Most Popular
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No plan to let doctors with foreign licenses practice here anytime soon: PM
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Ador CEO's dismissal to be decided on last day of May
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[Graphic News] Beer the most favored alcoholic drink by Koreans
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Science Ministry expresses regret over Japan’s pressure on Naver
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Haeundae Beach to become sand art museum in late May
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Medical professors set to take day off amid protracted walkouts by junior doctors
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Hostilities get out of hand as YouTuber murders another outside courthouse
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Police officer jumps barefoot into drainage tunnel to save man
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Yoon interacts with public for 1st time since election defeat
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Lee Sun-kyun's posthumuous film to hit theaters in August
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Korean firms keeping tabs on fallout from Japan quakes
Korean companies are closely monitoring the impact of the recent earthquakes in Japan on the local and global manufacturing sectors as they have halted operations of major Japanese plants, industry sources said Monday.A magnitude-6.5 earthquake hit Japan's Kumamoto region Thursday, followed by a magnitude-7.0 tremor just 28 hours later. The temblors killed at least 42 people and injured some 1,500 people.The earthquakes have also disrupted supply chains of major manufacturing companies in the wo
IndustryApril 18, 2016
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Hyundai Heavy suffers massive loss from delay in ship construction
Hyundai Heavy Industries, a major Korean shipyard, suffered some 600 billion won ($523 million) in losses last year stemming from a delay in the construction of offshore facilities and ships, and other costs, industry sources said Monday.According to the sources, the shipyard logged a loss of 608 billion won last year coming from the failures to meet construction deadlines, work suspensions and other problems. The amount is equivalent to 2.5 percent of its total sales in 2015.Hit by an industryw
IndustryApril 18, 2016
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Strict lending rules force households to turn to savings banks
Korean households took more loans from savings banks last year compared with the previous year as banks tightened their lending rules to stay financially healthy, the central bank said Monday.As of the end of 2015, outstanding household loans extended by savings banks stood at 13.69 trillion won ($11.9 billion), accounting for 1.2 percent of overall household loans worth 1,141.83 trillion won, according to the data compiled by the Bank of Korea. Apartment complex in Seoul (Yonhap)The ratio of 1.
April 18, 2016
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Hyundai, Kia to recall 28,954 Sonata, K5, K7 sedans
Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors, Korea's leading automakers, are recalling a combined 14,926 passenger cars for problems with their steering and lighting systems, the transport ministry said Monday.Hyundai's YF Sonata and Kia's K5 mid-sized sedans were found to have glitches in the electronic control unit of the steering system that could lead to a short circuit when it's raining, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.The problem has been detected in 7,794 YF Sonatas produ
MobilityApril 18, 2016
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Lost Galaxy S5 survives 7 months outdoors
A Samsung Electronics Galaxy S5 device remained intact after being left outdoors for nearly seven months, the Korean tech giant said Monday, proving the smartphone's water and dust resistance.According to the company, Bae Gyu-ryong, a 70-year-old user of the Galaxy S5 who works at a medical center in Chungju, about 150 km southeast of Seoul, lost his smartphone while working in a persimmon orchard near his rural farmhouse in September last year. As the device was in silent mode, Bae was not able
TechnologyApril 18, 2016
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Department stores report growth in spring sales
Korean department stores posted a surge in sales during the spring discount season, helped by revived sentiment from last year's slump and spending by Chinese travelers, industry data showed Monday.Major department stores held a series of discount events from late March to mid-April, attracting both domestic customers and Chinese nationals visiting the nation.Lotte Department Store in Myeongdong (Yonhap)Lotte Department Store, the No. 1 department chain by Lotte Group, said its sales from March
IndustryApril 18, 2016
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Korea's dependence on coal-fired power output still high
Korea spent a record amount of money on coal-fired power generation last year, a nearly three-fold increase over a decade, indicating that the country's dependence on the fossil fuel still runs high, industry data showed on Monday.According to the data compiled by the Korea Power Exchange, the country paid a total of 41.6 trillion won ($36.2 billion) to private power generators last year, down 6.2 percent from the previous year's 44.4 trillion won, on the back of falling oil prices and the incre
April 18, 2016
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[Market Now] Romanson to change name to J Estina
Romanson, a Korean manufacturer of jewelry, accessories and watches, said it will be changing its company name to J Estina at an upcoming shareholders’ meeting on May 31, ditching the name that it has used for watches since 1988.J Estina is Romanson’s jewelry brand launched in 2003. After sponsoring jewelry for celebrities such as figure skating star Kim Yu-na, the company’s sales in jewelry and accessories began to lead its overall sales in 2007. The name change comes as sales of jewelry and ac
IndustryApril 18, 2016
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Korean shares open lower following quakes in Japan
Korean shares opened lower Monday, trimming recent gains, as investors weighed the impact of earthquakes that hit Japan last week.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 10.85 points, or 0.54 percent, to 2,003.86 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Bellwether Samsung Electronics fell 0.31 percent, and industry frontrunner Samsung Life Insurance declined 7.02 percent.Top automaker Hyundai Motor rose 1.32 percent and cosmetics giant AmorePacific climbed 1.87 percent, keeping KO
April 18, 2016
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Samsung to roll out new budget smartphone
South Korea's top tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. will release a new budget smartphone in China next month, industry sources said Sunday.The Galaxy C will be first rolled out in the Chinese market and later in the global market, they said.The Galaxy C will come with a 5.5-inch display and the price will be in the mid-200,000 won ($170) range. The move apparently follows the release of similar budget phones by Chinese and Indian manufacturers, they added.Samsung has been making efforts to bo
TechnologyApril 17, 2016
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[Graphic News] Koreans consume less meat than OECD average
The average Korean consumed 51.4 kilograms of meat in 2014, less than the average 63.5 kilograms of meat intake in member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, according to a report by the Food Ministry last week. Koreans consumed an average of 24.4 kilograms of pork, 15.4 kilograms of chicken and 11.6 kilograms of beef in 2014, the report showed.Of the 34 OECD member countries, the U.S. ranked first in meat consumption with an average of 89.7 kilograms, while B
IndustryApril 17, 2016
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Regulations on car tuning eased
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced the details of eased rules on car tune-ups, aimed at promoting the vehicle-tuning business as a growth engine, Sunday. The revised rulings, for instance, will remove the year limit on transforming an internal combustion engine-based car into an electrified vehicle. Under the current regulations, only cars with less than five years of history were subject to such tune-up by the law.An official from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure
IndustryApril 17, 2016
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[Photo News] Korean telecom watchdog beefs up ties with U.S. counterpart
KOREAN TELECOM WATCHDOG BEEFS UP TIES WITH U.S. COUNTERPART -- Tom Wheeler (left), chairman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, and Choi Sung-joon, chairman of South Korea’s telecommunications regulator Korea Communications Commission pose at a meeting held at the FCC last week. They discussed a range of issues including mergers between telecom companies and broadcasting firms, privacy laws, net neutrality and spectrum auctions. (KCC)
TechnologyApril 17, 2016
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[News analysis] Will Samsung merge Daewoo Shipbuilding?
Speculation grows over a possible merger between the country’s two major shipbuilders -- Samsung Heavy Industries and Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering -- as the government is pushing for restructuring of the faltering shipbuilding industry, amid concerns over falling shipbuilding orders.The sense of crisis over idling shipyards is on the rise this year as the number of shipbuilding orders won by the top three shipbuilders in the first three months of this year hit a record low of nine
IndustryApril 17, 2016
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CJ Foodville to sell wedding business unit to Unison Capital
CJ Foodville, a food services company under South Korean conglomerate CJ Group, is selling off its premium wedding and banquet business unit to Japan-based private equity fund Unison Capital. A CJ Foodville official on Friday said that the firm is “in the process of selling off Apelgamo, CJ’s premium wedding hall and banquet services brand in Seoul, to Unison Capital.” The firm will soon spin off the division for the sale. (Apelgamo)The official selling price of Apelgamo has yet to be disclosed,
IndustryApril 17, 2016
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SKT signs export deal for smartphone projector
SK Telecom, South Korea’s leading wireless firm, said Sunday that it has struck a deal to export its pico projector, worth 300 million yen, to Japan.The telecom firm said that it would supply its projector, UO Smart Beam Laser, to Taisei Express of Japan for one year starting from this month. Kim Sung-han(right), head of SKT’s device planning division poses with Taisei Express CEO Hwang Kyong-ho after signing a supply deal in Hong Kong on Saturday. (SKT)The two partners reached the deal at the H
TechnologyApril 17, 2016
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Trade dependence declines to 8-year low
Korea’s dependence on overseas trade fell to an eight-year low last year as export suffers setback, data showed Sunday. According to data by the Bank of Korea, the nation’s trade dependence ratio or the proportion of trade to gross national income plunged to a record 88.1 percent in 2015, down 10.5 percent points from a year earlier. It is the lowest reading since the gauge stood at 81.6 percent in 2007. The ratio had stayed at a level as high as around 90-110 percent between 2008 and 2014 as th
April 17, 2016
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Hana Financial joins tech consortium
Hana Financial Group said Sunday that it has joined notable financial companies in a consortium to apply and standarize innovative financial technologies.The “R3 CEV” group consists of 43 financial conglomerates, including Citigroup, Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and UBS. Hana Financial Group (Yonhap)Hana Financial will be participating in this group to apply emerging blockchain technology into services such as global transactions and security protection. Blockchain enables sto
April 17, 2016
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7-Eleven to launch new Gong Cha drinks this month
Korea Seven, the local operator of major convenience store chain 7-Eleven, on Sunday said it has signed a deal with milk tea chain Gong Cha Korea to launch two new drinks under the Gong Cha brand at 7-Eleven stores nationwide.Under the agreement, the two firms will jointly develop a range of ready-to-drink Gong Cha products to be exclusively sold at 7-Eleven outlets in Korea. The first two products will be introduced by the end of this month, with more to come in the future, according to Korea S
IndustryApril 17, 2016
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Korea to push for longer forex trading hours
Korea plans to extend its foreign exchange trading session by 30 minutes in line with its push for longer stock market trading hours, according to the nation’s chief financial policymaker. Currently, the local currency exchange market is open for six hours between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. The government now seeks to extend the market hours to 3:30 p.m. “The Financial Services Commission is pushing for the extension of stock market hours, and (we) will push for that of foreign exchange trading together,
April 17, 2016