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 team develops graphene-utilized solution to collecting spilled oil
Korean scientists have developed a vessel made of the new material graphene that can bring about an important yet basic solution to tackling pollution-causing oil spills, they said Tuesday.A team of researchers from Seoul National University, led by the school's mechanical and aerospace engineering professor Kim Yong-hyup, devised the autonomous graphene vessel for suctioning and storing the liquid body of spilled oil. Graphene (123RF)Graphene, a thin layer of pure carbon, is known as a wonder
TechnologyApril 12, 2016
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KEB Hana, Woori chosen as won clearing house in China
The Bank of Korea said Tuesday that it has appointed branches of KEB Hana Bank and Woori Bank in Shanghai, China, as clearing houses for won-yuan direct trading when the market opens. The envisioned currency market in Shanghai, scheduled to launch within the first half of this year, is Korea’s maiden step to allow offshore trading of its currency. China is Korea’s biggest trading partner, accounting for some 25 percent of its exports. Hana Financial Group (Yonhap)In Seoul, the won-yuan market op
April 12, 2016
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Franchise coffee shops hit by cheap coffee amid economic slowdown
Major franchise coffee shops in Korea saw their revenue fall in 2015 in the face of tougher competition with cheap take-out coffee amid economic slowdown, heading to another tough year, data showed Tuesday.Homegrown coffee brands have sprung up in Asia's fourth-largest economy over the past decade to capitalize on the growing population of coffee drinkers, but their growth has slowed recently in the saturated domestic market. Adding to their woes, low-cost coffees at convenience stores and mini
IndustryApril 12, 2016
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Song Hye-kyo rejects Mitsubishi offer
Actress Song Hye-kyo has turned down an offer from Japan’s Mitsubishi Motors to be a model in its advertisements, public relations company Shall We Talk said Monday. Song rejected the offer to endorse the company in China about a month ago, added the PR Company. The actress is reported to have said that she rejected the offer as Mitsubishi Group is involved in lawsuits over the alleged use of Korean forced labor during Japan’s colonial rule over Korea. Actress Song Hye-kyo stars in the KBS2 hit
TelevisionApril 12, 2016
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Mutual growth through partnership between public and private sectors
With a sluggish economy and growing tension on the Korean Peninsula, the beleaguered government is desperately trying to seek a “breakthrough.” We cannot smoothly exit the current situation without taking any initiatives, just as we had surmounted past trials. For instance, construction and engineering companies have been suffering dues to losses from overseas projects and decreasing market share due to the curtailed or suspended number of oil and gas projects after the oil price drop in recent
IndustryApril 12, 2016
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[Market Now] Hong Kong’s Seven Star Works to issue new shares
Seven Star Works, a KOSDAQ-listed broadcasting equipment maker, said that it will issue new shares worth about 8 billion won ($7 million) to four individuals and an investment fund.The company, whose majority shareholder is Hong Kong-based Sun Seven Stars Hong Kong Cultural Development, plans to issue 606,057 new shares at 13,200 won per share. Acquirers of Seven Star Works’ new shares are required to hold onto the shares for at least a year.Seven Star Works said in its disclosure report that th
April 12, 2016
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Song Joong-ki models for cosmetics brand
Top star Song Joong-ki has been selected as the new model for local cosmetics brand “Forencos,” the actor’s agency Blossom Entertainment announced Tuesday. “Forencos,” an eco-friendly cosmetics brand established in 1988, uses natural ingredients in skin care and makeup products, with herbs and flower extracts. The cosmetics brand picked Song for his image of innocence and honesty, and the flawless image built through his KBS2 hit TV drama series “Descendants of the Sun,” which perfectly suits th
TelevisionApril 12, 2016
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[Market Now] Lotte Capital extends loans to Lotte Chilsung’s BaekHak
BaekHak Beverage, a privately held bottle water company of Lotte Chilsung Beverage, said that it has borrowed 13 billion won ($11.3 million) from Lotte Capital.With an annual interest rate of 3 percent, the loan is due in April 2017. BaekHak said in a regulatory filing that the inter-affiliate loan is an extension of its previous loan from Lotte Capital.Lotte Chilsung Beverage, a soda giant of Lotte Group, has an 86.06 percent in BaekHak, while the Military Mutual Aid Association, a pension for
April 12, 2016
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[Market Now] Dong-Ah Geological secures orders for Samsung C&T’s subway construction
Dong-Ah Geological Engineering, a listed tunnel construction company, has secured a contract to provide tunnel excavation services to Samsung C&T for the construction of the third phase of Seoul Subway Line No. 9.Dong-Ah will be using its shield tunnel boring machine method for the No. 9 subway tunnel construction under the contract worth about 10.7 billion won ($9.35 million), or about 4 percent of the company’s sales, according to a regulatory filing. The company is obligated to carry out the
April 12, 2016
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Ta-Nehisi Coates wins PEN award
NEW YORK (AP) -- National Book Award winner Ta-Nehisi Coates has received another honor, an essay award from PEN. Coates' “Between the World and Me” is an open letter to his son about race and police violence. It’s the winner of the $10,000 PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay. It won the National Book Award last fall. Mia Alvar has won a PEN prize for best debut fiction. Alvar received the $20,000 PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for “In the Country,” a story collection about F
BooksApril 12, 2016
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Holy Bible on list of 'challenged' books at libraries
NEW YORK (AP) -- On the latest list of books most objected to at public schools and libraries, one title has been targeted nationwide, at times for the sex and violence it contains, but mostly for the legal issues it raises. The Bible "You have people who feel that if a school library buys a copy of the Bible, it's a violation of church and state," says James LaRue, who directs the Office for Intellectual Freedom for the American Library Association, which released its annual 10 top snapshot of
BooksApril 12, 2016
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The body, animals and deities: Mayan art on show in Berlin
BERLIN (AP) -- Sculptures celebrating the human body, precious jewelry, animals from frogs to jaguars and depictions of deities are going on show in Berlin in an exhibition that offers a glimpse of centuries of Mayan art. The exhibition, “The Maya - Language of Beauty,” features some 300 artworks spanning around a millennium up to the arrival of Spanish colonial rulers after 1500. The presidents of Mexico and Germany are opening the show at the German capital's Martin-Gropius-Bau museum on Monda
CultureApril 12, 2016
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Kakao to raise 250 bil. won in convertible bonds
Korea’s messaging app operator Kakao Corp. said it will raise 250 billion won ($219 million) in convertible bonds in a bid to pay back bridge loans taken earlier this year to fund an acquisition.In a public filing Monday, Kakao said the convertible bonds will come with a zero percent coupon rate maturing on April 14, 2021. The conversion price is set at 120,014 won per share and the conversion can be requested from April 14, 2017 to March 14, 2021, the company said.Earlier this month, Kakao borr
April 12, 2016
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Seoul markets to close on election day
Korea’s stock, bonds and foreign currency markets will be closed on Wednesday, as the nation goes to polls to elect members of the parliament. Korea Exchange said the one-day closure affects all the exchanges it operates in Seoul, including those for stocks, bonds, exchange-traded funds, foreign exchanges-linked derivatives and commodities like petroleum, gold and emissions. Clearing of over-the-counter derivatives will also halt for the day. The markets will resume Thursday. By Lee Sun-young (m
April 12, 2016
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'We Got Married' creates buzz, 'Descendants of the Sun' remains No. 1
Reality show "We Got Married" has finished in the top 10 shows that created the most buzz in the final week of March, data showed Tuesday.The MBC show in which celebrities act as newlyweds garnered 215.8 points in CPI, an index developed by the entertainment giant CJ E&M and media research company Nielsen Korea. It climbed 15 notches to finish in eighth place for the week of March 28-April 3.Actress Kim So-yeon and actor Kwak Si-yang form a couple, with Joy of the girl group Red Velvet and Sungj
TelevisionApril 12, 2016
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Int'l presidential forum kicks off in Seoul
Representatives of universities around the world began discussions on social responsibilities of higher education and global partnerships among academia Tuesday, the second day of the international presidential forum, organizers said.The 2016 International Presidential Forum on Global Research Universities (IPFGRU), hosted by the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), held an opening ceremony at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in central Seoul.On the second day of the three-day event,
Social AffairsApril 12, 2016
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Ineligible for Olympics, swimmer Park Tae-hwan undecided on entering nat'l team trials
Disgraced former Olympic swimming champion Park Tae-hwan remains undecided on entering the upcoming national team trials, after he has been ruled out of this year's Summer Games, his agency said Tuesday.Park has registered to compete in the men's 100m, 200m, 400m and 1,500m freestyle races at the 88th Dong-A Swimming Competition starting on April 25 in Gwangju, some 330 kilometers south of Seoul, according to the meet organizers.The competition will double as the second round of the national tea
More SportsApril 12, 2016
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Seoul, Washington committed to democracy in elections: Lippert
U.S. Ambassador to Seoul Mark Lippert said Tuesday that Seoul and Washington are firmly committed to democracy through elections, as South Koreans are set to cast their ballots to elect new lawmakers this week."One of our key issues in bilateral relationship is our shared commitment to democracy in the elections," Lippert said in a congratulatory speech to mark the start of the 2016 Seoul International Forum on Elections held in Seoul.South Koreans go to the polls Wednesday to elect 300 lawmaker
Social AffairsApril 12, 2016
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[Market Now] Dongbu Securities acquires Hyundai Card bonds
Hyundai Card said Tuesday that Dongbu Securities acquired all of its bonds worth 40 billion won ($34.9 million).The credit card joint venture of Hyundai Motor, Korea’s largest automaker, and GE Capital will use the proceeds to finance its operations, according to a regulatory filing. Dongbu Securities (Yonhap)Hyundai and Kia Motors have a combined 48 percent stake in Hyundai Card, while IGE USA Investments, an affiliate of GE Capital, has a 43 percent stake.With an annual interest rate of 2 perc
April 12, 2016
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Korea, U.S. to hold first nuclear energy committee meeting Thursday
South Korea and the U.S. will hold the first general meeting of their high-level committee, charged with enforcing a bilateral nuclear energy partnership accord, this week in Seoul, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.The inaugural session of the High Level Bilateral Commission will be held on Thursday, led by Second Vice Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall. Some 80 officials and experts on atomic energy policy from each side will attend the
Social AffairsApril 12, 2016