Most Popular
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Court refuses injunction on medical school expansion
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Why Korean crime stories typically feature nameless, faceless perpetrators
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Debate on 'no-seniors zones' heats up
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Rare mid-May heavy snow warning issued over mountainous areas of Gangwon
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S. Korea, Cambodia forge strategic partnership
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Is NewJeans headed for a long 'break'?
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[KH Explains] Hyundai-backed Motional’s struggles deepen as Tesla eyes August robotaxi debut
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Police raid popera singer Kim Ho-joong's house over hit-and-run suspicions
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Trump may like to 'solve' N. Korean nuclear problem if reelected: ex-official
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New Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office chief vows full-fledged probe into first lady
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Qurient garners spotlight from biotech investors
Qurient, a biotech venture firm engaged in developing new treatments, is attracting interest from investors since debuting on Korea’s tech-driven KOSDAQ stock market on Monday. On the day of its stock market debut, Qurient’s stock price surged by 15.04 percent from its starting price to close at 33,900 won on Monday. It again rose by 15 percent to close at 39,000 won on Tuesday and by 19 percent to reach a closing price of 46,600 won on Wednesday. The company’s stock price is continuing to trea
March 2, 2016
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Bodyfriend ranks No. 1 in massage chair market
Bodyfriend, a South Korean health care company specializing in building premium automated massage chairs, has retaken the No. 1 spot as the country’s leading massage chair maker. The company was ranked as the top player in the segment locally in terms of market share, brand preference and brand awareness for 2015, by local market analyst Hankook Research on Wednesday. Bodyfriend took up 66.1 percent of Korea’s total massage chair industry, according to the research firm’s survey of 500 local con
March 2, 2016
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[Photo News] Hanwha introduces solar module lines at PV EXPO 2016
HANWHA AT PV EXPO 2016 -- Hanwha Q Cells is presenting its solar photovoltaic products and solutions at this year’s PV Expo in Tokyo, Japan, taking place from March 2-4. The solar cell manufacturer will introduce new photovoltaic module lines built with its proprietary Q.ANTUM cell technology as well as a glass-to-glass module prototype, a next-generation module made using a second glass layer instead of a conventional back sheet to enhance the module’s robustness and durability. (Hanwha Q Cells
March 2, 2016
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Renault Samsung starts sales of SM6
Renault Samsung Motors, the local unit of French automaker Renault, said Wednesday that it has started selling the SM6 in South Korea on Monday. The SM6 is a locally adjusted version of the mid-sized Talisman, which was launched in France in 2015. It is the sixth vehicle model in Renault Samsung’s Korean market lineup. Renault Samsung Motors’ SM6 (Yonhap)Renault Samsung has said it had received more than 11,000 preorders for the SM6 since last month. “The SM6, known for its sensual design, innov
March 2, 2016
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Hyundai to launch Ioniq hybrid, EV in Europe in Q3
South Korea’s biggest carmaker, Hyundai Motor, plans to launch two major models of the Ioniq in Europe in the third quarter, a high-ranking company official said Wednesday.Hyundai Motor plans to start selling the hybrid and full-electric (EV) versions of the Ioniq during the third quarter, followed by the launch of its plug-in hybrid electric (PHEV) version during the first half of next year. Hyundai Ioniq (Yonhap)The plans were unveiled by Thomas Schmid, a vice president of Hyundai Motor’s uni
March 2, 2016
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Samsung teams up with Amazon for IoT
Samsung Electronics will be teaming up with U.S. e-commerce giant Amazon.com to apply Internet-of-Things technology to its printers, the South Korean tech firm said Wednesday. Users of Samsung-made printers in the U.S. will be able to set their products to automatically order ink using a mobile app that connects to Amazon.com.Samsung has been working toward adopting IoT-related services for its products. IoT is a concept in which objects are connected to the Internet and can identify themselves
March 2, 2016
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Taiwan beats Korea in wafer production in December
Korea fell behind Taiwan in terms of wafer production in December last year, data showed Wednesday, reflecting a possible weakening in the production capabilities of local chipmakers.According to the industry tracker IC Insights, Taiwan took up 21.7 percent of global wafer production, hovering slightly above Korea's 20.5 percent in December. Wafer production (Yonhap)A wafer refers to a thin slice of semiconductor fabricated with integrated circuits that is used as the base material for memory ch
March 2, 2016
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More Korean medical institutions tap overseas in 2015
The number of Korean medical institutions operating outside the country has grown rapidly over the past five years on the back of the government-led drive to further nurture the rising demand for Korean medical services overseas, government data said Wednesday.According to the data compiled by the health ministry, 141 hospitals, oriental clinics and dental services are operating in 18 countries as of end-2015, up from 125 the previous year.The number has seen steep growth since 2010 when it mark
March 2, 2016
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Korean consortium inks $9.6 mln construction deal in Bolivia
A South Korean consortium clinched an urban development deal worth $9.6 million in Bolivia for exporting city planning services. Under the deal, the consortium of Sunjin Engineering & Architecture and Pyunghwa Engineering Consultants will join the project to build a new city in Bolivia covering 58 square kilometers near Santa Cruz, an area known as the economic capital of Bolivia.The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in Seoul said the consortium will be in charge of planning the cit
March 2, 2016
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Hotel Shilla to open duty-free shop in Thailand
Hotel Shilla, an affiliate of Samsung Group, said Tuesday it plans to open a duty-free shop in downtown Bangkok, speeding up efforts to expand its overseas presence.The company said the duty-free shop, which will open within this year, comes after Hotel Shilla first established a joint venture named GMS Duty Free with a Thai firm in 2013. The South Korean retailer holds a 25-percent stake in this venture. Hotel Shilla CEO Lee Boo-jin (Yonhap)Hotel Shilla said the opening date for the new shop ha
March 2, 2016
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Soul EV sells more than 10,000 units globally
South Korea's Kia Motors said Tuesday that it has sold more than 10,000 units of the Soul electric vehicle in less than two years since its launch.Solid demand from the European market helped boost sales figures, the carmaker added.Soul EV (Yonhap)The Soul EV, the electric vehicle variant of the Soul crossover vehicle, posted combined sales of 10,210 units through January of this year, with the overseas market taking up 8,630 units.Of the amount sold abroad, Europe accounted for 6,770 units, fol
March 2, 2016
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[Super Rich] New breed of CEOs sharing wealth
The number of company founders and CEOs who share their wealth with employees is on the rise at home and abroad. Hanmi Pharmaceutical chairman Lim Sung-ki made headlines last year as he shared corporate success with loyal employees by paying them hefty bonuses.The average amount given per employee was 45 million won ($36,400), about the same as an average citizen’s annual salary. In addition to the amount of bonuses given, the 75-year-old chairman continued to surprise the Korean public by donat
March 1, 2016
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[Super Rich] Hyun Jeong-eun’s struggles continue
Hyundai Group Chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eunYonhapHyundai Group chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun has made headlines for the past couple of months with her struggles to keep the country’s 29th-largest business conglomerate running.On Feb. 23, she spent 30 billion won ($24.4 million) from her own pocket to acquire 4 million shares in Hyundai Merchant Marine’s new stock issue, which was planned as part of the group’s efforts to ease a liquidity crisis. To secure more liquidity, she is trying to sell Hyundai Se
March 1, 2016
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[Newsmaker] Coupang to log record loss for 2015
South Korea’s top e-commerce operator Coupang is expected to have logged a record-high loss in 2015, according to Coupang and industry analysts, fueling partial concerns over its aggressive spending.A recent report by Hana Investment Securities forecast that Coupang would log an operating loss of about 400 billion won ($320 million) for 2015, up by 299 percent from a loss of 121.5 billion in 2014.Though its sales are expected to have hiked by more than 400 percent last year from 348.5 billion wo
March 1, 2016
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Korean consortium wins $9.6 mln construction deal in Bolivia
A South Korean consortium clinched a $9.6 million urban development deal in Bolivia, the country’s Land Ministry said Tuesday, paving the way for the export of city planning services in the Latin American market.Under the deal, the consortium of Sunjin Engineering & Architecture and Pyunghwa Engineering Consultants will join the project to build a new city in Bolivia covering 58 square kilometers near Santa Cruz, which is known as the economic capital of Bolivia.Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrast
March 1, 2016
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Hotel Shilla to open duty-free shop in Thailand
Hotel Shilla Co., an affiliate of South Korea's top conglomerate Samsung Group, said Tuesday it plans to open a duty-free shop in downtown Bangkok, speeding up efforts to expand its overseas presence.The company said the duty-free shop, which will open within this year, comes after Hotel Shilla first established a joint venture named GMS Duty Free with a Thai firm in 2013, where the South Korean retailer holds a 25-percent stake.Hotel Shilla said it has not decided on the opening date for the ne
March 1, 2016
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Lotte, E-Mart deny bidding for Kim’s Club
Lotte Shopping and E-Mart, two of Korea’s major retail giants, on Monday denied making a bid for smaller hypermarket chain Kim’s Club. “We hereby officially deny media reports that our company is among the bidders shortlisted for the takeover of Kim’s Club,” E-Mart said in a regulatory filing. In a separate filing on the day, Lotte Shopping also denied any bid. (Yonhap)Rumors have been brewing as to which of the country’s retailers is among the three bidders shortlisted for the acquisition of th
Feb. 29, 2016
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KEPCO to pay record high of W2tr in dividends
The state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. said Monday it will hand out a record high of some 2 trillion won ($1.66 billion) in cash dividends to its shareholders for the year 2015, in its largest allotment to date. “We plan to pay 1.99 trillion won for dividends out of a net profit of 13.41 trillion won posted in 2015,” the nation’s largest utility firm said in a regulatory filing. KEPCO`s new headquarters in Naju, South Jeolla Province (Yonhap) “The decision is scheduled for discussion at the bo
Feb. 29, 2016
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Drug imports fall on rise of generics
South Korea’s inbound shipments in the pharmaceutical sector, which had been increasing annually until 2014, declined by around 5 percent last year due in part to a rise in the use of domestic generic drugs, according to recent data by the Korea Pharmaceutical Traders Association. Imports of raw materials used in pharmaceutical production and of finished pharmaceutical products together declined by 5.37 percent on-year to $4.8 billion in 2015, according to the KPTA. By category, imports of star
Feb. 29, 2016
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Falling prices fuel debate over housing oversupply
Apartment prices are now turning down after having remained unchanged for weeks, adding fuel to the debate over whether the housing market is at an increasing risk of oversupply.The average weekly transaction price for apartments was down 0.01 percent across the country last week, according to data from the Korea Appraisal Board. It marked the first price decrease since the third week of June 2014.Lower prices in Seoul led to the decline. In particular, house prices in some posh districts in sou
Feb. 29, 2016