Most Popular
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[Online Predators] Online reviews of sex tourism in Southeast Asia proliferate
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Man arrested 16 years after murdering girlfriend, hiding body in cement
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Pikki Pikki dance: Korean cheerleader dance routine takes social media by storm
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Middle East’s big AI push lures Korean tech firms
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[Herald Review] 'Culinary Class Wars': fresh, creative survival show minus the drama
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[Exclusive] Democratic Party of Korea forms US election task force
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[Grace Kao] NewJeans fights Hybe for their survival
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NK nuclear test 'possible' around US election in Nov., says Yoon aide
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[News Focus] Ex-Moon aide slammed from both sides over remarks on leaving Koreas divided
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What will Yoon, Han talk about at dinner?
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Bizmen calls for gov't support for joint tour project investment loss
A group of South Korean businessmen on Monday called on the government to further compensate their losses over the investments made in the now-halted inter-Korean tour program ahead of the eighth anniversary of the project's suspension.The local businessmen who poured money into the joint tour program at Mount Kumgang on the North's east coast should get financial compensation following Seoul's decision on July 12, 2008.The government took such a step after a North Korean soldier shot and killed
IndustryJuly 11, 2016
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THAAD deployment decided as part of 'self-defense' efforts: foreign minister
The recent decision by South Korea and the United States to deploy an advanced missile defense system on the peninsula is part of "self-defense" efforts against evolving nuclear and missile threats from North Korea, Seoul's top diplomat said Monday.Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se also said in his speech at the National Assembly that the country will take every possible measure in the face of the North's continued pursuit of weapons of mass destruction. "At a time when the North is upgrading its nu
DefenseJuly 11, 2016
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Volume of damaged banknotes shrinks in H1
Both the volume and face value of damaged banknotes found in the first half of the year dropped from six months earlier, the central bank said Monday.In the January-June period, the face value of damaged banknotes exchanged at local banks, including the Bank of Korea, came to 1.51 trillion won ($1.31 billion), down 8.8 percent from the second half of 2015, according to the BOK.They will still cost tens of billions of won to be replaced, one of the reasons for the central bank's ongoing feasibili
July 11, 2016
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Political parties divided over diplomatic impact of THAAD deployment
South Korea's ruling and opposition parties remained divided over the latest decision to deploy an advanced U.S. missile defense system in the country, with smaller parties expressing concerns over diplomatic fallouts with China and Russia, political pundits said Monday.Last week, Seoul and Washington agreed to station the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system in South Korea to better counter Pyongyang's ever-growing missile threats. Moscow and Beijing have been opposing the move, claiming
Foreign AffairsJuly 11, 2016
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Seoul to resume Woori Bank sale process in Q3: sources
South Korea will resume the process of selling its majority stake in Woori Bank in the third quarter to help recover public funds after four failed attempts to privatize the state bank since 2010, people familiar with the matter said Monday. In a meeting held last week, the public funds management committee under the Financial Services Commission reconfirmed the government's stance to privatize Woori Bank and retrieve public money injected into the bank during the 1997 Asian financial crisis, a
July 11, 2016
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Korea approves CHA University's embryonic stem cell research
South Korea has approved CHA University's embryonic stem cell research seven years after it submitted the plan, on condition that it abides by high ethical standards, the government said Monday. The Ministry of Health and Welfare said it allowed the research team led by Prof. Lee Dong-ryul to use 600 egg cells in the next five years for the purpose of developing rare disease treatments. The ministry said the conditional approval requires the research team to abide by regulations on collection of
TechnologyJuly 11, 2016
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U.N. panel to visit Seoul to discuss N.K. sanctions
A U.N. panel monitoring the implementation of sanctions on North Korea will visit South Korea this week to discuss nuclear and missile threats from the communist country, government sources said Monday. The panel will be in the country from Monday until Friday and hold meetings with key policymakers on a wide range of issues related to the North, according to the sources familiar with diplomatic matters.It is tasked with monitoring implementation of sanctions imposed on the North by the U.N. to
North KoreaJuly 11, 2016
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Korea to toughen punishment against illegal fishing
South Korea said Monday that it will strengthen punishment against illegal fishing by Chinese boats as part of the nationwide crackdown efforts on the issue during the busy crab season.Chinese fishing boats trespassing into Korean waters and sweeping fisheries have been an outstanding problem during the mid-year season, causing serious damage to the South Korean fishermen's operations around the northern sea border area, called Northern Limit Line, where the Chinese fishermen use hit-and-run ta
Social AffairsJuly 11, 2016
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Park strongly defends THAAD deployment decision
President Park Geun-hye on Monday mounted a strong defense of the recent decision by South Korea and the U.S. to station an advanced antimissile system here, stressing it won't undermine the security interests of any third-party countries.Park also underscored that the decision to station a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system in South Korea is a "purely defense measure" to cope with growing nuclear and missile threats from a provocative North Korea.After some five months of consultations,
DefenseJuly 11, 2016
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Police clear JYJ's Park from sexual assault allegations
Police on Monday said they concluded Park Yu-chun, the scandal-ridden member of K-pop boy band JYJ, is clear of sexual assault allegations, saying it is hard to acknowledge that there was coercion involved.The 30-year-old actor-singer has been mired in a scandal as four different women, all working at local bars, lodged complaints against him last month, claiming they were raped by him. One of the cases dates back to 2014, while the latest allegedly occurred in June."Based on what we have found
TelevisionJuly 11, 2016
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Human embryo research to resume in S. Korea
[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s Cha University has been granted conditional permit to carry out research using human embryos, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said on July 11. The research will be carried out using somatic cell nuclear transfer method. The method transfers the nucleus, which contains the majority of human genetic information, from a somatic cell into an ovum whose nucleus has been removed. Pixabay.comThis is the first time research using human embryos has been permitted in Korea
IndustryJuly 11, 2016
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[ANALYST REPORT] Tougher environmental regulations credit negative for KEPCO, subsidiaries
On July 5, the Korean government raised the minimum amount of electricity that generation companies should produce from renewable sources to 5 percent of each generator’s annual output for 2018, 6 percent for 2019 and 7 percent for 2020, a 0.5-1.0 percentage-point increase from its previous targets under the Renewable Portfolio Standard. The government also said that it aims to boost generators’ direct sales of renewable-sourced electricity to residential and industrial consumers. These initiati
July 11, 2016
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[ANALYST REPORT] Korea’s growth to benefit from strong FDI
On July 4, Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that foreign direct investment commitments in the first six months of this year increased by 18.6 percent from a year earlier to $10.5 billion, equal to 0.8 percent of 2015 GDP. This is credit positive for Korea (Aa2 stable) because, combined with government initiatives to restructure the Korean economy, these commitments will support economic growth, which has been negatively affected by dampened global demand. Total FDI commit
July 11, 2016
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July exports bode ill for S. Korea’s trade
[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s July exports so far have plunged 21.6 percent from a year ago, fueling worries that exports will continue to spiral in the second half of the year. According to the Korea Customs Service, exports between July 1 and July 10 came in at about US$ 10.35 billion, down 21.6 percent compared to the same period last year. From Jan. 1 to July 10, the country’s exports dropped 10.5 percent from a year ago to come in at US$ 252.1 billion. Until June, South Korea’s monthly expor
July 11, 2016
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NPS picks BlackRock, GCM Grosvenor to manage hedge funds
[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s National Pension Service -- the world’s third-largest public pension fund -- has selected Blackrock and GCM Grosvenor as general partners for managing 1 trillion won worth of hedge funds.This is 0.2 percent of the 500 trillion won (US$428.2 billion) of NPS’ assets under management. BlackRock is the world’s largest asset management firm that more than US$ 4.65 trillion AUM. GCM has invested over US$45 billion in hedge funds, private equity, real estate and infrastruct
July 11, 2016
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Up to 60% of Volkswagen cars to be kicked out of Korea
[THE INVESTOR] South Korean authorities announced July 11 that they will cancel the registration and suspend sales of all Volkswagen vehicles here that cheated on emission tests.The amount is expected to reach up to 60 percent of the total 250,000 units of VW cars that were sold in South Korea since 2007. Due to the staggering number, some industry watchers say the move may be designed to eventually kick the brand out of the market for good. The Ministry of Environment said the Seoul Central Di
MobilityJuly 11, 2016
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Panasonic dismisses Samsung, LG as viable suppliers for Tesla
[THE INVESTOR] Korean firms Samsung SDI and LG Chem are unlikely to supply batteries for US-based Telsa’s electric cars any time soon, as Panasonic will continue being the exclusive supplier, according to an executive at the Japanese firm.Kenji Tamura, the head of Panasonic’s energy business, said in a recent interview with Japanese reporters that he is “confident,” that Panasonic would keep the exclusive contract with the US partner.Tesla Model 3This is because as Panasonic, the sole battery su
TechnologyJuly 11, 2016