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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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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Market uncertain on Korea's October rate cut despite slowed inflation
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[Newsmaker] Korea's Drug Ministry confirms safety of locally-sold sanitary pads
South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on Thursday concluded that the level of chemical substances found in sanitary pads sold here are not hazardous to the human body. The conclusion came after the ministry conducted toxicity tests on sanitary pads, tampons, panty liners and diapers sold in Korea to check for levels of 74 volatile organic compounds such as cholorobenzene and acetone.“After conducting reviews and toxicity tests on 74 VOCs found in sanitary pads, we’ve concluded that thei
Dec. 28, 2017
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Samsung Heavy Industries to sign W210b deal to build LNG carrier
Samsung Heavy Industries said Thursday that it will sign a deal worth 210 billion won ($195 million) to build a liquefied natural gas carrier.It will ink the contract with a foreign shipping company by the end of the year, Samsung Heavy Industries officials said. The name of the company, however, remained undisclosed. (Yonhap)With the deal, orders secured by the shipbuilder this year will reach $6.9 billion for 28 ships, surpassing its annual target of $6.5 billion. The ship maker also said it
Dec. 28, 2017
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2017 foreign-language newspaper journalist awards held
The Foreign Language Newspapers Association of Korea awarded outstanding reporters of the year at a ceremony held at the Korea Press Center in Seoul on Wednesday. Song Su-hyun, reporter at The Korea Herald, Lee Hee-soon, international desk editor at the Korea Times, Seo Ji-eun, senior reporter at Korea JoongAng Daily, and Wang Haina, reporter at Aju News, were awarded during the event. From left, The Korea Herald reporter Song Su-hyun, Korea JoongAng Daily senior reporter Seo Ji-eun, Foreign La
Dec. 28, 2017
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'Exclusive' contracts between business partners to be banned: FTC
South Korea unveiled a series of measures Thursday aimed at promoting "fair" transactions between large firms and smaller business partners, the centerpiece of which is preventing "exclusive" contracts. Under the measures, the Fair Trade Commission, the country's corporate watchdog, said the government will step up efforts to raise transparency in transactions between large players and smaller ones. In such dealings, bigger companies have used their dominant market positions to excessively engag
Dec. 28, 2017
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Cosmetics industry eyes growth recovery in 2018
South Korea's cosmetics industry is looking to regain growth in 2018 after taking a big hit from China's retaliation against Seoul over a missile row this year, sources said Thursday.In March, China banned sales of group tours to South Korea in retaliation against Seoul's decision to deploy an advanced US missile defense shield, which Beijing sees as a security threat.The move has dealt a big blow to South Korean cosmetics manufacturers and retailers, whose main customers were Chinese tourists.T
Dec. 28, 2017
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Korean firms downbeat on Jan. biz outlook
South Korean companies are pessimistic about their business conditions in 2018 due to unfavorable factors at home and abroad, a poll showed Thursday.The business survey index of the nation's top 600 firms by sales came to 96.5 for January, unchanged from the previous month, according to the Korea Economic Research Institute.It marks the 20th straight month that the index has hovered below the benchmark 100.A reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists, while a reading above the benchm
Dec. 28, 2017
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Korea's industrial output rebounds in November
South Korea's industrial output rebounded in November from a month earlier on an improvement in the automaking and machinery sectors, government data showed Thursday.Production in the mining, manufacturing, gas and electricity industries rose 0.2 percent on-month in November, following an adjusted 1.5 percent on-month dip in the previous month, according to the data by Statistics Korea.From a year earlier, industrial output, however, sank 1.6 percent, following a 6.1 percent on-year decline in O
Dec. 28, 2017
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Samsung leaders’ stock value surges by W6tr
The family members in control of the Samsung empire have earned nearly 6 trillion won ($5.6 million) in stock value increases this year, despite a series of unfortunate events that suspended the planned generational transfer of power.Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee saw his stock value rise by nearly 4 trillion won this year, due to a stock rally the tech giant continued throughout the year, CEOScore, a local corporate tracker, said in its report released Wednesday.Though Lee has been hospitalized s
Dec. 27, 2017
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Thousands of bakers at Paris Baguette give up direct hiring
More than 4,100 bakers at Paris Baguette, South Korea's largest bakery franchise, have opted not to be directly hired by the franchise operator SPC Group in a snub to the government.The Ministry of Employment and Labor has said SPC Group should directly hire bakers, saying that the food and beverage giant violated the country's labor laws in connection with the hiring conditions of more than 5,300 bakers and cafe workers at its franchise stores.The bakery chain has been accused of giving direct
Dec. 27, 2017
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Sanitary pads, face masks to list all ingredients on packaging
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on Wednesday announced its main policy changes regarding consumer safety for the upcoming year including stricter regulations regarding ingredient labeling.The policy changes included those addressing major consumer safety crises in 2017 involving traces of pesticides found in eggs, as well as volatile organic compounds found in menstrual care products.The ministry will expand the categories of products that will be required to label all ingredients to includ
Dec. 27, 2017
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Home shopping channels charge biggest commissions on sales: FTC
Home shopping TV channels charged the biggest commissions on sales this year compared with department stores, online malls and discount outlets, South Korea's antitrust watchdog said Wednesday.Home shopping channels received an average 28.4 percent commission, the Fair Trade Commission said, citing its survey of 19 home shopping channels, department stores, online malls and large discount outlets.The comparable figures were 22 percent for department stores, 21.9 percent for discount outlets and
Dec. 27, 2017
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Role of conglomerates' outside directors minimal: report
Outside directors at South Korea's major conglomerates play an insignificant role in corporate decisions, with their agenda disapproval rate remaining very low, a government report showed Wednesday.Of the 4,361 motions forwarded for approval by the board of 169 listed companies in the one-year period from April 2016, only 17 were rejected, altered or pigeonholed, according to the report from the Fair Trade Commission.The number accounts for a mere 0.39 percent of the total, and only four agenda
Dec. 27, 2017
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Korea GDP to lose big from high corporate taxes
The South Korean economy will likely take a hit from a reversal of top corporate tax rates in Asia's fourth-largest economy and the United States, a local think tank said Wednesday.South Korea has decided to raise the maximum corporate tax rate to 25 percent from the current 22 percent, while the comparable rate for America will go down to 21 percent from the existing 35 percent.In a related report, the Korea Economic Research Institute estimated the reversal would cause South Korea's gross dome
Dec. 27, 2017
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[Newsmaker] SK Chairman Chey seeks sharing economy
The sharing economy can simply refer to well-known platforms like Uber and Airbnb, or in the broader sense of all democratized marketplaces. Unlike its vibrant use in North America, though, the term remains relatively unfamiliar to the public here. Now a Korean chaebol is seeking to bring this economic concept to life in the South Korean market.Chey Tae-won, the chairman of telecom and energy giant SK Group and the nation‘s fifth-richest man, according to The Investor, has been pursuing ways to
Dec. 26, 2017
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Foreigners' duty-free shopping record-high in Nov.
Foreigners' local duty-free shopping hit a monthly record-high last month, data showed Tuesday.Statistics provided by the Korean Duty Free Association said foreign shoppers purchased a combined $983 million worth of goods at duty-free stores in November.(Yonhap)A total of 1.31 million foreigners visited the local duty free shops in November, up 7.9 percent from a month earlier, the data showed.Sales at South Korean duty-free stores reached $1.22 billion in November, a 9.7 percent jump from the p
Dec. 26, 2017
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Hyundai Heavy seeks to raise 1.3 tln won in rights issue
South Korea's top shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. said Tuesday that it plans to issue shares worth 1.3 trillion won (US$1.21 billion) to improve its financial health as its holding company is pushing for an initial public offering (IPO) of Hyundai Oilbank Co.Hyundai Heavy said in a regulatory filing that it is seeking to complete the sale of 12.5 million shares by March. It said some 869 billion won among the planned share sale will be used for operating funds. (Yonhap)It said that its
Dec. 26, 2017
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[K-Style Trailblazers] Haesoo.L soars on celebrity marketing
The Korea Herald is publishing a series of interviews with the CEOs of small but aspiring brands that are taking Korean fashion and beauty overseas through online retailers. This is the fourth and final installment. -- Ed.In Korea, there‘s no marketing quite like star marketing.That was the idea that Lee Ju-min, CEO of silver jewelry brand Haesoo.L, seized upon when he launched his brand.“I can say with some confidence that we provide most of the earrings worn by actresses on Korean dramas,” Lee
Dec. 26, 2017
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LG upgrades V30 OS to Android 8.0 Oreo
LG Electronics said Tuesday that it is updating the operating system on its premium smartphone V30 to the Android 8.0 Oreo system, becoming the first Korean manufacturer to upgrade to Oreo.Since Nov. 27, LG has been running a LG OS Preview program allowing V30 users to try the Oreo OS on their devices and provide feedback on how existing apps could be optimized for the new system. LG V30 upgrades to Android 8.0 Oreo (LG Electronics)The latest OS from Android includes features that boost speed an
Dec. 26, 2017
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LG Chem to invest W300b in petrochemical facilities
LG Chem will invest a total of 300 billion won ($278.6 million) to expand its petrochemical facilities in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, the company said Tuesday.With the investment, the company plans to increase the annual production capacities of crude acrylic acid and super absorbent polymer by 180,000 tons and 100,000 tons, respectively. (LG Chem)CAA is used to produce acrylates and other derivatives used in paint, paper, textile, adhesives, specialty coatings. SAP is mainly used in disposab
Dec. 26, 2017
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Korea to invest W3.1tr to support next-generation industries
The South Korean government said Tuesday that it will inject 3.2 trillion won ($2.9 billion) into research and development in the next year to boost growth of next-generation industries.Despite the ambitious cause, the size of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy’s R&D investment has been decreasing over the past several years, falling to 3.158 trillion won for 2018, down 1.3 percent from 3.338 trillion won this year. (Yonhap)But by category, the ministry‘s investments in five next-genera
Dec. 26, 2017