Most Popular
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Samsung under pressure after Intel's foundry spin-off: analysts
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Yoon leaves for Prague to cement nuclear energy push
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Heavy rain to fall nationwide over weekend, but warmer fall expected
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Seoul chastises predatory pricing claims over Czech nuclear export deal
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YouTuber under fire for consoling former singer accused of bullying
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NK newspaper 'unusually' silent on new missile tests: Seoul
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Samsung CEO introduces ‘bold growth’ as new target
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Bank of Korea eyes rate cut after US Fed's historic pivot
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3 suspects apprehended for selling celebrity deepfake porn: police
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Hyundai Motor officially becomes KT’s largest shareholder
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Seoul shares up 0.35 pct on China, U.S. data
South Korean stocks closed 0.35 percent higher Thursday as investors' sentiment was boosted by better-than-expected economic data from China and the United States, analysts said. The local currency ended flat against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 6.71 points to close at 1,920.74. Trading volume was moderate at 330.3 million shares worth 3.56 trillion won ($3.17 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 420 to 371.Analysts said Seoul shares gathered
Aug. 1, 2013
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Seoul shares up 0.46 pct in late morning trade
South Korean stocks traded 0.46 percent higher late Thursday morning, led by gains in techs and financial firms.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 8.82 points to 1,922.85 as of 11:20 a.m.Tech shares gathered ground, with Samsung Electronics rising 0.39 percent and top chipmaker SK hynix adding 0.55 percent. Flat panel maker LG Display gained 0.36 percent.Financial firms also traded higher, with Shinhan Financial moving up 1.46 percent and KB Financial adding 1.83 perce
Aug. 1, 2013
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S. Korea's exports grow 2.6 percent in July
South Korea's trade surplus slightly widened last month as its overall trade volume grew from a year earlier, the government said Thursday.In July, the country's exports amounted to US$45.84 billion, up 2.6 percent from the same month last year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.The July figure marks a turnaround from a 0.9 percent on-year drop in the previous month.The country's trade surplus came to $2.71 billion with its imports growing 2.7 percent on-year to $43.13 bill
Aug. 1, 2013
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Earthquakes trigger undersea methane reservoirs: study
Earthquakes can rip open sub-sea pockets of methane, a highly potent greenhouse gas, according to a study by German and Swiss scientists published on Sunday.Quake-caused methane should be added to the list of heat-trapping carbon emissions that affect the world‘s climate system, although the scale of this contribution remains unclear, they said.The evidence comes from cores of sediment drilled from the bed of the northern Arabian Sea during a research trip by marine scientists in 2007.One of the
TechnologyAug. 1, 2013
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Seoul shares open lower on policy uncertainties
South Korean stocks opened lower Thursday as the United States Federal Reserve remained silent over when the central bank will scale back its quantitative easing moves, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 5.28 points, or 0.28 percent, to 1,908.75 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Tech shares traded lower, with top chipmaker SK hynix falling 0.18 percent and handset maker LG Electronics losing 0.41 percent. Market behemoth Samsung Electronics remained unch
Aug. 1, 2013
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S. Korea fixes minimum wage for 2014
South Korea's minimum wage has been set at 5,210 won ($4.66) per hour for next year, up slightly over 7 percent from this year, the labor ministry said Thursday.Earlier this month, a trilateral council of government, labor and management representatives agreed to raise the country's minimum wage for 2014 by 7.2 percent from the current 4,860 won per hour. The increase plan was confirmed as no objections or complaints were raised by labor and management, the ministry said, adding that it will mak
Aug. 1, 2013
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S. Korea's consumer price growth hits 5-month high in July
South Korea's consumer prices grew at the fastest pace in five months in July due to the on-year gain in oil prices, but they ran below the central bank's inflation target band, a government report showed Thursday.The country's consumer prices index rose 1.4 percent in July from a year earlier, picking up from a 1 percent on-year gain in June, according to the report by Statistics Korea.The July data marked the fastest on-year growth since February when the index rose an identical 1.4 percent on
Aug. 1, 2013
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Creditors to offer fresh liquidity to STX Group's shipbuilding unit
Creditors of troubled STX Offshore & Shipbuilding have agreed to provide fresh liquidity to the shipbuilder in a bid to help resolve its cash crunch, industry sources said Wednesday.The creditors have submitted a written consent for the liquidity supply worth about 2.15 trillion won ($1.92 billion) to the company's main creditor Korea Development Bank, according to the sources.The supply of fresh liquidity includes 1.85 trillion won in emergency funds, leading the total volume of liquidity injec
July 31, 2013
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State brokerage merger may hurt SMEs
A government plan to merge a state-controlled bank and financial corporation is expected to reduce state lending capacity, backfiring on cash-short small and medium enterprises, experts said on Wednesday.The move came as state authorities are set to integrate the Korea Development Bank and the Korea Financial Corp. in the course of reorganizing state-controlled brokerages. The KDB and the KoFC were established in 1954 and 2009, respectively, largely to boost the national economy by providing cre
July 31, 2013
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Hyundai-Kia focuses on overseas plants
Hyundai Motor Group, which has rushed into overseas markets for further growth, has recently set up a new major division exclusively in charge of controlling overseas factories, officials confirmed Wednesday. The new division, called the Global Plant Coordination Division, is located at the Korean auto giant’s Seoul headquarters to oversee 15 factories in eight countries that the Hyundai and Kia brands operate globally. Lim Young-deuk, former chief of Hyundai Powertech, a transmission maker affi
IndustryJuly 31, 2013
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DSME to build W520b battleship for Thai navy
Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering closed in on winning a battleship order from Thailand, further consolidating its leading position in the world defense market.The Thai government on Tuesday approved the navy’s decision to order a 520 billion won ($463.7 million) frigate from the Korean shipbuilder, according to news reports on Wednesday.DSME is currently the sole preferred bidder for the deal and is highly expected to sign the final contract as early as August, officials said.The 3,700-t
July 31, 2013
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Korea outruns Japan in Peru, thanks to FTA
The Korea-Peru Free Trade Agreement turned out to have significantly boosted Korea’s exports to the South American state, as well as its relative share in the local import market.Over the past two years, since the FTA effectuation, Korea’s exports to Peru increased by 11.6 percent, whereas the nation’s general export growth rate was 2.2 percent, the Institute for International Trade said through a report on Wednesday.The total trade volume between the two countries, too, rose by 7.5 percent to $
July 31, 2013
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KONEX posts sluggish growth since launch: data
South Korea’s new venture-driven stock market has posted stagnant growth since its launch earlier this month, data showed Wednesday, as its low trading volume has dented investors’ sentiment.The Korea New Exchange market saw its market capitalization reach 497.3 billion won ($446.6 million) Tuesday, a tad higher than 468.8 billion won tallied on July 1, the Korea Exchange data showed.The KONEX market was officially launched earlier this month to foster the growth of young venture firms and lend
July 31, 2013
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Regulations to be eased to spur FEZ investment
The nation’s Foreign Economic Zones are expected to lure more private developers and real estate investment immigrants as the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy revised qualifications for land development and foreign real estate investment. The revised bill on the special law for FEZs, specially designated regions to attract foreign investment, will be sent to the regular session of the National Assembly this fall, the ministry said in a press release on Wednesday. “To step up land developme
IndustryJuly 31, 2013
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Korea’s tourism deficit widens further in H1
South Korea suffered a widened deficit in tourism in the first six months of the year as outbound travelers outnumbered inbound visitors, industry data showed Wednesday. The country’s tourism deficit reached $1.79 billion in the January-June period, compared with the $279 million shortfall a year earlier, according to the data.The deficit came as the number of South Korea’s outbound travelers exceeded that of foreigners visiting the country, and they spent big on purchases overseas.The number of
July 31, 2013
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Dongbu Daewoo targets China’s premium market
Dongbu Daewoo Electronics has chosen China as its first overseas target market, with a focus on high-end consumers in key metropolitan areas such as Shanghai and Beijing, the company said Wednesday. “Instead of competing against low-end Chinese products, our aim will be to focus on the premium value of Korean-made products to target mainly the upper-class consumers,” said Kwon Dae-hoon, a spokesperson for Dongbu Daewoo Electronics.The company has been aggressively ramping up marketing after Dong
TechnologyJuly 31, 2013
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TV makers frustrated by ministry’s lukewarm stance on UHD
Domestic TV manufactures could not help but express their deep frustration over the government’s lackluster posture on adopting new TV technology. Korea Communications Commission chief Lee Kyeong-jae reiterated Wednesday that it was too early to adopt the ultra high-definition technology in Korea. “The government will not rush to introduce the ultra high-definition broadcasting system,” said commissioner Lee a day after he came back from a week-long trip to the United States where he met Jessica
IndustryJuly 31, 2013
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Samsung said near purchase of German screen firm Novaled
Samsung Group is nearing an agreement to acquire Novaled AG, a German maker of materials used to light up smartphone and television screens, two people with knowledge of the matter said.“We are internally reviewing plans to acquire Novaled, but no details have been set yet,” said Lee Tae-hun, a spokesman for Cheil Industries Inc., the chemical and electronic materials unit of South Korea’s largest conglomerate, in a telephone interview.A deal to buy Novaled for more than $200 million may come as
TechnologyJuly 31, 2013
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Samsung SDS out to capture new opportunities
Alfred Koh, one of the few Korean-American IT experts among the top Samsung brass, wants to take the next step forward --and so does his company, Samsung SDS.The first step the company recently took toward the future was, albeit at the urgings of the government, to shift its focus to the overseas markets. The firm was basically edged out of all the financial and government systems integration work on the home turf.But SDS appeared to be prepared, since the move was immediately followed up by a c
TechnologyJuly 31, 2013
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SKT to expand LTE-A service to more cities
SK Telecom Co., South Korea’s leading mobile operator, said that it plans to expand its next-generation mobile network service to more cities in the country to meet growing demand for faster Internet connectivity.For the first time in the world, SK Telecom introduced the so-called LTE-Advanced mobile network in the country on June 26, 2013, offering speeds twice as fast as the existing long-term evolution, or LTE, network.The LTE-Advanced service is currently available in Seoul, 65 other major c
IndustryJuly 31, 2013