Most Popular
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Seoul vows action over Naver's Line, Yahoo dispute
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[KH Explains] Hyundai Motor’s plan for new landmark keeps hitting bumps
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Key S. Korean, USFK special operations officials to hold rare meeting amid NK threats
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Samsung doubles down on Vietnam
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[Grace Kao] American racism against Stray Kids
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In Beijing, S. Korean top diplomat aims to jumpstart ties with China
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NewJeans' members' parents complained to Hybe, email shows
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Suspect behind murder of Korean tourist in Pattaya arrested
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Prosecutors summon pastor involved in Dior bag scandal
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[Graphic News] Over 80% of people filing bankruptcy in Seoul in their 50s and older
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Kookmin Bank to get over 400 bln won tax refund
Kookmin Bank, South Korea's second-largest lender by assets, has won a lawsuit against the country's tax agency to get back 442 billion won ($408.7 million) in tax it has paid, industry sources said Thursday.In 2007, the bank was hit with heavy taxes by the National Tax Service as the lender set aside 932 billion won in loan-loss provision after a merger with its struggling credit card unit.The NTS argued that the lender intended to avoid corporate tax by setting aside huge loan-loss reserves.Ac
Jan. 15, 2015
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Hyundai Motor to launch new Veloster coupe this week
Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's top automaker, said Thursday that it will this week begin selling the new Veloster coupe that boasts more functions appealing to the tastes of younger consumers.The new Veloster, which goes on sale Friday, is equipped with an "engine sound equalizer" that allows the driver to tune the volume and tone of the "virtual" engine sound.The car also provides an improved driving experience with motor driven power steering and better safety by adopting a rollover sensor t
MobilityJan. 15, 2015
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BOK cuts growth, inflation outlook on weak recovery
South Korea's central bank on Thursday lowered its economic growth and inflation outlook for this year as Asia's fourth-largest economy continues to stumble due to lackluster domestic demand.The Bank of Korea cut its growth forecast for the year to 3.4 percent from 3.8 percent while slashing its inflation forecast to 1.9 percent from 2.4 percent. The previous forecast was released in October."The outlook for this year is lower than the October forecast, as well as those by other institutions. Bu
Jan. 15, 2015
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Kia seeks diverse marketing efforts during Australian Open
Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's second-largest carmaker, said Thursday it plans diverse marketing activities as a main sponsor of the Australian Open tennis tournament to be held next week.The Australian Open is one of tennis' major international events and Kia Motors, an affiliate of Hyundai Motor Co., has been sponsoring it for 14 years.Kia Motors said that it will provide 107 vehicles, including the K5, Soul, Sorento and Carnival, for athletes, VIPs and event organizers during the event, whic
MobilityJan. 15, 2015
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Naver ups stake in online video streaming amid YouTube reign
Naver Corp., South Korea's top Internet portal operator, saw a sharp growth in its online video streaming business last year, closing the gap with the world's largest video-sharing website YouTube in the local market, data showed Thursday.The number of unique visitors (UV) at Naver's TV Cast spiked 52.4 percent on-year to 47.3 million in 2014, according to data compiled by Seoul-based market tracker Nielson KoreanClick Co.That compares with a 13.3 percent on-year increase for the global video-st
TechnologyJan. 15, 2015
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Hyundai Motor's Santa Fe wins family car award in U.S.
Hyundai Motor Co.'s popular Santa Fe sport utility vehicle has won the "Family Car of the Year" award for a second straight year in the U.S. for its family-friendly driving features and improved safety.The award was granted by Cars.com, a renowned U.S. car review website, which gave the Santa Fe high scores on its roomy space needed for family activities and strengthened safety and driving steering system.To win the award, cars should get "acceptable" or higher levels in crash tests by the Insur
MobilityJan. 15, 2015
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Seoul shares stay nearly flat in late morning trade
South Korean stocks traded nearly unchanged late Thursday morning as the central bank froze the key rate for three months in a row, analysts said.After swinging between positive and negative territory, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index edged down 0.13 percent, or 2.54 points, to 1,911.12 as of 11:20 a.m.The Bank of Korea held the base rate at a record low of 2 percent for January in line with the government's stimulus move to bolster growth.Last year, the central bank cut the polic
Jan. 15, 2015
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S. Korea needs structural reform to take further leap: Eurozone official
South Korea's economic fundamentals enabled the country to overcome the recent global financial crisis, but it now needs structural reforms to ride over the era of low growth, the head of Euro Group said Thursday."Years of quite low growth have marked some structural weaknesses, and a number of serious challenges still lie ahead, such as aging and globalization," Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the chairman of the Euro Group, said at a Seoul forum. "Implementing the right reforms can boost the growth."Euro
Jan. 15, 2015
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BOK keeps base rate unchanged at 2 pct
In a widely expected move, South Korea's central bank left the base rate on hold at a record low of 2 percent on Thursday as the government is upping the ante on structural reform over short-term policies to bolster growth.With the latest move, the Bank of Korea extended its wait-and-see stance to a third straight month after slashing the base rate by a quarter percentage point twice, in August and October, last year."The monetary committee voted to keep the base rate on hold given that the econ
Jan. 15, 2015
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Gov't to use FTAs, smaller companies to fuel growth in 2015
South Korea will make full use of its free trade agreements and promising smaller companies to meet its exports target this year and invest in future-oriented services and industries, economy-related ministries said Thursday in their joint report to the president.The 2015 economic policy goals also include merging information technology into the manufacturing sector to build "smart" factories and research and development in industrial materials, parts design and engineering.The report, presented
Jan. 15, 2015
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SUV, wagon and minivan sales spike on increased leisure
Annual sales of recreational vehicles in South Korea nearly doubled over the past six years, driven by the growing popularity of cars designed for outdoor and leisure activities, industry data showed Thursday.Last year, carmakers sold 407,880 RVs, including sport utility vehicles, wagons and minivans, compared with about 208,000 units tallied in 2008, according to the data.The spike is attributable to increasing demand for vehicles that provide more space for equipment and driving comfort for tr
MobilityJan. 15, 2015
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S. Korean refiners forecast to have suffered record loss in 2014
Major South Korean refiners are expected to have suffered their worst ever performance in 2014 due to relentless slides in oil prices, with their combined operating loss reaching over 2 trillion won ($1.84 billion), according to guidance reports Thursday.The combined operating loss of the four refiners -- SK Innovation, GS Caltex, S-Oil and Hyundai Oil Bank -- reached 1.2 trillion won in the first three quarters of last year, and they are expected to post an additional loss of over 1 trillion wo
IndustryJan. 15, 2015
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Seoul shares open flat on sudden oil price hike
South Korean stocks opened nearly flat Thursday as investors took a wait-and-see approach following an unexpected surge in global oil prices, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index inched up 0.76 point, or 0.04 percent, to 1,913.41 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Tech shares traded mixed, with Samsung Electronics edging up 0.07 percent while LG Electronics shed 0.97 percent. No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix climbed 0.82 percent.Both Hyundai Motor and its smaller affiliate Kia M
Jan. 15, 2015
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Samsung denies takeover talks with BlackBerry
Samsung Electronics Co., South Korea's top electronics firm, Thursday denied media reports that it is in takeover talks with Canadian smartphone maker BlackBerry Ltd."It is not true," a spokeswoman at Samsung Electronics said, adding that the company "does not respond to rumors."BlackBerry, in a press release on its website, also denied the reports on the potential deal, saying it "has not engaged in discussions with Samsung with respect to any possible offer," declining to comment further.Media
TechnologyJan. 15, 2015
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S. Korea logs 35th straight month of trade surplus in December
South Korea posted a trade surplus for the 35th month in a row in December, helped by a rise in overseas shipments and a decline in imports, customs data showed Thursday.According to the data released by the Korea Customs Service, the country's trade surplus came to $5.74 billion last month, up from $5.39 billion tallied for the previous month and $3.63 billion a year earlier.Exports moved up 3.6 percent on-year to $49.7 billion, while imports contracted 0.9 percent to $43.95 billion. Export, im
Jan. 15, 2015
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Samsung, BlackBerry deny report of takeover talks
Samsung Electronics Co., South Korea's top electronics firm, and Canadian smartphone maker BlackBerry on Thursday denied an earlier media report about their takeover talks. "It is not true," a spokeswoman at Samsung Electronics said, adding that the company "does not respond to rumors." BlackBerry, in a press release on its website, also denied the report on the potential deal, saying it "has not engaged in discussions with Samsung with respect to any possible offer," declining to comment furthe
IndustryJan. 15, 2015
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[Newsmaker] Has Shin Dong-bin won Lotte succession race?
Lotte Group Korea chairman Shin Dong-bin has virtually become the crown prince of Lotte’s 92 trillion won ($90 billion) empire, which stretches from Asia to the U.S.But even with Lotte founder Shin Kyuk-ho’s temporary favor, his older brother’s presence will likely push the 59-year-old chairman to prove his management aptitude in order to impress his 93-year-old father, who is known to mix business affairs with succession plans.On Tuesday, chairman Shin met with Korean reporters at Gimpo Interna
IndustryJan. 14, 2015
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[Graphic News] 1 in 5 young adults begins as short-term contract worker
About 20 percent of young adults begin employment as contract workers with positions that last less than a year, an indication that the nation’s youth labor market is worsening, according to data released by the National Statistics Office.The government agency conducted an economic activity census and found that about 761,000, or 19.5 percent of young adult workers, began working under such conditions.This indicates that since the financial crisis, regular positions are being replaced with short
Jan. 14, 2015
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Hana, KEB poised to complete merger
The merger of Hana Bank and Korea Exchange Bank, the two flagship banks of Hana Financial Group, is growing imminent as the nation’s financial regulator is set to approve it soon regardless of opposition by the KEB union.Despite the union’s uncompromising stance, the nation’s third-largest banking group is speeding up the merger process on the strength of the government’s move to endorse it, group officials said. Hana Financial will submit its application to the Financial Services Commission as
Jan. 14, 2015
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Banks’ mortgage lending growth hits new high in December
Mortgage loans at South Korean lenders increased at a record pace in December as home buyers continued to borrow more amid an eased lending policy and low interest rates, central bank data showed Wednesday.Outstanding home-backed loans extended by local banks reached 406.9 trillion won ($377.6 billion) as of the end of December, adding a record 6.2 trillion won from the previous month, according to the preliminary data by the Bank of Korea.Overall household lending growth slightly slowed from th
Jan. 14, 2015