Most Popular
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Yoon, Lee end first talks with differences, agree to meet more
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What is Hybe’s next move?
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China outpaces Korea in smaller OLED shipments for 1st time
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Medical profs at top hospitals suspend surgeries, clinics
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[Herald Interview] Mom’s Touch seeks to replicate success in Japan
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'Queen of Tears' finale sets record viewership ratings as tvN's most-watched series ending
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Police to open alleged stalking probe over pastor over Dior bag scandal
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Samsung chip business back on track, logs W1.9tr operating profit in Q1
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[News Focus] Lee tells Yoon that he has governed without political dialogue
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Seoul to deploy more military doctors to fill med prof void
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Convicted tycoons hope for state mercy
With economic recovery on the government agenda for the new year, business magnates who have spent more than a year behind bars are longing for state mercy and a return to their former positions. While politicians and policymakers are involved in a political tug-of-war over the issue, some conglomerates, including SK Group and CJ Group, are expecting that public antipathy against their imprisoned chiefs will cool down. They have claimed that a leadership vacuum has delayed their key management d
Jan. 1, 2015
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KORAIL to sell Incheon airport railroad
KORAIL, the nation’s railway operator, announced on Wednesday it will launch a bid to offload its railroad unit Incheon International Airport Railroad as part of its efforts to reduce debt. The state-run enterprise and its financial investor Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance seeks to sell their combined 90.1 percent ownership of the debt-ridden railway line, connecting the airport with Seoul Station, whose value is estimated at 4 trillion won ($ 3.6 billion), including 2 trillion in debt. “The res
Jan. 1, 2015
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Hyundai Motor bets on China with two new factories
Hyundai Motor Group announced a plan to expand its facilities in China on Thursday, under which it will build two manufacturing plants in the world’s largest auto market by 2017. Construction of the plants in the southwestern city of Chongqing and northeastern Hebei province will start as early as 2015 and wrap up around 2017, the company said in a press release. The two factories will have the capacity to produce up to 600,000 units of mostly small cars every year. It will raise Hyundai’s annua
Jan. 1, 2015
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[Herald Interview] ‘CSR is crucial to sustainable growth’
Korean companies need to take a strategic approach to their corporate social responsibility-related activities to link them to sustainable growth for the company, the head of a global CSR strategy consultancy said. “CSR is not a matter of how enterprises spend their money. It’s about how they earn money,” Lee Yoon-suk, founder and CEO of InnoCSR Group, said in a recent interview with The Korea Herald.Lee, 36, emphasized the high correlation between a company’s CSR and sustainable growth.“Compani
Jan. 1, 2015
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Financial regulator vows to control household debt
The chief financial regulator said Thursday that tackling household debts would take priority in government policies next year, along with economic reform to improve the fundamentals of the economy and sharpen competitiveness.“Restructuring of household debt is a top priority for financial stability in 2015,” Financial Services Commission chairman Shin Je-yoon said in a New Year’s message.“We’ve set 2015 policy guidelines in order to improve the quality of household debts.”South Korea’s family l
Jan. 1, 2015
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S. Korean major refiner eyes Dubai crude at $65-70 in 2015
South Korea's major refineries expected the prices of Dubai crude oil to hover around US$65 to $70 this year as the free fall in global oil prices will likely be eased by a slowdown in the U.S. shale gas supply, industry sources said Thursday. Out of the four market leading companies of SK Energy Co., GS Caltex Corp., S-Oil Corp. and Hyundai Oilbank Co., three refineries forecast that the Dubai crude will rebound to $65 or $70 on average throughout 2015 from $53 on Dec. 30, 2014, according to t
Jan. 1, 2015
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Retailers look to diversify channels
This year, where and how you shop will tell you what kind of a consumer you are. Amid the long-standing frozen consumer sentiment, retailers are expected to diversify their channels in order to satisfy people with different income levels and needs.Outlets surging2014 was a harsh year for the nation’s traditional retailers. According to ETrade, a stock trading firm, the domestic department store market ― worth around 29.8 trillion won ($28 billion) in 2013 ― is expected to experience slow growth
Dec. 31, 2014
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Tough road ahead for shipbuilding, steel industries
The nation’s shipbuilding and steel industries, both of which were in recession last year, are forecast to go through another difficult year in 2015 mainly due to the worsening business environment. The Federation of Korean Industries, a leading business association in Korea, issued a dim outlook for the shipbuilding industry this year, which suffered from record losses in the second quarter of 2014.Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world’s largest shipbuilder, reported record operating losses of 1
Dec. 31, 2014
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Construction industry shifts focus to emerging markets
Apartment construction cranes move construction material at a POSCO Engineering and Construction construction site. (Bloomberg)South Korean builders are expected to expand investment into the world’s emerging markets this year as they seek ways to sustain growth amid tough market conditions in the Middle East, which previously was the top client for the industry. The global oil price plunge and fierce competition were the main factors that propelled Korean contractors to seek new business opport
Dec. 31, 2014
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Hyundai Heavy, unionists strike tentative wage deal
Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. said Thursday it has reached a tentative agreement on wages with its unionized workers, putting an end to the partial strikes that have taken place since last November. Under the agreement, the shipbuilding conglomerate agreed to increase basic pay by 37,000 won (US$33.94) per month, a 2 percent hike, and give workers company stocks equivalent to 150 percent of the base monthly salary together with another 2 million won as a bonus.The company also agreed to include i
Dec. 31, 2014
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Korean Air ex-VP's sister slammed for vowing revenge over 'nut rage'
A family member of the former Korean Air Lines Co. executive at the center of the "nut rage" scandal came under fire on Wednesday after prosecutors revealed a text message in which she promised to "take revenge" on behalf of her sister. Cho Hyun-min promised her sister Hyun-ah she would "take revenge no matter what" via a text message on Dec. 17 in apparent outrage over the ongoing probe into a row involving nuts that delayed the departure of a flight. The 31-year-old Cho, who currently holds an
Dec. 31, 2014
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Hyundai, Kia set 2015 sales goal at 8.2 mln units
South Korea's top carmaker, Hyundai Motor Co., and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors Corp. are aiming to sell 8.2 million units globally next year, about 1.5 percent higher than their global sales this year, industry sources said Wednesday.Although the final decision on these figures is yet to be made, Hyundai's and Kia's sales targets for overseas markets are likely to stand at 3.18 million units and 1.44 million units, while those for the home turf may come to 1.87 million and 1.71 million, res
Dec. 31, 2014
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Gov't to waive surtax on emission rights trading starting in Feb.
The government is moving to waive the levying of surtaxes on emission rights trading starting in February to reduce the burden on companies and fuel the growth of related eco-friendly industries, the finance ministry said Tuesday. It said a decision has been made to include emission rights on the surtax exception list, although technically it could be taxed. The move comes after companies complained they are already hard-pressed to meet greenhouse gas reduction quotas set by Seoul and that p
Dec. 30, 2014
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S. Korea's industrial output advances in Nov.
South Korea's industrial output advanced in November from a month earlier, helped by demand for cars and semiconductors and related parts, a government report showed Tuesday. According to the report by Statistics Korea, production in the mining, manufacturing, gas and electricity industries moved up 1.3 percent last month from a month earlier. The gains come after industrial production fell 1.7 percent in the previous month. Automobiles output surged 9 percent on-month, with computer chips
Dec. 30, 2014
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Sharing Korea’s forest restoration experience
According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, around 13 million hectares of forest ― an area the size of Greece ― were converted to other land uses or lost through natural causes each year from 2000 to 2010. Continued deforestation and landscape degradation pose serious obstacles to maintaining biodiversity and the environment, as well as to eliminating poverty and hunger. Consequently, they threaten the resilience capacity of both people and natural ecosystems. Today, there is a grow
Dec. 29, 2014
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[SUPER RICH] Highest-earning billionaires of 2014
The year 2014 has been quite an eventful one for the superrich. Their assets and rankings have changed considerably, while new billionaires have emerged and others have forfeited their entire fortunes overnight. As the status of the superrich is primarily decided by assets, numbers are the best way to gauge their achievements. To the superrich ― who in many ways control their country’s economy ― these numbers mean more than wealth. They are a reflection of their business philosophy and strategy.
Dec. 29, 2014
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Officials face punishment over ‘nut rage’
The South Korean government will slap disciplinary measures on eight ministry officials for the poor handling of an investigation into the so-called “nut rage” incident involving Korean Air. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Monday that it decided on the measures following an internal inspection launched after it came under public scrutiny for failing to make a thorough investigation into the misconduct of Heather Cho, the heiress to the nation’s largest airline. “I deeply
Dec. 29, 2014
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Worries grow over safety of budget carriers
Korean budget carriers appear anxious in the wake of the disappearance of an AirAsia commercial jet over the weekend, as safety is the chief concern for consumers flying low-cost airlines. Asia has seen a boom in the number of budget carriers since 2000, largely driven by the region’s growing middle class and eased regulations. Among them, Malaysia-based AirAsia is the largest discount airline operating more than 220 routes across the region. Since the company started business in 2001, its marke
Dec. 29, 2014
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Samsung, Hyundai take 20 percent of corporate net income
South Korea’s two biggest companies ― Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor ― accounted for nearly 20 percent of the combined net income of local firms last year, data showed Monday, in the latest sign of the concentrated wealth of a few major exporters. The combined sales of the nation’s top 10 conglomerates came to 1.07 quadrillion won ($974 billion) in 2013 to represent 24.8 percent of the total sales by 517,000 firms, while the ratio of their net earnings fell to 41.9 percent of the total, a
Dec. 29, 2014
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Shin-Hanul nuclear plant nears completion
ULJIN, North Gyeongsang Province ― The steady progress being made at Shin-Hanul nuclear power plant unit 1 has made it clear that Korea will soon have its first fully indigenously built nuclear facility. According to Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, the nation’s nuclear reactor operator, the Shin-Hanul plant in Uljin, North Gyeongsang Province, will become the first to be equipped with an indigenous advanced pressurized reactor that can generate up to 1,400 megawatts of energy. This reactor will for
Dec. 29, 2014