Most Popular
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Korea enters full election mode
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Seoul bus drivers go on general strike, cause morning rush hour delays
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Immigrant woman stabbed to death by Korean husband
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Lee Jong-sup resigns as envoy to Australia
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Official campaigning kicks off for April 10 elections
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Yellow dust engulfs S. Korea, advisory alert issued
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S. Korea to boost support for single-parent families
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Court upholds jail term for man who attempted to murder ex-girlfriend
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Kia EV9 wins world car of year
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Korea misses out on global bond index boost
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Investment banks expect Korea’s inflation to grow 4.1 percent
Global investment banks forecast Korea’s consumer prices to increase more than 4 percent this year, citing sustained economic growth and high oil prices, data showed Wednesday.The average of inflation projections made in May by nine foreign investment banks, including Barclays Capital, rose to 4.1 percent from the 3.9 percent predicted in the previous month, according to the data provided by the K
June 1, 2011
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Seoul shares end flat on auto falls, bank gains
Korean stocks finished nearly unchanged on Wednesday as losses among automakers outweighed bank gains, analysts said. The local currency climbed against the U.S. dollar.After opening slightly higher, the benchmark KOSPI shed 0.05 percent, or 1.13 points to 2,141.34. Trading volume was moderate at 289 million shares worth 8.02 trillion won ($7.44 billion) with losers leading gainers 437 to 382. “Th
June 1, 2011
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Korea’s trade surplus narrows sharply in May
Korea’s trade surplus shrank sharply in May from the previous month as imports grew at a faster clip than exports due to high international energy prices, a government report showed Wednesday.The country’s trade surplus reached $2.75 billion in May, compared with a $5.14 billion surplus in April, according to the report by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy. Exports rose 23.5 percent on-year to $48
June 1, 2011
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Hana Financial strives to revive KEB deal
FSC hints at ruling against Lone Star ownershipHana Financial Group is striving to maintain its position as the provisional acquirer of Korea Exchange Bank after the preliminary deal with the bank’s biggest shareholder expired a week ago.Though Hana Financial officials had said the group would soon announce the extension of the deal with U.S.-based Lone Star Funds, which holds a 51 percent stake i
June 1, 2011
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[Herald Interview] Top stem cell expert urges lower regulatory barriers
Park Se-pill (Park Hyun-koo/The Korea Herald)The fabricated cloning research by Hwang Woo-suk in 2006 remains a painful memory for Koreans, who had taken pride of their nation’s edge in a field that promised to transform medicine. No one agonized more over the fraud case than Park Se-pill, Korea’s top stem-cell researcher. Research in the area was brought to a virtual standstill as the government
IndustryJune 1, 2011
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LGE’s nagging slump puts CEO to the test
LG Electronics is used to being No. 2. A powerful global electronics brand in its own right, the Seoul-based company has not made it to the highest of peaks. This seemed to be all right, however, as long it could rub shoulders with its top-tier rivals. But a raging “smart war” in the mobile industry changed all that, and LG Electronics is in bad shape in that sector. Koo Bon-joon, vice chairman an
IndustryJune 1, 2011
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China says manufacturing slows in May
China’s manufacturing expanded at the slowest pace in nine months in May as the government extended a campaign to cool inflation and the property market, a survey of companies indicated. The Purchasing Managers’ Index was at 52 from 52.9 in April, the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said in an emailed statement. The number was higher than the median forecast of 51.6 in a Bloomberg New
IndustryJune 1, 2011
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World of fusion exercise classes is expanding
LOS ANGELES ― Most people would not think of combining seemingly polar opposite pursuits such as Pilates and boxing. But the odd pairing makes perfect sense to one fitness instructor.Former dancer and certified Pilates teacher Viveca Jensen thought the mindful core-strengthening properties of Pilates would complement and counterbalance the quick cardio-heavy pace of noncontact boxing with weighted
TechnologyJune 1, 2011
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Millionaires control 39% of the world's wealth
More than 1 million millionaires live in China, their ranks swollen last year by economic growth, savings and a strengthening currency, according to a Boston Consulting Group survey. Millionaire households jumped 31 percent to 1.11 million in 2010 from the previous year, a BCG Global Wealth Survey released Tuesday showed. That puts China in third place for millionaire households, behind the 5.22 m
June 1, 2011
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S. Korea's consumer prices grow 4.1 pct in May
SEOUL, June 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's consumer prices grew at a slower pace in May, but they were still quite higher than the government's inflation target, raising concerns that price hikes still remain a drag on the nation's economic recovery, a report showed Wednesday.According to the report by Statistics Korea, the country's consumer price index rose 4.1 percent last month from a year earlie
June 1, 2011
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Jobs to unveil Apple software innovations
A man wait outside an Apple Store in Beijing, capital of China, May 6, 2011. (Xinhua-Younhap News)SAN FRANCISCO, May 31, 2011 (AFP) - Ailing chief executive Steve Jobs returns next week from sick leave to unveil Apple's latest generation of software, the firm announced Tuesday.The 56-year-old cancer survivor will present Apple's new operating system, dubbed "Lion," at a developers conference in Sa
TechnologyJune 1, 2011
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Experts say cellphones are possibly carcinogenic
(MCT)LONDON (AP) _ A respected international panel of experts says cellphones are possible cancer-causing agents, putting them in the same category as the pesticide DDT, gasoline engine exhaust and coffee.The classification was issued Tuesday in Lyon, France, by the International Agency for Research on Cancer after a review of dozens of published studies. The agency is an arm of the World Health O
TechnologyJune 1, 2011
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HSBC, Credit Agricole rapped for irregularities
Royal Bank of Scotland also faces sanction from financial regulatorFinancial regulators have taken punitive actions against two European bank branches for their irregular trading of derivatives and plan to reprimand another Europe-based bank operating in Seoul.In a statement Tuesday, the Financial Supervisory Service said it has issued a warning against the Seoul branch of HSBC Holdings plc and Cr
May 31, 2011
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Smaller gold rings: solution to surging prices
Korea is poised to stimulate the market for solid gold rings as the popularity of the traditional first-birthday gift has slackened in the face of skyrocketing commodities prices, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said Tuesday. Gold prices per “don,” a Korean measure equivalent to 3.75 grams, have surged more than four-fold in six years to roughly 230,000 won ($213), the ministry said in a stateme
May 31, 2011
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Samsung, LG to jointly develop thin-film solar cells
Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc. will take part in a government-private research program to develop next-generation thin-film solar cells, officials said Tuesday.The program is one of the five research and development efforts to be pursued by the government and private sector up until 2013 at a cost of 700 billion won ($648 million), the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said.Samsung an
IndustryMay 31, 2011
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Merck seeks Korean partners for growth and diversification
Merck Korea, the local unit of German-based Merck KGaA, is looking to broaden ties with Korean companies to spearhead new technologies for future growth, its president Juergen Koenig said Tuesday. The world’s oldest pharmaceutical and chemical group has been expanding its sphere into new fields such as electronics, biotechnology and renewable energy in recent years. As part of its growth strategy,
IndustryMay 31, 2011
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Hyundai Heavy Q1 figures soar on ship, equipment sales
Hyundai Heavy Industries Co.’s first quarter revenues jumped 70.1 percent from a year ago buoyed by rising ship and construction equipment sales, the company said Monday.According to the regulatory filing, Hyundai Heavy posted first quarter sales of 12.7 trillion won ($11.8 billion), up 70.1 percent from the same period last year.The company’s operating profits for the period came in at about 1.71
IndustryMay 31, 2011
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China’s Baitong to invest $70 million in Jeju resort
The China-based real estate developer Baitong Group will invest $70 million in a resort complex development project on the South Korean island of Jeju.According to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, Baitong Group plans to build condominiums on the southern island that will be sold to Chinese consumers. The Chinese company’s intentions were confirmed at an event held on the sidelines of a conferenc
May 31, 2011
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SKT spins off platform unit
SK Telecom, the country’s top mobile carrier, announced Tuesday it would split its platform division and create a new platform subsidiary, which will be in charge of non-mobile businesses, as early as October.“The company has made the decision to build a new subsidiary to form business operation structures and business cultures that are a good fit to the two separate telecom and platform sectors,”
IndustryMay 31, 2011
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African nations learn standardization from LG
LG Electronics, the flagship unit of LG Group, is passing down its know-how for standardizing technology to African nations to help bolster growth in the region, the Seoul-based company said.The African Organization for Standardization and the chiefs of technology standardization at eight other African countries gathered at the standardization test lab in LG Electronics’ research and development c
IndustryMay 31, 2011