Most Popular
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Ex-presidential official’s leaked phone call rattles conservative bloc
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Pay debate plagues foreign nanny pilot
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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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Concerns raised over chronic labor shortage at state-run center for digital sex crime victims
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[KH Explains] Is private equity giant MBK a risk-taker or renegade?
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Daum Kakao names new head to speed up mobile business
South Korea's top mobile messenger operator Daum Kakao Corp. said Monday it has named a new single head, ending its co-CEO system that has been maintained since its launch last year after the merger between the two IT firms. Rim Ji-hoon, 35, head of investment firm K Cube Ventures, will become the new CEO of Daum Kakao, the merged entity of South Korea's two most-tracked IT firms at the time, Kakao Corp. and Daum Communications Corp. K Cube Ventures is an investment firm that focuses on startu
CompaniesAug. 10, 2015
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E-Land Group to open large shopping mall in China
South Korean retail giant E-Land Group said Monday that it plans to open its first shopping mall in mainland China later this year in a joint venture as part of its strategy to tap deeper into the world's biggest market. E-Land Group and Malaysia-based Parkson Group have agreed to establish a joint venture and open "Parkson-New Core Mall" in Shanghai in November. The South Korean company said it will be in charge of management of the joint venture, with a 51-percent share. Parkson Group is on
CompaniesAug. 10, 2015
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S. Korea's GDP surges 31,000-fold since 1953: data
South Korea's gross domestic product has surged 31,000-fold since 1953, fueled by exports and competitiveness in heavy industries and consumer electronics, government data showed Monday. According to the data by Statistics Korea, the country's nominal gross domestic product shot up from a mere 47.7 billion won ($40.9 million) in 1953, soaring to 1,485 trillion won last year. The data highlights the achievements made by Asia's fourth-largest economy 70 years after being liberated from Japanese c
Aug. 10, 2015
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Sales of S. Korean firms in China worsen in Q2
Sales of South Korean companies in China continued to deteriorate in the second quarter due largely to a dip in demand for their products, a survey showed Monday, apparently reflecting worsening economic conditions there. According to the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade, the business survey index for sales of South Korean firms in China in the second quarter came to 66, down from 81 in the first quarter. A BSI reading below 100 indicates that pessimists outnumber optimists.
Aug. 10, 2015
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Precise number of Tripitaka Koreana blocks uncovered
There are nearly a hundred more wooden blocks in the collection of Tripitaka Koreana than previously thought, South Korea's cultural heritage administration said Monday. Tripitaka Koreana, or "Palmandaejanggyeong" in Korean, is a collection of 13th-century Buddhist scriptures carved on more than 80,000 wooden printing blocks. It is considered the most comprehensive set of Buddhist scriptures found to date. The Haein Temple, in Hapcheon, South Gyeongsang Province, 354 kilometers south of Seoul,
CultureAug. 10, 2015
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S. Korean exports to China to continue shrinking in Q3
South Korea's exports to China will likely continue to shrink in the third quarter of this year, due partly to a slowdown in the world's second-largest economy, a report said Monday. "Due to a slump in China's manufacturing sector and worsening consumer sentiments caused by unstable stock market conditions there, the country's exports (to China) will likely continue to drop in the third quarter," said the report from the Korea International Trade Association. Poor exports by China's manufactur
Aug. 10, 2015
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Lotte founder taking medication for Alzheimer‘s disease: sources
Lotte founder Shin Kyuk-ho, whose mental and physical health have emerged as the center of focus amid a succession feud between his two sons, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease a few years ago, sources said Monday, a key factor which could impact the high-profile family dispute as the two sides are sparring to win favorable shareholders. Sources at Lotte, the country's fifth-largest conglomerate, said that Shin was diagnosed with the condition that is known to incur memory impairment and de
CompaniesAug. 10, 2015
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N.K. behind DMZ landmine blast: JCS
North Korean troops had recently crossed the border and deliberately planted the three land mines that inflicted serious injuries on two South Korean soldiers, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Monday, condemning the provocation and warning of “severe punishment.” (Yonhap)On Aug. 4 at around 7:40 a.m., two Army staff sergeants were critically wounded in a mine blast while patrolling the southern part of the heavily fortified demilitarized zone in Paju, Gyeonggi Province. The explosion nearly sever
North KoreaAug. 10, 2015
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BOK expected to freeze key rate amid household debt woes
South Korea's central bank is forecast to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged at a record-low this month as it continues to keep its eyes on household debt risks and the impact of previous rate cuts that have so far proved to be ineffective in spurring growth, a poll showed Monday. All 11 analysts and economists surveyed by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency, projected the Bank of Korea (BOK) to hold its policy rate steady at 1.5 percent at its monthly rate-sett
Aug. 10, 2015
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S. Korea warns North will face pitiless costs for any provocations
With North Korea found to be behind a bloody land mine explosion in the demilitarized zone last week, South Korea warned Monday that the North will be forced to pay "equally pitiless" costs for its military provocations. "As previously warned on many occasions, our military will make North Korea pay the equally pitiless penalty for their provocations," Maj. Gen. Koo Hong-mo, head of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in a warning statement to the communist country. In the statement
North KoreaAug. 10, 2015
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N. Korea behind recent mine explosion in DMZ: Defense Ministry
North Korea is believed to have masterminded the bloody explosion of land mines in the demilitarized zone last week, the Defense Ministry said Monday, in the latest military provocation just weeks before a scheduled joint military exercise between South Korea and the United States. The mine blasts took place on the morning of Aug. 4 on the southern side of the DMZ near the city of Paju, Gyeonggi Province, while eight South Korean Army soldiers carried out a regular patrol mission there. The exp
North KoreaAug. 10, 2015
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Park's approval rating edges up to nearly 40 pct
President Park Geun-hye's job approval rating has edged up as the public supported her recent decision to designate Friday as a temporary holiday. A new poll conducted by polling agency Realmeter put Park's approval rating at 39.5 percent, up 4.6 percentage points from a week earlier. It said the uptick in Park's approval rating came as the government designated Friday as a temporary holiday to boost the spirits of South Koreans ahead of Liberation Day. Liberation Day, which falls on Saturday
PoliticsAug. 10, 2015
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U.S. denies asking President Park not to attend China ceremony
The United States Sunday denied a news report that it has asked South Korean President Park Geun-hye not to attend China's celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. Citing U.S. government and diplomatic sources, Japan's Kyodo News earlier reported that the U.S. government conveyed to South Korea that if Park attends the Sept. 3 ceremony in Beijing, it would send a false message to the world that China has cracked the U.S.-South Korea alliance. The U.S. expressed its conc
InternationalAug. 10, 2015
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Hana Bank’s discrimination against foreigners
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” ― Martin L. King Jr.One of the greatest disappointments I have experienced here in Korea has been the realization that prominent institutions, not merely misguided individuals, believe that the content of one’s character is determined by the color of one’s passport.As a Yonsei law school professor, I spend my days helping som
ViewpointsAug. 10, 2015
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N. Korea spurns S. Korea's offer for talks: gov't source
North Korea has rejected a proposal by South Korea for inter-Korean talks, which was made to coincide with a rare visit to the North by the widow of former President Kim Dae-jung, a government source said Monday. South Korea attempted to send a letter to North Korea proposing dialogue on Wednesday, the same day Lee Hee-ho embarked on her four-day trip to North Korea, according to the source. The South did not ask the 93-year-old to deliver a message to the North on the behalf of the Seoul gov
North KoreaAug. 10, 2015
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Park mulls whether to attend China ceremony
President Park Geun-hye is considering whether to visit Beijing next month for a high-profile celebration of China's victory over Japan in World War II, a spokesman said Monday. Presidential spokesman Min Kyung-wook told reporters that Park could make a decision as early as next week. Park's possible visit to China has become a sensitive diplomatic issue as Japan's Kyodo News Service reported that the United States has asked Park to skip China's celebrations. Kyodo reported that Park's vis
InternationalAug. 10, 2015
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Many firms willing to do business in N. Korea after unification: poll
A majority of South Korean companies are interested in doing business in North Korea after the divided peninsula is unified, but most think strained inter-Korean relations may make a united Korea unlikely, a poll showed Monday. According to the survey of 500 South Korean companies by the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 87 percent of the respondents said they have or will have an interest in doing business in the North after unification. Some 31 percent of the respondents said they wi
North KoreaAug. 10, 2015
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Samsung tops all smartphone markets except N. America
South Korea's top tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. topped smartphone markets around the globe, except for in North America, in the second quarter on robust sales of low- to mid-end devices, data showed Monday. Samsung stood as the top seller of smartphones in the European, Latin American, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and African markets in the April-June period, the data compiled by industry tracker Strategy Analytics showed. Industry watchers attributed Samsung's strong presence to its lower-e
IndustryAug. 10, 2015
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Foreigners continue net buying of S. Korean stocks
Foreign investors remained net buyers of South Korean stocks in the first seven months of this year on the back of a modest rise in the country's benchmark index, data showed Monday. Foreigners purchased a net $5.8 billion in the benchmark KOSPI and secondary KOSDAQ markets in the January-July period, maintaining their net-buy position for a fourth year, according to the data compiled by the Korea Exchange, the country's bourse operator. They have snapped up a net $32.6 billion since 2012, shi
Aug. 10, 2015
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Major shipbuilders to rack up record losses this year
South Korea's major shipyards, led by Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., are expected to log record losses this year as they struggle with money-losing projects to build offshore facilities and a decline in new orders, industry sources said Monday. The country's big three shipbuilders -- Hyundai Heavy, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. and Samsung Heavy Industries Co. -- are forecast to rack up a combined loss of up to 6 trillion won ($5.14 billion) for the year, the sources said. Hyunda
IndustryAug. 10, 2015