Most Popular
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'Super Rich in Korea' will leave viewers appreciating Korea more: producers
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Probe of first lady on Dior bag allegations set to begin
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Top prosecutor pledges 'speedy, strict' probe into first lady's luxury bag allegations
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Korean battery makers heave sigh of relief over 2-year IRA reprieve
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Over 80,000 millionaires, 20 billionaires in Seoul: report
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Indonesia’s KF-21 fighter jet deal cut back -- what’s next?
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[KH Explains] Can tech firms' AI alliances take on Nvidia?
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Police seek arrest warrant for med student who killed girlfriend
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Local filmmakers criticize ‘The Roundup: Punishment’ monopoly of screens
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Will China's self-sufficient dream in HBM come true?
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Korea issues nationwide encephalitis warning
South Korea's health authorities on Monday issued a nationwide warning against the spread of encephalitis, advising the public to pay attention to personal hygiene and to get vaccinated if necessary. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it confirmed more than 500 mosquitoes of the Culex tritaeniorhynchus species nationwide that act as a carrier for the disease.The virus of Japanese encephalitis can cause an acute inflammation of the brain in humans. The center cautioned that
TechnologyJuly 11, 2016
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Bizmen calls for gov't support for joint tour project investment loss
A group of South Korean businessmen on Monday called on the government to further compensate their losses over the investments made in the now-halted inter-Korean tour program ahead of the eighth anniversary of the project's suspension.The local businessmen who poured money into the joint tour program at Mount Kumgang on the North's east coast should get financial compensation following Seoul's decision on July 12, 2008.The government took such a step after a North Korean soldier shot and killed
IndustryJuly 11, 2016
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Volume of damaged banknotes shrinks in H1
Both the volume and face value of damaged banknotes found in the first half of the year dropped from six months earlier, the central bank said Monday.In the January-June period, the face value of damaged banknotes exchanged at local banks, including the Bank of Korea, came to 1.51 trillion won ($1.31 billion), down 8.8 percent from the second half of 2015, according to the BOK.They will still cost tens of billions of won to be replaced, one of the reasons for the central bank's ongoing feasibili
July 11, 2016
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Seoul to resume Woori Bank sale process in Q3: sources
South Korea will resume the process of selling its majority stake in Woori Bank in the third quarter to help recover public funds after four failed attempts to privatize the state bank since 2010, people familiar with the matter said Monday. In a meeting held last week, the public funds management committee under the Financial Services Commission reconfirmed the government's stance to privatize Woori Bank and retrieve public money injected into the bank during the 1997 Asian financial crisis, a
July 11, 2016
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Korea approves CHA University's embryonic stem cell research
South Korea has approved CHA University's embryonic stem cell research seven years after it submitted the plan, on condition that it abides by high ethical standards, the government said Monday. The Ministry of Health and Welfare said it allowed the research team led by Prof. Lee Dong-ryul to use 600 egg cells in the next five years for the purpose of developing rare disease treatments. The ministry said the conditional approval requires the research team to abide by regulations on collection of
TechnologyJuly 11, 2016
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Human embryo research to resume in S. Korea
[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s Cha University has been granted conditional permit to carry out research using human embryos, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said on July 11. The research will be carried out using somatic cell nuclear transfer method. The method transfers the nucleus, which contains the majority of human genetic information, from a somatic cell into an ovum whose nucleus has been removed. Pixabay.comThis is the first time research using human embryos has been permitted in Korea
IndustryJuly 11, 2016
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[ANALYST REPORT] Tougher environmental regulations credit negative for KEPCO, subsidiaries
On July 5, the Korean government raised the minimum amount of electricity that generation companies should produce from renewable sources to 5 percent of each generator’s annual output for 2018, 6 percent for 2019 and 7 percent for 2020, a 0.5-1.0 percentage-point increase from its previous targets under the Renewable Portfolio Standard. The government also said that it aims to boost generators’ direct sales of renewable-sourced electricity to residential and industrial consumers. These initiati
July 11, 2016
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[ANALYST REPORT] Korea’s growth to benefit from strong FDI
On July 4, Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that foreign direct investment commitments in the first six months of this year increased by 18.6 percent from a year earlier to $10.5 billion, equal to 0.8 percent of 2015 GDP. This is credit positive for Korea (Aa2 stable) because, combined with government initiatives to restructure the Korean economy, these commitments will support economic growth, which has been negatively affected by dampened global demand. Total FDI commit
July 11, 2016
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July exports bode ill for S. Korea’s trade
[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s July exports so far have plunged 21.6 percent from a year ago, fueling worries that exports will continue to spiral in the second half of the year. According to the Korea Customs Service, exports between July 1 and July 10 came in at about US$ 10.35 billion, down 21.6 percent compared to the same period last year. From Jan. 1 to July 10, the country’s exports dropped 10.5 percent from a year ago to come in at US$ 252.1 billion. Until June, South Korea’s monthly expor
July 11, 2016
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NPS picks BlackRock, GCM Grosvenor to manage hedge funds
[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s National Pension Service -- the world’s third-largest public pension fund -- has selected Blackrock and GCM Grosvenor as general partners for managing 1 trillion won worth of hedge funds.This is 0.2 percent of the 500 trillion won (US$428.2 billion) of NPS’ assets under management. BlackRock is the world’s largest asset management firm that more than US$ 4.65 trillion AUM. GCM has invested over US$45 billion in hedge funds, private equity, real estate and infrastruct
July 11, 2016
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Up to 60% of Volkswagen cars to be kicked out of Korea
[THE INVESTOR] South Korean authorities announced July 11 that they will cancel the registration and suspend sales of all Volkswagen vehicles here that cheated on emission tests.The amount is expected to reach up to 60 percent of the total 250,000 units of VW cars that were sold in South Korea since 2007. Due to the staggering number, some industry watchers say the move may be designed to eventually kick the brand out of the market for good. The Ministry of Environment said the Seoul Central Di
MobilityJuly 11, 2016
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Panasonic dismisses Samsung, LG as viable suppliers for Tesla
[THE INVESTOR] Korean firms Samsung SDI and LG Chem are unlikely to supply batteries for US-based Telsa’s electric cars any time soon, as Panasonic will continue being the exclusive supplier, according to an executive at the Japanese firm.Kenji Tamura, the head of Panasonic’s energy business, said in a recent interview with Japanese reporters that he is “confident,” that Panasonic would keep the exclusive contract with the US partner.Tesla Model 3This is because as Panasonic, the sole battery su
TechnologyJuly 11, 2016
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LINE sets IPO price at 3,300 yen
[THE INVESTOR] LINE Corp. has set the price for its initial public offering at the top of its marketing range to raise up to 132.8 billion yen (US$1.3 billion), the company said in a regulatory filing on July 11 in Tokyo. The immensely popular mobile messaging service, owned by Korean Internet giant Naver, will sell 35 million shares at 3,300 yen per share. Another 5.25 million shares also will be sold through a so-called greenshoe option allowing it to increase the amount of stock sold. The com
TechnologyJuly 11, 2016
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Korea to ban sales, nullify certifications of Volkswagen vehicles
South Korea's government on Monday said it will ban sales and revoke certifications of dozens of Volkswagen models that are suspected to have passed the local authentication process with doctored reports. The Ministry of Environment said it has received an official request for cooperation from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office with a list of over 70 models of the German carmaker that are suspected of obtaining approval from the local authorities with faked reports on noise level, fu
MobilityJuly 11, 2016
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Samsung reaches agreement with Shinsegae on mobile payment services
[THE INVESTOR] Although Samsung Electronics has touted its mobile payment solution Samsung Pay as a universal payment platform available both online and offline, it had a major setback as it was unavailable at the stores run by South Korea’s largest retail firm Shinsegae.Things will likely change soon as the two have reportedly reach an agreement.Samsung Electronics’ mobile payment solution Samsung Pay. Samsung Electronics“After lengthy negotiations, the two companies have been able to find midd
TechnologyJuly 11, 2016
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Renault Samsung's sales in H1 up 25.9%
Renault Samsung Motors Co., the local unit of French automaker Renault S.A., has boosted its sales in the first six months of this year by taking advantage of a consumption tax cut program.Renault Samsung said it sold a cumulative 46,916 units at home during the January-June period, up 25.9 percent from a year earlier.It marked the highest rate of sales growth among carmakers in South Korea.GM Korea Co., the local unit of U.S. carmaker General Motors Co., said its cumulative sales at home during
MobilityJuly 11, 2016
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More salaried workers adding income from outside of jobs
A growing number of salaried workers are making extra money from means other than their main jobs, subjecting them to higher state health insurance payments, statistics from health authorities showed Monday.According to the statistics, 39,143 workers were ordered to pay more insurance money in 2015 because of the income they gained from business operations, dividends, leases and other non-job sources, numbers provided by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the National Health Insurance Servic
July 11, 2016
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BOK expected to hold policy rate steady in July: poll
South Korea's central bank is forecast to keep its key rate frozen in July, one month after sending it to a record low level to bolster growth in Asia's fourth-largest economy, a poll showed Monday.In a survey conducted by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency, all 12 economists polled predicted the Bank of Korea to assume a wait-and-see mode, partly to gauge the effect of its latest rate cut but also because of growing household debt."The central bank will likely wait to
July 11, 2016
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Parliament endorses revisions to income tax exemptions
The parliament agrees with the government that the current income tax exemptions need to be overhauled to create a stronger tax base, a report said Monday.The report by the National Assembly's committee on budget and accounts assessing the 2015 fiscal year noted how the proportion of non-taxpayers was increasing from broadened exemptions over the past years. According to the report, 48 percent of income earners did not pay taxes in 2015, about the same as the previous year.The non-tax paying pop
July 11, 2016
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MBK Partners recoups record US$3.3b from investments
[THE INVESTOR] MBK Partners has recouped a record amount from its investments over the past two years since July 2014, industry sources said on July 10.Since June 2014, MBK Partners -- South Korea’s largest PEF -- managed to recoup US$3.3 billion by selling equity and driving up dividends from its past investments. MBK Partners founder and chairman Michael Byung-ju Kim When including the returns from other projects MBK jointly invested in, such as with South Korea’s National Pension Fund, Singap
IndustryJuly 11, 2016