Most Popular
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Court refuses injunction on medical school expansion
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Why Korean crime stories typically feature nameless, faceless perpetrators
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Debate on 'no-seniors zones' heats up
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Rare mid-May heavy snow warning issued over mountainous areas of Gangwon
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S. Korea, Cambodia forge strategic partnership
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Is NewJeans headed for a long 'break'?
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[KH Explains] Hyundai-backed Motional’s struggles deepen as Tesla eyes August robotaxi debut
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Police raid popera singer Kim Ho-joong's house over hit-and-run suspicions
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Trump may like to 'solve' N. Korean nuclear problem if reelected: ex-official
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New Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office chief vows full-fledged probe into first lady
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Lawmakers, experts propose Intellectual Property Day
As the international community prepares to celebrate the 2015 World Intellectual Property Day on Sunday, South Korean lawmakers, intellectuals and high-level officials on Thursday vowed to step up efforts to strengthen IP protection by declaring the nation’s own inaugural Intellectual Property Day.The World Intellectual Property Association of Korean Practitioners, launched by the Science Ministry in 2013, held a ceremony at the National Assembly to establish this new day, which aims to promote
IndustryApril 23, 2015
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Won hits 7-year high against yen
The Japanese yen dipped to the lowest level against the Korean won in more than seven years on Thursday amid the Abe administration’s continued stimulus policy of quantitative easing.The Japanese currency dropped below the psychological 900-won mark ― 899.67 won per 100 yen ― during prior trading of Thursday’s regular session. It marked the cheapest in 86 months since it posted 889.23 won on Feb. 28.Though it gained slightly compared to the previous trading session to close at 903.04 won per 100
April 23, 2015
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Cherry blossoms and financial reforms
This is the first in a monthly series contributed by executive members of the Financial Supervisory Service to address key ongoing financial issues. ― Ed.Early in April, the cherry blossoms were blooming in Yeouido, Seoul, where winters are long and cold. The falling petals of cherry blossoms in the spring breeze were beautiful. However, the chill of the wind could still be felt in the streets around the financial district. The financial services industry represented 5.4 percent of Korea’s gross
April 23, 2015
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S. Korea to lower hurdles for start-up bourse
South Korea's financial regulator said Thursday it will ease regulations on the country's third stock exchange next month, in a move to help bring in more retail investors and start-ups to the burgeoning bourse.In June 2013, the country launched the Korea New Exchange, a stock trading platform where start-ups and smaller firms can raise funds easily via stock sales instead of having to borrow from banks. Currently, 80 firms are traded on the KONEX, a sharp increase from 21 companies at its debut
IndustryApril 23, 2015
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Hyundai Motor's Q1 net drops 2.2 pct on strong won
Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's largest automaker, said Thursday its first-quarter net profit dropped 2.2 percent from a year earlier, affected by the strong local currency that hurts its sales in emerging markets.Net profit came to 1.98 trillion won ($1.83 billion) during the January-March period, compared with 2.03 trillion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.The first-quarter operating profit also dropped 18.1 percent on-year to 1.59 trillion won over the cited period
CompaniesApril 23, 2015
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KT&G's Q1 net up 64 pct on price hike
KT&G Corp., South Korea's state-run tobacco producer, said Thursday its first-quarter net profit jumped 64.1 percent, due mainly to increased margin from price hikes and currency gains from dollar-denominated debts.Its net profit came to 308.77 billion won ($284.72 million) on a consolidated basis in the January-March period, compared with 188.19 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. Operating income gained 64.7 percent on-year to 428.53 billion won in the first qu
April 23, 2015
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S. Korean firms' sales fall by record pace in 2014
South Korean companies suffered a record drop in sales in 2014 as unfavorable exchange rates and weakening oil prices pummeled major exporters, central bank data showed Thursday.Sales at 1,536 listed firms and 195 non-listed key companies sank 1.5 percent on-year in 2014, falling the most since the Bank of Korea began compiling the data in 2003.The figure, which covers most of the country's large corporations and 45 percent of all companies, has contracted twice in the past: 0.4 percent in 2003
April 23, 2015
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Won hits 7-year high vs. yen, bodes ill for exports
The South Korean won touched a seven-year high against the Japanese yen on Thursday, prodding the local currency authorities to raise their guard to minimize its possible impact on exports.The won-yen arbitrated exchange rate stood at 903.04 per 100 yen as of 3 p.m., the highest since Feb. 28, 2008, when the comparable figure was 889.23. Earlier in the day, the rate briefly dipped below the psychologically important 900-won level.The local currency closed at 1,082.20 per dollar, down 2.6 won fro
April 23, 2015
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LG's WiFi-based smartwatch to go on sale this week
LG Electronics Inc., South Korea's No. 2 smartphone maker, said Thursday it will start selling its latest smartwatch that has a WiFi connection in its home turf, taking the device to a new level as it expects to ease low-signal problems at remote distances. The LG Watch Urbane will be released Friday through three local mobile carriers -- SK Telecom Co., KT Corp. and LG Uplus Inc. -- with its price set at 396,000 won ($367), the company said in a statement. It will also be available at some jewe
TechnologyApril 23, 2015
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Samsung taps deeper into Southeast Asian TV market via SUHD
South Korea's top tech giant, Samsung Electronics Co., said Thursday it will tap deeper into the Southeast Asian TV market, including Australia and New Zealand, with its latest SUHD TV lineup that uses the so-called quantum dot technology.Samsung said the SUHD lineup will hit most of the Southeast Asian markets by May, adding that it will launch the models in Indonesia next week and in Thailand on May 6. It has already hosted similar events in Australia, the Philippines, Malaysia, and four other
TechnologyApril 23, 2015
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GM Korea recalls over 9,000 vehicles in S. Korea on defects
GM Korea Co., the local unit of American automaker General Motors Co., is recalling more than 9,000 units of its Orlando minivan for a bad grounding connection that may cause the engine to stop, the transportation ministry said Thursday.According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, a dodgy electrical ground in the engine control unit of the Chevrolet Orlando LPG may cause engine vibration or cause the engine to turn off.The recall affects 9,338 Orlando vehicles produced betwee
MobilityApril 23, 2015
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Official dealer for Mercedes-Benz aims to double sales by 2020
Hansung Motor, the local importer and distributor of Mercedes-Benz, said Thursday that it aims to double its sales of the German brand in South Korea within five years.Hansung Motor said that it will push to achieve the sales target by 2020, with steady investment on showrooms and customer service centers, a move aimed at enhancing the overall customer experience.Last year, the company sold 16,000 cars, which it is aiming to raise to about 30,000 units by the cited year. Hansung Motor accounts f
MobilityApril 23, 2015
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SK hynix net soars 61.5 pct in Q1
South Korea's No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix Inc. said Thursday its net profit shot up 61.5 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier on robust sales of server and mobile dynamic random access memory (DRAM) products.Net profit came to 1.29 trillion won ($1.2 billion) in the January-March period, compared with 802.5 billion won a year earlier, the company said in its regulatory filing.Revenue gained 28.7 percent on-year to 4.81 trillion won in the first quarter, and operating profit also jumped
CompaniesApril 23, 2015
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LNG price to be cut by 10.3 pct from next month: gov't
The price of liquefied natural gas will be cut by an average 10.3 percent from the start of next month, the government said Thursday, marking a third price reduction in just five months.The latest price cut, along with two previous reductions, reflects a drop in global oil prices, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy."The rate cut is the outcome of efforts to quickly reflect a cut in import prices due to a drop in global oil prices," it said in a press release.Unlike liquefied
April 23, 2015
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Galaxy S6 suffers weaker than expected sales
Samsung Electronics Co.'s newest high-end smartphones - the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 Edge -- are seen drawing less than expected attention from consumers, industry data showed Wednesday, casting clouds over the market's upbeat sales estimate of over 50 million units for 2015.South Korea's No. 1 tech giant had sold a little over 200,000 units of the two smartphones here as of Sunday since their launch on April 10, sharply falling short of the 300,000 preorders, according to the data, indicatin
TechnologyApril 23, 2015
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Mobile stock trading hits record high in March
Stock transactions via mobile gadgets in South Korea reached a record high in March as a rising number of retail investors turned to smartphones and tablets for trading, the bourse operator said Thursday. Mobile devices accounted for 13.4 percent of total transactions in the main KOSPI market last month, unchanged from February but up from 12.9 percent in January, the Korea Exchange said.The figure had been steadily rising since first surpassing 10 percent in July 2013.The ratio of mobile tradin
April 23, 2015
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S. Korea's economic growth picks up in Q1
South Korea's economic growth accelerated in the first quarter from three months earlier but remained below the 1 percent level in a sign of a tepid recovery, central bank data showed Thursday.The country's gross domestic product grew 0.8 percent on increased construction investment and improved spending in the January-March period, up from a 0.3 percent on-quarter gain three months earlier, according to the preliminary data by the Bank of Korea.From a year earlier, the economy expanded 2.4 perc
April 23, 2015
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Online slander can be detected early on
There is some hope to reducing online trolling and flaming. Researchers have discovered an algorithm that can identify antisocial users -- who post malicious comments online -- early in their online activities by observing only five to 10 posts. In the recent paper titled “Antisocial Behavior in Online Discussion Communities,” the researchers at Cornell and Stanford University examined over 40 million posts from a total of 1.7 million members over an 18 months period. They looked at the three on
TechnologyApril 22, 2015
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[Newsmaker] Gaffes, abuse shame Doosan Heavy chairman
“It is not good manners to not strike one’s neck when one has asked for it. I will strike in the most bloody and painful way possible.”The graphic comments are not threats by IS terrorists on YouTube videos. Instead, they are from Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction chairman Park Yong-sung, a business tycoon, in an email he sent to professors at Chung-Ang University in Seoul where he was serving as the board chairman. Park on Tuesday stepped down from all three posts after sparking controve
IndustryApril 22, 2015
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Kia plant in U.S. halted after shooting incident
Kia Motors, the nation’s second-largest carmaker, temporarily stopped operations at its U.S. plant in Georgia after a shooting incident occurred at the factory on Tuesday afternoon. According to U.S. reports, an employee at the plant shot his coworker around 2 p.m. The shooting victim was flown by helicopter to a hospital in nearby Columbus for treatment. The company could not confirm the extent of the victim’s injuries. The suspect was arrested by the carmaker’s security officials at the site,
MobilityApril 22, 2015