Most Popular
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Ex-presidential official’s leaked phone call rattles conservative bloc
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Man escapes DUI charges by downing bottle of soju while pulled over
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Pay debate plagues foreign nanny pilot
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K-pop star lip-syncing controversy flares up again
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35% of S. Koreans view unification 'unnecessary'
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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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[Reporter’s Notebook] Was Netflix film opening BIFF really a bad thing?
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N. Korean leader's sister derides Seoul's Hyunmoo-5 missile as 'useless'
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Controversial cult leader’s sentence reduced to 17 years
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[Ask a Lawyer] Is determining price of imported goods really free?
Ask a Lawyer is a regular column written by attorneys at Yoon & Yang LLC on various legal aspects of the Korean life or business. The content provided here is general legal information, not legal advice on a specific situation. -- Ed.(123rf)Q: What tax issues should I take into consideration when determining the prices of goods imported from foreign affiliates?A: Company A (“A”) recently imported raw materials from foreign affiliate B (“B”), and A paid customs duties and income taxes based on th
Sept. 17, 2017
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SK Holdings turns to US investors for M&A push
SK Holdings, the parent company of South Korea’s third-largest conglomerate SK Group, will be making its way to the US this week to meet with global institutional investors as it seeks new capital to fund its strategic investment activities.Top executives from SK Holdings, including its CEO Jang Dong-hyun, will be holding a four-day non-deal roadshow in major US cities including New York and Boston starting from Monday, with Credit Suisses as the lead manager, the company said.The SK Group headq
Sept. 17, 2017
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Lotte opens 2nd hotel in Russia
Lotte Hotel & Resorts said Sunday it opened its second hotel in Russia last week as it seeks to tap deeper into the overseas market.The new hotel opened in Saint Petersburg on Friday. It launched its first Russian operation in Moscow in 2010. Lotte currently operates hotels in the United States, Vietnam, Uzbekistan and Myanmar.Lotte Hotel & Resorts is affiliated with Lotte Group, South Korea's fifth-largest conglomerate with sprawling businesses in food, retail and construction. (Yonhap) This un
Sept. 17, 2017
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[Monitor] Korean tourism industry hit hard by THAAD dispute
With the number of Chinese tourists to South Korea sharply declining, the nation’s tourism industry may suffer from an estimated 81.6 trillion won ($72 billion) of losses and around 40,000 workers in the industry might lose their jobs.Hyundai Research Institute said in a report that around 3.33 million Chinese visitors appear to have canceled their trips to South Korea amid the escalating diplomatic dispute over the deployment of the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense anti-missile system. Th
Sept. 15, 2017
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Korea to wind down nuclear power over next 60 years: energy minister
The government is looking to gradually push its nuclear-free energy policy over the next six decades in an effort to establish a future of greener and safer energy, said Paik Un-gyu, minister of trade, industry and energy, on Friday. “Now is a good time to start transitioning our energy sources to be safer and cleaner,” said Paik during his keynote speech at the 57th Energy Forum at Lotte Hotel in Seoul on Friday. “We need to steer away from our past energy production models that focused on pr
Sept. 15, 2017
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[News Focus] Korean companies exit China as THAAD crisis continues
Korean companies operating in China are exiting the market, as anti-Korean sentiment stemming from intergovernmental tensions over Korea’s deployment of an American anti-missile system continues to hit sales. On Friday, Lotte Shopping said in a disclosure that it had “selected a managing firm and is considering selling Lotte Mart’s stores in China, but no details have been decided at present.” On Thursday, reports citing sources at Lotte said that Lotte Shopping had decided to sell its Lotte Mar
Sept. 15, 2017
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[Eye Plus] Harvest season comes for ginseng
Early Tuesday morning, about 30 villagers gathered at a field in Asan, South Chungcheong Province, to begin the most important day of the year. The field has been contracted by the Korea Ginseng Corporation to grow prized six-year ginseng roots. After two years of nourishing the soil and six years of growth, the roots are finally ready to be unearthed.Tractors begin to turn the soil, bringing the golden-brown roots to the surface. The villagers begin dusting the soil off the roots and placing th
Sept. 15, 2017
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Korea‘s trade remains in black for 67th straight month in Aug.
South Korea posted the 67th consecutive month of trade surplus in August on rising global demand, customs data showed Friday.The country's trade surplus came to $6.6 billion last month, down sharply from a surplus of $10.3 billion tallied a month earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service.Asia's fourth-largest economy has posted a monthly trade surplus since February 2012. (Yonhap)It logged $5.7 billion in trade surplus with Southeast Asian countries in August, including a sur
Sept. 15, 2017
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Tax breaks lead to more hiring of regulars: report
South Korean companies increased hiring of regular workers by more than 14,000 in 2015 in return for government tax benefits, a report said Friday.A total of 2,164 large businesses and smaller companies applied for tax credits after employing a combined 14,109 young regular workers that year, according to the report from the Korea Institute of Public Finance.The companies hired an average 3.2 young regular employees, with large companies increasing the most with 16.4 workers. (Yonhap)The amount
Sept. 15, 2017
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[News Focus] Samsung hopes to regain consumer confidence in China
Amid struggles in the Chinese market, where users are increasingly attracted by local alternatives, Samsung Electronics underlined that China is and will continue to be the most important market for its smartphone business.“We will continue to make efforts to gain trust and love from Chinese consumers with Samsung’s technology and products,” said Samsung’s mobile head Koh Dong-Jin at the launch event for the Galaxy Note 8 in Beijing on Wednesday. His announcement came amid the Korean tech firm’s
Sept. 14, 2017
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Lotte begins work to sell hypermarket stores in China
Lotte Group has begun work to sell its discount store chain in China, company officials and an industry source said Thursday, as China steps up its retaliation against the South Korean retail giant due to its support for an advanced US missile defense system.According to the sources, Lotte has named Goldman Sachs as the lead manager to sell its Lotte Mart stores in China. Depending on the results of negotiations with a potential buyer, Lotte could sell all of its discount stores in China, the so
Sept. 14, 2017
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Lotte Duty Free takes on Incheon Airport over rent
Korea’s largest duty-free store operator officially requested that the country’s gateway airport lower its rents, as the tax-free industry continues to struggle, sparking speculation as to whether the move will lead to a downward trend in airport duty-free rents across the board.According to Lotte Duty Free on Wednesday, the company sent an official letter to Incheon International Airport Corp. asking that the airport adjust its rent prices to be proportional to its sales.“Right now, we are payi
Sept. 14, 2017
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Posco Energy enhances energy efficiency for underprivileged
Posco Energy, the power-producing unit of steelmaker Posco, said Thursday it replaced old energy devices for two households as part of its energy dream campaign to support the energy-poor population here.Energy-poor refers to the roughly 1.5 million households in Korea that spend more than 10 percent of their income on electricity, fuel, heating and other energy-related expenses.Employees of Posco Energy and Incheon LNG combined cycle power plant participate in the energy dream campaign. (Posco
Sept. 14, 2017
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McDonald’s Korea to resume sales of bulgogi burgers
McDonald’s Korea said Thursday that it would resume sales of the bulgogi burger starting Friday, as a set of inspections by authorities -- including Jeonju‘s local government -- found no sanitary issues with the product that was suspected of causing a group of children to fall ill.On Sept. 2, McDonald’s Korea halted sales of the burger after a group of grade school students and a teacher reported symptoms of enteritis after eating the burger at a branch in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province. Bulgogi
Sept. 14, 2017
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Kumho Asiana to give up management rights of tire unit if restructuring plan falls through
Kumho Asiana Group said Thursday it will give up the management rights of its tire unit if the airline-to-construction conglomerate fails to restructure the financially troubled unit by March. The group said in a statement that it will also give up its right to buy back Kumho Tire Co. from a third party.The announcement comes after Kumho Tire's creditors raised a question about the "details-deficient" self-rescue plan submitted Tuesday by the tiremaker to its creditors, who are led by the state-
Sept. 14, 2017
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Chemical firms to invest W10tr in upgrading industrial complex
South Korea's major chemical companies will join forces to invest 10 trillion won ($8.84 billion) in upgrading an industrial complex on the west coast, the government said Thursday.Lotte Chemical Corp., S-Oil Corp. and Hanwha Total Petrochemical Co. signed a memorandum of understanding with the provincial government for the investment in the Daesan Petrochemical Complex, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.The complex, 130 kilometers southwest of Seoul, is home to around 50 c
Sept. 14, 2017
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Over 20% of lavish foreign tourists come from Mideast: poll
Middle Eastern tourists accounted for more than 20 percent of big-spending foreign visitors to South Korea last year with their per-capita spending reaching over $16,000, a poll showed Thursday.The survey on the top 1 percent high-spending foreign tourists, taken by the Korea Culture & Tourism Institute, showed that 22 percent of them were from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Iran and other Middle Eastern countries. (Yonhap)China came next with 17.2 percent, followed by the United State
Sept. 14, 2017
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Korea keeps electricity reserve rate at 22 pct in 2031
South Korea will keep the electricity reserve rate at 22 percent in 2031, the same estimated two years ago, as the government's push for renewable energy needs back up facilities for a stable power supply, a panel said Friday.A government working group to outline the power supply plan for2017-2030 said that it tentatively determined the reasonable electricity reserve rate at 22 percent in 2031.The detailed figure comes after the expert panel last month determined the reasonable electricity reser
Sept. 13, 2017
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KDB rejects Kumho Tire self-saving plan citing need for detail
The state-run Korea Development Bank leading the creditors’ association of Kumho Tire has rejected a management plan from Kumho Asiana Group for saving the troubled tire company, asking for more details about its execution before the creditors’ meeting next week.The move puts more pressure on Kumho Asiana Chairman Park Sam-koo to come up with new measures to keep Kumho Tire afloat. If the revised plan is also rejected, the creditors will begin steps to remove Kumho Asiana Chairman Park Sam-koo f
Sept. 13, 2017
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iPhone X likely to go on sale in Korea in December
Apple’s new iPhone X, which was unveiled on Tuesday, is predicted to be launched in Korea in December. The US handset maker said its new phone will go on sale in more than 55 nations, including the US, China, Japan and Canada, on Nov. 3, but not Korea. Apple’s new phones have usually been released here around a month after their US launch. The iPhone 7 series was launched on Sept. 16 last year and arrived here on Oct. 21, with Korea being on the third list of countries for release. iPhone X (App
Sept. 13, 2017