Most Popular
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Seoul Fireworks Festival ends smoothly, but leaves piles of trash
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Can Jennie break the K-pop solo artist slump?
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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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Yoon honors veterans of Korean War in trip to Philippines
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20 minors registered as CEOs making over 100 million won
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Big companies fill 40 pct of outside directors with ex-officials
South Korea's 10 largest companies have hired former government officials to fill 40 percent of new outside director positions, industry data showed Monday, rekindling criticism that the companies may use them as protectors against the government.According to data, the number of outside directors to be hired by this year's shareholders' meetings totaled 119 at the top 10 conglomerates led by Samsung Group and Hyundai Motor Group. Of the newly hired, 47, or 39.5 percent are former high-ranking go
March 9, 2015
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POSCO chief faces rough road ahead
POSCO chairman Kwon Oh-joon has aggressively pushed ahead with restructuring since he took the helm a year ago. But the struggling South Korean steel giant continues to be in rough waters.Since his appointment as the POSCO chief last year, Kwon has improved the company’s profitability. POSCO reported sales of 65.9 trillion won ($59.9 billion) and 3.2 trillion won in operating profit in 2014, up 5.2 percent and 7.3 percent from a year ago, respectively. He is now faced with the daunting tasks of
March 8, 2015
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Too Cool for School finds opportunity in women
Local cosmetics brand Too Cool for School has established its own territory in the extremely competitive global beauty market by targeting a niche group of women interested in pampering themselves rather than pleasing others.The success lies in the idiosyncratic “cool factor” attracting women who are outspoken and confident, and do not care what others think about their looks, said Cho Hye-shin, general director of the company. Launched in 2009, the company has expanded by opening 46 stores acro
March 8, 2015
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Mixed reactions to increased welfare
Samsung Group last week announced it will further increase spending on employee welfare. The good news, however, was not entirely welcomed as it came after the group decided to freeze this year’s wages ― the first time in six years. “We cannot say the expanded welfare has no link to the recent salary freeze,” said an official from the group’s flagship Samsung Electronics, declining to be named. Under the new scheme, Samsung will offer widened welfare benefits, including more allowance to purchas
March 6, 2015
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Uber Korea cuts off ride-share service
Uber Korea said that it shut down its low-cost ride-sharing service on Friday amid controversy over the legality of its business.“Uber Korea has decided to terminate the operations of UberX to negotiate with the Seoul city government,” the company said in an email to drivers Friday afternoon.The company said that it was “a very difficult decision” as they have been trying to expand UberX operations in South Korea since the service was launched in August 2014. The decision comes days before the N
March 6, 2015
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Electric cars compete at Jeju expo
SEOGWIPO, Jejudo Island ― Electric automakers are vying to showcase their products at an international EV expo which kicked off for a two-week run here on Friday.Not only EV makers but also related-business players, including battery and charging station makers, joined the second International Electric Vehicle Expo at the International Convention Center of this resort island.Among international participants, China’s electric carmaker BYD and U.S.-based EV maker Detroit Electric joined the second
March 6, 2015
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Daewoo E&C to benefit from Saudi reactor deal
Daewoo Engineering and Construction, a leading South Korean builder, will likely benefit most from a landmark deal between the nation and Saudi Arabia to cooperate in building small nuclear reactors in the Middle East country, some analysts said Thursday. Early this week, the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding to forge a joint partnership on SMART and human resources development on the sidelines of their summit meeting in Riyadh on Tuesday. President Park Geun-hye and Saudi Arabi
March 6, 2015
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POSCO completes 2nd electric furnace to double capacity
POSCO SNNC, a leading manufacturer of ferronickel, has completed the construction of its second electric furnace, which will help nearly double the firm’s annual capacity of pure nickel to 54,000 tons from the current 30,000 tons.The POSCO affiliate said it invested about 480.6 billion won ($437.1 million) to build the second facility in Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province, to stabilize its nickel production.“With our increase in production capacity, POSCO SNNC has become a nickel smelter that is c
March 6, 2015
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Uber Korea shuts down service amid controversy
Uber Korea said that it shut down its low-cost ride-sharing service on Friday amid controversy over the legality of its business. “Uber Korea has decided to terminate the operations of UberX to negotiate with the Seoul city government,” the company said in an email to drivers Friday afternoon.(Uber Korea)The company said that it was “a very difficult decision” as they have been trying to expand UberX operations in South Korea since the service was launched in August 2014. The decision comes day
March 6, 2015
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S. Korea's KNOC to drill for oil in UAE in 2017
South Korea will start drilling for oil in the United Arab Emirates in 2017 from fields that were discovered to hold commercially available crude, the state-run oil firm said Friday. The Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC) said the joint exploration team extracted 18,000 barrels of crude from appraisal wells in the Haliba field on the Omani border in May and October and confirmed that its chemical component is close to Abu Dhabi's flagship Murban crude. The KNOC had formed a Korean consortium
March 6, 2015
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Ecochem wins Singapore’s ‘Green Label’ certification
The Singapore Environment Council has certified Herald Ecochem with its “Green Label” seal of approval for its development of environmentally friendly plastic that biodegrades in just a few years, company officials said Thursday.Herald Ecochem’s “Eco Bio Plastic Films” have earned the SEC’s certification for “Oxo-Biodegradable Plastic Products,” according to the officials. The company, a Herald Corp. affiliate that manufactures polyethylene-based sheet films -- the first producer of such eco-fr
March 5, 2015
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Demographic, lifestyle changes expand part-time job market
The nation’s job market has been in a slump for the past few years, affected by the prolonged economic slowdown. In contrast to this trend, demand for part-time or “arbeit”’ jobs has been growing across age groups at a steady pace. “Arbeit,” which means “worker” in German, has long been used to mean part-time job in Korea. “First of all, demographic and lifestyle changes in Korea have increased demand for part-time jobs,’’ said Choe In-young, CEO of Arbeit-Chunkook, the nation’s biggest open-mar
March 5, 2015
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Seven public firms told to improve support for smaller firms
Most of South Korea's public enterprises and organizations are working closely with smaller private companies, while seven public firms still require improvement in their support for the joint development of smaller firms, a government report showed Thursday.A joint review by government officials and private experts found that 10 public firms, including the Korea Gas Safety Corp.and the Korea Industrial Complex Corp., are doing an excellent job in working to help the development of small and med
March 5, 2015
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S. Korea to develop infrastructure for electric cars
South Korea will invest 32.2 billion won ($29.24 million) over the next three years to expand its infrastructure for electric cars, including the installation of more than 5,000 new recharging plug-ins, the government said Thursday.According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, only about 3,000 electric vehicles have been sold in the country, compared with over 260,000 in the United States and 95,000 in Japan."Sales and use of electric cars in the country have been kept at minimum due
March 5, 2015
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Strong earnings boost share prices of entertainment agencies
Share prices of South Korea's star-studded entertainment agencies increased on solid earnings in 2014 and broadened businesses beyond film and music, bourse tally and regulatory filings showed Thursday.Leading management agency and record label S.M. Entertainment Co. posted record sales of 286.9 billion won ($260.7 million) in 2014, up 6.8 percent from a year ago, according to its regulatory filing. The company said concert tickets and record sales in China and its new media business consolidate
March 5, 2015
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Midsize vehicle sales jump in Jan.-Feb. period
Midsize vehicle sales in South Korea jumped during the first two months of this year, showing signs of reclaiming the mainstream position that has been dominated by sport utility and full-size vehicles in recent years, industry data showed Thursday.Automakers operating in South Korea, including Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp., sold a combined 27,282 midsize vehicles during the January-February period, up 10.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the data. The increase contrasts with
March 5, 2015
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S. Korean-developed reactor model passes preliminary review by U.S. nuclear watchdog
The design of a South Korean-developed nuclear reactor has passed a preliminary review by the U.S. nuclear watchdog, officials said Wednesday, raising hopes for final approval that would pave the way for exports to the United States and elsewhere.The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission will now conduct a full examination of the APR1400 reactor to determine whether to certify its design, South Korea's state power operator, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, said in a statement.APR1400 is a next-generati
March 5, 2015
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Samsung, Patent Office, Freeplay: Intellectual Property
Samsung Electronics Co. is about to find out just how costly its four-year patent fight with Apple Inc. has been. Each side spent hundreds of millions of dollars in legal bills to answer these fundamental questions: What’s the value of a single feature in a smartphone or tablet? And is it worth more if the inventor has a reputation for being cool? That’s the crux of arguments to be made Wednesday when the top U.S. patent court in Washington hears an appeal in one of two remaining cases in the “s
March 4, 2015
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Steelmakers pressured to lower prices
South Korea’s POSCO and Hyundai Steel are in a tug-of-war with carmakers seeking to lower the price of automotive steel sheets, adding more pressure to the steel manufacturers’ prolonged slump.Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors are reportedly pushing POSCO and Hyundai Steel to mark down steel plate prices by 70,000 won ($64) per ton this year.The move comes less than a year after the steel firms cut prices by 130,000 won to 140,000 won per ton, according to local reports.“It is true that the company’s
March 4, 2015
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Samsung Group downsizing
Samsung Group, the nation’s top conglomerate, is reorganizing its workforce across its affiliates, its chief spokesperson said Wednesday.“As far as I know, each affiliate is conducting reshuffles of their staff, depending on its business situation,” Lee Jun, Samsung Group’s top communications official, told reporters after a weekly regular meeting of presidents of Samsung affiliates.The workforce downsizing, however, would be based on the judgments of each company, not driven by the headquarters
March 4, 2015