Most Popular
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Ex-presidential official’s leaked phone call rattles conservative bloc
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Man escapes DUI charges by downing bottle of soju while pulled over
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Pay debate plagues foreign nanny pilot
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K-pop star lip-syncing controversy flares up again
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35% of S. Koreans view unification 'unnecessary'
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Slew of top K-pop stars ready to return from military
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S. Korea, US clinch 2026-30 defense cost-sharing deal in pre-election push
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[Reporter’s Notebook] Was Netflix film opening BIFF really a bad thing?
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N. Korean leader's sister derides Seoul's Hyunmoo-5 missile as 'useless'
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Controversial cult leader’s sentence reduced to 17 years
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Luxury watches replace bags as No. 1 smuggled items
Luxury Switzerland-made Cartier watches replaced designer bags to become the most counterfeited items smuggled into Korea by price, according to data by the Korea Customs Service. About 26 billion won ($21.8 million) worth of fake Cartier watches were found to have been brought into Korea without being reported to the customs office in the January-June period, the agency said. Popular items that smugglers attempt to sneak through customs are regarded as an index of trending luxury brands in the
IndustryAug. 12, 2015
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Concerns mount over possible capital outflow
Concerns that foreign investors may pull out from emerging markets hit the Korean financial market after China’s monetary policymakers conducted currency devaluation for the second consecutive day. A currency dealer at Korea Exchange Bank (Yonhap)The Chinese currency was cheaper by about 3.5 percent compared to only two days ago. It was set at 6.3306 yuan versus the U.S. dollar on Wednesday, compared to 6.1162 yuan on Monday.As for its impact on South Korea’s exports, the outlook from the govern
Aug. 12, 2015
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[Giorgio Gomel] Migration and memory in Europe
Stories of migrant-laden ships sinking in the Mediterranean while trying to reach the shores of Europe, and of refugees dying at Calais while trying to enter Britain through the Eurotunnel, have lately become ubiquitous in Europe. This ongoing crisis should remind us of a painful, and shameful, episode of recent history: the rejection faced by European Jews seeking refuge from the anti-Semitic fury that raged across Europe in the 1930s. Today’s refugees should remind us, too, of those Jews who,
ViewpointsAug. 12, 2015
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Celltrion steps up global expansion with biosimilar drug
Celltrion, a South Korean biopharmaceutical company, is making headway in a newly emerging category of medicine known as biosimilars -- lower-cost copies of brand-name biologic drugs that have lost patent protection, around the world. The Korean drugmaker on Monday said it has gained approval from Australia to begin selling Remsima -- its biosimilar replication of the world’s third best-selling rheumatoid arthritis treatment drug Remicade. U.S.-based global pharmaceutical firm Hospira, Celltrio
IndustryAug. 12, 2015
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[Herald Interview] +822 Summit to bridge Seoul, world
A number of trade shows, festivals, and conferences are held every year in a wide range of business sectors in South Korea. However, not a single event brings music, film and tech industries all together under one roof. That is going to change soon. The +822 Summit conference -- to be held from Oct. 28 to 30 at Dongdaemun Design Plaza, an exhibition and cultural center in Seoul -- will serve not only as a cross-industry networking platform, but also as a bridge that links global investors an
TechnologyAug. 12, 2015
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K Festival’ unveils lineup including AOA, Wonder Girls
(Official website of "The K Festival")The Korean culture festival dubbed “2015 The K Festival” unveiled its lineup of stars on Wednesday. The festival is set to be held at the Incheon Asiad Main Stadium on Sep. 11-13. According to its official website, the lineup includes EXID, AOA, Lyn, Chaeyeon, Tiger JK, Wonder Girls, Gain, Boyfriend, NC.A, The One, Lee Jung, Bestie, Hong Jin-young, Gummy and Youngji.The festival is set to feature not only K-pop but also other segments such as Korean food, fa
Aug. 12, 2015
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Ericsson to beef up ties with Korean telecom firms
From electronics makers to automotive manufacturers, businesses from more diverse backgrounds are jumping in the Internet of Things sector utilizing the fast network infrastructure. Hans Vestberg, president and chief executive of ICT infrastructure developer Ericsson, said that such increasing participation of different market players would create a bigger “opportunity” down the road. Ericsson CEO Hans Vestberg (right) and Arun Bansal, head of the Swedish firm’s business unit radio division atte
TechnologyAug. 12, 2015
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Won falls to 46-month low against dollar
The U.S. dollar reached its strongest positon against the Korean won in three years and 10 months Wednesday, affected by the weakening Chinese yuan. The greenback rose by 11.7 won to close at 1,190.8 won, which marked its highest since the exchange rate peaked at 1,194 won on Oct. 4, 2011. The People’s Bank of China lowered the daily reference rate of the yuan to a three-year low of 6.3306 against $1 on Wednesday, down 1.6 percent from 6.2298 on Tuesday. The Chinese bank had devalued the yuan ag
Aug. 12, 2015
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Pocket Mobile wins Red Dot design award
Payment system developer Pocket Mobile has won an award at this year’s Red Dot Award for its mobile ordering system Pocket Order.The Red Dot Award is one of the world’s most influential design product competitions, along with the iF Design Award and the IDEA awards. Mobile ordering solution Pocket Order. (Pocket Mobile)The start-up won a prize in the Communication Design segment, which recognizes innovative product designs and concepts in a wide range of fields including game design, online com
TechnologyAug. 12, 2015
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[Graphic News] Jobless rate down in July for third month
Korea’s unemployment rate decreased from 3.9 percent in June to 3.7 percent in July as more people were hired, data showed Wednesday.According to Statistics Korea, the number of employed people reached slightly more than 26.30 million last month, with 326,000 new jobs being created on-year.July marked the third month in a row that more than 300,000 jobs have been created in the country.Officials said most of new jobs were created in the manufacturing and services sector as the government and the
IndustryAug. 12, 2015
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Park in dilemma over Aug. 15 speech
President Park Geun-hye is facing a dilemma over her address planned for the Aug. 15 Liberation Day holiday as she struggles to set the tone of her message toward North Korea after an unprecedented land mine attack in the demilitarized zone, which has further strained inter-Korean ties.The president is to deliver her annual speech to mark the nation’s liberation from Japanese rule Saturday, urging the people to join her efforts to overhaul four major sectors and bring cultural prosperity. She i
PoliticsAug. 12, 2015
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Man sets himself on fire during sex slave protest
A South Korean man set himself on fire outside the Japanese Embassy in Seoul Wednesday during a demonstration to demand an apology from Japan for forcing women into sex slavery during World War II. The incident took place at around 12:40 p.m. when the 81-year-old man, only identified by his surname Choi, set himself on fire during a weekly demonstration in front of the embassy attended by about 1,000 people. A South Korean man, surnamed Choi, is taken to a nearby hospital after setting himself
Social AffairsAug. 12, 2015
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Park vows to sternly deal with N. Korea's provocations
President Park Geun-hye vowed Wednesday to sternly deal with North Korea's provocations as South Korea is weighing retaliation options against the North. The warning came amid public outrage against North Korea over its land mine attack in the demilitarized zone that separates the two Koreas. Two staff sergeants lost their legs -- one of them both legs and the other one leg -- when the land mines exploded on Aug. 4 during their patrol mission on the southern side of the buffer zone. "We will
North KoreaAug. 12, 2015
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Large plot of confiscated land returned to pro-Japan collaborators' descendants
Nearly 2 million square meters of real estate has been returned to Korean descendants of pro-Japan collaborators between 2007 and 2015, after they filed suits in protest against the government's confiscation of their assets, data showed Wednesday. A total 1.99 million square meters of state-owned land has been returned to the descendents of Koreans who collaborated with Japan during its colonial rule of Korea in the early 20th century, the data showed. Rep. Kim Jung-hoon of the ruling Saenuri
Social AffairsAug. 12, 2015
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S. Korea to bask in China devaluation: finance minister
China's devaluation of its currency is expected to have a positive impact on the South Korean economy if it leads to increased exports for Beijing, Seoul's finance minister said Wednesday. In an apparent bid to boost its exports, China's central bank devalued the yuan for the second day in a row, causing ripples of repercussion around the world. Speaking to reporters following a meeting of economy-related ministers in Seoul, Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan said a weak yuan can actually help
Aug. 12, 2015
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Hacker behind cyberattack against brokerage firm indicted
A hacker suspected of orchestrating a cyberattack on a major South Korean securities firm has been indicted on charges of disrupting the company's computer network, prosecutors said Wednesday. The Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office said the 38-year-old man, identified only by his surname Noh, is suspected to have launched a distributed denial-of-service attack that overwhelmed the website of Mirae Asset Securities Co., causing its services to be unavailable for 30 minutes on March 21, 2
Social AffairsAug. 12, 2015
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Lotte Shopping jumps on hopes for better governance
Shares of Lotte Shopping, a key affiliate of retail-focused conglomerate Lotte Group, shot up Wednesday on hopes the unit would benefit from the group's plan to list its hotel arm Hotel Lotte. Lotte Shopping ended at 241,000 won ($202.3) on the main KOSPI, up 7.83 percent from the previous session and gaining for a second straight session. The KOSPI shed 0.56 percent. Shares of Lotte affiliates widely advanced on Wednesday following Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin's apology over an ongoing
IndustryAug. 12, 2015
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Daum Kakao to launch high-end taxi service in Oct.
South Korea's top mobile messenger operator Daum Kakao Corp. said Wednesday its popular taxi application will be updated in October to allow users to hail high-end taxis. Daum Kakao's latest plan is in line with the Ministry of Health and Welfare's move to ease regulations on the operations of high-end taxis, which will provide improved services compared with the existing luxury taxis. Daum Kakao said it has signed memorandums of understanding with Seoul Taxi Association and High& Co. to speed
IndustryAug. 12, 2015
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China devalues yuan for 2nd day, ignites fears of currency war
China's central bank devalued the country's yuan for a second day Wednesday to cushion the slowdown in the world's second-largest economy, while igniting fears of a currency war in Asia. The daily reference rate for the Chinese currency was reduced to 6.3306 yuan against $1 on Wednesday from 6.2298 yuan on Tuesday, the People's Bank of China said in a statement. The yuan's value against the U.S. dollar was lowered by 1.6 percent, following the devaluation of nearly 2 percent a day before. C
Aug. 12, 2015
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Man indicted on charges of threatening to kill top U.S. envoy to Seoul
A man suspected of posting letters on the White House website threatening to kill the top U.S. envoy to Seoul and rape the second daughter of U.S. President Barack Obama has been indicted on charges of intimidation, prosecutors said Wednesday. The 32-year-old man, identified only by his surname Lee, is suspected of posting a letter titled "Declaration Terror to Mr. President Obama" on July 8 on "Contact the White House," a page for civil petitions. In the letter, Lee said that he would kill U.
InternationalAug. 12, 2015