Most Popular
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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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Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is killed in Beirut strike, Israel's military says
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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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Suicide attempts spike among youth in Korea
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[Weekender] How Seongsu, once an industrial zone, has become ‘Seoul’s Brooklyn’
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Panmunjom tours for select Korean nationals may resume in October
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Delta Air Lines to launch new Incheon-Salt Lake City route in June next year
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Korea's FX reserves jump over $4 bln in March
Korea's foreign exchange reserves grew from a month earlier in March partly on an increase in the dollar-denominated value of non U.S. dollar assets, the central bank said Tuesday.The country's foreign exchange reserves came to $369.84 billion as of end-March, up 4.08 billion from $365.76 billion a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). Bank of Korea (Yonhap)The on-month rise marked a turnaround from four consecutive months of drop.Foreign exchange reserves consist of securities an
April 5, 2016
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Hyundai, Kia see China sales drop in March but downward pace slows: data
Korea's top two carmakers--Hyundai Motor and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors-- saw their sales in China decline in March, but the downward pace slowed significantly, showing signs of a possible rebound from a long-haul slump, company data showed Tuesday.The two companies sold a combined 148,599 cars in China last month, down 6.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the preliminary data obtained by the English division of Yonhap News Agency. This marked the third straight month that sales i
MobilityApril 5, 2016
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Hyundai Motor's Genesis sales in U.S. spike in March
Hyundai Motor, Korea's top automaker, saw its sales of the Genesis luxury sedan spike over 30 percent on-year in March in the United States, heating up competition mostly driven by German brands, industry data showed Tuesday.According to the data, Hyundai Motor sold 3,197 units of the Genesis DH in the U.S. last month, up 32.4 percent from a year earlier. The model will be renamed the G80, and will be launched anew later under the automaker's recently separated luxury brand Genesis. Hyundai Gene
MobilityApril 5, 2016
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N. Korea beefing up border control ahead of party congress: sources
North Korea has strengthened its surveillance of its people in areas bordering China to crack down on those contacting defectors in South Korea ahead of its key party congress, sources said Tuesday.The Ministry of State Security, the North's intelligence agency, has sent a letter expressing its strong allegiance to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, according to the sources familiar to North Korean affairs.In the letter, the ministry pledged in March to beef up its surveillance along the border as
North KoreaApril 5, 2016
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Retailer enjoys strong demand for products promoted by stars
Korean retail chain operator E-mart said Tuesday its sales of goods produced through collaborations with local pop stars have emerged as a new cash cow on the back of their strong popularity.E-mart, which rolled out different kinds of goods designed under ties with local entertainment agency S.M. Entertainment in March, said the products boasted a combined sales of 850 million won ($739,130) over the one-month period.The retailer had adopted names of top-tier idol groups, including EXO and Super
IndustryApril 5, 2016
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Korean shares open lower on U.S. fall
Korean stocks started lower on Tuesday as investors attempted to lock in gains following overnight falls in Wall Street.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 8.78 points, or 0.44 percent, to 1,970.19 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Market heavyweights traded mixed, with top player Samsung Electronics shedding 1.23 percent.Hyundai Motor, the nation's leading automaker, rose 0.35 percent. State-run Korea Electric Power Corp. suffered 0.51 percent fall, and top steelmaker
April 5, 2016
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Hyundai Merchant mulls over selling oil-carrier business
Hyundai Merchant Marine, South Korea's No. 2 shipping line by sales, said on Monday it was mulling over selling its oil-carrier business unit to improve its financial footing."We are considering selling the oil carrier division (composed of five to six oil carrier ships) to secure liquidity and improve financial health. But nothing has been decided yet," the company said in a regulatory filing. Hyundai steel products (Yonhap)Hyundai Merchant has stepped up its efforts to sell non-core assets and
April 4, 2016
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CJ CGV purchases stake in Indonesian theater chain
South Korea's largest multiplex cinema chain CJ CGV said Monday that it has purchased a 7.8-percent stake in Indonesian movie theater chain, PT Graha Layar Prima Tbk.The deal, valued at 34.7 billion won ($30.1 million), will help CJ CGV to make inroads into the Southeast Asian country with high potential of growth in the film market, the company said. CJ CGV (Yonhap)With the purchase, CJ CGV will control 40.25 percent of the Indonesian firm's total stakes, it said. The company further forecast t
April 4, 2016
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[Newsmaker] Huge tax leak exposes Putin aides
PARIS (AFP) -- A massive leak of 11.5 million tax documents has exposed the secret offshore dealings of aides to Russian president Vladimir Putin, world leaders and celebrities including Barcelona forward Lionel Messi. Photo shows the building where the office of Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca is located in Panama City, Panama, Sunday. (EPA-Yonhap)An investigation into the documents by more than 100 media groups, described as one of the largest such probes in history, revealed the hidden o
World NewsApril 4, 2016
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[KOSPI Watch] After brief rebound, banks to continue poor performance
Local commercial banks outperformed the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index last week, thanks to a recent regulatory decision that is positive for their bottom line. But that may have been only a brief rebound, analysts said, as uncertainties stemming from low interest rates, volatile foreign exchange rate and stock market will keep weighing on the lenders. Shares of the local banks rose 0.4 percent on average during the trading week of March 28 to April 1, outperforming the KOSPI’s 0.5
April 4, 2016
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[Graphic News] Foreign tourists spend most on shopping
Foreign tourists spend over half of their travel expenses in Korea on shopping, according to government data on Sunday. Out of the total 10.4 trillion won ($9.06 billion) spent last year by tourists in Korea, 52.8 percent -- or 5.5 trillion won -- was used on shopping alone, the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute said. This was followed by accommodation at 23.3 percent and food at 8 percent. Government officials expect that foreign spending will increase this year compared to last year when th
April 4, 2016
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[Editorial] Prosecutor’s jackpot
A high-profile prosecutor reaped stock gains worth 3.7 billion won ($3.23 million) last year, then offered to resign amid growing public suspicion over the weekend. He posted the highest in 2015 wealth growth among the nation’s 2,300 ranking officials, who were subject to private property disclosure.Jin Kyung-jun, a senior prosecutor of the Korea Immigration Service at the Ministry of Justice, had bought some unlisted shares of local mobile game developer Nexon. He took gains by selling about 80
EditorialApril 4, 2016
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Korea to test new recon planes in U.S. this week
South Korea plans to conduct a flight test of two new reconnaissance planes in the United States this week, which can help the country better detect signs of North Korean missile launches and other threats, officials said Monday. The planes, part of the enhanced Baekdu program, will undergo their first flight tests in an airfield in Texas later this week, according to officials at the Defense Acquisition Program Administration.The test is intended to examine the operability of the aircraft with
DefenseApril 4, 2016
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[Editorial] N.K. news briefings
South Korean citizens are asking their government what it has done about the North’s provocations, apart from the shutdown of the inter-Korean industrial park in Gaeseong. Though economic sanctions, including the U.N.-led move against the communist country, may help to a certain extent, these will not guarantee the security of South Koreans.On June 7, Cheong Wa Dae’s National Security Office said that the military was fully prepared, stressing that the South’s military would sternly retaliate if
EditorialApril 4, 2016
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South Korea slaps 5 pastors with fines for unauthorized contact with North Koreans
South Korea's unification ministry said Monday it has slapped five pastors with 2 million won fines each for meeting North Koreans without the government's approval.The pastors belonging to the National Council of Churches in Korea met with their North Korean counterparts in China in late February without receiving the ministry's approval for their contact. The fines mark the first time Seoul has penalized the NCCK for breaking rules regarding the meeting of North Koreans.South Korean nationals
Social AffairsApril 4, 2016
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5 Seoul eateries catering to Chinese fail sanitation standards
Five restaurants that cater to Chinese tourists out of 15 investigated by Seoul Metropolitan Government were found to have violated sanitation regulations. Out of the examined restaurants, three had employees that did not submit medical reports, one had kitchen staff without sanitary hats, while another had unhygienic cutting boards, the city government said Monday. Chinese tourists in Seoul (Yonhap)These restaurants failed to meet up to 26 standards out of 36 regarding hygienic cooking utensil
Social AffairsApril 4, 2016
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Pyongyang's GPS disruptions continue for 4th day
South Korea's ICT ministry said North Korea's disruptions of GPS signals, which started last week, continued to affect local airplanes and ships on Monday.The Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning said the GPS disruptions that began Thursday have been repeating at intervals ever since, impacting Seoul's adjacent city of Incheon, and the surrounding Gyeonggi and Gangwon provinces.The ministry said 746 airplanes and 621 vessels experienced disruptions, but no significant damage has been rep
North KoreaApril 4, 2016
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Mexico vows to continue detaining North Korean ship
Mexico has vowed it will continue to detain a North Korean freighter, an official said Monday, in the latest sign of its resolve to enforce U.N. resolutions on Pyongyang.Mexico detained the Mu Du Bong after identifying the ship as belonging to Ocean Maritime Management, a North Korean firm blacklisted by the U.N. for illegally shipping arms.One of the company’s ships was detained by Panamanian authorities in July 2013 for carrying Soviet-era MiG-21 fighter aircraft, surface-to-air missiles and o
World NewsApril 4, 2016
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Japan's annual report to note improvement in Seoul-Tokyo relations
South Korea and Japan are each other's most important neighbors, sharing strategic interests, a draft of Tokyo's annual foreign policy report said Monday.Japan's ties with South Korea have greatly advanced since last year's bilateral deal to settle the issue of Korean women forced to work at wartime Japanese military brothels, said the draft Diplomatic Bluebook for 2016 obtained by Kyodo News Service.According to the draft of the Japanese foreign ministry, South Korea is one of the most importan
Foreign AffairsApril 4, 2016
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Korea partly resumes flight of F-16 jets following recent crash
South Korea partly resumed flights of its F-16 fighter jets on Monday after the crash of one plane led to a fleetwide grounding, the Air Force said.The U.S.-made combat aircraft plunged into an uninhabited hill in the southeast town of Cheongsong, some 320 kilometers southeast of Seoul on Wednesday, after its engine failed during a training mission. The two pilots aboard the airplane safely ejected. Following the accident, the Air Force suspended the flight of some 30 F-16 units, as well as 130
DefenseApril 4, 2016