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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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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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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Defense chiefs of US, Australia, Japan decry NK-Russia military cooperation
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Producer price growth hits 31-month low in June
South Korea’s producer prices grew at their slowest pace in 31 months in June mainly because oil and raw material prices declined, the central bank said Monday, indicating easing price pressure.The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, grew 0.8 percent in June from a year earlier, slowing from a 1.9 percent on-year gain in May, according to the Bank of Korea.It marked the slowest growth since a 0.4 percent on-year contraction in November 2009.Compared with the previous
July 9, 2012
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Minister vows support for multinationals
The government will offer full support for multinational companies in Korea to attract more foreign investment, Knowledge Economy Minister Hong Seok-woo said Monday.The minister made the remarks during a government-multinational companies conference in Seoul, attended by about 20 members of the Korean CEO’s Association of Multinational Corporation Organization.The participants in the forum discussed foreign investment policies, labor-management issues, tax-cuts and other incentives.The minister
July 9, 2012
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Samsung, Shinhan to offer credit card for self-employed
A credit card designed exclusively for Korea’s 2.5 million self-employed workers will be available next month. The Consumers’ Association to Save Small Businesses announced Monday that it signed a memorandum of understanding with Samsung Card and Shinhan Card last week to develop a credit card that offers benefits to those who are self-employed and run small neighborhood stores. The card will include tax benefits and legal services as well as various offers that can be useful to the self-employe
July 9, 2012
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Passion, professionalism key to success at foreign firms
Representatives at foreign companies operating local divisions in Korea say that a strong work drive coupled with assertiveness, adaptability and openness may mean the difference between getting hired or not.In a series of email interviews with The Korea Herald, representatives from five leading foreign companies in Korea ― ADT Korea, Burson Marsteller, L’Oreal Korea, Pernod Ricard, and Schneider Electric Korea ― said that these personal qualities help candidates shine during the job application
IndustryJuly 9, 2012
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ADT Korea builds on strength of global brand
Local unit head speaks about sophistication of Korean security system marketADT Korea’s chief Bradley K. Buckwalter runs a tight and efficient ship. As the Korean head of the global electronic security system company ADT, the 47-year-old businessman is responsible for overseeing the operations of a complex 24-hour surveillance and monitoring system that spans across many cities and regional areas outside of Seoul.“It’s quite visual ... how we’re doing, because for every customer we put (up) our
July 9, 2012
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Samsung wins U.K. Apple ruling over Galaxy tablet
Samsung Electronics Co. won an intellectual property ruling against Apple Inc. as a U.K. judge said the Galaxy tablet isn’t “cool” enough to be confused with the design for the iPad. The Galaxy tablet doesn’t infringe Apple’s registered design, Judge Colin Birss said in a ruling today in London. He said that consumers weren’t likely to get the two tablet computers mixed up. The Galaxy tablets “do
TechnologyJuly 9, 2012
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Sleeping tips for night-shift workers
It is 2.30 pm and time for Michaela Lins and Christine Langanke to get up and prepare for their night shift in a German hospital. The two nurses work through the night, from 8.30 in the evening to 6.15 the next morning, and they find the hours take it out of them."It grinds you down, particularly when you do a week of nights or early shifts," Lins says. Her last shift was a relatively quiet one, b
TechnologyJuly 9, 2012
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NASA Mars images 'next best thing to being there'
The U.S. space agency NASA has recently pieced together a panoramic view from the camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity, calling it the "next best thing to being" on the Red Planet.The full-circle scene fuses together 817 images taken by the mast-mounted panoramic camera (Pancam) on the Opportunity over a four-month period, showing new rover tracks and an old impact crater.The panor
TechnologyJuly 9, 2012
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Study shows spaceflight may ‘slow aging’
A group of international researchers found that spaceflight may extend the lifespan of a certain type of microscopic worm, providing clues to better understand how to survive in space and opening up possibilities for deep-space exploration.A team of scientists led by Nathaniel Szewczyk from Nottingham University found that the metabolism of Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) changes in space in order to "adapt to the new environment," according to a report on Science Daily.“We identified seven
TechnologyJuly 9, 2012
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Seoul shares down 1.19 percent on growth concern
South Korean stocks closed 1.19 percent lower Monday as investors moved to the sidelines on jitters over slowing growth in major economies such as China and the United States, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 22.07 points to 1,836.13. Trading volume was light at 277.6 million shares worth 3.3 trillion won ($
July 9, 2012
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Top court confirms 3-year prison term for member of LG family
The Supreme Court has confirmed a three-year prison term for a member of LG Group family convicted of stock manipulation and embezzlement, court officials said Monday.Koo Bon-hyun was convicted of pocketing around 13.9 billion won(US$11.7 million) of illegal profits by manipulating the stock price of Exa E&C Inc., through spreading false information about the company during the process of taking o
IndustryJuly 9, 2012
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SNS feeds anxiety
A British survey found about half say social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter feed anxiety and make them feel inadequate. The Salford Business School at the University of Salford in Manchester, England, conducted the survey of almost 300 people for the non-profit Anxiety UK, and found of the 50 percent who said their lives had been altered for the worse said their confidence fell after com
TechnologyJuly 9, 2012
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Easier immigration for foreign investors
FSS to streamline ‘finance investor express card system’ in JulyFinancial Hub Korea, a unit of the Financial Supervisory Service, announced Sunday that the immigration process for foreign investors will be shortened, starting later this month.“The improved finance investor express card system will ensure a shorter and streamlined immigration process and a wider scope of entitlements and entry privileges for foreign financial investors,” the FSS said in a statement. “The system will come into eff
July 8, 2012
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Korea Herald launches Android application
The Korea Herald, the country’s top English-language newspaper in offline and online circulation, launched a new application for Android smartphones on Tuesday.The app offers the e-paper, real-time news and English language education content including video lectures by popular English teacher Lee Bo-young. The app also features translations of selected Korea Herald articles and audio narration.Potential subscribers can sample the service with a free trial before purchase.The app, created using t
TechnologyJuly 8, 2012
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Firms grapple to secure cash amid uncertainties
More and more local enterprises are actively liquidating their assets to secure cash as much as possible, as economic uncertainties drag on from the eurozone debt crisis.According to the Financial Supervisory Service, the amount of assets Korean firms sold during the first half nearly doubled from the previous year.The regulatory data showed that local firms sold a total of 780.7 billion won ($690 million) worth of tangible assets in the six-month period, compared with 404.8 billion won over the
July 8, 2012
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Sales of Hyundai-Kia cars in Britain surge 16.6% in H1
Sales of cars made by South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. surged 16.6 percent on-year in the first half of 2012 in Britain, due to the popularity of new models, company sources Sunday.Sources said data by the U.K.’s Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, showed combined sales reaching 68,646 units in the six-month period, with the two companies’ market share hitting 6.5 percent for a gain of 0.8 percentage point from the year before.Hyundai and Kia are flagship companies of
IndustryJuly 8, 2012
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Franchise industry expects tough times
South Korea’s franchise industry is bracing for tough times in the second half of this year mainly due to a slowdown in economic growth, a corporate poll showed Sunday.The survey conducted by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry on 300 franchise organizations showed the business forecast index for the six-month period hitting just 73, which is far below the break-even 100-point mark. An index reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists in terms of future outlook.“The weak number
IndustryJuly 8, 2012
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U.S., Japanese firms tap ‘wearable computing’
A new IT platform called “wearable computing,” which allows users to perform computer functions via the use of high-tech products such as glasses, is drawing close attention in the global tech industry. These products are capable of integrating graphics and other sensory information, or computer-generated reality, directly into the eyes of users, creating an overlap between the “real” world and a “computer-generated” or virtual world. Google co-founder Sergey Brin displayed a type of augmented r
TechnologyJuly 8, 2012
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Ministry poised to tax religious groups
Religious leaders prefer voluntary payment to binding income taxesThe Ministry of Strategy and Finance is poised to propose a bill on the taxation of religious groups as part of the 2012 Tax Law amendment to be made on Aug. 8. Aimed at ensuring the equal application of income taxes, the bill would impose income tax on Korean religious societies that have been exempt since the nation’s foundation. According to ministry officials, the bill will be included either in this year’s revision of the Tax
July 8, 2012
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North Korean economy logs first growth in 3 years in 2011
The North Korean economy is believed to have marginally grown last year after contracting for two straight years on increased agricultural production, South Korea’s central bank said Sunday.The Bank of Korea estimated that the communist country’s economy grew 0.8 percent on-year in 2011, compared with a 0.5 percent contraction a year earlier. The 2011 data contrasted with a 3.6 percent expansion of the South Korean economy.The South Korean central bank had earlier estimated that the North’s econ
July 8, 2012