Most Popular
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S. Korea, Singapore seal supply chain agreement
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North Korean troops killed, wounded in Ukraine war: Seoul defense minister
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Korean language teaching expert says demand has outstripped supply
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Conscripting women to lead to 'more babies,' claims military think tank
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[KH Explains] Samsung chief says he is still ‘hungry’ for foundry growth
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Who is pollster roiling politics with claims of government string-pulling?
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Taking away phones during school hours not a human rights violation: watchdog
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Kim Jong-un vows to thwart S. Korea-US 'nuclear alliance'
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Korea launches antidumping probe into Chinese steel
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Korea added to key bond index
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Import car sales hit new record
The boom in the nation’s imported car market shows no sign of abating, with monthly sales hitting another record in April.The Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association said Tuesday that import car sales surged 24.9 percent to 13,320 units last month. In the first quarter, a combined 48,284 vehicles were sold, up 20.9 percent from 39,953 a year ago, the business lobby said in its monthly report. In April, BMW topped the list with sales of 2,719 vehicles, followed by Mercedes-Benz wi
May 7, 2013
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Ssangyong to revive night shift on upbeat sales
Ssangyong Motor said it would revive a two-shift working system at its Pyeongtaek factory from next week, four years after the carmaker discontinued its night shift following its court receivership in 2009. Ssangyong, whose largest shareholder is India’s Mahindra & Mahindra, said it planned to start the new working system from May 13, dispatching the 454 workers who were reinstated in March after years of unpaid leave into three existing assembly lines. The decision came as the carmaker seeks to
May 7, 2013
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AmorePacific’s Hope Store campaign marks 10th year
AmorePacific this week announced it would launch a campaign to mark the 10th year anniversary of its program to support female bread-winners of underprivileged families. The cosmetics company is receiving donations for the program, both on and off-line, until June 28, for its “Hope Store.” Online, the website http://makeupyourlife.amorepacific.com is open for all, while AmorePacific also will operate separate zones at their nationwide branches where people can drop by to show their support. The
May 7, 2013
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Samsung responsible for recent hydrofluoric acid leak: gov't
Samsung Electronics Co. is partly responsible for last week's highly poisonous hydrofluoric acid leak at its main chip plant in southwestern South Korea, a government official said Tuesday.For the second time in just three months, a small amount of diluted hydrofluoric acid, a colorless acute poison that can damage the lungs and bones and even affect the nervous system, leaked at the semiconductor plant in Hwaseong, 60 kilometers south of Seoul, on Thursday, injuring three subcontract workers.Af
May 7, 2013
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SKT invites multicultural children to its ICT museum
By Lee Ji-yoon SK Telecom on Monday invited a group of 20 children from multicultural families to experience many yet-to-be mass marketed communications technologies at its museum in celebration of Children’s Day. The SK Telecom Ubiquitous Museum, or T.um, allows visitors to utilize and interact with some of the world’s state-of-the art technologies. The students of the School of Global Sarang, the nation’s first private elementary school for multi-ethnic children, especially showed keen interes
May 6, 2013
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LG Chem to start U.S. battery plant in July
LG Chem’s U.S.-based battery plant will start operations this July, marking the end of a long hiatus, the Seoul-based company said on Monday.The plant will start supplying batteries for the Chevrolet Volt hybrid electric car as early as September. “We plan on starting production in July following pilot production and consumer approvals in order to secure high yield and quality,” the company said in statement.The company is focusing on improving the productivity of the plant to eventually expand
May 6, 2013
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Korea’s foreign reserves hit 3-month high in April
South Korea’s foreign exchange reserves hit a three-month high in April as a weaker U.S. dollar raised the conversion value of non-dollar assets and investment profit rose, the central bank said Monday.The country’s foreign reserves reached $328.8 billion as of end-April, up $1.39 billion from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea .It marked the highest level since the FX reserves hit a record $328.91 billion in January.Foreign reserves consist of securities and deposits denominated
May 6, 2013
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Korea to ease debts for troubled mortgage holders
South Korea’s financial regulator said Monday it will start a debt relief program from next month for troubled homeowners as part of its key policy plan to ease the record-high household debt amid a faltering property market.The Financial Services Commission, the country’s top financial watchdog, said it will impose the initial loan-to-value ratio to a mortgage even if the price of the house fell due to the sluggish real estate market. The LTV refers to a tool used by banks to restrict the maxim
May 6, 2013
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Hyundai Heavy wins $700m container ship order
Hyundai Heavy Industries, the nation’s largest shipbuilder, won a $700 million order to build five container ships from China Shipping Container Lines, the company said in a press release on Monday. Under the deal, Hyundai Heavy will deliver the ships starting in latter part of 2014. Each container ship will be 18,400-TEU, the worlds’ largest size, loading 18,400 containers. TEU stands for 20-foot equivalent unit. When it comes to container ship orders this year, the company sealed a $600 millio
May 6, 2013
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Samsung, LG bolster presences in N. American smartphone market in Q1
South Korea's top two smartphone makers -- Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc. -- saw their presences in the North American smartphone market rise, helped by robust sales of their flagship line-up and product mix, data showed on Monday.Samsung Electronics, the world's top smartphone maker, held a 29 percent share in the region's smartphone market in the first quarter, up from the 27.7 percent the previous quarter, according to the data compiled by Strategy Analytics.LG Electronics ga
May 6, 2013
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[Graphic News] Hyundai-Kia making U.S. comeback in 2013 sales
Hyundai Motor and its sister automaker Kia Motors have revved up their presence in the U.S. market since early this year, recovering from last year’s lackluster sales dwarfed by Japanese carmakers.Hyundai and Kia sold a total of 110,871 units, gaining a combined market share of 8.6 percent as of last month, up from 7.3 percent in December.Although their combine market share is still short of the 9-plus percent achieved in April last year, the Korean auto giants are gradually recovering due to in
May 5, 2013
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Seoul considers linking cigarette prices to inflation
South Korea may consider linking cigarette price hikes to the growth of consumer inflation in an effort to reduce the country’s smoking rate and secure more revenue, officials said Sunday.Tobacco prices have been frozen at the current 2,500 won ($2.28) per pack for more than eight years. The health ministry earlier said that average cigarette prices need to be raised to 7,000 won per pack to reduce the country’s smoking rate to what it called a desirable level.The finance ministry said it has re
May 5, 2013
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STX to receive W800b from creditors: source
Creditors of STX Group will likely pump at least 800 billion won ($730 million) into the troubled shipbuilding conglomerate in a bid to keep it afloat, a source said Sunday.On Friday, STX Group’s troubled holding company, STX Corp., and two affiliates requested main creditor Korea Development Bank supply liquidity in return for its voluntary debt-relief and restructuring efforts.“Creditor banks will discuss how much money will be extended to the group,” said the source. “The figure is expected t
May 5, 2013
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Top 600 firms' investment to rise 14 pct this year
The top 600 companies in South Korea are likely to increase investment by 13.9 percent this year from a year earlier despite the economic slowdown, a survey showed Sunday.South Korea's 600 biggest companies in terms of sales said their investments are expected to reach a combined 129.7 trillion won (US$118.4 billion) this year, compared with 113.9 trillion won the previous year, according to the poll made by the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), the country's top business lobby.The survey s
May 5, 2013
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Creditors to inject 800 bln won into STX Group this year: source
Creditors of STX Group will likely pump at least 800 billion won (US$730 million) into the troubled shipbuilding conglomerate in a bid to keep it afloat, a source said Sunday. On Friday, STX Group's troubled holding company, STX Corp., and two affiliates requested main creditor Korea Development Bank supply liquidity in return for its voluntary debt-relief and restructuring efforts. "Creditor banks will discuss how much money will be extended to the group," said the source. "The figure is ex
May 5, 2013
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S. Korea's STX Group mulls selling European shipyards
South Korea's troubled shipbuilding and shipping conglomerate STX Group is considering selling its European assets including its shipyards in France and Finland, a spokesman said Saturday.The group has seen its major affiliates reel under mounting debt as it was hit by a global downturn in the shipbuilding and shipping sectors."We are now in the process of rearranging the corporate structure to focus on domestic shipbuilding. In this context, we are considering the sale of overseas assets to rai
May 4, 2013
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Samsung chief leaves for U.S. to accompany Park
Lee Kun-hee, the chairman of Samsung Electronics Co., the world's largest supplier of smartphones and memory chips, left for the United States on Saturday to accompany President Park Geun-hye during her trip to the U.S.Lee is one of a 52-member high-profile business delegation that will also accompany Park, who is scheduled to visit the U.S. from May 5-10 for talks with U.S. President Barack Obama.It is the first time for Lee to join an overseas trip by a South Korean president since 2004 when h
May 4, 2013
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Osong Beauty Expo kicks off
About 300 cosmetic firms will promote their products at the 2013 Osong Cosmetics and Beauty World Expo which kicked off Friday in the small North Chungcheong Province town.The 24-day international fair jointly organized by local governments and the Korea Food and Drug Administration, will run through May 26 under the theme “Healthy Life, Beautiful Life.” Visitors flocked to the exhibition halls Friday morning to take a glimpse of the makeup styles of historical beauties including Cleopatra and e
May 3, 2013
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Largest-ever business delegation to accompany Park to U.S.
A delegation of 52 business leaders, including chiefs of the nation’s five major business organizations, will accompany President Park Geun-hye on her U.S. visit next week.The largest-ever delegation will focus on quelling concerns sparked by the North Korean risks over the South Korean economy during the visit, the Federation of Korean Industries said.The delegation is scheduled to join Park in a dinner to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Korea-U.S. alliance in Washington and discuss bil
May 3, 2013
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Hyundai Motor’s 110-story landmark project in jeopardy
Hyundai Motor Group’s ambitious plan to build a 110-story global business hub in eastern Seoul is in jeopardy as it has failed to gain support from the city government and residents. The project, tentatively named the “Global Business Center,” was launched in 2007 with the aim of completion by 2015.Hyundai created a task force for the project and completed due diligence on the 27,830-square-meter site in Seongsu-dong. But its talks with the city government have been stalled for years due to plan
May 3, 2013