Most Popular
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Actor Jung Woo-sung admits to being father of model Moon Ga-bi’s child
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Wealthy parents ditch Korean passports to get kids into international school
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First snow to fall in Seoul on Wednesday
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Man convicted after binge eating to avoid military service
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Trump picks ex-N. Korea policy official as his principal deputy national security adviser
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Final push to forge UN treaty on plastic pollution set to begin in Busan
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Korea to hold own memorial for forced labor victims, boycotting Japan’s
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S. Korea not to attend Sado mine memorial: foreign ministry
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Nvidia CEO signals Samsung’s imminent shipment of AI chips
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Toxins at 622 times legal limit found in kids' clothes from Chinese platforms
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Korea Aerospace to go public June 30
Korea Aerospace Industries on Wednesday announced its expansion plan to become the comprehensive aircraft manufacturing company, with details to go public at the end of this month.“KAI is the country’s only comprehensive producer of aircraft materials since it was merged with Samsung Daewoo and Hyundai’s aircraft sectors in October 1999,” president Kim Hong-kyung told reporters at a news conferenc
June 15, 2011
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Lone Star ineligible as KEB's major shareholder: lawmaker
Lone Star Funds is ineligible as Korea Exchange Bank's major shareholder since the U.S. private buyout fund's 2003 acquisition of the South Korean lender may be illegal, a lawmaker said Tuesday.The remarks come as Lone Star Funds is in talks with Hana Financial Group Inc., the country's No. 4 banking group, to settle the sale of its 51.02 percent stake in KEB for 4.69 trillion won ($4.3 billion).I
June 14, 2011
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KDB Financial forced to give up Woori
Regulator grants equal opportunities for local and foreign biddersThe financial authorities have decided to allow foreign investors to participate in the coming bidding for Woori Financial Group, reversing their earlier stance to hand over the state-run group to a Korean investor.With the decision, former Finance Minister Kang Man-soo, who is serving as chairman of KDB Financial Group, has failed
June 14, 2011
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Most productive workforce shrinks
Trend is likely to continue, hurting economic competitiveness Core productiveThe most productive workforce aged between 25 and 49 has begun shrinking for the first time in recorded history, data showed on Tuesday, marking a trend likely to continue and weigh down on competitiveness of the economy.The Statistics Korea said the core productive population stood at 19.54 million as of end-2010, down 3
June 14, 2011
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Institutional investors drive shares up 1.37%
Korean stocks ended 1.37 percent higher on Tuesday as institutional investors scooped up carmakers and financial shares, overshadowing concerns over the eurzone debt crisis, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index climbed 28.09 points to 2,076.83, the second straight session of gains.Trading volume was light at 207 million shar
June 14, 2011
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Korea logs record account surplus with China
Korea posted a record current account surplus with China in 2010 as exports to the world’s fastest-growing economy hit an all-time high, the central bank said Tuesday.Korea’s current account surplus with China reached $52.8 billion last year, compared with a $37.9 billion surplus in 2009, according to the Bank of Korea.It marked the largest surplus since 1998 when the BOK began to compile related
June 14, 2011
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Korea to beef up efforts to curb household debt: FSC
Korea plans to beef up efforts to curb the growth of household debt and mend the practice of extending home loans in a bid to prevent household indebtedness from increasing market instability, the financial watchdog said Tuesday. Korea’s household debt stood at 801.4 trillion won ($738.2 billion) as of the end of March, accounting for 86 percent of the country’s gross domestic product. The number
June 14, 2011
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[Herald Interview] ‘Ethics training imperative for bankers and regulators’
Deploying an industry wide business ethics program for bankers and regulators is imperative to uproot irregularities and cut long-held collusive ties, the chief Asia economist at HIS Global Insight said in Seoul on Tuesday.“Ethics need to be taught and shared among peer groups. Professionals above graduate level often have never had chances to train themselves on what is right and wrong in specifi
June 14, 2011
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Regulator vetoes KDB’s bid for Woori
Korea's top financial regulator said Tuesday it is not desirable for KDB Financial Group Inc. to bid for state-run Woori Finance Holdings Co., raising the chances that the much-awaited sale of the group will hit a snag.Korea announced a road map for the sale of state-run Woori Finance, the country's No. 2 banking group, on May 17, after it suspended the deal worth around $6 billion to sell its 56.
June 14, 2011
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Full-timers in 50s become the most active workforce
The portion of the workforce in their 50s has frequently exceeded that in their 30s in the past two years, as the country quickly becomes an aging society.Statistics Korea said Monday that the number of baby boomers working in their 50s had exceeded the number of workers in their 30s four times since October 2009, when the older group outnumbered the younger workers for the first time. The proport
June 13, 2011
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Korea ramps up efforts to detect offshore tax evaders
Korea is stepping up efforts to ferret out people and businesses engaged in offshore tax evasion schemes by directly investigating foreign financial accounts, the tax office said Monday.The National Tax Service said it will carry out the investigations in cooperation with tax authorities in foreign countries that have been cited for becoming tax havens for Korean nationals and companies. Individua
June 13, 2011
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Market competition crucial for curbing inflation: minister
Korea needs to boost market competition further in order to fight high inflation, the biggest headache for the economy, the top economic policymaker said Monday.The remarks by Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan come as South Korea is struggling with high inflation. The country’s consumer prices surged 4.1 percent on-year in May, hovering above the 4 percent level for five months running and well above
June 13, 2011
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FSC faces hurdle over Woori sale
Opposition party against revising law on financial holding firmsThe sale of state-run Woori Financial Group faces a significant showdown this week as to whether financial authorities can gain the momentum needed to push for the revision of laws on financial holding companies.The Financial Services Commission is considering proposing a revision to a bill allowing a financial group to own another fi
June 13, 2011
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Blue House dragging feet on BOK vacancy
Seat on rate-setting committee has been empty for over a yearThe presidential office has failed to address filling a vacant seat at the central bank’s interest rate-setting panel for 14 months despite the growing need to fight mounting inflationary pressure.In tandem, Bank of Korea Governor Kim Choong-soo has been criticized for allegedly glossing over laws on the BOK concerning the bank’s Monetar
June 12, 2011
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Buffett lunch auction raises record $2.63 million for charity
Warren Buffett’s annual charity lunch auction raised a record $2.63 million on the final day of the weeklong contest after the bidder who’d already won offered more cash to set the mark. The revised winning bid for a steakhouse meal with the 80-year-old billionaire beat by $100 the record set last year by an unidentified donor. This year’s contest is the 12th benefiting San Francisco’s Glide cha
June 12, 2011
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BOK hikes rate to 3.25 percent in inflation fight
Central bank expects 3.9% inflation and 4.5% growth this yearThe Bank of Korea on Friday raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 3.25 percent, surprising the market that expected another rate freeze to accommodate slowing exports and surging debt burdens on households. The monetary policy committee at the central bank lifted the seven day repurchase rate for the third t
June 10, 2011
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Gucci ditches Shilla for Lotte Duty Free
Italian fashion brand Gucci is closing both of its outlets from Shilla Duty Free in Incheon International Airport to move to Lotte Duty Free, a decision slapping Shilla for giving exclusive favors to the brand’s rival Louis Vuitton.Gucci is said to have complained to Shilla over the lower commission fee and favorable spots the Hotel Shilla affiliate gave to Louis Vuitton. The 10 to 20 percent of c
June 9, 2011
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Jeonse prices soar to 60% of property value
Lump-sum deposits, or jeonse, neared 60 percent of average housing prices in Seoul and its surrounding areas in the first quarter, reflecting a growing burden on low- and middle-income living on leases.A report on the housing market by KB Bank on Thursday said deposits for jeonse stood at 58.9 percent of apartment prices on average, the highest since it reached 59.5 percent in November 2004.Jeonse
June 9, 2011
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FSC seeks to ban lawsuits for small-amount financial disputes
The Financial Services Commission is to propose a bill banning financial companies from filing suits against customers if the disputes are over a “small” amount of transactions.The bill is expected to define small-amount dispute cases as those whose transactions do not exceed 5 million won ($4,600).While the FSC said the bill will be designed in coordination with relevant ministries, the regulator
June 9, 2011
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Kang clashes with GNP over mega-bank
KDB Financial Group chairman Kang Man-soo has clashed with lawmakers of the governing Grand National Party over the issue of launching a mega-bank here.Kang, a close confidant of President Lee Myung-bak, is pushing ahead with a merger between KDB Financial and public fund-injected Woori Financial Group. KDB Financial Group chairman Kang Man-sooBut, aside from opposition lawmakers, a group of GNP l
June 8, 2011