Most Popular
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‘Korea crossed the line too far’ disgraced singer’s lawyer cries foul after 3rd visa denial
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Opposition mulls delay of financial investment income tax
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Immigration policy must go beyond labor supply: experts
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Psy's touch or new trend in music? P Nation’s solo stars lose their shine
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S. Korea to showcase Hyunmoo-5 ballistic missile on Armed Forces Day ceremony for 1st time
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Park Zi-a, the actor who played 'The Glory' heroine's mother, dies
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Nasrallah's killing reveals depth of Israel's Hezbollah penetration
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Korean American documentary ‘Free Chol Soo Lee' wins Emmy
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KMA chief under pressure after surveyed doctors refuse to back him
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Meditation brings calm to Gwanghwamun
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Seoul's decision to shut down Gaesong complex 'consistent with' international community's view
South Korea's decision to shut down an inter-Korean industrial complex in North Korea is "consistent with" the international community's view that more steps are necessary to persuade Pyongyang to give up its nuclear and missile programs, a senior U.S. official said Wednesday."I know this was not an easy decision for the government of the Republic of Korea to take and therefore the fact that they made this decision is a compelling indicator of the seriousness with which they regard the provocati
North KoreaFeb. 11, 2016
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LG Display tops global UHD TV panel market in Q4
Korean panel maker LG Display Co. regained its status as the top seller of Ultra HD panels in the fourth quarter of 2015, industry data showed Thursday, amid the booming popularity of high-end TVs.LG Display shipped 3.98 million units of UHD TV panels in the October-December period, up 10.5 percent from the previous quarter and accounting for 35 percent of the global UHD panel market, according to the data compiled by industry tracker IHS. LG UHD TV (Yonhap)Another Korean panel maker, Samsung Di
IndustryFeb. 11, 2016
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NCsoft's 2015 net sinks 28%
NCsoft Corp., Korea's leading online game developer, said Thursday its net profit tumbled 28 percent in 2015 from a year earlier due mainly to increased spending on fresh titles.Net income amounted to 165 billion won ($138 million) last year, compared with a profit of 230 billion won the previous year, the company said in a regulatory filing. NCsoft CEO Kim Taek-jin (Yonhap)Operating profit came to 238 billion won last year, down 15 percent from a year ago, with sales almost unchanged at 838 bi
IndustryFeb. 11, 2016
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BOK forecast to hold key rate steady for Feb.: poll
The Korean central bank is widely expected to stand pat on its key rate for another month in February despite weak signs of a recovery in the economy and exports that might require a rate hike down the road, a poll showed Thursday.In a monthly poll conducted by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency, all 10 economists surveyed projected the Bank of Korea (BOK) to hold its policy rate frozen at 1.5 percent for February.The central bank has kept the key rate steady for seven
Feb. 11, 2016
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Seoul shares open sharply lower on blue-chip slide
South Korean shares started over 2 percent lower Thursday as investors dumped blue chips on heightened worries over the global economy and growing geopolitical risk following North Korea's long-range rocket launch.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) dropped 40.52 points, or 2.11 percent, to 1,877.27 in the first 15 minutes of trading. KOSPI (Bloomberg)Recent setbacks in Japanese stocks set the gloomy tone for the Korean market, which started its first day of trading following
Feb. 11, 2016
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Russia demands Seoul's apology over suspicions Russia provided Pyongyang with missile components
Russia has demanded an apology from South Korea for raising suspicions that key components of North Korea's recently tested rocket are from Russia.Mikhail Ulyanov, director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's nonproliferation and arms control department, said in a news conference Wednesday that South Korea should present evidence backing up the suspicions or retract them and apologize."This statement is irresponsible and unprofessional. One cannot come forward with such accusations without having
Foreign AffairsFeb. 11, 2016
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Obama, ASEAN leaders to discuss Pyongyang in next week's summit
North Korea's nuclear and missile tests are expected to be a topic at U.S. President Barack Obama's upcoming summit with leaders of Southeast Asian nations, White House officials said.Obama is scheduled to host the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in a summit set for Monday and Tuesday at the Sunnylands resort in Southern California. The summit is part of efforts to further bolster U.S. relations with Asian countries under Obama's trademark "rebalance" or "pivot" to Asia pol
North KoreaFeb. 11, 2016
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Military continues search for North's rocket debris
South Korea’s Navy is continuing its efforts to detect the first stage of the rocket launched by the North on Sunday by mobilizing a remotely operated vehicle, officials said Wednesday. On Sunday, Pyongyang launched a long-range rocket, sending what it claims to be a satellite into orbit, but South Korea and the U.S. denounced it as a long-range missile test that squarely challenges relevant United Nations resolutions. Upon the launch on the west coast, the rocket flew southward, dropping its f
North KoreaFeb. 10, 2016
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Seoul to roll out measures for Gaesong-based firms
The South Korean government will map out a set of measures to help minimize any fallout from the shutdown of a jointly-run industrial complex in a North Korean border city, officials said Wednesday, with financial aid in store for firms operating there. Earlier in the day, the South announced a complete shutdown of the Gaesong Industrial Complex in the North‘s border city of the same name, the last remaining symbol of inter-Korean reconciliation, in response to the North’s recent nuclear test an
North KoreaFeb. 10, 2016
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Japan announces fresh N. Korea sanctions after rocket launch
TOKYO (AFP) - Japan announced fresh sanctions against North Korea on Wednesday for its latest rocket launch, including a total ban on shipping from the country and barring Pyongyang‘s nationals from entering. Japan’s announcement comes after the UN Security Council strongly condemned Sunday‘s rocket launch and agreed to move quickly to impose new sanctions of its own. “We have decided to take firm sanction steps,” Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters of the latest move, which adds t
North KoreaFeb. 10, 2016
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Biz community calls for early resumption of operations at inter-Korean factory zone
South Korea’s business community on Wednesday expressed hopes that the shutdown of an inter-Korean industrial park in the North’s border city will be lifted at an earlier date as it could wreak financial havoc on local firms operating there. Earlier in the day, the South Korean government announced a complete shutdown of the Kaesong Industrial Complex in the North‘s border city of the same name, the last remaining symbol of inter-Korean reconciliation, in response to the North’s recent nuclear t
BusinessFeb. 10, 2016
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Shinhan Group's profit rises 14% in 2015
The net profit of Shinhan Financial Group, the nation’s largest banking group by assets, jumped to 2.37 trillion won ($1.9 billion) in 2015, a 14 percent increase from 2.08 trillion won in 2014, as result of increased deposits and strong performances of its non-banking sectors including securities and credit card, the company said in its regulatory filing. It was the second consecutive year for the financial giant to achieve more than 2 trillion won in net profit. “The performance resulted fro
Feb. 10, 2016
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Hyundai gets nod for best Super Bowl ad
A Hyundai Motor commercial has been picked as the favorite advertisement aired during the U.S most-watched sporting event Super Bowl 50, the automaker said Wednesday. The commercial, “First Date,” which features the Korean automaker’s Genesis sedan, ranked first in a poll conducted by USA TODAY, a national American daily. Hyundai Motor said that it is the first foreign automaker in decades to emerge top in USA TODAY’s Ad Meter, beating 63 other Super Bowl 50 commercials. A screenshot of Hyundai
MobilityFeb. 10, 2016
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Samsung to cut facility investment in chips in 2016
Samsung Electronics, the nation’s largest tech giant, is expected to reduce facility investment in its chip business in 2016 from a year ago, data showed Wednesday, just as rivals such as Intel do the opposite. According to the data compiled by industry tracker TrendForce, Samsung Electronics is estimated to spend $11.5 billion on capital expenditure, such as spending on facilities. The figure is a 15 percent drop from $13.5 billion in 2015. Samsung is the market leader in the global dynamic ra
TechnologyFeb. 10, 2016
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KT&G expands business in Iran
KT&G is expanding its business in Iran as the Islamic country is requesting more investment from Korea’s largest tobacco firm, company officials said Wednesday. The Iranian market is drawing attention from global companies as international sanctions against its nuclear programs were lifted last month. “Our Esse and Pine products are gaining a lot of popularity and our high pricing policy is boosting profitability,” said Bang Kyung-man, who heads global marketing in KT&G.A shop in Tehran sells KT
IndustryFeb. 10, 2016
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[Kim Ji-hyun] What negative rates in Japan mean for Korea
TOKYO — Japanese equities have tumbled, to say the least. The country’s lending rates are below zero, and for the first time the interest rates on long-term government bonds are also negative. On Tuesday, Japan’s stock benchmark Nikkei plunged more than 5 percent. It marked the steepest fall since June 2013. The results were ironic, since the Jan. 29 move by the Japanese central bank was actually designed to have the opposite effect: boosting stock prices and spur investment. And usually, that
ViewpointsFeb. 10, 2016
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North Korea has restarted plutonium reactor: U.S.
WASHINGTON - North Korea has restarted a plutonium reactor that could fuel a nuclear bomb and is seeking missile technology that could threaten the United States, Washington‘s top spy said Tuesday. In an annual threat assessment, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and senior military and intelligence officials singled out the authoritarian pariah state as a major and unpredictable menace. Lieutenant General Vincent Stewart, the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, joined Cla
North KoreaFeb. 10, 2016
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[Steve Andreasen] Nuclear threats from North Korea and Iran
North Korea’s latest underground nuclear test -- punctuated over the weekend by the rocket launch of a satellite that most experts believe is tied to the development of a long-range ballistic missile -- has set off an avalanche of analysis regarding the severity of the threat and the ineffectiveness of U.S. policy. Some say our failure to remove Pyongyang‘s nuclear threat through two decades of diplomacy should now guide our policy with respect to Iran. They argue that just as North Korea agreed
ViewpointsFeb. 10, 2016
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Top North Korean military officer executed: source
A top North Korean military officer was executed earlier this month on charges of pursuing personal interests and engaging in corruption, a source said Wednesday. The source said that the execution of Ri Yong-gil, the chief of the General Staff of the North’s Korean People’s Army, occurred around the time a senior-level meeting involving officials from the military and the ruling Workers’ Party was convened from Feb. 2-3. Ri Yong-gil (Yonhap)The execution came as a surprise, as Ri had been regar
North KoreaFeb. 10, 2016
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[Shin Yong-bae] Pinning hopes on ‘one-shot’ act
After many twists and turns, the National Assembly last week barely passed a controversial bill aimed at boosting corporate vigor.Simply put, the special law with a three-year mandate will ease regulations stipulated in other economic-related laws and provide tax and financial incentives for corporate restructuring. The political circle calls it the “One-Shot Act” in the apparent hope that it will help clear legal barriers in a single blow for companies looking to sell off, spin off or purchase
ViewpointsFeb. 10, 2016