Most Popular
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‘Gimflation’ in S. Korea as dried seaweed prices grow on rising global demand
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S. Korea's gender pay gap worst in OECD
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Yoon to resume diplomatic activity via 3-way summit with Japan, China
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SM, YG Entertainment’s K-pop groups benefit from troubles at Hybe
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South Korea unveils W26tr support program for chip industry
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S. Korea to hold rotating presidency of UN Security Council next month
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Yoon rejects Lee's proposal for pension reform talks
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Student nabbed for biking naked 'due to stress'
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Police arrest mastermind behind last year's palace vandalism
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Chonnam international student found dead
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Seoul shares to move in narrow range next week
South Korean stocks are likely to trade in a tight range next week as investors watch out for second-quarter earnings results and the Fed's two-day policy meeting, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 2,045.96 on Friday, falling 1.48 percent from a week earlier. The KOSPI kicked off on a slightly weak note as profit concerns on major shipbuilders offset easing worries over Greece and China.Later in the week, the index moved lower as foreigners
July 25, 2015
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Park urges business heads to lead creative economy
President Park Geun-hye on Friday invited 17 business leaders to Cheong Wa Dae to celebrate the completion of creative economy centers nationwide and ask their active support in the future operation. As part of a government-led initiative, a total of 17 Centers for Creative Economy and Innovation have been launched over the past year aiming to nurture competitive start-ups across industries in partnership with big conglomerates. (Yonhap)A combined 2 trillion won ($1.7 billion) will be poured int
IndustryJuly 24, 2015
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SK innovation center boosts start-ups
DAEJEON -- The Daejeon Creative Economy Innovation Center, jointly established by SK Group and the South Korean government in a bid to nurture local start-ups, is helping to accelerate the growth and expansion of promising venture firms.Located at KAIST, one of Korea’s most prestigious universities focused on science and technology research and development, the center opened its doors in October 2014 aiming to help information and communications technology-focused start-ups commercialize their t
IndustryJuly 24, 2015
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NPS under pressure to reform after Samsung-Elliott battle
Following is the last in a four-part series featuring the battle between Samsung C&T and Elliott Associates over the Korean builder’s merger with Cheil Industries and its implications. ― Ed. The National Pension Service is facing growing pressure to reform its decision-making process after it participated in a crucial vote on a $8 billion merger deal between Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries last Friday.The NPS, the nation’s largest investor with assets of 500 trillion won ($430 billion), voted
IndustryJuly 24, 2015
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Banks step up efforts to curb switching accounts
Banks are gearing up their efforts to retain their conventional customers and stop them from moving their accounts to other banks ― a provisionary measure to the incoming bank account switching system.Starting from October, customers will be able to move their accounts more freely from one bank to another, without having to adjust their automatic withdrawals. The system was introduced by the Financial Services Commission back in 2013 as a means to enhance the competitiveness of the banking indus
July 24, 2015
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Hyundai Steel’s operating profit soars
Hyundai Steel’s second-quarter operating profit jumped 18.3 percent on-year to record 424.5 billion won ($363.5 million), buoyed by the construction market showing signs of recovery.Although higher than a year ago, the figures released Friday fell short of projections of 446.5 billion won by seven major local stock firms, including Samsung Securities and Korea Investment & Securities. The steelmaker posted 3.7 trillion won in sales, down 11.3 percent, as price-competitive Chinese products caused
IndustryJuly 24, 2015
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Hana Financial's net slips 10.27 pct in Q2
Major South Korean banking group Hana Financial Group Inc. said Friday that its second-quarter net profit fell 10.27 percent from a year earlier due to a rise in loan-loss reserves.Net income stood at 374.9 billion won ($321 million) in the April-June period, compared with 417.8 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.Compared with three months earlier, the group's bottom line stayed nearly unchanged from 374 billion won.For the first half, its net profit jumped 22.7
July 24, 2015
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S. Korea's trade projected to hit 5-year low in 2015
South Korea's trade volume is forecast to hit a five-year low this year as a stronger local currency and low oil prices weigh heavily on Asia's fourth-largest economy, data showed Friday.The country's exports reached $268.7 billion in the first six months of the year, down 5.1 percent from a year earlier, while imports fell 15.6 percent on-year to $222.4 billion, according to the data compiled by the Korea Customs Service.As a result, South Korea posted a 10.1 percent drop in total trade volume
July 24, 2015
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Kia Motors' net tumbles over 27 pct in Q2
Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's No. 2 carmaker, said Friday its second-quarter earnings plunged more than 27 percent from a year earlier on weak sales at home and abroad.Net income came to 746.5 billion won ($642.92 million) in the April-June period, down 27.1 percent from a year earlier, the company said in its regulatory filing.Operating profit also sank 15.5 percent on-year to 650.7 billion won, but sales edged up 3.2 percent to 12.44 trillion won.Kia Motors, the smaller affiliate of industry
IndustryJuly 24, 2015
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S. Korean consumer sentiment inches up in July
Consumer sentiment in South Korea rose slightly in July after plummeting to a two-year low on concerns over the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak last month, central bank data showed Friday. The overall consumer sentiment index reached 100 in July, inching up from 99 in the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea. A reading below 100 indicates that pessimists outnumber optimists. In June, the index fell below the benchmark level for the first time in more than two years,
July 24, 2015
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KFC launches Hawaiian Burger
U.S.-based fast food chain KFC launched the new Hawaiian Burger in South Korea on Wednesday in celebration of the summer season.The new burger features a spicy chicken filet, a thick slice of canned pineapple and fresh lettuce, topped with white pine sauce for a zesty taste.To celebrate the launch of the new product, KFC is holding a number of promotional events for customers who purchase the new Hawaiian Burger.Customers who buy the burger will receive one Petitzel, a watery jelly dessert made
IndustryJuly 23, 2015
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Electrolux launches Masterpiece home appliance line
Sweden-based home appliances manufacturer Electrolux launched its new premium small home appliances lineup in Korea on Wednesday.Electrolux’s Masterpiece Collection features an immersion blender, food processor and jug blender. The three-piece collection comes after three years of development and was inspired by the company’s professional appliance lineup. The collection’s three products have been equipped with the so-called “power tilt” technology, which “uses the forces of gravity to shift the
IndustryJuly 23, 2015
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Caffe Bene launches colorful, fruity menus
South Korean coffee chain Caffe Bene has launched a number of new seasonal drinks and cakes to meet the public’s increasing demands for colorful, eye-catching products made with fresh fruits.The coffee chain has introduced seven types of new fruit juices as part of its so-called rainbow drinks lineup. The red-colored Cherry Shower mixes fresh cherries with carbonated water. The orange-colored Grapefruit Sunset combines grapefruit extract with orange juice.The yellow-colored mango juice is made w
IndustryJuly 23, 2015
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GDP growth stays below 1% for 5th quarter
South Korea posted economic growth of less than 1 percent for the fifth consecutive quarter amid the protracted slump in private consumption and exports, data from the Bank of Korea showed Thursday.The BOK said the nation’s gross domestic product expanded 0.3 percent in the second quarter, compared to the previous quarter.After peaking at 1.1 percent in the first quarter of 2014, the quarter-to-quarter growth stayed below 1 percent last year ― 0.5 percent in the second quarter, 0.8 percent in th
July 23, 2015
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Hyundai to pay first interim dividend
Hyundai Motor decided Thursday to pay out 269 billion won ($231 million) to shareholders as its first-ever interim dividend in a move to raise its dividend payment to global standards.The carmaker said in a regulatory filing that it will pay a cash dividend of 1,000 won per share. It paid 3,000 won per share in dividends to individual shareholders late last year, which was 54 percent higher than the previous year.Hyundai has been struggling to adopt shareholder-friendly policies since its stock
IndustryJuly 23, 2015
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Daewoo E&C to start Gimpo apartment sales
Daewoo Engineering & Construction, a major South Korean builder, said Thursday it would begin allotting the Prugio apartment complex, named the “Gimpo Pungmu 2nd Prugio,” in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province. Prugio is the apartment brand name of Daewoo E&C. Located within walking distance to Pungmu subway station on a line connected to subway lines 5 and 9 and the Incheon Airport Railroad, residents can travel to Yeouido, Seoul, in 20 minutes when the line opens in 2018.The complex will offer a total of
IndustryJuly 23, 2015
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Montblanc goes young, tech-savvy
Sylvain Costof, managing director of Montblanc KoreaMontblanc Korea CEO on Thursday announced that the Swiss luxury maker is set to win the hearts of younger customers with high-tech devices and a wider range of products in order to achieve its planned double-digit growth here. This will start with the launch of a digital watch strap in August, followed by the introduction of 400 items and aggressive online marketing tailored to tech-savvy and contemporary clientele, said Sylvain Costof, managin
IndustryJuly 23, 2015
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LG Display to invest W1tr in flexible OLED
LG Display said Thursday it would make a fresh investment of 1.05 trillion won ($900 million) into the production of sixth-generation flexible OLED panels at its plant in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province. The company said it aims to produce 7,500 units of the futuristic display per month from 2017. By producing larger panel sheets, the company hopes to more than quadruple the plant’s production efficiency.LG Display, the world’s largest display-maker by sales, has invested more than 14 trillion w
TechnologyJuly 23, 2015
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OB adds premium product to Cass brand
Oriental Brewery, South Korea’s largest beer manufacturer, said Thursday that it was adding a new premium line to its flagship brand Cass, in an effort to appeal to young trend-leading consumers.Since it was taken over by Belgium-based Anheuser-Busch InBev last year, the company has actively been expanding its product portfolio, but this is the first time that it launched a Cass-affiliated product.In a press conference Thursday, OB said that it is to launch Cass Beats, a premium beer that target
July 23, 2015
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KB Financial’s net profit falls in Q2
KB Financial Group said Thursday that its net profit for the second quarter stood at 339.6 billion won ($291 million), down 43.9 percent from the previous quarter, due to the expenses spent on mass voluntary retirement.Its quarterly sales and operating profits were 5.4 trillion won and 397.9 billion won, respectively down 5.34 percent and 24.27 percent from the same period last year.In half-year net profit, KB Financial achieved 944.6 billion won, up 25.7 percent from the previous year, handing
July 23, 2015