Most Popular
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Controversy rekindled over when to name criminals, suspects
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Hybe-Ador CEO conflict gets messier
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Battery makers ramp up efforts to diversify graphite supply chain
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[KH Explains] Hyundai Motor’s plan for new landmark keeps hitting bumps
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Seoul vows action over Naver's Line, Yahoo dispute
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Prosecutors to summon pastor who allegedly gave Dior bag to first lady
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‘Monk’ DJ spreading Buddhism goes global
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[LLG] Unseen inheritance: Trauma of transnational adoption 'trickles down' to adoptees' children
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Court's ruling set to shape path of medical school expansion
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Loans of self-employed swell 50% in four years
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NHN net up 49% in fourth quarter
NHN Corp., South Korea’s top Internet portal operator, said Thursday its fourth-quarter earnings jumped49.1 percent from a year earlier, buoyed by increased profit from search advertising and new services such as the mobile messenger LINE.Net profit reached 169 billion won ($155 million) in the October-December period, compared with a profit of 113.3 billion won the previous year, NHN said in a regulatory filing.Revenue rose 13.8 percent on-year to 652 billion won last year, and operating profit
Feb. 7, 2013
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Shinhan Financial posts W2.3tr in profit
Shinhan Financial Group said Thursday that it posted a net profit of 2.36 trillion won ($2.18 billion) last year.The financial services company said the 2012 earnings marked a drop by 23.8 percent from the 2011 net profit of 3.1 trillion won. “The year-on-year fall was attributable to a reduction in the net interest margin and accumulation of loan loss provisions.”Its flagship Shinhan Bank reported a profit of 1.69 trillion won, down 19.9 percent from a year earlier. Shinhan Card posted 749.8 bi
Feb. 7, 2013
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LG Chem’s Yeosu plant gets top rating for energy efficiency
LG Chem said Thursday that its naphtha cracking center located in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, was ranked the world’s No. 1 plant in energy efficiency in a U.S. research project.In a survey conducted by consulting firm Solomon Associates on 115 firms, the country’s biggest chemicals maker was noted for using 40 percent less energy in ethylene production at its center in Yeosu than its competitors. This move saves energy worth 300 billion won ($280 million) every year, according to LG Chem offic
IndustryFeb. 7, 2013
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BMW Korea targets 10% growth
BMW Korea hinted Thursday that it might take a breather in 2013 from its aggressive expansion of recent years, unveiling its sales target of at least 10 percent growth for 30,000 cars sold“We aim to see at least 10 percent growth this year. The year 2013 will be a year for us to prepare for the next big leap,” said BMW Korea CEO Kim Hyo-joon during a press conference in a Seoul on Thursday.Though the 10 percent figure was described as “moderate,” it still exceeds the estimated 8 percent growth o
IndustryFeb. 7, 2013
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Seoul shares slip 0.23 pct on currency woes
South Korean stocks closed 0.23 percent lower on Thursday as the prolonged currency volatility continued to weigh down the market, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) edged down 4.42 points to 1,931.77. Trading volume was moderate at 407.2 million shares worth 3.5 trillion won (US$3.22 billion) with losers outpacing gainers 410 to 383."Due to the prolonged appreciation of the local currency against the Japanese ye
Feb. 7, 2013
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LG wins patent infringement suit in U.S. court
A U.S. federal court ruled in favor of LG Electronics Inc. in a technology patent infringement suit lodged by French telecommunications giant Alcatel-Lucent SA.A jury in a San Diego federal court on Tuesday (local time) found LG and Apple Inc. did not copy patents, including a video compression technology, held by Multimedia Patent Trust (MPS), a unit of the Paris-based telecommunications equipment maker.The Alcatel-Lucent subsidiary filed the suit in December 2010, claiming several LG phones su
TechnologyFeb. 7, 2013
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Seoul shares remain almost flat in late-morning trade
South Korean stocks traded almost flat late Thursday morning as the currency's volatility continued to weigh down on investor sentiment, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) inched up 0.06 percent, or 1.2 points, to 1,937.39 as of 11:20 a.m.Blue-chip exporters edged up, with market bellwether Samsung Electronics increasing 0.14 percent and top chipmaker SK hynix adding 1.43 percent. No. 1 carmaker Hyundai Motor moved up 0.25 percent.Retailers lost ground, with Lo
Feb. 7, 2013
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Economy dogged by weak employment, consumption: gov't report
South Korea's economy is facing slowing employment and sluggish domestic consumption despite overall improvements in other major indicators, a government report showed Thursday, emphasizing that it will continue its policy efforts to boost economic vitality down the road. "Recently, our economy is seeing its inflation stabilize with production, investment, exports and other major indicators also improving," the finance ministry said in the monthly report that analyzes the latest economic trends
Feb. 7, 2013
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Earth-like planets closer than thought?
Six percent of red dwarf stars, the most common stars in our galaxy, have habitable planets, meaning an Earth-like planet could be nearby, U.S. astronomers say.Researchers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics reported using publicly available data from NASA‘s Kepler space telescope to determine the likelihood of a red dwarf having a planet that is both habitable and Earth-sized.“We thought we would have to search vast distances to find an Earth-like planet,” Harvard astronomer Cour
TechnologyFeb. 7, 2013
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Seoul shares open higher on exporter gains
South Korean stocks began higher Thursday on the back of gains in blue chip exporters, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 0.26 percent, or 5.07 points, to 1941.26 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Blue chip exporters led the overall gain, with market behemoth Samsung Electronicsclimbing 0.28 percent and No. 1 carmaker Hyundai Motor adding 0.75 percent. Top chipmaker SK hynix also advanced 1.02 percent.Logistics shares also gathered ground, with Hyundai Gl
Feb. 7, 2013
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Conglomerates invade booming business hotel market
With the number of hotel rooms in Seoul running far short of the explosive demand from Chinese and Japanese tourists flooding into the city, most downtown hotels have enjoyed a boom for the past five years.Seeing the constant growth in tourists, the nation’s largest conglomerates are rushing to build no-frills business hotels in the city center, putting existing hotels run by smaller companies on pins and needles.Lotte Hotel and GS Group’s Parnas Hotel have already entered the fray, while plans
IndustryFeb. 6, 2013
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Tokyo ranks world’s most expensive city
Tokyo is now the most expensive city in the world, according to the London-based Economist Intelligence Unit.According to the EIU’s Worldwide Cost of Living 2013 report on Tuesday, the Japanese capital was listed as the No. 1 expensive city. It was followed by Osaka, Australia’s Sydney, Norway’s Oslo, Melbourne and Singapore. Seoul was ranked as the 37th-most expensive city on the list.Switzerland’s Zurich, which topped the list last year, descended to the seventh position this year after revisi
Feb. 6, 2013
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[Newsmaker] K-water recognized by Thailand
Despite a growing dispute over alleged flaws of the four-river restoration project here, the nation’s water control and management capability gained recognition overseas as the Korean consortium was selected as a priority negotiation partner for all 10 major water management projects being pushed by the Thai government on Tuesday. Among the bidders, Korea, Japan and China have been in a tight race for the 10 projects worth 12 trillion won ($11 billion), which is intended to advance Thailand’s in
Feb. 6, 2013
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Banks’ earnings drop on low interest rates
Commercial banks’ profitability and earnings fell to their lowest since the 2009 global financial crisis due mainly to low interest rates.According to the Financial Supervisory Service, Korean banks saw their three major indices for profitability mark a three-year low in 2012.“The banking industry reported a worse performance in three indices ― return on assets (0.49 percent), return on equity (6.41 percent) and net interest margin (2.1 percent),” the FSS said in a statement.The weak profitabili
Feb. 6, 2013
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Global market share of Hyundai-Kia hits record high
The global market share of South Korea’s top automaker Hyundai Motor Co. and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors Corp. hit a record high in 2012 as robust sales around the world offset sluggish domestic performance, a U.S. marketing firm said Wednesday.A total of 7.101 million Hyundai and Kia vehicles were delivered last year, accounting for 8.8 percent of the global market share, up 0.2 percentage points from a year earlier, according to J.D. Power and Associates. In particular, the two firms’ com
Feb. 6, 2013
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Confiscated narcotics jump in 2012: data
SEJONG (Yonhap News) ― The amount of narcotics confiscated in South Korea jumped in 2012 as the nation’s crackdown efforts and international cooperation to prevent drug smuggling intensified, the customs office said Wednesday.The Korea Customs Service said in a report that it confiscated a total of 33.8 kilograms of drugs like methamphetamine and cannabis last year, up 15 percent from a year earlier.Methamphetamine, also known as philopon, came to 20.9 kilograms, an amount that could be administ
Feb. 6, 2013
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N.K. firms, gov't bodies scurry to dodge possible Chinese sanctions: sources
Some North Korean companies and government-linked business bodies have devised preemptive measures to avoid possible Chinese financial sanctions to be imposed when the North carries out its threatened nuclear test, sources said Thursday. "There have been signs that North Korean trade firms and government agencies are withdrawing money from their Chinese bank accounts or changed their names to open new accounts," said one source in Beijing with knowledge on the matter. The moves started after
IndustryFeb. 6, 2013
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SK names top decision-making execs
SK Group completed the new lineup of its top decision-making council called SUPEX on Wednesday in an apparent effort to minimize the management vacuum from the imprisonment of group leader Chey Tae-won.The nation’s third-largest conglomerate said it named heads of six commissions to SUPEX to take responsibility for each sector on strategy, global growth, communications, ethical business, shared growth and human resources. SUPEX had been led by Kim Chang-keun on behalf of Chey, who stepped down
IndustryFeb. 6, 2013
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Seoul shares close almost flat on currency woes
South Korean stocks ended almost flat on Wednesday as the prolonged currency volatility and North Korea’s threat of a nuclear test continued to weigh down the market, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 0.1 percent, or 1.99 points, to 1,936.19. Trading volume was moderate at 342.9 million shares worth 3.5 trillion won ($3.3 billion) with gainers outpacing losers 461 to 338.“Despite the gains on Wall Street overnight,
Feb. 6, 2013
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Hyundai foundation offers more benefits
Hyundai Motor’s Chung Mong-koo Foundation on Wednesday said it would expand its scope of social contribution by launching a program to offer creative educational opportunities for underprivileged households.The extracurricular clubs at the junior and high schools designated by the government to receive priority educational fund support are expected to benefit from the new program, according to the foundation organizers. Starting in March, the foundation will receive applications from these clubs
IndustryFeb. 6, 2013