Most Popular
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Seoul Fireworks Festival ends smoothly, but leaves piles of trash
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[AtoZ into Korean mind] The price of numbers: How rankings shape lives in Korea
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Yoon set for talks with Marcos in Philippines
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Can Jennie break the K-pop solo artist slump?
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Baseball star Hwang Jae-gyun, T-ara's Jiyeon file for divorce mediation
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[Exclusive] Korea’s defense acquisition agency fails to meet legal standard for women representation
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First lady’s Dior bag scandal to be at center of Assembly audit
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Yoon honors veterans of Korean War in trip to Philippines
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2 US B-1B bombers conducted joint drill with S. Korean Air Force on Oct. 1 Armed Force Day
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[KH Explains] Can G-Star level up?
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Volkswagen submits detailed recall plan to Korean gov't
German carmaking giant Volkswagen submitted a recall plan to the South Korean government on Wednesday for its vehicles whose emission results were found to have been faked, claiming that there will be no change in fuel efficiency and power even after removing the so-called "defeat device," officials and industry sources said. "Volkswagen submitted its detailed recall plan to the environment ministry today, which is focused mostly on rectifying problems found in vehicles," a company official said
Jan. 7, 2016
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Hanwha Techwin cancels KAI takeover
In a surprising move, Hanwha Techwin, the defense arm of Hanwha Group, is seeking to divest half of its 10 percent stake in the nation’s sole aircraft manufacturer Korea Aerospace Industries, swatting off market rumors of its possible acquisition of the government-controlled firm.KAI`s T50 trainer aircraft (Yonhap)Of the 5 percent stake offered for block trade, Hanhwa has already sold 4 percent or 3.9 million shares worth 279.3 billion won, the company said in a public announcement Wednesday. Th
Jan. 6, 2016
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Korea opens preliminary discussion on FTA with Israel
The South Korean government hosted a public meeting in Seoul on Wednesday to discuss the potential benefits and economic impact of a free trade agreement with Israel.Led by the Ministry of Trade, Commerce and Economy, the session brought together some 100 government and industry officials and civilians to examine the FTA’s predicted effects on the national economy.“Now is the right time to actively examine the possibility of a free trade pact with Israel, as the government seeks to boost its exp
Jan. 6, 2016
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BOK convenes emergency meeting on North Korea quake
South Korea's central bank moved quickly to minimize the fallout from what could be North Korea's nuclear test on the local economy Wednesday, convening an emergency meeting of the monetary policy board."In regard to the North Korean issue, the Bank of Korea plans to hold an emergency meeting of its monetary and financial policy task force at 2 p.m. today," the bank said in a short text message.The decision to hold an emergency meeting comes only hours after various government agencies throughou
Jan. 6, 2016
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FDI in Korea hits fresh high in 2015
New foreign direct investment pledged to South Korea jumped 10 percent to hit a fresh record high in 2015 on a large increase in investments from China, the government said Wednesday.The new FDI pledges came to US$20.9 billion last year, up from the previous record of $19 billion set in 2014, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.The amount of new FDI arrivals here also soared 32.3 percent on-year to a record high of $16 billion in 2015.Last year's jump was attributed to a 66.3
Jan. 6, 2016
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CJ to step up global expansion through M&As
CJ Group, South Korea's leading food and entertainment conglomerate, will step up its global expansion through mergers and acquisitions in the bio and logistics business to foster new growth drivers, company officials said Wednesday. CJ has been grappling with stagnant growth after its chairman Lee Jay-hyun's indictment on embezzlement and tax evasion in 2013.The firm's sales growth has cooled to single digits over the past three years. Its consolidated sales were 29.1 trillion won ($24.5 billi
Jan. 6, 2016
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Korea's auto imports top $10 bln in 2015 for first time: data
South Korea's annual imports of automobiles topped $10 billion in 2015 for the first time since the country opened its market to foreign brands nearly three decades ago, government and industry data showed Wednesday.According to the data by the commerce ministry and the auto industry, South Korea imported a total of $9.49 billion worth of passenger vehicles from Jan. 1 to Dec. 20 last year. If imports of trucks and other non-passenger vehicles estimated at $749.4 million until November are inclu
Jan. 6, 2016
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Korea's food imports surge on greater demand
South Korea's food imports have been rising sharply in recent years mainly due to increased consumer demand for more diverse products, data showed Wednesday.Asia's fourth-largest economy posted 554,177 import reports of processed food and agrofisheries products in 2014, up 25.5 percent from 441,530 shipments tallied for the whole of 2010, according to data from the Korea Food and Drug Administration.Over the same period, the value of imports also shot up 45.5 percent, while the volume of inbound
Jan. 6, 2016
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New business hotels in Seoul spice up competition
A series of new business hotels have popped up or are set to open in Seoul to attract budget-conscious travelers, but their rapid expansion raises concerns over tighter competition and margins, industry officials said Wednesday. Local and global hotel chains have been building mid-range hotels or renovating existing facilities in the bustling downtown areas and near tourist attractions in the capital to target a growing number of travelers.Many of the hotels have sprung up in Myeongdong, a downt
Jan. 6, 2016
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Korea's listed firms top 2,000 mark in 2015: data
The number of listed companies in South Korea surpassed the 2,000 mark last year due to an initial public offering boom in the KOSDAQ and KONEX markets, data showed Wednesday.According to the Korea Exchange, there were 2,030 firms listed on the benchmark KOSPI market, the tech-heavy KOSDAQ and the KONEX market for ventures and startups as of late 2015, up 125 from 1,905 tallied a year earlier."By market, the number of companies on the KOSPI dipped from 773 to 770, but a surge in IPOs propped up
Jan. 6, 2016
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KT halts sales of Xiaomi in Korea
South Korea's No. 2 mobile carrier KT Corp. has suspended selling China-based Xiaomi Inc.'s smartphone, industry sources said Wednesday, only two days after it started sales.KT started sales of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 through online shopping site Interpark Corp. on Monday The sources said the move came due to "legal matters related to sales."It marked the first time for a South Korean mobile carrier to distribute Xiaomi's smartphones.Amid the rising popularity of budget smartphones in the countr
Jan. 6, 2016
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Hyundai, Kia see U.S. sales grow 7% in Dec.
Hyundai Motor Co. and its smaller affiliate, Kia Motors Corp., saw their combined sales in the United States grow 7 percent in December, thanks to a nearly 20 percent jump in Kia's sales, industry data showed Tuesday.The two South Korean auto giants sold a combined 117,749 units in the U.S. last month, up from 110,094 units during the same period last year, the data showed. Hyundai's sales fell slightly from a year earlier, logging 63,508 units, a 1.5 percent drop from last year's 64,507. But Ki
Jan. 6, 2016
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Caffe Bene founder crashes from dizzying heights
Caffe Bene, a leading local coffee chain, announced Dec. 30 that a private equity fund has become its largest shareholder. “The fifth K3 Fund, a private equity fund, has taken an 84.2 percent stake in the coffee chain,” a company official said. Industry watchers said the ownership change in the homegrown coffee chain is expected to lighten its strained finances by lowering the company’s debt ratio to 300 percent from the previous 865 percent. The change in governance not only highlights the dire
Jan. 5, 2016
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[Newsmaker] Hanmi chief gains spotlight with stock gift
Hanmi Pharmaceutical Group founder and chairman Lim Sung-ki has found himself in the public spotlight since announcing plans to distribute a portion of his personal stocks, worth some 110 billion won ($92.5 million), as a gift of gratitude to all his employees. The country’s largest drugmaker said Monday it is distributing 900,000 shares of the chairman’s common stocks in Hanmi Science, the holding company of Hanmi Pharma, to the entire workforce. As a result, some 2,800 Hanmi employees at both
Jan. 5, 2016
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Sales ban on cigarettes in Jeju Duty Free faces opposition
The government‘s attempt to ban the sales of cigarettes in the duty-free shop of Jeju International Airport faces mounting opposition from smokers, industry sources said. “The (Finance Ministry’s) move to ban duty-free cigarettes in Jeju International Airport, while leaving out Incheon International Airport, is clearly a sneaky way of raising more tax,” said an official of I Love Smoking, the country’s largest online community of smokers. Travelers purchase duty free products at a duty free sho
Jan. 5, 2016
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Gas prices nearing 7-year low
Domestic gasoline prices are expected to keep sliding and soon hit the 1,300 won ($1.09) per liter mark due to a steady decline in international crude oil prices, according to government data. Data compiled by the Korea National Oil Corp. showed gasoline prices at nationwide service stations standing at just over 1,400 won per liter. Industry watchers say prices are likely to hit 1,300 won for the first time in seven years. A car pulls out of a gas station in Seoul. Yonhap“It looks like gas (pr
Jan. 5, 2016
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Six cement makers fined for price rigging
South Korea's antitrust watchdog said Tuesday that it has fined six local cement makers a combined 199.4 billion won ($167.6 million) for fixing the prices of cement products and divvying up the market.According to the Fair Trade Commission, cement companies have allegedly colluded to rig the prices of cement products by controlling output and market share in 2011.The suspected companies are Ssangyong Cement Industry Co., Tongyang Cement & Energy Corp., Hanil Cement Co., Sungshin Cement Co., Hyu
Jan. 5, 2016
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Korean medicine exports triple in 10 years: data
South Korean medicine exports jumped threefold in the last 10 years as local pharmaceutical companies have become more competitive on the global stage, government data showed Tuesday.According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, Asia's fourth-largest economy shipped out 2.54 trillion won ($2.13 billion) worth of medical drugs in 2014, up 9 percent, or 210 billion won, from the year before. The total is 3.1 times larger than 820 billion won in exports tallied in 2005.In the past decade, medi
Jan. 5, 2016
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Carmakers in Korea rush to unveil new models to preempt market
Carmakers in South Korea are rushing to unveil their new models in an apparent bid to preempt the domestic market this year by appealing to customers with upgraded and enhanced functions and designs, industry sources said Tuesday.Hyundai Motor Co., the country's largest automaker, plans to launch the Ioniq hybrid mid-January, which marks its first time to unveil a car exclusively developed as an electric vehicle, as opposed to cars based on existing models.Following the hybrid version deemed to
Jan. 5, 2016
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Korean tourism industry hit hard by MERS in 2015
South Korea's tourism industry suffered a severe setback due to the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome outbreak in 2015, but most industry players are upbeat on this year's business outlook, a poll showed Tuesday. According to the survey by the Korea Culture & Tourism Institute, nearly half of 332 tour agencies said the tourism industry was stuck in a slump last year due to a sharp fall in foreign travelers since the MERS onslaught in late May.The number of inbound travelers through November was 1
Jan. 5, 2016