Most Popular
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No plan to let doctors with foreign licenses practice here anytime soon: PM
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Yoon rebuffs opposition's call for special probe into wife
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Ador CEO's dismissal to be decided on last day of May
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[Graphic News] Beer the most favored alcoholic drink by Koreans
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Science Ministry expresses regret over Japan’s pressure on Naver
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Haeundae Beach to become sand art museum in late May
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Suzy, Park Bo-gum star in AI fantasy romance ‘Wonderland’
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Medical professors set to take day off amid protracted walkouts by junior doctors
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Hostilities get out of hand as YouTuber murders another outside courthouse
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Police officer jumps barefoot into drainage tunnel to save man
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Korea imports gasoline from China to curb pump prices
The Korean government took another step to curb soaring oil prices by importing gasoline through state-run Korea National Oil Corp., or KNOC.KNOC announced on Thursday that it purchased 100,000 barrels of gasoline from PetroChina, China’s largest oil company. KNOC-imported oil is expected to be distributed through the nation’s discount gas stations early next week. It is the first time for KNOC to import gasoline through international bidding to lower oil prices. The move was anticipated by Stra
Oct. 25, 2012
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Oil products top semiconductors to become Korea’s biggest export
ULSAN ― Many might assume that the product Korea exports most would be smartphones or cars, thanks to leading global brands such as Samsung and Hyundai. But the nation’s best selling export item this year is oil products like gasoline and diesel. When it comes to exports by product for the first nine months of this year, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said oil products topped the list, overtaking semiconductor goods. Exports of oil products reached $41.5 billion between January and September,
IndustryOct. 25, 2012
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Slap to the face removes wrinkles, claims therapist
A Thailand-trained therapist says anti-aging treatment is possible just by slapping and massaging the face, according to U.S. news sources.Tata Sombuntham, who claims to be the first face-slapping practitioner in the western hemisphere, says she can remove wrinkles and tighten skin with this unusual treatment. She and her husband Mawan run a beauty salon in San Francisco where they charge clients $350 (385,000 won) for each 15-minute session of face-slapping. Sombuntham says this is “ancient Tha
TechnologyOct. 25, 2012
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Strikes dent Hyundai Motor's 3Q profit
Hyundai Motor Co. suffered a fall in third quarter profit versus the previous quarter after strikes dented vehicle production.South Korea's largest automaker said Thursday net profit fell 15 percent from the April-June quarter to 2.16 trillion won ($1.96 billion). It was Hyundai's first sequential drop in quarterly profit in a year. The result, which matched forecasts, was still a 13 percent rise over a year earlier. Its operating profit fell 18 percent from the second quarter to 2.05 trillion
MobilityOct. 25, 2012
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Study: Cat colors can affect adoption rate
Domestic cats are often judged by color and stereotypes that go with the color, say U.S. researchers looking for a link between cat color and adoption rates.University of California, Berkeley, researchers surveyed 189 people with experience of cats as pets and found they were more likely to assign positive personality traits to orange cats and less favorable ones to white and tortoiseshell animals.And black cats have always had the misfortune to be associated with bad luck and witches.The study
TechnologyOct. 25, 2012
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Top 10 conglomerates' unlisted firms pay hefty dividends
South Korea's top 10 conglomerates' unlisted companies pay about half of their net profit as dividends to their shareholders, mostly owners' family members, an analysis showed Thursday.The dividend payout ratio of 499 unlisted companies affiliated with the conglomerates, known as chaebol here, stood at 41.2 percent over the past two years, according to the analysis by Yonhap News Agency and conglomerate tracker Chaebul.com. The ratio refers to the percentage of income a company spends on its div
IndustryOct. 25, 2012
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SNU professor finds new role of stem cell protein
Professor Kim V-narry of Seoul National University is once again in the headlines producing research results published in the online version of the leading biological journal Cell for the second time in less than two weeks.In her most recent research, Kim and her team proved that the protein Lin-28A is closely involved in suppressing protein expression in stem cells. Until now, the Lin-28 protein’s only known function was suppression of specific microRNA molecules, which in turn regulate gene ex
TechnologyOct. 25, 2012
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Exercise linked to less memory loss
Seniors age 70 and older who exercised regularly had less brain shrinkage -- linked to memory loss -- than those not active, Scottish researchers said.Dr. Alan Gow of the University of Edinburgh and psychologists and Neuroimaging experts said greater brain shrinkage is linked to problems with memory and thinking, and the researchers said their findings suggest exercise is potentially one important pathway to maintaining a healthy brain both in terms of size and reducing damage.The Edinburgh team
TechnologyOct. 25, 2012
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S. Korea begins dress rehearsal for rocket launch
South Korea started a final systems check on its space rocket on Thursday, a day ahead of its planned launch from a space center on the country's south coast, the government said.The outcome of the dress rehearsal on the Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1 (KSLV-1), also known as Naro-1, will come out at around 11 p.m., according to The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.The Naro-1 was erected and fastened to the launch pad at the Naro Space Center, some 485 kilometers south of Seoul, on Wed
TechnologyOct. 25, 2012
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Nanotechnology can change color of gold
Gold doesn‘t have to appear gold in color, and in fact a new nanotechnology technique can turn it red or even green, British researchers say.A University of Southampton team has found they can change the color of the world’s most iconic precious metal by embossing tiny raised or indented patterns onto the metal‘s surface that can change the way it absorbs and reflects light, so to the human eye it doesn’t appear “golden” in color at all.The technique, equally applicable to other metals such as s
TechnologyOct. 25, 2012
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Seoul shares open lower on weak corporate earnings
South Korean stocks started lower on Thursday as a grim outlook for local firms' third-quarter earnings dented investor sentiment, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 4.86 points, or 0.25 percent, to 1,909.10 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Tech blue chips led the decline, with market bellwether Samsung Electronics sliding 0.46 percent and flat panel giant LG Display losing 0.33 percent.Leading carmaker Hyundai Motor fell 2.06 percent and its smaller af
Oct. 25, 2012
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U.S. trade commission sides with Apple over Samsung
A U.S. trade commission has ruled in favor of Apple Inc.'s patent infringement claims against Samsung Electronics Co., granting another home-turf victory to the iPhone maker.In a preliminary ruling on Wednesday, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) found some Samsung mobile devices infringed four Apple patents, including one design patent and three software patents, according to the documents by the agency's Administrative Law Judge Thomas Pender.The preliminary ruling awaits the approv
TechnologyOct. 25, 2012
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Carbon market value expands 16-fold in less than decade
The world’s carbon trading market is growing at an accelerating rate, according to financial sources and the World Bank on Wednesday. The volume of the global carbon emission trading market -― a market where companies or individuals buy carbon credit to lower their total CO2 emissions ― reached $176 billion last year, 16 times greater than in 2005 when the Kyoto Protocol went into effect. The Kyoto Protocol is an international treaty under the U.N. that set binding obligations on industrialized
IndustryOct. 24, 2012
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Bank of Korea chief cornered for taking wife on costly trips
Bank of Korea Governor Kim Choong-soo is under fire for spending nearly 120 million won ($109,000) of the central bank’s coffers on six business trips with his wife. Ever since Kim took office in April 2010, Kim’s wife has accompanied him on work trips ― three in 2010, one last year and two this year ― to Basel, Switzerland; the Netherlands; Sydney, Australia; Jackson Hole, a resort in the U.S. state of Wyoming; and Hokkaido, Japan.The BOK spent about 100 million won for air transportation of Ki
Oct. 24, 2012
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Samsung wins Dutch court battle with Apple
A Dutch court ruled Wednesday that Samsung Electronics did not infringe on an Apple patent for using certain multi-touch techniques on wireless gadgets such as the Galaxy S2 and the Galaxy Tab 10.1.A court in The Hague said that Samsung did not infringe on the patents that Apple has claimed against its Galaxy smartphones and tablets.“This ruling is a case that confirms our product did not violate Apple’s patents,” said a Samsung spokesman. “Samsung plans on continuously featuring innovative prod
IndustryOct. 24, 2012
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Naro rocket ready for launch on Friday
Korea has started its countdown for the expected launch of the Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1, also known as the Naro rocket.There is slight chance of rain on the day of its third attempt to shoot it into space, but officials said the launch schedule remains set for Friday at 3:30 p.m.This will be the first and last launch of Naro using Russian technology including a liquid-fueled rocket engine, should it succeed.Korea has an agreement with Russia in which the latter will provide three engines tak
TechnologyOct. 24, 2012
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Asiana raises 7b won through passengers’ donation
Asiana Airlines has raised a total of 7 billion won ($6.3 million) through Change for Good, an in-flight currency donation partnership between UNICEF and the international airline industry.It took the Korean carrier 18 years to collect the money since it joined the program in 1994.Asiana Airlines held a ceremony at the United Nations headquarters in New York Tuesday to mark the collection of 7 billion won through the donation campaign. Guests included United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
IndustryOct. 24, 2012
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KB starts donation event to support the poor
KB Kookmin Bank announced on Monday the start of a donation event to support low-income families to commemorate surpassing 5 million users of the bank’s smartphone banking service.Users of “Star Banking,” the smartphone banking service, can participate in the event to help out families composed of grandparents and their grandchildren with by simply “touching” the screen. The bank accumulates 500 won per participant and donates the total to 500 households in need through Korea Food for the Hungry
Oct. 24, 2012
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LG CNS wins Malaysian bid on railroad mobile system
LG CNS, a Korea-based provider of information technology services, announced Wednesday that it has become the first Korean company to build a mobile service network for the mass rapid transit system, or the MRT, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Beating 24 rival global firms to form a consortium with local firm APEX Communications in the 140 billion won ($128 million) bid, LG CNS plans to install IT-based framework consisting of wireless communication system, surveillance cameras, metro broadcasting fa
TechnologyOct. 24, 2012
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Pulmuone invites foreigners to kimchi museum
Eco-friendly food maker Pulmuone invites foreigners to take part in an educational program that includes kimchi-making from Wednesday through the end of November at its kimchi museum in COEX, southeastern Seoul.Participants of the program “I Love K,” short for “I love Korea and kimchi,” are given a chance to look around the kimchi museum which shows the history and different types of kimchi, traditional storage methods for the Korean pickled cabbage as well as kimchi-related antiques and materia
IndustryOct. 24, 2012