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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In Beijing, S. Korean top diplomat aims to jumpstart ties with China
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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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[Grace Kao] American racism against Stray Kids
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NewJeans' members' parents complained to Hybe, email shows
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[Graphic News] Over 80% of people filing bankruptcy in Seoul in their 50s and older
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Banks' mortgage lending growth hits new high in Dec.
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
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S. Korean shares nearly flat in late morning trade
South Korean stocks traded nearly flat late Wednesday morning as investors took to the sidelines following overnight losses on Wall Street amid plunging crude oil prices.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index edged up 0.06 percent, or 1.24 point, to 1,918.38 as of 11:20 a.m.Tech shares gained ground, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics climbing 0.6 percent and chipmaker SK hynix moving up 0.61 percent. Flat screen manufacturer LG Display jumped 3.55 percent.Hyundai Motor Group affi
Jan. 14, 2015
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Working too hard can drive you to booze: Study
It's true: working too hard can drive you to drink, said researchers Wednesday who warned of the health risks of such dual excess.An overview of studies covering more than 400,000 people showed that individuals who exceed 48 working hours per week -- the European Union's suggested maximum -- are likelier to consume "risky" quantities of alcohol, they said.The paper, published in The BMJ journal, reported that long working hours boosted the likelihood of higher alcohol intake by 11 percent overal
TechnologyJan. 14, 2015
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S. Korea's jobless rate stands at 3.4 pct in Dec.
South Korea's jobless rate rose in December from a month earlier, but more jobs were created, with the labor market still grim for youths, a government report showed Wednesday.According to the report by Statistics Korea, the jobless rate stood at 3.4 percent last month, up from 3.1 percent in November. The seasonally adjusted jobless rate also inched up from 3.4 percent to 3.5 percent.Job bulletin board at Ewha Womans University in Seoul (Yonhap)Job creation remained strong. The number of employ
Jan. 14, 2015
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Seoul shares open higher on techs, oil refiners
South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday, led by gains in tech firms and oil refiners, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 6.27 points, or 0.33 percent, to 1,923.41 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Tech shares gathered ground, with Samsung Electronics adding 0.37 percent and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix climbing 1.33 percent. LG Electronics advanced 1.46 percent.Oil refiners also traded bullish, with SK Innovation rising 0.85 percent and S-Oil stepping up 1.85 pe
Jan. 14, 2015
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Samsung, LG dominate public display market in Q3 2014
Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc., South Korea's top two tech firms, stood pat on their big shares in public display market in the third quarter of last year, data showed Wednesday, as they shift focus to smaller signage displays that have become the next trend.Samsung Electronics stood atop with a 27 percent share in the third quarter of 2014, with that of LG Electronics reaching 7 percent as the third-biggest player in the world over the same period, according to the data compile
TechnologyJan. 14, 2015
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[Graphic News] Seoul among most expensive cities
Seoul has some of the highest prices for goods such as Starbucks coffee, Chilean wine, carbonated water, beef and imported fruits, according to data released by Consumers Korea on Monday.The organization examined the prices of 42 agricultural, livestock and processed products in June and October across 13 major cities in the world.Out of 42 products, Seoul turned out to have the highest prices for 35 items, earning the title of one of the top five most expensive cities.
IndustryJan. 13, 2015
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[Newsmaker] Hyundai Motor family share sale plan fails
Hyundai Motor chairman Chung Mong-koo and his son’s bid to sell some of their stakes in their business empire has failed. But this will not hinder the Chung family’s attempt to accelerate a father-to-son management transfer inside the world’s fifth-largest automaker, observers said. On Monday, Chung and his son Eui-sun, who is also the vice chairman of the nation’s top automaker, reportedly sent a notice to institutional investors that they plan to sell a combined 13.4 percent of the logistics f
IndustryJan. 13, 2015
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Mahindra vows more investment
India’s Mahindra Group chairman Anand Mahindra made it clear that the motor group would continue to invest in Ssangyong Motor as a strategic investor to revive the Korean carmaker’s former glory. “It was not just a portfolio investment. It was not to acquire technology. Our investment was made with vision. ... (As a long-term investor), we want Ssangyong Motor to rise (again),” he said in Seoul on Tuesday. “We have two missions in Korea. First, we will ensure the well-being of the Ssangyong Moto
MobilityJan. 13, 2015
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AmorePacific mulls patent lawsuit against Lancome
Lancome’s “Miracle Cushion” (L’Oreal Paris)AmorePacific, South Korea’s top cosmetics firm, said Tuesday that it was considering legal action against French cosmetics house Lancome over a possible patent infringement of its signature air cushion compact. AmorePacific officials said it would decide whether to file a patent lawsuit against L’Oreal Korea, the Korean unit of L’Oreal Group, which is set to release the Miracle Cushion on Jan. 19.“We will analyze the product after the launch and then co
IndustryJan. 13, 2015
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Thick-noodle ramen from Nongshim
Nongshim’s new spicy thick-noodle ramen, Wooyooktangmyeon. (Nongshim)Nongshim, Korea’s leading ramen maker, unveiled Tuesday a spicy thick-noodle ramen targeting the young generation, company officials said. Nongshim said it aims for Wooyooktangmyeon’s annual sales to reach 50 billion ($46.3 million) won and enter the top 10 best-selling ramen list by the end of the year.The new noodle is 3 millimeters thick, about twice that of average noodles sold in South Korea. “Wooyooktangmyeon is the resul
IndustryJan. 13, 2015
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Google offers ad tools for small firms
Google Korea on Tuesday introduced its diverse ad tools for small businesses, including the popular Google AdWords, that it claimed will help Korean startups expand their presence in global markets.“For small businesses lacking resources, online marketing is the perfect and effective sales person,” said Google Korea CEO John Lee, who joined the Korean unit as of January. “Google will support Korean firms to enter overseas markets.” Google AdWords is an online advertising service that places adve
TechnologyJan. 13, 2015
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Korean builders eye $1.2b nuclear plant project in Ulsan
Fierce competition is expected among South Korean construction companies to win a 1.4 trillion won ($1.29 billion) mega project to build two units of a power plant.The order placed by the state-run Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power for Shin-Kori power plant units 5 and 6 in Ulsan is considered to be the single largest public construction project of the year. “It is the most important public construction project of this year, not only because of its huge scale but also because of the construction achie
IndustryJan. 13, 2015
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Samsung to release slimmest smartphone
Samsung Electronics Co. said Tuesday it plans to launch its slimmest smartphone later this month at home and in major emerging countries to bolster low-end sector amid the ise of Chinese rivals eating into its shares.The world’s No. 1 maker of smartphones said the Galaxy A7, only 6.3 mm thick, will be released in the South Korean, Chinese, and Indian markets at the end of January. The model is an upgrade from the Galaxy A3 and A5 launched earlier in the three emerging markets.With a 5.5-inch dis
TechnologyJan. 13, 2015
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Hyundai unveils its first plug-in hybrid
Hyundai Motor vice chairman Chung Eui-sun introduces its Sonata plug-in hybrid electric vehicle at a motor show in Detroit on Monday. (Hyundai Motor)South Korea’s top carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. took the wraps off of its Sonata plug-in hybrid electric vehicle at a motor show in the U.S. on Monday (local time), its first-ever car that can be recharged to run on both gasoline and electricity. “The Sonata Plug-in Hybrid is a first of its kind engineered and built by a South Korean company, and will
MobilityJan. 13, 2015
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FSS detects celebrities’ illicit overseas asset deals
The nation’s financial watchdog said Tuesday that dozens of high-profile people made illicit foreign exchange transactions amounting to a combined 130 billion won ($120 million) last year.The list of its findings included Hur Nam-kack, chairman of GS-affiliated trading group Samyang Tongsang; Shin Jung-hee, CEO of Donghwa Duty Free Shop; SM Entertainment chairman Lee Soo-man and actress Han Ye-seul.The Financial Supervisory Service revealed the illegal transactions after a six-month investigatio
Jan. 13, 2015
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Hana Bank donates goods to Myanmar
Hana Bank donated 10,000 articles of clothing and materials to schools in need in Myanmar, the lender said Friday. Charity foundation Sarangbat chairman Choi Sung-kyun and Myanmar ambassador to Seoul Soe Lwin attended the donation ceremony held on Dec. 18 in Seoul.The materials were collected by Hana Bank employees, who have been sending clothing, stationery and recycled Hana Bank computers to Korea and nearby Asian countries since 2011.In addition, Hana Bank started a plan to carry out a 300 mi
Jan. 13, 2015
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Caffe Bene seeks success in East Asia
South Korean coffee chain Caffe Bene is betting big on the Southeast Asian market as it aims to operate 140 stores in the region by 2017.Southeast Asia is the fourth region in which the company has opened outlets, starting with the Philippines, Indonesia, Cambodia, Malaysia and Vietnam, according to company officials. With two more shops having opened in Malaysia last month, Caffe Bene now has 17 cafes in Southeast Asia. “We’re striving to become a representative South Korean coffee brand that l
IndustryJan. 13, 2015
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IMF rails at FSS over withheld data
The International Monetary Fund said it was unable to carry out an independent stress test to assess the country’s financial market stability due to the lack of available government data. While the IMF showed positive evaluation on Korea’s handling of the global financial crisis by “robust policy measures,” the international body also lashed at the Korean financial authorities for not turning in raw data that were requested to assess the country’s financial stability. “The (IMF’s) Financial Sect
Jan. 13, 2015
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Shares down 0.2% on crude oil woes
South Korean stocks ended 0.2 percent lower Tuesday as persistent worries over weakening global oil prices sapped investor sentiment, analysts said. The local currency lost ground against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index moved down 3.81 points to 1,917.14. Trading volume was moderate at 309.7 million shares worth 4.66 trillion won ($4.3 billion) with decliners outnumbering gainers 469 to 329. “Concern over industries, including chemical, refined oil and steel, is
Jan. 13, 2015