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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Psy's touch or new trend in music? P Nation’s solo stars lose their shine
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Opposition mulls delay of financial investment income tax
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Seoul to hold grand military parade on Tuesday, disrupting major city routes
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Park Zi-a, the actor who played 'The Glory' heroine's mother, dies
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NewJeans fans corner Hybe amid PR backlash, looming National Assembly audit
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Shut up and dance
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Israel targets Palestinian group in first strike on Beirut center
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BTS’ Suga fined W15m for e-scooter DUI
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[KH Explains] Is Hyundai-GM partnership win-win to beat Tesla, Chinese rivals?
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KEPCO on prowl for power plant acquisitions
Korea Electric Power Corp. is on the prowl for acquisitions to boost its alternative-energy portfolio. The firm, listed on Korea’s KOSPI and the U.S.’s New York Stock Exchange, said Thursday that it has signed M&A advisory firms in preparation for potential deals in the fields of both alternative energy and conventional fossil-fuel-based power generation. Solar panels (123rf)“We have completed the selection of advisory firms,” the Naju, South Jeolla-based firm said in a regulatory filing in Seo
IndustryJan. 28, 2016
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Korea's cigarette imports surge in 2015
Korea's cigarette imports surged in 2015 after contracting for four straight years despite government efforts to discourage smoking by sharply raising prices, official data showed Thursday.Imports of cigarettes spiked 117.3 percent on-year to over US$34.56 million in 2015, with the volume also increasing 128.1 percent to 1,877 tons, the Korea Customs Service (KCS) said. (123rf)In 2014, the value of tobacco imports sank 14.4 percent from the previous year to $15.9 million and the volume plunged 1
BusinessJan. 28, 2016
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BOK further cuts inflation outlook for 2016
Korea's central bank has further slashed its outlook on inflation for this year due to a continued fall in global oil prices and stubbornly weak consumer sentiment here, a report showed Thursday.In a special report, the Bank of Korea (BOK) forecast consumer prices will rise 1.4 percent this year, lower than a 1.7 percent on-year increase predicted earlier.The new outlook also comes about a month after the central bank set its inflation target for 2016-2018 at 2 percent."Consumer prices are expec
BusinessJan. 28, 2016
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Court to review constitutionality of parliamentary act
The Constitutional Court will hold a public hearing Thursday to review the constitutionality of the contentious National Assembly Act amid a parliamentary speaker's move to revise it.The act, passed in May 2012, stipulates that a bill with contested issues can only be put up for a vote with the approval of more than 60 percent of sitting lawmakers and requires a bipartisan agreement for a parliamentary speaker to table a bill.The clause, however, has been criticized as the main culprit of paraly
Social AffairsJan. 28, 2016
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Free agent Lee Dae-ho pushes back scheduled trip home to continue
South Korean free agent slugger has postponed his scheduled trip home from his Arizona training base to continue contract talks with a major league club, his agency said Thursday.Lee had been set to return to South Korea on Friday, but an official with Montis Sports Management Group said Lee has pushed the trip back "by three to four days.""He's going over some contract details with a big league club," the official added, without identifying the team.The 33-year-old first baseman/designated hitt
BaseballJan. 28, 2016
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N. Korea likely to launch long-range missile 'abruptly': Defense
North Korea is likely to conduct a long-range missile test in an "abrupt" manner, the Defense Ministry said Thursday. But the country has yet to declare a no-sail zone, a sign that no test launch will come in the very near future, it said."North Korea is likely to do it abruptly when they launch important provocative acts in the future," ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said in a regular briefing.Earlier in the day, Japan's Kyodo News agency reported that the North could launch a long-range missi
North KoreaJan. 28, 2016
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KEPCO, SKT jointly invest in ‘new energy’ business
The state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. signed a memorandum of understanding with SK Telecom, the nation’s largest mobile carrier, jointly to invest in the “new energy’’ sector, the nation’s largest utility company said in a press release on Thursday. Both companies will develop 500 billion won ($413 million) worth of joint projects in such sectors as charging infrastructure for electric vehicles, smart grids and smart city constructions, it said. The move came after an MOU between the two part
BusinessJan. 28, 2016
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70 countries pledge joint efforts to prevent transfer of WMD
Officials from 70 countries around the world held an anti-WMD proliferation conference in Washington on Wednesday and agreed to work closely together to ensure that no weapons of mass destruction technology is transferred to North Korea, a diplomatic source said.North Korea was a key topic for the Mid-level Political Meeting of the U.S.-led Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), an international coalition aimed at stopping the spread of WMDs, related material and technology, as it came just we
InternationalJan. 28, 2016
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Seoul seeks to induce Chinese cooperation over Pyeongyang
South Korea renewed its pledge Thursday that it will make various efforts to induce China to play a constructive role over North Korea's nuclear weapons program."We expect China and Russia to play a constructive role," presidential spokesman Jeong Yeon-guk told reporters.He also said South Korea will closely work with relevant countries to ensure that the U.N. Security Council can adopt a resolution for strong and effective sanctions on North Korea over its fourth nuclear test earlier this month
North KoreaJan. 28, 2016
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Bus driver partially responsible for elderly woman's injury: court
A Seoul court ruled on Thursday that a bus driver is partially responsible for the injury an elderly female passenger sustained on a moving inter-city bus.The Seoul District Court said the bus driver should pay 3 million won (US$2,482) more than the compensation already paid to the 81-year-old woman, explaining that the driver is 70 percent responsible for the accident.The woman fractured her thighbone, when she stood up and walked toward the exit to get off while the bus was still running.Polic
Social AffairsJan. 28, 2016
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Rain to make world tour stop in Hong Kong
Actor-singer Rain will make a world tour stop in Hong Kong this weekend, his management agency said Thursday.R.A.I.N. Company said he will perform before a sold-out crowd in Hong Kong as part of his world tour, titled The Squall, on Saturday.Rain launched his seventh global tour last November in Changsha, China, and also made stops in Guangzhou, Shanghai, Wuhan and Shenyang.The company said Rain's Shanghai show was streamed live online across China, and he also took part in Lang Lang & Friends S
PerformanceJan. 28, 2016
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Rising star eyes Olympic football glory
After enjoying a coming-out party at the Asian Olympic men's football qualification tournament, South Korean forward Hwang Hee-chan said he hopes to be part of the Summer Games, too.South Korea clinched their eighth consecutive Olympic berth by reaching the final of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Championship here in the Qatari capital. The championship also serves as the regional qualification event for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, and South Korea have secured one of
SoccerJan. 28, 2016
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S-Oil swings to profit in Q4 on high refining margins
S-Oil, South Korea’s third-largest oil refiner, said Thursday it swung to profit in the fourth quarter of 2015 thanks to high refining margins prompted by heightened demand for oil products.The firm posted an operating profit of 17 billion won ($14 million) in the October-December period last year, up by 5.6 percent from the previous quarter, and swung to profit from an operating loss of 240 billion won posted during the fourth quarter of 2014. S-Oil CEO Nasser Al-Mahasher (S-Oil)“The operating
IndustryJan. 28, 2016
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Gov't to cultivate public servants with professionalism
The government said Thursday that it plans to adopt a system this year that would allow public servants to specialize in one area as part of its effort to enhance professionalism in the public sector."A system of cultivating public servants with specialty will be adopted," Minister of Personnel Management Lee Geun-myeon said.Under the current system, public officials are rotated to different departments while the new system allows certain officials with specialties to work in that position throu
Social AffairsJan. 28, 2016
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No. of S. Korean visitors to Cuba jumps 50% in 2015
The number of South Koreans visiting Cuba jumped 50 percent last year compared with the previous year, a South Korean government agency said, citing official Cuban data.More than 7,500 South Koreans traveled to the Caribbean nation in 2015, up from some 5,000 in 2014 and 3,000 in 2010, the Havana office of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) said Wednesday (local time), citing Cuban government data.Most of the visitors were couples on honeymoon, families, members of academic bodi
Social AffairsJan. 28, 2016
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UAMCO caps first debt takeover deal
The United Asset Management Co., a specialized firm in taking over bad loans held by financial companies, Thursday said it capped the first batch of its investment targets, with the sort-out process for the second batch also in the pipeline. UAMCO said it had sealed an agreement with first two main creditor banks -- the state-run Korea Development Bank and KEB-Hana Bank, for the takeover of bad debts extended by two firms in workout deals. The names and details on investments and mergers will be
Jan. 28, 2016
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Korean banks' high loan ratio may pose grave risks: report
Korean banks' excessive dependence on loans for profit could pose a serious risk to the banking sector should a sudden rate hike force households to default on their debts, a report said Thursday.As of the end of 2014, the ratio of outstanding loans held by local lenders to their total assets came to 73.8 percent, up from 72 percent in 2012 and 67.7 percent in 2008, according to the report from Hana Institute of Finance, a private think tank run by Hana Financial Group. Hana Financial Group buil
BusinessJan. 28, 2016
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Korea seeking to expand financial ties with Iran
Korea is moving to expand financial ties with Iran following a landmark nuclear accord that lifted international sanctions on the oil-rich country, market watchers said Thursday.Financial sector sources said a working-level delegation made up of officials from the finance and foreign ministries, along with local lenders, will be in Tehran for three days starting Saturday. They plan to meet with officials from Iran's central bank to discuss the future settlement of account arrangements that are c
BusinessJan. 28, 2016
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Home-backed bank loans grow at record pace in 2015
Home-backed loans from South Korean banks grew at the fastest clip in five years in 2015 due mainly to a surge in demand for homes and unrelenting rental fees, the financial watchdog said Thursday.Outstanding home-backed loans extended by local banks in December totaled 6.2 trillion won, bringing the total amount of fresh mortgage loans in 2015 to 70.6 trillion won (US$58.32 billion), according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). The growth in 2015 is the fastest rate of increase in mort
BusinessJan. 28, 2016
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Samsung Q4 net tumbles on smartphone, chip woes
Samsung Electronics Co. reported a sharp drop in fourth-quarter profit Thursday as its smartphone business stuttered on sluggish demand for premium models and chip prices remained weak.Net profit reached 3.22 trillion won ($2.68 billion) in the October-December period, down 39.7 percent from the 5.34 trillion won posted a year earlier, Samsung Electronics said in its regulatory filing.Sales advanced 1.11 percent on-year to 53.3 trillion won in the October-December period while operating profit m
BusinessJan. 28, 2016