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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40 flights canceled on Jeju Island due to bad weather
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[Weekender] Korean psyche untangled: Musok
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N. Korea slams US, other countries for seeking alternative to UN sanctions monitoring panel
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Pandemic left Korea more depressed than before: report
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Gov't appears to shelve punitive measures against mass walkout by doctors
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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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Missing S. Korean traveler in Paris found safe after 2 weeks
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Foreign luxury brands donate little despite booming sales
Some wire home 90 percent of profits while making zero charity donationsFailing to bear corporate social responsibility ethics among foreign luxury brands has prompted criticism from both consumers and the business community. The Financial Supervisory Service and online conglomerate tracker chaebul.com released financial reports in August of foreign luxury brands’ operating in Korea. Foreign luxury brands saw a large-scale increase in sales by about 270 percent, from 1.42 trillion won ($1.25 bil
Aug. 20, 2012
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After marriage: Men drink less, women more
Men who drink tend to stem their alcohol use once they marry, while women tend to increase their drinking after marriage, U.S. researchers found. Corinne Reczek of the University of Cincinnati, Tetyana Pudrovska of Pennsylvania State University, Deborah Carr of Rutgers University and Debra Umberson of the University of Texas at Austin found married men reported consuming the lowest number of drinks compared with single, divorced and widowed men.The researchers analyzed survey data from the Wisco
TechnologyAug. 20, 2012
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LA restaurant offers discount to phone-free diners
A Los Angeles restaurant is offering a deal to customers who agree to look at their fellow diners instead of their phone screens.Eva Restaurant is giving a 5 percent discount to customers who will leave their cellphones with staff when they are seated.Owner Mark Gold told KPCC radio (http://bit.ly/Pn6Jx1 ) on Tuesday that the policy isn‘t about other diners who might be annoyed by cellphone chatter or the glow of smartphone screens, but an attempt to create an environment where diners connect to
IndustryAug. 20, 2012
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Company that Google Execs should really fear?
Google’s biggest rivals seem to be Facebook and Apple but Google executives should worry more about one company actively taking money out of their pockets, a news report said. Google’s real rival to watch over the next few years is Amazon, according to the report by Business Insider. Google makes money from the searches people do before buying something online because those searches are where the ads are placed. These searches make up 20 percent of Google’s total searches.The Google executives f
Aug. 20, 2012
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NASA rover Curiosity shoots a Mars rock with laser
NASA’s Curiosity rover has zapped its first Martian rock, aiming its laser for the sake of science.During the target practice on Sunday, Curiosity fired 30 pulses at a nearby rock over a 10-second window, burning a small hole.Since landing in Gale Crater two weeks ago, the six-wheel rover has been checking out its instruments including the laser. During its two-year mission, Curiosity was expected to point the laser at various rocks as it drives toward Mount Sharp, a 3-mile (5-kilometer)-high mo
TechnologyAug. 20, 2012
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Bill calls for disclosure of tycoons’ pay
Top executives of listed companies including chaebol chiefs may have to disclose their income under a recently submitted bill as the political drive for “economic democratization” gains momentum.Rep. Rhee Mok-hee of the Democratic United Party and nine other lawmakers submitted a revised bill that requires listed firms to make public the compensation of each board member and the standards by which the wage was calculated.Following similar bills that were laid out in the 17th and 18th National As
Aug. 19, 2012
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Gasoline prices approach 2,000 won
Gasoline prices continued to climb over the past month in the local market, marking an average figure of nearly 2,000 won ($1.76) per liter, with international crude oil prices spiking.According to the Korea National Oil Corp., retail gasoline prices surged to 1,980.05 won per liter on average as of Aug. 19, compared with 1,891.86 won on July 16.The nation’s gasoline prices on average had risen at a moderate pace, but accelerated from mid-July. After surpassing 1,900 won on July 24, they reached
IndustryAug. 19, 2012
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Near-speed-of-light collisions fundamental to rare isotope generation
Since opening the Korea-U.S. Cooperation Center for Accelerator Science and beginning work on the design of the rare isotope accelerator, the Institute for Basic Science has sped up preparations for the country’s first particle accelerator of its kind. The purpose of a rare isotope accelerator is to produce isotopes of elements that do not or rarely occur naturally. An isotope is a variant of an element that has a different number of neutrons in the nucleus.Under the plans the IBS’ accelerator,
TechnologyAug. 19, 2012
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CO2 emissions in U.S. drop to 20-year low
PITTSBURGH (AP) ― The amount of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere in the U.S. has fallen dramatically to its lowest level in 20 years, and government officials say the biggest reason is that cheap and plentiful natural gas has led many power plant operators to switch from dirtier-burning coal.Many of the world’s leading climate scientists didn’t see the drop coming, in large part because it happened as a result of market forces rather than direct government action against carbon
TechnologyAug. 19, 2012
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Star births seen on cosmic scale in distant galaxy
WASHINGTON (AP) ― Scientists have found a cosmic supermom. It is a galaxy that gives births to more stars in a day than ours does in a year.Astronomers used NASA’s Chandra X-Ray telescope to spot this distant gigantic galaxy creating about 740 new stars a year. By comparison, our Milky Way galaxy spawns just about one new star each year.The galaxy is about 5.7 billion light years away in the center of a recently discovered cluster of galaxies that give off the brightest X-ray glow astronomers ha
TechnologyAug. 19, 2012
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‘Basic science research key to nation’s advancement’
New research institute hopes to bring big changes for nation’s science communityThe Institute for Basic Science will change the way Korea carries out research and development to allow creative and original research, according the organization’s first chief Oh Se-jung. The institute launched in November seeks to hire top-class scientists from across the world.“Our target is not just for Korea, but a research institution that can compete on the international stage,” Oh said. Oh said that while Kor
TechnologyAug. 19, 2012
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Korean firms up stake in global TV market
South Korean TV makers raised their stakes in the global market in the second quarter on the back of their strong brand awareness and product lineups, a report said Sunday.According to the report compiled by market research firm DisplaySearch, South Korean TV makers such as Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc. sold a combined 19.82 million units in the second quarter of the year, up 2.3 percent from a year earlier.Their combined market share stood at 38.4 percent in the April-June per
Aug. 19, 2012
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Preferred bidder for ING to be picked this week
The likelihood is increasing that ING Life Korea’s new owner will be decided within the week. According to industry resources on Sunday, ING Group will open a board meeting at its Netherlands headquarters within the week to decide on the preferred bidder of ING Life Asia-Pacific. Whether ING Life Korea will be sold separately or together with the insurance firm’s Southeast Asian arm is also likely to be decided at the meeting. KB Financial and AIA Life Insurance jumped into the bidding to take o
IndustryAug. 19, 2012
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Taxi, bus fares to rise within months
Hike likely to surpass 30 percent; Seoul taxis’ minimum charge may exceed 3,000 wonPolicymakers hinted that the nation’s cab and inter-city bus minimum fares will rise by up to 33.3 percent alongside the general increase in food and energy prices. Express train and subway charges will remain the same. Government sources said on Sunday that the nationwide minimum taxi charges, which currently range from 2,200 won ($1.94) to 2,400 won, could possibly pass the 3,000 won mark after the upcoming pric
IndustryAug. 19, 2012
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Corporate failures fall to 4-month low in July
The number of South Korean corporate bankruptcies declined to a four-month low in July due to falls in failures of manufacturers and builders, the central bank said Sunday.The number of companies that went belly-up totaled 95 in July, compared with 103 tallied in the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea.The July data marked the lowest level since the number of corporate failures hit a record low of 90 in March.Meanwhile, the number of newly established companies came in at record 7,127
IndustryAug. 19, 2012
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Half of Koreans say they are poor
Only 1.9% respond they belong to high-income bracketA survey by a local think tank showed that about half of Koreans classified themselves as members of the low-income class with little expectation for advancing to higher strata.In the poll of 1,011 adults across the nation, 50.1 percent said they belong to the low-income bracket, more than triple the actual share announced by the government, Hyundai Research Institute reported on Sunday. Statistics Korea said last year that low-income household
Aug. 19, 2012
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Honda’s new Accord brings investment, jobs to Ohio
CINCINNATI (AP) ― Honda’s new Accord sedan to be unveiled Monday at a central Ohio plant has led to more than $220 million in investments and more jobs in two of its other Ohio plants, with companies that supply Honda with products and services also getting a boost. Economic development officials in central Ohio, U.S., are hopeful the new Accord to be produced at Honda’s Marysville plant in Union County will lead to even more Honda investment in Ohio and bring more economic benefits to their are
MobilityAug. 19, 2012
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GM chief seen planning global reorganization against ‘fiefdoms’
General Motors Co. chief executive officer Dan Akerson is planning a reorganization of the automaker that would move it away from long-entrenched regional authority toward a structure built on global functions, said two people familiar with the planning. Power would shift from regional chiefs to global leaders in areas such as marketing, purchasing and product development, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private. While details are still being determined, the
MobilityAug. 19, 2012
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Cars and creativity
Automakers experiment with new ideas to enhance driver comfort and convenienceAs auto technologies continually evolve, auto companies are now competing not just for speed and fuel efficiency but also for enhanced driving emotions. Kia Motors’ luxury sedan K9 was developed to vie directly with European premium brands BMW and Mercedes-Benz as well as its sister company Hyundai Motor’s Genesis and Equus. The upscale model of the carmaker’s flagship K series, which was released in May, offers rear-w
MobilityAug. 19, 2012
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KRA fosters therapeutic horse riding
30 riding ‘healing centers’ to help treat teens’ emotional disturbanceThe Korea Racing Authority will open 30 KRA Riding Healing Centers by 2022 to help treat teenagers with emotional problems. The KRA vowed last week to put up 100 billion won ($88.4 million) to build the centers and train professionals to teach therapeutic horse riding. Each center will be able to treat about 2,000 teenagers per year, which will add up to over 60,000 per year by 2022. Therapeutic horse riding is a well-known tr
IndustryAug. 19, 2012