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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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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BOK makes surprise 2nd rate cut to boost growth
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Hybe consolidates chairman Bang Si-hyuk’s regime with leadership changes
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11 injured in 53-car pileup on icy road in Wonju
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Over 200 tech theft attempts in 2009-13: spy agency
There were 209 reported attempts of technology theft in the past five years, an overwhelming majority of them from small- and midsize companies, South Korea's spy agency said Tuesday.According to a center for protection of industrial secrets under the National Intelligence Service, attempted theft of trade secrets to foreign countries has grown to cover a wider range of sectors, with smaller companies falling prey because of weaker security awareness and lack of resources to invest in advanced s
April 1, 2014
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S. Korea's consumer prices grow 1.3% on-year in March
South Korea's consumer prices grew at the fastest pace in seven months in March, driven in part by a rise in personal service costs, including private education, a government report showed Tuesday.The country's consumer price index rose 1.3 percent in March from a year earlier, the fastest on-year rise since August last year when it gained 1.5 percent, according to the report by Statistics Korea.This marked the first time since November that the growth rate has quickened on a month-to-month basi
April 1, 2014
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S. Korea's trade surplus widens in March on growing exports
South Korea's trade surplus widened from a year earlier last month as the growth of its exports outpaced that of imports, the government said Tuesday.The country's trade surplus reached $4.19 billion in March with outbound shipments coming to $49.76 billion, up 5.2 percent from the same month last year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.Imports gained 3.6 percent on-year to $45.57 billion. (Yonhap)
April 1, 2014
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S. Korea, Mexico to launch economic cooperation committee
South Korea and Mexico have agreed to launch a committee to beef up bilateral economic cooperation, the finance ministry said Monday.The agreement was reached in Brazil on Sunday (local time) between Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok and his Mexican counterpart, Luis Videgaray. They were attending an annual meeting of the Inter-American Development Bank.The so-called economic cooperation committee will be launched in the second half of this year at the earliest and take comprehensive government-leve
March 31, 2014
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S. Korean exports grow thanks to free trade pacts: report
A disabled couple expressed deep anger at American Airlines over a disparaging customer description note by the carrier’s employee, ABC reported on Friday, local time. Free trade pacts that went into effect in the last decade played a role in fueling South Korean exports, a report by an international traders association showed Sunday.According to the Korea International Trade Association, nine open trade arrangements reached so far allowed local companies to make further inroads into 46 countrie
March 30, 2014
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Fisheries minister promises efforts to minimize loss for fishermen from China FTA
South Korea's fisheries minister pledged full government efforts to limit losses by local fishermen from a free trade agreement with China and take compensatory measures for businesses inevitably hurt by the pact.In an interview with Yonhap News Agency on Sunday, Lee Ju-young, the minister of oceans and fisheries, acknowledged that there were many products from which South Korean fisherman would suffer losses if tariffs on those are removed or reduced from the FTA.The two countries are currently
March 30, 2014
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Seoul shares expected to move sideways next week
The South Korean stock market is expected to trade in a narrow range next week amid a series of events at home and abroad, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 2.22 percent from the previous week to close at 1,981.00 Friday, supported by the improved consumers' data from the U.S. and rosy outlook over the eurozone economy.Earlier this week, Seoul shares traded lower after British bank HSBC said the PMI for China's manufacturing sector is expected
March 29, 2014
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Seoul shares stay mostly unchanged
Stocks on the local markets closed nearly flat Friday as investors appeared to hold mixed views on the global economy, analysts said. The South Korean won traded higher against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index moved up 3.03 points, or 0.15 percent, to 1,981.00. Trading volume was low at 241 million shares worth 3.4 trillion won ($3.18 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 479 to 303.After opening lower, trading of Seoul shares was mixed during the trading session
March 28, 2014
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Manufacturers’ confidence for April hits 23-month high
Business sentiment among South Korean manufacturers rose to its highest in 23 months for April as the local economy continued on a recovery track, but it still remains weak, the central bank said Friday.The index, which gauges manufacturers’ outlook on business conditions for the coming month, reached 86 for April, up from 85 recorded for March, according to a monthly survey by the Bank of Korea.The April numbers marked the highest since the index hit 90 for May 2012, it added.A reading below th
March 28, 2014
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More women in workforce solution to global problems
Encouraging women’s labor participation and preventing disruptions in their careers is not an act of compassion for the weaker gender but rather a key socio economic solution to some of the major problems faced by the world today. This was the idea shared by Cho Yoon-sun, Minister of Gender Equality and Family, and Kathy Matsui, co-head of Goldman Sachs Macro Research in Asia.The two spoke on Friday at a conference jointly held by the Asan Institute for Policy Studies and Goldman Sachs under the
March 28, 2014
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Stocks start lower on losses in techs, autos
The local stock market began on a lower note on Friday on losses in technology firms and carmakers, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 6.04 points, or 0.31 percent, to 1,971.93 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Builders traded lower, with Daewoo Engineering & Construction falling 0.76 percent and Daelim Industrial losing 0.75 percent. GS Engineering & Construction shed 1.4 percent.Carmakers lost ground, with No. 1 Hyundai Motor falling 0.2 percent and its
March 28, 2014
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Regulations to be relaxed on exports, foreign workers
Policymakers said Thursday that the government was considering easing 41 major regulatory hurdles by the end of 2014 as follow-up measures to President Park Geun-hye’s recent deregulation initiative.At a meeting of economic policymakers, the Finance Ministry said it would accept 41 out of a total of 52 proposals on deregulation made during the televised talks between the president and local business people a week ago.“Out of the 41, the government will ease or lift regulatory hurdles for 27 of t
March 27, 2014
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[Graphic News] Korea’s FTA status soars after decade
When the Korean government first announced its goal to ink as many free trade agreements as possible as a part of its trade policy road map in August 2003, trade specialists doubted the plan’s feasibility.But a decade on, Korea, once a newcomer in the field of FTAs, is now one of the world leaders in such trade pacts, according to data from the Trade Ministry and the Korea International Trade Association.
March 27, 2014
![[Graphic News] Korea’s FTA status soars after decade](//res.heraldm.com/phpwas/restmb_idxmake.php?idx=652&simg=/content/image/2014/03/27/20140327001620_0.jpg&u=20140327205730)
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Korean firms’ business sentiment dips for April
South Korea’s major companies are expecting slightly sluggish business conditions in April due to concerns over a slowdown of economic growth in China and the U.S. Federal Reserve’s tapering of its bond-buying program, a poll showed Thursday.The Business Survey Index came to 99.5 for next month, down from 104.4 forecast for March, according to the poll of the largest 600 companies by sales conducted by the Federation of Korean Industries.A BSI reading below the benchmark 100 mark means pessimist
March 27, 2014
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Korea’s trade volume more than doubles since first FTA
South Korea’s trade volume has more than doubled in the 10 years since the country implemented its first-ever free trade agreement with Chile, a local trade organization said Thursday.The country enacted its FTA with Chile 10 years ago on April 1. The deal had prompted a wide range of concerns at the time over the possible fallout for the country’s farmers and agricultural market, along with doubts about its much-advertised benefits.Such concerns and questions have yet to disappear completely ev
March 27, 2014
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Korea, Turkey to hold FTA talks on service sector
South Korea and Turkey will hold a fresh round of negotiations on a free trade agreement for their service industries, the South Korean government said Thursday.The sixth round of negotiations for a South Korea-Turkey FTA for their service sectors will be held Wednesday through Friday in Ankara, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.The two countries enacted their bilateral FTA for products in May 2013, lowering or removing their import tariffs on nearly all products traded bet
March 27, 2014
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Worker killed in gas leak at Samsung
A gas leakage at a Samsung facility in southern Seoul sparked by a malfunction of the fire extinguishing system left one worker dead, local authorities said Thursday, raising concerns over the safety conditions at the country's top tech giant amid a series of similar accidents. Local police and fire authorities said the building's safety system released carbon dioxide after it wrongly detected fire, suffocating a 52-year-old man who worked for a partner company of Samsung. Officials from a
March 27, 2014
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Korean economy near growth potential: BOK head
South Korea's economy has improved to near its long-term growth potential since being hit by the global financial crisis, the outgoing governor of the central bank said.Gov. Kim Choong-soo said Wednesday in his farewell meeting with reporters that it is certain that the Korean economy has improved compared with four years earlier."The economy improved to near its growth potential," the governor said. "It is great luck for me to leave (the BOK) at a time when overall macroeconomic conditions have
March 27, 2014
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Mutual recognition arrangements ease nontariff barriers for firms
Companies approved by customs offices as complying with the World Customs Organization’s security standards can ease nontariff barriers through mutual recognition arrangements, according to the Korea Customs Service.Authorized economic operators’ mutual recognition arrangements, or AEO MRAs, are agreements inked between customs authorities to allow the companies, known as authorized economic operators, to receive the same treatment in foreign countries as domestic AEOs.These agreements mainly se
March 26, 2014
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Korea Customs Service to lead Government 3.0
The government will unveil information on the original prices of imported goods and how they pass through retailers so that customers can better understand the pricing policies, according to the Korea Customs Service.The authorities are also considering various deregulatory measures so that customs services can begin to contribute to the economy. These and other plans are a part of a government blueprint called “Government 3.0,” aimed at widening government access to administrative data that can
March 26, 2014
![[Graphic News] Korea’s FTA status soars after decade](http://res.heraldm.com/phpwas/restmb_idxmake.php?idx=652&simg=/content/image/2014/03/27/20140327001620_0.jpg&u=20140327205730)
