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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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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Military aircraft evacuating S. Koreans in Lebanon returns home
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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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Lotte, Shilla win bid for new Incheon airport duty-free stores
The duty-free units of Lotte Group and Hotel Shilla Co. have won licenses for the new duty-free stores at the new Incheon airport terminal due to open later in the year, the customs authority said Saturday. Lotte Duty Free and Shilla Duty Free tendered their preliminary bids late last month for two sections of Incheon International Airport terminal (T2), slated to start operation in October, and they were shortlisted by the Incheon International Airport Corp. last week. (Yonhap)Due to an amendm
April 29, 2017
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[Newsmaker] Kumho chief refuses to give up trademark rights of tire unit
Kumho Asiana Group Chairman Park Sam-koo announced Friday that he will not relinquish Kumho Tire’s trademark rights to China’s Doublestar Co., which is currently in negotiations to acquire Korea’s No. 2 tire company. Park had announced last week that he would not exercise his right to buy back the company’s tire-making affiliate, but it appears he is still looking to throw a wrench in Doublestar’s acquisition of the brand, which would allow it to become China’s largest tiremaker. Kumho Asiana C
April 28, 2017
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Posco E&C turns profitable following ‘100-day turnaround’
Posco Engineering & Construction has found itself back in the black after completing its “100-day turnaround” strategy, which involved increasing project profit margins and minimizing expenses, according to Posco E&C earlier this week. The company incurred large-scale deficits last year due to losses from overseas projects such as its construction order for CSP Steel Plant Complex -- the largest-ever overseas steel plant construction order won by Posco E&C. However, Posco says it has bounced bac
April 28, 2017
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Foreign luxury brands’ profits fall in Korea
Luxury brands including Balenciaga and Ferragamo are seeing falling profits in Korea as savvy consumers increasingly buy luxury items directly from overseas or during outlet sales.According to filings with the Financial Supervisory Service, several companies saw significant decreases in profits in 2016. (Yonhap)Ferragamo Korea’s operating profit fell 12 percent on-year to reach 5.9 billion won ($5.2 million), while Fendi Korea’s operating profit fell 11 percent. Dior suffered losses coming to 8
April 28, 2017
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OB expands product lineup
Oriental Brewery, South Korea’s largest brewer, has launched six new products in the past two years, as part of efforts to satisfy the growing number of local customers looking for a variety of choices.Breaking the market tradition of launching new products every one or two years, the South Korean unit of Anheuser-Busch InBev has introduced six products since June 2015. The limited edition of Hoegaarden Cherry (Oriental Brewery)From the Premier OB Weizen launched in June 2015 to a limited editi
April 28, 2017
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Hankook Tire Q1 net falls 13% on high costs
Hankook Tire Manufacturing Co., the world's seventh-biggest tiremaker by sales, on Friday posted a 13-percent on-year drop in its first-quarter net profit due to high manufacturing costs. Net profit for the three months that ended on March 31 fell to 171.15 billion won ($151 million) from 196.66 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a statement. (Yonhap)"A rise in the cost of raw materials used to make tires in the first quarter affected earnings," a company spokesman said.The company
April 28, 2017
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LG Household's Q1 net up 12.5% on high-end cosmetics sales
LG Household & Health Care Co., South Korea's No. 2 cosmetics maker, on Friday reported firm growth in its first-quarter earnings, shrugging off concerns over a setback from China's boycott on Korean-made goods amid a diplomatic standoff. The company chalked up 180.6 billion won ($159 million) in net income in the January-March period, up 12.5 percent from 160.6 billion won the previous year, it said in a regulatory filing. The figure beats the market consensus of 175.3 billion won estimated by
April 28, 2017
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Novartis Korea fined W55b, faces insurance coverage ban over bribery
Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis has been fined 55.1 billion won ($49 million) and given a six-month suspension of insurance coverage benefits for nine products in South Korea for bribing local doctors.Korea’s Ministry of Health and Welfare said Thursday that it has decided to lift insurance coverage for nine variations of two Novartis drugs -- Alzheimer’s drug Exelon and bone cancer therapy Zometa -- and impose administrative fines on 33 variations of 15 drugs.The headquarters of Swiss pharm
April 28, 2017
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Agricultural expo kicks off in Seoul
An agricultural exhibition designed to promote the modern rural living and farming business kicked off in southern Seoul on Friday, drawing a large number of visitors from around the country seeking a new life away from big cities.The 2017 Y-Farm Expo, co-hosted by Yonhap News Agency, South Korea's key news wire service, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs opened earlier in the day for a three-day run through Sunday. The event, which reflects new living trends in the country,
April 28, 2017
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Korea's retail sales gain 6.9% in March
Sales of major South Korean retailers maintained their upward mode last month amid a recent recovery in consumer sentiment, government data showed Friday.The combined sales of department stores, large outlets and online shopping malls rose 6.9 percent in March from a year earlier, accelerating from a 0.1 percent gain the previous month, according to the data by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. (Yonhap)Thirteen Internet shopping malls and e-commerce sites including eBay Korea Co. saw t
April 28, 2017
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Korea to adopt restaurant sanitation grading system
South Korea will introduce a sanitation grading system for restaurants from next month, the food ministry said Friday.From May 19, restaurants can voluntarily apply to get hygiene ratings, the ministry of Food and Drug Safety said. The Korea Agency of HACCP Accreditation and Services will conduct on-site inspections of restaurants that request them and give grades of "good," "excellent" or "highly excellent" for those that score at least 85 points. (Yonhap)A sanitation grading system is common
April 28, 2017
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Industrial output rebounds in March
South Korea's industrial output rebounded to rise 1 percent last month from a month earlier on a rise in the production of automobiles and electronics parts, government data showed Friday.Production in the mining, manufacturing, gas and electricity industries rose 1 percent on-month in March, turning around from a 3.3 percent on-month drop in February, according to the data by Statistics Korea. (Yonhap)From a year earlier, the figure rose 3 percent on-year in March on the back of a sharp increas
April 28, 2017
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Korea's biz sentiment turns pessimistic for May
South Korean companies' business environment outlook soured for next month due to fewer work days and concerns about protectionism by major trading partners, a local think tank said Friday. The business survey index for May fell to 91.7, down from 102.3 tallied a year ago and 93.3 a month earlier, according to the Korea Economic Research Institute, the think tank unit of the Federation of Korean Industries. (Yonhap)"The outcome was mainly due to fewer working days, political uncertainties in re
April 28, 2017
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No.1 buyer of distressed assets to pour 500 bln won into SME restructuring fund
United Asset Management Company, South Korea's biggest bad loan investment firm, said Thursday it will invest 500 billion won ($442.6 million) into a private-public fund that will help restructure small and medium-sized enterprises.The 8-trillion-won fund will be financed over the next five years from stat banks and other investors with the aim of restructuring SMEs, the nation's financial regulator said earlier this month. State-run financial institutions, including the National Pension Service
April 27, 2017
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Egg-laying hens hit lowest in 12 years due to bird flu outbreak
The number of egg-laying hens in South Korea fell to the lowest level in 12 years in the first quarter, data showed Thursday, sparking concerns that egg prices could go up further.The data compiled by Statistics Korea showed that the number of hens came to 51.6 million as of March 1, down 26.5 percent from a year earlier.(Yonhap)The decline came as South Korea slaughtered more than 37.8 million poultry -- 25.2 million of those being egg-laying hens -- in recent months to contain the bird flu tha
April 27, 2017
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Hyundai Steel Q1 net more than double on high-end products
Hyundai Steel Co., South Korea's second-biggest steelmaker by sales, said Thursday that its first-quarter earnings more than doubled on robust sales of high-end products and cost reduction efforts. Net profit for the three months ended March 31 jumped to 341.11 billion won ($302 million) from 158.58 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a statement.(Yonhap)"To offset lower demand from carmakers and shipbuilders, the company increased sales of value-added products such as high-intensity
April 27, 2017
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Over 600 Korean SMEs clinch overseas deals: World-OKTA
More than 600 small and medium-sized companies in South Korea have clinched deals with partners based abroad over the past year through a trade convention for overseas Korean entrepreneurs and smaller firms, expanding their foothold outside the country, its organizing body said Thursday. The World Federation for Overseas Korean Traders Association said a total of 661 small and medium-sized companies signed a total of 1,227 trade deals with some 374 World-OKTA members, consisting of Korean entrep
April 27, 2017
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CJ Cheiljedang records jump in dumpling sales this year
CJ Cheiljedang Corp., South Korea's leading maker of processed foods, said Thursday sales of its flagship precooked dumplings soared this year from a year earlier on the back of the growing one-person household and eat-alone trends that have spurred demand for instant foods. The company has sold more than 50 billion won ($44.3 million) worth of its Bibigo Dumplings in the first four months of this year ending April 26, up 31.5 percent from the previous year, it said in a release.(Yonhap)The on-y
April 27, 2017
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[Monitor] Accumulated orders secured by Korea’s top 3 shipbuilders
Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world’s largest shipbuilding group, has received 39 vessel orders totaling $2.3 billion in the first four months of this year, a 39 percent increase compared to all of last year. The figure also marks the company’s greatest ship orders in three years. HHI Group received orders for 18 ships worth some $900 million this month alone. According to company officials, the shipbuilding giant is currently in the final negotiating stage for an additional three-ship order, wh
April 27, 2017
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Could fruit extract help secure future of livestock industry?
Faced with tightened government regulations on the environment and increased competition from cheap imports under a number of free trade pacts, livestock farmers have been struggling to support their businesses. Demand for livestock products, on the other hand, has been growing, as more people in developing countries become able to afford meat. According to recent market data, meat production capacity is expected to double by 2050, reaching 465 million metric tons a year from 229 million metric
April 27, 2017