Most Popular
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Slew of top K-pop stars ready to return from military
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S. Korea, US clinch 2026-30 defense cost-sharing deal in pre-election push
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N. Korean leader's sister derides Seoul's Hyunmoo-5 missile as 'useless'
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Military aircraft evacuating S. Koreans in Lebanon returns home
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Controversial cult leader’s sentence reduced to 17 years
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Concerns raised over chronic labor shortage at state-run center for digital sex crime victims
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BTS-themed moon jar to be unveiled on Hangeul Day
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Samsung, Hyundai chiefs to accompany Yoon on Singapore trip
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1,430 minors investigated for drug offenses from 2018 to 2023: police
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[Robert Fouser] Why the US election looks so close
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[Management in Korea] Chaebol boards are broken: It's time to fix them
Management in Korea is a regular column written by the members of Egon Zehnder Seoul touching on various aspects of Korean enterprises and business leaders and offering management tips. -- Ed.For decades, corporate boards around the world could best be described as “seen but not heard.” While directors were supposed to oversee the CEO and the management team on behalf of shareholders, since the CEO effectively hand-picked them, most boards were little more than a rubber stamp. This arrangement w
Jan. 9, 2018
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Oral cholera vaccine in lighter plastic packaging hits market
The International Vaccine Institute said Tuesday that the world’s first oral cholera vaccine packaged in plastic tube vials is now available for purchase by international procurement agencies and United Nations agencies.The oral cholera vaccine, named Euvichol-Plus, was developed by South Korean drugmaker EuBiologics based on a technology transfer from the IVI. The vaccine has officially arrived in the market after the first shipment of 2.45 million dosages were delivered to Zambia and Somlia on
Jan. 9, 2018
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KT, Lotte Department Store, Samsung C&T top sectors for NCSI 2017
Customer satisfaction for firms and universities in South Korea improved overall in 2017 compared to the previous year, a recent survey by the Korea Productivity Center showed.KT, Lotte Department Store, Samsung C&T and Chungbuk National University topped the list for their respective industries. The National Customer Satisfaction Index in the fourth quarter of 2017 came to 75.6 points, up 0.9 point from that of the previous year, according to the KPC’s survey on 86,494 respondents with experien
Jan. 9, 2018
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[CES 2018] Samsung defends Bixby’s lukewarm response
LAS VEGAS -- Samsung’s top management on Monday defended reports on low performance and low global market share of its ambitious artificial intelligence technology Bixby during a press briefing held in Las Vegas, a day before the Consumer Electronics Show kicks off. During the conference, Samsung outlined its vision and strategy for intelligent Internet of Things experiences with the demonstration of its ability to make connected consumer experiences across Samsung devices at home, at the office
Jan. 9, 2018
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KT&G to increase price of Fiit e-cigarettes
Korea’s largest tobacco maker KT&G said it will increase the price of Fiit, a tobacco product exclusively designed for its heat-not-burn device Lil, from next week. KT&GFiit, a tobacco-filled stick that works with Lil, was released at 4,300 won ($4) in November. The company said the price of Fiit will go up to 4,500 won, reflecting a recent increase in the individual consumption tax imposed on HNB products and other levies such as a health promotion fee. The company has worked to minimize the p
Jan. 9, 2018
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Samsung to break record with W50tr in operating profit
South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics is on path to become a company worth 50 trillion won ($46.9 billion), as its annual operating profit for 2017 is forecast to hit 53.6 trillion won, according to an earnings guidance released by the company Tuesday. It is the first time for Samsung to obtain over 50 trillion won in operating profit for the whole year since its foundation in 1969, pushed up by an unprecedented global boom in the chips industry. The company’s preliminary earnings showed t
Jan. 9, 2018
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LG Household & Healthcare’s Whoo exceeds W1.4tr in sales
LG Household & Health Care’s royal-themed cosmetics brand Whoo achieved sales of 1.42 trillion won ($1.3 billion) last year, following its continued popularity in China and Southeast Asia. Chinese consumers shop for LG Household & Health Care’s Whoo products at a department store in Shanghai, China. LG Household & HealthcareSince its launch in 2003, Whoo has seen 40 percent growth each year, according to the company. It posted 100 billion won in sales in 2009. Riding a wave of rapid growth, its
Jan. 8, 2018
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‘Generation Z’ holds key to future of retail: report
With the ascension of a tech-savvy and mobile-first generation of consumers, or “Generation Z,” retailers and brands need to prepare ways to reach and appeal to them, a recent report showed. According to the report released by Hyundai Research Institute, Generation Z, referring to those born between 1996 and 2010 and the first consumers to have grown up in the digital era, will be the most pivotal generation to the future of retail, with their lifestyles centered around the smartphone.The report
Jan. 8, 2018
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LG Electronics turns operating profit in Q4
LG Electronics Inc. said Monday its earnings are estimated to have turned to the black in the fourth quarter of 2017 fueled by robust sales of home appliances and premium TVs. The company's operating profit is estimated at 366.8 billion won ($343 million) for the October-December period. This comes after the consumer electronics company recorded an operating loss of 35.2 billion won over the same period a year earlier, LG Electronics said in a regulatory filing.Sales are estimated to have increa
Jan. 8, 2018
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Korean pharma firms eye opportunities at JP Morgan Healthcare Conference
In search of new partnerships and foreign investments, South Korean pharmaceutical companies have headed to the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference to promote their drug pipelines and business portfolios to global investors.The annual four-day event, which kicks off Monday in San Francisco, California, is the world’s largest and oldest annual health care symposium, which brings together the world’s top pharmaceutical firms and investors to seek out new drug candidates and technologies.The JP Morgan
Jan. 8, 2018
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Posco chief joins CES 2018
Joining the wave of technological innovations sweeping across the traditional manufacturing industry, the chairman of South Korea’s largest steelmaker also departed to join the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Monday, the firm has said.“Posco Chairman Kwon Oh-joon, who unveiled the plans last year to incorporate technology across sectors the company manages, will examine the latest technological trends,” the company said.He is also scheduled to meet with companies in the smart industry
Jan. 8, 2018
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Lee Kun-hee shows no signs of recovery, but condition stable: sources
The bedridden head of Samsung Electronics Co., Lee Kun-hee, has shown no signs of recovery, but his condition has not deteriorated either since 2014, when he was hospitalized for a heart attack, industry sources said Sunday.Lee turns 76 on Tuesday."I haven't heard about Chairman Lee's condition for a while," a source said. "No news means his health remains the same."After suffering a heart attack on May 10, 2014, he was rushed to Samsung Medical Center in southern Seoul, owned by his business gr
Jan. 7, 2018
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Korea’s steel exports to US post double-digit growth
Amid intensifying trade protectionist measures against South Korea’s steel products by the US, Korea’s steel industry saw double digit growth in exports to the US last year, industry data showed Sunday. The total volume of steel shipments to the US dropped 4.9 percent on-year between January and November last year. But in value, the amount of exports rose 17.7 percent largely due to an increase in demand and price of oil country tubular goods, according to figures by Korea International Trade As
Jan. 7, 2018
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At CES, Samsung, LG vie for top spot in premium TVs
The world’s two largest television makers, Samsung and LG, will vie to steal the limelight with their larger and smarter televisions in the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show that kicks off on Tuesday in Las Vegas, Nevada. Samsung is expected to showcase their quantum-dot light-emitting diodes televisions with a larger than 100-inch panel, much bigger than the currently largest 88-inch QLED TVs, according to insiders. The tech firm is also expected to introduce its new, large Micro-LED TV for th
Jan. 5, 2018
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[Newsmaker] Young mobile shoppers spending more on small pleasures: data
Young mobile shoppers in their 20s and 30s are increasingly choosing to open their wallets for products and services that offer small, instant pleasures rather than self-improvement products, data showed this week.According to social commerce firm Tmon, sales over the past two months shifted from self-improvement products such as health supplements and exercise equipment associated with New Year‘s resolutions to items that offer entertainment.In particular, board games and remote-controlled elec
Jan. 5, 2018
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[Weekender] Paper planners maintain appeal in new year despite tech-savvy consumers
On the second day of the new year, shoppers bustled about one section of Kyobo Books’ Gwanghwamun branch. They were all shopping for planners, more familiarly called “diaries,” to help them set their plans for the year.“I usually don’t like writing things down with pen and paper, but there’s something about New Year’s resolutions that makes you want to write them down physically,” said Kim Yoon-jeong, a 22-year-old college student who was flipping through various planners. Consumers browse plane
Jan. 5, 2018
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Sales of teenagers’ makeup products surge
Sales of cosmetics for teenagers continued to rise in 2017, with 29 percent growth on-year, data from a South Korean e-commerce firm showed Friday. According to SK Planet, which operates an e-commerce platform 11st, sales of color cosmetics such as lipsticks and manicures soared by 549 percent and 233 percent, respectively. Teenagers’ makeup kits and makeup tables were also popular, with sales growing by 101 percent and 182 percent, respectively.The sales of cosmetics targeting young customers h
Jan. 5, 2018
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Korean burger restaurant Mom’s Touch taps US market
Korean hamburger and chicken brand Mom’s Touch has made inroads into the US, the homeland of burgers. The brand announced Thursday that it opened its first North American branch in Concord, California on Jan. 1.The adjacent area is packed with restaurants, but Mom’s Touch is the first one to serve burgers on the main menu. The first Mom's Touch branch in the US (Photo courtesy of Mom's Touch-Yonhap)At approximately 130 square meters, the restaurant can house about 40 customers. It has an outdoor
Jan. 4, 2018
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Debate ensues after alleged suicide attempt by passenger at Incheon Airport
Incheon Airport and Singapore Airlines are facing protest from a family after a passenger reportedly suffering from mental illness jumped from the fourth floor of Incheon Airport’s concourse while waiting for a transfer flight to Los Angeles in mid-December. The man’s family claims that Singapore Airlines, which operated his flight, and Incheon Airport Corporation should be held responsible, according to news reports.The 52-year-old American man, who was traveling in Thailand, decided to return
Jan. 4, 2018
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Korean game makers to tap global markets with major new releases in 2018
South Korea’s gaming industry closed a successful year in 2017, with mobile renditions of “Lineage” raising record sales while online games like “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds” shot their way to the international spotlight. Stepping into 2018, Korea’s leading game companies are once again preparing to entice overseas users with an array of new games, looking to new markets beyond their home turf.Nexon is kicking off the new year with two new mobiles games -- martial arts role-playing game “Yulga
Jan. 4, 2018