Most Popular
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Heavy snow alerts issued in greater Seoul area, Gangwon Province; over 20 cm of snow seen in Seoul
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Seoul blanketed by heaviest Nov. snow, with more expected
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Seoul snowfall now third heaviest on record
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Samsung shakes up management, commits to reviving chip business
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NewJeans to terminate contract with Ador
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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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Why cynical, 'memeified' makeovers of kids' characters are so appealing
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Hybe consolidates chairman Bang Si-hyuk’s regime with leadership changes
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BOK makes surprise 2nd rate cut to boost growth
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Eximbank to increase financial support for exporters in H2
The Export-Import Bank of Korea said Wednesday it plans to provide an additional 5 trillion won ($4.4 billion) to exporters and small firms in the second half of the year in an effort to ease liquidity problems.The state-run trade bank said it plans to expand trade financing by 3 trillion won for exporters, which are having trouble securing liquidity amid the slowing global economy.Eximbank also said it will inject the remaining funds to ailing shipyards, builders and other small companies.South
July 18, 2012
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Shares down 1.48% on Fed disappointment
Korean stocks closed 1.48 percent lower on Wednesday as investor sentiment took a blow from U.S. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s bleak economic outlook, analysts said. The local currency climbed against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index slumped 27.05 points to 1,794.91. Trading volume was moderate at 448.5 million shares worth 4.4 trillion won ($3.9 billion), with decliners outnumbering gainers 658 to 169.“Bernanke’s gloomy economic outlook as well as weakening hopes ov
July 18, 2012
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Seoul launches national smart grid project
Korea announced on Wednesday the official start of a program to install a nationwide smart grid system that will help the country’s businesses and households save billions of dollars in coming years.A ceremony hosted by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy marked the official launch of the five-year project that will make the country one of the first in the world to have a nationwide smart grid system.A smart grid system largely consists of what is known as advanced metering infrastructure that aff
July 18, 2012
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Korea’s trade surplus with EU plunges after FTA takes effect
Korea’s trade surplus with the European Union fell sharply after the free trade pact went into effect a year ago due to eurozone woes that hurt exports and caused a rise in imports, government data showed Wednesday.According to data by the Korea Customs Service, imports from the EU shot up 13 percent on-year to $49 billion between July 2011 and June this year. Exports fell to $50.9 billion from $57.9 billion during the period, with the surplus dropping to just $1.9 billion from $14.5 billion rep
July 18, 2012
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Inter-bank FX turnover hits over 4-year high in Q2
Korean banks’ daily foreign exchange trading volume rose to the highest level in more than four years in the second quarter amid a continued current account surplus, the central bank said Wednesday.The daily foreign exchange trading volume among banks averaged $22.72 billion in the April-June period, up 1.2 percent from three months earlier, according to the Bank of Korea. The reading marked the highest level since $23.37 billion in the first quarter of 2008.Daily transactions of foreign exchang
July 18, 2012
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Financial holding firms’ overseas expansion slows
Korean financial holdings companies were lukewarm about expanding their overseas operations in the first half of the year due to jitters over the eurozone debt crisis and a slowing world economy, the financial regulator said Wednesday. The country’s 10 financial holding companies had 150 overseas branches, representative offices and wholly-owned subsidiaries as of June, compared with 151 six months earlier, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.The FSS said worsening global market condi
July 18, 2012
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Robotic industry exports counter domestic slump
As demand in Korea slowed, exports drove up production last yearThe nation’s robotics industry broke the 2 trillion won ($1.75 billion) mark in terms of production last year, largely driven by strong demand from the soaring Chinese market, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said Wednesday. A recent ministry report said the overall production of the nation’s robotic industry went up 20 percent to about 2.15 trillion won last year. Amid slowing demand in Korea as well as in Europe and North America
July 18, 2012
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Super-efficient toilets propel high technology down the drain
SAN JOSE, California ― It’s one of the most critical pieces of technology in your home. And though most consumers don’t think of their humble toilet as a tech product, researchers and engineers at global companies like Caroma and Toto are racing to improve designs so toilets consume far less water.Recent droughts, a growing global population and concerns about the impact of climate change on the world’s water resources have led to a surge of interest in water conservation as well as efforts to “
TechnologyJuly 18, 2012
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SKT introduces billing app for smartphones
SK Telecom, Korea’s biggest mobile carrier, said Wednesday that it has launched an application where users can receive their bills and pay them through smartphones.The application named “Smartphone Billing & Payment Platform” can be downloaded by any smartphone users at SK Telecom’s T Store, Google’s Android or Apple’s App Store.With the app, users can not only pay their telephone bills, but also property and other taxes to regional government offices.The development of the app was part of effor
TechnologyJuly 18, 2012
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New Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer has huge task ahead
SAN JOSE, California ― She was accepted to all 10 colleges she applied to. With 14 job offers in hand upon graduation, she had a data-crunching economist help her with the winnowing. And when she went house hunting, Marissa Mayer settled on a Palo Alto, California, Craftsman ― after first looking at more than 100 properties.Then there’s her thing with cupcakes. The former Google Inc. superstar and now Yahoo Inc. CEO once deconstructed them right down to the paper linings: “You’ve got to go with
TechnologyJuly 18, 2012
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KCC plan does little to calm net neutrality debate
State telecom regulator releases plan that would allow operators to limit accessNetwork neutrality has become the center of debate in Korea as the state telecom regulator last Friday released its draft plan on how to use and control communication networks.While the plan itself did not satisfy any of those involved in the debate, many say the Korea Communications Commission has given the upper hand to the country’s three telecom operators.Network neutrality refers to the principle that the Intern
TechnologyJuly 18, 2012
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Hite-Jinro launches social contribution team
Hite-Jinro, Korea’s leading beer and soju maker said Wednesday that it has established a social contribution team, promising to more actively engage in charity works for the underprivileged in the society.“As the top domestic brewery and liquor company, Hite-Jinro set up a social contribution team to boost contribution activities,” the company said in a statement.“The team will also develop its own programs that reflect the company’s characteristics and match with its reputation,” said a company
July 18, 2012
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NPS launches volunteer group
The National Pension Service has launched a new volunteer group named “Pro Bono,” a company official said on Wednesday.The NPS held the launch ceremony at its headquarters in southeastern Seoul on Tuesday for the opening of “sharing bank accounts” for its staff in which funds will be raised for medical treatments for disabled children.The title “Pro Bono” comes from a Latin term meaning “for the good of the public.” It refers to distributing knowledge and public service to the citizens free of c
July 18, 2012
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Glacier calves Manhattan-sized iceberg
(Yonhap News)An island of ice twice the size of Manhattan broke off from Greenland‘s largest glaciers Monday, a U.S. researcher reports.University of Delaware ocean scientist Andread Muenchow blogged the “calving”from the Petermann Glacier, one of the two largest glaciers left in Greenland connecting the great Greenland ice sheet with the ocean via a floating ice shelf.Muenchow, who credits the Ca
TechnologyJuly 18, 2012
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Miracle? Dog gives birth to ‘cat’
A man claimed that his dog gave birth to what looks like a kitten, Yonhap News reported Wednesday.Jeong Pyong-bong, a 63-year-old man from South Jeolla Province said that his dog gave birth to what looks and sounds like a baby cat. “It is unbelievable,” said Jeong. “People from all over the town are coming over after hearing the news.”He said the mother dog seems to have gotten pregnant after wondering around the town since last May.However experts said it is theoretically “impossible for a do
TechnologyJuly 18, 2012
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World’s lightest material is created
German researchers say they’ve created the lightest material in the world, a network of porous carbon tubes they’ve dubbed “Aerographite.”Scientists of Kiel University and Hamburg University of Technology said the tubes, three-dimensionally interwoven at the nano and micro level, create a material that weighs just 0.2 milligrams per cubic centimeter -- which means ordinary Styrofoam is almost 400 times heavier.“Our work is causing great discussions in the scientific community. Aerographite weigh
TechnologyJuly 18, 2012
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6-foot lizard loose in Colorado
This photo is not directly related to this article(Bloomberg)A six-foot-long(1.88 meter) Nile monitor lizard escaped its enclosure and was on the loose in Teller County, Colo., police said Tuesday.Emergency notifications went out to residents in the Woodland West, Westwood Lakes and Rosewood Hills subdivisions between the Colorado communities of Divide and Woodland Park that care needs to be exerc
TechnologyJuly 18, 2012
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Seoul shares turn higher after weak start
South Korean stocks got off to a weak start on Wednesday but swung to positive territory on hopes for the U.S. Fed's further quantitative easing, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 0.44 points, or 0.02 percent, to 1,822.4 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Blue-chip exporters led the gains, with Samsung Electronics adding 1.11 percent and top automaker Hyund
July 18, 2012
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S. Korea's trade surplus with EU plunges after FTA
South Korea's trade surplus with the European Union (EU) fell sharply after the free trade pact went into effect a year ago due to eurozone woes that hurt exports and caused a rise in imports, government data showed Wednesday.According to data by the Korea Customs Service (KCS), imports from the EU shot up 13 percent on-year to US$49 billion between July 2011 and June this year. Exports fell to $5
July 18, 2012
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IMF warns global uncertainty causes headwinds for Korea
Rising global uncertainty and weaker external demand are causing headwinds for export-dependent economies such as South Korea, the International Monetary Fund said Monday. In its updated Global Financial Stability Report, the IMF said that conditions in regional dollar funding markets have also tightened since mid-March, although Asia appears better shielded from the euro area crisis compared to Central and Eastern Europe. “Growth in China has also slowed, weighing on markets across Asia, as wel
July 17, 2012
