Most Popular
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Iran’s president found dead at helicopter crash site
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Seoul rolls out W250b package in bid to lure foreign talent
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N. Korea slams US subcritical nuclear test, vows measures to bolster nuclear deterrence
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Korea's increasing US investment mutually beneficial: report
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Minister warns against trusting NK stated intentions, says Moon misguided
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AI Seoul Summit to discuss ways to make AI equitable in Global South
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South Korea bans viral North Korea propaganda video praising Kim
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Hermes celebrates craftsmanship
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After 6-year hiatus, Kia to return to Paris Motor Show in Europe push
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Govt. calls for junior doctors who left worksites to return to hospitals by Monday
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Samsung mulls raising dividend payout by up to 50 pct for 2014
South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. said Friday it is considering raising its dividend payout for the year by up to 50 percent in order to boost shareholder value and join a drive to help pep up sagging domestic demand. "As a special dividend, we are actively considering paying dividends that are 30 or 50 percent more than last year," the flagship unit of the country's top conglomerate said in a regulatory filing. The exact amount of dividends will be decided at a board meeting sl
Dec. 19, 2014
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Gov't to raise dividend payout ratio of state-invested companies to 40 pct by 2020
South Korea plans to raise the average dividend payout ratio of state-invested companies to 40 percent by 2020, the finance ministry said Friday, as policymakers try to generate more revenue to meet growing outlays. The move comes amid criticism that the government is not being adequately compensated for its extensive stakes in public companies that stood at 61.7 trillion won (US$56 billion) as of this year. For its holdings in 29 large companies, such as the Industrial Bank of Korea, Korea E
Dec. 19, 2014
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Cheil Industries surges on hopes for addition to global indices
Shares of Cheil Industries Inc., the de facto holding firm of South Korea's top conglomerate Samsung, rose by the daily permissible limit of 15 percent Friday on news that global index providers would add the company to their indices earlier than expected. Cheil Industries closed at 129,500 won (US$117) on the second day of trading. On its market debut on Thursday, the company closed at 113,000 won, more than doubling its initial public offering price of 53,000 won. The country's benchmark i
Dec. 19, 2014
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Hanwha's financing for Samsung-buying still unclear
Hanwha Group, set to take over four Samsung affiliates, has come under questions about the ability to finance the 2 trillion won (US$1.82 billion) deal, while rumors circulate that the country's 10th-largest family-run conglomerate may resort to selling shares of its subsidiaries to raise cash. In November, Hanhwa announced it will acquire four of Samsung Group's chemical and defense affiliates. The announcement immediately raised speculation about how it will secure the needed cash, with some
Dec. 19, 2014
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Samsung to freeze executives' wages amid challenges
South Korea's top conglomerate Samsung Group said Friday it has decided to freeze wages for its executives next year, a move apparently reflecting attempts to recoup falling returns from primary businesses. Paychecks for around 2,000 executives at the business group, including Samsung Electronics Co., will be fixed throughout 2015.Incentive pay, however, will continue to be provided depending on each divisions' earning performances, the group said. "The pay freeze is aimed at urging the exec
Dec. 19, 2014
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Samsung heirs pocket 6 tln won in Cheil Industries IPO
Samsung Group's three heirs reaped nearly 6 trillion won as the group's de facto holding company, Cheil Industries Inc., more than doubled its initial public offering (IPO) price in its market debut, data showed Thursday.Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee's three children -- Jay-yong, Boo-jin and Seo-hyun -- earned 5.9 trillion won (US$5.4 billion) from the IPO, roughly 733 times their 8.1 billion won investment, according to the data by conglomerate information tracker Chaebul.com.Shares of Cheil Ind
Dec. 18, 2014
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Korean Air to pay heavily for ‘nut rage’
Korean Air will have to pay a much higher price than expected for the misconduct of its executive Heather Cho that set off an intense public backlash, industry sources said Thursday.They noted that Korean Air and its holding company Hanjin-Kal lost almost 240 billion won ($217 million) in terms of market value since the prosecution’s investigation started on Dec.12. Despite the favorable business environment that includes low fuel prices, Korean Air’s shares declined 5 percent over the week, whi
Dec. 18, 2014
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Aekyung forays into hotel business
Aekyung Group, a midsize retailer and household goods manufacturer, on Thursday opened its Novotel Ambassador Suwon in Gyeonggi Province ― its first foray into the hospitality industry. The five-star hotel ― featuring 287 rooms, banquet halls, function rooms and restaurants ― is expected to become a landmark of Suwon, the capital and largest city of Gyeonggi Province, the company said. “The hotel is situated near Suwon train station and will be part of the ‘AK Town,’ along with nearby AK Plaza d
Dec. 18, 2014
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POSCO to open center for creative economy
POSCO, the nation’s top steelmaker, said Wednesday it would open a center for creative economy and innovation in Pohang, a major port city in North Gyeongsang Province, early next year. The steelmaker has sought to build a hub to help incubate start-ups at the home of its steel mill since President Park Geun-hye announced a three-year roadmap for economic growth last February. The administration said it would construct 17 nationwide centers for bolstering the creative economy and innovation by 2
Dec. 18, 2014
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Hyundai Motor’s China sales up 7.6 % in November
Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea’s largest carmaker, said Thursday that its auto sales in China grew 7.6 percent in November, driven by brisk demand for its Avante compact model.Hyundai Motor said that it sold a total of 99,045 vehicles in China last month, compared with 92,008 tallied during the same month a year earlier. This marked the third straight month of sales increase, though the growth rate slowed from the previous month’s 15.5 percent gain. The hike is attributable to more sales of Land
Dec. 18, 2014
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Cheil Industries roars in market debut
Cheil Industries Inc., the de facto holding firm of South Korea’s top conglomerate Samsung, more than doubled its initial public offering price on its first trading day Thursday after raising 1.5 trillion won ($1.35 billion), the country’s largest IPO in four years.Stocks of Cheil Industries closed at 113,000 won, up 7,000 won, or 6.6 percent, from its opening price of 106,000 won. The IPO price was 53,000 won, the top of its marketed range. The country’s key stock index, the KOSPI, shed 0.14 pe
Dec. 18, 2014
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Four public corporations fined 15.4b won for unfair trading
South Korea’s antitrust watchdog on Thursday slapped 15.4 billion won ($13.9 million) in fines on four public corporations and their affiliates for unfair trade practices.The Fair Trade Commission said Korea Electric Power Corp., Korea Expressway Corp., Korea Railroad Corp. and Korea Gas Corp. and their affiliates favored some companies over others in their business dealings, while at the same time forcing partner companies to undercut prices.“All corporations cited for unfair practices have bee
Dec. 18, 2014
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S-Oil awards firefighters
S-Oil, a leading refinery in Korea, conferred the 2014 Hero Firefighters Award to eight Korean firefighters on Wednesday to recognize their contribution and to help improve their working and living conditions. “Whenever I hear news of a fire, which breaks out more often in the cold winter, I feel deeply touched and have great gratitude for the firefighters and their amazing instinct to jump into the flames to rescue people and for devoting their energy into putting out fires,” said S-Oil CEO Nas
Dec. 18, 2014
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Uber, Seoul headed for collision course
(Yonhap)A rift between taxi hailing service operator Uber Technologies and the Seoul Metropolitan Government is expected to deepen on the city government’s decision to push ahead with an ordinance rewarding those alerting authorities of Uber cabs. The city government will send the bill for the ordinance to Seoul City Council for approval on Friday. On Thursday, the taxi hailing service operator issued a statement lambasting the situation. “We urge the Council to reject this ordinance on the
Dec. 18, 2014
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Ministry launches internal inspection on how it handled Korean Air's 'nut rage'
South Korea's transportation ministry launched an internal inspection Thursday into how it conducted its investigation into Korean Air's "nut rage," pressured by mounting criticism that it intended to acquit the airline and its troubled former vice president. "We will thoroughly review the entire proceedings of the investigation to see if there were any flaws," an official from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said, asking not to be identified. The chief purser of a Dec. 5 K
Dec. 18, 2014
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Cheil Industries doubles IPO price on market debut
Cheil Industries Inc., the de facto holding firm of South Korea's top conglomerate Samsung, doubled in price on its market debut on Thursday after raising 1.5 trillion won (US$1.35 billion), the country's largest initial public offering (IPO) in four years. Stocks of Cheil Industries were changing hands at 109,000 as of 11:16 a.m., up 2,500 won or 2.83 percent from its opening price of 106,000 won, compared with an IPO price of 53,000 won that came at the top of its marketed range. The country
Dec. 18, 2014
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Prosecutors seek arrest warrant against KOGAS chief
Prosecutors said Wednesday they have sought an arrest warrant against the chief of state-run Korea Gas Corp. on suspicion of bribery and breach of trust. Jang Seok-hyo, the chief executive officer of KOGAS, is suspected of embezzling billions of won (millions of U.S. dollars) from a tugboat company he headed between July 2011 and July 2013, prosecutors said. Jang allegedly had fake receipts issued for client entertainment expenses while serving as chief of the company. The KOGAS chief is a
Dec. 18, 2014
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Prosecution questions Korean Air’s Cho
Heather Cho, a former executive of Korean Air, appeared before prosecutors Wednesday to face questioning over charges that she may have violated aviation laws by causing a delay in a commercial flight.The daughter of the country’s No. 1 air carrier’s chairman Cho Yang-ho appeared at the Seoul Seobu District Prosecutors’ Office as a defendant. The summons came a week after prosecutors launched the investigation into the case when a civic group filed a complaint against her for violating aviation
Dec. 17, 2014
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Korea’s labor system needs change: KDI
The Korea Development Institute has called for more flexibility in Korea’s labor structure in terms of its wage system and working hours. “With unemployment and the working poor becoming serious social issues in Korea, companies should no longer stick to their old-fashioned labor system,” said KDI researcher Yoon Hee-sook at the state-run think tank’s seminar on labor market changes on Wednesday. Pointing to Korea’s rigid wage and promotion system, she noted that Korean companies have long favor
Dec. 17, 2014
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[Newsmaker] Lotte apologizes for worker’s death
Lotte, the constructor and operator of the 123 story-Lotte World in southwestern Seoul, on Wednesday expressed regret over the death of a construction worker at its site as well as the shutdown of the facility’s cinema and aquarium due possibly to shoddy construction. “We apologize to the citizens for the accidents that took place at Lotte World Mall including the death of a worker at the concert hall construction site. We will follow the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s guidelines and regulation
Dec. 17, 2014