Most Popular
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Hybe-Ador feud should have limited effect on Hybe's overall performance: analysts
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Second Gimpo civil servant found dead, after apologizing for not finishing work
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First-ever meeting of president, opposition chief set to finally happen
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Blinken calls on China to press N. Korea to end its 'dangerous' behavior
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NewJeans' singles, Japanese debut to proceed as planned, despite Hybe-Ador feud
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Experts raise concerns about Japan putting pressure on Naver over Line
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Samsung mobile chief, Google device head meet in Seoul
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South Korea to launch space security center under spy agency
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More med professors to take day off each week while govt. urges them to stay
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Hybe refutes Ador CEO Min's denial of breach of trust
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Seoul shares up 0.21 pct in late-morning trade
South Korean stocks reverted to gain 0.21 percent late Monday morning after opening lower, led by bullish telecom and utilities shares, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 4.22 points to 2,000.89 as of 11:20 a.m.Leading mobile carrier SK Telecom surged more than 5 percent, with state-run electricity provider Korea Electric Power Corp. umping nearly 3 percent. In contrast, chemical companies and brokerages trended downward. LG Chem lost about 2 percent and
Jan. 14, 2013
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S. Korean exporters feared to face growing protectionism: report
South Korean exporters will likely continue to face growing protectionism this year as major economies struggle to create jobs and shield their local industries from a prolonged economic slowdown, a report said Monday.According to the report compiled by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), China, South Korea's top trading partner, is imposing anti-dumping tariffs on 16 South Korean products such as synthetic rubber as of December.The neighboring country is also considering raisin
Jan. 14, 2013
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MUFON investigating flying saucer in Texas
A photograph of an alleged flying saucer hovering over a Texas oil field that surfaced on the Internet may be authentic, a UFO investigator says.The photo, which has a July 5 time stamp, appeared on the Mutual UFO (Unidentified Flying Object) Network website last week and was allegedly taken by a security camera at an oil drilling site in Eagle Ford, the San Antonio (Texas) Express-News reported.Charles Stansburge, a veteran MUFON investigator, said the photo has passed two authenticity tests."I
TechnologyJan. 14, 2013
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Seoul shares open lower on corporate earnings woes
South Korean stocks opened 0.16 percent lower Monday as investors were jittery over future corporate performances due to a strong local currency and the Japanese yen‘s weakness, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 3.16 points to 1,993.51 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Auto and tech shares lost ground, with No. 2 automaker Kia Motors shedding more than 1.5 percent and market bellwether Samsung Electronics falling 0.13 percent. The local currency was
Jan. 14, 2013
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Ministry proposes spending cuts to secure welfare budget
The Ministry of Strategy and Finance on Sunday suggested downsizing government expenditures in an effort to secure welfare resources for the incoming Park Geun-hye administration.In its report to the presidential transition committee, the ministry offered to reassess several of the government’s ongoing tax-spending projects, sources said.President-elect Park earlier pledged to secure 135 trillion won ($127 billion) to realize her welfare plans for the next five years by bringing the “underground
IndustryJan. 13, 2013
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Korea low on Big Mac buying power
The lowest-paid Korean could afford to buy fewer than one and a half hamburgers after working for an hour in 2012.The price of a Mac Donald’s Big Mac stood at $3.21, leaving Koreans’ purchasing power below that of almost two dozen countries on the list, said Albain, an online part-time job portal, using the Big Mac Index data.Meanwhile, Koreans received a minimum wage of $4.32 an hour, it explained.Korea’s Big Mac buying power ranked 23rd among 44 countries evaluated in the index, with one of lo
Jan. 13, 2013
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[Newsmaker] Tragic death of online activist Aaron Swartz
A dreadful, if not downright scary, scenario is the end of free content on the Internet. What if you had to pay a fee for each and every piece of digital content you browsed on the Web? What if there were no Wikipedia, and no free news feeds from tens of thousands of media outlets? Aaron Swartz, a pioneering programmer, envisioned a cyberspace where online content is freely available. But before his vision was realized in full, he tragically ended his life at the age of 26, U.S. authorities conf
TechnologyJan. 13, 2013
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Korea’s global bestselling items unshaken
Despite Chinese manufacturers’ aggressive push amid a global economic recession, most high-tech products at Korean exporters have maintained their leadership status, industry sources and the Korea International Trade Association said on Sunday.Korea had a total of 45 exported items that enjoyed the world’s largest market share for two consecutive years since 2010. Semiconductors, steel, shipbuilding, petrochemicals and auto parts are among this list. Adding to this feat, in 2011, over a dozen ex
IndustryJan. 13, 2013
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Listed firms’ rights offerings tumble in 2012
Rights offerings by South Korea’s listed companies plunged 40.6 percent in 2012 from a year earlier mainly due to the protracted global economic slowdown, the securities depository agency said Sunday.The value of rights issues by 189 listed firms reached 7.7 trillion won ($7.3 billion) last year, compared to 13 trillion won from a year earlier, according to the data by the Korea Securities Depository.The decrease came as the prolonged economic slowdown, including the eurozone fiscal crisis, made
IndustryJan. 13, 2013
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Seoul shares to trade in tight range
South Korea’s stock market is expected to trade in a tight range this week with economic indicators from China and the currency exchange being among the major factors that will determine its direction, analysts said on Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 1,996.67 last week, down 0.75 percent from a week earlier after undergoing choppy trading.The local currency’s ascent against the U.S. dollar and the weakening yen of Japan could weigh on the market amid wo
Jan. 13, 2013
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Schreyer to head design of both Hyundai, Kia
Peter Schreyer, president of Kia Motors in charge of design, will now be leading the design segment of both Hyundai and Kia cars, Hyundai Motor Group said on Sunday. Schreyer’s official title will be president of Hyundai, Kia Design Center. The recent promotion follows in quick succession after a previous personnel reshuffling last year when Schreyer was appointed to president and designated to head the design of Kia cars. “The latest move reflects our company’s efforts to further enhance the d
IndustryJan. 13, 2013
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Outlets in outskirts prevail; department stores shunned
Homemaker Lee Suh-young picks premium outlets on the outskirts of Seoul as her favorite shopping havens without hesitation.“Outlets are the best for people who want high-quality or brand-name products at reasonable prices,” she said. “I try not to miss the sale seasons each year.”Lee belongs to the growing group of trendy shoppers who buy their high-end outfits, shoes and handbags at premium outlets for special occasions and shop at “fast fashion” brands like Uniqlo for daily clothing. During we
IndustryJan. 13, 2013
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Honda to cut 800 U.K. jobs as European car market shrinks
Honda Motor Co., Japan’s second-largest carmaker by market value, said it will eliminate as many as 800 jobs in the U.K. this year as the European auto market may shrink for the sixth year in a row. The manufacturer will start talks with labor representatives for the cutbacks, which it plans to implement by about the second quarter, Tokyo-based Honda said today in an emailed statement. The company’s plant in Swindon, England, has a workforce of 3,500 people, said Fiona Cole, a spokeswoman. “Thes
MobilityJan. 13, 2013
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Playing on home field
Hyundai Motor Group has recently made an unprecedented decision to cut the prices of its flagship cars that it markets on its home turf of Korea. As of Jan. 1, Hyundai Motor has begun to offer five midsize and large models, including the Sonata, Genesis and Santa Fe, at discounted prices of up to 1 million won less than their 2012 versions. Its affiliate Kia Motors on Wednesday announced price cuts for popular models, unveiling the new K9 with a lowered price tag even though high-end features su
MobilityJan. 13, 2013
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Mercedes-Benz Korea names woman CEO
Mercedes-Benz Korea named Britta Seeger, 44, as its new chief executive to become the first foreigner and female to head operations here, the company said on Sunday.Seeger’s prior work experience includes senior manager at the Daimler Group headquarters in Germany. The newly appointed CEO is expected to start her work in March, the company said, to take over from the late Thomas Urbach who passed away in November last year. Seeger’s career at Daimler began in 1992 at the sales division of the co
IndustryJan. 13, 2013
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Sporty new ’K8’ may spice up Kia's K series
Kia Motors is likely to add a “K8” to its flagship lineup of the K series, to feature a new vehicle that would be sportier and more casual in its appearance, an industry source told The Korea Herald on Sunday. “Kia has already asked suppliers to provide the auto parts for the K8. This new car is expected to be a sportier sedan coming between the K7 and K9 series,” the source said on condition of anonymity. Considering the sluggish sales of the pricier K9 luxury sedan, he said the new lineup -- f
IndustryJan. 13, 2013
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KAIST looking to boost KTX speed
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology is looking to integrate its indigenously-developed online electric vehicle technology into the country’s flagship KTX high-speed train to achieve speeds of more than 300 kilometers per hour.The state-run research university’s OLEV teams are putting their heads together with Korea Rail Network Authority, a rail engineering company, and Korea Railroad Research Institute to overcome the speed barriers posed by electrical grids that hang above and p
IndustryJan. 13, 2013
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Finance Ministry to reevaluate all fiscal spending plans from scratch
The Ministry of Strategy and Finance said Sunday that it will reevaluate all of its existing fiscal spending plans from scratch to come up with the necessary funds needed to meet President-elect Park Geun-hye's campaign pledges, sources from the presidential transition team said Sunday. Park, who takes office as the country's first woman chief executive on Feb. 25, has said she will need 134.5 trillion won(US$127.3 billion) over the next five years to follow through on the various promises
Jan. 13, 2013
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S. Korea expected to launch space rocket on Jan. 25
South Korea is expected to try again to launch its space rocket later this month after successfully conducting experiments to check if all systems are working properly, a government source said Sunday. The official said South Korean and Russian researchers are expected to discuss results of repairs made to the rocket late last year and touch on the present state of the Naro-1 rocket. He added Seoul successfully carried out combustion tests on the kick motor on the locally built second stage
TechnologyJan. 13, 2013
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Global handset shipments top 1.74 billion in 2012
Worldwide sales of mobile phones, including smartphones and feature phones, reached 1.74 billion last year, growing 1.8 percent from the previous year, data showed Sunday.The on-year growth was attributed to robust demand for some of the latest models in the smartphone market, such as Samsung Electronics Co.'s Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note 2 phones as well as Apple Inc.'s iPhone 5, according to the data by Strategy Analytics.Strong shipments of the Samsung and Apple phones, combined with seasonal de
TechnologyJan. 13, 2013