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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Dependence on coal-fired power output still high
South Korea's coal-fired power generation increased this year as the country's new government vows to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels and nuclear power, industry data showed Monday.According to the data compiled by the Korea Power Exchange, coal-fired power generation reached 95,550 gigawatt-hours in the first five months of the year, up 13.6 percent from a year earlier.The figure accounted for 42.4 percent of the total electricity output during the cited period, up 4.7 percentage points f
July 17, 2017
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Posco shows signs of recovery
The nation‘s largest steelmaker shows signs of financial recovery this year amid years of heavy corporate restructuring as securities companies expect Posco’s operating profit this year to reach its highest in six years. The company‘s net profit for the first quarter hit 976.9 billion won ($865 million) compared 338.4 billion won a year earlier. Posco’s operating profit also jumped to 1.4 trillion won from 659.8 billion won last year through its own internal efforts to generate revenue. The st
July 16, 2017
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[Monitor] More than a half of college graduates are jobless
More than a half of unemployed people in South Korea were college graduates in the second quarter, according to Statistics Korea.The number of jobless people with a bachelor‘s degree and above reached 546,000 in the April-June period, up 11.8 percent from a year earlier and the portion of unemployed college graduates accounted for 50.5 percent of the total number of unemployed, the data showed. It marked the largest quarterly figure since 1999 when the agency changed its calculation standard for
July 16, 2017
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Duty-free sales to see first drop in 14 years
The Korean duty-free industry may see a drop in on-year annual sales in 2017, which would make it the first decline in 14 years, according to data from the customs regulator Sunday.Since the outbreak of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome virus in 2003, the duty-free industry had seen steadily rising sales until last year. Especially in 2016, sales had risen sharply to 12.3 trillion won ($10.83 billion), breaking the 10 trillion-won mark thanks to the popularity of Korean music and dramas and
July 16, 2017
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Celltrion Healthcare to expand product lineup, direct sales network after IPO
Celltrion Healthcare, the sales and marketing unit of Celltrion, said Friday that it would actively seek out new drug candidates to broaden its product portfolio as well as build stronger direct sales routes globally to boost profits. The firm’s new direction was announced by its CEO Kim Man-hoon during a press conference held in Seoul ahead of the company’s scheduled public listing on Korea’s secondary bourse Kosdaq on July 28.According to Kim, Celltrion Healthcare is looking for overseas inves
July 16, 2017
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Korean shipyards forecast to see steady rise in new orders
South Korean shipyards are expected to clinch a decent number of new orders during the second half of the year, with a slew of contracts to be signed soon, industry sources said Saturday. (Yonhap)Earlier data showed that local shipyards clinched 2.83 million compensated gross tons, or 79 ships, in the January-June period, which represents a twofold increase from a year earlier.Hyundai Heavy and its affiliates have secured a series of fresh contracts, with their new orders reaching $4.2 billion f
July 16, 2017
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Korea posts huge trade deficit with US on produce, meats
South Korea posted a huge trade deficit with the United States on agricultural products and livestock last year as their price competitiveness has attracted consumers, government data showed Saturday.South Korea's agricultural goods and meat exports to the US reached $716 million last year while imports amounted to $6.9 billion, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. (Yonhap)Seoul's trade deficit with the US in the sector came in at $6.14 billion in 2016, the data show
July 15, 2017
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Marriott International to build 16 more hotels in Korea
Marriott International will open 16 more hotels in South Korea over the next five years, its vice president said Friday, amid increasing demand from local residents as well as the steady growth of foreign visitors. Vice President Ramesh Daryanani in charge of global sales in the Asia-Pacific region said the hotel chain operator will expand its establishments in the country's popular tourist areas, including the resort island of Jeju and the southeastern port city of Busan.Marriott International
July 14, 2017
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KTX and SR merger faces rough prospects
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will finalize whether to merge South Korea‘s national train operator Korail and high-speed rail service Supreme Railways by the end of this year, officials said Friday.But a bumpy road is expected ahead with the SR labor union expressing strong opposition to the merger.“Related parties are currently holding discussions over the direction of the merger. A task force will be formed to finalize a decision by the end of this year,” said Maeng Sung-k
July 14, 2017
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Ex-Hyosung chairman resigns as chief of flagship unit
The former chairman of Hyosung Group has left his post as head of Hyosung Corp., a local textile maker, due to old age, the conglomerate said Friday.Cho Suck-rai, 81, retired as the CEO of the flagship unit of the family-run business group, the company said in a regulatory filing, effectively ending his career that spanned more than five decades and began in 1966. Cho Suck-rai (Yonhap)Cho had already handed over his position as group chairman to his first son Cho Hyun-joon late last year. The 81
July 14, 2017
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Korean convenience store chain taps Iran
BGF Retail Co., the operator of South Korea's largest convenience store chain CU, said Friday it signed a franchise deal with an Iranian company marking the first overseas expansion for a convenience store operator.Under the agreement, home appliances firm Entekhab Investment Development Group will take charge of investment and operation of the outlets in the Middle Eastern country.The announcement came as the competition in South Korea's convenience store business, dominated by three chains --
July 14, 2017
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KHNP suspends construction of 2 nuclear power plants
Tension reached a new high Friday after South Korean nuclear power operator Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power held an impromptu board meeting Friday and voted to temporarily suspend the construction of new nuclear power plants against vehement opposition from the labor union and some nearby residents.In an emergency meeting called at a nearby hotel instead of the company headquarters in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, 12 members of the board out of 13 voted in favor of the suspension.The construc
July 14, 2017
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Samsung Electronics most preferred employer among college students
College students again picked Samsung Electronics as the company they most want to work for, especially males, a tally from a job portal showed Friday.Job Korea surveyed 2,571 students enrolled in universities nationwide, and the results showed 17.7 percent of them wanted employment with the tech titan. Respondents were allowed to make multiple picks.CJ Cheiljedang was next with 13 percent. The foods and beverage company last year topped Samsung Electronics, which had been No. 1 since the survey
July 14, 2017
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Daewoo Shipbuilding wins order for 4 oil tankers
(Yonhap)Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., a major shipyard here, said Friday that it has clinched a deal to build four very large crude carriers.Under the deal with Maran Tankers Management, a unit of Greece's largest shipper, Angelicoussis Shipping Group, Daewoo will deliver the 318,000-ton vessels by Aug. 20, 2019, the company said in a regulatory filing.The vessels, 336 meters long and 60 meters wide, will be powered by eco-friendly and fuel-efficient engines, the shipyard said.Da
July 14, 2017
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Lee Kun-hee's assets rise to record high amid Samsung Electronics
The value of stocks held by Samsung Group chairman Lee Kun-hee has surged to a record 18.4 trillion won ($16.1 billion) helped by the soaring prices of Samsung Electronics Co. shares, industry data showed Friday.Stock prices of the world's biggest smartphone and memory chip producer rose 40.3 percent to 2.52 million won per share Thursday from 1.8 million won as of the end of last year.The tech giant predicted its second quarter operating profit will hit 14 trillion won compared to 8.14 trillion
July 14, 2017
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Chinese market no longer land of opportunity for Korean products
China's consumer market that once offered vast opportunities for South Korean exporters has become less penetrable as Chinese firms make goods that compete with imports, industry data showed Friday.Samsung Electronics, which in 2012 ousted Apple Inc. to hold the top market share for smartphones in China, fell to eighth place in the first quarter of this year. Samsung's market share in handsets hit 17.7 percent in 2012, then rose to 19.7 percent the following year before losing ground. It dropped
July 14, 2017
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S. Korea state oil firm shifts to operating profit in H1
Korea National Oil Corp. shifted to an operating profit in the first half on high oil prices and cost-cutting efforts, the state-run utility said Thursday.The KNOC swung to an operating profit of $55 million in the January-June period from an operating loss of $187 million a year earlier, the company said in a statement. "The turnaround was helped by an increase in international oil prices and an adoption of stricter working processes to cut costs," the statement said.Brent oil prices jumped by
July 13, 2017
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[Herald Interview] Samsung SDI upbeat on growing energy storage demand
Korean battery maker Samsung SDI is upbeat on growing demand for energy storage, driven by an increasing number of countries pushing for energy self-sufficiency, along with a drop in battery prices making it economically feasible.The global energy storage system, or the ESS market, is predicted to see the fast growth in the coming years. According to the US market research firm Navigant Research, it is forecast to grow to 4.3 gigawatt hours this year, around a 50 percent jump from the previous y
July 13, 2017
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KNHP board fails to hold meeting to decide on halt in reactor construction
GYEONGJU -- South Korea's nuclear power operator failed to hold a board meeting on Thursday to touch on the issue of suspending the construction of two planned nuclear power plants due to stiff opposition from union members.The Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. board had to call off the planned meeting as seven of the 13 board members were unable to enter the headquarters building in Gyeongju, 371 kilometers southeast of Seoul. Unionized workers of the Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co.. stop board m
July 13, 2017
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Hyundai workers prepare to strike amid weak sales
Unionized workers at Hyundai Motor Co. will vote on whether to stage a walkout as they press for more wages and benefits, the company and its union said Thursday.The two-day vote comes as the country's largest carmaker by sales struggles with slowing sales in major markets such as China and the United States. Members of Hyundai's 51,000-strong union will cast their votes by 1 p.m. Friday, with the results to be made available at 8-9 p.m. "We will stage a strike if ongoing negotiations with manag
July 13, 2017