Most Popular
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North Korean troops killed, wounded in Ukraine war: Seoul defense minister
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S. Korea, Singapore seal supply chain agreement
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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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Korea added to key bond index
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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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Starbucks’ mystery people in black
Go to Starbucks and you will see the baristas wearing mostly green aprons.But it’s not hard to spot a few, depending on the store, who are donned in black.They are the global coffeehouse chain’s proud "Coffe Masters" who have passed rigorous educational programs and examinations on coffee.Starbucks Korea has some 4,600 baristas, about 900 of whom have reached ranks of the black apron.Some stores don’t have Coffee Masters while the entire staff at Seoul’s Dongbu Ichon and City Hall Plus stores wh
March 26, 2013
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Samsung counters LG with 50 bil. won advertising suit
Samsung Electronics Co. has launched a suit against rival LG Electronics Inc. demanding 50 billion won (US$45 million) in compensation for denting its brand value, sources said Monday.In the lawsuit filed with the Seoul Southern District Court on Friday, the world's top maker of smartphones, memory chips and flat-panel TVs demanded its home-turf competitor to pay the cited amount in damages, according to the legal sources.The move marks the latest development in the ongoing advertising row betwe
March 25, 2013
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Caffe Bene blames first job cuts on new regulations
Caffe Bene, the nation’s largest coffee shop franchise, has started cutting jobs and executive salaries, blaming regulations against expansion of its bakery and restaurant chains.Industry watchers say, however, that there is more to the sudden “emergency management.”Caffe Bene took over bakery chain Mainz Dom in December despite the National Commission for Corporate Partnership’s advice to reconsider the acquisition as the panel was discussing restricting bakery franchises.The state-funded commi
March 25, 2013
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[Power Korea] World is too small for GS Home Shopping
The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles titled Global Brand as part of the first installment of Power Korea. Korea’s success story is a 60-year-old tale written by not one, but many who worked to build one of the world’s most powerful nations from the ashes of war. This Global Brand series is designed to honor those who made this Korean Dream come true. This is the 12th part of the Global Brand series. ― Ed.In every Korean industry, there seems to be a “Psy” possessing the star power
March 25, 2013
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French minister seeks ‘amitie’ with Korea
Fleur Pellerin, the Korean-born French minister overlooking small and mid-sized enterprises and the digital economy, on Monday stressed that Korea and France have much to benefit from a mutual relationship.“In R&D and innovation, especially in areas such as biotechnology and the digital economy, there are many sectors we can cooperate in,” Pellerin said at a meeting with the French-Korean community here at Novotel Ambassadors Hotel. She noted a growing interest in France about Korean language an
March 25, 2013
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Louis Vuitton sales fall by double digits 2012
Louis Vuitton, the French maker of luxury handbags, saw its sales in the local market fall at a double-digit rate last year due to the prolonged economic downturn, industry sources said Monday. According to the sources, Louis Vuitton, which was named the world’s most valuable luxury brand last year, faced a double-digit sales drop for the first time since 1991 when it entered the South Korean luxury goods market. “Sales of Louis Vuitton started falling in April last year,” an industry source sai
March 25, 2013
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S. Korea's small car sales drop on prolonged slump
Sales of small cars in South Korea sank in the first two months of the year due to weak demand stemming from the country's protracted economic slump, industry data showed Monday.According to the data, a total of 28,711 small cars with engine capacities of 1.0 liter were sold in the country in the January-February period, down 8.2 percent from a year earlier.The overall domestic passenger car market, however, shrank at a lower rate of 2.8 percent during the cited period, the data showed, indicati
March 25, 2013
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Toxic gas leak dealings spark safety concerns
The latest toxic gas leaks may not have caused serious physical harm, but the fact that the culprit companies failed to promptly report to state authorities is raising suspicions of corporate negligence.Top global firms such as SK Hynix, LG and Samsung are now under fire for failing to manage their staff and abide by safety regulations involving industrial hazards at their domestic plants.Last Friday, a chlorine gas leak was detected around 10:10 a.m. while five workers were working on the valve
March 24, 2013
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Mercedes-Benz recalls cars on fuel leakage
Mercedes-Benz Korea has voluntarily recalled three models it has been importing, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Sunday. Those subject to the recall were S350, S500 and the S500 4MATIC vehicles that were manufactured between April and July 2011. The importer said it decided on the measure after discovering that fuel appeared to be leaking from the filters designed to remove debris from the fuel. Owners of these vehicles will be able to receive repairs at Mercedes-Benz Kor
March 24, 2013
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Korean consortium wins W23b communications order
The joint consortium of Daewoo International, KT and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency has won a 23 billion won ($21 million) order to build a high-speed Internet network in Poland, officials said.Starting this month, the trading company is to install 860 kilometers of optical fiber cables in the state of Podlaskie and improve the region’s average Internet speed to 100 megabits per second by year 2015.The contract was part of the Digital Poland Project, a government-led program funded
March 24, 2013
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Controversy brews over Chey’s reinstatement
Controversy is brewing over the latest reinstatement of SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won as board director of SK C&C, the de facto holding company of SK. Last week, Chey ― who is serving out a sentence for corporate malfeasance ― was named board director with a term of three years at a shareholders’ meeting. His term will be up until 2016. The decision went through largely because Chey is currently the largest shareholder at SK C&C, with a 38 percent stake. The National Pension Fund, which holds a
March 24, 2013
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Boutique hotel flies high on back of Casamia brand
Having charmed guests and hotel industry insiders including those from a five-star hotel in Hong Kong with its stylish yet comforting furnishings, Hotel La Casa is ready to expand.“We plan to build about 30 more rooms in the building next to La Casa by spring next year,” Lee Hyun-koo, chairman of Casamia which runs the boutique hotel, said in an interview with The Korea Herald.La Casa is located at the southern foot of Seoul’s Hannam Bridge, next to the offices of Casamia. These offices, which a
March 24, 2013
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Toyota to lift domestic output due to weak yen: report
Toyota Motor plans to raise domestic production during the April-September period by about 10 percent from its earlier estimate thanks to the recent weak yen, it was reported Saturday. Toyota has already revised up planned output for April and May by 10 percent to between 13,000 and 13,500 vehicles a day and it now intends to keep production at that level through to September, the Nikkei business daily said. The weakening Japanese currency is seen pushing up exports of the Corolla and Priu
March 23, 2013
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Esquire editor’s comments spark ’sexist’ row
Controversial remarks by an editor from men’s Esquire magazine drew furious responses from women around the world.Alex Bilmes, the editor for the magazine’s British edition, expressed his opinion on how Esquire produces content featuring women.“The women we feature in the magazine are ornamental, that is how we see them,” he said at the Advertising Week Europe conference. “I could lie and say we are interested in their brains as well but on the whole we‘re not, they are there to be a beautiful o
March 23, 2013
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Hyundai tightens shipping unit control
Shareholders of Hyundai Merchant Marine, the nation’s No. 2 shipping firm, approved a controversial plan Friday to increase the limit of preferred shares it can issue, despite opposition from the second-largest shareholder, Hyundai Heavy Industries.The approval means that Hyundai Group, HMM’s largest shareholder, is expected to tighten its control over the shipping company in financial trouble, as it will be able to sell the preferred shares to a third party to secure funds, industry analysts sa
March 22, 2013
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Hyundai Motor chief stresses eco-friendly cars
Hyundai Motor Group chairman Chung Mong-koo on Friday pledged to nurture the Kia brand into a more competitive global player through additional investment, especially for environment-friendly vehicles.During a shareholders’ meeting on Friday in Seoul, Kia Motors set this year’s sales target at 2.75 million vehicles globally, up 300,000 from last year.“The business environment will be tough both in Korea and abroad this year. We will continue brand innovation through quality products,” Chung said
March 22, 2013
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Korean Air to create holding company
Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea’s top air carrier, said Friday it has decided to create a holding company in coming months, a move that it says will enhance transparency of its corporate governance.The decision, reached at the company’s board of directors meeting earlier Friday, calls for splitting the company into Hanjin KAL Holdings and Korean Air.The airline said the process of creating a parent company is set to be completed in Aug. 1, and the holding company plans to raise its stake in Ko
March 22, 2013
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‘Chinese IP used in cyber attack’
The unprecedented cyber attack that crashed the computer networks of major South Korean broadcasters and banks Wednesday used malicious codes from China, Seoul’s investigators said on Thursday, raising suspicions that North Korea may be behind the attack. The Korea Communications Commission said the malware codes from an Internet protocol address in China were found to be the cause of the cyber attack on KBS, MBC and YTN, and the three banks including Shinhan.A total of 31 servers and 32,000 PCs
March 21, 2013
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SKT to offer limitless voice calls to smartphone users
SK Telecom, the nation’s largest mobile operator, announced Thursday a set of new price plans that promise unlimited voice calls among its subscribers and free text messaging for all smartphone users. The company also unveiled a monthly data scheme that allows its Long Term Evolution subscribers to share networks with up to two mobile devices free of charge. Until now, users had to pay 9,000 won monthly per device. The new plans came as the market No. 1 player pledged to put more emphasis on pro
March 21, 2013
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Hyundai Motor to create more jobs for underprivileged
Hyundai Motor Group on Thursday pledged a new investment plan worth 32 billion won ($28 million) over the next five years that would support “social enterprises” and create more jobs for young job-seekers and underprivileged people. As part of the plan, the Korean auto giant said it would create 750 jobs by 2017 through a venture start-up program that inspires young people to start a new business that benefits society as well as seeking profits. The carmaker, in cooperation with the Labor Minis
March 21, 2013