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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Military aircraft evacuating S. Koreans in Lebanon returns home
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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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Market uncertain on Korea's October rate cut despite slowed inflation
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Samsung unveils 'personalized AI' for all devices
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1,430 minors investigated for drug offenses from 2018 to 2023: police
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Special counsel bill to probe first lady scrapped
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[Robert Fouser] Why the US election looks so close
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1 in 5 private firms use telecommuting
About 1 in 5 private companies in South Korea used telecommuting last year, allowing their employees to work via mobile telecommunications technology, not at their office buildings, a survey showed Thursday. According to the survey of 1,700 employees and 300 managers, 18.6 percent of the respondents said they worked from home and other places without commuting to their offices last year, up 4.4 percentage points from 2015.(Yonhap)The survey was jointly conducted by the Ministry of Science, ICT a
Feb. 9, 2017
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SMBA hands down restrictions for Costco's Songdo branch
The Small and Medium Business Administration said Thursday it had placed restrictions on the operations of warehouse discount retailer Costco’s branch in Songdo, Incheon, to help reduce damage to surrounding small businesses.According to the restrictions, Costco will be prevented from selling cigarettes or government-issued trashed bags, as well as Korean soju or beer products in small quantities. Ramen must also be sold only in packages of 15 or larger.The store will not be able to offer delive
Feb. 9, 2017
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[Kaesong 1 Year On] Kaesong firms struggle to survive after shutdown
Ok Sung-seok, CEO of shirt maker Nine Mode, which used to hire North Korean workers in the inter-Korean industrial park in Kaesong, says his business, now in Vietnam, is still suffering financial difficulties due to lack of compensation for lost assets and opportunities after the complex’s shutdown a year ago.Nine Mode is among 123 South Korean firms, which were forced to withdraw from Kaesong on Feb. 10 last year, with the Park Geun-hye administration’s order to close the park in response to Py
Feb. 9, 2017
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[News Focus] Rumors of Samsung reform emerge amid ongoing probe
Despite facing an ongoing investigation by an independent counsel, Samsung Group and the tech giant’s de facto leader Lee Jae-yong seem to be preparing a set of reform plans to appease public anger and tighten the grip on management, according to local reports and market insiders on Thursday.Earlier this week, Samsung Group officially said that it would disband the group’s future strategy office, which has long served as a control tower orchestrating overall business operations of Samsung affili
Feb. 9, 2017
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Shinsegae Intercos targets global market with cosmetics
Cosmetics production of Shinsegae Intercos began Feb. 6, aiming for the global market, the company said Thursday.Shinsegae Intercos is a joint corporation between Shinsegae International and Intercos, an Italian cosmetics manufacturer specializing in original development manufacturing and original equipment manufacturing. (Yonhap)Its Osan factory, construction of which completed in January, is capable of producing around 50 million skin care products and color cosmetics annually. The company has
Feb. 9, 2017
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Suwon to make drastic transformations in 2017
Suwon City Major Yeom Tae-young has developed a reputation for keeping to his pledges. Out of his 100 projects pledged as the sixth mayor of the city elected through popular votes, 98 have been or are on their way to being successfully implemented, including 26 that have already been completed.The city expects for the pledge implementation rate to reach 69 percent before his term ends in June 2018. In other words, all the projects, excluding 31 long-term plans, will be completed.Yeom’s key word
Feb. 9, 2017
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Daewoo Engineering swings to loss in 2016
Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co., a major construction firm, said Thursday that it swung to the red last year from a year earlier as it put aside reserves against potential losses related to overseas projects.Net loss reached 794 billion won ($692 million) last year, compared with a profit of 146 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.(Yonhap)Sales increased 11.2 percent on-year to reach 10.99 trillion won last year, while it logged an operating loss of 503 bill
Feb. 9, 2017
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Korea to speed up delivery of hovercrafts to help shipbuilders
South Korea will push forward the delivery of two landing ships by one year to bolster the Navy's defense capabilities and help the struggling ship building sector, the state defense procurement agency said Thursday. In December, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration placed a 150 billion-won ($130 million) order with Hanjin Heavy Industries Co. to build two hovercraft landing ships, with a goal of delivering them to the Navy by 2020, not by the originally 2021 date, DAPA said in a state
Feb. 9, 2017
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AmorePacific sinks on sales slump, THAAD woes
AmorePacific Co., South Korea's top cosmetics maker, traded at a 52-week low on Thursday as investors were disappointed with the domestic sales slump amid growing concerns that the planned deployment of a US missile defense system to South Korea will further batter sales in China, its largest overseas market. AmorePacific stocks were changing hands at 283,000 won ($247) on the Seoul bourse as of 9:35 a.m., up 0.53 percent from the previous session's close. On Wednesday, it dipped to an almost tw
Feb. 9, 2017
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Daewoo Shipbuilding set to win $1.6b deal
Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., a major shipyard in South Korea, said Thursday that it has signed a letter of intent with a US firm to build up to seven floating storage and regasification units.Under the deal with Excelerate Energy, Daewoo Shipbuilding will receive an order to build one FSRU for the US energy firm in the second quarter of the year. The LOI also gives Excelerate an option to place more orders depending on market conditions. (Yonhap)Daewoo Shipbuilding expects the d
Feb. 9, 2017
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Small fire breaks out at Samsung SDI plant in Tianjin
Captured photo from Chinese Peng Pai newsSamsung SDI said it is figuring out the cause of a fire, which broke out on Wednesday at its plant located in Tianjin, China on Wednesday. According to Chinese news reports, a fire broke out at the company’s factory in the morning but was soon put out by firefighters. The employees extinguished the fire when it broke out from the waste but it was revived by the embers, the reports said.“Since the fire broke out at waste, it did not affect the production o
Feb. 9, 2017
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Construction firms' domestic orders hit record high in 2016
South Korean construction companies racked up a record in domestic orders last year, aided by a boom in the local property market, offsetting a slump in overseas projects, industry data showed on Wednesday.According to the data compiled by the Construction Association of Korea, local builders received a record 164.9 trillion won ($143.7 billion) last year, rising 4.4 percent from a year earlier. (Yonhap)Of the orders tallied, they bagged 117.47 trillion won worth from the private sector and 47.4
Feb. 8, 2017
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[Photo News] Next-gen media artist
Media artist Kim Hyung-kyu (center), the winner of Hyundai Motor’s VH Award this year, poses for a photo with (from left) judges Amy Heibel, curator of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Han Seong-kwon, president of the HRD Center of Hyundai Motor Group, Martin Honzik, director of Ars Electronica in Austria, and Bae Myung-ji, curator of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. Kim won the award for his “Hear the Wind Across the Board” video documentary that featured 360-degree pano
Feb. 8, 2017
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Fashion rental services offer quality for consumers with tight budgets
Office worker Kim Ji-young recently attended a friend’s wedding wearing a rented dress. “I rarely have occasions to dress up, and I didn’t see the need to spend a lot of money on buying something I would probably only wear once or twice,” she said. “I have some dresses I bought before hanging in my closet, and every time I’m cleaning out my closet those are the first items I want to throw out because they just take up space. I don’t want to buy more.”Kim is not alone. As consumers pay more atten
Feb. 8, 2017
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Hanmi posts steep profit drop in 2016 due to reduced licensing deals
After a difficult year of terminated or reduced licensing deals, South Korean drugmaker Hanmi Pharmaceutical said Tuesday that it logged an operating profit of 26.8 billion won ($23.39 million) in 2016, down 87 percent from the previous year. Its net profit also plunged 81 percent on-year to 30.3 billion won while its revenue fell 33 percent on-year to 882.7 billion won.Hanmi endured a tough year in 2016 as it had to return payments for new drugs that it had licensed out to global partners, incl
Feb. 8, 2017
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10 Hanjin Shipping vessels up for sale
The state-run Korea Development Bank, the main creditor of the near bankrupt Hanjin Shipping Co., has put 10 vessels of the shipping line up for sale, to retrieve part of its extended loans, industry sources said Wednesday.According to the sources, potential buyers are required to submit their bids for the ships -- two container ships and eight bulk carriers -- by Feb. 21. (Yonhap)Hanjin Shipping returned its ships purchased with bank loans to the respective lender last year as the ocean carrier
Feb. 8, 2017
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Families of chaebol heads enjoy fast track
Members of families that control South Korea's corporate titans are on the fast track as they usually get promoted to the executive level in less than five years after entering the company, a corporate tracker said Wednesday.Announcing a survey on 208 members of families controlling the top 50 business groups, CEO Score said it took an average of 4.9 years for them to get promoted to executive-level positions after admission. In contrast, it took an average of 24 years for ordinary employees of
Feb. 8, 2017
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Korean construction companies pin high hopes on overseas projects
South Korean construction companies, led by Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co., are eager to bag lucrative overseas deals this year as relatively high oil prices may usher in large-scale construction projects from the Middle East and other regions, industry sources said Wednesday.According to the International Contractors Association of Korea, local construction firms clinched overseas deals valued at a combined $28.19 billion last year, down 38.9 percent from a year earlier, marking the low
Feb. 8, 2017
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Sales of portable solar chargers jump on Pokemon Go fever
Sales of portable solar chargers for smartphones and tablets have soared in South Korea as fans of Nintendo's smash hit Pokemon Go want their devices to keep charging while playing the game. About two weeks after the augmented-reality mobile game was formally launched in South Korea, the number of Korean players is estimated to surpass 7 million people. (Yonhap)Braving chilly weather, it has become a common scene in South Korea to see people hover around streets and other public places in searc
Feb. 8, 2017
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Livestock diseases feared to hamper Korea's meat exports
A series of animal and poultry disease outbreaks in South Korea is feared to be a huge drag on the country's exports of meat and other livestock products, industry sources said Wednesday.In recent years, the foot-and-mouth disease has broken out frequently in South Korea and the country lost the status of an FMD-free nation, while a fresh outbreak of the disease was confirmed at cow farms in early February. (Yonhap)At the same time, the country has been suffering from a rapidly spreading outbrea
Feb. 8, 2017