Most Popular
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Hyundai Motor eyes 80,000 jobs, W68tr investment at home by 2026
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Seoul bus drivers go on general strike, cause morning rush hour delays
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Official campaigning kicks off for April 10 elections
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Dialogue hopes fade as doctors pick hard-liner as new head
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Korea enters full election mode
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Coupang pledges W3tr to expand Rocket Delivery nationwide by 2027
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[Election Battlefield] Political novice to face off star politician in ‘swing district’
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[Kim Seong-kon] The April 2024 election will decide our future
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Seoul’s bus union prepares for strike
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[Hello India] Corporate Korea sees new growth drivers in India
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[Newsmaker] Conservatives push agenda at NHK
TOKYO (AP) ― Minutes of a recent governing board meeting of Japan’s public broadcaster NHK seem to back up suspicions that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, despite his denials, is trying to use Japan’s news giant to promote his nationalist agenda.The minutes, posted on NHK’s website but not widely reported, show conservatives appointed to the board by Abe voicing their opinion on coverage at the Jan. 14 meeting.One of the four new members favored by Abe proposed that NHK should do more to educate the
World NewsFeb. 9, 2014
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[Newsmaker] Questions hang over Park’s new spokesman
Selecting a talented, problem-free aide is not President Park Geun-hye’s strong suit. Take, for example, her former presidential spokespeople, one of whom she helplessly fired amid embarrassing sexual harassment allegations toward a female intern. Her latest choice for the post is also being put to the test. At the center of the disputes is Min Kyung-wook, former reporter at Korean Broadcasting System, who accepted the presidential spokesman post on Wednesday. Min, who raised his public profile
PoliticsFeb. 6, 2014
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[Newsmaker] Cloud computing chief to head Microsoft
LOS ANGELES (AP) ― As longtime Microsoft insider Satya Nadella becomes the company’s CEO, he is declaring a new focus on a “mobile-first, cloud-first world.” So far, he only has the latter half of the formula figured out.Microsoft is trying to catch rivals such as Apple, Google and Amazon, which are building a thriving ecosystem for mobile devices. At the same time, the company wants to expand its business as a provider of software and services over the Internet.Nadella, the Indian-born head of
World BusinessFeb. 5, 2014
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[Newsmaker] Limbo looms for Thailand after election
BANGKOK (AFP) ― Thailand’s protest-plagued elections have ushered in a new chapter of political uncertainty that experts say leaves the embattled government increasingly vulnerable to court intervention or a military coup.Millions were denied the opportunity to cast ballots on Sunday, with blockades by protesters seeking to prevent the reelection of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra causing the closure of some 10 percent of polling stations.Hundreds of antigovernment demonstrators took to the s
World NewsFeb. 4, 2014
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[Newsmaker] LG Uplus rises on LTE leadership
LG Uplus was always the smallest and branded the worst telecommunication service provider that stood in the shadows of SK Telecom and KT.Feature phones carried by LG Uplus did not work especially in provincial areas, and its fiber optic broadband was weak compared to its rivals, leading many a consumer to shun its services.Just when it was struggling to find the next big thing that could help the company surpass the formidable No. 2 KT, if not SKT, LG Uplus headed by CEO Lee Sang-chul pounced on
TechnologyFeb. 3, 2014
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[Newsmaker] Bernanke: Final chapter yet to be written
WASHINGTON (AP) ― Ben Bernanke on Friday closed the door on a precedent-breaking eight years as chairman of the Federal Reserve.Bernanke took office on Feb. 1, 2006, more the shy Princeton professor than a likely combatant in Washington’s knock-down political culture, though he had served on the Fed’s board and for eight months as head of President George W. Bush’s Council of Economic Advisers.On his watch, the U.S. economy and financial system fell into their gravest crisis since the Great Depr
World NewsFeb. 2, 2014
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[Newsmaker] Samsung nixes hiring plan after backlash
Samsung Group, South Korea’s largest conglomerate, said Tuesday it would scrap its heavily criticized plan to introduce a new recruitment path that favors top-tier universities in Seoul.The new hiring method proposed by the country’s most preferred workplace would have allowed universities to recommend students as prospective applicants. Its purpose was to hire students with a wide variety of skills that are not demonstrated by traditional qualifications like English scores.The plan came under f
Social AffairsJan. 28, 2014
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[Newsmaker] Samsung, Hyundai vie for Gangnam site
A bidding war is heating up between the nation’s two top conglomerates Samsung and Hyundai as the two are seeking to secure an 80,000-square-meter site in the affluent district of Gangnam in southern Seoul. According to industry sources on Monday, Hyundai Motor Group has recently expressed its intention to acquire the lucrative property, which is currently owned by Korea Electric Power Corp. The Korean auto giant is said to be hoping to relocate its existing Yangjae headquarters to the site. Thi
IndustryJan. 27, 2014
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[Newsmaker] Can former chip guru save KT?
Time has come for Hwang Chang-gyu to prove his ability to overcome a crisis as he officially takes the helm at KT, Korea’s second largest mobile carrier, Monday.Faced with a lackluster earnings outlook and negative public image due to a corruption scandal concerning Hwang’s predecessor Lee Suk-chae, not to mention an overgrown bureaucracy, Hwang will be expected to roll up his sleeves as soon as he takes office to start fixing the mess with a solid business plan for the future.KT is currently fa
TechnologyJan. 26, 2014
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[Newsmaker] El-Erian’s departure surprises investors
When Mohamed El-Erian first told Bill Gross several weeks ago that he wanted to leave to “recharge the batteries,” the co-founder of Pacific Investment Management Co. was “shocked” and “discouraged.”El-Erian, 55, for years had been putting in long hours as the public face of Pimco next to Gross, appearing in the office as early as 5 a.m., speaking on national television throughout the day, and responding to messages well past regular working hours. Gross, battling record redemptions from his big
World BusinessJan. 23, 2014
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[Newsmaker] Chinese display makers catching up fast
Dominance is shifting in the global display market as Chinese companies are fast emerging to challenge Korea’s giants in advanced technology.Korea’s liquid crystal display panels in terms of global output and shipment saw their market share slide from 48.9 percent in 2010 to 48.8 percent in 2013.The share taken up by the Chinese players, meanwhile, jumped from 4.7 percent to 12.5 percent during the same period, according to DisplaySearch, a global display market researcher.This impact from the C
TechnologyJan. 22, 2014
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[Newsmaker] Korea-Japan tension rises over memorial
Tension is intensifying further in Northeast Asia after Japan protested the launch of new facilities devoted to a Korean independence fighter in China, triggering strong condemnation from Seoul. Tokyo’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga on Monday slammed the memorial hall that opened a day before to honor Ahn Jung-geun, who fatally shot Japan’s first Prime Minister Hirobumi Ito in Harbin in 1909 in protest against its colonial rule. Suga said Ahn was a “terrorist sentenced to death” for the
Foreign AffairsJan. 21, 2014
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[Newsmaker] Weak security for Korean credit cards
The country’s credit cards firms are facing their worst crisis on record with people rushing to cancel accounts following yet another massive data leak scandal.Data breaches of various scales have been uncovered recently and banks here have been raising their security measures to protect customers’ data. Yet, this time some of the major credit card firms, such as KB Kookmin Card, Nonghyup and Lotte Card, have fallen victim to data breaches. The prosecutors looking into the case announced that th
Jan. 20, 2014
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[Newsmaker] Honda’s historical justice gains momentum
U.S. lawmaker Mike Honda’s push for historical justice gained greater momentum last week with the passage of a spending bill that included a provision pressuring Japan to apologize for its wartime sexual enslavement of Asian women.Albeit nonbinding, the provision brought fresh international attention to the women whose human dignity was trampled as they were forced to serve at frontline brothels by Japan’s Imperial Army during World War II.President Barack Obama signed the bill for the fiscal ye
PoliticsJan. 19, 2014
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[Newsmaker] Feud rages over local election rules
The political arena is swamped by talk of June 4 local elections, but the political parties continue to bicker over one of its most basic rules. Abolishing party nominations for candidates for provincial governments and councils was central to President Park Geun-hye’s political reform pledge. The system was introduced in 2006 as part of political reform measures. However, it has since been abused leading to numerous cases of corruption and other irregularities. The ruling Saenuri Party, however
PoliticsJan. 16, 2014
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[Newsmaker] Sunshine Policy DP’s bone of contention
The main opposition Democratic Party’s North Korean policy is under the spotlight following party chairman Rep. Kim Han-gil’s mention of a new policy on relations with Pyongyang. On Monday, Kim said that his party would draw up a North Korean policy centered on “national unity,” saying that the issue should no longer divide the nation. The progressive bloc has preferred engaging North Korea, while conservatives have criticized such policies as pandering to the communist state. His comments promp
PoliticsJan. 15, 2014
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[Newsmaker] France’s Hollande hits new bump
PARIS (AP) ― A sex scandal is the last thing France’s president needs.Three-quarters of the French already think Francois Hollande is doing a lousy job of running the world’s No. 5 economy. And now a big policy address Tuesday is sure to be overshadowed by personal troubles so awkward that even the famously blase French can’t ignore them.His first lady, journalist Valerie Trierweiler, is hospitalized because of a tabloid report that Hollande is having an affair with a somewhat recognizable Frenc
World NewsJan. 14, 2014
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[Newsmaker] Yeom to become Korea’s third cardinal
Seoul Archbishop Yeom Soo-jung will be the third Korean to become a cardinal ― the second-most senior position in the Roman Catholic Church after the pope. Yet, he will be the only representative of Korea in the case of a conclave, a convention of cardinals younger than 80 for electing a new pope.Korea’s first cardinal, Stephen Kim Sou-hwan, died in 2009, and its second Cardinal Nicolas Cheong Jin-suk is over 80, the canonical retirement age. “We believe that (Yeom’s appointment) is a blessing f
PeopleJan. 13, 2014
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[Newsmaker] Sharon: Controversial, ruthless ‘Bulldozer’
JERUSALEM (AFP) ― Ariel Sharon, who died on Saturday aged 85, was one of Israel’s most skilled but controversial political and military leaders, whose ruthless methods earned him the moniker “The Bulldozer.”The veteran soldier fought in all of Israel’s major wars before embarking on a turbulent political career in 1973 which ended dramatically in January 2006 when he suffered a massive stroke and subsequent coma, from which he never recovered. Long considered a pariah for his personal but “indir
World NewsJan. 12, 2014
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[Newsmaker] Ideology dominates textbook dispute
The dispute over a local history textbook is turning into an ideological war as lawmakers locked horns over reinstating a government textbook.Lawmakers from the main opposition Democratic Party condemned the ruling Saenuri Party’s proposal to bring back the state textbook system. Saenuri leaders had stressed the need for a single textbook in order to avoid disputes over historical accuracy such as the latest one surrounding the history textbook by Kyohak Publishing Co.“Don’t even think about it,
NationalJan. 9, 2014