Most Popular
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Seoul blanketed by heaviest Nov. snow, with more expected
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NewJeans to terminate contract with Ador
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Seoul snowfall now third heaviest on record
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NewJeans terminates contract with Ador, embarks on new journey
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Samsung shakes up management, commits to reviving chip business
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Hybe consolidates chairman Bang Si-hyuk’s regime with leadership changes
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Korean Air gets European nod to become Northeast Asia’s largest airline
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Heavy snow of up to 40 cm blankets Seoul for 2nd day
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How $70 funeral wreaths became symbol of protest in S. Korea
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Chaos unfolds as rare November snowstorm grips Korea for 2nd day
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Korea’s labor productivity drops in Q2
South Korea’s labor productivity fell from a year earlier in the second quarter as the global economic downturn caused a drop in the country’s exports, the government said Monday.The labor productivity index for all industries in the April-June period came to 105.4, down 1.2 percent from the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy.The figure, however, marks a slower drop of labor productivity from the first quarter when the index fell 2.3 percent on-year.Labor produ
Sept. 24, 2012
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Consumer spending growth slows down
South Korea’s consumer spending grew at a slower pace than the country’s economic growth for the past three years, data showed Monday, adding to concerns that domestic demand may further cool.The annual growth of Korea’s consumer spending ran lower than that of the economic growth between the third quarter of 2009 and the second quarter of this year, marking the longest streak of such a trend, according to data by the central bank and the Samsung Economic Research Institute.The average growth ra
Sept. 24, 2012
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SK Comm. begins merger talks with Kakao Talk
HONG KONG (Yonhap News) ― SK Communications Co., South Korea’s third-largest Internet portal service provider, is in an early stage of merger talks with the developer of South Korea’s most prominent social network service, sources said Monday.SK Communications, which operates Cyworld, once South Korea’s most prominent social networking service, is seeking to merge with Kakao Corp. that operates a namesake mobile messenger service, several financial sources in Hong Kong confirmed.The move could p
IndustrySept. 24, 2012
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STX picks preferred bidder for energy unit
STX Group, a South Korean shipping and shipbuilding conglomerate, said Monday that it has chosen Orix Corp. of Japan as a preferred bidder for a major stake in its energy unit.STX Group has been seeking to sell units or list them on the local stock market as part of efforts to secure cash, thus putting its balance sheet in good shape.The group plans to sell a 39.9 percent stake in its energy affiliate STX Energy Co. Other STX affiliates such as STX Corp. hold a combined 90.99 percent share of ST
Sept. 24, 2012
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Interest payment on national debt to top W21tr
South Korea is expected to pay around 21 trillion won ($18.7 billion) in interest on its debt this year amid increased borrowing by the government to tide over the global economic crisis, data showed Monday.According to the data provided by the finance ministry to the National Assembly, interest payment on the nation’s debt will amount to some 21.5 trillion won this year, compared with last year’s 18.9 trillion won.Interest payment on the debt already reached 9.6 trillion won in the first seven
Sept. 24, 2012
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SK Telecom eyes China healthcare market
SK Telecom Co., South Korea’s top mobile carrier, said Monday it has purchased a major stake in a Chinese medical equipment maker as part of its efforts to enter the world’s No. 2 economy.Under the deal with Xian Tianlong Science and Technology Co., SK Telecom acquired a 49 percent stake in the Chinese healthcare venture, the company said in a statement. The financial terms were undisclosed.“SK Telecom plans to provide its management expertise to Tianlong and cooperate on research and developmen
Sept. 24, 2012
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LG files for injunction against Samsung
LG Electronics said Monday it filed for an injunction against Samsung Electronics at a Seoul court involving its rival’s advertisement on the two companies’ high-capacity refrigerators.LG said that Samsung should immediately stop airing its advertisements posted on YouTube because they contain unverifiable information that is ruining the reputation of its own refrigerators as well as its corporate image.According to LG, Samsung posted a video ad on Aug. 22 that compares the capacity of the two f
IndustrySept. 24, 2012
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KDB offers soft loans for small, medium-sized firms
Korea Development Bank on Monday introduced a special loan product with an average annual interest of 3.95 percent for small and medium-sized companies, a year after creating a sensation with a money market deposit account that offers a generous interest of 3.5 percent.KDB chairman Kang Man-soo told reporters that the low-interest loans for small firms worth a total of 3 trillion won ($2.7 billion) comes in celebration of Korea’s recent credit rating upgrade by Moody’s and Fitch to a level above
Sept. 24, 2012
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Korea, Latin America celebrate 50 years of ties
Korea-Latin America Economic Cooperation Week kicked off Monday in Seoul with a grand opening ceremony in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of their economic partnership. Hosted by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy and organized by the Korea International Trade Association, Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, Korea Institute for International Economic Police and Korean Council on Latin America and the Caribbean, the seven-day convention takes place from Sept. 24-28 and from Oct. 4-5, an
Sept. 24, 2012
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India’s Mahindra worried about reignited Ssangyong controversy
Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., the owner of Ssangyong Motor Co., is concerned about the recent parliamentary debate on Ssangyong’s mass layoff in 2009, but has no immediate plans to reinstate fired workers, a local business organization said Monday.Faced with a severe liquidity crunch, Ssangyong Motor, the smallest carmaker in South Korea that specializes in sport utility vehicles, was forced to lay off 2,600 workers, or 37 percent of its workforce, in August 2009.“If the restructuring in August 2009
MobilitySept. 24, 2012
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GS Group must focus on Chinese operations: Huh
GS Group chairman Huh Chang-soo wants his company to make a measured but significant leap into Chinese markets based on the technological prowess and experience it has gained from the domestic market.“GS Group must focus its core competence on managing (the company’s) Chinese business operations,” Huh said on Monday when he made an on-site visit to the Chinese operations of GS Caltex and GS Global in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province. Huh, flanked by GS Corp. vice chairman Seo Gyeong-seok and other execu
IndustrySept. 24, 2012
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‘French firms need to be more responsive to cultural difference’
Cultural understanding should be sought before doing business in Korea: French chamber chiefSome Korean branches of major French luxury goods companies have come under criticism from news media here when they reported an increase in sales or net profit. The Korean branch of the world’s best-selling luxury brand Louis Vuitton S.A. reportedly raked in about 497.4 billion won ($440 million) in sales and about 44.9 billion won in net profit between 2009 and 2010. The luxury giant received a cool res
Sept. 24, 2012
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New stem-cell treatment saves many lives
Petcharat Pokrang says it is a miracle that her 7-year-old son Palwawat, or “Ton Kla,” survived after being diagnosed with severe aplastic anaemia ― a condition in which bone marrow fails to produce sufficient new blood cells ― in April last year. Doctors in Saraburi told her the boy would not survive without a bone-marrow transplant, which costs up to 1 million baht ($32,400). Petcharat could not afford it. But as the boy’s condition worsened ― the whites of his eyes turned red and he experienc
TechnologySept. 24, 2012
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Cell scientist pushes to clone extinct mammoth
A South Korean private bioengineering laboratory led by disgraced stem cell scientist Hwang Woo-suk said Monday it is stepping up efforts to make progress in cloning an extinct woolly mammoth.To that end, the Sooam Biotech Research Foundation signed an agreement Sunday with Russia’s North-Eastern Federal University that gives the foundation the exclusive right to study the mammoth remains found in northwestern Siberia, according to lab officials. The agreement came six months after both parties
TechnologySept. 24, 2012
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Kumho Asiana chief named honorary citizen in China
Kumho Asiana Group chairman Park Sam-koo was conferred honorary citizenship by authorities in Nanjing, China, for his contribution to development of the region.Park has been evaluated as one of the key business leaders, who have pushed ahead with bilateral economic cooperation between Korea and China.Kumho Tire’s Nanjing plant, set up in 1994 as a joint venture with a Chinese tire manufacturer, currently produces 5 million tires every year, accounting for 14 percent of the world’s fastest-growin
IndustrySept. 24, 2012
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SK Communications begins merger talks with Kakao Talk
SK Communications Co., South Korea‘s third-largest Internet portal service provider, is in an early stage of merger talks with the developer of South Korea’s most prominent social network service, sources said Monday.SK Communications, which operates Cyworld, once South Korea‘s most prominent social networking service, is seeking to merge with Kakao Corp. that operates a namesake mobile messenger service, several financial sources in Hong Kong confirmed.The move could possibly lead to the format
TechnologySept. 24, 2012
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Korean researcher pushes to clone extinct mammoth
(123rf)A Korean private bioengineering laboratory led by disgraced stem cell scientist Hwang Woo-suk said Monday it is stepping up efforts to make progress in cloning an extinct woolly mammoth.To that end, the Sooam Biotech Research Foundation signed an agreement Sunday with Russia's North-Eastern Federal University that gives the foundation the exclusive right to study the mammoth remains found i
TechnologySept. 24, 2012
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Pacifiers may stunt boys emotionally
U.S. researchers for the first time have linked heavy pacifier use among baby boys to poorer emotional maturity through to adulthood.Lead author Paula Niedenthal, a psychology professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said a baby with a pacifier in its mouth is less able to mirror expressions -- a child‘s first communication.The researchers found 6- and 7-year-old boys who had spent more time with pacifiers in their mouths when younger were less likely to mimic the emotional expressions
TechnologySept. 24, 2012
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Top 30 conglomerates‘ annual salary stands at 63 mln won
Employees of South Korea’s leading 30 conglomerates earned an average of 63 million won last year, with Hyundai Motor Group workers topping the list, data showed Monday. Hyundai Motor Group, the nation‘s second-largest chaebol by asset, eclipsed others with 84 million won, according to the data by corporate information tracker Chaebol.com., which analyzed the annual income of under-department manager-level employees at 193 listed affiliates of the conglomerates,Hyundai Heavy Industries Group cam
IndustrySept. 24, 2012
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New NASA photo satellite joins mission
SIOUX FALLS, South Dakota (AP) ― A fleet of picture-snapping NASA satellites that for 40 years has documented forest fires, tsunamis and everyday changes in the Earth’s geography will soon get a new member.With Landsat 8 set for a February launch, nearly 140 scientists and engineers from more than 25 countries are scheduled to gather in South Dakota next week to discuss how to best download, process and distribute the millions of data-rich images used in agriculture, education, business and gove
TechnologySept. 23, 2012
