Most Popular
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Who's lying? Hybe vs. Min conflict continues to intensify
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Seoul should engage Kim Jong-un’s elites for change, ex-North Korean diplomat says
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Thousands rally in Seoul to call for Yoon's resignation
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Most teen sex offenders get away with slap on wrist
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FM champions multilateralism, stresses S. Korea's vision as 'global pivotal state'
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Man sentenced to 1 year, 8 months for stealing from elementary school classrooms
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Same-sex couple denied insurance clearance despite landmark ruling
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Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is killed in Beirut strike, Israel's military says
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Panmunjom tours for select Korean nationals may resume in October
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Suicide attempts spike among youth in Korea
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Korean retailers boosted by resurgence of Chinese travelers
Korean retailers saw a sharp surge in sales from Chinese travelers who have flocked back this year to popular shopping districts here, fully recovering from last year's slump stemming from the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), industry officials said Thursday. Local department stores and duty-free shops had sluggish business last year after the MERS outbreak in May dropped the number of foreign travelers, especially from China. Sales have gradually recovered since late 2015, and they gain
IndustryApril 14, 2016
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Samsung boasts strongest mobile security solution
Tech giant Samsung Electronics’ mobile security solution KNOX has received the highest score among security solutions for mobile operating systems in a series of tests, surpassing rivals including Apple.Samsung received the highest “strong,” rating in market research firm Gartner’s annual report released last week. It assesses 12 mobile security solutions across more than 20 categories including encryption management, authentication methods, and OS updates. A Galaxy S7 user initiates Samsung Ele
TechnologyApril 14, 2016
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Korea's home transactions plunge in March
Korea's home sales plunged 30.4 percent last month from a year earlier amid some signs of a slowdown in the local property market, government data showed Thursday.The number of home transactions reached 77,853 in March compared with a record 111,869 tallied a year ago, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Apartment complex in Seoul (Yonhap)It also marked a 9.9 percent drop from a five-year average of 86,000, while it jumped 31.4 percent from the previ
April 14, 2016
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Biggest ‘flea market’ to open at Lotte Premium Outlet
Lotte Department Store will host a giant flea market at Icheon, Gyeonggi Province’s Lotte Premium Outlet on Saturday and Sunday, coinciding with its “Black Shopping Day” sales.According to LDS, this will be the biggest flea market to be organized by a corporation to date in terms of area and the number of participants -- 300 sellers in a 5,000-square-meter space.(Lotte Department Store)Apart from popular local foods and individual collections and handcrafted art, belongings of hallyu stars such
CultureApril 14, 2016
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Foreign cigarettes to be sold on Korean military bases for first time
Foreign cigarette brands will soon be sold in post exchange stores on Korean military bases for the first time.Among the four new cigarette lines that were approved for sale in PX stores next year, two were foreign brands. They are Marlboro Gold Original by the American company Philip Morris, and Mevius LSS Wind Blue by Japanese maker JTI, according to sources at the Defense Ministry. “We welcome the decision,” a spokeswoman for Philip Morris told The Korea Herald. “We believe that this will giv
IndustryApril 14, 2016
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MBK pushes for sale and leaseback of Homeplus
MBK Partners, a Seoul-based private equity fund, is pushing to sell some Homeplus stores and lease them back to help repay its debts that are nearing maturity, industry sources said Thursday. In October last year, MBK bought Homeplus, the Korean unit of British retail giant Tesco, for 7.2 trillion won ($6.3 billion). To deal with near-term maturities, MBK has chosen Standard Chartered Bank Korea as the lead manager for the leaseback arrangement of Homeplus, South Korea’s No. 2 discount retail ch
IndustryApril 14, 2016
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[Photo News] Samsung quantum-dot TV debuts in U.S.
SAMSUNG QUANTUM-DOT TV DEBUTS IN U.S. -- Visitors look at Samsung Electronics’ second-generation SUHD TVs at the launch event held Tuesday at the company’s Marketing Center of Excellence in New York. Based on Samsung’s quantum-dot technology, the new models offer more accurate and vibrant picture quality compared to traditional liquid crystal display TVs. (Samsung Electronics)
TechnologyApril 14, 2016
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Luxury German car sales hit record high of W8.8tr in 2015
Sales of three luxury German carmakers -- Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi --set a record high of 8.8 trillion won ($7.6 billion) in sales last year, exceeding the combined figures of three smaller Korean automakers, excluding Hyundai and Kia, company data showed Thursday. Among foreign car brands here, sales of Mercedes-Benz were tops last year, soaring up to a record high of 3.1 trillion won in 2015, a 42.5 percent increase from a year ago.BMW and Audi followed with a 2.88 trillion won and 2.8 tril
MobilityApril 14, 2016
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[Market Now] Webzen shares up on board chairman’s election win
Shares in Webzen, a local online game developer, were trading higher on Thursday morning on the victory of its former CEO and current board chairman in Wednesday’s parliamentary election. Kim Byung-kwan, a veteran game entrepreneur who ran Webzen as CEO until June 2012, won a parliamentary seat on the ticket of the main opposition party, becoming the first game-industry figure ever to enter the 300-member National Assembly. During his campaign, Kim said, if elected, he would push to ease regulat
April 14, 2016
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N.K. appears preparing for mid-range ballistic missile launch
North Korea has deployed one or two Musudan mid-range ballistic missiles to near the eastern port city of Wonsan for a possible launch to mark its founding father's birthday this week, government sources said Thursday. (Yonhap)"North Korea has been detected to have deployed a Musudan missile(s) in the vicinity of Wonsan's Hodo Peninsula," one source told Yonhap News Agency."After deploying them some 20 days ago, the North has not withdrawn them," the source said. "Given the fact, North Korea is
North KoreaApril 14, 2016
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[Market Now] AhnLab shares up on founder’s election victory
Shares in AhnLab, a security software provider, rallied on the Seoul bourse on Thursday morning, buoyed by a boost in political fortunes of its founder Ahn Cheol-soo in Wednesday’s elections. As of 10:35 a.m., the shares were trading at 74,100 won, 5.41 percent higher than the previous close. Ahn Cheol-soo (Yonhap)Ahn, a doctor, venture entrepreneur-turned politician, is the largest shareholder in the firm, with an 18.57 percent stake. His People’s Party has emerged as the third-largest negotia
April 14, 2016
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GS Holdings posts top per-capita income in 2015
GS Holdings Corp. posted the largest per-capita operating income among the country‘s large businesses on a second straight year in 2015, data showed Thursday.The operating income per employee at the GS Group holding company averaged 5.56 billion won ($4.82 million) last year, the highest among 274 subsidiaries of the nation‘s top 30 business groups, according to data by financial information provider FnGuide.The figure, however, was down from the per-capita operating income of 8.45 billion won t
IndustryApril 14, 2016
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Korean novelist Han Kang shortlisted for 2016 Man Booker Int'l Prize
South Korean fiction writer Han Kang has been shortlisted for the 2016 Man Booker International Prize.Han's "The Vegetarian," translated by Deborah Smith, is among the six books contending for the 2016 prize, the organizer announced on its website Thursday. "The story of a Korean woman who awakens from uneasy dreams to find herself transformed into an enigma without a key. Evocative and suggestive, 'The Vegetarian' startles for the depth of its strangeness," the organizer said. Critically acclai
PeopleApril 14, 2016
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Parliamentary election result to realign rival parties
The 2016 parliamentary elections results highlighted the dynamic nature of South Korean politics as some candidates solidified their images as competent presidential candidates while several veteran politicians find themselves sidestepped from contention.In Seoul's Nowon district, Ahn Cheol-soo, co-chairman of the splinter People's Party and a potential presidential hopeful, defeated rival Lee Jun-seok of the ruling Saenuri Party with 52 percent of the vote against his rivals 31 percent, accordi
PoliticsApril 14, 2016
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Doosan eyes China’s nuclear plant O&M market
Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction, the biggest affiliate of industrial giant Doosan Group, said Thursday it has signed a memorandum of understanding with state-run China Nuclear Industry Maintenance Company in its efforts to enter China’s operations and maintenance market.The Chinese partner is the biggest O&M service provider for nuclear power plants in China. It offers its O&M services to 30 nuclear plants nationwide in China, Doosan added. Doosan has sharpened its global competitiveness
IndustryApril 14, 2016
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[Market Now] Pulmuone denies sale of treasury stocks
Korea’s top tofu maker Pulmuone on Thursday denied a local report that it was preparing to unload its treasury stocks in order to secure cash. “We’re not preparing any sale of treasury stocks. The report is groundless,” the Seoul-based firm said in a filing. Pulmuone holds 2.23 percent of its total outstanding shares on Korea’s main stock exchange KOSPI. They were worth about 15 billion won as of the previous trading day’s close. In 2015, the company reported a 40.6 percent drop in its consolida
April 14, 2016
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Samsung SDI to spend W1tr on EV battery business
Samsung SDI Co. said Thursday that it plans to make about 1 trillion won ($875 million) facilities investmetn this year including those required for its electric vehicle battery business.Samsung SDI, the chemical unit of Samsung, said it plans to spend 975 billion won this year to expand its facility, up from last year’s 682 billion won.Samsung SDI runs two EV battery plants, in South Korea and China. The company currently manufactures components sufficient to produce batteries for 200,000 elect
IndustryApril 14, 2016
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POSCO shares rebound on foreign buying
Foreign ownership in POSCO, the country’s No. 1 steelmaker by sales, rose the most in recent months among the top 20 stocks in terms of market capitalization, causing a spike in the company’s share prices.Foreign shareholdings of the steel giant jumped to 49.32 percent as of April 11 from 47.28 percent at the end of December, according to the Korea Exchange on Thursday. The figures marked the largest gain among the top 20 market cap stocks, said the Korea Exchange. During the cited period, POSCO
IndustryApril 14, 2016
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Saenuri Party leader Kim Moo-sung offers to step down over election debacle
Saenuri Party leader Rep. Kim Moo-sung offered to step down on Thursday, taking responsibility for a crushing defeat in Wednesday's elections seen as a crucial litmus test of voter sentiment ahead of next year's presidential election."I will resign as the party leader to take responsibility for the resounding defeat in the general elections for the 20th National Assembly," he said during a ceremony marking the disbandment of the party's election campaign committee."People rendered their judgment
PoliticsApril 14, 2016
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KOSPI opens higher on strong Chinese data
South Korean share prices started higher Thursday on the back of China’s strong trade data and gains on Wall Street.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 23.76 points, or 1.20 percent, to 2,005.08 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Traders monitor Seoul share prices at a local bank. (Yonhap)Market heavyweights such as Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor and POSCO were all higher in early morning trading. Analysts said investor sentiment rose after China said on Wednesday that its
April 14, 2016