Most Popular
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NewJeans has few options after Ador rejects group's request to reinstate Min Hee-jin as CEO
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Seoul, Tokyo reboot joint maritime resource talks after 40-year freeze
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Host of Miss Korea apologizes for 'inappropriate question' about deepfake
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Panel decision put prosecution in dilemma over Dior bag case
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Korea to face another massive shortfall in tax revenue
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2025 Trend Forecast: Small details, new happiness trend amid sluggish economy
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Global drama stars gather for 2024 Seoul International Drama Awards
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SK hynix outpaces Samsung, Micron with more powerful AI chips
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Power of nostalgia brings K-pop legends back together
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North Korea unveiling uranium enrichment site a US election-conscious move: NIS
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One out of five elementary schools has less than 10 new students this year
One out of every five elementary schools in the country has less than 10 new students this year due to a decrease in the number of children, education ministry-related data showed Monday.According to the school information website under the ministry-affiliated Korea Education and Research Information Service, 1,395 elementary schools in the country accepted less than 10 first year students. This is equal to 22 percent of the 6,218 elementary schools checked. The drop is attributed to the low bir
Social AffairsJune 13, 2016
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Korean firm under probe for neglecting radiation safety
A South Korean presidential panel said Monday it has requested the country's law enforcement authorities to punish a local radiographic inspection firm for violating a law on nuclear safety.An employee at the firm's subcontractor was exposed to radiation in December while conducting a nondestructive radiation test alone at a chemical factory construction site in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, according to the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission.The man in his 20s, identified only by his surname
Social AffairsJune 13, 2016
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Number of blood donors jumps nearly 20% over 4 yrs
The number of blood donors in South Korea jumped nearly 20 percent over the past four years on the back of the rising participation of teenagers and twenty-somethings, the health ministry said Monday.About 3.08 million people donated blood last year, up 17.8 percent from 2.61 million tallied in 2011, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare.Out of the total contributors, 1.33 million people, or 43 percent, were in their 20s and 1.05 million, or 34 percent, were teens.Those in their 30s ac
TechnologyJune 13, 2016
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N. Korea shows slight signs of market economy in education
North Korea has been showing some signs of a rudimentary market economy in its education market as an increasing number of people pay for off-campus tutoring to have their children advance to higher schools, a report said Monday."We know that North Korea's education is based on equality and offered free of charge. But in reality, it appears in a different way," said the report by state-run think tank Korea Development Institute (KDI). "We can find some clues that the education market has been sl
North KoreaJune 13, 2016
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[Exclusive] Samsung Display doubles OLED shipments in Q1
[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Display’s shipments of organic-light emitting diode panels have more than doubled over the past year, as global smartphone manufacturers, including those in China, are increasingly adopting OLED displays. UBI Research, a local market research firm that specializes in OLED, estimates that Samsung’s OLED shipments have soared to about 86.7 million units in the first three months of this year. The research results were obtained exclusively by The Investor. Over the same perio
TechnologyJune 13, 2016
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ESMLab to enter U.S. and European markets
The video software company ESMLab announced Friday that it would be joining overseas markets as a continuation of its participation in the NAB Show 2016, an international broadcasting equipment expo that took place in Las Vegas in April. ESMLab CEO Jung Hong-su shared details of the company’s plans, saying, “We are currently conducting business negotiations with European, Chinese and Japanese companies, as well as American companies. By the latter half of this year, we expect to see the tangible
IndustryJune 13, 2016
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Online site reveals Korean Lotte's dividend payouts to Japan
Lotte Group affiliates in South Korea paid more than 180 billion won ($154 million) in dividends to their Japan-based sister companies over five years through 2015, a local corporate survey company said Monday.According to a report by Chaebul.com, an online business information provider, Lotte Holdings and other Lotte affiliates in Japan received a total of 183.24 billion won in dividend payouts from 2011 to 2015. Lotte Holdings is the de facto holding company for the retail-to-petrochemical co
IndustryJune 13, 2016
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Corporate tax hike shapes up as divisive issue
[THE INVESTOR] Whether to increase corporate taxes is shaping up as a key issue of contention between major political parties in the new parliament that began its inaugural session Monday.The chief policymaker of the liberal main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea last week reaffirmed the party would soon submit a tax code revision bill to raise the maximum corporate tax rate, which would be applied to companies with annual profits exceeding 50 billion won ($42.6 million), to 25 percent from the c
June 13, 2016
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Samsung Electro-Mechanics to launch IC packaging business
[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electro-Mechanics, an electronic parts affiliate of Samsung Group, is preparing to dive into the integrated circuit packaging industry, according to news reports on Monday.Joining hands with Samsung Electronics, a chip maker, the electronic components firm will likely plan to win new supply contracts of chips for smartphone makers, including U.S.-based Apple. Workers at Samsung Electronics’ chip assembly line in Xian, China, pose with the firm’s NAND flash memory wafer. (S
TechnologyJune 13, 2016
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Samsung SDS faces fierce opposition over split-off plan
A group of small investors intend to pay another visit to the head office of Samsung SDS, an information solutions business arm of Samsung Group, to protest the company’s planned split-off of its logistics solution business.Samsung SDS Small Investors’ Group said Monday that it would visit the firm on Tuesday afternoon to express its objection toward the proposed split-off plan.A man passes by Samsung SDS’ head office in Seoul. (Yonhap)“During the previous visit to the company, a Samsung SDS exe
TechnologyJune 13, 2016
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[DECODED: Mirae Asset] A reality check on ‘Korean IB’ dream
[THE INVESTOR] Global investment banking giants lament that their glory days are over. But for many Koreans, investment banking is still finance’s final frontier, all the more fascinating because it seems way beyond their reach. Park Hyeon-joo, arguably the most successful financier born in Korea, eyes Korea‘s presence in the world of investment bankers, from which existing players have been retreating. He aims to grow his Mirae Asset Financial Group into Asia’s leading investment bank. “I have
IndustryJune 13, 2016
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[DECODED: Mirae Asset] Mirae Asset under pressure to reform corporate governance
[THE INVESTOR] Park Hyeon-joo, the founder and chairman of Mirae Asset Financial Group, tells his fund managers and executives to think global, have a long term vision and always be the first mover in the market. Those principles, however, don’t seem to apply to his own ownership of the group. Mirae Asset is under increasing pressure to reform its corporate governance structure, the cost of which Park seems to think of as a potential drag on global expansion. Experts say Mirae Asset will
IndustryJune 13, 2016
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[DECODED: Mirae Asset] The dichotomy of Park Hyeon-joo
[THE INVESTOR] On the Monday after Christmas, Park Hyeon-joo took to the podium at the just-opened Four Seasons Hotel in Seoul, giving his first press conference in eight years. Mirae Asset Financial Group, which he founded in 1997 with 10 billion won ($8.4 million), had just won the hotly contested race to acquire control of KDB Daewoo Securities, a much bigger rival with a long proud legacy but a checkered recent history. With the 2.4 trillion-won buy, Park’s biggest bet so far, the man who w
IndustryJune 13, 2016
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U.S. nuclear-powered submarine, USS Mississippi, arrives in Busan port
The USS Mississippi (SSN-782), a nuclear reactor-powered United States submarine, entered the port of Busan on Monday as part of the vessel’s maiden voyage to the Asian region, the U.S. military said Monday.The 7,800-ton Virginia-class attack submarine is one of the U.S. Navy's newest vessels, having started its mission with the U.S. Pacific Fleet in June 2012. "With a crew of approximately 141 sailors, the Mississippi will conduct a multitude of missions while maintaining proficiency of the lat
DefenseJune 13, 2016
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Myanmar's farming minister to discuss quarantine regulations
A top Myanmarese agriculture policymaker will visit South Korea later this month to possibly discuss Seoul's quarantine regulations often cited as a hurdle for its exports of mangoes and other fruits, officials here said.Aung Thu, Myanmar's farming, livestock and irrigation minister, is scheduled to visit South Korea from June 27-July 2. This will mark the first time for the minister to travel overseas since his inauguration earlier this year, they said.His itinerary includes attending a forum h
Foreign AffairsJune 13, 2016
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Korea's foreign currency deposits shrink in May
Foreign currency deposits at banks in South Korea dropped sharply in May from a month earlier on a large decline in dollar-denominated deposits, central bank data showed Monday.Outstanding foreign currency deposits held by local residents came to $56.85 billion as of end-May, down $5.19 billion from a month earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea.The May tally also marks the lowest level in three months.The drop was largely attributed to a cut in U.S. dollar deposits."Dollar deposi
June 13, 2016
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KOICA launches construction of post-harvest research institute in Myanmar
A major South Korean aid organization has begun constructing a research center in Myanmar dedicated to studying "post-harvest" techniques as the country is seeking to improve its relatively low productivity in the farming industry.The ground broke for the Post-Harvest Research Institute on June 6 in a small town located in Myanmar's capital city of Naypyidaw. Construction is expected to be completed within 12-14 months, according to the Korea International Cooperation Agency.The institute will b
InternationalJune 13, 2016
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Defense Minister Han to visit France to up pressure on N. Korea
South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo will visit France this week as part of an ongoing effort by Seoul to increase pressure on North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program, the defense ministry said Monday.Han will travel to France from Tuesday to Thursday to meet his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian in order to discuss the two countries' joint efforts to pressure the North as well as ways to expand bilateral defense cooperation measures, the ministry said.Both South Korea and Fr
DefenseJune 13, 2016
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'The Jungle Book' soars to No. 1 in Korean box office
"The Jungle Book," an American film, ascended to the top of the domestic box office on its debut weekend, data showed Monday.Disney's adventure drama amassed 771,793 viewers on June 10-12, according to computerized box office figures from the Korean Film Council.Based on British author Rudyard Kipling's timeless namesake story, the film cost $175 million to produce."Warcraft: The Beginning," adapted from the video game of the same name, came in second place with 555,356 in attendance.The America
FilmJune 13, 2016