Most Popular
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Korean labor force to shrink by 10 million by 2044: report
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[AtoZ Korean Mind] Does your job define who you are? Should it?
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Allegations surrounding BTS resurface, enraged fans demand apology
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Students with history of violence will be barred from becoming teachers
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Medical feud leaves hospitals in financial crisis
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Top prosecutor pledges 'speedy, strict' probe into first lady's luxury bag allegations
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Samsung mocks Apple over iPhone alarm glitch
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Chip up cycle won’t stay long: SK chief
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'Queen of Tears' riding high on Netflix chart
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Speaker floats dual citizenship as solution to falling births
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VVIP-targeting hotel makes U-turn
A luxury hotel reputed for its “members only” facilities is sheepishly reaching out to the general public to attract new clients. Banyan Tree Club & Spa Seoul, located on the foot of Namsan, central Seoul, drew the media’s attention at the time of its opening in June 2010, claiming to be “home to a high-end social community for the top 1 percent of Korea.” Only a small number of VVIPs recommended by the selected existing members are allowed to join the club, with the membership fee coming to a
IndustryNov. 2, 2012
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Concierge service touches super-rich’s pride
Hotel Plaza in Seoul is the only luxury hotel that offers a concierge service for weddings. Other hotels provide a venue and catering service. But Plaza offers a concierge to oversee the whole process of the wedding. “A wedding concierge is required to be more experienced as they have to serve not just the couple but also their parents on their very special day,” said a manager at the hotel. There are three professional wedding concierges at the hotel who have more than seven years of experience
IndustryNov. 2, 2012
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Shares gain 1.07% on U.S., China data
Korean stocks advanced 1.07 percent Friday, cheered by improved U.S. and Chinese economic indicators, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index climbed 20.28 points to finish at 1,918.72. Trading volume was moderate at 434.9 million shares worth 5.46 trillion won ($5 billion) with gainers outpacing losers 518 to 307.“Good economic data in the U.S. and China offset the prolonged eurozone and fiscal cliff risks, though the gain w
Nov. 2, 2012
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Creditors to complete sale of Woongjin Coway by Jan.
The creditors of Woongjin Holdings said Thursday that they have decided to complete the sale of Woongjin Coway Co., a leading local water purifier maker, to MBK Partners Ltd., a leading local private equity fund, by January next year.In August, Woongjin Holdings, the parent company of Woongjin Coway, inked a deal with MBK Partners Ltd. to sell its 30.9 percent stake in the purifier unit to the private equity fund for 1.2 trillion won (US$1 billion) to help improve its financial health.Still, the
IndustryNov. 2, 2012
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LG Innotek, Osram settle patent lawsuit
LG Innotek said Friday that it has reached an agreement with LG Group and Osram, a light-manufacturing unit of Siemens AG, over a patent dispute. The three have been engaged in a legal fight. Osram accused LG and Samsung of infringing on patent rights for LED technology in June last year. LG Innotek said the company and Osram have dropped patent lawsuits in five countries including Korea, U.S., Germany, Japan and China. LG Innotek added that LG Group, LG Innotek and Osram signed a cross-license
TechnologyNov. 2, 2012
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LG International to sell stake in GS Retail
LG International, a South Korean trading company, said Friday that it will dispose of its remaining stake in GS Retail Co. to finance its overseas resource exploration and improve its financial health. LG plans to sell its 11.97 percent stake, or 9.21 million shares, in GS Retail, a local convenience chain operator, through a block deal after the close of the local stock market, the company said in a regulatory filing.The stake sale will lower LG’s stake in GS Retail to zero, said LG, the tradin
Nov. 2, 2012
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Kempinski to operate world’s tallest hotel in N. Korea
The world’s tallest hotel will open next year in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang as the impoverished totalitarian regime burdened by international sanctions seeks foreign currency through a boost in tourism.The 105-story, pyramid-shaped Ryugyong Hotel, whose foundations were poured almost three decades ago, will open partially in July or August, Kempinski AG Chief Executive Officer Reto Wittwer said Thursday at a forum in Seoul. The German luxury-hotel manager will be the first western hos
Nov. 2, 2012
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Lotte chief, Vietnam president discuss investment
Lotte Group chairman Shin Dong-bin discussed future investment plans with Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang and Vice Premier Hoang Trung Hai on Thursday during his visit to the Southeast Asian country, officials said Friday. It is the second time since February that Shin met the Vietnamese president to discuss Lotte Group’s business in Vietnam and seek ways to expand investment. Shin also visited Lotte’s business sites in the Southeast Asian country. Vietnam is one of the fastest growing mar
IndustryNov. 2, 2012
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British judges order Apple to rewrite Samsung statement
LONDON (AFP) ― U.S. tech giant Apple has until Saturday to re-write an “inaccurate” statement relating to its patent dispute with South Korean rival Samsung, British judges have ruled.A British court forced Apple on Oct. 18 to post a message on the company’s website stating that Samsung’s Galaxy tablet computers had not infringed the design of Apple’s iPad.But Samsung complained that the message did not comply with the court order because it included comments on other rulings in Germany and the
TechnologyNov. 2, 2012
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Department stores offer wine at discounted prices
Major department stores will offer a huge discount for wine products in November when the nation’s big three players are scheduled to celebrate the anniversary of their foundation, respectively.The three department stores ― Lotte, Hyundai and Shinsegae ― have launched a fair or event which feature sales at a discount for wine from special vineyards.Lotte, which kicked off a seven-day wine fair on Friday, will provide consumers with premium wine products with a maximum discount of 90 percent.All
IndustryNov. 2, 2012
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Korean phones, cars thrive in U.S.
Korea’s handset and car makers are standing out in the U.S. market, as they posted an impressive increase in sales in the third quarter despite global economic slowdown. Korean handset makers took over the majority of the U.S. market share in long term evolution smartphone sales, Strategy Analytics said Friday.Korean smartphone manufacturers ― Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and Pantech ― altogether sold about 5.7 million units out of 10.6 million LTE smartphones sold in U.S. in the third qu
TechnologyNov. 2, 2012
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S. Korea, India to provide $1.1 bln financial support for biz cooperation
South Korea and India agreed on Friday to provide a combined $1.1 billion worth of financial support for their bilateral business cooperation, the finance ministry said.The agreement was signed during the finance minsters' meeting held in central Seoul earlier in the day between the two countries, according to the ministry.Under the agreement, both will provide the financial support through their own export-import banks over the next five years to companies seeking to join in infrastructure cons
IndustryNov. 2, 2012
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SK Planet inks mobile game agreement with Sega
SK Planet Co., an affiliate of South Korea's top mobile carrier SK Telecom Co., said Friday it has signed an agreement with Japan's largest game developer Sega to strengthen its mobile game business.Under the memorandum of understanding, the two companies will cooperate on marketing and distributing Sega's mobile games in the local market, SK Planet said in a press release. SK said it plans to release Sega's "The Clan Battle" early next year after introducing the mobile game at the upcoming G-St
IndustryNov. 2, 2012
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Scientists claim people’s bodies can ‘predict’ future events
People’s bodies are able to subconsciously anticipate important events before it actually occurs, American neuroscientists claimed.So-called presentiment -- when people are able to sense things before they happen without any clues -- actually exist, according to a study led by Northwestern University neuroscientist Julia Mossbridge. It remains unclear however, just how such anticipatory activity occurs, she added.Mossbridge’s study was based on hypothesis that physical responses changed seconds
TechnologyNov. 2, 2012
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Math anxiety hits brain like physical pain
Anxiety about mathematics can create a response in the brain similar to when a person experiences physical pain, researchers at the University of Chicago say.Brain scans showed brain areas active when highly math-anxious people prepare to do math overlap with the same areas that register the threat of bodily harm or, in some cases, physical pain, they said.“For someone who has math anxiety, the anticipation of doing math prompts a similar brain reaction as when they experience pain -- say, burni
TechnologyNov. 2, 2012
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Supreme Court rules on origin of cattle
The nation's top court has ruled that cattle born in other areas but raised in Hoengseong for a certain period of time can be labeled as "Hoengseong hanwoo," officials said Friday.Hoengseong is a rural area in Gangwon Province, about 137 kilometers east of Seoul, famous for its high-quality hanwoo beef.Hoengseong beef is recognized as a premium product, and usually fetches high prices.Annulling a lower court's guilty verdicts for three people, including a suspect surnamed Kim, for violating the
Nov. 2, 2012
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Yongin zoo elephant mimics Korean: study
Children talk to animals at the zoo all the time, but one gregarious Asian elephant talks back.Koshik, a 22-year-old male elephant, can imitate at least five Korean words and does so in a very creative way: by sticking his trunk inside his mouth. “Koshik is capable of matching both pitch and timbre patterns (in human speech),” said Angela Stoeger of Austria’s University of Vienna, who led the study on the “talking elephant.” The study was published Friday in the online edition of science journal
TechnologyNov. 2, 2012
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Global sales of Samsung‘s Galaxy Note 2 top 3 million
Worldwide sales of Samsung Electronics Co.‘s Galaxy Note 2 devices have surpassed 3 million units since the hybrid phone was locally released in late September, the company said Friday. Shipments of the 5.5-inch phablet, a hybrid of a smartphone and a tablet PC, surpassed 3 million units within 37 days of its launch, Samsung said in a press release. The Galaxy Note 2 registered a much faster sales increase compared with the previous Galaxy Note model, which saw global sales top 2 million units t
Nov. 2, 2012
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Stalled nuclear reactor receives green light to resume operation
A nuclear reactor, which came to a halt due to a malfunction in its turbine control system earlier this week, will resume its operation, officials said Thursday.The Reactor-2 at Uljin Nuclear Power Plant in the southeastern region of the country automatically shut down on Sunday after a problem was detected in a system designed to supply steam into turbines. No radioactive leak was reported.The Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP), the operator of the nuclear power plant, said that it receiv
TechnologyNov. 2, 2012
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Korean stocks start higher on foreign buying
South Korean stocks opened higher Friday, led by gains in tech and auto shares, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 19.27 points, or 1.02 percent to 1,917.71 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Shares gathered ground across the board, with market bellwether Samsung Electronics increasing 1.31 percent and chipmaker SK hynix adding 3.14 percent. Top auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis gained 1.67 percent and its affiliate Kia Motors added 0.67 percent. U
Nov. 2, 2012