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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Can Jennie break the K-pop solo artist slump?
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Yoon set for talks with Marcos in Philippines
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Yoon, Marcos agree to upgrade military, infrastructure, nuclear ties
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'Culinary Class Wars' producers deny trying to spice up results
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Ex-president's daughter investigated for drunk driving accident
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[Exclusive] Korea’s defense acquisition agency fails to meet legal standard for women representation
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Seoulites celebrate coexistence at Wellness Seoul 2024
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First lady’s Dior bag scandal to be at center of Assembly audit
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(Photo News) Ready for Racing
Two veterans of Chevrolet racing team pose next to the upgraded racing car Cruze at the Chevrolet booth for the 2015 Seoul Motor Show, while announcing that they are ready to join the 2015 CJ Hello Mobile Superrace Championship. (GM Korea)
April 8, 2015
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Korean cosmetics stocks soar on Chinese demand
Cosmetics shares are spiking over hopes that rising Chinese demand for Korean products will push up their quarterly earnings.Shares of Hankook Cosmetics gained 0.6 percent to 15,600 won ($14.3) at the close of trading Wednesday, after hitting 17,500 won. The price is up more than 140 percent from 7,140 won a month ago. “As we enter the new earnings season, investors are turning their eyes to cosmetics-related stocks that have shown strong momentum,” KB Investment & Securities analyst Yang Ji-hye
April 8, 2015
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Sales at department stores, discount chains down in March: data
Sales at local department stores and discount chains fell in March from a year earlier, government data showed Tuesday, fueling worries that consumer spending remains weak despite some signs of economic recovery, According to data from the finance ministry, department store sales dropped 5.4 percent on-year last month, while discount chain sales shrank 7.4 percent. Department store and discount chain sales contracted on-year from September through January, before rebounding in February, helpe
April 8, 2015
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Employment at South Korea's top 30 biz groups grows 1.3 pct in 2014
The number of people working for South Korea's top 30 major business groups increased slightly last year, industry data showed Wednesday, indicating that the conglomerates did not help much in easing the country's prolonged labor market slump. According to the data by CEO Score, a local corporate researcher, the number of people employed by the country's 30 large business groups, including Samsung, Hyundai and LG stood at 1,023,574 as of the end of last year, up 12,706, or 1.3 percent, from a
April 8, 2015
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Corporate bond sales spike since 2008 financial crisis
Corporate bond sales in South Korea have surged since the 2008 global financial crisis as local companies took advantage of low borrowing costs while reducing stock offerings amid a bear run on the local stock market, data showed Wednesday. According to the data compiled by Korea Capital Market Institute, bond sales accounted for 95.3 percent of corporate direct financing in 2014, compared with 93.6 percent in 2008. In contrast, stock offerings accounted for 4.7 percent in 2014, down from 6.4
April 8, 2015
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Luxury product sales surge despite economic slump
Despite an economic slowdown, sales of luxury products in South Korea soared in the first quarter of 2015 partly due to recent price cuts by major luxury brands, data showed Wednesday. Lotte Department Store saw sales of luxury products jump 15.7 percent on-year in the January-March period, with sales of watches and jewelry soaring 27.2 percent. Sales of luxury apparel also rose 20.3 percent. The on-year gain marks a significant growth compared with the overall 8.3 percent sales growth of the
April 8, 2015
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POSCO E&C executive arrested in slush fund probe
An executive director of POSCO Engineering & Construction Co., the construction arm of POSCO, was detained Tuesday for questioning into his suspected involvement in the company's creation of a slush fund overseas and bribe-taking from a subcontractor. Prosecutors detained the executive identified only as Choi as soon as the Seoul Central District Court issued an arrest warrant for him after hours of hearings. He is the first POSCO E&C executive to have been arrested in connection with the wide
April 8, 2015
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Women in 30s most active mobile shoppers: survey
Women in their 30s are the biggest users of mobile devices to shop online in Korea, a survey showed Tuesday.According to the online survey by Nielsen Korea, shoppers aged between 30 and 39 showed the highest rate of purchase on smartphones and tablets at 32 percent, followed by those in their 40s and 20s at 29 percent and 24 percent, respectively. It also found that women are more likely to shop on mobile platforms compared to men, with 62 percent of women and 38 percent of men saying they made
April 7, 2015
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DSME faces union backlash over pick for new chief
The union of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering has reacted angrily to the choice of Jung Sung-leep as new chief of the world’s second-largest shipbuilder.The state-owned Korea Development Bank, the largest shareholder of DSME, on Monday recommended Jung, the incumbent CEO of STX Offshore & Shipbuilding, as the company’s new president. The development comes after months of indecision whether to reappoint current DSME president Ko Jae-ho or find a new candidate.“(Choosing an outsider) refle
April 7, 2015
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[SUPER RICH] E-Land chairman’s love of collecting
E-Land Group chairman Park Sung-su acquired something unusual last month. He bought the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences medal of the late economist Simon Kuznets for $39,848.“Park is said to have been attracted to the fact that Kuznets had influenced his peers including the noted British economist John Maynard Keynes,” an industry source said. This is not the first time Park has bought something that could be perceived as extraordinary. He is reported to have bought more than 3,000 rep
April 7, 2015
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POSCO supplier raided in slush fund probe
Prosecutors raided the head office and factory of a supplier for POSCO, the world's third-largest steelmaker, authorities said Tuesday. Authorities confiscated financial statements, transaction records and computer hard disks at the Seoul headquarters of Kosteel Co., which provides wire rods to POSCO in Pohang, about 370 kilometers southeast of Seoul. The move came as prosecutors were looking into allegations that POSCO Engineering & Construction Co., the construction arm of POSCO, created a s
April 7, 2015
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S. Korean insurers' financial status worsens in Q4
South Korean insurance companies' financial health worsened in the fourth quarter of last year from three months earlier on strict regulations for loss reserves amid a low interest rate trend, the financial watchdog said Tuesday. The risk-based capital ratio of 56 life and nonlife insurers averaged 292.3 percent at the end of December, down 13.5 percentage points from the previous quarter, according to the Financial Supervisory Service. The RBC ratio measures an insurer's ability to absorb
April 7, 2015
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[Graphic News] Chaebol units, financial firms pay high salaries
Pharmaceutical research firm Mezzion had the highest employee salary among listed Korean firms in 2014, according to data released Sunday.Mezzion’s average salary was 121 million won ($111,600), maintaining the top spot for the second straight year after hitting 135 million won in 2013.Korea Exchange came second with an average salary of 111 million won, followed by Shinhan Financial Group with 107 million won.NICE Holdings, which first entered the list of firms with salaries of more than 100 mi
April 6, 2015
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POSCO looks to auto steel business for growth
POSCO, the nation’s top steelmaker, is stepping up its efforts to expand its auto steel business for global automakers. The steelmaker said Monday it plans to open a technical service center in Detroit, where the U.S.’ top three automakers run their production line, within this year. “We expect the center to strengthen customer services for U.S. auto giants,’’ a company spokesperson said. Renault Samsung’s futuristic concept car Eolab, whose superlight roof was formed using POSCO’s magnesium sh
April 6, 2015
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Nepa vows to achieve W1.3tr in sales by 2020
Korean outdoor apparel company Nepa on Monday announced a blueprint to become a global powerhouse generating 1.3 trillion won ($1.19 billion) in annual sales by 2020. The company will invest a total of 290 billion won in research and development, aggressive marketing and renovation of store interior to stand out among legions of outdoor fashion brands crammed in the market, company CEO Park Chang-kun said. “As we are stretching out overseas, developing an original-Nepa style that meets global st
April 6, 2015
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Hanwha E&C wins $2b project in Iraq
Hanwha Engineering and Construction, one of South Korea’s leading builders, has won a $2.12 billion project to build additional infrastructure in Bismayah, Iraq, the company said Monday. The multibillion-dollar project is designed to build core facilities for the new Iraqi city 10 kilometers southeast of Baghdad, including 300 schools, hospitals and police stations. The South Korean builder has already won an order to build some 100,000 homes for the Bismayah New City Project by 2019. Hanwha Gr
April 6, 2015
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CJ’s new coil container improves shipping efficiency
South Korea’s major shipping giant CJ Korea Express has begun using a specially designed container for steel coil delivery, boosting shipping efficiency by lessening the damage to steel during transportation and easing the handling process. One of the unique features of CJ’s new coil container is its design: The bottom of the container, padded with 8 mm of rubber, is shaped like a cradle, so the heavy steel nests safely inside the case instead of rolling around when it is being transferred via s
April 6, 2015
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Large firms' debt-repaying ability worsens in 2014
Nearly 1 out of 4 major companies in South Korea were unable to cover interest payments with their earnings in 2014 despite cheaper borrowing costs, data showed Monday. Thirty-seven firms, or 23.6 percent, out of 167 companies that logged annual sales of 1 trillion won ($915 million) or more reported an interest coverage ratio of below 1 last year, according to Chaebul.com, which tracks the nation's top conglomerates. The ratio, or a firm's operating profit divided by its interest costs, mea
April 6, 2015
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Iran’s nuclear deal likely boon to Korean economy: KITA
The Iranian government’s nuclear deal leading to a possible lift in trade sanctions against the Arab state will bring benefits to the domestic economy, experts forecast Sunday. The increase in demand for the construction, steel and automotive industries will bring a breath of fresh air to the sluggish economy, business circle insiders suggested. Iran is the 26th-largest importer of Korean goods, with about 2,800 Korean companies engaged in Korea-Iran trade. Once the U.S. kicks off its process to
April 5, 2015
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Online sales exceed brick-and-mortar retailers
Retail ecommerce sales recorded more sales than brick-and-mortar retailers for the first time in history in 2014, according to data by Statistics Korea on Sunday. Online shopping malls were the largest retail channel in terms of transaction volume, according to the statistical office, as a growing number of consumers turn to the Internet or mobile devices for more convenient shopping and competitive prices.The total amount of online and mobile transactions in the country, including purchases mad
April 5, 2015