Most Popular
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Blinken calls on China to press N. Korea to end its 'dangerous' behavior
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New celebrity-endorsed therapy for face contouring requires only a pair of rubber bands
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Tensions heighten ahead of first president-opposition chief meeting
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Seoul to provide housing subsidy to married couples with newborns
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[Weekender] How DDP emerged as an icon of Seoul
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Rapper jailed after public street fight with another rapper
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Woman gets suspended term for injuring boyfriend with knife
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[KH Explains] No more 'Michael' at Kakao Games
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Doctor group's incoming head renews call for govt. to scrap medical school quota hike for dialogue
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NewJeans pops out ‘Bubble Gum’ video amid troubles at agency
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BOK to set up 1 trillion won credit line for SMEs
South Korea’s central bank said Monday that it will establish a 1 trillion won ($890 million) special credit line for small and medium enterprises in a bid to spur local lenders to increase loans to them.The move by the Bank of Korea, slated to take effect on April 2, comes as local banks remain reluctant to provide unsecured loans to SMEs with insufficient collateral.“The new credit line is designed to help high-risk smaller firms take out bank credit loans more easily,” a BOK official said.As
Feb. 13, 2012
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19 foreign-invested firms to invest $2.3b by 2015
Nineteen foreign-invested companies plan to increase investment in Korea by $2.3 billion and hire 2,300 new people by 2015. The Korean government requested that foreign-invested enterprises expand investment and employment, and pledged stronger support.During a meeting with Knowledge Economy Minister Hong Suk-woo on Monday, chief executives of major foreign-invested companies called on the government for more incentives such as tax cuts and cash support. They also asked for government assistance
IndustryFeb. 13, 2012
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Samsung, KT lock horns over smart TV
Company threatens to take further legal actions against carrierSamsung Electronics urged KT Corp. to immediately resume Internet services for its smart televisions, threatening it would file additional legal procedures on top of the injunction the firm filed against KT last Friday.On Friday, KT limited Internet access of Samsung-made smart TVs in protest of Samsung’s refusal to pay for its network use. The network service provider, however, excluded LG Electronics’ smart TVs, saying that the two
IndustryFeb. 13, 2012
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Shares up following Greek bill approval
Korean stocks closed 0.6 percent higher on Monday as the Greece parliament’s approval of an austerity bill helped quell investor jitters over a possible Greek default, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark KOSPI rose 12.03 points to 2,005.74. Trading volume was moderate at 447.1 million shares worth 5.69 trillion won ($5.07 billion), with gainers outnumbering decliners 484 to 324.“The course of a bailout package for Greece is yet to be determined, but the p
Feb. 13, 2012
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Hyundai, Toyota vie for cheaper hybrids
Hyundai Motor and Toyota Motor have launched a keen competition to dominate the emerging hybrid car market in Korea this year.Though the ratio of hybrids out of the total cars sold by Korean companies stayed at 1.3 percent last year, and 3.7 percent of import brands, they recently vitalized the eco-friendly car marketing and sales.Toyota Motor Korea, which launched the New Camry Hybrid in January, will unveil three models of the New Prius series ― Prius S, Prius M and Prius E ― next week.The Pri
MobilityFeb. 13, 2012
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Credit card firms vow to block revision of bill on commission rate
Financial regulator and card firms say move undermines market principlesThe Korean government and credit card companies on Monday expressed strong opposition to a revision of the Credit Finance Business Act that, if passed at the plenary session of the National Assembly, would authorize the Financial Services Commission to set the commission rates credit card firms collect from small merchants. Credit card companies said they would take steps to block a revision of the bill that they claim goes
Feb. 13, 2012
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German green cabbage dinner next week
The “must-be-there” event in the German chamber of commerce calendar will happen next week when they roll out the green cabbage for a dinner that brings members back to simpler times.The Korean-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry secretary general explained that according to northern German tradition, all participants must appear in a blue fishermen’s shirt with a red bandana. The fisherman’s shirt and bandana can be ordered directly from the chamber’s site or by calling Hana Cha at (02) 378
Feb. 13, 2012
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French chamber to examine Korean titles
Newly arrived foreign business professionals might find it difficult to understand the Korean title system at the workplace.The French Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Experts Training Club plan to demystify this practice by inviting Christophe Piganiol, president of Zuellig Pharma Korea, to a seminar on Feb. 23.Piganiol will examine the important questions of why ranks and titles are so important in Korea, what are the challenges in a professional bi-cultural environment and how
Feb. 13, 2012
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Energy forum opportunities in Australia
The Australian Chamber of Commerce will host a breakfast forum with the Australian head of resources to discuss the state of play in the global energy resource market.Tania Constable from the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism will also explain the rules for investing, Australia’s clean energy sector, resource tax reforms and the country’s energy exports to Korea.The forum will take place on Feb. 22 at the COEX InterContinental’s Moderato Room. It costs 50,000 won for members and 60,000
Feb. 13, 2012
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EUCCK seminar on energy, joint venture
The European Chamber of Commerce in Korea plans to hold two seminars on energy and joint ventures, respectively, this week.The forum on energy, organized by the EUCCK’s Energy and Environment Committee, will take place at 8:00 a.m. at the Ritz Carlton Hotel on Thursday.The breakfast seminar has invited KEPCO general manager Park Seong-cheol to talk about the company’s International Cooperation Division’s role and how it applies to European Union stakeholders.The meeting costs 35,000 won for comm
Feb. 13, 2012
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Lab study raises questions over nano-particle impact
Tests involving chickens have raised questions about the impact on health from engineered nano-particles, the ultra-fine grains commonly used in drugs and processed foods, scientists said on Sunday.Chickens exposed to high oral doses of polystyrene particles 50 nanometers (50 billionths of a metre)
TechnologyFeb. 13, 2012
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Cosmetics sales top W10tr on hallyu
China and Japan account for more than half of Korea’s cosmetics exportsDomestic sales of cosmetics jumped 9.6 percent to 10.82 trillion won ($9.6 billion) last year on greater demand from foreign tourists and local consumers’ diversifying tastes.Last year marked the second sharpest year-on-year growth in cosmetics sales after 11.3 percent in 2009, according to Statistics Korea.Market watchers attribute the steep increase to a growing number of tourists from abroad buying Korean beauty products a
IndustryFeb. 13, 2012
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Hynix names SK chief Chey as its inside director
Chip maker will hold board meeting Tuesday to give title of co-CEO or board chairman to CheyHynix Semiconductor on Monday held a stakeholders’ meeting at its headquarters in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, and named SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won an inside director of the company.Hynix also named Ha Sung-min, president of SK Telecom, and its vice president Park Sung-wook as the other two inside directors.“We got the green light from the majority ― 41.92 percent approval and 15.89 percent disapproval,
IndustryFeb. 13, 2012
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KARI, Korean Air to build unmanned tiltrotor
Korean Air and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute plan to develop the world’s first small-scale unmanned tiltrotor aircraft by 2013, the two companies announced Monday.The envisioned aircraft, dubbed “TR-6X,” will be about 60 percent the size of the first unmanned aerial vehicle unveiled in November by the state-run aerospace think tank, which flies like a plane but tilts its rotors to take off and land vertically like a helicopter. The government pumped 87.2 billion won ($77.7 million) into
IndustryFeb. 13, 2012
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Vietnam emerges as key market for Korea
Bilateral relations improve as Vietnam’s economy continues to growVietnam is emerging as a major market for Korean goods on the strength of strong sales of Korean cars and mobile handsets, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance said Monday. In a report on the 20th anniversary in which Korea forged formal ties with Vietnam, the ministry said the middle-class consumers in Vietnam were showing greater appetite for Korean products and that the Vietnamese government was encouraging Korean firms to ente
Feb. 13, 2012
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Korean financial markets still shy of pre-crisis levels
South Korea’s financial markets are showing signs of recovery from a global crisis caused by a faltering U.S. economy and eurozone debt problems, but remains shy of pre-crisis levels seen in July last year, data showed Monday. South Korea’s credit default swap premium, or the cost of insurance against sovereign default, fell to 1.41 percent on Friday from 2.29 percent on Oct. 4., according to the data by the Korea Center for International Finance. However, the latest CDS premium is still higher
Feb. 13, 2012
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BOK head urges closer cooperation in Asia to weather ongoing crisis
South Korea’s top central banker called Monday for closer collaboration among Asian countries to help cushion the region from the fallout of the spreading global crisis.The call by Bank of Korea Gov. Kim Choong-soo comes as the crisis in Europe is taking its toll on export-dependent Asian countries and hurting their trading partners. Debt woes in the euro area has also increased capital inflows to emerging markets, strengthening local currencies and generating concerns about financial stability.
Feb. 13, 2012
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Korean oil refiners post record profits in 2011
South Korean oil refiners reaped record profits in 2011 on the back of strong exports and improved business performances at their non-refining units, data showed Monday.SK Innovation Co., South Korea’s leading refiner, saw its net income jump nearly three-fold to 3.18 trillion won ($2.83 billion) last year. Sales surged 27.3 percent on-year to 68.37 trillion won last year, with operating income shooting up 50.6 percent to 2.85 trillion won.The annual increase was fueled by the good showings of i
IndustryFeb. 13, 2012
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Asiana recieves advertising award
Asiana Airlines, Korea’s second-largest carrier, said it won Air Transport World’s “Ad of the Year” award Monday.The renowned U.S. trade magazine, published by Penton Media Inc., also granted Asiana the Gold Award in the corporate category for a second consecutive year. Some 1,400 industry experts assessed all commercials printed in the magazine throughout last year to select the best advertiser. The media group also gives the Gold and Silver Awards based on a poll of subscribers by Signet Resea
IndustryFeb. 13, 2012
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SK Group head wins Hynix board seat
(Yonhap News)Shareholders of Hynix Semiconductor Inc. on Monday approved the appointment of the owner of SK Group, South Korea's No. 3 family-controlled conglomerate, as a board member despite his alleged wrongdoing.SK Holdings Chairman Chey Tae-won received yes votes of 41.9 percent at a shareholde
IndustryFeb. 13, 2012