Most Popular
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Marine Corps commander summoned by CIO for questioning on alleged influence-peddling case
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Debate rages over ‘overly fatty’ samgyeopsal
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[Weekender] Korean psyche untangled: Musok
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40 flights canceled on Jeju Island due to bad weather
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[Eye Interview] 'If you live to 100, you might as well be happy,' says 88-year-old bestselling essayist
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From fake prostitution ring to nonexistent robber, prank calls hamper police
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N. Korea slams US, other countries for seeking alternative to UN sanctions monitoring panel
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Missing S. Korean traveler in Paris found safe after 2 weeks
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Pandemic left Korea more depressed than before: report
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Defense chiefs of US, Australia, Japan decry NK-Russia military cooperation
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Two die of H1N1 flu in Beijing
Two people died of H1N1 flu in Beijing recently, but Chinese health officials said the situation is not as threatening as it was in 2009.The deaths occurred since late December after the patients contracted the virus, previously called swine flu, China Daily reported.The report quoted the Beijing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that despite its potential to cause harm, the virus is not as threatening and can be contained.The report said both the victims of influenza A, or H1N1, virus
TechnologyJan. 7, 2013
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Melting glaciers could rise sea levels by 3 feet by 2100
Global sea levels may rise more than 3 feet by 2100 due to melting glaciers in Antarctica and Greenland, according to glaciologists. Such a rise in sea levels could displace millions of people in low-lying countries such as Bangladesh, swamp atolls in the Pacific Ocean, cause dikes in Holland to fail and cost coastal mega cities from New York to Tokyo billions of dollars for construction of sea walls and other infrastructure. Glaciologist Jonathan Bamber and his colleague Willy Aspinall used a s
TechnologyJan. 7, 2013
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Bedbugs no reason to skip library books
Despite recent reports speculating on bed bugs in library books, a U.S. entomologist and bed bug experts says there is no need to skip library books.Jody Gangloff-Kaufmann, a Cornell University entomologist and New York state Integrated Pest Management Program field expert, said since bed bugs are transported by humans, on belongings and clothes, it made sense borrowed books could be a method or vehicle of bed bug movement.“Bed bugs will not stay on books on the shelf for very long -- they need
TechnologyJan. 7, 2013
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Giant squid filmed in Pacific depths: Japan scientists
Scientists and broadcasters said Monday they have captured footage of an elusive giant squid up to eight meters long that roams the depths of the Pacific Ocean.Japan‘s National Science Museum succeeded in filming the deep-sea creature in its natural habitat for the first time, working with Japanese public broadcaster NHK and the U.S. Discovery Channel.They spotted the squid at a depth of 630 meters using a submersible in July, some 15 kilometers east of Chichi island in the north Pacific Ocean.T
TechnologyJan. 7, 2013
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Protein early in the day keeps fat away
Eating a high-protein breakfast with nuts may lead to being leaner and less hungry during the rest of the day, a fitness expert says. Charles Poliquin said his single best dietary tip for optimal leanness, energy and sustained mental focus, is the meat-and-nuts breakfast, which allows for a gradual rise in blood sugar and results in decreased cravings throughout the entire day, AskMen.com reported. Examples of Poliquin’s high-protein breakfast are one to two lean turkey burgers and a handful of
TechnologyJan. 7, 2013
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Seoul shares open lower on tech, builder losses
South Korean stocks started lower Monday, led by losses in tech and construction shares, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 7.31 points, or 0.36 percent, to 2,004.63 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Tech blue chips led the market decline, with top-cap Samsung Electronics falling 1.11 percent and LG Display, the biggest panel supplier for Apple's iPad tablet computer, dipping 2.27 percent.Top chipmaker SK hynix shed 1.14 percent.Construction firms also tr
Jan. 7, 2013
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World Bank seeks cybersecurity center in S. Korea
The World Bank and Korea Communications Commission (KCC) will sign a deal next week on a joint project to establish a "Global Cybersecurity Center" in South Korea, officials said Sunday.The World Bank, headed by Korean-born physician Jim Yong Kim, proposed it set up the center in South Korea in late 2013, they said.The facility will be tasked with promoting cybersecurity and other information protection in developing nations."The World Bank and KCC plan to sign a memorandum of understanding on e
Jan. 7, 2013
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Korea suffers sharp decline in labor productivity
Korea posted the second-largest drop in labor productivity among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development during the third quarter of 2012.According to the OECD, Korea’s labor productivity fell by 0.4 percent in the July-September period from a quarter before, along with the Czech Republic and Portugal, both of which recorded the same figure.While Norway saw its labor productivity, or the rate of output per worker per unit of time, fall heaviest by 1.3 percent, two mo
Jan. 6, 2013
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Telecoms’ sales halted due to illegal subsidies
Excessive and illegal smartphone subsidies have led the country’s three mobile carriers to sequentially stop signing up new customers starting Monday.LG Uplus, the country’s smallest mobile carrier, will be the first to be prohibited by the government from recruiting new customers for 24 days beginning on Monday. SK Telecom will then follow suit from Jan. 31-Feb. 21 as well as KT from Feb. 22-March 13. The firms were also fined a total of about 11.9 billion won ($11 million).This is the first ti
IndustryJan. 6, 2013
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Firms’ entertainment spending continues to rise
Companies have increased their spending on entertainment despite the prolonged economic slump. A total sum of 460,614 companies’ annual entertainment spending in 2011 surpassed 8 trillion won ($7.5 billion), according to data from the National Tax Service. The figure is about 9 percent up from in 2010. By sector, finance and insurance spent the most, about 16 times more than that of the farm and fisheries sectors.The NTS added that firms with weak sales generally spent more money on entertainmen
IndustryJan. 6, 2013
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LG vows W20tr investment this year
LG Group said Sunday it would make its largest-ever investment of 20 trillion won in facilities and R&D this year in a bid to lead the markets and to help spur the slowing national economy.The nation’s fourth largest conglomerate said it has finalized a plan to invest 14 trillion won in facilities and 6 trillion won in research and development, up 18.6 percent and 20 percent from last year, respectively. LG affiliates have not yet decided how many people they will recruit this year, but the grou
IndustryJan. 6, 2013
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Insurance firms face sanctions for accounting violations
The Financial Supervisory Service is considering reprimanding major life insurance companies for breaches of accounting standards or irregular trading with their parent groups, officials said Sunday.The regulator conducted its investigation into eight major players last year and its possible sanction targets involve conglomerate-based players such as Samsung Life Insurance and Hanwha Life Insurance (then Korea Life).Some of the eight firms, including Kyobo Life, Tong Yang Life, Mirae Asset Life,
Jan. 6, 2013
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Polarization deepens in construction industry
Polarization has become a buzz word in the nation’s construction industry. Large builders are looking overseas amid the prolonged slump in the local real estate market. But small and medium-sized builders, who heavily depend on the local housing market, are being pushed further to the brink of bankruptcy. According to the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, overseas construction orders won by Korean builders in 2012 rose 9.8 percent to $64.9 billion (68.1 trillion won) from $59.1 b
Jan. 6, 2013
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Shops halt interest-free card installment plans
Big retailers stopped offering sales based on interest-free monthly installments, as a protest against the revised laws which would burden both credit card firms and card settlement membership stores for additional costs. Despite customers’ complaints due to the unexpected halt of the zero-interest installment sales, retail chains including E-mart, online shopping mall G-market, Shinsegae Department Store and other retailers decided to ban the zero-interest installment promotions.The long-standi
IndustryJan. 6, 2013
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Bond turnover hits record high in 2012
The turnover of the South Korean bond market reached an all-time high in 2012 due to investors’ flight to safety, with the value of stock transactions dropping to a four-year low, industry data showed Sunday.The amount of bonds traded on the local market came to 7,320 trillion won ($6.88 trillion) last year, topping the 7,000 trillion won mark for the first time, according to the data by the Korea Exchange and the Korea Financial Investment Association.The turnover of government bonds traded rea
Jan. 6, 2013
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Shares to stay flat on gloomy Q4 earnings outlook
South Korean stocks are expected to move in a tight range this week with investors sitting on the sidelines amid the announcement of fourth-quarter performances of local firms, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index finished at 2,011.94 in the first week of 2013, up 0.75 percent from the previous week.The KOSPI soared in the first trading session of this year on rising optimism following the settlement of the U.S. fiscal cliff issue.The U.S. Congress passed a budget bill t
Jan. 6, 2013
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Yu-Tsui from China to lead IBM Korea
IBM said on Sunday it has appointed Shirley Yu-Tsui, general manager of IBM’s global business services for China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, as the new chief executive of IBM Korea.Yu-Tsui has been named one of China’s top 10 women professional management leaders in 2004, and person of the year in China’s IT service the following year.She will be replacing Lee Hui-sung, who has headed IBM Korea for the past eight years. Lee was promoted to vice president of strategy for the growth market unit at IBM
IndustryJan. 6, 2013
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Korea to provide 191 billion won to ADB
South Korea will provide the Asian Development Bank with an all-time high 191.2 billion won ($179.4 million) this year to assist developing countries, the government said Saturday.“South Korea decided to provide the assistance to the Asian Development Fund after reaching an agreement on the country’s share of expenses last year,” an official from the Ministry of Strategy and Finance said.Introduced by the regional lender ADB in 1968, the fund aims to provide loans to developing countries at a lo
Jan. 6, 2013
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Korea to impose fines on buildings with open doors
Starting Monday, buildings and commercial shops in South Korea that keep their doors open while running heaters will face as much as 3 million won ($2,800) in fines, officials said Saturday. The measure is part of the government’s mandatory campaign to save electricity as the nation is bracing for an unusually cold winter amid risks of a possible power shortage. Big commercial buildings such as hotels and department stores will be required to keep their thermostats at 20 degrees Celsius or lower
Jan. 6, 2013
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Is BMW invincible?
The nation’s import car market is rushing into a fierce sales war. With Korean carmakers planning only five launches this year, foreign brands are hinting at intensified offensives, with around 50 new models.For import brands, their main goal, among others, is taking even a tiny bite out of the growing sales pie of German carmakers, especially BMW, the best-selling foreign brand here for three consecutive years. German brands ― BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Volkswagen ― topped import car sales la
MobilityJan. 6, 2013