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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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NewJeans to terminate contract with Ador
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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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Hybe consolidates chairman Bang Si-hyuk’s regime with leadership changes
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NewJeans terminates contract with Ador, embarks on new journey
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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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Hanwha conducts executive reshuffle
Hanwha Group promoted Kim Chang-beom, executive vice president of Hanwha L&C, a construction material processing firm, to president, company officials said on Tuesday.The nation’s 10th-largest conglomerate by assets carried out its annual executive-level reshuffle of 139 personnel. The reshuffle had been delayed due to the top management vacuum caused by the imprisonment of group chairman Kim Seung-youn.“The group will call for new executives to drive its new growth engines as planned and to tap
April 30, 2013
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Customized policy will lure investment from large and small multinationals
Over the past few years, Korea has enjoyed strong foreign investment despite external difficulties, thanks to its free trade agreements with the U.S. and the EU, raised sovereign credit ratings and stable currency. FDI was unaffected by the recent threats from North Korea. In the first quarter of 2013, foreign investment inflow recorded $3.4 billion, up 44.7 percent from the same period a year ago. Many experts have concluded that the country’s investment environment is capable of absorbing thes
April 30, 2013
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Korea, China agree on basic guidelines for FTA
Korea and China have agreed on basic guidelines concerning product origin marking and customs clearance in their latest round of free trade agreement negotiations that ended on Sunday, Seoul officials said Monday.The two sides, however, have differed over the classification of sensitive items, which require an alleviated level of tariff cuts.During the three-day meeting which was held over the weekend in Harbin, the two countries once again confirmed their mutual commitment to effectuating the b
April 29, 2013
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FTC launches probe into Mercedes-Benz Korea dealer
South Korea’s antitrust watchdog has launched a probe into the largest dealer of Mercedes-Benz Korea, one of the major foreign car importers in South Korea, an industry official said Monday.The Fair Trade Commission carried out a written inquiry of Hansung Motor on whether the largest dealer and the second-largest shareholder of Mercedes-Benz Korea took unfair profits and disadvantaged other dealers of Mercedes-Benz Korea, the official said.Hansung Motor’s competitors have complained that they h
April 29, 2013
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S. Korea's current account surplus hits 4-month high in March
South Korea's current account surplus widened to a four-month high in March as exports gained ground despite the yen's weakness and the service account improved, the central bank said Monday.The current account surplus reached US$4.98 billion in March, up from $2.71 billion the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The current account is the broadest measure of cross-border trade.The March reading was the largest since November last year, marking the 14th straight month of a surp
April 29, 2013
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[Graphic News] Korea’s labor productivity still low
Korea’s labor productivity ranked 23rd among 34 members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in 2011, moving up one notch from 2010, the government said.In 2011, the total output by each Korean worker came to $62,185, which amounted to 79.9 percent of the OECD average but 60.6 percent of that of the U.S., according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.The ministry noted that Korea’s labor productivity grew at an average annual rate of 2.92 percent, the sixth high
April 28, 2013
![[Graphic News] Korea’s labor productivity still low](//res.heraldm.com/phpwas/restmb_idxmake.php?idx=652&simg=/content/image/2013/04/28/20130428000254_0.jpg&u=20130428204652)
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Multinational firms say university names not important in job seeking
CHEONGJU, North Chungcheong Province ― “Spec” is a term used by Korean job seekers. It refers to highly thought of qualifications such as university name, grades, internships, awards and overseas experience. Many Korean students believe great specs are a must for promising jobs.Shin Ji-yoon, 23, an English major senior at Chungbuk National University, admitted that she was daunted by students from in and around Seoul ― her soon-to-be competitors in the job market. “It would be a lie to say that
April 28, 2013
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Conglomerates hold back investment, log record-high retention rate
South Korea's conglomerates are holding back new investment with the level of unspent surplus money by affiliates of the country's 10 biggest conglomerates reaching the highest point in record, the bourse operator and the financial regulator said Sunday. The 69 firms, affiliated with South Korea's 10 biggest conglomerate groups whose financial year ended in December, recorded a combined retention rate of 1,441.7 percent for 2012, according to data by the Korea Exchange (KRX) and the Financial
April 28, 2013
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Gov't intervention in currency market would do more harm than good: minister
South Korea's finance minister said Saturday that it would "do more harm than good" for the government to intervene in the foreign currency market. Hyun Oh-seok, who concurrently serves as deputy prime minister in charge of the economy, made the remarks during a parliamentary committee meeting. "I think that it would do more harm than good for the government directly to intervene in (the movement of) foreign exchange rates in terms of market stability and trust," he said. His remarks were in
April 28, 2013
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Seoul shares edge down on weak momentum
South Korean stocks closed 0.36 percent lower Friday as investors sat on the sidelines due to the weak growth momentum in the market, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 7.04 points to finish at 1,944.56. Trading volume was low at 274.5 million shares worth 4 trillion won ($3.6 billion) with gainers outnumbering decliners 428 to 365.“Investors took a wait-and-see approach due to the lack of upward momentum in the sto
April 26, 2013
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Business circles condemn ‘anti-corporate’ bills
The nation’s five major business bodies loudly voiced their disapproval on Friday of bills for extending the retirement age and other pro-welfare initiatives stemming from President Park Geun-hye’s economic democratization policies. “We express our collective concern over the anti-corporate sentiment that is evident in recent bills proposed by lawmakers,” said Kim Young-vae, vice president of the Korea Employers Federation at an emergency press conference at Plaza Hotel.The KEF was joined by the
April 26, 2013
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Incheon Airport to host ACI conference in 2014
Incheon International Airport won the bid to host the 2014 Airports Council International Asia-Pacific Regional Assembly, Conference and Exhibition, company officials said Thursday. The selection was made at this year’s conference held in Phuket, Thailand, from April 22-25. Lee Young-keun, acting president of the airport, said the conference will be held from May 26-28 at COEX in southeastern Seoul, adding that he expected to welcome around 600 guests. “Incheon Airport has been named the best ai
April 25, 2013
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Public firms’ swelling debts threaten Korean economy
The debt of the nation’s top 28 state-owned companies whose assets exceed 2 trillion won ($1.8 billion) swelled to equal the national debt last year, posing a major threat to the Korean economy.The combined debt of large public companies such as Korea Land & Housing Corp. and Korea Electric Power Corp. reached 392.96 trillion won in 2012, up 8.7 percent from 361.4 trillion won a year earlier, the data compiled in accordance with each firm’s regulatory filings said. Meanwhile, the national debt r
April 25, 2013
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S. Korea's economic growth hits 2-year high in Q1
The South Korean economy grew at its fastest quarterly pace in two years in the first quarter as exports gained ground weathering the yen's weakness to the local currency, the central bank said Thursday.Korea's gross domestic product (GDP), the broadest measure of economic performance, grew 0.9 percent in the first quarter from three months earlier, quickening from 0.3 percent on-quarter growth in the fourth quarter of 2012, according to an advance estimate by the Bank of Korea (BOK).The first-q
April 25, 2013
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Dozens of Korean names in leaked data on tax havens: ICIJ
An international network of journalists said Tuesday that “quite a number of Korean names” are included in leaked data from tax havens, especially the British Virgin Islands.“There are several dozen Korean names,” Gerard Ryle, director of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, or ICIJ, told Yonhap News Agency.He added there are only South Koreans, no one from the North.“I can confirm there are South Koreans only in the data. Nobody from North Korea. We know this because of th
April 24, 2013
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Overseas construction tech school to open in 2015
A meister high school specializing in overseas engineering and construction education will open in 2015, officials said Wednesday.The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is to sign a memorandum of understanding on Thursday with the International Contractors’ Association of Korea and the Seoul Urban Science Technical High School, officials said Wednesday.The students will be provided with technical education, as well as language courses, and upon graduation will be given the opportunit
April 24, 2013
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Seoul working out measures to aid SMEs in Gaeseong
The government announced on Wednesday a set of measures to buffer losses to small and medium enterprises incurred from operation suspension in the inter-Korean industrial complex in Gaeseong.The Ministry of Unification said that state agencies will further provide liquidity, credit guarantees and tax breaks for SMEs whose Gaeseong plant operations had been ceased for more than two weeks amid escalating tensions with North Korea.It is considering further extending loans to those companies from it
April 24, 2013
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Korea's household debt-to-income ratio hits 9-year high in 2012
The ratio of South Korea's household debt against disposable income rose to the highest level in nine years in 2012 as debt grew at a faster pace than income amid the economic slowdown, central bank data showed Wednesday.The ratio of households' debt against their disposable income came in at 136 percent in 2012, slightly up from 134 percent in the previous year, according to data by the Bank of Korea (BOK).The 2012 figure marked the highest level since 2003 when the central bank began to compil
April 24, 2013
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Reactor stoppage causes power concerns
Unit 1 of the Shin Wolseong nuclear power plant in the nation’s southeastern region stopped operations on Tuesday due to a malfunction, according to the Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co.“The cause of the problem has yet to be identified, but the reactor is in stable condition without risk of a radiation leak,” a KHNP official said. The 1-million-kilowatt reactor, located near Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, began commercial operations in July 2012.With the temporary closure of the Shin Wols
April 23, 2013
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Divorce rate for seniors reaches record: data
The number of couples who divorced after living together for more than 20 years surpassed those with less than four years of marriage for the first time last year, Statistics Korea said Tuesday. The number of divorce cases filed by couples married for over 20 years reached 30,200 in 2012, compared with 28,200 of those married less than four years.This is up from 28,300 in 2011 for divorced couples with 20 years of marriage, but down from 30,700 for those married for less than four years.Couples
April 23, 2013
![[Graphic News] Korea’s labor productivity still low](http://res.heraldm.com/phpwas/restmb_idxmake.php?idx=652&simg=/content/image/2013/04/28/20130428000254_0.jpg&u=20130428204652)
