Most Popular
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Ex-presidential official’s leaked phone call rattles conservative bloc
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K-pop star lip-syncing controversy flares up again
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Pay debate plagues foreign nanny pilot
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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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Concerns raised over chronic labor shortage at state-run center for digital sex crime victims
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Top offline life insurers emerge as major online market players: data
South Korea's major offline life insurers have emerged as major players in the country's online life insurance market, data showed Tuesday, as they focused marketing activities on savings-type policies, which life planners shun due to low commissions.Kyobo Lifeplanet Life Insurance Co., an Internet arm of Kyobo Life Insurance, became the largest online life insurer with the initial premium payments of 1.28 billion won ($1.1 million) during the first three months of this year, up 45 percent from
June 13, 2017
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Majority of outbound Korean travelers opt for foreign, budget carriers
Nearly 6 out of 10 South Koreans who traveled abroad this year used foreign or budget carriers, industry data showed Tuesday, amid rising demand from budget-conscious travelers. According to the data by Hana Tour, the country's No. 1 travel agency, low-cost carriers and other foreign airlines accounted for 57 percent of all overseas tour programs sold from January to May.The departure lobby is crowded with outbound travelers at Incheon airport, west of Seoul, as many people take advantage of ext
June 13, 2017
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CJ CheilJedang announces W900b investment plan
Food manufacturer CJ CheilJedang said Monday that it will be investing 900 billion won ($796.5 million) to build new production plants and acquire a top producer of soy protein concentrate.The plan includes a 540 billion won investment to build a food production complex in Jincheon, North Chungcheong Province, by 2020. The plant will begin construction in August and start operation next October, with an expected production capacity of 12 tons a year. The factory will focus production on home mea
June 12, 2017
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Korean firms face protectionism in major markets: KITA
South Korean companies are increasingly facing protectionist measures in major export markets such as the United States and China, the state trade promotion agency said Monday.A total of 30 countries have taken import restrictive measures against South Korean-made products, largely steel and metal goods, or have engaged in anti-dumping and safeguard investigations against local companies, the Korea International Trade Association said in a statement. (KITA)The number of trade actions rose to 193
June 12, 2017
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Korean firms urge support to cover fallout of inter-Korean complex shutdown
South Korean firms that operated factories at the now-shuttered joint industrial park in the North on Monday demanded the government compensate the unretrieved tens of billions of won in financial losses stemming from the shutdown.During a debate session held at the National Assembly, Shin Han-yong, chief of the companies' association, said the Seoul government should provide 225 billion won ($199 million) in assistance to cover losses it failed to make up. This photo, taken on May 15, 2017, fr
June 12, 2017
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Daewoo Shipbuilding delivers $2.7b offshore facility
Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., a major shipyard here, said Monday that it has delivered a fixed offshore platform worth $2.7 billion to a multinational oil firm.In December 2012, Daewoo Shipbuilding won a $1.8 billion deal to build the offshore facility from Norwegian Statoil ASA, but the project's value has swollen due to changes in its design and options, according to the company. (Yonhap)The offshore platform is capable of producing 2.5 million barrels of oil per month, which i
June 12, 2017
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‘Food companies raised prices despite falling costs’
Eight out of 10 food and beverage companies that raised consumer prices since last November did so despite falling manufacturing costs, according to an analysis released by a business tracker Monday.Business tracker CEO Score said Monday that manufacturers of consumer food products such as instant noodles and soft drinks raised their prices although their proportions of manufacturing costs to sales declined. An employee stocks instant noodles at a supermarket in Seoul. (Yonhap)Nongshim and Samy
June 12, 2017
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SRT attracts 8.9 million passengers
Super Rapid Train, a high-speed rail service, has carried 8.9 million passengers in the first six months of operations, the company said Monday.The bullet train entered into service on Dec. 9 last year, and through June 8, the average number of daily users marked 49,000.SRT, operated by Supreme Railways, is a high-speed train that moves at up to 300 kilometers per hour. A passenger walks past a train at Suseo Station on Monday. (Yonhap)Supreme Railways was launched to add competition to Korea’s
June 12, 2017
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Shipbuilders keep global lead in May
South Korean shipbuilders won the largest amount of new orders for the second straight month in May, according to data from a global shipping information company Monday. According to the UK-based Clarkson Research Service, Korean shipbuilding companies in May secured orders to build a total of 21 units worth a combined 790,000 compensated gross tons, a measurement to gauge the amount of work that goes into constructing a vessel.New orders placed with Korean shipbuilders last month accounted for
June 12, 2017
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Medytox to begin production at 3rd plant
Medytox, South Korea’s largest maker of botulinum toxin, said it has obtained regulatory approval for its new production plant in Osong, North Chungcheong Province.The Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety granted production and sales approval on Friday to Medytox’s third plant in Osong, able to produce 600 billion won ($533 million) worth of botulinum toxin products annually.With the approval, the new plant is set to begin commercial production this month, raising the firm’s production capaci
June 12, 2017
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Jeju Air launches Value Alliance
Aekyung Group’s air carrier Jeju Air has launched a new alliance for low-cost carriers with seven airlines in the Asia-Pacific region, according to the airliner Monday.Under the alliance, customers will be able to buy connecting flight tickets from Jeju Air and Cebu Pacific Air via the Jeju Air website. (Yonhap)The alliance includes Jeju Air, Cebu Pacific Air, Nok Airlines, NokScoot, Scoot, Tigerair Singapore, Tigerair Australia and Vanilla Air. Once additional code-shared routes are added, Jej
June 12, 2017
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[Herald Interview] KISA to unveil bio authentication for mobile banking in 2018
The state-run Korea Internet & Security Agency is developing bio authentication for mobile banking to commercialize it by late 2018, KISA’s chief researcher said. “We are developing an algorithm for authenticating mobile banking with a combination of a fingerprint, heart rate and (an) electrocardiogram. The technology is expected to be much safer than existing biometrics including iris sensors, fingerprint scanners and facial recognition,” Jason Kim, chief of KISA’s security technology dissemina
June 12, 2017
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Air Busan services 30m passengers since launch
Air Busan, a South Korea budget carrier, said Monday the number of passengers it served has exceeded the 30 million mark nearly nine years after it started operations. Air Busan, launched in October 2008, became the third low-cost carrier to reach the milestone after Jeju Air Co. and Jin Air Co., which reported the achievement in January 2016 and May 2017, respectively. Air Busan A321 passenger jet approaching an airport. (Yonhap)The number shows that the airline has served an increasing number
June 12, 2017
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LG Chem wins contract to provide RO filters for Egyptian desalination plants
LG Chem, one of South Korea top chemical companies, said Sunday it has secured an exclusive contract to provide reverse osmosis filters for desalination plants in Egypt.The agreement with plants being built by water treatment company Metito will allow fresh water to be used by 1 million people daily, the company said. The new plants capable of processing 300,000 tons of seawater will be the largest of its kind in the North African country and are being built in El Galalah and Port Said. (Yonhap)
June 11, 2017
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BAT begins heated tobacco production in Korea
SACHEON, South Gyeongsang Province -- Machines hum as they churn wheels of paper, rolling them into long tubes that are then packed with tobacco leaves and cut into noncombustible sticks of tobacco. This is the first production facility in Korea capable of making Neostiks, Dunhill maker British American Tobacco’s entry into the heated tobacco products market that is slated to go into full swing in the second half of this year.For now, the plant, built as part of a 200-billion-won ($177.8) expans
June 11, 2017
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[News Focus] Energy industry in wait-and-see mode upon Moon’s anti-nuclear policy
The energy industry has been showing mixed reactions to the anti-nuclear energy policy touted by President Moon Jae-in, taking a wait-and-see approach for now, as proponents and opponents alike weigh in on the efficacy, importance and reality of realizing no-coal, no-nuclear initiatives.Upon taking office last month, the Moon administration vowed to scrap all new constructions of new nuclear power plants, suspend building of the Shin-Kori No. 5 and 6 plants in Ulsan, close down the Wolsung No. 1
June 11, 2017
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LG Chem to supply water filters to Egypt’s seawater desalination plants
South Korea’s leading chemical company LG Chem has landed a large-scale contract to supply seawater filters to water treatment company Metito’s desalination plants in Egypt, the company said Sunday. LG Chem’s latest supply agreement is expected to be worth some 10 to 15 billion won ($9 million to $13 million), similar to the contract signed to provide its filters for the Sohar plant in Oman last year, which was worth at around 10 billion won. Under the contract, LG Chem will begin providing its
June 11, 2017
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Hyundai Mobis opens proving ground to test new parts, technology
Hyundai Mobis Co., one of South Korea's largest auto component manufacturers, said Sunday that it has opened its first domestic proving ground that will allow it to better test parts and related technologies. The company, an affiliate of Hyundai Motor Group, said it invested about 300 billion won ($266 million) to build the vast facility in Seosan, 151 kilometers south of Seoul. Work on the 1.12-million-square-meter facility began in the first half of 2014, it said, adding the proving ground has
June 11, 2017
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Korea's import of camping products jumps nearly 20%
South Korea's import of camping gear increased nearly 20 percent on-year during the first four months of 2017 thanks to increasing interest in outdoor activities, government data showed Sunday.South Korea imported $27.73 million worth of camping gear during the January-April period, up 19 percent from a year earlier, according to the data by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Beachgoers crowd Haeundae Beach in the southeastern port city of Busan with some pitching tents to avoid the h
June 11, 2017
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SK chief to receive James A. Van Fleet Award
Chey Tae-won, the head of South Korea's No. 3 conglomerate SK, will receive the Korea Society's James A. Van Fleet Award next month, the company said Sunday.Chey has been selected as this year's winner of the award in recognition of his contributions to business ties and industrial cooperation between South Korea and the United States, the society said. (Yonhap)An awards ceremony will be held in Seoul on July 18 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the nonprofit organization.Named after Gen. Jam
June 11, 2017