Most Popular
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[H.eco Forum] H.eco Forum calls for transition to clean, carbon-free energy
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[Exclusive] LACMA admits it needs further research on donated Korean paintings
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AI Seoul Summit adopts declaration on safe, innovative, inclusive AI
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Russia likely offering N. Korea technology aid to expand threats to US, others: Pentagon official
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[Bridge to Africa] Africa-Korea partnership: Why it matters for future
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[Herald Interview] Korean adoptees embark on journeys to find roots
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[Graphic News] Medical tourists visiting Korea reach record high
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Revote on Marine probe bill to be held next week
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Embryo activist: Baby's lawsuit takes on S. Korea climate inaction
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Illit’s agency sues Ador CEO Min Hee-jin for defamation
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Koreans turn to value brands amid economic slump
More South Koreans choose to go for cheap but quality brands at places like dollar-shop chain Daiso and second-hand shops in search of good deals amid a prolonged economic slump, industry officials said Thursday.Japan-based Daiso, which sells products priced from 2,000 and 5,000 won ($4.36), operates over 1,000 outlets across the country, a jump from 850 in 2012, the company said. (Daiso)"More consumers choose Daiso as the company has a team of officials who strictly maintain the product's quali
Feb. 2, 2017
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Dongwha Duty Free to hand over majority stake to Hotel Shilla
Dongwha Duty Free on Thursday confirmed it will hand over a majority stake to Hotel Shilla in a put option obligation but denied it was pulling out of the business.Dongwha, opened in 1979 as the country's first duty-free shop in the downtown area, will transfer a 30.2-percent stake, or (Yonhap)543,600 shares, to Hotel Shilla. Combined with the 19.9-percent stake it already purchased in 2013 with the put option, Hotel Shilla will own 50.1 percent and become the largest shareholder.Dongwha said Ki
IndustryFeb. 2, 2017
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Daewoo E&C wins $590m road construction deal from Qatar
South Korean builder Daewoo E&C has signed a deal to expand and build an expressway in Qatar, the company said Thursday.Under the deal, signed Wednesday in Qatar, the South Korean construction firm will add a 4.5-kilometer extension to the country's E-Ring expressway, while also building 4 kilometers of roads with three multilevel intersections. A rendering of E-Ring expressway (Daewoo E&C)The South Korean firm was initially awarded the project in 2016 for $730 million.But after changes to the o
IndustryFeb. 2, 2017
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Consumer prices rise fastest in over four years in Jan.
South Korea’s consumer prices rose at the fastest pace in over four years in January, driven up by sharp price hikes in fresh food and oil, government data showed Thursday.The consumer price index gained 2 percent in January from a year earlier, the highest level since 2.1 percent in October 2012, according to Statistics Korea. The on-year growth of the index had stayed just above zero percent since May last year and started to increase from September in the 1 percent range, hitting 2 percent la
Feb. 2, 2017
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3.5m more low-income people eligible for govt.-backed loans
South Korea's financial regulatory body said Thursday it will ease qualifications for relatively low interest rate loans backed by the authorities so that more people can benefit from the program.The Financial Services Commission has decided to lower the credit rating for Miso Finance policy loans to the sixth level or lower from the current seventh or lower. Miso Finance is designed to help those who seek to launch or operate their own businesses. A brochure on Miso Finance policy loans for low
Feb. 2, 2017
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Govt. to spend W315.7b to develop bio technology in 2017
South Korea's science ministry said Thursday that it will spend 315.7 billion won ($273.7 million) this year to develop new bio technology, as part of efforts to become a global biotech and medical industry hub.The 2017 budget, a 31.4 percent jump from a year earlier, is aimed at developing key biotech in sectors, such as genomes and brain science, the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning said. (Yonhap)Of the total, 262.6 billion won will be allocated to develop key technology, including
IndustryFeb. 2, 2017
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Koreans consume more foreign beef over expensive local hanwoo
South Koreans consumed more American and other foreign beef than expensive local beef last year, a move that has lowered the country's self-sufficiency rate for beef to below 40 percent over 13 years, a state-run think tank said Thursday.Last year, South Koreans consumed 362,000 tons of foreign beef, accounting for 62.3 percent of the total beef consumption in the country, according to the Korea Rural Economic Institute.(Yonhap)Australian beef came to 178,000 tons, making up 49 percent of total
Feb. 2, 2017
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KT&G chief acquitted of receiving kickbacks from lobbyist
A local court on Thursday acquitted the head of the country's leading tobacco maker of receiving some tens of millions of won in bribes from a lobbyist for striking a deal with an advertising agency, citing a lack of evidence.The Seoul Central District Court found Baek Bok-in, who led KT&G Corp. from 2015, not guilty of receiving 55 million won ($47,000) from the person, surnamed Kwon, between 2011 and 2012 in return for securing a contract with the company. This file photo taken on March 31, 20
IndustryFeb. 2, 2017
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Korean cosmetics drop in price, shipment volume in China
The price of imported Korean cosmetics in China dropped by some 40 percent last year, Chinese customs data showed Thursday, for reasons industry watchers see as driven both politically and by the market. Records from the Tianjin Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau indicated an average 40 percent drop in the price of cosmetics shipped in from South Korea. The volume of the imported shipments totaled 2,200 tons last year, down 46 percent from the year before. (Yonhap)The monetary value of
IndustryFeb. 2, 2017
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Acting president calls for enhanced industrial safety efforts
Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on Thursday called on the government and businesses to enhance industrial safety management, especially for smaller subcontracting companies.During a regular meeting of ministers on pending state affairs, Hwang warned that the government will take "stern measures" against companies that are negligent of workplace safety obligations. Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn speaks during a meeting of ministers on pending state affairs at
IndustryFeb. 2, 2017
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Korean firms' facility investments to edge up in 2017
Facility investments by South Korean firms could edge up 0.1 percent in 2017 from a year earlier, but there is a divide between large and small companies, South Korea's state-run Korea Development Bank said Thursday.The combined facility investments planned for this year reached 179.7 trillion won ($156 billion), up 300 billion won from a year earlier, the bank said, citing its recent survey of 3,550 local firms. (Yonhap)Big companies said they would spend 154.6 trillion won on facility investme
Feb. 2, 2017
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Mobile carriers under pressure to cut fees as marketing costs fall
South Korea's three mobile carriers have been under pressure to cut fees as a law helps them save about 310 billion won ($269.2 million) in marketing spending last year, according to a consumer advocacy group Thursday. The Mobile Device Distribution Improvement Act came into force in October 2014 with the aim of keeping fierce competition to woo customers with hefty subsidies in check. (Yonhap)The law had originally been designed to benefit customers by eliminating illegal subsidies, but critics
IndustryFeb. 2, 2017
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S-Oil's 2016 net doubles on improved refining margin
S-Oil Corp., the No. 3 oil refiner in South Korea, said Thursday that its earnings doubled last year from a year earlier, helped by a surge in its refining margins and widening spreads for chemicals goods.Net profit reached 1.26 trillion won ($1.1 billion) last year, compared with a profit of 631 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. (Yonhap)Operating income also more than doubled to a record 1.69 trillion won from 817 billion won over the cited period, while sales
IndustryFeb. 2, 2017
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SK to take over Dow Chemical's EAA unit for $370m
SK Innovation Co., the country's No. 1 oil refiner, said Thursday that its affiliate has decided to take over Dow Chemical Co's ethylene acrylic acid business in a bid to diversify its business portfolio.Its affiliate SK Global Chemical Co. will buy Dow Chemical's EAA business for $370 million, it said in a regulatory filing. (Yonhap)The deal includes the purchase of EAA production facilities in the US and Spain, and the related technology, it added. The company said the takeover is aimed at hel
IndustryFeb. 2, 2017
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Apple, Samsung lead shrinking global tablet PC market
Apple Inc. and its South Korean archrival Samsung Electronics Co. will roll out their latest tablet PCs in the first half of this year amid a prolonged slump in global sales, market watchers said Thursday.No. 1 player Apple, which has seen its signature iPad sales fall to the lowest level since its launch in 2011, is gearing up to launch three new models sometime around March and April, they said. Apple Inc.'s iPad Pro (Apple Inc.)First, the so-called iPad Pro 2 -- a bigger version of the iPad P
IndustryFeb. 2, 2017
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Hyosung forecast to have logged upbeat earnings in 2016
Hyosung Corp., a leading South Korean synthetic fiber manufacturer, is expected to have an operating income of over 1 trillion won ($864 million) in 2016, aided by strong sales of spandex and tire cord, industry sources said Thursday.Hyosung, scheduled to report its 2016 earnings this week, logged an operating income of 801 billion won in the first nine months of last year. In 2015, the company posted an operating income of 950 billion won. (Yonhap)Hyosung, the world's No. 1 player in the global
IndustryFeb. 2, 2017
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Authorities to crack down on audit info leaks
South Korea's state financial watchdog said Thursday it will crack down on unfair stock trading using illegally acquired corporate audit information.The move comes as local companies have entered the full-fledged settlement and accounting season. The logo of the Financial Supervisory Service (Yonhap)Over 95 percent of incorporated firms in the nation finish their fiscal year at the end of December.Accounting settlements and outside audits are usually held between January and March."(Those firms)
Feb. 2, 2017
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Lone diners drive Dec. consumption growth
Despite a fall in shipments of durable goods, South Korea's retail sales posted moderate growth in December on increased spending by people who dine or drink alone, government data showed Thursday.The country's retail sales index expanded 1.6 percent in December from the same month a year earlier, according to the data by Statistics Korea. (Yonhap)The gain was bolstered by a 4.9 percent on-year increase in sales of nondurable consumer goods, though shipments of cars and other durable goods shran
Feb. 2, 2017
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Honda to recall 1,400 cars in Korea for Takata air bags
Honda Korea, the local importer of the Japanese car brand, will recall over 1,400 cars sold in South Korea for Takata air bags whose metal inflator can fracture and shoot at passengers when the air bag is deployed, the transportation ministry said Thursday.The recall affects 1,407 Honda Accord cars produced between Aug. 2, 2011, and July 26, 2012. (Yonhap)"The ministry advises owners of such vehicles to immediately have their cars repaired as the issue has led to fatal accidents in other countri
IndustryFeb. 2, 2017
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Hyundai Motor plans to build Korea's tallest building in Seoul
Hyundai Motor Group's new headquarters building to be constructed in southern Seoul by 2021 will be the country's tallest, a district office said Wednesday.Its draft document for environmental impact assessment submitted to the Gangnam Ward Office showed that the main building of the planned Global Business Center (GBC) will be 569 meters tall.Previously, the world's fifth-largest carmaker said the 105-story main tower will be 553 meters, lower than the 555-meter Lotte World Tower awaiting the c
CompaniesFeb. 1, 2017