Most Popular
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40 flights canceled on Jeju Island due to bad weather
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Pandemic left Korea more depressed than before: report
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N. Korea slams US, other countries for seeking alternative to UN sanctions monitoring panel
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Korean labor force to shrink by 10 million by 2044: report
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Gov't appears to shelve punitive measures against mass walkout by doctors
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[AtoZ Korean Mind] Does your job define who you are? Should it?
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Govt. asks hospitals to mitigate impact of medical professors' absence
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Doggy patrol team on the move to protect their cities
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S. Korea's working-age population to dip nearly 10m by 2044 amid low births
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Samsung mocks Apple over iPhone alarm glitch
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Seoul shares end flat ahead of ECB meeting, Samsung earnings
South Korean stocks closed nearly flat on Thursday as investors refrained from trading ahead of the European Central Bank (ECB) policy rate meeting and Samsung Electronics' guidance release, analysts said. The local currency gained against the greenback.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 1.04 points, or 0.06 percent, to 1,875.49. Trading volume was moderate at 318.4 milli
July 5, 2012
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Living alone ups death risk from 45 to 80
An study of stable outpatients at risk of or with coronary disease found those ages 45-80 who lived alone had an increased risk of death, U.S. researchers say.Dr. Jacob A. Udell of Brigham and Women‘s Hospital, Harvard Medical School in Boston, and colleagues examined whether living alone was associated with increased mortality and cardiovascular risk in a global study involving 44,573 people --
TechnologyJuly 5, 2012
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Volkswagen to pay $5.6b for rest of Porsche after 7-year saga
Volkswagen AG agreed to buy the 50.1 percent stake in Porsche SE’s automotive business that it doesn’t already own for 4.46 billion euros ($5.6 billion), ending a seven-year takeover saga that divided two of Germany’s most powerful families. VW was able to proceed with the transaction after reaching an agreement with German tax authorities, it said in an emailed statement late yesterday. The cash
MobilityJuly 5, 2012
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Seabirds studied for clues to human aging
Canadian researchers say they're studying diving seabirds in Hudson Bay to better understand the aging process.Brunnich's guillemots reach their 30s and then die quickly and suddenly, showing few signs of aging prior to death.The guillemots, which look similar to penguins, expend substantial energy when diving. Researchers say their high metabolism and frequent dives should produce oxidative stres
TechnologyJuly 5, 2012
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Seoul shares open lower ahead of ECB meeting
South Korean stocks got off to a weak start on Thursday as investors stepped to the sidelines ahead of the European Central Bank's policy rate meeting, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) slipped 2.97 points, or 0.16 percent, to 1,871.48 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Major blue chips lost grounds with Hyundai Motor and Samsung Electronics falling 1.06 percent
July 5, 2012
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Seoul pushes for drinking ban in parks
The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Thursday it is pushing to ban drinking in public parks starting next year to enhance public health and reduce disturbances. The municipal government said it submitted to the land ministry last month a proposal of revising relevant law to prohibit drinkingin the city's 2,000-odd parks.Smoking is not allowed in public parks according to law, but no similar rule
TechnologyJuly 5, 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 Tuesday a new application for Android smartphones.The app offers the e-paper, real-time news and English 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 avail themselves of a free trial before purchase.The app, created using the latest HTML5,
TechnologyJuly 5, 2012
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Refined petroleum products lead S. Korea's H1 exports
Refined petroleum products led South Korea's exports in the first half of this year thanks to higher prices, accounting for 9.9 percent of all outbound shipments, a report showed Thursday.The report by the Korea Petroleum Association (KPA) said exports of petroleum products totaled $27.28 billion in the January-June period, up, 11.5 percent from a year earlier."The gain is mainly due to a steep ri
July 5, 2012
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Samsung rolls out world’s biggest fridge
Samsung Electronics Co. unveiled the world’s largest refrigerator on Wednesday, in its latest move to jump-start demand for its home appliance products amid a global economic slump.The Zipel T-9000 features a 900-liter storage space, the world’s biggest among household models, and a triple cooling system which optimizes humidity and temperature, the company said.The fridge is also equipped with wider shelves and extra compartments designed for enhanced storage, it said.The introduction of the ne
IndustryJuly 4, 2012
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KT&G launches coffee RAISON
The nation’s largest tobacco maker KT&G Corp. added RAISON Cafe, its new hazelnut coffee-scented cigarette, to the lineup of RAISON.RAISON Cafe, which goes on sale Friday, contains 6.0 milligrams of tar and 0.6 milligram of nicotine. The tobacco maker’s first coffee-scented product delivers the rich scent of hazelnut coffee with ground coffee beans in the filter.“We spent four years of research and development coming up with a technology that can directly insert ground coffee beans into the filt
July 4, 2012
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Lotte Shopping picked as prime Hi-mart bidder
Lotte Shopping Co., the flagship affiliate of retail-oriented conglomerate Lotte Group, said Wednesday that it has been picked as the preferred bidder for the purchase of electronics appliance retailer Hi-mart Co.“Lotte was tapped because private equity firm MBK Partners Ltd. opted not to bid for Hi-mart,” a company representative said. He added results related to the purchase negotiations will be announced in the near future, indicating that the deal is close to being sealed.Independent market
IndustryJuly 4, 2012
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Samsung holds large-scale recruitment fair for suppliers
Samsung Group’s 11 business units held a large job fair to hire 1,670 employees for the conglomerates’ subcontractors.The event, which was held at KINTEX in Ilsan in Gyeonggi Province on Wednesday, came as part of the group’s drive for “shared growth” with suppliers.Participants included Samsung Electronics, Samsung SDI and 158 subcontractors, with the Federation of Korean Industries and the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business acted as sponsors.In particular, 49 companies, which are li
IndustryJuly 4, 2012
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Import car sales surge 20% in first half
BMW, Mercedes, Volkswagen and Audi top the listThe nation’s import car industry saw its vehicle sales reach an all-time high during the first half of the year, posting a monthly average of 10,373 units.Their sales came to 62,239 units in the first half, up 20.5 percent over the same period last year, the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association said Wednesday.For sales in June, import car brands reported an 18 percent year-on-year growth with sales of 10,578 units, though they inc
IndustryJuly 4, 2012
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Incheon shares know-how with European airports
Top officials from Europe’s two leading airport operators ― Schiphol Group of the Netherlands and Aeroports de Paris of France ― visited Korea on Wednesday to share business expertise and further strengthen their partnership with Incheon International Airport. A two-day CEO-level meeting started on Wednesday at a Seoul hotel, with Incheon Airport CEO Lee Chae-wook, Jos Nijhuis, president of Schiphol Group, and Laurent Galzy, chief financial officer of Aeroports de Paris, in attendance. The so-ca
IndustryJuly 4, 2012
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Lotte, Chanel bury the hatchet
French brand to reopen cosmetics shop in the nation’s largest department store in August after feudChanel cosmetics have agreed to reenter Lotte Department Store three and a half years after it pulled out from the retail giant due to disagreements over store space and location.The conflict between the two companies started when Lotte asked Chanel to downsize and relocate its cosmetics booth in 2008, pointing to its relatively low sales. Chanel refused, accusing Lotte of getting back at the Frenc
IndustryJuly 4, 2012
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FSS calls for measures to curb household debt
Korea needs to take pre-emptive actions against mounting household debt as the sluggish local property market and global economic downturn are contributing to a steady rise in loan delinquency rates, the head of the country’s financial watchdog said Wednesday.“It’s imperative that we take pre-emptive countermeasures against the household debt problem to assure a soft landing as it poses a great risk to our growth,” Financial Supervisory Service Gov. Kwon Hyouk-se said during a seminar held in ce
July 4, 2012
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FDI in Korea surges to record high in H1
Foreign direct investment in South Korea rose to a new high in the first half of the year as the amount from Japan nearly tripled despite a large drop in investment from European Union countries, the government said Wednesday.The amount of new FDI pledged or reported in the January-June period came to $7.11 billion, up 32.5 percent from $5.37 billion for the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy.The amount is the highest ever for the first half in the country’s hi
July 4, 2012
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Banks to tighten grip on loans
Korean banks are likely to tighten their grip on loans in the third quarter as the eurozone debt crisis is upping economic uncertainty, the central bank said Wednesday.An index gauging lending attitudes reached three for the July-September period, compared with seven tallied in the second quarter, according to a survey of 16 local banks conducted by the Bank of Korea.The third-quarter data marked the lowest level since the index came in at minus four in the fourth quarter of 2009, it added.The l
July 4, 2012
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Seoul shares up 0.35%
South Korean stocks closed 0.35 percent higher on Wednesday as speculations over stimulus measures continued to bolster investor sentiment, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index jumped 6.63 points to 1,874.45, gaining for a second straight session.Trading volume was moderate at 332.6 million shares worth 4.5 trillion won ($4 billion), with gainers outnumbering decliners 451 to 344.“There is strong hope out there that policy
IndustryJuly 4, 2012
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IMF says Korea has little room to cut rate
Korea’s central bank has limited leeway to cut its key interest rate as Asia’s fourth-largest economy remains dogged by high inflation expectations, the International Monetary Fund said Wednesday.The IMF said in a report that given sluggish growth, high unemployment and downside risks, more monetary easing should be considered for some advanced economies, with the possible exception of Canada and Korea.The international organization said that for South Korea, “still-elevated inflation expectatio
July 4, 2012