Most Popular
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Do Korean doctors make too much money?
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Korean industries gauge impact of Biden's steep tariffs on China
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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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Is FTC's conglomerate listing a boon or bane for Hybe?
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NewJeans to headline palace show
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Coupang's Kim Bom escapes chaebol chief designation again
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Debate on 'no-seniors zones' heats up
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S. Korea, Cambodia forge strategic partnership
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Rare mid-May heavy snow warning issued over mountainous areas of Gangwon
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Samsung takes 31.6% share of N. American smartphone market
Samsung Electronics Co.’s smartphones accounted for more than 30 percent of the North American market last year, data showed Thursday, a significant improvement from the 4.7 percent in 2007.The South Korean tech giant grabbed a 31.6 percent share of the North American market by shipping 44 million units last year, the data compiled by Strategy Analytics showed. It marked the first time for the number to surpass 30 percent in that region.Samsung’s market share in North America grew nearly twofold
TechnologyFeb. 6, 2014
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Hana Financial Group earnings fall 37.1 percent
South Korea’s No. 3 banking group Hana Financial Group Inc. said Thursday its earnings for 2013 fell 37.1 percent from the previous year on a squeezed interest margin.Net income amounted to 1.02 trillion won ($1.1 billion) last year, compared with 1.62 trillion won the previous year, the group said in a regulatory filing.Its fourth-quarter earnings totaled 143.3 billion won, a turnaround from a net loss of 114.7 billion won from the previous year.The group said that the weaker earnings for last
Feb. 6, 2014
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Hankook Tire wins international design award
Hankook Tire Co., South Korea’s leading tire maker, said Thursday one of its products won a prestigious international design award in Germany.It said the Kinergy 4S was tapped by experts at the International Forum Design Award (iF) for incorporating groove and block features that are asymmetrical and yet handle all weather conditions effectively.The overall design and the use of the chemical compound silica in the materials prevents the tires from losing traction over wet roads as well as snow-
MobilityFeb. 6, 2014
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CJ CheilJedang to spin off pharmaceutical division
CJ CheilJedang Corp., the food and beverage unit of South Korea’s CJ Group, said Thursday that it will turn its pharmaceutical division into a wholly owned subsidiary to boost the business’ global competitiveness.The new entity, named CJ Lifesciences Co., will be launched on April 1, the company said in a regulatory filing.The pharmaceutical division posted 448.8 billion won ($415.8 million) in sales in 2013, with the food and beverage division recording 4.22 trillion won in sales.CJ CheilJedang
IndustryFeb. 6, 2014
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Mobile business boosts Naver
Naver Corporation, the nation’s largest search portal company, saw a sharp jump in its stock price after posting strong earnings on Thursday. Analysts predicted Naver’s shares would soon outstrip American Internet company Google thanks to its Line messenger service’s continued growth and the possibility of its subsidiary Line Corporation going public this year. “Naver’s prices are expected to soar this year, and in tandem, its advertising revenues will triple to 200 billion won ($185 million) wi
IndustryFeb. 6, 2014
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Import beauty brands pressured to cut prices
Import beauty brands, whose high prices were long equated with high quality and a premium image here, are under growing pressure recently to change their pricing policy.Adding to their concerns about the stunning growth of no-frills brands in the market, the government plans to ease regulations on “parallel imports” to spur price competition among players. Unlike the official importers, parallel importers do not need to pay a royalty fee, which leads to lower product prices. Consumers instead ar
IndustryFeb. 6, 2014
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SpaceX’s next cargo mission to space station due March 16
The next cargo supply mission to the International Space Station by the company SpaceX has been set for March 16, NASA said Wednesday.SpaceX’s unmanned Dragon capsule will launch from Cape Canaveral in Florida at 4:41 a.m. (0941 GMT) on its third trip ferrying supplies and equipment to the orbiting lab, the U.S. space agency said in a tweet.Owned by Internet entrepreneur Elon Musk, SpaceX became the first commercial entity to reach the space station with its Dragon cargo ship in 2012.The company
TechnologyFeb. 6, 2014
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USDA: Climate change already hurting farmers
WASHINGTON (AP) ― Climate change is already hurting American farmers and rural residents, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Wednesday, warning that the U.S. would regret any failure to adapt and prepare for shifting weather realities.Unveiling a new effort to coordinate the government’s response, Vilsack said extreme weather events have already taken the U.S. by surprise, putting ranchers and others out of business. He pointed to the intensity and frequency of recent storms, long droughts,
TechnologyFeb. 6, 2014
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Experiment adds sense of touch to artificial hand
WASHINGTON (AP) ― To feel what you touch ― that’s the holy grail for artificial limbs. In a step toward that goal, European researchers created a robotic hand that let an amputee feel differences between a bottle, a baseball and a mandarin orange.The patient only got to experiment with the bulky prototype for a week, and it’s far from the bionics of science fiction movies. But the research released Wednesday is part of a major effort to create more lifelike, and usable, prosthetics.“It was just
TechnologyFeb. 6, 2014
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Yeongjongdo to be turned into ‘Dream Island’
Yeongjongdo, widely considered the gateway to Asia given its location in Incheon, is expected to become a leading tourist attraction once the government completes a 2 trillion won ($1.8 billion) project aimed at building a tourism hub in the area.Called “Dream Island,” the facility will be financed mainly by overseas Koreans. The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said during a meeting of economic ministers on Wednesday that by 2020, Dream Island will house various entertainment and tourist facili
IndustryFeb. 5, 2014
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Seoul shares rebound on eased emerging market woes
South Korean stocks rose 0.24 percent on Wednesday, snapping a decline in two consecutive sessions as concerns over emerging markets eased and investors followed an overnight rebound on Wall Street, analysts said. The local currency sharply rose against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index advanced 4.47 points to 1,891.32. Trading volume was moderate at 240 million shares worth 3.89 trillion won ($3.61 billion) with gainers outpacing losers 451 to 349.“Investors went o
Feb. 5, 2014
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UBS probed for alleged tax evasion
Tax authorities are investigating Seoul branch of UBS over alleged tax evasion, sources said Wednesday.According to industry insiders, the Seoul Regional Tax Office has been investigating the Swiss-based financial organization since late 2013 for allegedly doctoring derivative securities transaction records and conducting illegal transfers that generated 51 billion won of unreported profits. UBS Seoul is also suspected of faking a loss through earlier settlements on derivatives with offshore com
Feb. 5, 2014
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Dash to cash sparks concerns of black market growth
The country’s underground economy involving seems to be expanding, despite the government’s efforts to keep it in check, according to data released by the central bank on Wednesday. The collection rate for the 50,000 won bill hit a record low last year at 48.6 percent, down more than 10 percent from 2012, the figures showed.Collection rates indicate the volume of bills the BOK has gotten back in comparison to the amount of currency it issued during a set period. The rate for the 50,000 won bill
Feb. 5, 2014
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Hyundai to double high strength steel in new Sonata
Hyundai Motor plans to more than double the proportion of high strength steel used in its vehicles starting with the upcoming new Sonata sedan, which will make its Korean debut in March, industry sources said Tuesday. The revamped Sonata, in particular, will become the first Hyundai brand car to be almost 50 percent covered with high tensile steel frames. The carmaker has already applied the strength steel to some 40 percent of its latest Genesis luxury sedan. As part of efforts to seek higher f
IndustryFeb. 5, 2014
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Minister Hyun upbeat on financial markets
Despite persistent concerns over the United States’ tapering policies and the resulting stall in emerging economies, Vice Minister Hyun Oh-seok displayed optimism, saying Korea will not be much affected in the long-term perspective.He nevertheless demanded that financial monitoring systems be reinforced so that the country may respond rapidly to fluctuating global situations.“Instead of reacting to every up and down of the global financial market, we will focus more on improving the fundamentals
Feb. 5, 2014
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Lotte to sell off 18 stores via Singapore Exchange
Lotte Shopping, the country’s largest retailer, made a step towards selling 18 retail properties for a total of 1 trillion won after Singaporean authorities on Wednesday approved the initial public offering for the malls on the Singapore Exchange. The offering for the Real Estate Investment Trust would be the largest overseas IPO by a Korean company to date, sources said. The listed properties include Lotte Department Stores in Pohang, Ilsan, Jeonju, Sangin and Centum city in Busan as well as Lo
IndustryFeb. 5, 2014
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[Photo News] Paris Baguette in Singapore
IndustryFeb. 5, 2014
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Samsung tops large display market for 5th year
South Korea’s tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. became the top maker of Large Format Displays for the fifth consecutive year in 2013, market research data showed Wednesday.Samsung had 26.3 percent of the world’s LFD market through the third quarter of 2013, more than double the 10.4 percent posted by No. 2 player NEC Display Solutions Ltd. from Japan, the data compiled by DisplaySearch showed.LG Electronics Inc., Samsung’s smaller South Korean rival, accounted for 5.8 percent over the cited per
TechnologyFeb. 5, 2014
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AfreecaTV aims to outdo YouTube
New media has ushered in a new era where anyone can produce and broadcast content, and become a star instantly.Easier access to the Internet, high-quality cameras and editing software have made video production and distribution simple, allowing platforms such as Google’s YouTube and Korea-based AfreecaTV to gain ground over traditional media.The two share similarities as video-sharing sites and have proven to be effective in marketing brands and stars, as seen from Korean rapper Psy’s “Gangnam S
TechnologyFeb. 5, 2014
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[Photo News] Red Nexus
IndustryFeb. 5, 2014