks” is a travelogue highlighting the cultural and economic power of museums, monuments and memorials. The book was written by Cho Hyun-jin, a distinguished professor at Kookmin University and former journalist for YTN, Arirang TV and Billboard magazine, who is also credited with
Dec. 28, 2015
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EU lauds Paris climate deal
The adoption of the historic agreement at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris on Dec. 12 was an “unprecedented political victory” and “turning point” toward sustainable international development, the French Embassy announced last week. Publicizing a statement from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development, the diplomatic mission stressed that the legally binding accord among 195 participating nations ― to cap global warming at 2 degrees Celsius above
Dec. 28, 2015
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Syrian student on mission to help refugees
When the world mourned over dead Syrian toddler Aylan Kurdi, who washed up on a Turkish beach in early September, one Syrian man was not tormented. He had lost three children in an air strike some time before. “The boy looked like a sleeping angel. I wish my children had died like that,” the grief-stricken father told Abdul Wahab Almohammad Agha, the director of humanitarian organization Help Syria, at a refugee camp in Jordan in September. “Aylan’s father is a lucky guy compared to me. I died e
Dec. 28, 2015
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Ahn promises ‘rational reform’
Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo said Sunday that his forthcoming political party would seek rational reform, further distancing himself from the established parties that he has vowed to challenge in next year’s general election.He also stepped up his attacks against the Park Geun-hye administration, lambasting its economic policies as “insufficient” and “uncreative.”“The new political party will embrace ‘rational reform’ instead of ‘old progressivism’ and ‘reactionary conservatism,’” the independent lawmaker
Dec. 27, 2015
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Asia Culture Center to serve as ‘test bed’ for original content
GWANGJU ― If you exit the subway station connected to the Asia Culture Center in Gwangju thinking that the multicultural complex will be similar in scale to the Seoul Arts Center in southern Seoul, you should think again. Asia Culture Center in Gwangju (Culture Ministry)With its five interconnected buildings based on different yet synergistic and convergent themes, the Asia Culture Center strikes awe in visitors, who marvel at the architecture and the interior maze of exhibition and performance
Dec. 27, 2015
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Park at the vanguard of cultural diplomacy
The strains of “Arirang,” Korea’s unofficial national anthem, filled the air as President Park Geun-hye smiled at the National Marionette Theatre in Prague early this month, followed by Czech folk song “Humoresques.“Titled “In the Attic,” the puppet show was the product of collaboration between the two countries’ artists ― traditional Korean pansori piece “Sugungga” formed the central music and story line under the command of a Korean director, while the rabbit and turtle marionettes playing the
Dec. 27, 2015
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[Newsmaker] Mirae Asset to shake up brokerage industry
In South Korea where many family-run conglomerates hold the whip hand over much of the economy, the self-made billionaire Park Hyeon-joo’s bold step to create the country’s biggest brokerage has come into the spotlight after his successful bid to acquire KDB Daewoo Securities. Mirae Asset Financial Group chairman Park Hyeon-joo. (Yonhap)When a consortium of Mirae Asset Securities and Mirae Asset Global Investments was chosen as the preferred bidder to take over the country’s second-largest broke
Dec. 27, 2015