Most Popular
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Over 80,000 millionaires, 20 billionaires in Seoul: report
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Korean battery makers heave sigh of relief over 2-year IRA reprieve
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Yoon apologizes over first lady’s Dior bag scandal, but accuses special probe attempt as political maneuvering
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Young Korean doctors seek plan B: cosmetic dermatology or overseas
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South Korea open to Indonesian proposal to cut KF-21 payments
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Girl hanging on bridge, police trying to rescue her both fall off; rescued immediately
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Coupang earnings hit hard by losses from ailing Farfetch
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[K-pop’s dilemma] Time, profit pressures work against originality
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Why femicide and dating violence are growing issues in S. Korea
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DP urges Yoon to accept proposal on cash handouts, special counsel probe over Marine's death
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Woori eager to spin off card unit
Woori Financial Group is struggling to follow in the footsteps of KB Financial and Hana Financial by spinning off a credit card business from Woori Bank.In 2011, KB Financial Group launched a stand-alone credit card firm after the money-spinning unit was merged with the bank in 2003. In 2010, Hana Financial Group spun off Hana SK Card and began marketing cooperation with several SK Group subsidiaries.An official in the Financial Supervisory Service said Friday that the regulator was making inqui
Jan. 4, 2013
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Hanjin Group children get promotions
Hanjin Group Cho Yang-ho’s three children ― Hyun-ah, Won-tae and Hyun-min ― were all promoted in the company’s recent personnel reshuffle. The eldest, Hyun-ah, 39, was promoted to vice president of Korean Air, along with her younger brother Won-tae, 38. They were given the promotions just three years after they were made executive vice presidents in 2009. Cho Hyun-min, born in 1983, was made a managing vice president of the company. She had been a rank immediately below just two years earlier. K
IndustryJan. 4, 2013
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Samsung, LG fined for LCD price-fixing in China
LG Display agreed to pay damages ordered by the Chinese government for fixing the price of its panels, while Samsung Display said it would need more time to look into the issue.On Friday, the world’s two top makers of liquid-crystal display panels ― Samsung and LG Display ― were ordered to pay $35 million in damages by China’s National Development and Reform Commission for price-rigging its panels.The commission said it fined Samsung 101 million yuan ($16.2 million) and LG 118 million yuan, for
IndustryJan. 4, 2013
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Foreigners’ securities holdings hit record
Foreign shareholdings in Korean stocks and bonds have hit a record-high due to monetary easing overseas that led to the inflow of funds investing in higher yielding and riskier assetsEquity and debt investments by foreign investors reached 502.6 trillion won in total as of the end of 2012, mainly driven by funds from Europe and the U.S. where central banks had been printing and pumping money to stimulate their economies, according to Financial Supervisory Service data. It showed that the U.S. wa
Jan. 4, 2013
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Milky Way may have 100 billion planets
U.S. astronomers say a study suggests planets are in fact the cosmic norm and estimate the Milky Way galaxy contains at least 100 billion planets.A team of astronomers at the California Institute of Technology made the estimate while analyzing planets orbiting a star called Kepler-32, worlds they say are representative of the vast majority in the galaxy and are a perfect case study for understanding how most planets form.Kepler-32's planets were detected by the Kepler space telescope, and the re
TechnologyJan. 4, 2013
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Samsung, LG fined for LCD price-fixing in China
LG Display agreed to pay damages ordered by the Chinese government for fixing the price of its panels, while Samsung Display said it would need more time to look into the issue.On Friday, the world’s two top makers of liquid-crystal display panels ― Samsung and LG Display ― were ordered to pay $35 million in damages by China’s National Development and Reform Commission for price-rigging its panels.The commission said it fined Samsung 101 million yuan ($16.2 million) and LG 118 million yuan, for
TechnologyJan. 4, 2013
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'Korean customers are too picky'
An online article pointing out difficulties in the Korean market sparked fresh debate over the cause of recent withdrawal-spree of foreign companies. A blogger familiar with the matter posted Wednesday an article titled “Foreign companies leaving Korea: Have the locals successfully kicked the invaders out?” on his blog.A series of foreign enterprises recently decided to leave Korea in various industries. Global IT companies Yahoo Korea, Motorola, HTC, and RIM, as well as financial companies Gold
IndustryJan. 4, 2013
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‘Actually’ unemployed population nears 4 million in Nov.: data
The number of “actually” unemployed people in South Korea has reached nearly 4 million as job seekers tend to give up on finding work amid prolonged weak labor market conditions, data showed Friday.According to the data by Statistics Korea, the country’s actually unemployed totaled about 3.89 million as of November last year, slightly down from 3.94 million tallied a year earlier.Actual unemployed people refer to those who give up looking for work, temporarily quit seeking employment to prepare
IndustryJan. 4, 2013
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Seoul shares open lower on U.S. losses
South Korean stocks started lower Friday following overnight losses on Wall Street, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 4.73 points, or 0.23 percent, to 2,014.68 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Market bellwether Samsung Electronics slid 1.04 percent and LG Electronics, South Korea's second-largest home appliances maker, dipped 0.13 percent.Carmakers were also sluggish, with industry leader Hyundai Motor retreating 0.97 percent and its smaller affiliate K
Jan. 4, 2013
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S. Korea's foreign reserves reaches new high in Dec.
South Korea's foreign exchange reserves reached a new record high in December on the back of an increase in investment profits and higher conversion value of non-dollar assets, the central bank said Friday.The country's foreign reserves reached $326.97 billion in December, up $880 million from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).Foreign reserves consist of securities and deposits denominated in overseas currencies, along with International Monetary Fund reserve positions, sp
Jan. 4, 2013
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Corporate regulator removes 11 firms from watch list
South Korea's antitrust watchdog said Friday that it has taken 11 companies off the list that limits mutual investments and loan guarantees.The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said the number of corporate affiliates on the list stood at 1,791 as of end-December, down from1,802 tallied in the previous month.Eighteen companies were newly added to the list, while 29 affiliates were taken off over the past month, the FTC said.The net decline comes as the political community is pushing for a fairer busin
IndustryJan. 3, 2013
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Zodiac may look to buy STX Pan Ocean
Zodiac Maritime Agencies, a global ship owner and manager, could be interested in acquiring STX Pan Ocean, Korea’s leading operator of bulk carriers, industry sources said.The London-based ship management company, owned by the Ofer family, is believed to have emerged as one of the potential overseas candidates to purchase a controlling 36.8 percent stake in the Korean shipping company, the sources claimed.The 36.8 percent is held by STX, the parent holding company, STX Offshore & Shipbuilding, S
IndustryJan. 3, 2013
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Korea may attain $30,000 per capita GDP around 2017
Korea may attain the goal of per capita gross domestic product of $30,000 by around 2017, analysts predicted on Thursday. Surpassing the $30,000 mark is widely regarded as a yardstick to determine if a country is advanced. But the analysts said whether the nation will be able to attain the feat depends on sustained economic growth and the pace of the local currency’s gain.Analysis has it that the Korean currency should appreciate about 33 percent to the U.S. dollar from the current level. The In
Jan. 3, 2013
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Critics say grounding shows Arctic drilling danger
ANCHORAGE (AP) ― The grounding of a petroleum drilling ship on a remote Alaska island has refueled the debate over oil exploration in the U.S. Arctic Ocean, where critics for years have said the conditions are too harsh and the stakes too high to allow dangerous industrial development.The drilling sites are 1,600 kilometers from Coast Guard resources, and environmentalists argue offshore drilling in the Arctic’s fragile ecosystem is too risky. So when a Royal Dutch Shell PLC ship went aground on
TechnologyJan. 3, 2013
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Space travel might speed up Alzheimer’s: U.S. study
WASHINGTON (AFP) ― Long journeys into deep space, including a mission to Mars, could expose astronauts to levels of cosmic radiation harmful to the brain and accelerate Alzheimer’s disease, according to U.S. research.The NASA-funded study involved bombarding mice with varied radiation doses, including levels comparable to what voyagers would experience during a mission to Mars, and seeing how the animals managed to recall objects or locations.Mice that were exposed to radiation were far more lik
TechnologyJan. 3, 2013
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Gas guzzlers: New insights into birth of giant planets
PARIS (AFP) ― Astronomers using the most advanced land telescope in the world said on Wednesday they had unlocked knowledge about how formidable “gas giant” planets such Jupiter and Saturn come into being.These vast but uninhabitable worlds are created by gobbling up gas and dust that envelope young stars in a murky disc, they believe.The evidence comes from observations of a youthful star called HD 142527 which is located more than 450 light years from Earth.Stars are born from a cloud of cosmi
TechnologyJan. 3, 2013
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Park hopes to transform Korea into start-up nation
Following is the 11th in a series of articles on President-elect Park Geun-hye’s key policies ― Ed. Korea has entered a period of low growth. A slew of analysts say it is heading in a direction similar to Japan’s “Lost Decade.”With 1 percent growth coupled with the global economy facing further slowdown in 2013, the outlook for Korean exports, the country’s main source of growth, is not looking rosy.President-elect Park Geun-hye, who has an engineering background, sees a need to overcome future
TechnologyJan. 3, 2013
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Brain image study: Fructose may spur overeating
This is your brain on sugar ― for real. Scientists have used imaging tests to show for the first time that fructose, a sugar that saturates the American diet, can trigger brain changes that may lead to overeating.After drinking a fructose beverage, the brain doesn’t register the feeling of being full as it does when simple glucose is consumed, researchers found.It’s a small study and does not prove that fructose or its relative, high-fructose corn syrup, can cause obesity, but experts say it add
TechnologyJan. 3, 2013
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Influenza viruses on rise as winter deepens
As the cold spell tightens its grip on the country, reports of flu-like illnesses have grown in the last few weeks. Health authorities advised Thursday that people maintain personal hygiene and consider flu shots to avoid illness.The number of people suspected of having influenza per 1,000 outpatients was 2.8 in the third week of December, a slight increase from 2.7 surveyed a week before, Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a report. If the rate reaches more than 4, the hea
TechnologyJan. 3, 2013
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Get your new year off to a healthy start
People often make New Year’s resolutions to quit smoking or start regular exercise to improve their health. However, many fail to keep to their resolutions for even a month. Everyone knows how to keep healthy, but it is no simple task to hold back on things you want and do things you do not like. It is very difficult to keep to your goals without a special motivation when you are tired or busy. If a friend of the same age as you dies suddenly or is diagnosed with a serious disease unexpectedly,
TechnologyJan. 3, 2013